User-interface features for computers with contact-sensitive displays

• US 20040036680A1
• Filed: 05/30/2003
• Published: 02/26/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/26/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Bernoulli, Carlo, Davis, Mark
• Application Number:
  US10/452,233
• Publication Number:
  US 20040036680A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/169
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 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

Embodiments described herein provide for a portable computer with a contact-sensitive display having a user-interface that is configurable through user-contact with the display. An active input area may be provided that is configurable in appearance and functionality. The contents of the active input area, its functionality, and the manner in which it is oriented, particularly with respect to a left or right handedness, are described herein.

Claims

1. A portable computer comprising:

a housing;

a contact-sensitive display supported by the housing, wherein a surface of the display is exposed and viewable on a front of the housing;

a processor coupled to the display and configured to;

provide an active input area on the display comprising a handwriting recognition area, wherein the processor recognizes strokes entered on the handwriting recognition area as characters;

wherein in a portrait orientation, the processor is configured to display the active input area to extend primarily in a left-right direction from a perspective of a user operating the portable computer;

wherein in a landscape orientation, the processor is configured to display the active input area to extend primarily in a top-bottom direction from the perspective of the user;

wherein the processor is configured to detect a user-input to select a handedness for the landscape orientation, and in response to the selection corresponding to a right-handedness orientation, providing the active input area adjacent to a right boundary of the surface from the perspective of the user, and in response to the selection corresponding to a left-handedness orientation, providing the active input area adjacent to a left boundary of the surface from the perspective of the user.

2. The portable computer of claim 1, further comprising a set of one or more buttons, wherein with respect to a portrait orientation, the buttons are provided between a bottom surface of the surface and a bottom edge of the housing.

3. The portable computer of claim 2, wherein the contact-sensitive display includes a digitizer that is coupled to the processor to detect contact with the display.

4. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to display one or more icons within the active input area, wherein each of the one or more icons is selectable to cause the processor to perform a function associated with that icon.

5. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to display the active input area in response to a user-selection to make the active input area appear.

6. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to display the active input area to cover only a minority portion of the surface.

7. The portable computer of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to display a persistent task bar on the display, and to provide an item on the task bar that can be selected through contact with the display in order to cause the processor to display the active input area.

8. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the handwriting recognition area of the active input area is, in the portrait orientation, segmented into at least a left cell and a right cell from the perspective of the user, and wherein in a landscape orientation, the left cell is provided as a top cell, and the right cell is provided as a bottom cell.

9. The portable computer of claim 8, wherein the left cell and the top cell is for recognizing a first set of characters, and the right and the bottom cell is for recognizing a second set of characters.

10. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the left cell and top cell are for recognizing one of alphabet characters or numeric characters, and the right cell and the bottom cell are for recognizing the other of the alphabet characters or numeric characters.

11. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the active input area is provided adjacent to an application portion of the surface where content from the portable computer executing an application is displayed, so that in the right-handedness orientation, the application portion of the surface appears to the left of the active input area, and so that in the left-handedness orientation, the application portion of the surface appears to the right of the active input area.

12. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the processor recognizes strokes entered on a first portion of the active input area as alphabetical characters, and the processor recognizes strokes entered on a second portion of the active input area as numeric characters.

13. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the user-input for selecting the handedness of the portable computer corresponds to a user making contact with the surface.

14. The portable computer of claim 9, wherein the processor immediately recognizes strokes entered on at least a portion of the active input area as characters, and for each stroke, immediately displays a character recognized from the stroke on the application portion of the surface.

15. The portable computer of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to adjust one or more dimensions of at least a portion of the active input area in response to user-input.

16. The portable computer of claim 8, wherein the handwriting recognition area may be segmented into three or more cells, wherein each cell is designated for receiving strokes from a corresponding set of strokes that is assigned to that particular cell.

17. A method for configuring a portable computer, wherein the portable computer includes a housing, and a contact-sensitive display supported by the housing, wherein a surface of the display is viewable from the housing, wherein the method comprises:

providing an active input area on the surface of the display that includes at least a handwriting recognition area upon which strokes may be entered and recognized as characters;

providing a portrait orientation for the display in which the active input area is displayed to extend primarily widthwise but not lengthwise with respect to a perspective of the user viewing the display;

providing a landscape orientation for the display in which the active input area extends primarily lengthwise but not widthwise with respect to a perspective of the user viewing the display;

detecting a selection of a handedness for the landscape orientation;

in response to the selection corresponding to a right-handedness orientation, providing the active input area adjacent to a right boundary of the surface from a perspective of a user looking at the display; and

in response to the selection corresponding to a left-handedness orientation, providing the active input area adjacent to a left boundary of the surface from a perspective of the user looking at the display.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing one or more active icons as part of the active input area.

19. A portable computer comprising:

a contact-sensitive display including a display surface;

a processor coupled to the display and configured to;

immediately recognize strokes entered through contact onto a handwriting recognition area of the display surface as characters; and

receive a user-input to alter one or more dimensions of the handwriting recognition area.

20. The portable computer of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to display the handwriting recognition area to the user so that the handwriting recognition area is a delineated portion of what appears on the display surface.

21. The portable computer of claim 20, wherein the user-input includes the user directing an object to make contact with a location of the display surface approximately where a boundary of the handwriting recognition area is provided.

22. The portable computer of claim 21, wherein the user-input further includes the user dragging the object on the display surface a certain distance to indicate a new value for the dimension of the handwriting recognition area being altered.

23. The portable computer of claim 19, wherein the process is configured to segment the handwriting recognition area into three or more cells, wherein the first cell is designated for recognizing strokes entered onto that cell as a character from a first set of characters, wherein the second cell is designated for recognizing strokes entered onto that cell as a character from a second set of characters, and wherein the third cell is designated for recognizing strokes entered onto that cell as a character from a third set of characters.

24. A portable computer comprising:

a contact-sensitive display including a display surface;

a processor coupled to the display and configured to;

recognize a stroke entered through contact onto any portion of the display surface as a character from a set of characters; and

simultaneously with recognizing a stroke entered through contact, display a glyph that matched the stroke.

25. The portable computer of claim 24, further comprising immediately displaying the recognized character along the with glyph that matched the recognized stroke.