Method and system for manipulating graphical objects displayed on a touch-sensitive display surface using displaced pop-ups

• US 20060181519A1
• Filed: 02/14/2005
• Published: 08/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Vernier, Frederic D., Hancock, Mark S., Forlines, Clifton L., Shen, Chia
• Application Number:
  US11/057,744
• Publication Number:
  US 20060181519A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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

Graphical objects, such as documents and pop-up items, are projected onto a display surface of a touch-sensitive graphical user interface. The pop-up items associated with a particular document are displayed at a distance from the document. The distance is sufficient to prevent occlusion of the associated document when any of the pop-up items are touched. The pop-up items are connected visually with the particular document by transparent, that is, alpha-blended, colored triangles, so that the pop-up items appear to hover above the display surface.

Claims

1. A method for operating a touch-sensitive graphical user interface, comprising:

displaying a first graphical object on a display surface of a touch-sensitive graphical user interface;

displaying a second graphical object used to manipulate the first graphical object at a distance from the first graphical object, the distance being sufficient to prevent occlusion of the first graphical object when the second graphical object is touched; and

connecting visually the first and second graphical objects on the display surface.

2. The method of claim 1, in which the display surface is a tabletop, and further comprising:

projecting the first and second graphical objects onto the tabletop.

3. The method of claim 1, in which the first graphical object is a document, and the second graphical object is a pop-up item.

4. The method of claim 3, in which the pop-up item is a graphical tool.

5. The method of claim 3, in which the pop-up item is a menu.

6. The method of claim 3, in which the pop-up item is a property of the document.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sensing concurrently multiple touches made by a single user of the graphical user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sensing concurrently multiple touches made by multiple users of the graphical user interface.

9. The method of claim 1, in which the touching is a gesture.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

positioning the first and second graphical object to arbitrary locations on the display surface.

11. The method of claim 10, in which the graphical objects are positioned individually.

12. The method of claim 10, in which the positioning includes moving, dragging, rotating, resizing, and re-orienting.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a set of the second graphical objects used to manipulate the first graphical object at a distance from the first graphical object, the distance being sufficient to prevent occlusion of the first graphical object when the set of second graphical object item are touched; and

connecting visually the first graphical object to each second graphical object on the display surface.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

associating a displayed handle with the set of second graphical objects; and

positioning the set of second displayed object as a group when the handle is touched and moved.

15. The method of claim 1, in which the connecting visually is in a form of transparent, colored triangles, each triangle having an apex at a center of the first graphical object, and a base on one side of the second graphical object.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

orienting the first and second graphical objects according to a position of a user touching the first and second graphical objects.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating a drag tool and a rotate tool with the first graphical object, the drag tool and the rotate tool located at comers of the first graphical object.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

touching the first graphical object with a first hand to select the graphical object; and

touching the second graphical object with a second hand to manipulate the first graphical object.

19. A method for operating a touch-sensitive graphical user interface, comprising:

displaying a set of documents on a display surface of a touch-sensitive graphical user interface;

displaying, for each document, a set of pop-up items used to manipulate the associated document at a distance from the associated document, the distance being sufficient to prevent occlusion of the associated document when any of the pop-up items are touched; and

connecting visually, for each document, the set of pop-up items.

20. A touch-sensitive graphical user interface, comprising:

means for displaying a first graphical object on a display surface of a touch-sensitive graphical user interface;

means for displaying a second graphical object used to manipulate the first graphical object at a distance from the first graphical object, the distance being sufficient to prevent occlusion of the first graphical object when the second graphical object item is touched; and

means for connecting visually the first and second graphical objects on the display surface.