{
  "patent_number": "US 7596761",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Apple's Navigation Bar Manages App Screens",
  "original_title": "Application user interface with navigation bar showing current and prior application contexts",
  "summary": "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.",
  "what_it_does": "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.",
  "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."
  ],
  "filed": "2006-07-24",
  "granted": "2009-09-29",
  "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": 80,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "A graphical user interface for a portable electronic device includes an application display region that displays a current application context of an application and a navigation bar adjacent to the application display region. The navigation bar includes two horizontally adjacent regions, comprising a current context region for displaying an indicator of the current application context and a prior context region for displaying an indicator of an application context preceding the current application context. The application display region simulates shifting of the application display in a first direction upon detecting user selection of the prior context region, and simulates shifting of the application display in a second direction, opposite the first direction, upon detecting user selection of an application context different from the current application context and the prior application context.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7596761/os-x-dashboard-widgets",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7596761/os-x-dashboard-widgets/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US7596761",
  "relatedPatents": []
}