Enhanced program access in a graphical user interface

• US 5,699,082 A
• Filed: 06/07/1995
• Issued: 12/16/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Selker, Edwin Joseph, Marks, Ronald Franklin
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CHANH DUY
• Application Number:
  US08/483,594
• Time in Patent Office: 923 Days
• Field of Search: 345/119, 345/120, 345/113, 345/114, 345/156, 345/157, 345/160, 345/161, 345/163, 345/168, 345/169, 345/162, 345/159, 395/156, 395/157, 395/153, 74/471, 273/148 B
• US Class Current: 345/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0338 with detection of limited linear or angular displacement of an operating part of the device from a neutral position, e.g. isotonic or isometric joysticks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry

Abstract

A pointing system for controlling a cursor on a computer display device includes a single control actuator that ordinarily controls movement of the cursor on the display device and also detects if an applied cursor force matches a predetermined tap signature. If the applied force substantially matches the predetermined tap signature, then the system responds to the applied force by initiating one or more display actions rather than by moving the display cursor. The system detects tap signature forces applied along the x, y, and z axes of the control actuator and responds by retrieving a cursor context comprising a window display and corresponding cursor location from a queue and opening the associated window. That is, the system changes the active window from among windows of a graphical user interface, preserving the cursor position within each window. Other tap signature responses can correspond to functions initiated by programmable function keys or to user-defined functions. The force signature needed to initiate the display actions comprises a short duration, low level of force, such as a tap on the cursor control actuator that defines a sawtooth-type pulse having a rapidly rising leading edge and a slower failing trailing edge. Off-axis forces, which cannot be detected as occurring primarily along one of the three axes, are ignored to prevent. inadvertent, undirected bumping of the control actuator from initiating unwanted action.

Claims

1. A pointing system for controlling a graphical user interface displayed on a computer system display device having a keyboard including a plurality of keys, said keys being responsive to force thereon by moving in a first direction, a keyboard control actuator for moving a display cursor of the graphical user interface, and a force transducer that detects forces applied to the control actuator in one of more lateral directions substantially perpendicular to the first direction, the pointing system comprising:

a tap signature identifier that detects forces applied to the keyboard control actuator in the lateral directions and determines whether said lateral forces are applied for a first predetermined time interval and then released such that the applied forces correspond to one of multiple predetermined tap signatures each defined by a function of magnitude and direction of applied force occurring over the first predetermined time interval and thereby comprising a display change tap; and

a display controller that (1) responds to lateral forces applied to the control actuator and indicated by the tap signature identifier as comprising display change taps, by initiating display actions corresponding to said display taps and that (2) otherwise responds to lateral control actuator forces not representing the predetermined display change taps by moving the cursor across the display in accordance with the force applied to the keyboard control actuator.

2. A pointing system as defined in claim 1, wherein the display controller causes the first display action to be initiated only if no control actuator force is detected for a second predetermined time interval that precedes the first predetermined time interval, which has been determined by the tap signature identifier to comprise a display change tap interval.

3. A pointing system as defined in claim 1, wherein the display device displays a plurality of overlapped computer system operating windows and a first one of said display actions performed by the display controller comprises bringing a different one of the windows to the top of the display.

4. A pointing system as defined in claim 3, wherein the pointing system includes a cursor context queue that contains a top-to-bottom ordered list of the displayed operating windows and corresponding cursor locations for each of the windows such that the operating window at the top of the queue and the corresponding cursor location are displayed.

5. A pointing system as defined in claim 1, wherein the control actuator comprises a stick control device.

6. A pointing system as defined in claim 5, wherein:

the force transducer determines the control actuator force as a combination of forces applied along either an x-axis or a y-axis of the control actuator; and

the display controller causes a first one of said display actions to be initiated only if the control actuator force is applied substantially along either the x axis or the y axis.

7. A pointing system as defined in claim 6, wherein the display device displays a plurality of overlapped computer system operating windows and the first display action performed by the display controller comprises bringing a different one of the windows to the top of the display.

8. A pointing system as defined in claim 7, wherein the display controller causes the first display action to be initiated only if the control actuator force is applied substantially along the x axis and causes a second display action to be initiated only if the control actuator force is applied substantially along the y axis.

9. A pointing system as defined in claim 8, wherein:

the system further includes a cursor context queue that contains a list of the displayed operating windows and corresponding cursor locations for each of the windows and the first display action comprises displaying the operating window at the top of the queue and the corresponding cursor location in the window.

10. A pointing system as defined in claim 9, wherein:

the cursor context queue includes automatic queue entries and user-defined entries such that current window displays and corresponding cursor locations are automatically loaded into the cursor context queue in response to user window display commands and current window displays and corresponding cursor locations are loaded into the cursor context queue in response to predetermined user queue control commands.

11. A pointing system as defined in claim 10, wherein the display controller cycles the top-most cursor context from among the automatic queue entries of the cursor context queue in response to display change taps along the x axis and displays the top-most cursor context as the active window, and cycles the top-most cursor context from among the user-defined queue entries of the cursor context queue in response to display change taps along the y axis and displays the top-most cursor context as the active window.

12. A pointing system as defined in claim 5, wherein:

the force transducer can determine the control actuator force as a combination of forces applied in an x-y plane and along a z-axis; and

the display controller causes a first one of said display actions to be initiated if the force is applied substantially only in the x-y plane and causes a second display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially only along the z-axis.

13. A pointing system as defined in claim 12, wherein the display device displays a plurality of overlapped computer system operating windows and the first display action comprises bringing a different one of the windows to the top of the display.

14. A pointing system as defined in claim 5, wherein:

the force transducer can determine the control actuator force as a combination of forces applied along an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis; and

the display controller causes a first one of said display actions to be initiated if the force is applied substantially only along the x axis, causes a second display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially only along the y axis, and causes a third display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially only along the z axis.

15. A pointing system as defined in claim 14, wherein the display device displays a plurality of overlapped computer system operating windows and the first display action performed by the display controller comprises bringing a different one of the windows to the top of the display.

16. A pointing system as defined in claim 14, wherein:

the display device displays a plurality of overlapped computer system operating windows; and

the system further includes a cursor context queue that contains a top-to-bottom ordered list of the displayed operating windows in the order of overlapping and contains corresponding cursor locations for each of the windows such that the operating window at the top of the queue is the top window displayed on the display device and the other windows in the queue are overlapped in accordance with their respective order in the queue.

17. A pointing system as defined in claim 16, wherein the first display action performed by the display controller comprises cycling among the entries in the cursor context queue such that the second overlapped window is brought to the top of the queue, the second display action performed by the display controller comprises cycling among the entries in the cursor context queue such that the bottom cursor context is brought to the top of the cursor context queue, and the third display action performed by the display controller comprises bringing a predetermined one of the cursor contexts to the top of the cursor context queue.

18. A computer system comprising:

a host processor;

a keyboard comprising a plurality of keys that provide input data to the host processor, said keys being responsive to force thereon by moving in a first direction;

a display device that displays a cursor;

a keyboard cursor control actuator that can be actuated to cause movement of the display cursor;

a force transducer that detects the direction and magnitude of forces applied to the keyboard control actuator in one or more lateral directions substantially perpendicular to the first direction;

a tap signature identifier that detects forces applied to the keyboard control actuator in the lateral directions and determines whether said lateral forces are applied for a first predetermined time interval and then released such that the applied forces correspond to one of multiple predetermined tap signatures each defined by a function of applied force magnitude and direction occurring over the first predetermined time interval and thereby comprising a display change tap; and

a display controller that (1) responds to lateral forces applied to the keyboard control actuator and indicated by the tap signature identifier as comprising display change taps, by initiating display actions corresponding to said display taps, and that (2) otherwise responds to lateral keyboard control actuator forces not representing the predetermined display change taps by moving the cursor across the display in accordance with the force applied to the keyboard control actuator.

19. A pointing system as defined in claim 18, wherein the pointing system includes a cursor context queue that contains a top-to-bottom ordered list of the displayed operating windows and corresponding cursor locations for each of the windows such that the operating window at the top of the queue is the top window displayed on the display device.

20. A computer system as defined in claim 19, wherein the tap signature identifier includes a timer that detects time intervals during which forces are applied to the control actuator and the tap signature identifier identifies display change taps as being those forces detected by the timer that are applied for the predetermined first time interval and then released and that are identified by the force transducer as having a magnitude less than a predetermined tap force.

21. A computer system as defined in claim 18, wherein the tap signature identifier compares the control actuator force to a function of force and time that comprises a predetermined waveform and identifies display change taps as those control actuator forces that substantially match the predetermined waveform.

22. A computer system as defined in claim 18, wherein the display controller causes the first display action to be initiated only if no control actuator force is detected for a second predetermined time interval, that precedes the a display change tap.

23. A computer system as defined in claim 18, wherein:

the control actuator comprises a stick control device oriented substantially perpendicular to the keyboard; and

the force transducer can determine the force applied to the control actuator as a combination of forces applied along an x-axis that is parallel to rows of the keyboard and along a y-axis that is perpendicular to the x-axis and in the plane of the keyboard.

24. A computer system as defined in claim 23, wherein the force can be applied to the control actuator along an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis and wherein the display controller causes the first display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially along the x-axis and causes a second display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially along the y-axis.

25. A computer system as defined in claim 23, wherein:

the force transducer can determine the force applied to the control actuator as a combination of forces applied in an x-y plane and along a z-axis; and

the display controller causes the first display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially in the x-y plane and causes a second display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially along the z-axis.

26. A computer system as defined in claim 23, wherein:

the force transducer can determine the force applied to the control actuator as a combination of forces applied along an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis; and

the display controller causes the first display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially along the x axis, causes a second display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially along the y axis, and causes a third display action to be initiated if the force is applied substantially along the z axis.

27. A method of responding to forces applied to a keyboard cursor control actuator provided in a keyboard having multiplicity of keys responsive to force thereon by moving in a first direction, the control actuator controlling a cursor displayed on a computer display device of a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting the magnitude and direction of a force applied to the keyboard cursor control actuator in a lateral direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction;

detecting a time interval during which the keyboard control actuator force is applied to the keyboard control actuator and then released; and

initiating a first display action in response to the lateral forces applied to the keyboard control actuator if the keyboard control actuator force is determined to correspond to any one of multiple predetermined tap signatures each defined by a function of applied force magnitude and direction occurring over the determined time interval, and otherwise if the lateral forces applied to the keyboard control actuator do not represent any of the tap signatures waveform, responding to the keyboard control actuator force by moving the cursor across the display in accordance with the lateral forces applied to the keyboard control actuator.

28. A method as defined in claim 27, wherein the predetermined tap signature waveform comprises a short duration waveform having a relatively quickly rising leading edge and a relatively slowly falling trailing edge.

29. A method as defined in claim 27, wherein the predetermined tap signature waveform comprises an applied force within a predetermined range of force values that is applied to the control actuator for a first predetermined time interval.

30. A method as defined in claim 27, wherein the step of initiating a first display action further comprises the steps of:

determining if the applied force corresponding to the tap signature waveform is preceded by a predetermined blank time interval, in which no control actuator force is detected;

initiating the first display action only if the predetermined blank time interval precedes the applied force interval and otherwise moving the cursor across the display in accordance with the force applied to the control actuator.

31. A method as defined in claim 27, wherein the display device displays a plurality of computer system operating windows overlapped on the display and the first display action comprises bringing a different one of the operating windows to the top of the display.

32. A method as defined in claim 27, wherein:

the step of detecting a control actuator force applied to the cursor control actuator comprises determining the force as a combination of forces applied to the control actuator along an x-axis and a y-axis; and

the step of initiating the first display action comprises initiating the first display action if the force is applied substantially along the x-axis and initiating a second display action if the force is applied substantially along the y-axis.

33. A method as defined in claim 27, wherein:

the step of detecting a control actuator force applied to the cursor control actuator comprises determining the force as a combination of forces applied to the control actuator along an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis; and

the step of initiating the first display action comprises initiating the first display action if the force is applied substantially along the x-y plane and initiating a second display action if the force is applied substantially along the z-axis.

34. A method as defined in claim 27, wherein:

the step of detecting a control actuator force applied to the cursor control actuator comprises determining the force as a combination of forces applied to the control actuator along an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis; and

the step of initiating the first display action comprises initiating the first display action if the force is applied substantially only along the x axis, initiating a second display action if the force is applied substantially only along the y axis, and initiating a third display action if the force is applied substantially only along the z axis.

35. In a pointing system that includes a keyboard with a plurality of keys movable in a vertical direction, a pointing stick attached to the keyboard and having a tip movable in lateral directions substantially perpendicular to the first direction, a force transducer detecting said lateral forces applied to the pointing stick, and a display providing a cursor, a controller comprising:

a tap signature identifier coupled to the force transducer to determine whether lateral forces being applied to the pointing stick correspond to any one of multiple predetermined tap signatures, each tap signature defined by a predetermined magnitude, direction, and duration of applied force, each tap signature being associated with a predetermined display action performable by the display; and

a display controller, coupled to the tap signature identifier and the force transducer,

said display controller signalling the display to perform a particular one of the predetermined display actions in response to the tap signature identifier determining that lateral forces being applied to the pointing stick correspond to a tap signature associated with the particular display action; and

said display controller otherwise, in the absence of lateral forces being applied to the pointing stick that correspond to any of the predetermined tap signatures, signalling the display to move the cursor across the display according to lateral forces applied to the pointing stick.

36. A pointing system, comprising:

a keyboard including a plurality of keys each being reciprocatingly depressable in a vertical direction for a user to select a number, letter, character, or other function specifically associated with that key;

a full-time pointing stick attached to the keyboard and having a tip movable in lateral directions substantially perpendicular to the first direction;

a force transducer coupled to the pointing stick to detect said lateral forces applied to the pointing stick;

a tap signature identifier coupled to the force transducer to determine whether lateral forces being applied to the pointing stick correspond to any one of multiple predetermined tap signatures, each tap signature defined by a predetermined magnitude, direction, and duration of lateral force applied to the pointing stick, each tap signature being associated with a predetermined display action performable upon a display; and

a display controller, coupled to the tap signature identifier and the force transducer,

said display controller signalling the display to perform a particular one of the predetermined display actions whenever the tap signature identifier identifies a tap signature specifically associated with the particular display action, in the absence of any tap signatures being identified, the display controller directing motion of the cursor within the display according to the applied lateral forces.