Mobile Station Having Method and Apparatus for Displaying User-Selectable Animation Sequence

This invention relates generally to radiotelephones and, in particular, to radiotelephone terminals or mobile stations such as those capable of operation with a cellular network.

It is known in the art to provide a mobile station (e.g., a cellular telephone) with a display (typically a low power LCD display) for displaying alphanumeric information to a user. The alphanumeric information is useful in operating the mobile station, and can represent, by example, telephone numbers, various menu functions, or the current state of the mobile station (e.g., keyboard locked (e.g., Keyguard active), home/roaming, etc.).

It is also known in the art to provide a graphical (non-alphanumeric) functional indicator on the display to indicate a current operating condition of the mobile station. For example, and referring to FIG. 5, in some mobile stations manufactured by the assignee of this patent application a display 1 includes a region for displaying alphanumeric information 2, and further includes a first predefined functional indicator 3 for showing the received signal strength, and a second predefined functional indicator 4 for showing the charge state of the battery. In each of the functional indicators 3 and 4 a plurality of vertically disposed segments are provided as a part of the display 1 itself. As the signal strength fluctuates more or less of the segments of the indicator 3 are illuminated in a bottom to top fashion (all segments being illuminated indicates maximum received signal strength). For the indicator 4, when the battery is fully charged all of the segments are illuminated. As the battery discharges the segments are extinguished in turn, starting from the top. When connected to a battery charger, the alphanumeric display 2 may show "Charging", and the segments of the indicator 4 are rapidly illuminated from bottom to top in a repetitive fashion.

The inventors are also aware of at least one mobile station that displays two different images of a telephone handset, and several associated surrounding curved line elements that represent a ringing "sound". This particular mobile station appears to be programmed to always toggle between these two images when an incoming call is received, i.e., when the mobile station is in the Alerting state.

It is a first object of this invention to provide a method for selectively displaying a graphical information sequence with a display of a mobile station, such as a cellular telephone.

It is a second object of this invention to provide a method for displaying one of a plurality of user-selectable graphical information sequences with a display of a mobile station, such as a cellular telephone.

It is a third object of this invention to provide a method for displaying a user-generated graphical information sequence with a display of a mobile station, such as a cellular telephone.

It is a fourth object of this invention to provide a method for displaying one of a plurality of user-selectable graphical information sequences with a display of a mobile station, such as a cellular telephone, when the mobile station is in an Idle state.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for enabling a user to selectively enable and disable a display of one or more graphical information sequences with a display of a mobile station, such as a cellular telephone.

It is one further object of this invention to provide a method for selectively displaying an alphanumeric message to a user with a display of a mobile station in such a manner that the message scrolls across the display in a vertical or horizontal direction.

The foregoing and other objects of this invention are realized by methods and apparatus in accordance with embodiments of this invention. A method of this invention is disclosed for operating a wireless user terminal or mobile station to selectively display one of a plurality of graphical information sequences on a display of the mobile station. The graphical information sequence is displayed during an Idle state of the mobile station, that is, when the mobile station is not involved in receiving a call or during a call. By example, the graphical information sequence can be displayed when the mobile station is in a Keyguard state, and/or in a charging state, or when the mobile station is first powered on.

In a further aspect of this invention the user interface of the mobile station is adapted to enable the user to selectively: enable or disable the display of a graphical information sequence; and/or select a graphical information sequence to be displayed from a plurality of pre-stored graphical information sequences; and/or input a definition of a graphical information sequence from an external source for storage in the mobile station.

The above set forth and other features of the invention are made more apparent in the ensuing Detailed Description of the Invention when read in conjunction with the attached Drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a mobile station that is constructed and operated in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the mobile station shown in FIG. 1, and which further illustrates a cellular communication system to which the mobile station is bidirectionally coupled through wireless RF links;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate, at two different instants in time, the scrolling of an alphanumeric message across the display screen;

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate, at three different instants in time, the evolution of a graphical information sequence on the display screen;

FIG. 5 illustrates a prior art display screen of a mobile station, and shows an alphanumeric text region and a plurality of predefined functional indicators; and

FIG. 6 is state diagram that illustrates the interaction between various animation data structures and functions in accordance with an aspect of this invention.

Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2 for illustrating a wireless user terminal or mobile station 10, such as but not limited to a cellular radiotelephone or a personal communicator, that is suitable for practicing this invention. The mobile station 10 includes an antenna 12 for transmitting signals to and for receiving signals from a base site or base station 30. The base station 30 is a part of a cellular network that may include a Base Station/Mobile Switching Center/Internetworking function (BMI) 32 that includes a mobile switching center (MSC) 34. The MSC 34 provides a connection to landline trunks when the mobile station 10 is involved in a call.

The mobile station includes a modulator (MOD) 14A, a transmitter 14, a receiver 16, a demodulator (DEMOD) 16A, and a controller 18 that provides signals to and receives signals from the transmitter 14 and receiver 16, respectively. These signals include signalling information in accordance with the air interface standard of the applicable cellular system, and also user speech and/or user generated data.

It is understood that the controller 18 also includes the circuitry required for implementing the audio and logic functions of the mobile station. By example, the controller 18 may be comprised of a digital signal processor device, a microprocessor device, and various analog to digital converters, digital to analog converters, and other support circuits. The control and signal processing functions of the mobile station are allocated between these devices according to their respective capabilities.

A user interface includes a conventional earphone or speaker 17, a conventional microphone 19, a display 20, and a user input device, typically a keypad 22, all of which are coupled to the controller 18. The keypad 22 includes the conventional numeric (0-9) and related keys (#,*) 22A, and other keys 22B used for operating the mobile station 10. These other keys 22B may include, by example, a SEND key, various menu scrolling and soft keys, and a PWR key. The mobile station 10 also includes a battery 26 for powering the various circuits that are required to operate the mobile station. The battery 26 is contained, typically, within a removable battery pack 26A, and includes a capability to be connected to an external power source, such as a battery charger 26B. It is assumed, for some embodiments of this invention, that the controller 18 is capable of detecting when the charger 26B is connected, either through a switch closure or by sensing an increase in voltage above what is normally output from the battery 26.

The mobile station 10 also includes various memories, shown collectively as the memory 24, wherein are stored a plurality of constants and variables that are used by the controller 18 during the operation of the mobile station. For example, the memory 24 stores the values of various cellular system parameters and the number assignment module (NAM). An operating program for controlling the operation of controller 18 is also stored in the memory 24 (typically in a ROM device). The memory 24 may also store data, including user messages, that is received from the BMI 32 prior to the display of the messages to the user.

The operating program in the memory 24 includes routines to present messages and message-related functions to the user on the display 20, typically as various menu items. The memory 24 also includes routines for implementing the methods described below in relation to FIGS. 3A, 3B, 4A-4C and 6. In accordance with an aspect of this invention the memory 24 also stores at least one Current Animation Array (CAA) 24A of a type described below. The Current Animation Array 24A contains data for defining and controlling the operation of a desired Graphical Information Sequence (GIS). As employed herein, the GIS, also referred to simply as an `animation`, is comprised of a plurality of discrete and logically related animation `frames`, `scenes`, or `images` (and/or alphanumeric characters) which when displayed sequentially present an informational and/or promotional and/or entertainment message on the display 20 using a certain frame (refresh) rate. An animation may also include audible information presented through, by example, the speaker 17. Information describing a GIS may be prestored in the mobile station 10 during manufacture, may be subsequently loaded though an external data connection 28 by a dealer or network provider, and/or may be subsequently loaded by a user from a data processor.

When an application program of the mobile station 10 invokes or calls an animation, the configuration of the animation is stored into the Current Animation Array 24A. An animation control procedure (executed by the controller 18) is then used to start the animation by calling it with a START parameter. A pointer or handle to a started animation is returned to the calling application program. There can be two or more animations active simultaneously and, as such, a plurality of CAAs 24A. An active animation is refreshed on the display 20 in cooperation with an animation timer (AT) 30 having a constant or programmable timeout period (configurable for each embodiment), for example 0.2 secs. An active animation can also be refreshed at some rate that is a multiple of the AT 30 timeout. In this latter case the controller 18 checks all active animations (i.e., the CAAs 24A), on the occurrence of the AT 30 timeout, to determine whether they require refresh. This determination is based on each animation's refresh time requirement, an element of the application's CAA 24A. For example, if the AT 30 timeout is set at 0.2 second, an animation can be refreshed every 0.2 sec., 0.4 sec., 0.6 sec., 0.8 sec., etc. That is, the periodic refreshing of an active animation includes operating a mobile station timer (e.g., AT 30) to periodically time-out at a programmed time-out rate, where the programmed time-out rate is equal to N times the periodic refresh rate, where N is an integer equal to or greater than one.

If an animation is required to be refreshed, it is called using a REFRESH command. In general, when refreshed a current animation scene or frame is replaced by a next consecutive frame or scene (see, for example, FIGS. 4A-4C). When all frames have been cycled through and displayed, a frame pointer can be initialized back to the first frame in the sequence and the cycle repeated. It is also within the scope of the invention to instead decrement the pointer such that it points to the next to last frame, and then cycle through the frames in reverse order. For a case where alphanumeric characters are displayed as the animation sequence (see, for example FIGS. 3A-3C), the presently displayed characters can simply be erased and replaced with the same or different characters written to a new location. In this manner both horizontal and vertical scrolling can be accomplished.

An animation state (i.e., in which "frame" the animation currently resides) is set or initialized by the application program in progress animations.

The application program uses an animation STOP command to halt an active animation, with the previously passed animation handle as a parameter.

All configuration information is stored in an active application's CAA 24A. Reference can also be made to FIG. 6. In general, different animation procedures are implemented in animconf.c (6F), and different animation configurations are defined in animconf.h (6E). For example, and assuming a C language implementation, the CAA 24A can be defined as follows:

The variables referred to above are defined as follows. The animation.sub.-- state indicates the current state (`frame`) of the animation. In so-called progress animations (i.e., animations that present a plurality of different frames or scenes in progression, as in FIGS. 4A-4C), the animation.sub.-- state is set or read by an application 6A using anim.sub.-- state.sub.-- get/set functions 6B and 6C. A value of the zero indicates that the animation is initialized to a first frame, while a (maximum) value of 255 indicates that the last frame is displayed. That is, using this scheme a given progress animation may have up to 256 different frames or scenes, which are pointed to in sequence by the value of the animation-state variable.

In other (non-progress) animations the animation.sub.-- state variable can be used internally by an animation, for example to indicate a number of dots to be displayed in a scrolling dots animation. The refresh.sub.-- hit.sub.-- count is used to enable different animation refresh times than the basic rate set by the AT 30 timeout period. When an animation is started (6D), this variable is set to zero, and every time the AT 30 times out this value is incremented. The animation is refreshed on the display 20 when the value of the refresh.sub.-- hit.sub.-- count variable is equal to a value defined in an animation configuration (animconf.h 6E) refresh rate field. The value of the refresh.sub.-- hit.sub.-- count variable is then reset to zero.

The animation.sub.-- parameter is a parameter that can, at run-time, be passed to the animation. For example, text characters used in an animation can be passed to the animation in an animation.sub.-- parameter.

The animation.sub.-- id is the identification of the animation configuration (animconf.c 6F) to be used from animconf.h 6E. By example, if a user selects an animation from a list of animations designated by names (e.g., snowflakes, bouncing ball, etc.), it is the corresponding animation.sub.-- id that is used to select the correct animation from the animconf.h 6E data structure.

The animation.sub.-- window is a region or window on display 20 in which the animation is to be displayed. The window may comprises the entire useable portion of the display 20, or some subset of the entire useable portion. Different animations can be defined to be simultaneously active in different windows. The window can be defined by x-y coordinates for a graphical (point-addressable) display 20, or by row/column numbers for a character-based display.

With regard to the animation configuration (animconf.h) 6E, different animations are defined with the following parameters:

The following can be noted with regard to the animation interface functions or states shown in FIG. 6.

Each animation procedure is defined (implemented) in animconf.c (6F). The "template" of an animation procedure is as follows:

Suitable, but not limiting, animation procedures include scrolling dots, a progression bar (e.g., a variable length bar pattern), a waiting bar, and a `flip-book icon animation`, wherein a plurality of different images of an icon can be sequentially displayed to give an appearance of movement, size change, rotation, etc.

In the embodiments described herein the animation can be displayed with both character-based and graphical (point-addressable) displays. The character display's animation is restricted to displaying text and other predefined characters to achieve movement. The graphical display's animation can be more flexible to achieve any desired type of image and movement (within the resolution of the display 20 (e.g., 70.times.41 pixels)).

An example of an animation in accordance with this invention is now described in reference to a Keyguard feature of the mobile phone 10. The user typically activates the Keyguard feature to prevent accidental operation of the powered-on mobile station 10. When the user desires to return the mobile station 10 to its normal functionality, the Keyguard feature is deactivated. When the Keyguard is active, no keypad tones are generated and no key-presses are accepted, except for emergency numbers and for deactivating the Keyguard feature.

When the Keyguard is activated manually, or automatically, a Keyguard fixed indicator icon, certain softkey indicators, and the unlock softkey text or unlock icon may be displayed on display 20. By example, the Keyguard icon may resemble a lock.

In accordance with this invention a Keyguard Animation is user selectable from a Keyguard settings menu option. In this case the user manipulates the keypad 22, while viewing the display 20. By example, the user first selects the Keyguard function, then selects an Animation menu item, then depresses an On softkey (to turn on or enable the animation function), and then confirms the selection by depressing an OK softkey. The user may select a specific animation sequence to be displayed by scrolling through a plurality of animation sequence choice items, and confirming his choice by depressing the OK softkey. A confirmation note `Animation Turned 0N` may then display on the display 20. The controller 18 stores information in the memory 24 for recording the user's choice of animation sequence, and to indicate that the animation feature is enabled.

The next time that the user activates the Keyguard feature, the selected animation is automatically invoked, started, and run by the controller 18, as described above with respect to FIG. 6. The selected Keyguard animation may be activated after a time delay period that is defined in the Keyguard menu activation. When the Keyguard animation is On (running), it displays when the Keyguard is active in place of the conventional `soft` indicators and/or the Keyguard icon.

Examples of animations are shown in FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4A-4C. FIGS. 3A and 3B show a Scroll Text Animation wherein a text string, such as the manufacturer's or the service provider's name, is scrolled across the display 20. FIG. 3A shows the text at time t.sub.o, while FIG. 3B shows the text at time t.sub.1. The text is scrolled in a Scroll Direction (SD) which is illustrated as being from right to left (SD.sub.1). In other Scroll Text Animations the scroll direction could be from left to right, or from bottom to top or top to bottom (SD.sub.2), or simultaneous horizontal and vertical scrolling can be accomplished. The text may also `ping-pong` from side to side or from top to bottom. By example, the text may scroll from right to left until the first character reaches the left edge of the display, and then reverse direction and scroll to the right until the rightmost character reaches the right edge of the display, etc. The displayed text can be preprogrammed into the mobile station by the manufacturer, service provider, dealer, or can be entered by the user. The text is scrolled at the refresh rate defined for the Scroll Text Animation, as indicated by the associated aniconf.h 6E.

FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate the use of graphical images or patterns (e.g., snowflakes) for the animation sequence. In this animation sequence the snowflake images appear to "fall" from the top of the display 20 towards the bottom. As snowflakes disappear from view new snowflakes appear at the top of the display. The snowflakes "fall" at a rate established by the refresh rate defined for the Snowflakes Animation. This rate could be made variable as a function of some internal state of the mobile station 10. By example, the refresh rate could increase or decrease as a function of the charge state of the battery 26, or as a function of the received signal strength level.

It should be noted that each individual one of the snowflake images may be a separate animation sequence having an associated refresh rate and window that is different from that of the other snowflake images. That is, when the Snowflakes Animation is started, a plurality of individual Snowflake Animations are invoked and started. Alternatively, a single Snowflakes Animation, comprised of a sequence of the images as shown, can be invoked and started.

When the mobile station 10 is in the Idle mode (e.g., monitoring the Paging channel to determine if an incoming call has been received), the controller 18 and other circuitry are typically powered down to conserve power (sleep mode). Periodically an interrupt is generated to `wake up` the controller 18 and re-power the circuitry required to receive and demodulate the Paging channel. During these wake up periods the controller 18 performs any other necessary housekeeping functions before powering off the circuits and reentering the sleep mode. In accordance with an aspect of this invention, the controller 18 also performs any required animation processing when an animation is active. As such, it should be realized that the programming of the AT 30 may be related to the wake up intervals of the controller 18.

However, during battery charging the controller 18 may not be required to operate in the sleep mode, and the Keyguard animation may not therefore be limited to being refreshed only during the wake up periods of the controller 18.

In one embodiment of the Keyguard animation the selected animation displays when the Keyguard is activated (manually or automatically) and the mobile station 10 is connected to and drawing power from the charger 26B (but not necessarily charging). In this case the user is typically not interacting with the mobile station 10, so the animation can be displayed without interfering with any normal operations. Furthermore, running the selected animation only when connected to the charger 26B does not drain the battery 26 (talk and standby times are thus not affected), and also does not limit the basic animation refresh rate to the wake up periods of the controller 18. As such, the displayed animation can be more `animated`. An active animation terminates when the Keyguard is deactivated (manually by the user or automatically by the mobile phone exiting the Idle mode), or if the mobile station 10 is disconnected from charger 26B.

In a further embodiment of this invention the animation can be displayed in the Alerting state, together with the normal ringing tone, and the caller number or name information can be displayed simultaneously with the animation or, for example, a short period of time after the Alerting state is entered but before activating the animation. Pressing the Send key to answer the call terminates the animation (see State 6G in FIG. 6). Further in accordance with this invention the Alerting animation can include a predetermined audio alerting indicator, such as a musical tone. By example, the Snowflakes Animation of FIGS. 4A-4C could be displayed during the Alerting state along with a seasonal (e.g., Christmas) tune. In this embodiment certain user selectable ringing tone(s) may also activate an associated animation.

It is further within the scope of this invention to employ the animations for automatic demonstration (auto-demo) purposes. By example, when the user or retail dealer first powers on the mobile station 10, as indicated by a flag (F) in the memory 24 that is initially cleared, a predetermined animation displays graphics for educational and/or promotional purposes. Other information, such as service provider or dealer's name information can be displayed with or as a part of the animation. The user can prevent the animation from displaying by pressing, for example, a displayed STOP softkey, or display the animation again by pressing a REPEAT softkey. To prevent the animation from displaying, or to erase, add, and possibly edit an animation, the user accesses an Auto-Demo menu option.

In accordance with this invention an animation is comprised of X number of discrete images displayed at intervals of Y ms (selectable or fixed values of, by example, X=3 to 10, Y=100 to 2000). With a display 20 capable of displaying only alphanumeric characters, in addition to all characters in the character set, a plurality of programmable characters can also be used. The programmable character shapes can be used to form icons, or can be designed to be displayed adjacent to one another to form a larger pattern or icon.

There may be a Master Animation Flag (MAF) stored in the memory 24 which is used to enable the Animation Mode only when set. In this manner only certain mobile stations 10 can be enabled to provide the animation function, or the animation function can be selectively activated by the dealer (or network operator through Over the Air Programming) as a value added feature.

A data structure defining a given animation sequence can be provided by the manufacturer, by third party vendors, by system operators, and/or by the user. Animations can be provided in the software of the mobile station 10 (the animation data can be stored in a read only memory (ROM) portion of the memory 24 in the factory), or can be loaded through the external data connection 28 using, by example, CellularWare.TM. or some equivalent programming tool, or can be loaded from the network 32 (FIG. 2) through the RF link by Over the Air Programming or by Short Message Service (SMS) messages (if supported by the network 32). An animation can also be `flashed` into an electrically programmable ROM (EPROM) of the memory 24 by the dealer or service provider. If both ROM and EPROM data are used in one mobile station, it is preferred that the animation data stored in the EPROM takes preference, i.e., it is run if it is available.

Although this invention has been described in the context of preferred embodiments, it should be realized that a number of modifications to these teachings may occur to one skilled in the art. By example, although described above in the context of animation sequences that are preprogrammed, it is also within the scope of this invention to algorithmically generate patterns for display when the mobile station is in the Idle mode. By example, one or more different mathematical equations can be programmed into the mobile station 10, `solved` by the controller 18 when the mobile station is in the Idle mode, and the results plotted along x and y axes of the display 20. For example, various quadratic equations can be used to provide different patterns, as can known types of equations to produce fractal patterns. In this case the refresh rate may be related to the number of points that are plotted per unit of time. The equations can be solved using variables generated randomly or pseudorandomly by the controller 18, or from variables entered by the user through a suitable menu option.

Also, it should be realized that the use of various selectable features (e.g., Keyguard) having animation capabilities are exemplary and not limiting.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the animations in accordance with this invention can be employed as a predetermined or user-selectable `screensaver` when the mobile station is connected to a charger, such as a desktop charging station. In this case the animation may be a default animation, or may be selected by the connecting charging station, or by some other interconnected device, or manually by the user.

Thus, while the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.