METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE ACTUATION OF A USER INTERFACE

• US 20150123910A1
• Filed: 11/05/2013
• Published: 05/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2013
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: JASKE, MATTHEW J., MATONICH, MATTHEW J.
• Application Number:
  US14/072,015
• Publication Number:
  US 20150123910A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0423 Input/output
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/10 using selector switches
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2613 Household appliance in general
• 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 2203/04808 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 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• 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

A method of controlling the state of a user interface (UI) having a plurality of discrete touch-sensitive inputs. The method includes detecting inputs and controlling the state of the UI based on the detected inputs.

Claims

1. A method of controlling the actuation of a user interface (UI) having a plurality of discrete touch-sensitive inputs, the method comprising:

detecting a sequential touching of at least two adjacent inputs;

determining when the sequential touching is indicative of a swiping motion by a user across the at least two adjacent inputs; and

actuating the UI when a swiping motion is indicated.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting a touch on the inputs comprises at least one of detecting electro-mechanical actuation of an input or detecting a change in capacitance of an input.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the actuating the UI comprises actuating the UI after the lapse of a predetermined time from the end of the sequential touching.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the timed delay comprises sufficient time to prevent unintended input from activating the UI.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the detecting a sequential touching of at least two adjacent inputs comprises detecting a sequential touching of at least two horizontally adjacent inputs.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein detecting a sequential touching of less than all of the plurality of inputs comprises detecting a sequential touching of less than all of a row of the plurality of inputs.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the detecting a sequential touching of at least two adjacent inputs comprises detecting a sequential touching of at least two vertically adjacent inputs.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein detecting a sequential touching of less than all of the plurality of inputs comprises detecting a sequential touching of less than all of a column of the plurality of inputs.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the detecting a sequential touching of at least two adjacent inputs comprises detecting a sequential touching of at least two diagonally adjacent inputs.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein detecting a sequential touching of less than all of the plurality of inputs comprises detecting a sequential touching of less than all of a diagonal arrangement of the plurality of inputs.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the detecting a sequential touching of at least two adjacent inputs comprises detecting a sequential touching of less than all of the plurality of inputs.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the sequential touching of at least two adjacent inputs is determined by determining a pattern of touching.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the actuating the UI comprises at least one of locking the UI or unlocking the UI.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein locking the UI comprises limiting operation of the UI by the user, except to unlock the UI.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein unlocking the UI comprises allowing operation of the UI by the user to initiate a cycle of operation.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the sequential touching of at least two adjacent inputs is determined by determining a pattern of touching.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein both the locking the UI and the unlocking the UI occur based on the determining of a common pattern.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the determining whether the detected input indicates a pattern further comprises comparing the detected pattern with at least one of at least one predetermined pattern or at least one user-programmable pattern.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein determining whether the detected input indicates a pattern further comprises determining whether the detected input indicates one of a plurality of patterns.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein actuating the UI further comprises at least one of locking the UI when it is determined the detected input indicates a locking pattern or unlocking the UI when it is determined the detected input indicates an unlocking pattern.