Touch Screen Control

• US 20120162093A1
• Filed: 12/28/2010
• Published: 06/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Pahud, Michel, Hinckley, Kenneth P., Buxton, William A.S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,223,471 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

This document relates to touch screen controls. For instance, the touch screen controls can allow a user to control a computing device by engaging a touch screen associated with the computing device. One implementation can receive at least one tactile contact from a region of a touch screen. This implementation can present a first command functionality on the touch screen proximate the region for a predefined time. It can await user engagement of the first command functionality. Lacking user engagement within the predefined time, the implementation can remove the first command functionality and offer a second command functionality.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing device, perform acts comprising:

receiving at least one tactile contact from a region of a touch screen;

presenting a first command functionality on the touch screen proximate to the region for a predefined time;

awaiting user engagement of the first command functionality; and

,

lacking the user engagement within the predefined time, removing the first command functionality and offering a second command functionality.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving a single tactile contact from a finger or a stylus, or wherein the receiving comprising receiving two or more substantially simultaneous tactile contacts within a predefined distance of one another.

3. The media of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving two substantially simultaneous tactile contacts that are initially relatively proximate to one another and then spread away from one another while maintaining contact with the touch screen.

4. The media of claim 3, wherein the presenting comprises presenting the first command functionality manifest as multiple toolbars.

5. The media of claim 4, wherein the multiple toolbars are presented in a radial fashion around the at least one contact or wherein the multiple toolbars are presented in an accordion fashion at the region.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein the offering comprises offering the second command functionality as a zoom function for content in the region.

7. The media of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving a single tactile contact and wherein the presenting comprises presenting a finger shadow proximate to the single tactile contact, and wherein in an instance where an additional tactile contact is received over the finger shadow within the predefined time then the first command functionality comprises a toolbar presented in the region between the single tactile contact and the another tactile contact and wherein in an instance where the first tactile contact and the another tactile contact are maintained but moved relative to one another, the toolbar is adjusted in a corresponding manner.

8. A method comprising:

receiving a first tactile contact from a user on a touch screen;

presenting a toolbar of commands while the receiving continues;

receiving a second tactile contact from the user over an individual command of the toolbar;

providing a corresponding command functionality; and

,

allowing the user to control the corresponding command functionality by sliding the first tactile contact and the second tactile contact on the touch screen.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the corresponding command functionality comprises a line drawing tool and further comprising presenting a line, wherein the first tactile contact controls an end point of the line and the second tactile contact controls an opposite endpoint of the line.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising removing the toolbar while the user controls the end point and the opposite end point of the line or making the toolbar transparent or semi-transparent while the user controls the end point and the opposite end point of the line.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising re-presenting the toolbar when the user stops controlling the end point and opposite end point of the line and ceasing the re-presenting unless the user engages the toolbar within a predefined time period.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving a first tactile contact comprises receiving multiple substantially simultaneous tactile contacts or a single tactile contact.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising waiting to detect a slide movement associated with the first tactile contact or the second tactile contact.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising updating the first endpoint based upon the slide movement associated with the first tactile contact or updating the second endpoint based upon the slide movement associated with the second tactile contact.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the corresponding command functionality comprises a shape drawing tool and further comprising presenting a shape having a size and location defined at least in part by the first tactile contact and the second tactile contact.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the first tactile contact is received from a fingertip of the user and the second tactile contact is received from a stylus controlled by the user or wherein the first tactile contact is received from a fingertip of the user and the second tactile contact is received from a different fingertip of the user or wherein the first tactile contact is received from multiple fingertips of a single hand of the user and the second tactile contact is received from a stylus controlled by an opposing hand of the user.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising distinguishing the fingertip contact from the stylus contact and treating the fingertip contact differently from the stylus contact.

18. A system, comprising:

storage configured to store computer-readable instructions;

a processing unit configured to execute the computer-readable instructions;

a geometry tracking component configured to track tactile contacts at locations on a touch screen; and

,

a tactile command relation component configured to correlate the detected tactile contacts to corresponding commands, and wherein responsive to a first individual tactile contact the tactile command relation component is configured to cause at least one command category to be displayed on the touch screen proximate to the first individual tactile contact and responsive to a second individual tactile contact proximate to an individual command category, the tactile command relation component is configured to cause a plurality of commands belonging to the individual command category to be displayed proximate to the second individual tactile contact.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the processing unit comprises a general purpose central processing unit or wherein the system further includes a system-on-a-chip and wherein the processing unit and the storage are manifest as dedicated circuitry on the system-on-a-chip.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the system comprises a first device that includes the storage, the processing unit, the geometry tracking component and the tactile command relation component and wherein the first device is configured to communicate with a second device that includes the touch screen or wherein the system comprises a single computing device that includes the touch screen, the storage, the processing unit, the geometry tracking component, and the tactile command relation component.