DIRECTION-BASED DATA ENTRY SYSTEM

• US 20090158194A1
• Filed: 12/14/2007
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jensen, Christian B., Dibbern, Erik, Engelharth, Ricky K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,971,152 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/780
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials

Abstract

A direction-based data entry system displays a field having an initial value and a field location. When the user selects the field, the direction-based data entry system enters a data entry mode in which an auxiliary data entry tool is not displayed. To enter a new value for the field, the user indicates movement across the display relative to the field. As the user indicates movement, the direction-based data entry system may display an indication of a new value for the field represented by the movement. When the new value is the value that the user wants entered into the field, the user terminates the movement, which causes the new value to be the current value for the field.

Claims

1. A method in a computing device for data entry, the method comprising:

displaying a field having an initial value and a field location;

receiving a selection of the field for data entry;

without displaying an auxiliary data entry tool,

receiving indications of movement relative to the field location of the field; and

receiving an indication of termination of the movement;

determining a new value for the field based on the movement occurring from the selection of the field until termination of the movement; and

displaying the new value in the field.

2. The method of claim 1 including displaying an indication of a new value for the field during the movement.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the indication of the new value is displayed at a position associated with the position of the current movement.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining of the new value is based on direction of the movement relative to the field location.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the determining of the new value is based on speed of the movement.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein when the termination of the movement occurs within the field location of the field, determining that the new value is the initial value.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein when the value of the field includes multiple parts, determining which part of the value of the field to modify based on the direction of the movement.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the value of the field is a real number with an integer part and a decimal part.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein direction of the movement indicates speed of selecting new values.

10. A computer-readable storage medium embedded with instructions for controlling a computing device to allow entry of data into a field of a user interface, by a method comprising:

displaying a plurality of fields, a field having an initial value and a field location indicating boundary of the field;

receiving a selection of a field for data entry;

without displaying an auxiliary data entry tool,

receiving indications of movement relative to the field location of the selected field, the indications of movement being input by a user pointing to a position;

for indications of movement,

determining a new value for the selected field based on direction of the movement relative to the field location of the selected field; and

displaying an indication of the new value in association with the position of the movement;

receiving an indication of termination of the movement;

when the movement has terminated outside of the field location of the selected field, displaying the last determined new value in the selected field; and

when the movement has terminated inside of the field location of the selected field, continuing with the display of the initial value in the selected field.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the determining of the new value for the selected field is further based on speed of the movement.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein when the value of the selected field includes multiple parts, determining which part of the value of the selected field to modify based on the direction of the movement.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 wherein the value of the selected field is a real number with an integer part and a decimal part.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein the direction of the movement indicates speed of increasing or decreasing the new values.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein a field has an ordered list of possible values of the field.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 wherein the determining of a new value selects a value from the list of possible values that is either a next value or a previous value in the list based on direction of the movement.

17. A computing device for data entry comprising:

a display for displaying a field having an initial value;

a data input mechanism that allows a user to select the displayed field and indicate movement relative to the displayed field without displaying an auxiliary data entry tool;

a component that receives indications of movement, determines new values for the field, and displays the new values during the movement; and

a component that, upon detecting termination of the movement, displays the last determined new value in the field.

18. The computing device of claim 17 wherein an auxiliary data entry tool that is not displayed includes a drop-down list and a slider.

19. The computing device of claim 17 including a component that, when a current position of the movement at termination is within the displayed field, continues to display the initial value in the field.

20. The computing device of claim 17 wherein the field has an associated ordered list of possible values and the component that determines new values selects values from the list in increasing or decreasing order depending on direction of movement.