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AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsJohn O. Louch, Andrew M. Grignon, Timothy Wayne Bumgarner, Eric Steven Peyton, Maxwell O. Drukman
Estimating the term…
An authoring environment for creating and/or editing user interface elements such as widgets used in a unified interest layer. The authoring environment facilitates creation of widgets that have a consistent appearance and mechanism, and allows third-party developers to easily create widgets that have a look and feel that is consistent with a predefined set of widgets.
A computer-implemented method of creating a widget from a template, the widget to be used in a computer system, the method executed by a computer and comprising:
A non-transitory computer readable storage memory storing a computer program executable by a processor, the computer program producing a user interface of a widget authorship application in a computer system, the user interface comprising:
A computer-implemented method of editing a widget to be used in a computer system, the method executed by a computer and comprising:
A non-transitory computer readable storage memory storing a computer program executable by a processor, the computer program producing a user interface of a widget authorship application in a computer system, the user interface comprising:
A system for creating a widget from a template, the widget to be used in a computer system, the system comprising:
A system for producing a user interface of a widget authorship application in a computer system, the system comprising:
A system of editing a widget to be used in a computer, the system comprising:
A system for producing a user interface of a widget authorship application in a computer system, the system comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like…:…
Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles: input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle,…
Output arrangements, i.e. from vehicle to user, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor: using visual output, e.g.…
Using visual output, e.g. blinking lights or matrix displays: display screens
Term ended 22 Jul 2026 (estimated)
The present invention relates generally to graphical user interface elements, and more particularly to authoring and editing graphical user interface elements.
A hallmark of modern graphical user interfaces is that they allow a large number of items to be displayed on a screen at the same time. The leading personal computer operating systems, such as Apple MacOS X and Microsoft Windows XP, provide user interfaces in which a number of windows can be displayed, overlapped, resized, moved, configured, and reformatted according to the needs of the user. Taskbars, menus, and other UI elements provide mechanisms for accessing and activating windows even when they are hidden behind other windows.
Although many users appreciate the ability of such user interfaces to present such a wealth of information on the screen simultaneously, the resulting “information overload” can be somewhat overwhelming. Users often find that it is difficult to navigate to a particular UI element or window, or to even locate a desired element, among a large number of onscreen elements. The problem is further compounded when user interfaces allow users to position the onscreen elements in any desired arrangement, including overlapping, minimizing, maximizing, and the like. Such flexibility may be useful to some users but may result in chaos for other users. Having too many items on the screen simultaneously leads to information overload, and can act as an inhibiting factor in the effective use of the computer equipment.
The accompanying drawings illustrate several embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an overall architecture for implementing the present invention according to one embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a software architecture for implementing the present invention according to one embodiment.
One skilled in the art will recognize that these Figures are merely examples of the operation of the invention according to one embodiment, and that other user interface arrangements and modes of operation can be used without departing from the essential characteristics of the invention.
The present invention is now described more fully with reference to the accompanying Figures, in which several embodiments of the invention are shown. The present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be complete and will fully convey the invention to those skilled in the art.
Hardware Architecture