Computer interface for navigating graphical user interface by touch

• US 20030090474A1
• Filed: 10/25/2002
• Published: 05/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vortant Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Vortant Technologies, LLC
• Inventors: Schaefer, Philip
• Granted Patent: US 7,379,053 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A system for enabling a user to navigate a graphical user interface by touching pads on a touch surface. The arrangement of the pads on the touch surface is static, but the functions associated with each pad dynamically change in correspondence with functions in the graphical user interface. The functions are automatically and dynamically extracted from the software that creates the window display. Certain pads are regularly used for certain user options found in windows.

Claims

1. A system for interfacing with a computer using touch comprising:

a) a software application that generates a graphical user interface; and

b) an array of pads whose functions are determined by automatically extracting functions from the software application and associating those functions to one or more pads;

such that a user can navigate the graphical user interface on the computer by touching the pads.

2. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a computer monitor, wherein the software application displays the graphical user interface in one or more windows on a the screen of the computer monitor and each window further comprises one or more user options.

3. The system according to claim 2 wherein each user option is dynamically associated with one or more pads each time a window is made active.

4. The system according to claim 3 wherein each user option is dynamically associated with one or more pads each time the user options change within the active window.

5. The system according to claim 2 wherein a cue is sounded each time a window is made active.

6. A system for interfacing with a computer using touch comprising:

a) a touch surface having a plurality of pads;

b) a first software application in communication with a second software application, the first software application capable of generating one or more windows, wherein each window comprises a one or more user options;

c) the second software application in communication with the touch surface, the second software application capable of extracting a one or more user options within each window and associating one or more of the extracted user options with one or more pads.

7. The system according to claim 6 wherein the extraction and association of the user options is done whenever a new window is made active.

8. The system according to claim 7 wherein the extraction and association of the user options is done each time the user options change within the active window.

9. The system according to claim 6 wherein a cue is sounded each time a window is made active.

10. The system according to claim 6 wherein the touch surface has a subset of pads wherein stroking the pads serially causes a new window to be made active, thereby simulating the feel of turning a page in a book.

11. The system according to claim 6 wherein the touch surface has a subset of pads wherein touching one or more of the pads in the subset causes the contents of a window to scroll.

12. The system according to claim 6 wherein the touch surface has a subset of pads wherein touching one or more of the pads in the subset causes user options to scroll.

13. The system of claim 6 wherein the extraction and association are accomplished by:

a) identifying the active window within the first software application;

b) identifying the user options and their labels;

c) transmitting to the second software application data describing the user options and their labels; and

d) associating the user options to a one or more pads.

14. The system according to claim 6 further comprising:

a) a computer screen, on which each window generated by the first software application is displayed;

b) each window further comprises one or more user options; and

c) a label assigned to each user option.

15. The system according to claim 12 further comprising means for reading aloud each label when the pad associated with the user option is touched.

16. The system according to claim 12 further comprising means for displaying each label in large type on the computer screen when the pad associated with the user option is touched.

17. The system according to claim 12 further comprising means for displaying each label on a refreshable Braille device when the pad associated with the user option is touched.

18. A system for interfacing with a computer using touch comprising:

a) a touch surface having a plurality of pads, wherein the pads have means for sensing a touch;

b) means for generating one or more windows wherein each window comprises a one or more user options;

c) means for extracting a one or more user options within each window as new user options are generated and associating one or more of the extracted user options with one or more pads;

wherein touching a pad activates one of the user options in a window.

19. The system according to claim 18 further comprising:

a) a computer screen, on which each window generated is displayed;

b) each window further comprises one or more user options; and

c) a label assigned to each user option.

20. The system according to claim 18 further comprising means for communicating the label of each user option to the user.

21. The system according to claim 20 wherein the means for communicating is a text-to-speech synthesizer.

22. The system according to claim 20 wherein the means for communicating is a screen magnifier.

23. The system according to claim 20 wherein the means for communicating is a refreshable Braille device.

24. A process for activating functions on a graphical user interface comprising:

a) extracting a one or more functions from software application that generates windows on a computer screen;

b) associating one or more extracted functions to a pad of a touch surface; and

c) touching a pad, thereby activating the associated function in the window.

25. The process according to claim 24 wherein, each time upon making a new window active, the extraction and association is carried out and a cue is sounded.

26. A touch surface having a set of pads wherein stroking the pads serially causes a new window to be made active, thereby simulating the feel of turning a page in a book.

27. A touch surface having a set of pads wherein stroking the pads serially causes contents of an active window to scroll.

28. A touch surface having a set of pads, wherein serially stroking the pads of the pad set causes the pads to scroll through sub-options of a user option.