Secondary touch contextual sub-menu navigation for touch screen interface

• US 20040150668A1
• Filed: 01/31/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Myers, Thomas A., McComber, Brandon S., Krolczyk, Marc J., Griffith, Jeremy H.L., Eckler, Travis, Ranke, Richard S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,158,123 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/771
• 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 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A touch sensitive user interface of the type having a display screen for displaying images representative of menus and selectable list objects, for example; control logic responsive to the touch sensitive user interface for determining the contact position of a first probe and a second probe, such as two separate fingers, thereon, displaying menus including list objects representing primary and secondary features or functions respectively, so that a user may touch a selection on the primary menu with the first probe and subsequently touch an area on the display screen where a contextually related secondary menu is displayed for selection of contextually related features or functions.

Claims

1. A touch sensitive user interface system including:

a display screen (20) for displaying a plurality of primary and secondary images (86,92) representative of primary and secondary selectable options;

touch sensitive means (56) for detecting the concurrent presence of at least one of a first probe (84) and a second probe (88) in contact with the display screen (20); and

,

control logic (38), responsive to the touch sensitive means (56), for

determining the first probe contact position,

defining for each primary image representative of a primary selectable option, a first probe contact area of predetermined size, over which contact with the first probe selects the primary option,

displaying a secondary menu (90) including a plurality of secondary images representative of secondary selectable options, and

defining for each secondary image representative of a secondary selectable option, a second contact area of predetermined size, over which contact with the second probe selects the secondary option.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the control logic is configured to determine a contact position of the second probe and display the secondary menu with focus in a contact area overlapping the second probe contact position.

3. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the secondary menu is contextually related to the selected primary option.

4. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the control logic is configured to complete the selected secondary option upon detection of contact release of the second probe.

5. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the control logic is configured to deselect the secondary options upon detection of movement while maintaining contact of the contact position of the second probe to one of an area outside the secondary menu and a non-selection area inside the secondary menu.

6. The system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the control logic is configured to remove the secondary menu upon detection of contact release of the second probe when the secondary options are deselected.

7. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the control logic is configured to upgrade the secondary menu to be the primary menu upon detection of contact release of the first probe, wherein the second probe subsequently functions as the first probe and vice versa.

8. A touch sensitive user interface system, operated in a xerographic environment, including:

a display screen for displaying a plurality of primary and secondary images representative of primary and secondary selectable options;

said display screen having associated closely therewith a plurality of light source and light detector pairs arranged with respect to the display screen and defining an array of detection cells thereover, said light sources and light detector pairs arranged to detect concurrent impingement of at least one of a first probe and a second probe at one or more of said detection cells defined thereby, and produce at least one of a first detection signal and a second detection signal indicative of impingement and the location thereof respectively; and

,

control logic for

providing correspondence between one or more detection cells and the primary selectable options,

defining for each primary image representative of a primary selectable option a primary group of cells at which contact with the first probe selects the primary option,

displaying a secondary menu including a plurality of secondary images representative of secondary selectable options, and

defining for each secondary image representative of a secondary selectable option, a secondary group of cells, over which contact with the second probe selects the secondary option.

9. The system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the control logic is configured to determine a concurrent contact position of the second probe and display the secondary menu with focus in a contact area overlapping the second probe contact position.

10. The system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the secondary menu is contextually related to the selected primary option.

11. The system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the control logic is configured to complete the selected secondary option upon detection of contact release of the second probe.

12. The system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the control logic is configured to deselect the secondary options upon detection of movement of the contact position while maintaining contact of the second probe to a group of cells not defined with respect to a secondary image.

13. The system as set forth in claim 12, wherein the control logic is configured to remove the secondary menu upon detection of contact release of the second probe while the secondary options are deselected.

14. The system as set forth in claim 8, wherein the control logic is configured to upgrade the secondary menu to be the primary menu upon detection of contact release of the first probe, wherein the second probe subsequently functions as the first probe and vice versa.

15. A method for secondary touch navigation comprising:

displaying a plurality of primary and secondary images representative of primary and secondary selectable options on a display screen;

detecting the presence of at least one of a first probe and a second probe in contact with the display screen;

determining the first probe contact position,

defining for each primary image representative of a primary selectable option, a first probe contact area of predetermined size, over which contact with the first probe selects the primary option,

selecting a primary option by contact with the first probe;

displaying a secondary menu including a plurality of secondary images representative of secondary selectable options upon simultaneous contact of the second probe, and

defining for each secondary image representative of a secondary selectable option, a second contact area of predetermined size, over which contact with the second probe selects the secondary option.

16. The method as set forth in claim 15, further including:

determining a contact position of the second probe; and

,

displaying the secondary menu with focus in a contact area overlapping the second probe contact position.

17. The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein the secondary menu is contextually related to the selected primary option.

18. The method as set forth in claim 15, further including:

completing the selected secondary option upon detection of contact release of the second probe.

19. The method as set forth in claim 15, further including:

deselecting the secondary options upon detection of movement of the contact position of the second probe to a non-selection area; and

,

removing the secondary menu upon detection of contact release of the second probe while the secondary options are deselected.

20. The method as set forth in claim 15, further including:

upgrading the secondary menu to be the primary menu upon detection of contact release of the first probe, wherein the second probe subsequently functions as the first probe and vice versa.