Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. et al

Filing 1074

Administrative Motion to File Under Seal filed by Samsung Electronics America, Inc.(a New York corporation), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC(a Delaware limited liability company). (Attachments: #1 Proposed Order Granting Motion to Seal, #2 Declaration of Trevor Darrell in Support of Samsung's Motion to Strike Expert Testimony Based on Undisclosed Facts and Theories, #3 Exhibit A to Darrell Declaration, #4 Exhibit B to Darrell Declaration, #5 Exhibit C to Darrell Declaration, #6 Exhibit D to Darrell Declaration, #7 Exhibit E to Darrell Declaration)(Maroulis, Victoria) (Filed on 6/8/2012)

EXHIBIT C

r

r

!

V THE C^ITE» WEITES OFAMEKIOi
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
April 26, 2011
THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT ANNEXED HERETO IS A TRUE COPY FROM
THE RECORDS OF THIS OFFICE OF:

U.S. PATENT:

7,853,891

ISSUE DATE: December 14, 2010

By Authority of the
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property
and Director of the United States PsrfeiH and Trademark Office

EXHIBIT N O . l i f t
i o - ^ h
Andrea Ignacio, CSR 9830

APLNDC00025433

iiiiiiiiiiiiffiiiiiiiiiiii
US007853891B2

(i2) United States Patent

(io) Patent No.:

(54)

METHOD A N D APPARATUS FOR
DISPLAYING A WINDOW FOR A USER
INTERFACE

(75)

Inventors: Imran Chaudhri, San Francisco, CA
(US); Bas Ordlng, San Francisco, CA
(US)

(73)
(* )

Notice:

5,940,517
5,999,191
6,008,809
6,072,489
6,246,407
6,249,826
6,252,595
6,307,545
6,336,131
6,409,603
6,429,883
6,600,500

Assignee: Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)
Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
patent is extended or adjusted under 35
U.S.C. 154(b) by 247 days.

(21)

Filed:

Dec. 14,2010

A
8/1999 Shinanda et al.
A
12/1999 Frank et al.
12/1999 Brooks
A
6/2000 Gough et al.
A
6/2001 Wilks et al.
B1
B l * 6/2001
6/2001 Birmingham et al,
B1
10/2001 Conrad et al.
Bl
Bl * 1/2002 Wolfe
Bl
6/2002 Nishino et al.
Bl
8/2002 Plow et al.
B l * 7/2003

710/19

,... 709/203

715/795

Appl.No.: 12/012,384

(22)

US 7,853,891 B2

(45) Date of Patent:

Chaudhri et al.

(Continued)

Feb. 1 , 2 0 0 8

(65)

Primary Examiner—Tadeese
Hailu
(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Brian
Druce + Quigg LLP

Prior Publication Data
US 2008/0222554 A1

Sep. 11, 2008

(57)

Related U.S. Application Data
(63)

(51)
(52)
(58)

Continuation of application No. 11/635,847, filed on
Dec. 8, 2006, which is a continuation of application
No. 10/193,573, filed on Jul. 10, 2002, now Pat. No.
7,343,566.
Int. CI.
G06F17/00
U.S.CL

(2006.01)
715/781; 715/768; 715/788;
715/795; 719/318; 345/629
Field of Classification Search
715/768,
715/781,788,795; 719/318; 345/629
See application file for complete search history.

(56)

References Cited
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
5,191,620
5,333,272
5,831,615
5,838,318
5,892,511
5,929,854

A
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4/1999
7/1999

Lee
Capek et al.
Drews et al.
Porter et al.
Gelsinger et al.
Ross

K. McKnight; Novak

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatuses to display windows. In more than
one embodiments of the invention, a window is closed automatically (e.g., after a timer expires, or when a condition or
criterion is met, or a system input is received) without user
input. In some examples, the window is translucent so that the
portion of another window, when present, is visible under the
window. In some examples, the image of the window is faded
out before the window is closed and destroyed. In some
examples, the window does not close in response to any input
from a user input device. In some examples, the window is
repositioned (or hidden) automatically when another translucent window is displayed. The degree of translucency, the
speed for fading out, the discrete levels of translucency for
fading out, the time to expire, and/or other parameters for
controlling the display of the window may be set by the user
or adjusted by the system (or application software programs)
automatically according to system conditions or other criteria.
75 Claims, 21 Drawing Sheets

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!2
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
6,654,036
6,670,970
6,720,982
6,828,989
6,907,447
7,046,254
7,068,266

11/2003 Jones
B1
12/2003 Bonuraetal.
B1
4/2004 Sakagucii
B1
B2* 12/2004 Cortright
B1 * 6/2005 Cooperman et al.
B2
5/2006 Brownetal.
B1
6/2006 Ruelle

715/769
709/203

7,155,729
7,342,594
2002/0191028
2003/0001899
2003/0016253
2003/0043197
2003/0051228
2003/0145060

B1
B1
Al
Al
Al
Al
Al
Al

12/2006
3/2008
12/2.002
1/2003
1/2003
3/2003
3/2003
7/2003

Andrew et al.
Ort et al.
Senechalle et al.
Partanen et al.
Aoki et al.
Kremer et al.
Martinez et al.
Martin

* cited by examiner

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104

Fig. 1

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2 of 21

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Prior Art

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227

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US 7,853,891 B2

1*
Display a user interface window (e.g., a translucent window
which when displayed on top of a portion of a second
window allows the user to see the portion of the second
window through the translucent window)

Automatically close the user interface window (e.g., fade
out an image of the window and destroy the window)
without user input (e.g., after a timer expired, or after a
determination that a system status is changed or a
condition is met, or after receiving input that is not
associated with any user input device)

401

403

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I

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441

Combine the image of a translucent window and the portion
of the image of window under the translucent window to
generate a combined image for the translucent window
and the window under the translucent window

443
1
Display the combined im age on the screen for the
translucent window and the \vindow under the translucent
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APLNDC00025456

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1

The invention relates to graphical user interfaces, and more
particularly to such interfaces with windows.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The
copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent
file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights
whatsoever. Copyright Apple Computer, Inc., 2002.

The progress of the operation is indicated by progress bar 229
and an animation showing that the document is going from
one folder to another. Windows 221 and 231 in FIGS. 4 and 5
show two snap shots of the animation. A user may drag title
bar 223 (e.g., pressing down and holding a button of a mouse
and moving the mouse while holding down the button) to drag
the window from one location on a screen to another; and the
user can click on the title bar to bring the window to the top
level when the window is partially covered by another window (e.g., when window 241 is partially covered by window
243, as shown in FIG. 6). When the copy operation completes,
the progress window closes automatically.
Traditional windows typically provide strong user interactions, which may cause distractions. For example, a user waits
for window 201 to disappear to view window 210 in FIG. 2;
the user manipulates a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse, a
track ball, or a touch pad) to view or dismiss flash help
window 213 in FIG. 3; and, the user interaction is provided to
relocate the progress window or change the window displaying hierarchy to see the progress of window 241 in FIG. 6.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
DISPLAYING A WINDOW FOR A USER
INTERFACE
Hie present application is a continuation of co-pending
U.S. application Ser. No. 1 y«s,847, filed Dec. 8,2006, which
is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/193,573,
filed Jul. 10, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,566.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Many digital processing systems use window-based
graphical user interfaces for users to interact with software
programs. Images of windows are displayed on a display
device to show the user the states of the software programs;
and user input devices (e.g., a keyboard and a mouse) are used
to accept user inputs. In addition to user input devices, a
digital processing system may have other devices (e.g., sensors) for accepting system inputs, such as phone line status,
power supply status, storage disk usage status, communication connection status, execution status of software programs,
and others that are not directly related to user inputs (signals
associated with user input devices).
FIGS. 2-6 illustrate examples of traditional windows. FIG.
2 shows a typical window 210 that has title bar 203 and
buttons 205, 207 and 209 for minimizing, maximizing, and
closing the window. The title bar and the buttons on the title
bar can be used to manipulating the position and size of the
window. For example, title bar 203 may be clicked (e.g.,
pressing a button of a mouse while the cursor is on the title
bar) to bring the window to the top level of the window
displaying hierarchy so that if there are any other windows
displayed at the same location of window 210, these windows
will be hidden under window 210.
When a user starts an application program, a window (e.g.,
window 201) may be displayed to show the license/copyright
information while the components of the software program
are being loaded. After the components of the software program are fully loaded, the license/copyright window is closed
automatically so that the user can start to use the software
program without interference from the license/copyright window.
FIG. 3 shows task bar 211 with flash help window 213.
When the user pauses cursor 215 at a location of the task bar
for a short period of time, flash help window 213 appears. If
the user does not move the cursor for another short period of
time while window 213 is displayed, flash window 213 disappears. If the user moves cursor 215 slightly (e.g., using a
mouse, a track ball, or a touch pad) and pauses the cursor 215
again, flash help window may appear again.
FIGS. 4-6 show a window that displays the progress of
copying a file. When a file is copied from one location to
another location, window 221 is displayed to indicate the
progress. Button 227 is provided for canceling the copy
operation; and button 225 is for closing the progress window.

Methods and apparatuses to display windows are described
25 here. There are many different embodiments which are
described here. Some of these embodiments are summarized
in this section.
In more than one embodiment of the invention, a window is
closed automatically (e.g., after a timer expires, or when a
30 condition or criterion is met, or system input is received)
without user input. In some examples, the window is translucent so that the portion of another window, when present, is
visible under the window. In some examples, the image of the
window is faded out before the window is closed and
35 destroyed. In a further example, the level of translucency, the
speed for fading out, the discrete levels of translucency for
fading out, the time to expire, and/or other parameters for
controlling the display of the window may be set by the user
or adjusted by the system (or application software programs)
40 automatically according to system conditions or other criteria.
In one embodiment of the invention, a method to display a
user interface window for a digital processing system
includes: displaying a first window in response to receiving a
45 first input from a user input device (e.g., a keyboard, mouse,
trackball, touch pad, touch screen, joy stick, button, or others)
of the digital processing system which is capable of displaying at least a portion of a second window under the first
window; starting a timer; and closing the first window in
50 response to a determination that the timer expired. The first
window does not close in response to any input from a user
input device of the digital processing system. In one example
according to this embodiment, the first window is translucent;
the portion of the second window is visible while under the
55 first window; and the first window is at a top level in a window
displaying hierarchy. In one example, an image of the first
window is faded out on the screen before the first window is
destroyed to close the first window. In one example, the
second window, if displayed, closes in response to an input
60 from a user input device of the digital processing system; and
the first window does not respond to any input from a user
input device of the digital processing system. In one example,
the first window is repositioned in response to a third window
(e.g., an alert window or a translucent window) being dis65 played; in another example, the first window is hidden in
response to a third window being displayed at a location
where the first window is displayed. In one example, the first

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window is repositioned on a display in response to a second
input for the first window (e.g., an input indicating that a third
window is displayed, or an input from a user input device of
the digital processing system to reposition the window, such
as dragging and dropping the window); and a position of the
first window in a window displaying hierarchy can be
adjusted in response to a third input (e.g., bringing another
window in front of the first window). In one example, the first
window is displayed at a position on a display of the digital
processing system that is independent of a position of a cursor
on the display (e.g., a position centered horizontally on the
display); and the timer is restarted in response to receiving a
second input for the first window (e.g., from a user input
device of the digital processing system).
In another embodiment of the invention, a method to display a user interface window for a digital processing system
includes: displaying a first translucent window such that if a
portion of a second window is displayed on the digital processing system under the first window, the portion of the
second window is visible under the first window; and closing
the first window without user input. In one example according
to this embodiment, a timer is started so that when the timer
expires the first window is closed (e.g., fading out an image of
the first window and destroy the first window). In another
example, the first window is closed in response to an input
that is not associated with a user input device of the digital
processing system. In a further example, the first window is
closed in response to a determination that a system condition
is met (e.g., a system status is changed, or other criteria).
In a farther embodiment of the invention, a method to
display a user interface window for a digital processing system includes: displaying a first window in response to receiving a first input that is not associated with a user input device
of the digital processing system; starting a timer; and closing
the first window in response to a determination that the timer
expired (e.g., fading out an image of the first window; and
destroying the first window). In one example, the first window
does not close in response to any input from a user input
device of the digital processing system (e.g., the first window
does not respond to any input from a user input device of the
digital processing system); and the first window is translucent
such that a portion of a second window is visible when displayed under the first window. In one example, the first window is repositioned on a display without user input (e.g., in
response to a third window being displayed). In another
example, the timer is restarted in response to receiving a
second input for the first window; and the second input is
received from a user input device of the digital processing
system.
The present invention includes apparatuses which perform
these methods, including data processing systems which perform these methods and computer readable media which
when executed on data processing systems cause the systems
to perform these methods.

4
FIGS. 7-11 illustrate example scenarios of displaying a
window according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 12 shows a flow diagram of a method to display a
5 window according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram of a method to close a
window according to one embodiment of the present invention.
10
FIG. 14 shows a detailed flow diagram of a method to
control a translucent window according to one embodiment
of the present invention.
FIG. 15 shows a method to display a translucent window
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGS. 16-21 show example screen images of windows
15
displayed according to one embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
20

The following description and drawings are illustrative of
the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the
invention. Numerous specific details are described to provide
a thorough understanding of the present invention. However,
25 in certain instances, well known or conventional details are
not described in order to avoid obscuring the description of
the present invention.
Many of the methods of the present invention may be
performed with a digital processing system, such as a con3 0 ventional, general purpose computer system. Special purpose
computers which are designed or programmed to perform
only one function may also be used.
FIG. 1 shows one example of a typical computer system
which may be used with the present invention. Note that while
3 5 FIG. 1 illustrates various components of a computer system,
it is not intended to represent any particular architecture or
manner of interconnecting the components as such details are
not germane to the present invention. It will also be appreciated that network computers and other data processing sys4 0 tems which have fewer components or perhaps more components may also be used with the present invention. The
computer system of FIG. 1 may, for example, be an Apple
Macintosh computer.
As shown in FIG. 1, the computer system 101, which is a
45
form of a data processing system, includes a bus 102 which is
coupled to a microprocessor 103 and a ROM 107 and volatile
RAM 105 and a non-volatile memory 106. The microprocessor 103, which may be, for example, a G3 or G4 microprocessor from Motorola, Inc. or IBM is coupled to cache
50 memory 104 as shown in the example of FIG. 1. The bus 102
interconnects these various components together and also
interconnects these components 103,107,105, and 106 to a
display controller and display device 108 and to peripheral
devices such as input/output (I/O) devices which may be
55 mice, keyboards, modems, network interfaces, printers, scanOther features of the present invention will be apparent
ners, video cameras and other devices which are well known
from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed
in the art. Typically, the input/output devices 110 are coupled
description which follow.
to the system through input/output controllers 109. The volatile RAM 105 is typically implemented as dynamic RAM
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
60 (DRAM) which requires power continual ly in order to refresh
or maintain the data in the memory. The non-volatile memory
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and
106 is typically a magnetic hard drive or a magnetic optical
not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings in
drive or an optical drive or a DVD RAM or other type of
which like references indicate similar elements.
memory systems which maintain data even after power is
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram example of a data processing 6 5 removed from the system. Typically, the non-volatile memory
system which may be used with the present invention.
will also be a random access memory although this is not
required. While FIG. 1 shows that the non-volatile memory is
FIGS. 2-6 illustrate examples of traditional windows.

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a local device coupled directly to the rest of the components
in the data processing system, it will be appreciated that the
present invention may utilize a non-volatile memory which is
remote from the system, such as a network storage device
which is coupled to the data processing system through a
network interface such as a modem or Ethernet interface. The
bus 102 may include one or more buses connected to each
other through various bridges, controllers and/or adapters as
is well known in the art. In one embodiment the I/O controller
109 includes a USB (Universal Serial Bus) adapter for controlling USB peripherals, and/or an IEEE-1394 bus adapter
for controlling IEEE-1394 peripherals.
It will be apparent from this description that aspects of the
present invention may be embodied, at least in part, in software. That is, the techniques may be carried out in a computer
system or other data processing system in response to its
processor, such as a microprocessor, executing sequences of
instructions contained in a memory, such as ROM 107, volatile RAM 105, non-volatile memory 106, cache 104 or a
remote storage device. In various embodiments, hardwired
circuitry may be used in combination with software instructions to implement the present invention. Thus, the techniques are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software nor to any particular source for
the instructions executed by the data processing system. In
addition, throughout this description, various functions and
operations are described as being performed by or caused by
software code to simplify description. However, those skilled
in the art will recognize what is meant by such expressions is
that the functions result from execution of the code by a
processor, such as the microprocessor 103.
A machine readable media can be used to store software
and data which when executed by a data processing system
causes the system to perform various methods of the present
invention. This executable software and data may be stored in
various places including for example ROM 107, volatile
RAM 105, non-volatile memory 106 and/or cache 104 as
shown in FIG, 1. Portions of this software and/or data may be
stored in any one of these storage devices.
Thus, a machine readable media includes any mechanism
that provides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a
form accessible by a machine (e.g., a computer, network
device, personal digital assistant, manufacturing tool, any
device with a set of one or more processors, etc.). For
example, a machine readable media includes recordable/nonrecordable media (e.g., read only memory (ROM); random
access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical
storage media; flash memory devices; etc.), as well as electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms of propagated signals
(e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.); etc.
At least one embodiment of the present invention seeks to
display a window with reduced distractions so that a user can
focus on more important windows.
FIGS. 7-11 illustrate example scenarios of displaying a
window according to one embodiment of the present invention. Traditional window 303 is shown in FIG. 7. Window 303
contains control buttons 311, 313 and 315 for closing, minimizing and maximizing the window. Window 303 also has
title bar 310, which may be used to relocate the window on
screen 301. Consider a scenario where the battery power of
the system is lower than a threshold. After the system detects
such a system status change, window 321 may be displayed
near the center of screen 301, as shown in FIG. 8. Window 321
is translucent so that regular window 303 is still visible under
window 321. Once window 321 is displayed on the screen, a
timer is started to control the closing of the window. When the
timer expires, window 321 is automatically closed without

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any user input. Thus, window 321 displays the message of
low battery power to the user without forcing the user to
provide inputs to dismiss the message window. Since window
321 is translucent and transient, the portion of window 303
that is under window 321 is still visible. Thus, the user can
continue working with window 303 (or other window) without having to provide additional input to get message window
321 out of the way.
In one embodiment of the present invention, translucent
window 321 is always displayed at the top level of the window
displaying hierarchy so that the translucent window is always
visible when displayed, This eliminates the need for the user
to change the window displaying hierarchy to bring up the
translucent window when another traditional window is
brought up to the top of the window displaying hierarchy
(e.g., by creating a new window or accidentally changing the
hierarchy). In another embodiment of the present invention,
the user can change the position of the translucent window in
the hierarchy so that if the user desires the translucent window
may be sent to a background position.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the image of
window 321 is faded out when the timer expires, which is
illustrated by the images of windows 321, 331, and 341 in
FIGS. 8,9 and 10. After the image of window 321 is faded out,
window 321 is destroyed.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a translucent message window starts to fade out when a status change
is detected. For example, a message window is displayed
when the system detects the ringing signal on a phone line.
When the system detects that the ringing signal is no longer
present on the phone line, the image of the message window
is faded out; and the message window is destroyed. Similarly,
a translucent progress window for showing the progress of
copying a file can be faded out and destroyed after the copy
process ends. In one example, message window 361 as shown
in FIG. 11 is displayed whenanew message arrives. When the
user starts to open an application to view the new message,
message window 361 is closed automatically so that the user
does not have to provide input to dismiss the message window
or wait for the message window to fade out.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the image of
window 321 gradually sets in when the window is first displayed. In another embodiment of the present invention, window 321 in FIG. 8 is automatically relocated or moved (e.g.,
in an animation fashion) to a different location so that the
image of window 321 does not obscure the display of any
particular portion of windows 303 for an extended period of
timed. For example, window 321 may be automatically
moved across the screen horizontally from the left hand side
of screen 301 to the right hand side of screen 301 (or near the
center of screen 321 in a circular motion).
In one embodiment of the present invention, the system
detects (or manages) all the translucent windows so that when
a second translucent window is displayed before the first
translucent window is closed, the first translucent window is
repositioned so that the second translucent window can be
easily seen on the screen without interference with each other.
For example, after battery low window 321 is displayed as in
FIG. 8, the system may detect a new message arrived for the
user. Thus, translucent window 361 is displayed as in FIG. 11
to inform the user about the new message. At the same time,
window 351 is automatically moved to a position as seen in
FIG. 11 so that both translucent windows 351 and 361 can be
easily seen on the screen. Alternatively, the first translucent
window (e.g., window 351) is hidden so that only the second
window (e.g., window 361) is displayed. The timer of the first
window is stopped while being hidden until the second win-

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dow is automatically closed. In a further embodiment of the
present invention, the window system tracks the translucent
windows to automatically schedule the sequence and the
screen positions of the display of the translucent windows
according to the importance of the windows, the time to close
(or estimated time to close), and/or other conditions.
FIGS. 8-11 show an example of translucent windows that
are initiated by a system without any input associated with
user input devices (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, track ball, touch
pad, touch screen, joy stick, button, or other criteria). In one
embodiment of the present invention, these translucent windows do not consume any user input; and no user input can be
provided to these windows to close these windows, which
close automatically when certain conditions are met (e.g., the
expiration of a timer, the change in system status, and others).
In one alternative embodiment of the present invention, these
windows accept predetermined inputs (e.g., special function
keys, such as the escape key "ESC" for closing) so that a user
has the option to directly control the display of these translucent windows.

the art from this description that some methods of the present
invention can be implemented for windows that are not translucent.
FIG. 12 shows a flow diagram of a method to display a
window according to one embodiment of the present invention. Operation 401 displays a user interface window (e.g., a
translucent window which when displayed on top of a portion
of a second window allows the user to see the portion of the
second window through the translucent window); and operation403 automatically closes the user interface window (e.g.,
fade out an image of the window and destroy the window)
without user input (e.g., after a timer expired, or after a
determination that a system status is changed or a condition is
met, or after receiving input that is not associated with any
user input device).
FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram of a method to close a
window according to one embodiment of the present invention. Operation 411 displays a first window in response to an
input (e.g., an input from a user input device, or an input that
is not associated with any user input device, such as an input
trigged by a system event, a change in system status, ringing
signals on a phone line, or inputs initiated by the operating
system). Operation 413 starts a timer. Operation 415 closes
the first window when the timer expires (e.g., fade out an
image of the first window and destroy the first window).
FIG. 14 shows a detailed flow diagram of a method to
control a translucent window according to one embodiment
of the present invention. After operation 421 receives an input
(e.g., a user input from a user input device, such as a keyboard,
a mouse, a track ball, a touch pad, a touch screen, a joy sticker,
a button, or others) from a digital processing system, operation 423 displays a first translucent window on a display
device (e.g., a LCD display, a CRT monitor, a touch screen, or
others) of the digital processing system (e.g., on top of a
portion of a second window), where the first window does not
close in response to any input from a user input device of the
digital processing system. Operation 425 starts a timer. When
operation 427 determines that an input (e.g., a user input or a
system input) for the first window is received, operation 431
restarts the timer; and operation 433 processes die input (alternatively, the timer may be stopped and restarted after the
input is processed). When operation 429 determines that a
second translucent window is displayed, operation 435 repositions (or hides) the first translucent window. When one of a
number of translucent windows is closed, the remaining
translucent window(s) may be repositioned (or displayed if
hidden). Operation 437 closes the first translucent window
when the timer expires (e.g., by fading out an image of the
first window and destroying the first window).
FIG. 15 shows a method to display a translucent window
according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Operation 441 combines the image of a translucent window
and the portion of the image of window under the translucent
window to generate a combined image for the translucent
window and the window under the translucent window.
Operation 443 displays the combined image on the screen for
the translucent window and the window under the translucent
window. If operation 445 determines that the translucent window is updated or operation 447 determines that the window
under the translucent window is updated, operation 441 is
performed to update the corresponding portion of the screen
image. In a buffered window system, the images of the translucent window and the window under the translucent window
are generated separately; and the window system combines
the images of the windows to display the translucent window
and the window under it. In a non-buffered window system,
the translucent window may generate the image of the trans-

A user may initiate a translucent window through an input
associated with a user input device. For example, a user may
use a special function key to adjust volume (or contrast, or
brightness). In response to the special function key, a translucent window is displayed to show the current volume level
(or contrast, or brightness). In one embodiment of the present
invention, the window system (or an application program)
automatically determines a location for displaying the translucent volume window (e.g., independent from the location of
a cursor on the screen). When the volume window receives an
input from the function key for adjust volume, the timer for
the translucent volume window is restarted. After the user
stops adjusting the volume for a predetermined amount of
time, the timer expires; and the volume control window is
faded out and closed automatically. In one embodiment of the
present invention, the volume window is not translucent. In
one embodiment of the present invention, the translucent
window initiated by an input associated with a user input
device does not close in response to any input from a user
input device (e.g., the window does not have a button for
closing the window, nor takes a short cut key for closing the
window); the window closes only automatically. When the
window does not close in response to any input from a user
input device, the window may still respond to system inputs,
such as a request from the operating system to close the
window (e.g., when the user starts to shut down a computer
system). In one embodiment of the present invention, a message window initiated by a user only di splays a message to the
user without consuming any input from user input devices.

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In one embodiment of the present invention, when a translucent window accepts user input, the translucent window
consumes only predetermined inputs for user input devices;
other inputs are forwarded to normal windows as if the translucent window does not exist. For example, if a cursor related 55
event (e.g., a click) is not accepted by the translucent window,
the input is considered for the window that is just under the
translucent window so that the user can interact with the
window under the translucent window as if the translucent
window does not exist. If the translucent window does not 60
consume a keyboard input, the keyboard input is forwarded to
the window that has the keyboard focus (which is typically
indicated by a highlighted title bar). Thus, the presence of the
translucent window has minimum distractions for the user
working on regular windows.
65
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lucent window on top of the other window using the image of
the window under it. For example, the translucent window
obtains the image of the window under it after the window
under it draws on the frame buffer; then, the translucent
window generates a combined image to update the corresponding portion of the screen.
FIGS. 16-21 show example screen images of windows
displayed according to one embodiment of the present invention. When a user starts to adjust the volume level (e.g.,
pressing on a function key for increasing or decreasing volume, or selecting an item from a system control menu with a
cursor control device, such as a mouse or a touch pad), translucent volume window 511 appears on screen 501. Since
window 511 is translucent, the portion of window 503 under
window 511 is still visible. In one embodiment of the present
invention, when window 511 is initially loaded, the background of volume window 511 has a high degree of transparency; and the content of window 511 has a low degree of
transparency (or no transparency). Therefore, the user can
easily see the content of window 511 when the user is supposed to focus on window 511. As the user provides input to
adjust the volume level, window 511 remains in a state with a
high degree of transparency for the background and a low
degree of transparency for the content. For example, when the
user decreases the volume level (e.g., pressing a function key,
or an array key), the volume level is decreased as indicated by
window 521 in FIG. 17. When the user further decreases the
volume level to mute the speakers, window 531 changes an
icon to indicate that the speakers are muted, as shown in FIG.
18. When the user starts to adjust the brightness of the momtor, translucent brightness window 541 appears, as shown in
FIG. 19, while the volume window is hidden (or destroyed, or
converted into the brightness window by redrawing the icon
and the level bar). If the user stops providing input for the
brightness window for an amount of time (e.g., a predetermined amount of time, a randomly selected amount of time, a
time period determined according to a system condition or
other criteria, a time period calculated on the fly, or a time
period specified by a user) window 541 starts to fade away
and be destroyed, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21. In one
embodiment of the present invention, when a translucent
window starts to fade away, the degree of transparency of the
content in the translucent window is increased to allow the
user to see better the window under the translucent window,
as illustrated by window 551 in FIG. 20. Thus, the degree of
transparency of the window can be adjusted during the life
cycle of the window to lead the focus point of the user.
Further, a user may specify the degree of transparency of the
window (e.g., as a preference parameter). The image of die
window may fade out smoothly in an animation; or the image
of the window may fade out in a number of discrete steps. The
degree of translucency, the speed for fading out, the discrete
levels of translucency for fading out, the time to expire, and/or
other parameters for controlling the display of the window
may be set by the user or adjusted by the system (or application software programs) automatically according to system
conditions or other criteria. For example, the system (or application programs) may adjust the time to expire according to
the number of translucent windows displayed concurrently
on the screen; or the system (or an application program) may
adjust the initial degree of translucency according to the color
pattern at the location where the translucent window is displayed.
In the foregoing specification, the invention has been
described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments
thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be
made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and

scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. The
specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in
an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense,
What is claimed is:
1. A method to display a user interface window for a digital
processing system, the method comprising:
displaying a first window in response to receiving a first
input from a user input device of the digital processing
system which is capable of displaying at least a portion
of a second window concurrently with the first window
on a screen;
starting a timer; and
closingthe first window in response to a determination that
the timer expired;
wherein the first window does not close in response to any
input from a user input device of the digital processing
system, wherein the first window has been displayed
independently from a position of a cursor on the screen,
2. A method as in claim 1 wherein the first window is
translucent; and the portion of the second window is visible
while under the first window.
3. A method as in claim 2 wherein the first window is at a
top level in a window displaying hierarchy,
4. A method as in claim 2 wherein a degree of translucency
of the first window is adjustable.
5. A method as in claim 1 wherein said closing the first
window comprises:
fading out an image of the first window.
6. A method as in claim 1 wherein the second window, if
displayed, does close in response to an input from auser input
device of the digital processing system.
7. A method as in claim 6 wherein the first window does not
respond to any input from a user input device of the digital
processing system.
8. A method as in claim 1 further comprising;
repositioning the first window in response to a third window being displayed,
9. A method as in claim 1 further comprising:
hiding the first window in response to a third window being
displayed at a location where the first window is displayed.
10. A method as in claim 1 further comprising:
repositioning the first window on a display in response to a
second input for the first window.
11. A method as in claim 10 wherein the second input
indicates that a third window is displayed.
12. A method as in claim 10 wherein the second input is
received from a user input device of the digital processing
system.
13. A method as in claim 10 further comprising:
adjusting a position of the first window in a window displaying hierarchy in response to a third input.
14. A method as in claim 1 further comprising:
determining a position on a display of the digital processing system independent of a position of a cursor on the
display;
wherein the first window is displayed at the position.
15. A method as in claim 14 wherein the position is centered horizontally on the display.
16. A method as in claim 1 further comprising:
restarting the timer in response to receiving a second input
for the first window.
17. A method as in claim 16 wherein the second input is
received from a user input device of the digital processing
system.
18. A method as in claim 16 wherein the first window is
created by a first application and the second window is cre-

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ated by a second application, wherein the first application is
31. A media as in claim 26 wherein the second window, if
different from the second application.
displayed, does close in response to an input from a user input
19. A method as in claim 1 wherein the user input device is
device of the digital processing system,
one of:
32. A media as in claim 31 wherein the first window does
a) a keyboard;
5 not respond to any input from a user input device of the digital
b) a mouse;
processing system.
c) a track ball;
33. A media as in claim 26 wherein the method further
d) a touch pad;
comprises:
e) a touch screen;
repositioning the first window in response to a third winf) a joy stick; and
10
dow being displayed,
g) a button.
34. A media as in claim 26 wherein the method further
20. A method to display a user interface window for a
comprises:
digital processing system, the method comprising:
hiding the first window in response to a third window being
displaying a first window, the first window being transludisplayed at a location where the first window is discent, at least a portion of a second window being capable 15
played.
of being displayed on the digital processing system
35. A media as in claim 26 wherein the method further
under the first window, the portion of the second wincomprises:
dow, when present, being visible under the first window
repositioning the first window on a display in response to a
on a screen; and
second input for the first window,
closing the first window without user input, wherein the 20
36. A media as in claim 35 wherein the second input indifirst window has been displayed independent from a
cates that a third window is displayed,
position of a cursor on the screen.
37. A media as in claim 35 wherein the second input is
21. A method as in claim 20 further comprising:
received from a user input device of the digital processing
starting a timer;
system.
wherein said closing the first window is in response to 25
38. A media as in claim 35 wherein the method further
expiration of the timer.
comprises:
22. A method as in claim 20 further comprising:
adjusting a position of the first window in a window disreceiving an input, the input not associated with a user
playing hierarchy in response to a third input.
input device of the digital processing system;
39. A media as in claim 26 wherein the method further
30
wherein said closing the first window is in response to the
comprises:
input.
determining a position on a display of the digital process23. A method as in claim 20 further comprising:
ing system independent of a position of a cursor on the
determining whether or not a condition is met;
display;
wherein said closing the first window is in response to a
wherein the first window is displayed at the position,
35
determination that the condition is met.
40. A media as in claim 39 wherein the position is centered
24. A method as in claim 20 wherein said closing the first horizontally on the display.
window comprises:
41, A media as in claim 26 wherein the method further
fading out an image of the first window.
comprises:
25. A method as in claim 20 wherein a degree of translurestarting the timer in response to receiving a second input
cency of the first window is adjustable.
for the first window.
26. A machine readable media containing executable com42. A media as in claim 41 wherein the second input is
puter program instructions which when executed by a digital
received from a user input device of the digital processing
processing system cause said system to perform a method to
system.
display a user interface window, the method comprising:
43. A machine readable media as in claim 41 wherein the
45
displaying a first window in response to receiving a first first window is created by a first application and the second
input from a user input device of the digital processing
window is created by a second application, wherein the first
system which is capable of displaying at least a portion
application is different from the second application,
of a second window concurrently with the first window
44. A media as in claim 26 wherein the user input device is
on a screen;
5 0 one of:
starting a timer; and
a) a keyboard;
closing the first window in response to a determination that
b) a mouse;
the timer expired;
c) a track ball;
wherein the first window does not close in response to any
d) a touch pad;
input from a user input device of the digital processing 5 5
e) a touch screen;
system, wherein the first window has been displayed
f) a joy stick; and
independently from a position of a cursor on the screen.
g) a button.
27. A media as in claim 26 wherein the first window is
45. A machine readable media containing executable corntranslucent; and the portion of the second window is visible
p u ter program instructions which when executed by a digital
while under the first window.
6 0 processing system cause said system to perform a method to
28. A media as in claim 27 wherein the first window is at a
display a user interface window, the method comprising:
top level in a window displaying hierarchy.
displaying a first window, the first window being translu29. A media as in claim 27 wherein a degree of translucent, at least a portion of a second window being capable
cency of the first window is adjustable.
of being displayed on the digital processing system
30. A media as in claim 26 wherein said closing the first 65
under the first window, the portion of the second winwindow comprises:
dow, when present, being visible under the first window
fading out an image of the first window.
on a screen; and

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closing the first window without user input, wherein the
first window has been displayed independent from a
position of a cursor on the screen,
46. A media as in claim 45 wherein the méthod further
comprises:
starting a timer;
wherein said closing the first window is in response to
expiration of the timer.
47. A media as in claim 45 wherein the method further
comprises:
receiving an input, the input not associated with a user
input device of the digital processing system;
wherein said closing the first window is in response to the
input.
48. A media as in claim 45 wherein the method further
comprises:
determining whether or not a condition is met;
wherein said closing the first window is in response to a
determination that the condition is met.
49. A media as in claim 45 wherein said closing the first
window comprises:
fading out an image of the first window.
50. A media as in claim 45 wherein a degree of translucency of the first window is adjustable.
51. A digital processing system to display a user interface
window, the system comprising:
means for displaying a first window in response to receiving a first input from a user input device of the digital
processing system which is capable of displaying at least
a portion of a second window concurrently with the first
window on a screen;
means for starting a timer; and
means for closing the first window in response to a determination that the timer expired;
wherein the first window does not close in response to any
input from a user input device of the digital processing
system, wherein the first window has been displayed
independently from a position of a cursor on the screen,
52. A digital processing system as in claim 51 wherein the
first window is translucent; and the portion of the second
window is visible while under the first window.
53. A digital processing system as in claim 52 wherein the
first window is at a top level in a window displaying hierarchy.
54. A digital processing system as in claim 52 wherein a
degree of translucency of the first window is adjustable.
55. A digital processing system as in claim 51 wherein said
means for closing the first window comprises:
means for fading out an image of the first window.
56. A digital processing system as in claim 51 wherein the
second window, if displayed, does close in response to an
input from a user input device of the digital processing system.
57. A digital processing system as in claim 56 wherein the
first window does not respond to any input from a user input
device of the digital processing system.
58. A digital processing system as in claim 51 further
comprising:
means for repositioning the first window in response to a
third window being displayed.
59. A digital processing system as in claim 51 further
comprising:
means for hiding the first window in response to a third
window being displayed at a location where the first
window is displayed.

60. A digital processing system as in claim 51 further
comprising:
means for repositioning the first window on a display in
response to a second input for the first window.
61, A digital processing system as in claim 60 wherein the
second input indicates that a third window is displayed.
62. A digital processing system as in claim 60 wherein the
second input is received from a user input device of the digital
processing system.
63. A digital processing system as in claim 60 further
comprising:
means for adjusting a position of the first window in a
window displaying hierarchy in response to a third
input.
64. A digital processing system as in claim 51 further
comprising:
means for determining a position on a display of the digital
processing system independent of a position of a cursor
on the display;
wherein the first window is displayed at the position.
65. A digital processing system as in claim 64 wherein the
position is centered horizontally on the display.
66. A digital processing system as in claim 51 further
comprising:
means for restarting the timer in response to receiving a
second input for the first window,
67. A digital processing system as in claim 66 wherein the
second input is received from a user input device of the digital
processing system.
68. A digital processing system as in claim 66 wherein the
first window is created by a first application and the second
window is created by a second application, wherein the first
application is different from the second application.
69. A digital processing system as in claim 51 wherein the
user input device is one of:
a) a keyboard;
b) a mouse;
c) a track ball;
d) a touch pad;
e) a touch screen;
f) a joy stick; and
g) a button.
70. A digital processing system to display a user interface
window, the system comprising:
means for displaying a first window, the first window being
translucent, at least a portion of a second window being
capable of being displayed on the digital processing
system under the first window, the portion of the second
window, when present, being visible under the first window on a screen; and
means for closing the first window without user input,
wherein the first window has been displayed independent from a position of a cursor on the screen.
71. A digital processing system as in claim 70 further
comprising:
means for starting a timer;
wherein the first window is closed in response to expiration
of the timer.
72. A digital processing system as in claim 70 further
comprising:
means for receiving an input, the input not associated with
a user input device of the digital processing system;
wherein the first window is closed in response to the input.

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73. A digital processing system as in claim 70 further
amprising:

74. A digital processing system as in claim 70 wherein said
means for closing the first window comprises:
means for fading out an image of the first window.
75. A digital processing system as in claim 70 wherein a
degree of translucency of the first window is adjustable.

means for determining whether or not a condition is met;
wherein the first window is closed in response to a determination that the condition is met.

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