SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A THUMB-OPTIMIZED TOUCH-SCREEN USER INTERFACE
First Claim
1. A method for providing a user interface to interact with Web pages or other content or user interface elements displayed on a handheld device having a touchscreen display, the method comprising:
- while the user presses a finger down on the touch-screen display and the finger thereby covers all or part of a target selectable element including displayed information, displaying the covered information in a first box or “
bubble”
, the first box or “
bubble”
positioned away from an area at which the finger is pressed so as to not be covered by the user'"'"'s finger and so as to help the user properly position their finger on a target item under the finger;
if the user'"'"'s finger moves off of the target selectable element without lifting and moves to cover another second target selectable element and associated displayed information without lifting, removing the first box or bubble and showing a new second box or bubble with content updated to correspond to the newly covered information; and
detecting when the user'"'"'s finger is lifted from the second target selectable element, and in response activating a virtual selectable element associated with the second portion.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A virtual touch interface solution is provided that fits on a pocket-size device or even palm-size device and uses the standard keyboard layout with straight rows of keys, which is achieved while making the interaction accurate, fast, and comfortable. In some versions, while the user presses a finger down on the touch-screen display and the finger thereby covers information on a portion of the display, displaying second information in a box or “bubble”, the box or “bubble” positioned away from a point at which the finger is pressed so as to not be covered by the user'"'"'s finger and so as to help the user properly position their finger on a target virtual selectable item.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for providing a user interface to interact with Web pages or other content or user interface elements displayed on a handheld device having a touchscreen display, the method comprising:
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while the user presses a finger down on the touch-screen display and the finger thereby covers all or part of a target selectable element including displayed information, displaying the covered information in a first box or “
bubble”
, the first box or “
bubble”
positioned away from an area at which the finger is pressed so as to not be covered by the user'"'"'s finger and so as to help the user properly position their finger on a target item under the finger;if the user'"'"'s finger moves off of the target selectable element without lifting and moves to cover another second target selectable element and associated displayed information without lifting, removing the first box or bubble and showing a new second box or bubble with content updated to correspond to the newly covered information; and detecting when the user'"'"'s finger is lifted from the second target selectable element, and in response activating a virtual selectable element associated with the second portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for providing a user interface to interact with Web pages or other content or user interface elements displayed on a handheld device having a touchscreen display, the method comprising:
while the user presses a finger down on the touch-screen display and the finger thereby covers information on a portion of the display, displaying second information in a box or “
bubble”
, the box or “
bubble”
positioned away from a point at which the finger is pressed so as to not be covered by the user'"'"'s finger and so as to help the user properly position their finger on a target virtual selectable item.- View Dependent Claims (8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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11. The method of claim 9, further comprising, if the user'"'"'s finger moves to cover another second portion of the display without lifting, updating the box or bubble'"'"'s content to correspondingly display third information designed to assist the user in identifying a single action associated with a second virtual selectable item associated with the second portion, now at least
partially covered by the user'"'"'s finger.
Specification