Disambiguation of touch-based gestures

• US 10,296,202 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2015
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kritt, Barry A., Rakshit, Sarbajit K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yeung, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US14/837,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20160034134A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,363 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

At an application executing using a processor in a touch-sensitive device, a detection is made that the touch-based gesture does not correspond to a perimeter defining a action, wherein the touch-based gesture is made relative to the touch-sensitive device. A set of possible actions intended by the touch-based gesture is determined. Using a disambiguation rule, an action is selected from the set of possible actions, wherein the selected action matches an action computed using the disambiguation rule. The selected action is caused to occur at the touch-sensitive device.

Claims

1. A method for disambiguation of a touch-based gesture, the method comprising:

detecting, at an application executing using a processor in a touch-sensitive device, that the touch-based gesture is not placed within a perimeter, wherein the touch-based gesture is made on a graphical user interface presented on the touch-sensitive device, and wherein the perimeter is a boundary defined on the touch-sensitive device such that when the touch-based gesture is placed within the perimeter the touch-based gesture corresponds to an action associated with the perimeter;

determining a set of possible actions intended by the touch-based gesture, the set of possible actions including a first possible action and a second possible action, the first possible action corresponding to a first perimeter and the second possible action corresponding to a second perimeter;

selecting, using a disambiguation rule, the first possible action from the set of possible actions, wherein the first possible action is more likely than the second possible action according to the disambiguation rule;

causing the first possible action to occur at the touch-sensitive device;

changing, responsive to the first possible action being more likely than the second possible action according to the disambiguation rule, a first property of the first perimeter relative to a first property of the second perimeter in the graphical user interface;

recording, at each time in a plurality of times prior to the touch-based gesture, whether a particular action selected from a group of action choices available at said each time, wherein the recording occurs in a context related to a second context in which the touch-based gesture is made, and wherein the context and the second context each comprises a common set of circumstances, the common set of circumstances being applicable when the touch-based gesture is made;

counting a first number of instances when the first action is selected from the group of action choices;

counting a second number of instances when the second action is selected from the group of action choices;

assigning a first weight to the first action, wherein the first weight is proportional to the first number of instances;

assigning a second weight to the second action, wherein the second weight is proportional to the second number of instances; and

changing, at a time prior to the touch-based gesture, based on the first weight and the second weight, the first property of the first perimeter and the first property of the second perimeter in the graphical user interface, wherein the second property of the first perimeter is a size of the first perimeter and the second property of the second perimeter is a size of the second perimeter, and wherein changing, at a time prior to the touch-based gesture, enlarges the size of the first perimeter to be greater than the size of the second perimeter.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording, at a time prior to the touch-based gesture, a sequence of actions in a context related to a second context in which the touch-based gesture is made, the context and the second context comprising a set of circumstances during which the touch-based gesture is made; and

constructing, based on the sequence, a workflow disambiguation rule, wherein when the workflow disambiguation rule is used in the second context, the disambiguation rule identifies an action in the sequence that should occur in the second context responsive to the touch-based gesture.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

constructing, based on the first weight and the second weight, a weighting disambiguation rule, wherein when the weighting disambiguation rule is used in the second context, the disambiguation rule identifies a higher weighted action from the first action and the second action as an unambiguous action that should occur in the second context responsive to the touch-based gesture.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

manipulating the touch-based gesture to form a manipulated touch-based gesture; and

passing the manipulated touch-based gesture to a second application such that the manipulated touch-based gesture causes the second application to perform the selected action.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting the disambiguation rule from a set of disambiguation rules, wherein the disambiguation rule applies to a context in which the touch-based gesture is made, the context comprising a set of circumstances during which the touch-based gesture is made.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining a portion of the context where the touch-based gesture is made, wherein different disambiguation rules apply to different portions of the context, and wherein the portion of the context comprises an activity being performed on the touch-sensitive device and the touch-based gesture is intended to manipulate the activity.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first perimeter and the second perimeter are members of a set of perimeters and each action in the set of possible actions has a related perimeter in the set of perimeters, the set of perimeters being available on the touch-sensitive device at the time the touch-based gesture is made, and wherein a particular action in the set of possible action is intended by the touch-based gesture when the touch-based gesture corresponds with a perimeter related to the particular action.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch-based gesture does not correspond to the first perimeter by overlapping with the first perimeter and the second perimeter simultaneously.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first perimeter is a member of a group of perimeters, each member of the group of perimeters being situated proximate to a location of the touch-based gesture, and wherein the touch-based gesture does not correspond to any single member of the group of perimeters.

10. The method of claim 1, changing, responsive to the first possible action being more likely than the second possible action according to the disambiguation rule, enlarges the size of the first perimeter relative to the second perimeter.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein a second property of the first perimeter is a color of the first perimeter and a second property of the second perimeter is a color of the second perimeter, and wherein changing, responsive to the first possible action being more likely than the second possible action according to the disambiguation rule, changes the color of the first perimeter to be brighter than the color of the second perimeter.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein a second property of the first perimeter is a blink rate of the first perimeter and a second property of the second perimeter is a blink rate of the second perimeter, and wherein changing, responsive to the first possible action being more likely than the second possible action according to the disambiguation rule, changes the blink rate of the first perimeter to be greater than the blink rate of the second perimeter.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein a second property of the first perimeter is a font associated with the first perimeter and a second property of the second perimeter is a font associated with the second perimeter.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying in the graphical user interface the enlarged size of the first perimeter.

15. A method for disambiguation of a touch-based gesture, the method comprising:

detecting, at an application executing using a processor in a touch-sensitive device, that the touch-based gesture is not placed within a perimeter, wherein the touch-based gesture is made on a graphical user interface presented on the touch-sensitive device, and wherein the perimeter is a boundary defined on the touch-sensitive device such that when the touch-based gesture is placed within the perimeter the touch-based gesture corresponds to an action associated with the perimeter;

determining a set of possible actions intended by the touch-based gesture, the set of possible actions including a first possible action and a second possible action, the first possible action corresponding to a first perimeter and the second possible action corresponding to a second perimeter;

selecting, using a disambiguation rule, the first possible action from the set of possible actions, wherein the first possible action is more likely than the second possible action according to the disambiguation rule;

causing the first possible action to occur at the touch-sensitive device; and

changing, responsive to the first possible action being more likely than the second possible action according to the disambiguation rule, a first property of the first perimeter relative to a first property of the second perimeter in the graphical user interface, wherein the property of the first perimeter is a snap-to attraction factor of the first perimeter and the property of the second perimeter is a snap-to attraction factor of the second perimeter, and wherein the changing increases the snap-to attraction factor of the first perimeter to be greater than the snap-to attraction factor of the second perimeter such that the first perimeter has a higher degree of attractiveness to snap the touch-based gesture to the first perimeter as compared to a degree of attractiveness for snapping the touch-based gesture to the second perimeter.