Selective input signal rejection and modification

• US 8,294,047 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2008
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Westerman, Wayne Carl, Mullens, Christopher Tenzin
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US12/242,794
• Publication Number:
  US 20100139990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,415 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345173-184, 178 1801- 1809, 338/68
• US Class Current: 178/18.03
• 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 2203/04808 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 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

This is related to user input devices that accept complex user input including a combination of touch and push (or pick) input. The invention provides for selective ignoring or rejection of input received from such devices in order to avoid interpreting unintentional user actions as commands. Furthermore, some input signals can be modified. The selective rejection or modification can be performed by the user interface device itself or by a computing device that includes or is attached to the user interface device. The selective rejection or modification may be performed by a module that processes input signals, performs the necessary rejections and modifications and sends revised input signals to higher level modules.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a user interface device including a multi-touch panel configured to sense a plurality of touch inputs thereon; and

a modification module configured to receive input data indicating a first finger touch input that is initially positioned in a lower portion of the multi-touch panel and subsequently moves out of the lower portion, and a second finger touch input that moves while the first finger touch input is moving out of the lower portion and reject the first finger touch input if the second finger touch input moves a distance longer than a predefined distance,

wherein the first finger touch input is a lowest path input, the lowest path input being a finger touch input selected from a plurality of concurrent finger touch inputs as being relatively low positioned and stationary.

2. A device comprising:

a user interface device including a touch sensing panel configured to sense one or more touch inputs thereon; and

a modification module configured to receive input data indicating a first finger touch input that is moving and a second finger touch input that is detected while the first finger touch input is moving and reject the first finger touch input when the second finger touch input appears, if the second finger touch input appears after the first finger touch input has been moving for at least a predefined period of time,

wherein the first finger touch input is a lowest path input, the lowest path input being a finger touch input selected from a plurality of concurrent finger touch inputs as being relatively low positioned and stationary.

3. A device comprising:

a user interface device including

a touch sensing panel configured to sense one or more touch inputs thereon, and

a mechanical sensor configured to sense one or more pick inputs causing physical deformations or displacements of the touch sensing panel; and

a modification module configured to receive input data indicating a plurality of finger touch inputs and a pick input, select a lowest path input from the plurality of finger touch inputs, and reject the lowest path input,

wherein the lowest path input is rejected at least while one or both of the following is true;

(i) the pick input is ongoing, and (ii) the lowest path is not the only detected touch, and

wherein the modification module subsequently receives input data indicating that the pick input has seized, the modification module being configured to determine whether the lowest path is a thumb path and to continue rejecting the lowest path if it is determined that it is a thumb path or allow the lowest path if it is determined that it is not a thumb path.

4. A device comprising:

a user interface device including

a touch sensing panel configured to sense one or more touch inputs thereon, and

a mechanical sensor configured to sense one or more pick inputs causing physical deformations or displacements of the touch sensing panel; and

a modification module configured to receive input data indicating one or more finger touch inputs, at least one of said finger touch inputs having a non-zero velocity and a pick input, modify the velocities of all finger touch inputs having non-zero velocities for a non-zero period of time after the detection of the pick input,

wherein modifying the velocities includes reducing the velocities.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the amount of modification of the velocities is reduced as time from the detection of the pick input elapses.

6. A method for processing user interface inputs detected by a user interface device capable of detecting one or more touch inputs on a multi-touch panel, the method comprising:

receiving input data indicating a first finger touch input that is initially positioned in a lower portion of the multi-touch panel and subsequently moves out of the lower portion, and a second finger touch input that moves while the first finger touch input is moving out of the lower portion;

determining that the second finger touch input had moved a distance greater than a predefined distance before the first finger touch input exited the lower portion;

rejecting the first finger touch input; and

determining the first finger touch input to be a lowest path input, the determination being passed on the height and the movement of the first finger touch input;

wherein the first finger touch input is relatively stationary and in a low position on the multi-touch panel compared to other finger touch inputs.

7. A method for processing user interface inputs detected by a user interface device capable of detecting one or more touch inputs on a multi-touch panel, the method comprising:

receiving input data indicating a first finger touch input that is moving and a second finger touch input that is detected while the first finger touch input is moving;

determining that the second finger touch input appeared after the first finger touch input has been moving for a predefined period of time;

rejecting the first finger touch input; and

determining the first finger touch input to be a lowest path input, the determination being passed on the height and the movement of the first finger touch input;

wherein the first finger touch input is relatively stationary and in a low position on the multi-touch panel compared to other finger touch inputs.

8. A method for processing user interface inputs detected by a combination user interface device capable of detecting one or more touch inputs on a multi-touch panel and one or more pick inputs causing physical deformation or displacement of the multi-touch panel, the method comprising:

receiving input data indicating a plurality of finger touch inputs;

determining one of the plurality of finger touch inputs to be a lowest path input; and

rejecting the lowest path input while a pick input is ongoing.

9. The method of claim 8, further including:

continuing to reject the lowest path input at least while one or both of the following is true;

(i) the pick input is ongoing, and (ii) the lowest path is not the only detected touch.

10. The method of claim 9, further including:

receiving input data indicating that the pick input has seized;

determining whether the lowest path is a thumb path; and

continuing to reject the lowest path if it is determined that it is a thumb path or allowing the lowest path if it is determined that it is not a thumb path.

11. A method for processing user interface inputs detected by a combination user interface device capable of detecting one or more touch inputs on a multi-touch panel and one or more pick inputs causing physical deformation or displacement of the multi-touch panel, the method comprising:

receiving input data indicating one or more finger touch inputs, at least one of said finger touch inputs having a non-zero velocity and a pick input; and

modifying the velocities of all finger touch inputs having non-zero velocities for a non-zero period of time after the detection of the pick input,

wherein modifying the velocities includes reducing the velocities.

12. A method for processing user interface inputs detected by a combination user interface device capable of detecting one or more touch inputs on a multi-touch panel and one or more pick inputs causing physical deformation or displacement of the multi-touch panel, the method comprising:

receiving input data indicating one or more finger touch inputs, at least one of said finger touch inputs having a non-zero velocity and a pick input; and

modifying the velocities of all finger touch inputs having non-zero velocities for a non-zero period of time after the detection of the pick input,

wherein the amount of modification of the velocities is reduced as time from the detection of the pick input elapses.