TOUCHPAD INTERACTION

• US 20110291946A1
• Filed: 05/26/2010
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Ewing, Richard Alan JR., Mann, Jonathan L., Kemery, Michael, Kuncl, Parker Ralph, Collette, Benoit F., Panchal, Prarthana H., Winkler, David
• Application Number:
  US12/788,239
• Publication Number:
  US 20110291946A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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

Techniques utilizing a rear-facing touch panel are described for implementing user interfaces in a handheld device.

Claims

1. A handheld device, comprising:

a front-facing display;

a rear-facing touch sensor;

the rear-facing touch sensor having a plurality of successively nested touch bands surrounding a central area;

the touch bands being tactually delineated from each other; and

the rear-facing touch sensor being positioned for operation by a user'"'"'s finger when the user holds the handheld device.

2. A handheld device as recited in claim 1, wherein each successively inward touch band is stepped down in elevation to form a concavity in the rear of the handheld device.

3. A handheld device as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

one or more application programming interfaces that are useable by application programs to implement user interfaces in conjunction with the front-facing display and the rear-facing touch sensor;

the one or more application programming interfaces being configured to perform actions comprising;

displaying a menu on a front-facing display, the menu having visually-delineated menu bands corresponding in shape and position to the nested touch bands of the rear-facing touch sensor;

displaying menu items in the menu bands, each menu item corresponding to a position on the rear-facing touch sensor; and

selecting a particular one of the menu items in response to the user touching its corresponding position on the rear-facing touch sensor.

4. A handheld device as recited in claim 1, the handheld device having one or more processors configured to perform actions comprising:

displaying a menu on a front-facing display, the menu having visually-delineated menu bands corresponding in shape and position to the nested touch bands of the rear-facing touch sensor;

displaying menu items in the menu bands, each menu item corresponding to a position on the rear-facing touch sensor; and

selecting a particular one of the menu items in response to the user touching its corresponding position on the rear-facing touch sensor.

5. A handheld device, comprising:

a front display panel;

one or more tactually-delineated touch sensitive areas opposite the front display panel;

a menu displayed at times on the front display panel, the menu having one or more visually-delineated menu areas corresponding respectively to the one or more tactually-delineated touch sensitive areas;

a plurality of menu items arranged respectively at corresponding points in the menu areas and the tactually-delineated touch sensitive areas; and

the menu items being selectable by touching their corresponding points in the tactually-delineated touch sensitive areas.

6. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein the touch-sensitive areas are adjacent each other.

7. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein the touch-sensitive areas are concentric.

8. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein the touch-sensitive areas are linear.

9. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, further comprising one or more application programming interfaces that can be called by application programs to register menu items for inclusion in the menu areas.

10. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein the handheld device is configured to initiate actions associated respectively with the menu items in response to their selection.

11. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein each menu area has a related group of the menu items.

12. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein touching a particular tactually-delineated touch sensitive area reveals the menu items of the corresponding menu area.

13. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein the menu items vary depending on the context presented by the handheld device.

14. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein each menu area is displayed directly opposite its corresponding tactually-delineated touch sensitive area.

15. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein:

the touch sensitive areas comprise an outward band and one or more successively inward bands; and

the bands have successively and inwardly deeper elevations to delineate them from each other, the bands forming a concavity in the rear of the handheld device.

16. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein:

the touch sensitive areas comprise an outward band and one or more successively inward bands; and

the bands have different elevations to delineate them from each other.

17. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein the touch sensitive areas are delineated by having different elevations relative to the rear of the handheld device.

18. A handheld device as recited in claim 5, wherein the touch sensitive areas comprise one or more nested bands and a central area.

19. A method of interacting with a user of a handheld device, comprising:

displaying a menu on a front display of the handheld device, the menu having visually-delineated menu bands, each of the menu bands corresponding in shape and position to a corresponding tactually-delineated rear touch band of the handheld device;

displaying menu items in the menu bands in response to the user touching one or more of the rear touch bands, each menu item corresponding to a position on one of the rear touch bands; and

selecting a particular one of the menu items in response to the user touching its corresponding position on one of the rear touch bands.

20. A method as recited in claim 19, further comprising varying the menu items in response to the context presented by the handheld device.

21. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein each menu band has a related group of the menu items.

22. A method as recited in claim 19, further comprising initiating actions associated respectively with the menu items in response to touching their corresponding positions on the rear touch bands.

23. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein the menu bands surround a central visual area.

24. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein each menu band is displayed directly opposite its corresponding rear touch band.

25. A method as recited in claim 19, further comprising exposing one or more application programming interfaces that can be called by application programs to register menu items for inclusion in the menu bands.

26. One or more computer-readable storage media containing instructions that are executable by a handheld device to perform actions comprising:

displaying a plurality of visually-delineated menu areas, the menu areas corresponding in shape to a plurality of tactually-delineated touch areas on the handheld device;

in response to a user touching one of the touch areas, displaying menu items in at least one of the menu area; and

selecting a particular one of the displayed menu items in response to the user touching a corresponding position on one of the touch areas.

27. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 26, wherein the visually-delineated menu areas correspond in shape to tactually-delineated touch areas on the back of the handheld device.

28. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 26, wherein the visually-delineated menu areas correspond in shape to tactually-delineated touch areas on an edge of the handheld device.

29. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 26, wherein each menu area has a related group of the menu items.

30. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 26, wherein touching a particular touch sensitive area reveals the menu items of the corresponding menu area.

31. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 26, wherein the menu items vary depending on context.

32. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 26, the actions further comprising exposing one or more application programming interfaces that can be called by application programs to register menu items for inclusion in the menu areas.

33. One or more computer-readable storage media as recited in claim 26, wherein each menu area is positioned directly opposite a corresponding touch sensitive area.