Control Selection Approximation

• US 20110304560A1
• Filed: 09/28/2010
• Published: 12/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Fleizach, Christopher Brian, Dale, Thomas Andrew Cooke
• Granted Patent: US 8,552,999 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 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

A method includes displaying a user interface of an application on a device'"'"'s touch-sensitive display. The user interface includes a plurality of regions, including a respective region at a respective hierarchy level. The respective region has two or more child regions at a hierarchy level below the respective hierarchy level. The method includes detecting a first contact at a location that corresponds to the respective region and that does not correspond to any of the two or more child regions. When the application is configured to process the first contact, not in conjunction with the respective region, but in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions, the method includes identifying a respective child region in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the location, and processing the first contact in conjunction with the identified respective child region using the application.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display;

displaying on the touch-sensitive display a user interface of an application, the displayed user interface including a plurality of regions that are arranged in multiple hierarchical levels, the plurality of regions including a respective region at a respective hierarchy level, the respective region having two or more child regions at a hierarchy level below the respective hierarchy level;

detecting on the touch-sensitive display a first contact at a first location that corresponds to the respective region and that does not correspond to any of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

in response to detecting the first contact, determining whether the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region;

when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region;

determining whether the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

when the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

identifying a respective child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the first location; and

processing the first contact in conjunction with the identified respective child region using the application.

2. The method of claim 1, including, when the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region, processing the first contact in conjunction with the respective region using the application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein respective child regions of the two or more child regions have respective hit regions, at least one of which is different from the corresponding child region, and the detecting includes determining that the first location does not correspond to any of the respective hit regions of the child regions.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first location is located outside any of the two or more child regions of the respective region.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective region has a parent region at a hierarchy level above the respective hierarchy level.

6. The method of claim 5, including, when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region, and the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the parent region, processing the first contact in conjunction with the parent region using the application.

7. The method of claim 5, including, when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region, processing the first contact as a contact in the parent region.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the respective child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the first location includes identifying the child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, that best satisfies a proximity criterion with respect to the first location.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the respective child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the first location includes identifying the child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, that best satisfies a proximity criterion with respect to the first location, and confirming that the identified child region satisfies a maximum distance limit with respect to the first location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more child regions of the two or more child regions has a predefined approximation property and at least one other child region does not have the predefined approximation property;

and identifying the respective child region includes identifying a respective child region, of the one or more child regions of the respective region that have the predefined approximation property, in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the first location.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is deemed to be configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region when the respective region includes a user interface object having at least one property in a predefined set of properties.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is deemed to be configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region when the respective region comprises a user interface object that is configured to be activated in response to a gesture that includes the first contact.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is deemed to be configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region when at least one event recognizer is associated with the respective region.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the application is deemed to be configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region when an event recognizer configured to recognize a gesture that includes the first contact is associated with the respective region.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of regions comprises a plurality of hierarchically arranged views corresponding to the regions, each of the plurality of the views having at least one event recognizer associated with the respective view;

and processing the first contact in conjunction with the identified respective child region using the application comprises generating an event to be processed by at least one event recognizer of the view corresponding to the identified respective child region.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of regions comprises a plurality of hierarchically arranged views corresponding to the regions;

and processing the first contact in conjunction with the identified respective child region using the application comprises processing the first contact as a contact in the identified respective child region.

17. An electronic device comprising a touch-sensitive display, one or more processors, and memory storing one or more programs for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:

displaying on the touch-sensitive display a user interface of an application, the displayed user interface including a plurality of regions that are arranged in multiple hierarchical levels, the plurality of regions including a respective region at a respective hierarchy level, the respective region having two or more child regions at a hierarchy level below the respective hierarchy level;

detecting on the touch-sensitive display a first contact at a first location that corresponds to the respective region and that does not correspond to any of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

in response to detecting the first contact, determining whether the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region;

when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region;

determining whether the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

when the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

identifying a respective child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the first location; and

processing the first contact in conjunction with the identified respective child region using the application.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for, when the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region, processing the first contact in conjunction with the respective region using the application.

19. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the respective region has a parent region at a hierarchy level above the respective hierarchy level.

20. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for, when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region, and the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the parent region, processing the first contact in conjunction with the parent region using the application.

21. The electronic device of claim 19, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for, when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region, processing the first contact as a contact in the parent region.

22. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the instructions for identifying the respective child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the first location include instructions for identifying the child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, that best satisfies a proximity criterion with respect to the first location.

23. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the plurality of regions comprises a plurality of hierarchically arranged views corresponding to the regions, each of the plurality of the views having at least one event recognizer associated with the respective view;

and the instructions for processing the first contact in conjunction with the identified respective child region using the application comprise instructions for generating an event to be processed by at least one event recognizer of the view corresponding to the identified respective child region.

24. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors in an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display, the one or more programs including instructions for:

displaying on the touch-sensitive display a user interface of an application, the displayed user interface including a plurality of regions that are arranged in multiple hierarchical levels, the plurality of regions including a respective region at a respective hierarchy level, the respective region having two or more child regions at a hierarchy level below the respective hierarchy level;

detecting on the touch-sensitive display a first contact at a first location that corresponds to the respective region and that does not correspond to any of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

in response to detecting the first contact, determining whether the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region;

when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region;

determining whether the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

when the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region;

identifying a respective child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the first location; and

processing the first contact in conjunction with the identified respective child region using the application.

25. The computer readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for, when the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the respective region, processing the first contact in conjunction with the respective region using the application.

26. The computer readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the respective region has a parent region at a hierarchy level above the respective hierarchy level.

27. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for, when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region, and the application is configured to process the first contact in conjunction with the parent region, processing the first contact in conjunction with the parent region using the application.

28. The computer readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for, when the application is not configured to process the first contact in conjunction with at least one child region of the two or more child regions of the respective region, processing the first contact as a contact in the parent region.

29. The computer readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the instructions for identifying the respective child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, in accordance with positions of the child regions relative to the first location include instructions for identifying the child region, of the two or more child regions of the respective region, that best satisfies a proximity criterion with respect to the first location.

30. The computer readable storage medium of claim 24, wherein the plurality of regions comprises a plurality of hierarchically arranged views corresponding to the regions, each of the plurality of the views having at least one event recognizer associated with the respective view;

and the instructions for processing the first contact in conjunction with the identified respective child region using the application comprise instructions for generating an event to be processed by at least one event recognizer of the view corresponding to the identified respective child region.