USING PRESSURE DIFFERENCES WITH A TOUCH-SENSITIVE DISPLAY SCREEN

• US 20130063364A1
• Filed: 09/12/2011
• Published: 03/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Moore, Stephen C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,976,128 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Disclosed is a user interface that responds to differences in pressure detected by a touch-sensitive screen. The user selects one type of user-interface action by “lightly” touching the screen and selects another type of action by exerting more pressure. Embodiments can respond to single touches, to gestural touches that extend across the face of the touch-sensitive screen, and to touches in which the user-exerted pressure varies during the course of the touch. Some embodiments respond to how quickly the user changes the amount of pressure applied. In some embodiments, the location and pressure of the user'"'"'s input are compared against a stored gesture profile. Action is taken only if the input matches “closely enough” to the stored gesture profile. In some embodiments, a notification is sent to the user when the pressure exceeds a threshold between a light and a heavy press.

Claims

1. On a personal electronic device with a touch-sensitive screen, a method for responding to user input, the method comprising:

receiving a touch on the touch-sensitive screen;

associating a pressure with the touch;

comparing the associated pressure with a first non-zero threshold; and

if the associated pressure is less than the first threshold, then performing a first user-interface action, else performing a second user-interface action distinct from the first user-interface action;

wherein receiving a touch on the touch-sensitive screen comprises receiving a series of datapoints; and

wherein associating a pressure with the touch comprises;

comparing datapoints in the series with one another until a variation in the datapoints fulfills a first pre-defined criterion;

when the first predefined criterion is met, defining a baseline datapoint as a current datapoint; and

computing the associated pressure of the touch as a function of the baseline datapoint.

2. The method of claim 1:

wherein a datapoint comprises an amplitude; and

wherein the first pre-defined criterion is selected from the group consisting of;

a difference between amplitudes of successive datapoints is below a threshold and an amplitude of a current datapoint is lower than an amplitude of a previous datapoint.

3. The method of claim 1:

wherein a datapoint comprises a size; and

wherein the first pre-defined criterion is selected from the group consisting of;

a difference between sizes of successive datapoints is below a threshold and a size of a current datapoint is lower than a size of a previous datapoint.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein a datapoint comprises an amplitude and a size.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the associated pressure of the touch is computed as a function of an element selected from the group consisting of:

an amplitude of a current datapoint and a size of the current datapoint.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the associated pressure of the touch is computed as (an element selected from the group consisting of:

an amplitude of a current datapoint and an amplitude of the baseline datapoint) divided by a square root of a size of the baseline datapoint.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the associated pressure of the touch is computed as an amplitude of the baseline datapoint divided by (an element selected from the group consisting of:

a square root of a size of the current datapoint and a square root of a size of the baseline datapoint).

8. The method of claim 1 wherein associating a pressure with the touch further comprises:

for datapoints after the baseline datapoint is defined;

if a second pre-defined criterion is met, then re-defining the baseline datapoint as a current datapoint.

9. The method of claim 8:

wherein a datapoint comprises an amplitude; and

wherein the second pre-defined criterion is met when an amplitude of the current datapoint is lower than an amplitude of the baseline datapoint.

10. The method of claim 8:

wherein a datapoint comprises a size; and

wherein the second pre-defined criterion is met when a size of the current datapoint is lower than a size of the baseline datapoint.

11. A personal electronic device comprising:

a touch-sensitive screen; and

a processor operatively connected to the touch-sensitive screen and configured for;

receiving a touch on the touch-sensitive screen;

associating a pressure with the touch;

comparing the associated pressure with a first non-zero threshold; and

if the associated pressure is less than the first threshold, then performing a first user-interface action, else performing a second user-interface action distinct from the first user-interface action;

wherein receiving a touch on the touch-sensitive screen comprises receiving a series of datapoints; and

wherein associating a pressure with the touch comprises;

comparing datapoints in the series with one another until a variation in the datapoints fulfills a first pre-defined criterion;

when the first predefined criterion is met, defining a baseline datapoint as a current datapoint; and

computing the associated pressure of the touch as a function of the baseline datapoint.

12. The personal electronic device of claim 11 wherein the personal electronic device is selected from the group consisting of:

mobile telephone, personal communications device, personal computer, tablet computer, kiosk, digital sign, and gaming console.

13. The personal electronic device of claim 11 wherein the first and second user-interface actions are selected from the group consisting of:

selecting an icon displayed on the screen, opening a file associated with an icon displayed on the screen, executing a program associated with an icon displayed on the screen, modifying a value of a control parameter, opening a context menu, and picking up an icon displayed on the screen.

14. The personal electronic device of claim 11:

wherein a datapoint comprises an amplitude; and

wherein the first pre-defined criterion is selected from the group consisting of;

a difference between amplitudes of successive datapoints is below a threshold and an amplitude of a current datapoint is lower than an amplitude of a previous datapoint.

15. The personal electronic device of claim 11:

wherein a datapoint comprises a size; and

wherein the first pre-defined criterion is selected from the group consisting of;

a difference between sizes of successive datapoints is below a threshold and a size of a current datapoint is lower than a size of a previous datapoint.

16. The personal electronic device of claim 11 wherein a datapoint comprises an amplitude and a size.

17. The personal electronic device of claim 16 wherein the associated pressure of the touch is computed as a function of an element selected from the group consisting of:

an amplitude of a current datapoint and a size of the current datapoint.

18. The personal electronic device of claim 16 wherein the associated pressure of the touch is computed as (an element selected from the group consisting of:

an amplitude of a current datapoint and an amplitude of the baseline datapoint) divided by a square root of a size of the baseline datapoint.

19. The personal electronic device of claim 16 wherein the associated pressure of the touch is computed as an amplitude of the baseline datapoint divided by (an element selected from the group consisting of:

a square root of a size of the current datapoint and a square root of a size of the baseline datapoint).

20. The personal electronic device of claim 11 wherein associating a pressure with the touch further comprises:

for datapoints after the baseline datapoint is defined;

if a second pre-defined criterion is met, then re-defining the baseline datapoint as a current datapoint.

21. The personal electronic device of claim 20:

wherein a datapoint comprises an amplitude; and

wherein the second pre-defined criterion is met when an amplitude of the current datapoint is lower than an amplitude of the baseline datapoint.

22. The personal electronic device of claim 20:

wherein a datapoint comprises a size; and

wherein the second pre-defined criterion is met when a size of the current datapoint is lower than a size of the baseline datapoint.