{
  "patent_number": "US 7509588",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How the iPhone's Jiggling App Icons Work",
  "original_title": "Portable electronic device with interface reconfiguration mode",
  "summary": "This patent describes the 'jiggle mode' on iPhones, where app icons shake to show they can be moved or deleted.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent defines a method for a touch-sensitive device to enter a reconfiguration mode. When a user performs a specific action, such as holding a finger on an icon, the device triggers an animation where multiple icons oscillate around a fixed center point. This 'jiggling' effect visually signals that the user can now rearrange or delete the icons. The patent also covers the logic for dragging an icon to a new location and automatically shifting other icons to make room for it.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover icon movement that does not include an oscillation or 'jiggling' animation.",
    "Does not cover non-touch interfaces, such as using a mouse or keyboard to move icons.",
    "Does not cover reordering icons that do not utilize a touch-sensitive display.",
    "Does not cover icon arrangements that do not allow for user-defined repositioning."
  ],
  "filed": "2006-07-24",
  "granted": "2009-03-24",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Apple Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/apple-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Freddy Allen Anzures",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/freddy-allen-anzures"
    },
    {
      "name": "Scott Forstall",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/scott-forstall"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bas Ording",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/bas-ording"
    },
    {
      "name": "Imran Chaudhri",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/imran-chaudhri"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marcel van Os",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/marcel-van-os"
    },
    {
      "name": "Greg Christie",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/greg-christie"
    },
    {
      "name": "Stephen O. Lemay",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/stephen-o-lemay"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 148,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "A portable electronic device displays a plurality of icons (e.g., graphical objects) in a region in a touch-sensitive display; detects a predefined user action, with respect to the touch-sensitive display, for initiating a predefined user interface reconfiguration process; and varies positions of one or more icons in the plurality of icons in response to detecting the predefined user action. The varying includes varying the positions of the one or more icons about respective average positions.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7509588/os-x-spotlight-search",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7509588/os-x-spotlight-search/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US7509588",
  "relatedPatents": []
}