Touch Wheel Zoom And Pan

• US 20100271401A1
• Filed: 12/26/2007
• Published: 10/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Fong, Chee Keat
• Granted Patent: US 8,970,633 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/660
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with controlling zooming and panning on a handheld computing device (e.g., personal digital assistant (PDA)) are described. A PDA may include a touch sensor that can generate both rotational and flick signals. A PDA may display images at different zoom levels. When “zoomed in”, less than an entire image may be displayed. Therefore a PDA may pan to different viewable image portions. An example system includes a receive logic to receive a rotational signal from the touch sensor. The rotational signal has a direction that indicates a desired zoom level change. The example system includes a control logic to change the zoom level in response to the rotational signal and to control the PDA to display the image in accordance with the updated zoom level.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a receive logic to receive a rotational motion signal from a touch sensor associated with a handheld computing device, where the handheld computing device is to display an image at a zoom level, and where the rotational motion signal has a rotational direction that indicates a desired change in the zoom level; and

a control logic to selectively change the zoom level in response to the rotational motion signal and to control the handheld computing device to display the image in accordance with the zoom level.

2. The system of claim 1, where the touch sensor is formed as a dosed loop having a physical constraint formed on an upper surface of the touch sensor and co-extensive with the outer perimeter of the closed loop, and where the rotational motion signal is generated in response to an interaction with the closed loop.

3. The system of claim 1, where the control logic is to selectively increase the zoom level in response to a clockwise rotational direction and where the control logic is to selectively decrease the zoom level in response to a counter-clockwise rotational direction.

4. The system of claim 3, where the rotational motion signal has an angular velocity that indicates a desired rate of change in the zoom level.

5. The system of claim 1, where the receive logic is configured to receive a flick motion signal having a flick direction that indicates a desired relocation direction of a view window associated with the image, and where the control logic is to control the handheld computing device to relocate the view window in response to the flick motion signal.

6. The system of claim 5, where the control logic is to control the handheld computing device to selectively relocate the view window in the flick direction within the image upon determining that the zoom level is greater than a minimum zoom level.

7. The system of claim 6, where the control logic is to control the handheld computing device to selectively relocate the view window to a second image upon determining that the zoom level is equal to the minimum zoom level.

8. The system of claim 6, where the flick motion signal has a flick velocity component that indicates a desired rate of change associated with the relocation of the view window.

9. The system of claim 8, where the flick velocity component is associated with a number of flick motion signals received within a predetermined period of time.

10. The system of claim 8, where the control logic is to control the handheld computing device to selectively relocate the view window to a previous image in an ordered set of images upon determining that the flick direction is one of, up, and left, and where the control logic is to control the handheld computing device to selectively relocate the view window to a subsequent image in the ordered set of images upon determining that the flick direction is one of, down, and right.

11. The system of claim 1, where the touch sensor is one of, a resistive touch sensor, a capacitive touch sensor, an inductive touch sensor, a surface acoustic wave sensing touch sensor, a pressure sensing touch sensor, an optical sensing touch sensor, and an electro-mechanical touch sensor.

12. The system of claim 11, where the touch sensor is one of, overlaid on a keypad associated with the handheld computing device, and integrated into a keypad associated with the handheld computing device.

13. The system of claim 12, where the touch sensor includes an inner portion enclosed by the outer loop, and where the flick motion signal is generated in response to an interaction with the inner portion.

14. A handheld computing device, comprising:

a memory to store a digital image and one or more parameters associated with a presentation of the digital image;

a display to provide the presentation of the digital image;

a touch sensor having an outer closed loop portion to detect a rotational motion interaction and an inner pad portion to detect a flick motion interaction;

a receive logic to receive a rotational motion signal from the touch sensor and to receive a flick motion signal from the touch sensor; and

a control logic to control the presentation of the digital image on the display, where the control logic is to control the presentation in response to one or more of, the rotational motion signal, and the flick motion signal;

where the rotational motion signal has a rotational direction that indicates a desired change in a zoom level of the presentation, where the control logic is to selectively increase the zoom level of the presentation in response to a clockwise rotational direction, and where the control logic is to selectively decrease the zoom level of the presentation in response to a counter-clockwise rotational direction;

where the flick motion signal has a flick direction that indicates a desired relocation of a view window associated with the presentation, and where the control logic is to control the presentation of the digital image in response to the flick motion signal by selectively relocating the view window in the flick direction within the digital image.

15. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that when executed by a handheld computing device cause the handheld computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a zoom signal from a first portion of a touch sensor arranged on the handheld computing device, the first portion being an outer loop disposed around an inner portion, the zoom signal being generated in response to a rotational touch motion around at least a portion of the outer loop;

selectively, in response to receiving the zoom signal, updating a zoom state associated with an image displayed on the handheld computing device; and

controlling the handheld computing device to display the image in accordance with the zoom state.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, including:

receiving a pan signal from the inner portion of the touch sensor, the pan signal being generated in response to a directional touch on the touch sensor;

selectively, in response to receiving the pan signal, updating a pan state associated with the image; and

controlling the handheld computing device to display the image in accordance with the pan state.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, where the zoom signal includes a rotational direction component and a rotational velocity component, where selectively updating the zoom state includes increasing the zoom state in response to the zoom signal having a first rotational direction component and decreasing the zoom state in response to the zoom signal having a second rotational direction, the first rotational direction being opposite of the second rotational direction, and where selectively updating the zoom state includes changing the zoom state at a rate determined by the rotational velocity component.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, where the pan signal includes a pan direction component and a pan velocity component, and where selectively updating the pan state includes changing a center display point of the image in the direction of the pan direction component at a rate determined by the pan velocity component.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, including, upon determining that the zoom state indicates a scroll state and that a pan signal has been received, terminating the display of the image on the handheld computing device and initiating the display of a second image on the handheld computing device.

20. A system, comprising:

a touch wheel comprising;

a loop having a physical constraint formed on an upper surface of the touch wheel and co-extensive with the loop, and

an inner portion arranged inside the loop;

means for receiving a rotational zoom signal from the touch wheel, where the rotational zoom signal is generated in response to an interaction with the loop;

means for selectively updating a zoom state associated with an image displayed on a handheld computing device, where the updating is based, at least in part, on the rotational zoom signal;

means for receiving a pan signal from the touch wheel, where the pan signal is generated in response to an interaction with the inner portion;

means for selectively updating a pan state associated with the image displayed on the handheld computing device, where the updating is based, at least in part, on the pan signal; and

means for controlling the handheld computing device to display the image in accordance with the zoom state and the pan state.