OPERATION OF A COMPUTER WITH TOUCH SCREEN INTERFACE

• US 20070174788A1
• Filed: 04/04/2007
• Published: 07/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Ording, Bas
• Granted Patent: US 9,239,677 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/816
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• 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 3/0236 using selection techniques to select from displayed items
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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

A touch screen computer executes an application. A method of operating the touch screen computer in response to a user is provided. A virtual input device is provided on the touch screen. The virtual input device comprises a plurality of virtual keys. It is detected that a user has touched the touch screen to nominally activate at least one virtual key, and a behavior of the user with respect to touch is determined. The determined behavior is processed and a predetermined characteristic is associated with the nominally-activated at least one virtual key. A reaction to the nominal activation is determined based at least in part on a result of processing the determined behavior.

Claims

1. A method executable by a computer system for receiving input from a user, the method comprising:

displaying to the user a virtual keyboard;

receiving from the user input indicating nominal selection of a virtual key;

displaying to the user one or more modified forms of the nominally selected virtual key; and

receiving from the user further input indicating selection of either the nominally selected virtual key or one of the one or more modified forms of the nominally selected virtual key.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying to the user one or more modified forms of the nominally selected virtual key is omitted if the user input indicating selection of either the nominally selected virtual key or one of the one or more modified forms of the nominally selected virtual key is received within a predetermined time from receiving from the user input indicating nominal selection of the virtual key.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein displaying to the user one or more modified forms of the nominally selected virtual key comprises displaying one or more additional virtual keys each uniquely corresponding to the one or more modified forms.

4. A method executable by a computer system for receiving input from a user, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of GUI items to a user;

activating one or more of the GUI items in response to a user input having a first predetermined set of characteristics; and

activating one or more of the GUI items in response to a user input having a second predetermined set of characteristics different from the first predetermined set of characteristics.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the first predetermined set of characteristics comprise one or more items selected from the group consisting of:

pressure, time, spatial location, and motion.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the differences between the first predetermined set of characteristics and the second predetermined set of characteristics cause one or more GUI items to be more difficult to activate than one or more other GUI items.

7. A method executable by a computer system for receiving input from a user, the method comprising:

displaying a plurality of GUI items to a user;

receiving input from a user indicating activation of one of the plurality of GUI items;

displaying an indication of the GUI item to be activated in response to the input; and

activating the indicated GUI item in response to a further input from the user.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

prior to receiving a further input from the user causing activation of the indicated GUI item, receiving further input from the user indicating activation of another one of the plurality of GUI items;

displaying an indication of the GUI item to be activated in response to the further input indicating activation of another one of the plurality of GUI items; and

activating the another one of the plurality of GUI items in response to a further input from the user.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein:

the input received from a user indicating activation of one of the plurality of GUI items comprises a touch on a touch sensitive surface;

the further input received from the user causing activation of the indicated GUI item comprises a liftoff from the touch sensitive surface;

the further input from the user indicating activation of another one of the plurality of GUI items comprise dragging a finger, without lifting, across the touch sensitive surface; and

the further input from the user activating the another one of the plurality of GUI items comprises a liftoff from the touch sensitive surface.