APPLICATION-BASED TOUCH SENSITIVITY

• US 20140267135A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: CHHABRA, Kapil
• Granted Patent: US 10,203,815 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A sensing threshold of a touch sensing surface may be specified based on a user interface context. For example, inadvertent touches may be more likely in a map application that is often used in a car where a user experiences constant jostling. Accordingly, a high sensing threshold can be associated with the map application, and other applications can be associated with a lower sensing threshold.

Claims

1. A method of a computing device including a touch sensing surface, the method comprising:

receiving touch input on or near the touch sensing surface;

determining a user interface context;

obtaining a sensing threshold associated with the user interface context;

comparing information of the touch input to the sensing threshold; and

determining, based on the comparison, whether to generate an input event based on the touch input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing information of the touch input to the sensing threshold includes comparing one of a proximity, a force, a capacitance, and a size of the touch input to the sensing threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface context is determined based on the touch input.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the user interface context based on the touch input includes:

determining a location of the touch input; and

determining that the location is within a first region of the touch sensing surface;

wherein obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the user interface context includes obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the first region.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first region is associated with a user interface object.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the user interface context based on the touch input includes determining a gesture of the touch input, and obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the user interface context includes obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the gesture.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface context includes an application, and obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the user interface context includes obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the application.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface context includes a page of an application, and obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the user interface context includes obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the page of the application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface context is determined before receiving the touch input.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface context includes a button, and determining whether to generate an input event includes determining whether to set the button to a pushed state.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

setting a global sensing threshold based on the obtained sensing threshold associated with the user interface context.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

a processor to execute instructions;

a touch sensing surface; and

a memory coupled with the processor to store instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations to generate an application programming interface (API) that allows an API-calling component to perform the following operations;

receiving touch input on or near the touch sensing surface;

determining a user interface context;

obtaining a sensing threshold associated with the user interface context;

comparing information of the touch input to the sensing threshold; and

determining, based on the comparison, whether to generate an input event based on the touch input.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein comparing information of the touch input to the sensing threshold includes comparing one of a proximity, a force, a capacitance, and a size of the touch input to the sensing threshold.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the user interface context is determined based on the touch input.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the user interface context based on the touch input includes:

determining a location of the touch input; and

determining that the location is within a first region of the touch sensing surface;

wherein obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the user interface context includes obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the first region.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first region is associated with a user interface object.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the user interface context based on the touch input includes determining a gesture of the touch input, and obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the user interface context includes obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the gesture.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the user interface context includes an application, and obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the user interface context includes obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the application.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the user interface context includes a page of an application, and obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the user interface context includes obtaining the sensing threshold associated with the page of the application.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the user interface context is determined before receiving the touch input.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein the user interface context includes a button, and determining whether to generate an input event includes determining whether to set the button to a pushed state.

22. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

setting a global sensing threshold based on the obtained sensing threshold associated with the user interface context.