A Voice Controlled Cursor

• US 20060026537A1
• Filed: 07/20/2005
• Published: 02/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: L'Heureux, Antoine
• Application Number:
  US11/161,029
• Publication Number:
  US 20060026537A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04892 Arrangements for controlling cursor position based on codes indicative of cursor displacements from one discrete location to another, e.g. using cursor control keys associated to different directions or using the tab key arrangements for controlling cursor position based on coordinate signals G06F3/038
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

The invention is directed to a voice controlled cursor, location pointer, mouse pointer or the like whereby a user'"'"'s spoken input or inputs indicative of both a direction and a distance are employed to directly move the cursor from its current position towards a target position on a display of a graphical user interface (GUI) of a computing device. The cursor has a navigational marker associated therewith. In a first step, the marker is moved in response to at least one set of direction and distance indications inputted by a user to the computing device prior to moving the cursor to be co-incident with the marker at its new position. The marker is provided to enable a user to position it at a target position for the cursor prior to moving the cursor to said position.

Claims

1. A method of moving an element displayed on a computer display from a current position thereof towards a target position, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a user'"'"'s input indicative of a direction and a distance; and

moving said element from its currently displayed position directly to a new position defined by a direction and by a distance derived from the user'"'"'s input.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein that part of a user'"'"'s input or inputs indicative of a direction comprises any of an angle relative to a datum, a compass direction relative to the orientation of the computer display and an alpha-numeric character encoding an angle or a direction indication.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein that part of a user'"'"'s input or inputs indicative of a distance comprises any of an absolute distance, a relative distance and an alpha-numeric character encoding a distance indication.

4. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the navigation marker associated with the display element includes at least one line displayed on the computer display, said line extending generally radially outwardly from said navigation marker.

7. A data processing system comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor, said memory storing programs executable by the processor;

a display screen coupled to the processor for displaying images under the control of programs being executed by the processor;

the programs stored on the memory including a program for creating a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display screen;

wherein said GUI is responsive to a user'"'"'s input indicative of a direction and a distance to move said element from its currently displayed position directly to a new position defined by a direction and by a distance derived from the user'"'"'s input.

8. A system as claimed in claim 30, wherein said data processing system comprise any of a network computer, a Web-based television set top box, an Internet appliance, a handheld device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a mobile communication device.

9. A system as claimed in claim 30, wherein the GUI is configured to display a navigation marker in association with the display element.

10. A system as claimed in claim 39, wherein the GUI is configured to rotate navigational marker.

11. A system as claimed in claim 39, wherein the GUI is configured to display at least one radially extending line of the navigation marker with a plurality of distance indications.

12. A system as claimed in claim 48, wherein each of said subdivided distance indications of the at least one radially extending line has an alpha-numeric character associated therewith, wherein input of a selected character by a user comprises the user'"'"'s distance indication.

5. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the navigational marker can be rotated in response to a user input.

6. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein at least one radially extending line of the navigation marker is subdivided into a plurality of distance indications.

13. A system as claimed in claim 48, wherein the size of the subdivided distance indications varies over the length of the radially extending line.

14. A system as claimed in claim 50, wherein the size of the subdivided distance indications is smallest closest to the marker.

15. A system as claimed in claim 51, wherein the size of the subdivided distance indications grows exponentially with distance from the marker.

16. A system as claimed in claim 50, wherein the size arrangement of the subdivided distance indications is determined from a user'"'"'s settings.

17. A system as claimed in claim 48, wherein the GUI is configured to only display distance indications after a user has input a direction indication.

18. A system as claimed in claim 32, wherein the GUI is configured to display the navigational marker in response to a user input.

19. A system as claimed in claim 55, wherein the GUI is configured to display the marker at one of a predetermined position on the computer display and at the display element'"'"'s current position in accordance with a user'"'"'s settings.

20. A machine readable medium comprising computer code executable by a processor of a data processing system having a memory coupled to the processor, said memory storing programs executable by the processor, and a display screen coupled to the processor for displaying images under the control of the programs being executed by the processor, the programs stored on the memory including a program for creating a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display screen;

wherein said GUI code is executable to move a display element from its currently displayed position directly to a new position defined by a direction and by a distance derived from a user'"'"'s input indicative of a direction and a distance.