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

Filing 105

Declaration of Michael L. Fazio in Support of #103 Opposition/Response to Motion, #104 Opposition/Response to Motion, filed bySamsung Electronics America, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A to Fazio Decl., #2 Exhibit B to Fazio Decl., #3 Exhibit C to Fazio Decl., #4 Exhibit D to Fazio Decl., #5 Exhibit E to Fazio Decl., #6 Exhibit F to Fazio Decl., #7 Exhibit G to Fazio Decl., #8 Exhibit H to Fazio Decl., #9 Exhibit I to Fazio Decl., #10 Exhibit J to Fazio Decl., #11 Exhibit K to Fazio Decl., #12 Exhibit L to Fazio Decl., #13 Exhibit M to Fazio Decl.)(Related document(s) #103 , #104 ) (Shields, Patrick) (Filed on 4/18/2012)

EXHIBIT J

111111

1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
US008046721B2

United States Patent

(10)

Chaudhri et al.

(12)

(45)

(54)

UNLOCKING A DEVICE BY PERFORMING
GESTURES ON AN UNLOCK IMAGE

(75)

Inventors: Imran Chaudhri, San Francisco, CA
(US); Bas Ording, San Francisco, CA
(US); Freddy Allen Anzures, San
Francisco, CA (US); Marcel Van Os,
San Francisco, CA (US); Stephen O.
Lemay, San Francisco, CA (US); Scott
Forstall, Mountain View, CA (US);
Greg Christie, San Jose, CA (US)

Patent No.:
US 8,046,721 B2
Date of Patent:
*Oct. 25, 2011

(56)

References Cited
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Assignee: Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA (US)
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A
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A
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Jun. 2,2009
Prior Publication Data

US 2009/0241072 Al

ABSTRACT
(57)
A device with a touch-sensitive display may be unlocked via
gestures performed on the touch -sensitive display. The device
is unlocked if contact with the display corresponds to a predefined gesture for unlocking the device. The device displays
one or more unlock images with respect to which the predefined gesture is to be performed in order to unlock the
device. The performance of the predefined gesture with
respect to the unlock image may include moving the unlock
image to a predefined location and/or moving the unlock
image along a predefined path. The device may also display
visual cues of the predefined gesture on the touch screen to
remind a user of the gesture.

Sep. 24, 2009

Related U.S. Application Data
(63)

Continuation of application No. 111322,549, filed on
Dec. 23, 2005, now Pat. No. 7,657,849.

(51)

Int. Cl.
G06F 3/033
(2006.01)
U.S. Cl. ......................... 715/863; 3451173; 3451179
Field of Classification Search . ... ... ... ..... ... 7151154,
715/863; 3451156
See application file for complete search history.

(52)
(58)

Device

15 Claims, 15 Drawing Sheets

Touch Screen 408

400

'-.
404",\

(

/
502

~

c:5

Mo'emeot

IButton 410 I
Menu

504

US 8,046,721 B2
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US 8,046,721 B2
Page 3
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* cited by examiner

u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

Memory 102

Operating System

f134

Contact/Motion Module

)

f132

Communication Module

./"138
./"140

Graphics Module

./"142

Optical Intensity Module
User Interface State Module

f150

Unlock Module

Power
System

./"144

Lock Module

J

130

./"152
./"146

Appl ication (s)

110-f

,108

I
1

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Figure 1

~

US 8,046,721 B2

Sheet 1 of 15

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Memory
Controller

110

11~
11~

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Interface

11~

CPU

r

RF Circuitry
112
External Port
148
Audio
Circuitry
114

I/O Subs:l,!stem 120

110.......r

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126

~

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hone
11 8

110.......r

Touch-Screen
Controller 122

~

Spe aker
16

Other Input
Controller(s) 124

110.......r

Other Input /
Control Devices
128

u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

US 8,046,721 B2

Sheet 2 of 15

200~

Device

202

Device set to user
interface lock state by
any predefined
manner, prevent
device from
performing predefined
set of actions

204
Display visual cue(s)

r--------+---------I of unlock action (e.g.,
gesture)

206
Contact the touch
sensitive display

208
Detect contact with
touch sensitive
display

Yes

212
Maintain device in
user interface lock
state

Figure 2
214

Transition device to
user interface unlock
state

u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

User

Contact the touch
sensitive display

300~

I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
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US 8,046,721 B2

Sheet 3 of 15

Device

302

Device set to user
interface lock state by
any predefined
manner, prevent
device from
performing predefined
set of actions

304
Display unlock image
and visual cue(s) of
unlock action using the
image (e.g., gesture,
moving image to
location, moving
image along path)

308
Detect contact with
touch sensitive display

312
Maintain device in
user interface lock
state

Figure 3
314

Transition device to
user interface unlock
state

u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

Sheet 4 of 15

US 8,046,721 B2

Device
400

~

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5't

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)

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406

404

402

Menu
Button 410

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400

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402~

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Button 410

Figure 4B

u.s. Patent

Device
400

Oct. 25, 2011

Sheet 5 of 15

US 8,046,721 B2

Touch Screen 408

'-.
402

Figure SA

Menu
Button 410

Device
400

Touch Screen 408

'-.
Figure SB

Menu
Button 410

u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

Sheet 6 of 15

US 8,046,721 B2

Touch Screen 408
Device
400

Figure SC

~

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12

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u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

Sheet 7 of 15

US 8,046,721 B2

600~

602

"-

While an electronic device is in a first userinterface state, detect progress towards
satisfaction of a user input condition needed to
transition to a second user-interface state

"
604

"-

606

"-

While the device is in the first user-interface
state, indicate progress towards satisfaction of
the condition by transitioning an optical intensity
of one or more user interface objects associated
with the second user-interface state

"
Transition the device to the second userinterface state if the condition is satisfied

Figure 6

u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

US 8,046,721 B2

Sheet 8 of 15

Touch screen 714
Incoming call from:
John Doe
mobile
Device

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700

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712

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u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

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US 8,046,721 B2

Sheet 9 of 15

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708

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Figure 8A

Oct. 25, 2011

Sheet 10 of 15

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Oct. 25, 2011

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sensitive display

US 8,046,721 B2

Sheet 11 of 15

Device

902

Device set to user
interface lock state by
any predefined manner,
prevent device from
performing predefined
set of actions

904
Display 2 (or more)
unlock images and
visual cue(s) of manner
of transitioning to active
state using the images
908
Detect contact with
touch sensitive display

Figure 9
912
Maintain device in user
1------'
interface lock state
914
Transition device to
active state
corresponding to the
image used (e.g., first
image -> first active
state, second image ->
second active state, ... )

u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

8~~06
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US 8,046,721 B2

Sheet 12 of 15

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u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

Sheet 13 of 15

US 8,046,721 B2

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Oct. 25, 2011

Sheet 14 of 15

US 8,046,721 B2

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u.s. Patent

Oct. 25, 2011

Sheet 15 of 15

US 8,046,721 B2

Touch Screen 1014

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1000

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US 8,046,721 B2
1

2

UNLOCKING A DEVICE BY PERFORMING
GESTURES ON AN UNLOCK IMAGE

SUMMARY

RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 111322,549, filed Dec. 23, 2005, now U.S. Pat.
No. 7,657,849 which application is incorporated by reference
herein in its entirety.
This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 11/322,550, titled "Indication of Progress Towards Satisfaction of a User Input Condition," filed Dec. 23, 2005,
which application is incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.

10

15

TECHNICAL FIELD
The disclosed embodiments relate generally to user interfaces that employ touch-sensitive displays, and more particularly, to the unlocking of user interfaces on portable electronic
devices.

20

BACKGROUND
Touch-sensitive displays (also known as "touch screens" or
"touchscreens") are well known in the art. Touch screens are
used in many electronic devices to display graphics and text,
and to provide a user interface through which a user may
interact with the devices. A touch screen detects and responds
to contact on the touch screen. A device may display one or
more soft keys, menus, and other user-interface objects on the
touch screen. A user may interact with the device by contacting the touch screen at locations corresponding to the userinterface objects with which she wishes to interact.
Touch screens are becoming more popular for use as displays and as user input devices on portable devices, such as
mobile telephones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
One problem associated with using touch screens on portable
devices is the unintentional activation or deactivation of functions due to unintentional contact with the touch screen. Thus,
portable devices, touch screens on such devices, and/or applications running on such devices may be locked upon satisfaction of predefined lock conditions, such as upon entering
an active call, after a predetermined time of idleness has
elapsed, or upon manual locking by a user.
Devices with touch screens and/or applications running on
such devices may be unlocked by any of several well-known
unlocking procedures, such as pressing a predefined set of
buttons (simultaneously or sequentially) or entering a code or
password. These unlock procedures, however, have drawbacks. The button combinations may be hard to perform.
Creating, memorizing, and recalling passwords, codes, and
the like can be quite burdensome. These drawbacks may
reduce the ease of use of the unlocking process and, as a
consequence, the ease of use of the device in general.
Accordingly, there is a need for more efficient, userfriendly procedures for unlocking such devices, touch
screens, and/or applications. More generally, there is a need
for more efficient, user-friendly procedures for transitioning
such devices, touch screens, and/or applications between user
interface states (e.g., from a user interface state for a first
application to a user interface state for a second application,
between user interface states in the same application, or
between locked and unlocked states). In addition, there is a
need for sensory feedback to the user regarding progress
towards satisfaction of a user input condition that is required
for the transition to occur.

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

In some embodiments, a method of controlling an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display includes: detecting contact with the touch-sensitive display while the device
is in a user-interface lock state; moving an image corresponding to a user-interface unlock state of the device in accordance
with the contact; transitioning the device to the user-interface
unlock state if the detected contact corresponds to a predefined gesture; and maintaining the device in the user-interface lock state if the detected contact does not correspond to
the predefined gesture.
In some embodiments, a method of controlling a device
with a touch-sensitive display includes: displaying an image
on the touch-sensitive display while the device is in a userinterface lock state; detecting contact with the touch-sensitive
display; transitioning the device to a user-interface unlock
state if the detected contact corresponds to moving the image
to a predefined location on the touch-sensitive display; and
maintaining the device in the user-interface lock state if the
detected contact does not correspond to moving the image to
the predefined location.
In some embodiments, a method of controlling a device
with a touch-sensitive display includes: displaying an image
on the touch-sensitive display while the device is in a userinterface lock state; detecting contact with the touch-sensitive
display; and transitioning the device to a user-interface
unlock state if the detected contact corresponds to moving the
image on the touch-sensitive display according to a predefined path on the touch-sensitive display; and maintaining
the device in the user-interface lock state if the detected
contact does not correspond to moving the image according to
the predefined path.
In some embodiments, a method of controlling a device
with a touch-sensitive display includes: displaying first and
second images on the touch-sensitive display while the device
is in a user-interface lock state; detecting contact with the
touch-sensitive display; transitioning the device to a first
active state corresponding to the first image if the detected
contact corresponds to a predefined gesture with respect to
the first image; and transitioning the device to a second active
state distinct from the first active state if the detected contact
corresponds to a predefined gesture with respect to the second
image.
The aforementioned methods may be performed by a portable electronic device having a touch-sensitive display with
a graphical user interface (GUI) , one or more processors,
memory and one or more modules, programs or sets of
instructions stored in the memory for performing these methods. In some embodiments, the portable electronic device
provides a plurality of functions, including wireless communication.
Instructions for performing the aforementioned methods
may be included in a computer program product configured
for execution by one or more processors. In some embodiments, the executable computer program product includes a
computer readable storage medium (e.g., one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or other
non-volatile solid state memory devices) and an executable
computer program mechanism embedded therein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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For a better understanding of the aforementioned embodiments of the invention as well as additional embodiments
thereof, reference should be made to the Description of

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Embodiments below, in conjunction with the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to corresponding
parts throughout the figures.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a portable electronic
device, according to some embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for transitioning a device to a user-interface unlock state, according to
some embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for transitioning a device to a user-interface unlock state, according to
some embodiments of the invention.
FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate the GUI display of a device in a
user-interface lock state, according to some embodiments of
the invention.
FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate the GUI display of a device at
various points of the performance of an unlock action gesture,
according to some embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for indicating
progress towards satisfaction of a user input condition
according to some embodiments of the invention.
FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate the GUI display of a device that is
transitioning the optical intensity of user-interface objects,
according to some embodiments of the invention.
FIGS. SA-SC are graphs illustrating optical intensity as a
function of the completion of the user input condition,
according to some embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for transitioning a device to a user interface active state, according to
some embodiments of the invention.
FIG. 10 illustrates the GUI of a device in a user-interface
lock state that displays a plurality of unlock images, according to some embodiments of the invention.
FIGS. 11A-11F illustrate the GUI display of a device at
various points in the performance of an unlock action gesture,
according to some embodiments of the invention.

software or a combination of both hardware and software,
including one or more signal processing and/or application
specific integrated circuits.
The memory 102 may include high speed random access
memory and may also include non-volatile memory, such as
one or more magnetic disk storage devices, flash memory
devices, or other non-volatile solid state memory devices. In
some embodiments, the memory 102 may further include
storage remotely located from the one or more processors
106, for instance network attached storage accessed via the
RF circuitry 112 or external port 14S and a communications
network (not shown) such as the Internet, intranet(s), Local
Area Networks (LANs), Wide Local Area Networks
(WLANs), Storage Area Networks (SANs) and the like, or
any suitable combination thereof. Access to the memory 102
by other components of the device 100, such as the CPU 106
and the peripherals interface lOS, may be controlled by the
memory controller 104.
The peripherals interface lOS couples the input and output
peripherals of the device to the CPU 106 and the memory 102.
The one or more processors 106 run various software programs and/or sets of instructions stored in the memory 102 to
perform various functions for the device 100 and to process
data.
In some embodiments, the peripherals interface lOS, the
CPU 106, and the memory controller 104 may be implemented on a single chip, such as a chip 111. In some other
embodiments, they may be implemented on separate chips.
The RF (radio frequency) circuitry 112 receives and sends
electromagnetic waves. The RF circuitry 112 converts electrical signals to/from electromagnetic waves and communicates with communications networks and other communications devices via the electromagnetic waves. The RF circuitry
112 may include well-known circuitry for performing these
functions, including but not limited to an antenna system, an
RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more
oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, a
subscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth.
The RF circuitry 112 may communicate with the networks,
such as the Internet, also referred to as the World Wide Web
(WWW), an Intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a
cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network
(LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and other
devices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may use any of a plurality of communications standards, protocols and technologies, including but not limited
to Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM),
Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), wideband code
division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple
access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA) ,
Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.lla,
IEEE 802.llb, IEEE 802.llg and/or IEEE 802.1 In), voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi -MAX, a protocol for email,
instant messaging, and/or Short Message Service (SMS)), or
any other suitable communication protocol, including communication protocols not yet developed as of the filing date of
this document.
The audio circuitry 114, the speaker 116, and the microphone 11S provide an audio interface between a user and the
device 100. The audio circuitry 114 receives audio data from
the peripherals interface lOS, converts the audio data to an
electrical signal, and transmits the electrical signal to the
speaker 116. The speaker converts the electrical signal to
human-audible sound waves. The audio circuitry 114 also
receives electrical signals converted by the microphone 116
from sound waves. The audio circuitry 114 converts the electrical signal to audio data and transmits the audio data to the

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DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments,
examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific
details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to
one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may
be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,
well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits
have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily
obscure aspects of the embodiments.
FIG. 1 illustrates a portable electronic device, according to
some embodiments of the invention. The device 100 includes
a memory 102, a memory controller 104, one or more processing units (CPU's) 106, a peripherals interface lOS, RF
circuitry 112, audio circuitry 114, a speaker 116, a microphone 11S, an input/output (I/O) subsystem 120, a touch
screen 126, other input or control devices 12S, and an external
port 14S. These components communicate over the one or
more communication buses or signal lines 110. The device
100 can be any portable electronic device, including but not
limited to a handheld computer, a tablet computer, a mobile
phone, a media player, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or
the like, including a combination of two or more of these
items. It should be appreciated that the device 100 is only one
example of a portable electronic device 100, and that the
device 100 may have more or fewer components than shown,
or a different configuration of components. The various components shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented in hardware,

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peripherals interface 108 for processing. Audio data may be
may be retrieved from and/or transmitted to the memory 102
and/or the RF circuitry 112 by the peripherals interface 108.
In some embodiments, the audio circuitry 114 also includes a
headset jack (not shown). The headset jack provides an interface between the audio circuitry 114 and removable audio
input/output peripherals, such as output-only headphones or a
headset with both output (headphone for one or both ears) and
input (microphone).
The I/O subsystem 120 provides the interface between
input/output peripherals on the device 100, such as the touch
screen 126 and other input/control devices 128, and the
peripherals interface 108. The I/O subsystem 120 includes a
touch-screen controller 122 and one or more input controllers
124 for other input or control devices. The one or more input
controllers 124 receive/send electrical signals fromlto other
input or control devices 128. The other input/control devices
128 may include physical buttons (e.g., push buttons, rocker
buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches, sticks, and so forth.
The touch screen 126 provides both an output interface and
an input interface between the device and a user. The touchscreen controller 122 receives/sends electrical signals froml
to the touch screen 126. The touch screen 126 displays visual
output to the user. The visual output may include text, graphics, video, and any combination thereof. Some or all of the
visual output may correspond to user-interface objects, further details of which are described below.
The touch screen 126 also accepts input from the user
based on haptic and/or tactile contact. The touch screen 126
forms a touch-sensitive surface that accepts user input. The
touch screen 126 and the touch screen controller 122 (along
with any associated modules and/or sets of instructions in the
memory 102) detects contact (and any movement or break of
the contact) on the touch screen 126 and converts the detected
contact into interaction with user-interface objects, such as
one or more soft keys, that are displayed on the touch screen.
In an exemplary embodiment, a point of contact between the
touch screen 126 and the user corresponds to one or more
digits of the user. The touch screen 126 may use LCD (liquid
crystal display) technology, or LPD (light emitting polymer
display) technology, although other display technologies may
be used in other embodiments. The touch screen 126 and
touch screen controller 122 may detect contact and any movement or break thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensitivity technologies, including but not limited to capacitive,
resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as
well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for
determining one or more points of contact with the touch
screen 126. The touch-sensitive display may be analogous to
the multi-touch sensitive tablets described in the following
U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat. No.
6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932
(Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/
0015024Al, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference. However, the touch screen 126 displays visual output
from the portable device, whereas touch sensitive tablets do
not provide visual output. The touch screen 126 may have a
resolution in excess of 100 dpi. In an exemplary embodiment,
the touch screen 126 may have a resolution of approximately
168 dpi. The user may make contact with the touch screen 126
using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus,
finger, and so forth.
In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, the
device 100 may include a touchpad (not shown) for activating
or deactivating particular functions. In some embodiments,
the touchpad is a touch-sensitive area of the device that,
unlike the touch screen, does not display visual output. The

touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separate
from the touch screen 126 or an extension of the touchsensitive surface formed by the touch screen 126.
The device 100 also includes a power system 130 for powering the various components. The power system 130 may
include a power management system, one or more power
sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging
system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or
inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode
(LED)) and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in portable
devices.
In some embodiments, the software components include
an operating system 132, a communication module (or set of
instructions) 134, a contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 138, a graphics module (or set of instructions) 140, a
user interface state module (or set of instructions) 144, and
one or more applications (or set of instructions) 146.
The operating system 132 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX,
UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system
such as VxWorks) includes various software components
and/or drivers for controlling and managing general system
tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,
power management, etc.) and facilitates communication
between various hardware and software components.
The communication module 134 facilitates communication with other devices over one or more external ports 148
and also includes various software components for handling
data received by the RF circuitry 112 and/or the external port
148. The external port 148 (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB),
FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly to other
devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wireless LAN, etc.).
The contact/motion module 138 detects contact with the
touch screen 126, in conjunction with the touch-screen controller 122. The contact/motion module 138 includes various
software components for performing various operations
related to detection of contact with the touch screen 122, such
as determining if contact has occurred, determining if there is
movement of the contact and tracking the movement across
the touch screen, and determining if the contact has been
broken (i.e., if the contact has ceased). Determining movement of the point of contact may include determining speed
(magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction), and/or an
acceleration (including magnitude and/or direction) of the
point of contact. In some embodiments, the contact/motion
module 126 and the touch screen controller 122 also detects
contact on the touchpad.
The graphics module 140 includes various known software
components for rendering and displaying graphics on the
touch screen 126. Note that the term "graphics" includes any
object that can be displayed to a user, including without
limitation text, web pages, icons (such as user-interface
objects including soft keys), digital images, videos, animations and the like.
In some embodiments, the graphics module 140 includes
an optical intensity module 142. The optical intensity module
142 controls the optical intensity of graphical objects, such as
user-interface objects, displayed on the touch screen 126.
Controlling the optical intensity may include increasing or
decreasing the optical intensity of a graphical object. In some
embodiments, the increase or decrease may follow predefined
functions.
The user interface state module 144 controls the user interface state of the device 100. The user interface state module
144 may include a lock module 150 and an unlock module
152. The lock module detects satisfaction of any of one or

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more conditions to transition the device 100 to a user-interface lock state and to transition the device 100 to the lock
state. The unlock module detects satisfaction of any of one or
more conditions to transition the device to a user-interface
unlock state and to transition the device 100 to the unlock
state. Further details regarding the user interface states are
described below.
The one or more applications 130 can include any applications installed on the device 100, including without limitation, a browser, address book, contact list, email, instant messaging, word processing, keyboard emulation, widgets,
JAVA-enabled applications, encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, voice replication, location determination capability (such as that provided by the global positioning system (GPS)), a music player (which plays back
recorded music stored in one or more files, such as MP3 or
AAC files), etc.
In some embodiments, the device 100 may include the
functionality of an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of
Apple Computer, Inc.). The device 100 may, therefore,
include a 36-pin connector that is compatible with the iPod. In
some embodiments, the device 100 may include one or more
optional optical sensors (not shown), such as CMOS or CCD
image sensors, for use in imaging applications.
In some embodiments, the device 100 is a device where
operation of a predefined set of functions on the device is
performed exclusively through the touch screen 126 and, if
included on the device 100, the touchpad. By using the touch
screen and touchpad as the primary input/control device for
operation of the device 100, the number of physical input/
control devices (such as push buttons, dials, and the like) on
the device 100 may be reduced. In one embodiment, the
device 100 includes the touch screen 126, the touchpad, a
push button for powering the device on/off and locking the
device, a volume adjustment rocker button and a slider switch
for toggling ringer profiles. The push button may be used to
turn the power on/off on the device by depressing the button
and holding the button in the depressed state for a predefined
time interval, or may be used to lock the device by depressing
the button and releasing the button before the predefined time
interval has elapsed. In an alternative embodiment, the device
100 also may accept verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functions through the microphone 118.
The predefined set of functions that are performed exclusively through the touch screen and the touchpad include
navigation between user interfaces. In some embodiments,
the touchpad, when touched by the user, navigates the device
100 to a main, home, or root menu from any user interface that
may be displayed on the device 100. In such embodiments,
the touchpad may be referred to as a "menu button." In some
other embodiments, the menu button may be a physical push
button or other physical input/control device instead of a
touchpad.

is prevented from performing a predefined set of operations in
response to the user input. The predefined set of operations
may include navigation between user interfaces and activation or deactivation of a predefined set of functions. The lock
state may be used to prevent unintentional or unauthorized
use of the device 100 or activation or deactivation of functions
on the device 100. When the device 100 is in the lock state, the
device 100 may be said to be locked. In some embodiments,
the device 100 in the lock state may respond to a limited set of
user inputs, including input that corresponds to an attempt to
transition the device 100 to the user-interface unlock state or
input that corresponds to powering the device 100 off. In
other words, the locked device 100 responds to user input
corresponding to attempts to transition the device 100 to the
user-interface unlock state or powering the device 100 off, but
does not respond to user input corresponding to attempts to
navigate between user interfaces. It should be appreciated
that even if the device 100 ignores a user input, the device 100
may still provide sensory feedback (such as visual, audio, or
vibration feedback) to the user upon detection of the input to
indicate that the input will be ignored.
In embodiments where the device 100 includes the touch
screen 126, while the device 100 is locked, a predefined set of
operations, such as navigation between user interfaces, is
prevented from being performed in response to contact on the
touch screen 126 when the device 100 is locked. In other
words, when the contact is being ignored by the locked device
100, the touch screen may be said to be locked. A locked
device 100, however, may still respond to a limited class of
contact on the touch screen 126. The limited class includes
contact that is determined by the device 100 to correspond to
an attempt to transition the device 100 to the user-interface
unlock state.
In the user-interface unlock state (hereinafter the "unlock
state"), the device 100 is in its normal operating state, detecting and responding to user input corresponding to interaction
with the user interface. A device 100 that is in the unlock state
may be described as an unlocked device 100. An unlocked
device 100 detects and responds to user input for navigating
between user interfaces, entry of data and activation or deactivation of functions. In embodiments where the device 100
includes the touch screen 126, the unlocked device 100
detects and responds to contact corresponding to navigation
between user interfaces, entry of data and activation or deactivation of functions through the touch screen 126.

User Interface States
The device 100 may have a plurality of user interface states.
A user interface state is a state in which the device 100
responds in a predefined manner to user input. In some
embodiments, the plurality of user interface states includes a
user-interface lock state and a user-interface unlock state. In
some embodiments, the plurality of user interface states
includes states for a plurality of applications.
In the user-interface lock state (hereinafter the "lock
state"), the device 100 is powered on and operational but
ignores most, if not all, user input. That is, the device 100
takes no action in response to user input and/or the device 100

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Unlocking a Device via Gestures

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FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 200 for
transitioning a device to a user-interface unlock state, according to some embodiments of the invention. As used herein,
transitioning from one state to another refers to the process of
going from one state to another. The process may be, as
perceived by the user, instantaneous, near-instantaneous,
gradual or at any suitable rate. The progression of the process
may be controlled automatically by the device, such as the
device 100 (FIG. 1), independent of the user, once the process
is activated; or it may be controlled by the user. While the
process flow 200 described below includes a number of
operations that appear to occur in a specific order, it should be
apparent that these processes may include more or fewer
operations, which may be executed serially or in parallel (e.g.,
using parallel processors or a multi-threading environment).
A device is set to the lock state (202). The device may be set
(that is, transition completely to the lock state from any other
state) to the locked state upon satisfaction of any of one or
more lock conditions. The lock conditions may include events

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such as the elapsing of a predefined time of inactivity, entry
into an active call, or powering on the device. The lock conditions may also include user intervention, namely the user
locking the device by a predefined user input. In some
embodiments, the user may be allowed to specify the events
that serve as lock conditions. For example, the user may
configure the device to transition to the lock state upon the
elapsing of a predefined time of inactivity but not upon powering on the device.
In some embodiments, the locked device displays on the
touch screen one or more visual cues of an unlock action that
the user may perfonn to unlock the device (204). The visual
cue(s) provide hints or reminders of the unlock action to the
user. The visual cues may be textual, graphical or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the visual cues are
displayed upon particular events occurring while the device is
locked. The particular events that trigger display of the visual
cues may include an incoming call, incoming message, or
some other event that may require the user's attention. In
some embodiments, the visual cues may also be displayed
upon particular user inputs, such as the user interacting with
the menu button, the user making contact with the locked
touch screen and/or the user interacting with any other input/
control device. The locked device, when not displaying the
visual cues, may power down the touch screen (which helps to
conserve power) or display other objects on the touch screen,
such as a screen saver or information that may be of interest to
the user (e.g., battery charge remaining, date and time, network strength, etc.).
The unlock action includes contact with the touch screen.
In some embodiments, the unlock action is a predefined gesture perfonned on the touch screen. As used herein, a gesture
is a motion of the object/appendage making contact with the
touch screen. For example, the predefined gesture may
include a contact of the touch screen on the left edge (to
initialize the gesture), a horizontal movement of the point of
contact to the opposite edge while maintaining continuous
contact with the touch screen, and a breaking of the contact at
the opposite edge (to complete the gesture).
While the touch screen is locked, the user may initiate
contact with the touch screen, i.e., touch the touch screen
(206). For convenience of explanation, contact on the touch
screen in the process 200 and in other embodiments described
below will be described as perfonned by the user using at
least one hand using one or more fingers. However, it should
be appreciated that the contact may be made using any suitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, finger, etc. The
contact may include one or more taps on the touch screen,
maintaining continuous contact with the touch screen, movement of the point of contact while maintaining continuous
contact, a breaking of the contact, or any combination thereof.
The device detects the contact on the touch screen (208). If
the contact does not correspond to an attempt to perform the
unlock action, or if the contact corresponds to a failed or
aborted attempt by the user to perform the unlock action
(210-no), then the device remains locked (212). For
example, if the unlock action is a horizontal movement of the
point of contact across the touch screen while maintaining
continuous contact with the touch screen, and the detected
contact is a series of random taps on the touch screen, then the
device will remain locked because the contact does not correspond to the unlock action.
If the contact corresponds to a successful perfonnance of
the unlock action, i.e., the user perfonned the unlock action
successfully (210-yes), the device transitions to the unlock
state (214). For example, if the unlock action is a horizontal
movement of the point of contact across the touch screen

while maintaining continuous contact with the touch screen,
and the detected contact is the horizontal movement with the
continuous contact, then the device transitions to the unlock
state.
In some embodiments, the device begins the process of
transitioning to the unlock state upon detection of any contact
on the touch screen and aborts the transition as soon as the
device detennines that the contact does not correspond to an
unlock action or is a failed/aborted unlock action. For
example, if the unlock action is a predefined gesture, the
device may begin the process of transitioning to the unlock
state as soon as it detects the initial contact of the gesture and
continues the progression of the transition as the gesture is
perfonned. If the user aborts the gesture before it is completed, the device aborts the transition and remains in the lock
state. If the gesture is completed, the device completes the
transition to the unlock state and becomes unlocked. As
another example, if the unlock action is a horizontal movement of the point of contact across the touch screen while
maintaining continuous contact with the touch screen, and the
user taps the touch screen once, the device begins the process
of the state transition as soon as it detects the tap but also
aborts the process soon after because it realizes that the tap is
just a tap and does not correspond to the unlock action.
While the device is unlocked, the device may display on the
touch screen user-interface objects corresponding to one or
more functions of the device and/or information that may be
of interest to the user. The user-interface objects are objects
that make up the user interface of the device and may include,
without limitation, text, images, icons, soft keys (or "virtual
buttons"), pull-down menus, radio buttons, check boxes,
selectable lists, and so forth. The displayed user-interface
obj ects may include non-interactive obj ects that convey information or contribute to the look and feel of the user interface,
interactive objects with which the user may interact, or any
combination thereof. The user may interact with the userinterface objects by making contact with the touch screen at
one or more touch screen locations corresponding to the
interactive objects with which she wishes to interact. The
device detects the contact and responds to the detected contact by performing the operation(s) corresponding to the
interaction with the interactive object(s).
While the device is locked, the user may still make contact
on the touch screen. However, the locked device is prevented
from perfonning a predefined set of actions in response to any
detected contact until the device is unlocked. The prevented
predefined set of action may include navigating between user
interfaces and entry of data by the user.
While the device is locked, the device may display one or
more visual cues of the unlock action, as described above. In
some embodiments, the device may also display, along with
the visual cues, an unlock image. The unlock image is a
graphical, interactive user-interface object with which the
user interacts in order to unlock the device. In other words, the
unlock action is perfonned with respect to the unlock image.
In some embodiments, performing the unlock action with
respect to the image includes dragging the unlock image in a
predefined marmer, which moves the unlock image across the
touch screen. In some embodiments, if the unlock action is
not completed, the GUI display can show reverse progress
towards the locked state by gradually returning the unlock
image to its position in the locked state
In some embodiments, in addition to visual feedback, the
electronic device supplies non-visual feedback to indicate
progress towards completion of the unlock action. In some
embodiments, in addition to visual feedback, the electronic
device supplies non-visual feedback to indicate completion

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of the unlock action. The additional feedback may include
audible feedback (e.g., sound(s)) or physical feedback (e.g.,
vibration( s)).
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 300 for
transitioning a device to a user-interface unlock state using an
unlock image, according to some embodiments of the invention. The process 300 is similar to the process 200 (FIG. 2)
with the addition of an unlock image that is displayed with the
visual cues. The unlock action in the process 300 is performed
with respect to the unlock image, i.e., the unlock action
includes interaction with the unlock image. While the process
flow 300 described below includes a number of operations
that appear to occur in a specific order, it should be apparent
that these processes can include more or fewer operations,
which can be executed serially or in parallel (e.g., using
parallel processors or a multi-threading enviroument).
The device is locked upon satisfaction of a lock condition
(302), similar to the operation 202 (FIG. 2). An unlock image
and visual cues of the unlock action using the unlock image
are displayed (304). The operation 304 is the same as the
operation 204 (FIG. 2), except that in the operation 304 an
unlock image is displayed in addition to the visual cues.
As described above, the unlock action includes interaction
with the unlock image. In some embodiments, the unlock
action includes the user performing a predefined gesture with
respect to the unlock image. In some embodiments, the gesture includes dragging the unlock image to a location on the
touch screen that meets one or more predefined unlock criteria. In other words, the user makes contact with the touch
screen at a location corresponding to the unlock image and
then performs the predefined gesture while maintaining continuous contact with the touch screen, dragging the image to
the location that meets the predefined unlock criteria. In some
embodiments, the unlock action is completed by breaking the
contact with the touch screen (thus releasing the unlock
image) upon completion of the predefined gesture.
A location meeting one or more predefined unlock criteria
is simply a location on the touch screen that is predefined as
a location to which the unlock image is to be dragged in order
to unlock the device. The location(s) may be defined narrowly
or broadly and may be one or more particular locations on the
touch screen, one or more regions on the touch screen, or any
combination thereof. For example, the location may be
defined as a particular marked location, areas at each of the
four comers of the touch screen, or a quadrant of the touch
screen, etc.
In some embodiments, the interaction includes dragging
the unlock image to a predefined location on the touch screen.
For example, the unlock action may include dragging the
unlock image from one comer of the touch screen to another
comer of the touch screen. As another example, the unlock
action may include dragging the unlock image from one edge
of the touch screen to the opposite edge. The emphasis here is
on the final destination of the unlock image (and of the finger)
. Thus, the user can drag the unlock image from its initial
location along any desired path. As long as the unlock image
reaches the predefined location and is released at that location, the device is unlocked. It should be appreciated that the
predefined location may be, as described above, defined narrowly or broadly and may be one or more particular locations
on the touch screen, one or more regions on the touch screen,
or any combination thereof.
In some other embodiments, the unlock action includes
dragging the unlock image along a predefined path. For
example, the unlock action may include dragging the unlock
image clockwise along the perimeter of the touch screen (the
path being the perimeter of the touch screen), from one of the

comers and back. As another example, the unlock action may
include dragging the unlock image from one edge of the touch
screen to the opposite edge in a linear path. The emphasis here
is on the path along which the unlock image (and the finger)
moves. Because of the emphasis on the path, the final location
to which the unlock image is to be moved may be defined
broadly. For example, the unlock action may be to drag the
unlock image from its initial location, along the predefined
path, to any spot within a predefined region on the touch
screen. The predefined path may include one or more straight
lines or lines with twists and turns.
The user makes contact with the touch screen (306), similar
to the operation 206 (FIG. 2). The device detects the contact
with the touch screen (308), similar to the operation 208 (FIG.
2). If the contact does not correspond to successful performance of the unlock action with respect to the image (310no), the device remains locked. If the contact does correspond
to successful performance of the unlock action with respect to
the image (310-yes), the device is unlocked (314).
FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate the GUI display of a device in a
user-interface lock state, according to some embodiments of
the invention. In FIG. 4A, device 400 includes a touch screen
408 and a menu button 410. The device 400 is locked and the
touch screen 408 is displaying an unlock image 402 and
visual cues. The visual cues shown include a channel 404
indicating the path of the gesture/movement along which the
unlock image 402 is to be dragged, similar to a groove along
which a slider switch moves; and one or more arrows 406
indicating the direction of the gesture/movement. The end of
the channel 404 (in FIGS. 4A-4B and 5A-5D, the "end" of the
channel is the right end) also serves as a predefined location to
which the unlock image 402 is to be dragged. The unlock
image 402 may also include an arrow to further remind the
user the direction of the gesture/movement. As described
above, the visual cues and the unlock image may be displayed
by the device 400 upon an event that may require the user's
attention (e.g., incoming call or message) or upon user intervention (e.g., the user pressing the menu button 410 while the
device is locked).
In some embodiments, the arrows 406 and the arrow on the
unlock image 402 may be animated. For example, the arrow
on the unlock image 402 may appear and disappear in a
pulse-like manner and the arrows 406 may emanate from one
end of the channel 406 in sync with the pulsing of the arrow
on the unlock image 402. As shown in FIG. 4B, the arrow 406
may move along the channel 404 and disappear when it
moves to the end of the channel 404.
The visual cues illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B remind the
user that the unlock action is a predefined gesture that
includes a horizontal movement of the finger (and thus moving the point of contact) along the channel 404, from the
beginning of the channel 404, where the unlock image is
initially located, to the end of the channel 404. It should be
appreciated, however, that the visual cues shown in FIGS .
4A-4B are merely exemplary and that more or fewer visual
cues, or alternative visual cues may be used. The content of
the visual cues may be based on the particulars of the unlock
action.
FIGS. 5A-5D illustrate the GUI display of a device at
various points of the performance of an unlock action gesture,
according to some embodiments of the invention. In FIG. 5A,
the user, represented by the hand and finger 502 (not drawn to
scale), begins the unlock action by touching the touch screen
408 of device 400 with her finger 502. In some embodiments,
the touch screen 408 is initially in sleep mode and/or dark,
and the screen 408 displays the unlock image 402 when
touched. The user touches the touch screen 408 at the location

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corresponding to the unlock image 402, which is located
initially at the left end of the channel 404. The contact, either
overlapping with the unlock image 402 or in proximity to the
unlock image 402, is detected by the device 400 and is determined to be an attempt to unlock the touch screen, based on
the fact that the user 502 is interacting with the unlock image
402.
In FIG. 5B, the user is in the process of performing the
gesture by moving her finger, which is in continuous contact
with the touch screen 408, in the direction of movement 504.
The unlock image 402 is dragged along the channel 404 as a
result of the gesture. The channel 404 reminds the user that
the unlock gesture is a horizontal motion. In some embodiments, the channel 404 indicates the predefined location (in
FIGS. 5A-5D, the right end of the channel) to which the user
drags the unlock image 402 to complete the unlock action
and/or the predefined path along which the user drags the
unlock image 402 to complete the unlock action.
In FIG. 5C, the user has dragged the unlock image 402 to
the right end of the channel 404. Once the user releases the
unlock image 402 at the right end of the channel 404, the
unlock action is complete. Upon completion of the unlock
gesture, the device unlocks and displays on the touch screen
408 user-interface objects associated with normal operation
of the device 400. FIG. 5D illustrates an example of userinterface objects that may be displayed when the device 400
is unlocked. In FIG. 5D, the device 400 displays a menu 506.
The menu 506 includes interactive user-interface objects corresponding to various applications or operations. A user may
interact with the user-interface objects to activate an application or perform an operation. It should be appreciated, however, that the device 400, upon being unlocked, may display
additional or alternative user-interface objects.
In some embodiments, the unlock image 402 may also be
used to indicate failure of performance of the unlock action.
For example, if the user breaks the contact with the touch
screen before the unlock image reaches the right end of the
channel 404, the unlock action has failed. The device 400 may
display the unlock image 402 returning to its initial position
on the left end of the channel 404, allowing the user to attempt
the unlock action again, if she so chooses. In some embodiments, the device goes back to sleep if no gesture is applied in
a predetermined period of time.
In some embodiments, the user may unlock the device 400
by contacting the touch screen 408 and moving the point of
contact horizontally along a fraction of the channel 404, i.e.,
the user need not move all the way to the right end of the
channel. In some embodiments, the user may unlock the
device 400 by making contact anywhere on the touch screen
408 and moving the point of contact horizontally as if he or
she were following the channel 404.
In some embodiments, the lock/unlock feature may apply
to specific applications that are executing on the device 400 as
opposed to the device 400 as a whole. In some embodiments,
an unlock gesture transitions from one application to another,
for example, from a telephone application to a music player or
vice versa. The lock/unlock feature may include a hold or
pause feature. In some embodiments, as the user transitions
from a first application and to a second application, a user
interface for the second application may fade in (i.e., increase
in intensity) and a user interface for the first application may
fade out (i.e., decrease in intensity). The fade in and fade out
may occur smoothly over a pre-determined time interval,
such as 0.2 s, 1 s or 2 s. The pre-determined time interval may

be in accordance with the unlock gesture, such as the time it
takes the user to perform the gesture.
Indication of Progress Towards Satisfaction of a User
Input Condition

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FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 600 for
indicating progress towards satisfaction of a user input condition according to some embodiments of the invention.
While the process flow 600 described below includes a number of operations that appear to occur in a specific order, it
should be apparent that these processes can include more or
fewer operations, which can be executed serially or in parallel
(e.g., using parallel processors or a multi-threading environment).
While an electronic device is in a first user-interface state,
progress is detected (602) towards satisfaction of a user input
condition needed to transition to a second user-interface state.
In some embodiments, the first user-interface state is for a first
application and the second user-interface state is for a second
application. In some embodiments, the first user-interface
state is a lock state and the second user-interface state is an
unlock state.
While the device is in the first user-interface state, progress
is indicated (604) towards satisfaction of the condition by
transitioning an optical intensity of one or more user interface
objects associated with the second user-interface state. The
change in optical intensity of the user-interface objects provides a user with sensory feedback of the progress in transitioning between user interface states.
In some embodiments, in addition to visual feedback, the
device supplies non-visual feedback to indicate progress
towards satisfaction of the user input condition. The additional feedback may include audible feedback (e.g., sound( s))
or physical feedback (e.g., vibration( s)).
The device transitions (606) to the second user-interface
state if the condition is satisfied. In some embodiments, in
addition to visual feedback, the device supplies non-visual
feedback to indicate satisfaction of the user input condition.
The additional feedback may include audible feedback (e.g.,
sound(s)) or physical feedback (e.g., vibration(s)).
The optical intensity of a user-interface object, as used
herein, is the object's degree of visual materialization. The
optical intensity may be measured along a scale between a
predefined minimum and a predefined maximum. In some
embodiments, the optical intensity may be measured along a
logarithmic scale. In some embodiments, the optical intensity
may be perceived by users as a transparency effect (or lack
thereof) applied to the user-interface object. In some embodiments, the minimum optical intensity means that the object is
not displayed at all (i.e., the object is not perceptible to the
user), and the maximum optical intensity means that the
object is displayed without any transparency effect (i.e., the
object has completely materialized visually and is perceptible
to the user). In some other embodiments, the optical intensity
may be the visual differentiation between the user-interface
object and the background, based on color, hue, color saturation, brightness, contrast, transparency, and any combination
thereof.
In some embodiments, the optical intensity of the userinterface objects to be displayed in the second user-interface
state is increased smoothly. Smoothly may include a transition time that is greater than a pre-defined threshold, for
example, 0.2 s, 1 s or 2 s. The rate of the transition of the
optical intensity may be any predefined rate.
In some embodiments, the indication of progress towards
completion of the user input condition is a function of the

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user's satisfaction of the condition. For example, for a transition to an unlock state, the indication of progress towards
completion is a function of the user's performance of an
unlock action. For a linear function, the indication of progress
is 10% complete when the unlock action is 10% complete; the
indication of progress is 50% complete when the unlock
action is 50% complete, and so forth, up to 100% completion
of the unlock action, at which point the transition to the
unlock state occurs. Correspondingly, for a linear function,
the transition of the optical intensity from an initial value to a
final value is 10% complete when the unlock action is 10%
complete; the transition is 50% complete when the unlock
action is 50% complete, and so forth, up to 100% completion
of the unlock action, at which point the optical intensity is at
its final value. In some embodiments, the user may perceive
the optical intensity transition as a fading in of the userinterface objects as the unlock action is performed. It should
be appreciated that the function need not be linear and alternative functions may be used, further details of which are
described below, in relation to FIGS. SA-Se.
If the user input condition includes a predefined gesture
then the indication of progress of the gesture may be defined
in terms of how much of the gesture is completed and how
much of the gesture is remaining. For example, if the gesture
includes moving the finger from one edge of the screen to the
opposite edge horizontally, then the indication of progress
may be defined in terms of the distance between the two edges
because the distance remaining objectively measures how
much further the user has to move her finger to complete the
gesture.
If the user input condition includes dragging an image to a
predefined location, then the indication of progress may be
defined in terms of the distance between the initial location of
the image and the predefined location to which the image is to
be dragged in order to complete the input condition.
If the user input condition includes dragging an image
along a predefined path, then the indication of progress may
be defined in terms of the length of the predefined path.
FIGS. 7A-7D illustrate the GUI display of a device that is
transitioning the optical intensity of user-interface objects
concurrent with a transition from a first user interface state to
a second user interface state, according to some embodiments
of the invention. In FIG. 7A, the device 700 is locked and has
received an incoming call. The device 700 is displaying a
prompt 706 to the user, informing the user of the incoming
call, on the touch screen 714. The device is also displaying the
unlock image 702 and channel 704 so that the user can unlock
the device 700 in order to accept or decline the incoming call.
The user begins the unlock action by making contact on the
touch screen with her finger 710 on the unlock image 702.
In FIG. 7B, the user is in the process of dragging the unlock
image 702 along the chaunel 704 in the direction of movement 712. As the user drags the unlock image, a set of virtual
buttons 70S appears and increases in optical intensity. The
virtual buttons 70S are shown with dotted outlines to indicate
that they are not yet at their final optical intensity levels. The
virtual buttons 70S are associated with the prompt 706; the
virtual buttons shown in FIG. 7B-7D allow the user to decline
or accept the incoming call. However, the user cannot interact
with the virtual buttons 70S until the device is unlocked and
the virtual buttons have reached their final optical intensity. In
FIG. 7C, the user drags the unlock image 702 further along
the channel 704 in the direction of movement 712. The virtual
buttons 70S have increased further in optical intensity relative
to their optical intensity in FIG. 7B, as illustrated by their

different style of dotted outlines. The increases in optical
intensity indicate to the user progress towards completion of
the unlock action.
In FIG. 7D, the user completes the unlock action by dragging the unlock image to the right end of the channel 704 and
releasing the unlock image 702. The device 700 transitions to
the unlock state. The unlock image 702 and the channel 704
disappear from the display and the virtual buttons 70S are at
their final optical intensity levels, as illustrated by their solid
outlines. At this point the user may interact with the virtual
buttons 70S and accept or decline the incoming call.
As described above in relation to FIGS. 5A-5D, if the
unlock action fails because the user releases the unlock image
prematurely, the unlock image may return to its initiallocation. In some embodiments, the optical intensity of the virtual
buttons 70S or other user-interface objects that were increasing in optical intensity as the unlock action was performed
may, concurrent with the return of the unlock image to its
initial location, have their optical intensity decreased
smoothly, back to their initial levels.
FIGS. SA-SC are graphs illustrating optical intensity as a
function of the completion of the user input condition,
according to some embodiments of the invention. In FIG. SA,
the optical intensity is a linear function of the completion of
the user input condition. At 0% completion, the optical intensity is at an initial value (in this case, the initial value is 0). As
the completion percentage increases, the optical intensity
increases linearly with the completion percentage, until it
reaches the final value at 100% completion.
In FIG. SB, the optical intensity is a nonlinear function of
the completion of the user input condition. At 0% completion,
the optical intensity is at an initial value (in this case, the
initial value is O).As the completion percentage increases, the
optical intensity increases gradually at first, but the increase
becomes steeper as the completion percentage increases,
until it reaches the final value at 100% completion.
In FIG. SC, the optical intensity is another nonlinear function of the completion of the user input condition. At 0%
completion, the optical intensity is at an initial value (in this
case, the initial value is 0). As the completion percentage
increases, the optical intensity increases steeply at first, but
the increase becomes more gradual as the completion percentage increases, until it reaches the final value at 100%
completion. In some embodiments, the optical intensity may
increase according to a logarithmic scale.
In some embodiments, the optical intensity may reach its
final value prior to 100% completion of the user input condition (e.g., at 90% completion).

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User Interface Active States Corresponding to Events
or Applications
FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating a process 900 for
transitioning a device to a user interface active state corresponding to one of a plurality of unlock images, according to
some embodiments of the invention. In some embodiments,
the device may have one or more active applications running
when the device becomes locked. Additionally, while locked,
the device may continue to receive events, such as incoming
calls, messages, voicemail notifications, and so forth. The
device may display multiple unlock images on the touch
screen, each unlock image corresponding to an active application or incoming event. Performing the unlock action using
one of the multiple unlock images unlocks the device and
displays the application and/or event corresponding to the
unlock image. The user interface active state, as used herein,
means that the device is unlocked and a corresponding application or event is displayed on the touch screen to the user.

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While the process flow 900 described below includes a number of operations that appear to occur in a specific order, it
should be apparent that these processes can include more or
fewer operations, which can be executed serially or in parallel
(e.g., using parallel processors or a multi-threading environment).
The device is locked upon satisfaction of a predefined lock
condition (902). The device may have active applications
running when it is locked and the active applications may
continue running while the device is locked. Additionally,
while the device is locked, the device may receive events,
such as incoming calls, messages, and voicemail notifications.
The device displays a plurality of unlock images, each
displayed unlock image corresponding to an active application ruuning or an event received while the device is locked
(904). In some embodiments, the device also displays visual
cues of the unlock action with respect to each unlock image.
The device may display additional unlock images and visual
cues as additional events are received. The user makes contact
with the touch screen (906). The device detects the contact
gesture (90S). If the detected contact gesture does not correspond to successful performance of the unlock action with
respect to anyone of the displayed unlock images (e.g.,
because the contact is not an attempt to perform the unlock
action or the unlock action failed/was aborted) (910-no), the
device remains locked (912). If the detected contact gesture
does correspond to successful performance of the unlock
action with respect to one of the displayed unlock images
(910-yes), the touch screen is unlocked and the running
application or event corresponding to the one of the unlock
images is displayed on the touch screen (914). In other words,
the device transitions to a first active state corresponding to
the first image if the detected contact corresponds to a predefined gesture with respect to the first image; the device
transitions to a second active state distinct from the first active
state and corresponding to the second image if the detected
contact corresponds to a predefined gesture with respect to
the second image; and so on.
The device becomes unlocked and makes the corresponding event or application visible to the user, active, or running
in the foreground, as opposed to running in the background,
upon performance of the unlock action with respect to the
particular unlock image. The user-interface active state
includes the running application or incoming event corresponding to the particular unlock image with which the user
interacted being displayed prominently on the touch screen,
in addition to the device being unlocked. Thus, unlocking
using a first unlock image (if multiple unlock images are
displayed) transitions the device to a first user-interface active
state, in which the device is unlocked and the application!
event corresponding to the first unlock image is displayed
prominently. Unlocking using a second image transitions the
device to a second user-interface active state, in which the
device is unlocked and the application!event corresponding to
the second unlock image is displayed prominently.
In some embodiments, the device may prioritize which
unlock images to display. The device may display a subset of
the corresponding unlock images on the touch screen at one
time. The device may decide which subset to display based on
one or more predefined criteria. For example, the device may
display only unlock images corresponding to the most recent
events and/or ruuning applications. As another example, the
device may display only unlock images corresponding to
incoming events.

FIG. 10 illustrates the GUI of a device 1000 in a userinterface lock state that displays a plurality of unlock images,
according to some embodiments of the invention. In FIG. 10,
the touch screen 1014 of the device 1000 is locked. A first
unlock image 1002 is displayed with corresponding visual
cues, such as the first channel 1004 and arrow 1006.A second
unlock image 100S is displayed with corresponding visual
cues, such as the second channel 1010 and arrow 1012. The
touch screen 1014 may display additional unlock images and
visual cues. The first unlock image 1002 corresponds to a first
running application or received event. The second unlock
image 100S corresponds to a second running application or
received event. The first and second unlock images and visual
cues are similar to the unlock image and visual cues described
above, in relation to FIGS. 4A and 4B. The arrows 1006 and
1012 may be animated to move from one end of the channels
1004 and/or 1010 to the other end, in order to indicate the
proper direction of the predefined gesture or movement of the
unlock image.
FIGS. 11A-11F illustrate the GUI display of a device at
various points in the performance of an unlock action gesture
corresponding to one of a plurality of unlock images, according to some embodiments of the invention. In FIG. 11A, the
user makes contact with the touch screen 1014 using her
finger 1102 (not shown to scale), at the location corresponding to the second unlock image 100S. The user performs the
unlock action gesture by moving the point of contact, dragging the second unlock image 100S. FIG. 11B shows a snapshot of the device 1000 during the tendency of the unlock
action. The second unlock image 100S is moved along in the
channel 1010 in the direction of movement 1104.
FIG. 11C shows the second unlock image 100S moved to
the end of the channel 1010, where the unlock action with
respect to the second unlock image 100S will be completed
once the user breaks the contact (and releases the second
unlock image 1 OOS). In some embodiments, the unlock action
is completed when the unlock image 100S is moved to the end
of the channel 1010, with or without the user breaking contact, and the second unlock image 100S disappears. As shown
in FIG. 11D, upon completion of the unlock action with
respect to the second unlock image 100S, the device displays
on the touch screen the user-interface objects 1106 associated
with the application or event corresponding to the second
unlock image 100S. In FIG. 11D, the event corresponding to
the second unlock image is an incoming text message event
and a prompt for the user to read it.
The user, instead of performing the unlock action with
respect to the second unlock image 110S, may instead perform the unlock action gesture with respect to the first unlock
image 1002. In FIG. 11E, the user does so and performs the
unlock action with respect to the first unlock image 1002 by
dragging the first unlock image, in the direction 1104, to the
right end of the channel 1004. Upon completion of the unlock
action, the device 1000 displays the user-interface objects
110S associated with the application or event corresponding
to the first unlock image 1002. In FIG. 11F, the application
corresponding to the first unlock image is a music player
application.
In some embodiments, the transition to a user interface
active state, as described in FIGS. 9 and 11A-11E, may also
include a concurrent transition in the optical intensity of
user-interface objects, similar to that described above in relation to FIGS. 6, 7A-7D, and SA-Se. Concurrent with the
transition to a user interface active state, the user-interface
objects associated with the application or event corresponding to the unlock image with which the user interacted to
unlock the device increase in intensity. For example, the

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optical intensity of the user-interface objects 1106 associated
with the text message prompt in FIG. 11D may be increased
smoothly, as a function of the progress towards completion of
the unlock action with respect to the second unlock image
100S. As another example, the optical intensity of the userinterface objects 110S associated with music player application in FIG. 11F may be increased smoothly, as a function of
the progress towards completion of the unlock action with
respect to the first unlock image 1002.
The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has 10
been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be
exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in
view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen 15
and described in order to best explain the principles of the
invention and its practical applications, to thereby enable
others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to
the particular use contemplated.
20

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detected contact while continuous contact with the
touch-sensitive display is maintained, wherein the
unlock image is a graphical, interactive user-interface
object with which a user interacts in order to unlock the
device; and
to unlock the hand-held electronic device if the unlock
image is moved from the first predefined location on the
touch screen to a predefined unlock region on the touchsensitive display.
S. The device of claim 7, further comprising instructions to
display visual cues to communicate a direction of movement
of the unlock image required to unlock the device.
9. The device of claim S, wherein the visual cues comprise
text.
10. The device of claim S, wherein said visual cues comprise an arrow indicating a general direction of movement.
11. A portable electronic device, comprising:
a touch-sensitive display;
means for displaying an unlock image at a first predefined
location on the touch-sensitive display while the device
is in a user-interface lock state;
What is claimed is:
means for detecting contact with the touch-sensitive dis1. A method of unlocking a hand-held electronic device,
play; and
the device including a touch-sensitive display, the method
means for continuously moving the unlock image on the
comprising:
25
touch-sensitive display in response to detecting the condetecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display at a first
tact in accordance with movement of the contact while
predefined location corresponding to an unlock image;
continuous contact with the touch screen is maintained,
continuously moving the unlock image on the touch-senwherein the unlock image is a graphical, interactive
sitive display in accordance with movement of the conuser-interface object with which a user interacts in order
tact while continuous contact with the touch screen is
30
to unlock the device; and
maintained, wherein the unlock image is a graphical,
means for transitioning the device to a user-interface
interactive user-interface object with which a user interunlock state if the moving the unlock image on the
acts in order to unlock the device; and
touch-sensitive display results in movement of the
unlocking the hand-held electronic device if the moving
unlock image from the first predefined location to a
the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display results 35
predefined unlock region on the touch-sensitive display.
in movement of the unlock image from the first pre12. A computer readable storage medium storing one or
defined location to a predefined unlock region on the
more programs, the one or more programs comprising
touch-sensitive display.
instructions, which when executed by a portable electronic
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving comprises
device with a touch-sensitive display, cause the portable elecmovement along any desired path.
40 tronic device to perform a method comprising:
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the moving comprises
detecting a contact with the touch-sensitive display at a first
movement along a predefined chaunel from the first prepredefined location corresponding to an unlock image;
defined location to the predefined unlock region.
continuously moving the unlock image on the touch-sen4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying
sitive display in accordance with movement of the convisual cues to communicate a direction of movement of the
45
tact while continuous contact with the touch screen is
unlock image required to unlock the device.
maintained, wherein the unlock image is a graphical,
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the visual cues comprise
interactive user-interface object with which a user intertext.
acts in order to unlock the device; and
6. The method of claim 4, wherein said visual cues comunlocking the hand-held electronic device if the moving
prise an arrow indicating a general direction of movement.
the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display results
50
7. A portable electronic device, comprising:
in movement of the unlock image from the first prea touch-sensitive display;
defined location to a predefined unlock region on the
memory;
touch-sensitive display.
one or more processors; and
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the unlock image is a
one or more modules stored in the memory and configured
55 single image.
for execution by the one or more processors, the one or
14. The device of claim 7, wherein the unlock image is a
more modules including instructions:
single image.
to detect a contact with the touch-sensitive display at a first
15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 12,
predefined location corresponding to an unlock image;
wherein the unlock image is a single image.
to continuously move the unlock image on the touch-sensitive display in accordance with movement of the
* * * * *