GUI CONTROLS WITH MOVABLE TOUCH-CONTROL OBJECTS FOR ALTERNATE INTERACTIONS

• US 20120131488A1
• Filed: 08/26/2011
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sectra AB
• Original Assignee: Sectra AB
• Inventors: Ernvik, Aron, Karlsson, David, Ranlöf, Magnus, Lo, Hong, Pennerup, Joackim, Milososki, Igor
• Granted Patent: US 9,146,674 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/771
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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

Systems, methods and circuits for providing GUI controls with touch-gesture inputs with movable alternate interaction objects.

Claims

1. A visualization system, comprising:

a display; and

a circuit configured to provide graphic user interface controls with touch input in communication with the display, the graphic user interface controls including a set of base interactions associated with touch gestures available over substantially an entire viewing area and a plurality of alternate interaction icons that are individually movable over the display via touch gestures by a user touch to allow one or more users to interact with a visualization presented on the display.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the alternate interaction icons each have a set of alternate interaction choices that appear on the display when a respective icon is touched.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a patient medical data set in communication with the circuit for visualization on the display.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein a first position on the display of a respective icon defines a different set of interaction choices from a second position on the display.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the alternate interaction icons are configured to simulate physical properties of an object and can be slidably advanced over the display upon a touch gesture simulating a pass.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the alternate interaction icons are configured to be slidably passed to different users for control of the respective icon and associated set of interaction.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the alternate interaction icons are configured to simulate a mass and be able to move with a velocity when a touch gesture moves the respective icon with a force and direction.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein when one of the alternate interaction icons collides or hits another, the movements of the icons are configured to simulate a bounce movement associated with a physical collision.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the GUI controls for the alternate interaction icons are configured to accept two concurrent touch gestures, one by each of two different hands, one touch gesture selecting the alternate interaction icon, and the other hand to use a touch gesture to select a choice from a generated set of choices of different interactions associated with the selected icon.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the alternative interaction icons are configured to fade in and out of view on the visualization.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the display is a substantially horizontal display having a size that is between about 30-100 inches, measured on a diagonal, allowing a plurality of concurrent viewers of the visualization.

12. A method of interacting with image data on a display, comprising:

providing a visualization of a data set on at least one display;

providing a plurality of independently movable alternate interaction icons on the display that are configured to fade in and out of view;

accepting a touch gesture of a user to independently select one of the plurality of alternate interaction icons on a display and to move each of the alternate interaction icons over at least a major portion of a viewing area on the display; and

providing a set of alternate interaction options associated with the selected icon or altering a way in which the visualization reacts to a base interaction touch gesture in response to the accepted touch gesture.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the set of alternate interaction options is different depending on where on the display the selected alternate interaction icon is located.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising allowing one user to slidably transfer one or more of the alternate interaction icons to another user.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the alternate interaction icons are configured to simulate mass associated with a physical property of an object, and wherein the method further comprising bouncing one icon of another in response to a touch gesture by one user.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one display is a single display oriented as a substantially horizontal display for a collaborative workstation configured to accommodate a plurality of concurrent users.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising accepting a set of basic interaction touch gestures to zoom, pan and rotate views of the visualization.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the visualization is a visualization of a patient medical data set.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the accepting step is carried out using two concurrent touch gestures, one by each of two different hands, one touch gesture selecting the alternate interaction icon, and the other a choice from a generated set of choices of different interactions associated with the selected icon.

20. A computer program product for providing Graphic User Interface controls to visualization systems of image data sets using a touch screen, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied in the medium, the computer-readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to generate a plurality of alternate interaction icons that are independently movable across at least a major portion of the touch screen, each having at least one associated set of interaction choices; and

computer readable program code configured to allow one or more users to use a touch gesture to select one of the alternate interaction icons to interact with the visualization and/or alter views of the visualization.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the set of interaction choices for at least one icon is dependent on where the icon is located.