Enhancing usability of a moving touch screen

• US 8,161,417 B1
• Filed: 11/04/2009
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Lee, Woojae
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHANTANA ANGKOOL, DAVID
• Application Number:
  US12/612,484
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• Field of Search: 715/866, 715/802, 715/790
• US Class Current: 715/866
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• 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 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser

Abstract

A system and method for improving the usability of a touch screen on a moving mobile device are provided. Upon determining the mobile device is moving in a pattern that is consistent with a person walking while carrying the mobile device, a new interface that is easier to use is displayed. The new interface may be easier to use than a standard interface by showing less action buttons, zooming into a portion of the standard interface, and/or by requiring less user input to complete a requested task.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having one or more computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of enhancing selectability of objects displayed on a mobile device'"'"'s touch screen, the method comprising:

determining that the mobile device is moving in a pattern that indicates the mobile device is being carried by a user who is presently walking, wherein the pattern is detected using readings from accelerometers in the mobile device; and

displaying, though the mobile device'"'"'s touch screen, a walk-mode interface that increases an ease with which the objects are selected through the touch screen as compared to a standard interface displayed when the user of the mobile device is not walking with the mobile device, wherein the ease with which the objects are selected is increased by automatically zooming into an area of the standard interface that is most likely to be utilized by the user and by not requiring the user to input a confirmation in response to requesting an action that generates a confirmation request in the standard interface.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein said determining includes determining the mobile device is moving a threshold distance up and then the threshold distance down within a threshold period of time.

3. The media of claim 2, wherein said determining includes determining the mobile device is moving at a velocity less than six miles per hour.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein the method further includes determining the area of the standard interface that is most likely to be utilized by the user based on the user'"'"'s previous interactions with the standard user interface.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein the walk-mode interface shows less action buttons than the standard interface, wherein action buttons are selected for display based on the user'"'"'s previous usage of the action buttons.

6. The media of claim 5, wherein the user'"'"'s previous usage of the action buttons is evaluated as specific to a contact presently shown on the updated user interface.

7. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having one or more computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of improving usability of a mobile device when a user is walking with the mobile device, the method comprising:

determining that a user is walking with the mobile device;

changing a user interface on the mobile device into a walk-mode from a standard mode, wherein the walk mode shows a first content and the standard mode shows a second content, wherein the walk mode displays less content than the standard mode;

eliminating a need for the user to provide confirmation input when the mobile device is in walk mode in response to requesting an action that generates a confirmation request in the standard mode;

determining that the user has stopped walking with the mobile device; and

changing the user interface on the mobile device back to the standard mode.

8. The media of claim 7, wherein the user is determined to be walking with the mobile device when accelerometers in the mobile device detect a movement pattern consistent with indicating the user is walking with the mobile device.

9. The media of claim 7, wherein the content includes one or more of input buttons, messages, icons, menu items, and message content.

10. The media of claim 7, wherein the first content includes a subset of the second content and wherein the first content is selected based on frequency of use.

11. The media of claim 7, wherein the first content includes a subset of the second content and wherein the first content is based on user preferences.

12. The media of claim 7, wherein the first content includes a subset of the second content and is generated by zooming into a portion of the second content.

13. A method of changing a display mode on a mobile device when a user of the mobile device is walking with the mobile device, the method comprising:

determining that the mobile device is moving in a pattern that indicates the mobile device is being carried by a user who is presently walking, wherein the pattern is detected using readings from accelerometers in the mobile device;

changing a user interface on the mobile device into the walk mode from a standard mode, wherein the walk mode shows a first content and the standard mode shows a second content, wherein the walk mode displays less content than the standard mode; and

generating the first content by selecting objects from the second content that are most likely to be utilized by the user based on the user'"'"'s previous interactions with the objects in standard mode.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first content includes one or more of input buttons, messages, icons, menu items, and message content.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the first content includes a subset of the second content and wherein the first content is selected based on frequency of use.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the content associated with the contact is a text message.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the content associated with the contact is an entry in a contact list that is associated with the contact.