MANAGING INPUTS FROM A PLURALITY OF USER INPUT DEVICE ACTUATORS

• US 20090288039A1
• Filed: 05/15/2008
• Published: 11/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Davuluri, Pavan, Dmitriev, Vadim, Sarmiento, Nino Aldrin, Mistry, Tejas, Odell, Dan, Mail, Scott M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,418,076 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/815
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• 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 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

A computing device and method for managing inputs from a plurality of user input device actuators are provided. The computing device may include code stored in memory for implementing, via a processor, an actuator input module configured to receive a first actuator input from a first user input device actuator, and a second actuator input from a second user input device actuator. The computing device may further execute code to implement a window selection module configured to select a first selected window to which the first actuator input is sent according to predetermined selection rules, to select a second selected window to which the second actuator input is sent according to the predetermined selection rules, and to send the first actuator input to the first selected window and to send the second actuator input to the second selected window.

Claims

1. A computing device for managing inputs from a plurality of user input device actuators, the computing device comprising code stored in memory for implementing via a processor:

an actuator input module configured to receive a first actuator input from a first user input device actuator, and a second actuator input from a second user input device actuator; and

a window selection module configured to select a first selected window to which the first actuator input is sent according to predetermined selection rules, and to select a second selected window to which the second actuator input is sent according to the predetermined selection rules, and to send the first actuator input to the first selected window and to send the second actuator input to the second selected window.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the window selection module is further configured to encode the first actuator input and/or the second actuator input to instruct the first selected window and/or second selected window to perform an action based on the first actuator input and/or second actuator input, the action being selected from the group consisting of tabbing, list item selection, scrolling, mode changing, window switching, gadget switching, zooming, window sizing, menu list access, multiple desktop switching, magnification, panning, rate change, sensitivity adjustment, and user re-assignable actions.

3. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first and second user input actuators are configured to receive scrolling inputs and are selected from the group consisting of scroll wheels and touch sensors.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined selection rules is based on a detected spatial position of the first selected window and/or the second selected window.

5. The computing device of claim 4, wherein the detected spatial position includes a detected variation in horizontal position or vertical position of the first selected window and the second selected window.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined selection rules is based on a detected temporal property of the first selected window and/or the second selected window.

7. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the temporal property is a chronological order of the first selected window and/or a chronological order of the second selected window.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the predetermined selection rules is based on a user specified setting.

9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the user specified setting includes a user mapping of a GUI element within a window to the first actuator input or second actuator input.

10. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first user input device actuator and the second user input device actuator are mounted in a user input device having a housing.

11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the first user input device actuator and the second user input device actuator are separated by a divider.

12. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the first and second actuators are constructed to be different in material, shape, size, texture, and/or color.

13. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the first and second actuators have distinguishable haptic responses.

14. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first and second actuators are each mounted in respective user input devices having respective housings.

15. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first and second actuators are each mounted in a common housing shaped like a mouse.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the predetermined selection rules are based on factors selected from the group consisting of spatial position of the first and second selected windows, temporal properties of the first and second selected windows, and user specified settings.

16. A method for operation of a computing device, comprising:

receiving a first actuator input from a first user input device actuator;

receiving a second actuator input from a second user input device actuator;

associating the first actuator input with a first selected window in response to one or more predetermined selection rules;

associating the second actuator input with a second selected window in response to the predetermined selection rules;

triggering a first action in the first selected window in response to a first actuator input; and

triggering a second action in the second selected window in response to a second actuator input.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein each of the first and second actions is selected from the group consisting of tabbing, list item selection, scrolling, mode changing, window switching, gadget switching, zooming, window sizing, menu list access, multiple desktop switching, magnification, panning, rate change, sensitivity adjustment, and user re-assignable actions.

19. The method of claim 16,

wherein triggering the first action in the first window includes sending the first actuator input to the first selected window;

and

wherein triggering the second action in the second window includes sending the second actuator input to the second selected window.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the first user input device actuator and second user input device actuator are substantially parallel scroll wheels partially enclosed by a housing in the shape of a mouse, the housing including a right and a left button proximate to the scroll wheels.