Single contact scaling gesture

• US 10,222,975 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2012
• Issued: 03/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Bart, Assaf, Rayboy, Igor
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, David
• Application Number:
  US13/595,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20140055374A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,381 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178 1801- 2004
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Methods and systems for providing input to a computing device based on a single contact scaling gesture are provided. A scaling gesture can be performed on a touch-sensitive panel to zoom in or out of a displayed image, for example. One example of a scaling gesture can include two touch contacts moving towards or away from each other. A single contact scaling gesture can include selecting a scaling command based on a first touch input being held for a predetermined duration of time, or based on other criteria. Once the scaling command has been selected, subsequent touch input can determine both a scaling factor and a scaling direction of the scaling command.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of a touch-sensitive panel, the method comprising:

detecting a sequence of touch inputs that includes;

detecting a first touch input on the touch-sensitive panel, wherein detecting the first touch input includes detecting a first contact at a first position on the touch-sensitive panel that corresponds to a respective portion of a user interface object on a display followed by detecting movement of the first contact away from the first position of the touch-sensitive panel; and

detecting a second touch input on the touch-sensitive panel, wherein detecting the second touch input includes detecting a respective contact at a second position on the touch-sensitive panel that is different from the first position on the touch-sensitive panel;

in response to detecting the sequence of touch inputs;

in accordance with a determination that the movement of the first contact away from the first position includes less than a threshold amount of movement away from the first position during a predetermined temporal threshold, performing a scaling operation based on the sequence of touch inputs based on a scaling center and a distance between the first position and the second position, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the respective portion of the user interface object is a first portion of the user interface object, the scaling center is selected to be at a first location within the first portion of the user interface object,

in accordance with a determination that the respective portion of the user interface object is a second portion of the user interface object, different from the first portion of the user interface object, the scaling center is selected to be at a second location within the second portion of the user interface object, wherein the second location is different from the first location, and

performing the scaling operation comprises;

in accordance with a determination that a relative location of the second position with respect to the first position on the touch sensitive panel satisfies a first scaling direction criterion based on whether a component of a direction from the first position to the second position is positive or negative with respect to an axis of the touch-sensitive panel, zooming into the user interface object on the display based on the distance between the first position and the second position while a portion of the user interface object on the display corresponding to the scaling center remains fixed relative to the display; and

in accordance with a determination that the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position on the touch-sensitive panel satisfies a second scaling direction criterion, different from the first scaling direction criterion, based on whether the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is positive or negative with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel, zooming out of the user interface object on the display based on the distance between the first position and the second position while the portion of the user interface object on the display corresponding to the scaling center remains fixed relative to the display; and

in accordance with a determination that the movement of the first contact away from the first position includes more than the threshold amount of movement away from the first position during the predetermined temporal threshold, performing a drag operation based on the sequence of touch inputs.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective contact is the first contact having moved from the first position to the second position on the touch-sensitive panel.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the scaling center uniquely corresponds to the first position.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein zooming into the user interface object on the display includes displaying the user interface object scaled to be larger based on the distance between the first position and the second position, and zooming out of the user interface object on the display includes displaying the user interface object scaled to be smaller based on the distance between the first position and the second position.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position satisfies the first scaling direction criterion when the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is positive with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel, and the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position satisfies the second scaling direction criterion when the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is negative with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the axis of the touch-sensitive panel is a horizontal axis, and the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is a vertical component.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a scaling factor of the scaling operation is based on a scalar multiple of the distance between the first position and the second position.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to detecting the sequence of touch inputs;

in accordance with a determination that liftoff of the first contact from the touch-sensitive panel is detected during the predetermined temporal threshold, performing a tap operation based on the first touch input.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first contact and the respective contact are different contacts, and the method further comprises detecting liftoff of the first contact from the touch-sensitive panel before detecting the respective contact on the touch-sensitive panel.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the touch-sensitive panel and the display are part of a touch screen,

the user interface object is displayed by the touch screen,

the first location is a first location on the touch screen,

the second location is a second location on the touch screen different from the first location, and

the respective portion of the user interface object is displayed at the first position on the touch screen at which the first contact is detected.

11. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch-sensitive panel for receiving touch input;

a processor to execute instructions; and

a memory coupled with the processor to store instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations to generate an application programming interface (API) that allows an API-calling component to perform the following operations;

detecting a sequence of touch inputs that includes;

detecting a first touch input on the touch-sensitive panel, wherein detecting the first touch input includes detecting a first contact at a first position on the touch-sensitive panel that corresponds to a respective portion of a user interface object on a display followed by detecting movement of the first contact away from the first position of the touch-sensitive panel; and

detecting a second touch input on the touch-sensitive panel, wherein detecting the second touch input includes detecting a respective contact at a second position on the touch-sensitive panel that is different from the first position on the touch-sensitive panel;

in response to detecting the sequence of touch inputs;

in accordance with a determination that the movement of the first contact away from the first position includes less than a threshold amount of movement away from the first position during a predetermined temporal threshold, performing a scaling operation based on the sequence of touch inputs based on a scaling center and a distance between the first position and the second position, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the respective portion of the user interface object is a first portion of the user interface object, the scaling center is selected to be at a first location within the first portion of the user interface object,

in accordance with a determination that the respective portion of the user interface object is a second portion of the user interface object, different from the first portion of the user interface object, the scaling center is selected to be at a second location within the second portion of the user interface object, wherein the second location is different from the first location, and

performing the scaling operation comprises;

in accordance with a determination that a relative location of the second position with respect to the first position on the touch sensitive panel satisfies a first scaling direction criterion based on whether a component of a direction from the first position to the second position is positive or negative with respect to an axis of the touch-sensitive panel, zooming into the user interface object on the display based on the distance between the first position and the second position while a portion of the user interface object on the display corresponding to the scaling center remains fixed relative to the display; and

in accordance with a determination that the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position on the touch-sensitive panel satisfies a second scaling direction criterion, different from the first scaling direction criterion, based on whether the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is positive or negative with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel, zooming out of the user interface object on the display based on the distance between the first position and the second position while the portion of the user interface object on the display corresponding to the scaling center remains fixed relative to the display; and

in accordance with a determination that the movement of the first contact away from the first position includes more than the threshold amount of movement away from the first position during the predetermined temporal threshold, performing a drag operation based on the sequence of touch inputs.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the respective contact is the first contact having moved from the first position to the second position on the touch-sensitive panel.

13. The electronic device of claim 11,

wherein the scaling center uniquely corresponds to the first position.

14. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein zooming into the user interface object on the display includes displaying the user interface object scaled to be larger based on the distance between the first position and the second position, and zooming out of the user interface object on the display includes displaying the user interface object scaled to be smaller based on the distance between the first position and the second position.

15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position satisfies the first scaling direction criterion when the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is positive with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel, and the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position satisfies the second scaling direction criterion when the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is negative with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the axis of the touch-sensitive panel is a horizontal axis, and the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is a vertical component.

17. The electronic device of claim 11, the operations further comprising:

in response to detecting the sequence of touch inputs;

in accordance with a determination that liftoff of the first contact from the touch-sensitive panel is detected during the predetermined temporal threshold, performing a tap operation based on the first touch input.

18. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the first contact and the respective contact are different contacts, and the operations further comprise detecting liftoff of the first contact from the touch-sensitive panel before detecting the respective contact on the touch-sensitive panel.

19. The electronic device of claim 11, further comprising a touch screen, wherein:

the touch-sensitive panel and the display are part of the touch screen,

the user interface object is displayed by the touch screen,

the first location is a first location on the touch screen,

the second location is a second location on the touch screen different from the first location, and

the respective portion of the user interface object is displayed at the first position on the touch screen at which the first contact is detected.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, which when executed by a device having a touch-sensitive panel, cause the device to perform a method comprising:

detecting a sequence of touch inputs that includes;

detecting a first touch input on the touch-sensitive panel, wherein detecting the first touch input includes detecting a first contact at a first position on the touch-sensitive panel that corresponds to a respective portion of a user interface object on a display followed by detecting movement of the first contact away from the first position of the touch-sensitive panel; and

detecting a second touch input on the touch-sensitive panel, wherein detecting the second touch input includes detecting a respective contact at a second position on the touch-sensitive panel that is different from the first position on the touch-sensitive panel;

in response to detecting the sequence of touch inputs;

in accordance with a determination that the movement of the first contact away from the first position includes less than a threshold amount of movement away from the first position during a predetermined temporal threshold, performing a scaling operation based on the sequence of touch inputs based on a scaling center and a distance between the first position and the second position, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the respective portion of the user interface object is a first portion of the user interface object, the scaling center is selected to be at a first location within the first portion of the user interface object,

in accordance with a determination that the respective portion of the user interface object is a second portion of the user interface object, different from the first portion of the user interface object, the scaling center is selected to be at a second location within the second portion of the user interface object, wherein the second location is different from the first location, and

performing the scaling operation comprises;

in accordance with a determination that a relative location of the second position with respect to the first position on the touch sensitive panel satisfies a first scaling direction criterion based on whether a component of a direction from the first position to the second position is positive or negative with respect to an axis of the touch-sensitive panel, zooming into the user interface object on the display based on the distance between the first position and the second position while a portion of the user interface object on the display corresponding to the scaling center remains fixed relative to the display; and

in accordance with a determination that the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position on the touch-sensitive panel satisfies a second scaling direction criterion, different from the first scaling direction criterion, based on whether the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is positive or negative with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel, zooming out of the user interface object on the display based on the distance between the first position and the second position while the portion of the user interface object on the display corresponding to the scaling center remains fixed relative to the display; and

in accordance with a determination that the movement of the first contact away from the first position includes more than the threshold amount of movement away from the first position during the predetermined temporal threshold, performing a drag operation based on the sequence of touch inputs.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the respective contact is the first contact having moved from the first position to the second position on the touch-sensitive panel.

22. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position satisfies the first scaling direction criterion when the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is positive with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel, and the relative location of the second position with respect to the first position satisfies the second scaling direction criterion when the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is negative with respect to the axis of the touch-sensitive panel.

23. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the axis of the touch-sensitive panel is a horizontal axis, and the component of the direction from the first position to the second position is a vertical component.

24. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, the method further comprising:

in response to detecting the sequence of touch inputs;

in accordance with a determination that liftoff of the first contact from the touch-sensitive panel is detected during the predetermined temporal threshold, performing a tap operation based on the first touch input.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the first contact and the respective contact are different contacts, and the method further comprises detecting liftoff of the first contact from the touch-sensitive panel before detecting the respective contact on the touch-sensitive panel.

26. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the

scaling center uniquely corresponds to the first position.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein:

the touch-sensitive panel and the display are part of a touch screen,

the user interface object is displayed by the touch screen,

the first location is a first location on the touch screen,

the second location is a second location on the touch screen different from the first location, and

the respective portion of the user interface object is displayed at the first position on the touch screen at which the first contact is detected.