US 2,003,013,483 · Filed 2001-07-06

The Handheld Screen Layout That Shaped Modern Smartphone Home Screens

This patent describes how to organize a phone's main screen into different zones — one for system alerts, another for app shortcuts and recent messages, and even space for ads. It's about the fundamental blueprint of what you see when you unlock your phone.

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The plain-English version

What it protects

The claim covers a handheld device screen divided into separate functional areas: a status icon zone, an app interface page zone that can link to other pages, and an optional advertising zone. What's protected is the specific arrangement of these zones and the way application status, recent messages (email, SMS, instant messaging), and upcoming events are displayed within them. The interaction method — whether by stylus, finger, or voice — is also part of the coverage.

Why it matters

This patent, filed in 2001, captures a fundamental design principle that became standard across smartphones and tablets: the organized home screen with distinct zones for different types of information. By the early 2000s, when personal digital assistants and early mobile devices were competing for dominance, controlling the visual architecture of the user interface was a competitive advantage. The patent's broad coverage of screen layout and information hierarchy influenced how handheld devices presented information for years.

Real-world use

Every time you look at your phone's home screen and see notifications at the top, app icons in the middle, and maybe an ad banner somewhere, you're looking at the kind of segmented layout this patent describes.

Original USPTO abstract

A user interface includes a main screen segregated into various screen areas. At least one of the screen areas is devoted to a system application for displaying status icons, and another of the screen areas is devoted to an interface page which may or may not link to other interface pages which are used for displaying current or recent application information for respective user applications, which user applications may be accessed through interaction with the interface page. The application information may be application status information, recent communication messages (such as e-mail messages, SMS messages, or instant messaging messages) and/or one or more upcoming events or to do items for a user. The user interaction may occur through selection with a pointing device such as a stylus, a fingertip stylus, a finger, or one or more buttons, or even through voice commands. The user interface may also include an area reserved for displaying advertisements.

Patent details

Publication number: US 2,003,013,483
Filing date: 2001-07-06
Grant date: Application — not yet granted
Assignee: Ausems Michiel R. / Quarneri Matthew M.
Inventor(s): AUSEMS MICHIEL R., QUARNERI MATTHEW M.
CPC class: H04M1/72469

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