{
  "patent_number": "US 8423911",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Smartphones Organize Apps into Folders",
  "original_title": "Device, method, and graphical user interface for managing folders",
  "summary": "Apple's 2010 patent describing the logic for creating and interacting with app folders on a touchscreen device, specifically distinguishing between 'normal' use and 'editing' modes.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent defines the software logic for how a smartphone manages app icons and folders. It establishes two distinct states: a 'normal' mode where tapping an icon launches the app, and a 'reconfiguration' mode where tapping allows you to move or organize icons without opening them. The patent specifically covers the mechanism for opening a folder to see its contents regardless of which mode the device is in, while ensuring that the folder-opening action does not accidentally trigger app deletion or reconfiguration commands.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover the underlying hardware of the touchscreen itself.",
    "Does not cover folder creation methods that do not involve dragging icons to a specific location.",
    "Does not cover automatic folder organization based on app categories or metadata.",
    "Does not cover non-touchscreen interfaces or desktop-based folder management."
  ],
  "filed": "2010-09-22",
  "granted": "2013-04-16",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Apple Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/apple-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Imran Chaudhri",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/imran-chaudhri"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 48,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "A multifunction device displays a plurality of selectable user interface objects on the display. In response to detecting the first input, the device moves a first object in the plurality of selectable user interface objects across the display to a location on the display that is proximate to a second object in the plurality of selectable user interface objects. In response to detecting that the first input meets predefined folder-creation criteria while the first object is proximate to the second object, the device creates a folder that contains the first object and the second object.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8423911/ios-control-center",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8423911/ios-control-center/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US8423911",
  "relatedPatents": []
}