{
  "patent_number": "US 8214768",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How the iPhone Switches and Adds Mobile Web Browser Tabs",
  "original_title": "Method, system, and graphical user interface for viewing multiple application windows",
  "summary": "Apple's 2007 patent on using swipes, edge taps, and dedicated buttons to create and flip through multiple full-screen windows in a mobile web browser.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent describes how a mobile device manages multiple open screens, like web browser tabs, on a small display. First, a user taps a button to enter a window-management mode. Tapping a plus icon creates a brand-new window while hiding the previous one completely. To navigate between these open windows, the user can either tap the right side of the screen to slide the current window off and bring a third one on, or perform a right-to-left swipe gesture to slide a fourth window into view. This allows a user to cycle through multiple active web pages without needing a desktop-style tab bar.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover desktop-style tab bars where multiple tab headers remain visible at the top of the screen simultaneously.",
    "Does not cover switching windows using physical buttons instead of touchscreen gestures.",
    "Does not cover voice-activated window switching or creation.",
    "Does not cover closing windows, as the claims focus specifically on creating and navigating between active windows."
  ],
  "filed": "2007-01-05",
  "granted": "2012-07-03",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Apple Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/apple-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Chris Blumenberg",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/chris-blumenberg"
    },
    {
      "name": "Richard Williamson",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/richard-williamson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marcel van Os",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/marcel-van-os"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andre M. J. Boule",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/andre-m-j-boule"
    },
    {
      "name": "Stephen O. Lemay",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/stephen-o-lemay"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 88,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software",
    "telecommunications"
  ],
  "abstract": "Methods, systems, and graphical user interfaces for viewing multiple application windows are disclosed. In one embodiment, a portable electronic device with a touch screen display: displays an application, which includes a displayed window and at least one hidden window; displays an icon for adding windows to the application; detects activation of the icon for adding windows; in response to detecting activation of the icon for adding windows, adds a window to the application; detects a gesture on the touch screen display; and, in response to detecting the gesture, moves a displayed window in the application off the display and moves a hidden window onto the display.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8214768/ios-notification-center",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8214768/ios-notification-center/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US8214768",
  "relatedPatents": []
}