WO2015096057A1

WO2015096057A1 - Method and device for scrolling a content on a display screen in response to a tilt angle

Info

Publication number: WO2015096057A1
Application number: PCT/CN2013/090412
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wei Fan
Original assignee: Thomson Licensing
Priority date: 2013-12-25
Filing date: 2013-12-25
Publication date: 2015-07-02

Abstract

The present invention is related to a device comprising a tilt sensor for detecting a tilt angle of the device, a display for displaying a content and a processor. The processor is configured to determine if the detected tilt angle exceeds a predetermined tilt angle range with respect to a predetermined reference tilt angle of the device and to scroll the content displayed on the display in the case where the detected tilt angle exceeds the predetermined tilt angle range.

Description

METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SCROLLING A CONTENT ON A DISPLAY SCREEN

IN RESPONSE TO A TILT ANGLE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method and device for scrolling a content on a display screen in response to a tilt angle . BACKGROUND ART

US5602566A and EP0805389A2 disclose to scroll a content on a display screen of a handheld device according to a tilt angle of the device. In such a conventional device, the tilt angle is detected by a sensor, scrolling speed and direction (up or down, for example) are determined according to the detected tilt angle, then the content on the display is scrolled with the determined speed in the determined direction. In the conventional device, the content on the display starts to scroll once the device is tilted with respect to a predetermined position of the device. Therefore, a scroll of the content will be made even when a user of the device unintentionally tilts the device in a situation where the user is using the device on a shaky bus or subway, for example. Such an unintentional scroll would be uncomfortable for the user to read or enjoy a content displayed on the screen . An aim of the present invention is to provide a method and device for scrolling a content on a display screen in response to a tilt angle which may overcome the above- mentioned drawbacks. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the present invention, a device comprises a tilt sensor for detecting a tilt angle of the device, a display for displaying a content and a processor. The processor is configured to determine if the detected tilt angle exceeds a predetermined tilt angle range with respect to a predetermined reference tilt angle of the device and to scroll the content displayed on the display in the case where the detected tilt angle exceeds the predetermined tilt angle range .

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method includes detecting a tilt angle of a device having a display for displaying a content, determining if the detected tilt angle exceeds a predetermined tilt angle range with respect to a predetermined reference tilt angle of the device and scrolling the content displayed on the display in the case where the detected tilt angle exceeds the predetermined tilt angle range. According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a storage medium readable by a computer is further proposed. The storage medium storing a program for a computer device comprising a tilt sensor for detecting a tilt angle of the device, a display for displaying a content and a processor. The program causes the processor to determine if the detected tilt angle exceeds a predetermined tilt angle range with respect to a predetermined reference tilt angle of the device and to scroll the content displayed on the display in the case where the detected tilt angle exceeds the predetermined tilt angle range.

The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a computer device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 illustrates an environment of the use of the computer device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figs. 3 (a) schematically illustrates a reference view angle and predetermined limit tilt angle range with respect to the reference view angle of the device and Fig. 3 (b) schematically depicts an exemplary situation in which the device is tilted by angle Θ with respect to the reference view angle; and Fig. 4 is a flow chart for explaining an operation of the device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the following description, various aspects of an embodiment of the present invention will be described. For the purpose of explanation, specific configurations and details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding. However, it will also be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be implemented without the specific details present herein. Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a computer device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The computer device 100 can be a handheld-type device such as a tablet, smart-phone, eBook-reader and so on. The computer device 100 may comprise a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a tilt sensor 120, a storage 130, a display 140 and an user input module 150. A memory 160 such as RAM (Random Access Memory) may be connected to the CPU 110 as shown in Fig. 1.

The tilt sensor 120 is an element for detecting a tilt angle and a tilt direction of the device 100. The tilt sensor 120 can be an accelerometer, gyroscope or any type of element that can detect a tilt angle as well as a tilt direction.

The display 140 is configured to visually present a content such as text, image, video and any other contents to a user of the device 100. The display 140 can be a touch-screen so that it can provide a possibility to the user to operate the device 100 on the display 140 in addition to the user input module 150.

The user input module 150 may include keys or buttons on the device 100 to input characters or commands and also comprise a function to recognize the characters or commands input with the keys or buttons. The user input module 150 can be an option if the display 140 is a touch-screen and the device 100 is configured so that characters or commands can be input on the display 140.

The storage 130 is configured to store software programs and data for the CPU 110 to drive and operate the tilt sensor 120, the display 140 and the user input module 150 as will be explained hereinafter.

Fig. 2 illustrates an environment of the use of the computer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Fig. 2, the computer device 100 shown in Fig. 1 is indicated with the reference number "200". Fig. 2 shows that a user 250 is reading or browsing a content presented on the display 210 of the device 200. Fig. 2 depicts that the user 250 holds the device 200 with both hands, however it should be noted that the device 200 may be held with a single hand.

Fig. 3 (a) schematically illustrates a reference view angle and predetermined limit tilt angle range with respect to the reference view angle of the device. Fig. 3 (b) schematically depicts an exemplary situation in which the device is tilted by angle Θ with respect to the reference view angle. In an embodiment of the device 300, a reference view angle a as well as predetermined limit tilt angle range 310 of the device 300 may be pre-set and stored in the storage 130 (Fig. 1) as a default configuration. The reference view angle a is a predetermined tilt angle of the device 300 with respect to a horizontal plane, including both cases the display of the device 300 is facing up or down. The reference view angle a could be generally a comfortable view angle for a user of the device 300 to read or browse a content presented on the display of the device 300. The predetermined limit tilt angle range 310 defines the upper and lower limit angles to activate a scroll operation of a content displayed on the display. In an example, the default reference view angle a may be +25° and the predetermined limit tilt angle range 310 may be ±5° with respect to the reference view angle a.

According to this illustrative configuration of the device 300, if a tilt angle Θ of the device 300 with respect to the reference view angle a is kept within the predetermined limit tilt angle range 310, that is -5°≤θ≤+5°, a scroll operation for the content on the screen of the device 300 is kept deactivated. Thus, the content displayed on the screen of the device 300 will not scroll by tilting the device 300 as long as the tilt angle Θ of the device 300 is kept within the predetermined limit tilt angle range 310. As such, in the device 300 according to the embodiment of the present invention, an occurrence of unintentional scroll of the content can be reduced when the device is unintentionally tilted in a situation where the user is using the device on a shaky bus or subway, for example. It should be noted that, even if the tilt angle Θ of the device 300 is within the predetermined limit tilt angle range 310, the scroll operation may be made by another approaches. One possible approach could be touching the display with a finger and sliding the finger on the display to a direction to which the screen should scroll.

On the other hand, in accordance with this illustrative configuration of the device 300, if the tilt angle Θ of the device 300 exceeds the predetermined limit tilt angle range 310, that is θ<-5° or +5°<θ, the scroll operation for the content on the display screen of the device 300 is activated. The content on the display screen may scroll to the direction in response to the tilting direction of the device 300. In the example as shown in Fig. 3, when the device 300 is tilted to "upward" direction where the upper portion of the device 300 is moved downwardly whereas the lower portion of the device 300 is moved upwardly, the content on the display screen will scroll up. On the contrary, when the device 300 is tilted to "downward" direction where the upper portion of the device 300 is moved upwardly whereas the lower portion of the device 300 is moved downwardly, the content on the display screen will scroll down.

In the illustrated example, it is described in the context that the content on the display screen of the device 300 scrolls in upward and downward directions, however it should be noted that the scroll direction is not limited to the upward and downward directions according to the embodiment of the present invention. The content on the display screen of the device 300 may scroll in leftward and rightward directions in response to a tilt angle of the device 300 to leftward and rightward directions with respect to a predetermined reference angle position, in the same manner as described above. Further, the content on the display screen of the device 300 may scroll in any two-dimensional directions on the screen of the device in response to a tilt angle and a tilt direction of the device 300. Yet further, a scrolling speed of the content on the display screen may change in response to a measure of a detected tilt angle of the device 300 with respect to a predetermined reference angle position so that a lower tilt angle makes lower scrolling speed whereas a higher tilt angle makes higher scrolling speed.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart for explaining an operation of the device according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, the operation illustrated in Fig. 4 may be implemented when the CPU 110 (Fig. 1) executes the program to perform the control process for controlling the tilt sensor 120, the storage 130, the display 140 and the UI module 150 shown in Fig. 1. An exemplary operation of the device will be described hereinafter with reference to Figs. 1 and 3.

At step 405, the CPU 110 receives a user input to set a reference tilt angle a of the device 100. The reference tilt angle a can be set by the user input as follows, for example. At first, a user just presses any position on the touch screen display 140 with his/her finger for 1 second without moving the finger to let the device 100 enter into reference angle setting mode. Then, the user adjusts the device 100 to a reference position in his/her comfortable view angle. The tilt sensor 120 detects the tilt angle a and the tilt direction of the device 100 in its user comfortable position. Finally, the user again presses any position on the touch screen display 140 for 1 second to determine the detected tilt angle a and tilt direction of the device 100 as the user comfortable reference position and to memorize the reference position in the storage 130. The above described user input also may be made using the user input module 150, for example using a key button of the user input module 150. If the user prefers a default or pre-set reference position already stored in the storage 130, the step 405 may be skipped.

At step 410, the CPU 110 receives a user input to set a limit tilt angle range 310 (Fig. 3) of the device 100. The limit tilt angle range 310 may be input by the user via the touch screen display 140 or the UI module 150, and then be stored in the storage 130. If the user prefers a default or pre-set limit tilt angle range 310 already stored in the storage 130, the step 410 may be skipped. At step 415, the tilt sensor 120 detects a tilt angle Θ and a tilt direction of the device 100 with respect to the reference tilt angle position.

At step 420, the CPU 110 determines whether the detected tilt angle Θ of the device exceeds the limit tilt angle range 310 or not. If the detected tilt angle Θ is kept within the limit tilt angle range 310, the CPU 110 will not activate a scroll of a content presented on the display 140. If the detected tilt angle Θ exceeds the limit tilt angle range 310, at step 425, the CPU 110 will scroll a content presented on the display 140 to the tilt direction with a scrolling speed according to the detected tilt angle Θ and the tilt direction. The steps 415-425 may be repeated while the device is in operation. In the embodiment described above, the device 100 is discussed in the context that the device 100 is a handheld device which can be held with a single hand or both hands. However, it should be noted that the device according to the embodiment of the present invention may be applied any other type of device such as a wearable device which can be mounted on a human body, for example on a wrist, arm, or head.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A device (100) comprising:

a tilt sensor (120) for detecting a tilt angle of the device (100);

a display (140) for displaying a content; and

a processor (110) configured to:

determine if the detected tilt angle exceeds a predetermined tilt angle range with respect to a predetermined reference tilt angle of the device (110) ; and scroll the content displayed on the display (140) in the case where the detected tilt angle exceeds the predetermined tilt angle range.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the tilt sensor (120) further detects a tilt direction of the device (100) , and wherein the processor (110) is further configured to scroll the content displayed on the display (140) to the detected tilt direction.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the processor (110) is further configured to scroll the content displayed on the display (140) in a scroll speed depending on how much the detected tilt angle exceeds the predetermined tilt angle range.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the processor (110) is further configured to set at least one of the reference tilt angle and the tilt angle range.

5. A method including:

detecting a tilt angle of a device (100) having a display (140) for displaying a content;

determining if the detected tilt angle exceeds a predetermined tilt angle range with respect to a predetermined reference tilt angle of the device (100) ; and scrolling the content displayed on the display (140) in the case where the detected tilt angle exceeds the predetermined tilt angle range. 6. The method according to claim 5, further including detecting a tilt direction of the device (100) , and wherein the scrolling further includes to scroll the content displayed on the display (140) to the detected tilt direction 7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the scrolling further includes to scroll the content displayed on the display (140) in a scroll speed depending on how much the detected tilt angle exceeds the predetermined tilt angle range .

8. The method according to claim 5, further includeing setting at least one of the reference tilt angle and the tilt angle range.

9. A storage medium readable by a computer, the storage medium storing a program for a computer device (100) comprising :

a tilt sensor (120) for detecting a tilt angle of the device (100);

a display (140) for displaying a content; and

a processor (110) ,

the program causing the processor (110) to: