Data entry user interface

• US 20040239649A1
• Filed: 06/17/2004
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ironworks Patents LLC
• Original Assignee: Sony Electronics Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ludtke, Harold Aaron
• Granted Patent: US 7,268,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A method and system for selecting a value from a range of values includes selecting a field having a value, selecting a location of a graphic to choose a value from the range, and then reselecting the field to store the value.

Claims

1. A method of selecting a value using a touch-sensitive screen comprising:

displaying a first value in a textbox on the screen;

displaying a graphic on the screen, the graphic having two ends and an indicator having a first position between the two ends;

determining whether the user has selected the textbox;

changing the appearance of the screen to indicate the textbox has been selected by the user;

determining whether the user has moved the indicator from the first position to a second position towards or away from one of the ends;

selecting a candidate value from a range of values based on the second position of the indicator and as a function selected from a group consisting of the velocity at which the user moves the indicator from the first to the second position, the acceleration at which the user moves the indicator from the first to the second position, the pressure applied on the screen at the indicator or at either end, and the duration the user has tapped on the indicator or on either end;

displaying the candidate value in the textbox; and

storing the candidate value as the value associated with the textbox if the textbox is tapped after the step of selecting a candidate value.

2. A method of selecting a value comprising:

displaying a first and second textbox on the screen;

determining whether a user has selected the first or second textbox based on whether the user has tapped on the first or second textbox, respectively;

selecting a first or second set of data depending on whether the first or second textbox was selected, respectively, and wherein each data set includes a different range of values;

displaying a graphic on the screen, the graphic having two ends, and an indicator positioned between the two ends, where a length between the two ends represents a range of values of the selected data set;

determining whether the user has moved the indicator based on whether the user has slid on the graphic towards or away from one of the ends;

selecting a candidate value from the selected data set based on the position of the indicator and as a function selected from a group consisting of the velocity at which the user moves the indicator, the acceleration at which the user moves the indicator, the pressure applied on the screen at the indicator or at either end, and the duration the user has tapped on the indicator or on either end; and

displaying the candidate value in the selected field.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selected data set is an XML (extensible Markup Language) file.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of displaying the candidate value in the selected textbox replaces a previously displayed value in the selected textbox.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the determined steps are performed by a processor that sets the value for the selected one of the number of textboxes and replaces a previously displayed value in the selected one of the number of textboxes.

6. A method of selecting a value with a device, the device providing a first and second textbox and a slider control having a moveable indicator, said method comprising:

associating the slider control with a first set of data if the first textbox has been selected;

associating the slider control with a second set of data if the second textbox has been selected, wherein the first data set contains a different collection of values than the second data set;

selecting a value in response to movement of the indicator and as a function selected from a group consisting of the velocity at which the user moves the indicator, the acceleration at which the user moves the indicator, the pressure applied on the screen at the indicator, and the duration the user has tapped on the indicator, such that moving the indicator will select a value from the first data set if the first textbox is selected, and moving the indicator will select a value from the second data set if the second textbox is selected;

displaying the value selected; and

storing the displayed value.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the textboxes are displayed on a touch-sensitive screen and a textbox is selected by tapping the area of the screen occupied by the textbox.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of storing the displayed value comprises storing the displayed value if the selected textbox is tapped after the indicator is moved.

9. A method of selecting a value with a touch-sensitive screen, wherein one area of the screen is occupied by a first textbox, another area of the screen is occupied by a second textbox, and yet another area of the screen is occupied by a slider having a moveable indicator, said method comprising:

associating the slider area of the screen with a first set of data if the area of the screen occupied by the first textbox has been tapped;

associating the slider area of the screen with a second set of data if the area of the screen occupied by the second textbox has been tapped, wherein the first data set contains a different range of values than the second data set;

selecting a value in response to movement of the indicator and as a function selected from a group consisting of the velocity at which the user moves the indicator, the acceleration at which the user moves the indicator, the pressure applied on the screen at the indicator, and the duration the user has tapped on the indicator, such that moving the indicator will select a value from the first data set if the first textbox has been tapped, and moving the indicator will select a value from the second data set if the second textbox has been tapped;

displaying the value selected, wherein the value is displayed in the area of the screen associated with the tapped textbox; and

storing the displayed value.

10. An apparatus comprising:

a touch screen for displaying one of a number of fields and a slider having a position indicator;

a storage device for storing a number of data sets, each data set being associated with a corresponding one of the number of fields, each data set including range values for the slider; and

a processor, responsive to a selection of one of the number of fields by a user for retrieving the associated one of the number of data sets and for setting a range of the slider to the range values of the associated data set;

wherein the processor sets a value for the selected one of the number of fields as a function selected from a group consisting of the velocity at which the user moves the indicator, the acceleration at which the user moves the indicator, the pressure applied on the screen at the indicator, and the duration the user has tapped on the indicator.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the data sets are XML (extensible Markup Language) documents.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the fields are text fields.