User interface
AssigneeUniversity of Lancaster
InventorJames Hudson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A user interface for a display of an electronic device is described. The user interface includes a background layer for displaying an interface and at least a first animated control element overlaid on the back ground layer. The control element has a plurality of functions associated with it. Each of said functions is executable by making a 2D gesture associated with a one of said plurality of functions in a region of the user interface associated with the control element. A device including such an interface and computer code for providing such an interface are also described.
Claims46
A user interface for a display of an electronic device, the user interface including:
- a background layer for displaying an interface;
- and
- at least a first animated control element overlaid on the back ground layer, wherein the control element has a plurality of functions associated with it and each of said functions being executable by making a 2D gesture associated with a one of said plurality of functions in a region of the user interface associated with the control element.
A user interface as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a help function is associated with the control element and wherein making a help 2D gesture causes help information relating to the functions associated with the control element to be displayed in the user interface.
A user interface as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control element is visually opaque.
A user interface as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the user interface includes a plurality of animated control elements.
A user interface as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the control element has a 2D gesture associated with it for carrying out a formatting function on a character associated with the control element.
A user interface as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control element is animated so as to appear like a three dimensional entity.
A user interface as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control element is animated so as to be more readily noticeable by peripheral vision.
An electronic device having a user interface, the electronic device including:
- a display device;
- a data processing device;
- and
- a memory storing instructions executable by the data processing device to display the user interface on the display, wherein the user interface is as claimed in any preceding claim.
A computer implemented method for providing a user interface for a display of an electronic device, comprising:
- displaying an interface as a background layer;
- displaying an animated control element associated with a plurality of functions over the background layer;
- detecting a 2D gesture made over a region of the user interface associated with the control element;
- and
- executing a one of the plurality of functions which is associated with the 2D gesture.
A method as claimed in any of claims 32 to 35, and further comprising determining a location within the display of the 2D gesture and determining whether a control element is associated with the location.
A method as claimed in any of claims 32 to 35, and further comprising:
- determining whether a gesture is intended to activate a control element and if not then determining a function of the background layer to execute.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.