TOUCH INPUT TRANSITIONS

• US 20120019452A1
• Filed: 09/27/2010
• Published: 01/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: WESTERMAN, Wayne Carl
• Granted Patent: US 8,922,499 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Selection of input of a touch sensing surface is provided. Contacts on or near a surface are tracked to obtain touch information of the contacts. A first gesture is detected corresponding to first touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity, and a first input corresponding to the first gesture is selected. A second gesture is detected corresponding to second touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity. A determination of whether to select a second input corresponding to the second gesture is made. The second input is selected if third information satisfies a predetermined criteria, and the first input is maintained if the third information does not satisfy the predetermined criteria.

Claims

1. A method of selecting an input of a touch sensing surface, the method comprising:

tracking contacts on or near the surface to obtain touch information of the contacts;

detecting a first gesture corresponding to first touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity;

selecting a first input corresponding to the first gesture;

detecting a second gesture corresponding to second touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity; and

determining whether to select a second input corresponding to the second gesture, wherein the second input is selected if third information satisfies a predetermined criteria, and the first input is maintained if the third information does not satisfy the predetermined criteria.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of contacts in the first and second touch information are different.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the number of contacts in the first information is greater than the number of contacts in the second information.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the activities performed by the contacts are different in the first and second touch information.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the activities performed by the contacts are the same in the first and second touch information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of contacts in the first and second touch information is the same, and the activities performed by the contacts in the first and second touch information is different.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the third information includes touch information of the contacts.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the third information includes one of a total number of contacts, a number of contact liftoffs, a time of contact liftoffs, a number of contact touchdowns, a time of contact touchdowns, a number of resting contacts, and contact motion.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the total number of contacts in the third information equals the number of contacts in the second information.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the total number of contacts in the third information is greater than the number of contacts in the second information.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the contact motion in the third information includes a determination of whether one or more contacts in the first touch information is at a rolling stop.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the time of contact touchdowns in the third information includes a determination of whether one or more contacts in the second touch information touched down within a predetermined time of a touchdown of one or more contacts in the first touch information.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the third information includes information of a current state of operation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the third information includes one of the identity of the first input event, the identity of the second input event, a user selected function of the second input event, and a locked state of the first input event.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein an activity includes one of a translational motion, a rotational motion, a scaling motion, a liftoff, and a touchdown.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein a total number of contacts on or near the surface during the second gesture is greater than the number of contacts performing the activity corresponding to the second gesture.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the total number of contacts includes resting contacts that are excluded from the second touch information.

18. A computing system including a touch sensing surface, the system comprising:

a motion tracker that tracks contacts on or near the surface to obtain touch information of the contacts; and

an input selection system that

detects a first gesture corresponding to first touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity,

selects a first input to the computing system corresponding to the first gesture,

detects a second gesture corresponding to second touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity, and

determines whether to select a second input to the computing system corresponding to the second gesture, wherein the second input is selected if third information satisfies a predetermined criteria, and the first input is maintained if the third information does not satisfy the predetermined criteria.

19. The computing system of claim 18, wherein the number of contacts in the first and second touch information are different.

20. The computing system of claim 18, wherein the number of contacts in the first and second touch information is the same, and the activities performed by the contacts in the first and second touch information is different.

21. The computing system of claim 18, wherein the third information includes touch information of the contacts.

22. The computing system of claim 21, wherein the third information includes one of a total number of contacts, a number of contact liftoffs, a time of contact liftoffs, a number of contact touchdowns, a time of contact touchdowns, a number of resting contacts, and contact motion.

23. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the contact motion in the third information includes a determination of whether one or more contacts in the first touch information is at a rolling stop.

24. The computing system of claim 22, wherein the time of contact touchdowns in the third information includes a determination of whether one or more contacts in the second touch information touched down within a predetermined time of a touchdown of one or more contacts in the first touch information.

25. The computing system of claim 18, wherein the third information includes information of a current state of operation.

26. The computing system of claim 25, wherein the third information includes one of the identity of the first input event, the identity of the second input event, a user selected function of the second input event, and a locked state of the first input event.

27. The computing system of claim 18, wherein an activity includes one of a translational motion, a rotational motion, a scaling motion, a liftoff, and a touchdown.

28. The computing system of claim 18, wherein a total number of contacts on or near the surface during the second gesture is greater than the number of contacts performing the activity corresponding to the second gesture.

29. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions executable to perform a method of selecting an input of a touch sensing surface, the method comprising:

tracking contacts on or near the surface to obtain touch information of the contacts;

detecting a first gesture corresponding to first touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity;

selecting a first input corresponding to the first gesture;

detecting a second gesture corresponding to second touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity; and

determining whether to select a second input corresponding to the second gesture, wherein the second input is selected if third information satisfies a predetermined criteria, and the first input is maintained if the third information does not satisfy the predetermined criteria.

30. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the number of contacts in the first and second touch information are different.

31. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the number of contacts in the first and second touch information is the same, and the activities performed by the contacts in the first and second touch information is different.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the third information includes touch information of the contacts.

33. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 32, wherein the third information includes one of a total number of contacts, a number of contact liftoffs, a time of contact liftoffs, a number of contact touchdowns, a time of contact touchdowns, a number of resting contacts, and contact motion.

34. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 33, wherein the contact motion in the third information includes a determination of whether one or more contacts in the first touch information is at a rolling stop.

35. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein the third information includes information of a current state of operation.

36. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 35, wherein the third information includes one of the identity of the first input event, the identity of the second input event, a user selected function of the second input event, and a locked state of the first input event.

37. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein an activity includes one of a translational motion, a rotational motion, a scaling motion, a liftoff, and a touchdown.

38. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein a total number of contacts on or near the surface during the second gesture is greater than the number of contacts performing the activity corresponding to the second gesture.

39. A mobile computing device comprising:

a touch sensing system, including a touch sensing surface, a motion tracker that tracks contacts on or near the surface to obtain touch information of the contacts, and an input selection system that detects a first gesture corresponding to first touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity, selects a first input to the computing system corresponding to the first gesture, detects a second gesture corresponding to second touch information of a number of contacts performing an activity, and determines whether to select a second input to the computing system corresponding to the second gesture, wherein the second input is selected if third information satisfies a predetermined criteria, and the first input is maintained if the third information does not satisfy the predetermined criteria.