Device, method, and graphical user interface for forgoing generation of tactile output for a multi-contact gesture

• US 10,437,333 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2015
• Issued: 10/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Bernstein, Jeffrey Traer, Missig, Julian, Cieplinski, Avi E., Westerman, Wayne C., Kessler, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Jennifer N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Burwell, Joseph R.
• Application Number:
  US14/608,926
• Publication Number:
  US 20150149899A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,713 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/32 Means for saving power
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/014 Force feedback applied to GUI
• 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 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• 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

An electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface, and one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface: detects, on the touch-sensitive surface, a gesture that includes an increase of intensity of a contact above a respective intensity threshold. In response to detecting the gesture: in accordance with a determination that the gesture includes a first number of contacts, the device generates a tactile output on the touch-sensitive surface; and in accordance with a determination that the gesture includes a second number of contacts different from the first number, the device forgoes generating the tactile output on the touch-sensitive surface.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface and one or more sensors to detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, cause the device to:

detect, on the touch-sensitive surface, a gesture that includes an increase of intensity of a contact above a respective intensity threshold; and

in response to detecting the gesture, conditionally generate a tactile output based on a determination of the number of contacts in the gesture, wherein conditionally generating the tactile output includes;

in accordance with a determination that the gesture includes a first number of contacts, perform a first operation in accordance with the gesture and generate the tactile output on the touch-sensitive surface, wherein the tactile output is a tactile output that corresponds to the increase of intensity of the contact above the respective intensity threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the gesture includes a second number of contacts different from the first number, perform a second operation, distinct from the first operation, in accordance with the gesture without generating the tactile output on the touch- sensitive surface.

2. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the tactile output is a predefined tactile output that is generated when a user performs one of a set of predefined single-contact user interface object interaction operations in the user interface.

3. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the first number of contacts is one contact; and

the second number of contacts is two or more contacts.

4. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the respective intensity threshold is an activation threshold and the tactile output provides a confirmation that the activation threshold has been met.

5. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the gesture includes a press input detected on the touch-sensitive surface while a focus selector is over a control icon displayed on the display.

6. The computer readable storage medium of claim 1, including instructions which cause the device to:

detect a plurality of contacts on the touch-sensitive surface; and

assign one or more of the plurality of contacts, comprising less than all of the plurality of contacts, to the gesture in accordance with predefined gesture criteria.

7. An electronic device, comprising:

a display;

a touch-sensitive surface;

one or more sensors to detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

detecting, on the touch-sensitive surface, a gesture that includes an increase of intensity of a contact above a respective intensity threshold; and

in response to detecting the gesture, conditionally generating a tactile output based on a determination of the number of contacts in the gesture, wherein conditionally generating the tactile output includes;

in accordance with a determination that the gesture includes a first number of contacts, performing a first operation in accordance with the gesture and generating the tactile output on the touch-sensitive surface, wherein the tactile output is a tactile output that corresponds to the increase of intensity of the contact above the respective intensity threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the gesture includes a second number of contacts different from the first number, performing a second operation, distinct from the first operation, in accordance with the gesture without generating the tactile output on the touch-sensitive surface.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein:

the tactile output is a predefined tactile output that is generated when a user performs one of a set of predefined single-contact user interface object interaction operations in the user interface.

9. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein:

the first number of contacts is one contact; and

the second number of contacts is two or more contacts.

10. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the respective intensity threshold is an activation threshold and the tactile output provides a confirmation that the activation threshold has been met.

11. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the gesture includes a press input detected on the touch-sensitive surface while a focus selector is over a control icon displayed on the display.

12. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for:

detecting a plurality of contacts on the touch-sensitive surface; and

assigning one or more of the plurality of contacts, comprising less than all of the plurality of contacts, to the gesture in accordance with predefined gesture criteria.

13. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with a display and a touch-sensitive surface, wherein the device includes one or more sensors to detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface;

detecting, on the touch-sensitive surface, a gesture that includes an increase of intensity of a contact above a respective intensity threshold; and

in response to detecting the gesture, conditionally generating a tactile output based on a determination of the number of contacts in the gesture, wherein conditionally generating the tactile output includes;

in accordance with a determination that the gesture includes a first number of contacts, performing a first operation in accordance with the gesture and generating the tactile output on the touch-sensitive surface, wherein the tactile output is a tactile output that corresponds to the increase of intensity of the contact above the respective intensity threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the gesture includes a second number of contacts different from the first number, performing a second operation, distinct from the first operation, in accordance with the gesture without generating the tactile output on the touch-sensitive surface.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the tactile output is a predefined tactile output that is generated when a user performs one of a set of predefined single-contact user interface object interaction operations in the user interface.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein:

the first number of contacts is one contact; and

the second number of contacts is two or more contacts.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the respective intensity threshold is an activation threshold and the tactile output provides a confirmation that the activation threshold has been met.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the gesture includes a press input detected on the touch-sensitive surface while a focus selector is over a control icon displayed on the display.

18. The method of claim 13, including:

detect a plurality of contacts on the touch-sensitive surface; and

assign one or more of the plurality of contacts, comprising less than all of the plurality of contacts, to the gesture in accordance with predefined gesture criteria.