Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface for Transitioning Between Touch Input to Display Output Relationships

• US 20180024681A1
• Filed: 10/02/2017
• Published: 01/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Bernstein, Jeffrey Traer, Missig, Julian, Cieplinski, Avi E., Hart, David J., Victor, B. Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,965,074 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An electronic device with a touch-sensitive surface, a display, and one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts, detects a contact, determines a location and intensity of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface, and displays a response, the response being based at least in part on an input-output mapping of intensity to response at the contact location. The input-output mapping including a first input-output relationship between intensity and response over a first range of intensity values, a second input-output relationship between intensity and response over a second range of intensity values, and a transitional intensity value where the first range of intensity values meets or overlaps the second range of intensity values. At the transitional intensity value, the first input-output relationship has a first rate of change, the second input-output relationship has a second rate of change, and the first rate is substantially the same as the second rate.

Claims

1. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions which, when executed by an electronic device with a display, a touch-sensitive surface and one or more sensors to detect intensity of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface, cause the electronic device to:

detect a contact on the touch-sensitive surface;

determine a respective location of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface;

wherein the respective location on the touch-sensitive surface has a respective dynamic range for detecting intensity of the contact;

determine an intensity of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface at the respective location;

detect a change in intensity of the contact; and

in response to detecting the change in intensity of the contact at the respective location on the touch-sensitive surface, adjust an output of the device, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the respective location has a first dynamic range, the output is adjusted in accordance with;

the change in the intensity of the contact at the respective location; and

a first input-output mapping of intensity to response that corresponds to the first dynamic range; and

in accordance with a determination that the respective location has a second dynamic range that is different from the first dynamic range, the output is adjusted in accordance with;

the change in the intensity of the contact at the respective location; and

a second input-output mapping of intensity to response that corresponds to the second dynamic range, wherein the second input-output mapping is different from the first input-output mapping.

2. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein determining a respective dynamic range for the respective location includes retrieving stored information concerning the dynamic range of the device for detecting intensity of the contact at the respective location.

3. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the second dynamic range is higher than the first dynamic range; and

the second input-output mapping maps intensity to output values for one or more intensity values that are outside of the first dynamic range.

4. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

an upper bound of the first dynamic range is determined based on a first intensity that corresponds to a first intensity detection limit at a first location on the touch-sensitive surface; and

an upper bound of the second dynamic range is determined based on a second intensity, different from the first intensity, that corresponds to a second intensity detection limit at a second location, different from the first location, on the touch-sensitive surface.

5. The storage medium of claim 4, wherein:

the first input-output mapping asymptotically approaches a respective maximum output as the device detects intensity values close to the first intensity; and

the second input-output mapping asymptotically approaches the respective maximum output as the device detects intensity values close to the second intensity.

6. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the first input-output mapping maps a first range of intensity values to a respective range of output; and

the second input-output mapping maps a second range of intensity values, different from the first range of intensity values, to the respective range of output.

7. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the first input-output mapping has a first portion that corresponds to a range of intensity values below a transition intensity value and a second portion that corresponds to a range of intensity values above the transition intensity value;

the second input-output mapping has a first portion that corresponds to a range of intensity values below the transition intensity value and a second portion that corresponds to a range of intensity values above the transition intensity value;

the first portion of the first input-output mapping is the same as the first portion of the second input-output mapping; and

the second portion of the first input-output mapping is different from the second portion of the second input-output mapping.

8. The storage medium of claim 7, wherein adjusting the output of the device includes:

in accordance with a determination that a maximum intensity of the contact is below the transition intensity value, generating a same output in accordance with the maximum intensity of the contact without regard to whether the respective location has the first dynamic range or the second dynamic range; and

in accordance with a determination that a maximum intensity of the contact is above the transition intensity value, generating different outputs in accordance with;

the maximum intensity of the contact and,

whether the respective location has the first dynamic range or the second dynamic range.

9. The storage medium of claim 1, wherein:

the sensors to detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface include a plurality of intensity sensors placed around a perimeter of the touch-sensitive surface; and

locations near the perimeter of the touch-sensitive surface have a lower dynamic range than locations near a center of the touch-sensitive surface.

10. The storage medium of claim 1, including instructions which, when executed by the electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

while adjusting output of the device in accordance with the first input-output mapping, detect movement of the contact from a first location on the touch-sensitive surface with the first dynamic range to a second location on the touch-sensitive surface with the second dynamic range; and

in response to detecting the movement of the contact from the first location to the second location, continue to use the first input-output mapping to adjust the output of the device while the contact is at the second location.

11. The storage medium of claim 1, including instructions which, when executed by the electronic device, cause the electronic device to:

while adjusting output of the device in accordance with the first input-output mapping, detect movement of the contact from a first location on the touch-sensitive surface with the first dynamic range to a second location on the touch-sensitive surface with the second dynamic range; and

in response to detecting the movement of the contact from the first location to the second location, use the second input-output mapping to adjust the output of the device while the contact is at the second location.

12. An electronic device, comprising:

a display;

a touch-sensitive surface;

one or more sensors to detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface;

one or more processors;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

detecting a contact on the touch-sensitive surface;

determining a respective location of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface;

wherein the respective location on the touch-sensitive surface has a respective dynamic range for detecting intensity of the contact;

determining an intensity of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface at the respective location;

detecting a change in intensity of the contact; and

in response to detecting the change in intensity of the contact at the respective location on the touch-sensitive surface, adjusting an output of the device, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the respective location has a first dynamic range, the output is adjusted in accordance with;

the change in the intensity of the contact at the respective location; and

a first input-output mapping of intensity to response that corresponds to the first dynamic range; and

in accordance with a determination that the respective location has a second dynamic range that is different from the first dynamic range, the output is adjusted in accordance with;

the change in the intensity of the contact at the respective location; and

a second input-output mapping of intensity to response that corresponds to the second dynamic range, wherein the second input-output mapping is different from the first input-output mapping.

13. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with a touch-sensitive surface and a display, wherein the device includes one or more sensors to detect intensities of contacts with the touch-sensitive surface;

detecting a contact on the touch-sensitive surface;

determining a respective location of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface, wherein the respective location on the touch-sensitive surface has a respective dynamic range for detecting intensity of the contact;

determining an intensity of the contact on the touch-sensitive surface at the respective location;

detecting a change in intensity of the contact; and

in response to detecting the change in intensity of the contact at the respective location on the touch-sensitive surface, adjusting an output of the device, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the respective location has a first dynamic range, the output is adjusted in accordance with;

the change in the intensity of the contact at the respective location; and

a first input-output mapping of intensity to response that corresponds to the first dynamic range; and

in accordance with a determination that the respective location has a second dynamic range that is different from the first dynamic range, the output is adjusted in accordance with;

the change in the intensity of the contact at the respective location; and

a second input-output mapping of intensity to response that corresponds to the second dynamic range, wherein the second input-output mapping is different from the first input-output mapping.