MULTI-INPUT GESTURES IN HIERARCHICAL REGIONS

• US 20120278712A1
• Filed: 04/27/2011
• Published: 11/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Wright, Stephen H., Patel, Amish, Hoover, Paul Armistead, Waggoner, Nicholas R., Patten, Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US13/095,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20120278712A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/702
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• 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

Abstract

This document describes techniques and apparatuses for multi-input gestures in hierarchical regions. These techniques enable applications to appropriately respond to a multi-input gesture made to one or more hierarchically related regions of an application interface.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving a multi-input gesture made to an application interface having a superior region and at least one inferior region, the multi-input gesture having two or more initial touches;

targeting the multi-input gesture to the superior region if;

the superior region is capable of responding to the multi-input gesture and at least one of the two or more initial touches is made to the superior region, or

the superior region is capable of responding to the multi-input gesture and the two or more initial touches are made to at least two different inferior regions.

2. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, further comprising targeting the multi-input gesture to the inferior region if the inferior region is capable of responding to the multi-input gesture and the two or more initial touches are made to only the inferior region.

3. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, further comprising targeting one of each of the two or more initial touches to one of each of two different inferior regions, respectively, if the superior region is not capable of responding to the multi-input gesture.

4. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, further comprising targeting the multi-input gesture to the superior region if:

the superior region is capable of responding to the multi-input gesture;

the two or more initial touches are made to the inferior region; and

the inferior region is not capable of responding to the multi-input gesture.

5. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the multi-input gesture is received through a touch-screen display on which the application interface is displayed.

6. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the superior region graphically includes the inferior region on the application interface.

7. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the superior region is associated with a hierarchically superior node of a markup language document on which said superior and inferior regions are associated and the inferior region is associated with an inferior node of the markup language document that is inferior to the superior node.

8. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the two or more initial touches of the multi-input gesture are indirect touches not contacting a screen on which the application interface is displayed.

9. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein a first of the two or more initial touches is received to a first of the superior or the inferior region and prior to a second of the two or more initial touches, and further comprising targeting the first touch to first region prior to targeting the multi-input gesture.

10. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 9, wherein the first touch is received to the inferior region and the targeting the first touch to the first region causes the application interface to alter the inferior region in response to the first touch.

11. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 10, wherein targeting the multi-input gesture to the superior region causes the application interface to reverse the alteration to the inferior region.

12. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, further comprising determining that the superior region is capable of responding to the multi-input gesture prior to targeting the multi-input gesture.

13. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 12, wherein determining is responsive to receiving, from an application associated with the application interface, information indicating that the superior region is capable of responding to the multi-input gesture.

14. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein targeting includes providing the multi-input gesture to an application associated with the application interface and indicating the superior region.

15. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein targeting the multi-input gesture causes the application interface to pan, zoom, or rotate the superior region of the application interface.

16. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving information about multiple regions of an application interface, the multiple regions including at least a superior region and an inferior region, and the information indicating a size and location on the application interface, a hierarchy between the superior region and the inferior region, and a response capability to multi-input gestures;

receiving touch hits associated with two or more initial touches for one or more multi-input gestures received through the application interface, the touch hits indicating location information on the application interface where the touch hits are received;

determining, based on the touch hits and the sizes and locations of said regions, to which of said regions the two or more initial touches are associated;

determining, based on the associated regions, the hierarchy of the associated regions, and the response capabilities of the associated regions, at least one region of said associated regions to target at least one of the one or more multi-input gestures; and

targeting the at least one targeted region effective to cause the application to respond to at least one of the one or more multi-input gestures through the at least one targeted region.

17. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 16, wherein determining a region to target the one or more multi-input gestures includes targeting the superior region if the superior region is capable of responding to at least one of the one or more multi-input gestures and:

at least one of the touch hits is determined to be associated with the superior region;

or

the touch hits are determined to be associated with different inferior regions.

18. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 16, wherein the one or more multi-input gestures is one multi-input gesture and the at least one targeted region is one targeted region.

19. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 16, wherein the one or more multi-input gestures include two multi-input gestures, the at least one targeted region includes two targeted regions, and targeting the at least one targeted region targets the two targeted regions effective to cause the application to respond to the two multi-input gestures through their respective two targeted regions.

20. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 16, wherein a first of the touch hits is received prior to a second of the touch hits, the first touch hit associated with a first initial touch made to a first of the superior or the inferior region and prior to a second of the two or more initial touches, and further comprising targeting the first touch hit to the first region prior to targeting the one or more multi-input gestures, the targeting the first touch hit causing the application interface to alter the first region in response to the first touch hit.