How Apple's Navigation Bar Manages App Screens
A method for navigating between different screens in a music app using a fixed bar that shows where you are, where you came from, and a shortcut to the player.
Original patent title: “Application user interface with navigation bar showing current and prior application contexts”
A method for navigating between different screens in a music app using a fixed bar that shows where you are, where you came from, and a shortcut to the player. Granted to Apple Inc in 2009 with 15 claims and 80 forward citations.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a navigation bar that stays in a fixed position on a smartphone screen while the main content area changes. The bar is divided into three specific sections: one for the current screen, one for the previous screen, and a shortcut link to the music player. When a user taps the 'prior' region, the display animates a shift in one direction to reveal the previous page, and when they tap the 'link' region, it shifts in the opposite direction to take them to the player. This ensures the user always has a clear path back to the music controls while browsing through song lists or artist menus.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover navigation bars that move or disappear when scrolling.
- Does not cover non-hierarchical navigation systems like a simple home screen grid.
- Does not cover gestures that involve swiping the entire screen to navigate rather than tapping specific regions in a bar.
- Does not cover navigation bars that contain fewer than three distinct regions.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The innovation lies in maintaining a fixed navigation bar that dynamically updates its labels based on the user's history, while using directional animations to visually reinforce the 'back' or 'forward' movement through the app's hierarchy.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
The original iPhone Music app navigation
iOS settings menu breadcrumb navigation
Standard mobile app 'back' button behaviors
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This patent was central to the design language of the early iPhone and iPod Touch. It established a consistent way for users to move through nested menus without getting lost, which was critical for small touchscreens where screen space is extremely limited.
Filed
July 24, 2006
Granted
September 29, 2009
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Apple continues to refine these UI patterns in iOS, while major mobile OS developers like Google (Android) have built upon these concepts to create their own standardized navigation components for developers.
Market impact
This patent helped standardize the 'breadcrumb' or 'back-button' navigation style on mobile devices, which reduced user confusion and became a fundamental expectation for mobile software design across the entire industry.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a navigation bar that stays in a fixed position on a smartphone screen while the main content area changes. The bar is divided into three specific sections: one for the current screen, one for the previous screen, and a shortcut link to the music player. When a user taps the 'prior' region, the display animates a shift in one direction to reveal the previous page, and when they tap the 'link' region, it shifts in the opposite direction to take them to the player. This ensures the user always has a clear path back to the music controls while browsing through song lists or artist menus.
The clever bit
The innovation lies in maintaining a fixed navigation bar that dynamically updates its labels based on the user's history, while using directional animations to visually reinforce the 'back' or 'forward' movement through the app's hierarchy.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover navigation bars that move or disappear when scrolling.
- Does not cover non-hierarchical navigation systems like a simple home screen grid.
- Does not cover gestures that involve swiping the entire screen to navigate rather than tapping specific regions in a bar.
- Does not cover navigation bars that contain fewer than three distinct regions.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Strong
Citation count
38/40
Highly cited
Claim breadth
10/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
5/20
Granted 10–20 years ago
Assignee scale
20/20
Major company or institution
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$43K – $138K
Midpoint $86K · expired or expiring · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
15 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Anzures, F. A., Forstall, S., Ording, B., Chaudhri, I., Os, M. V., Christie, G., & Lemay, S. O. (2009). How Apple's Navigation Bar Manages App Screens (U.S. Patent No. 7,596,761). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7596761/os-x-dashboard-widgets
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Apple's Navigation Bar Manages App Screens cover?
A method for navigating between different screens in a music app using a fixed bar that shows where you are, where you came from, and a shortcut to the player.
Who owns patent US 7596761?
Apple Inc owns this patent, granted in 2009.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on September 29, 2029, when the invention enters the public domain.
What is patent US 7596761 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 80 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This patent was central to the design language of the early iPhone and iPod Touch. It established a consistent way for users to move through nested menus without getting lost, which was critical for small touchscreens where screen space is extremely limited.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover navigation bars that move or disappear when scrolling.
Same assignee
More from Apple Inc
Patent monitoring