CONTROL OF COMPUTER WINDOW SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS USING HIGH DIMENSIONAL TOUCHPAD USER INTERFACE

• US 20100110025A1
• Filed: 07/29/2009
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NRI R&D Patent Licensing, LLC (Advanced Touchscreen and Gesture Technologies, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Lester F. Ludwig
• Inventors: Lim, Seung E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,169,414 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/214 for locating contacts on a surface, e.g. floor mats or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 21/00 Systems for transmitting the position of an object with respect to a predetermined reference system, e.g. tele-autographic system
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications

Abstract

A high dimensional touchpad (HDTP) controls a variety of computer windows systems and applications by detecting a user'"'"'s finger movement in the left-right, forward-backward, roll, pitch, yaw, and downward pressure directions. One or more of the detected finger movements are then used to control specific computer applications including focusing a user'"'"'s attention to one of several web pages, gesture recognition, magnification control, 3D-polyhedral menu selection, Internet browsers, navigation applications, games, media players, spreadsheets, and controlling the functions of mobile devices.

Claims

1. A method for controlling an electronic game, the method comprising:

touching a touchpad with at least one finger;

measuring at least one change in one angle of the position of the finger with respect to the surface of the touchpad and producing a measured-angle value; and

using the measured-angle value to control the value of at least one user interface parameter of the electronic game.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic game is a shooter game.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic game is a game wherein an animated ball is hit.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic game is a game wherein an animated ball is thrown.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic game is a game involving skiing.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic game is a game involving snowboarding.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the electronic game is a game involving flight simulation.

8. A method for controlling a computer operating system, the method comprising:

touching a touchpad with at least one finger;

measuring at least one change in one angle of the position of the finger with respect to the surface of the touchpad and producing a measured-angle value; and

using the measured-angle value to control the value of at least one user interface parameter of the computer operating system.

9. A method for controlling an observation viewpoint of a 3D map, the method comprising:

touching a touchpad with at least one finger;

measuring at least one change in one angle of the position of the finger with respect to the surface of the touchpad and producing a measured-angle value; and

using the measured-angle value to control the value of at least one user interface parameter of the observation viewpoint.