User interface for diagnostic instrument

• US 8,319,735 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2003
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Autologic LLC (Applus Services SA), Snap-On Technologies Incorporated (Snap-On Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Autologic LLC (Applus Services SA), Snap-On Technologies Incorporated (Snap-On Incorporated)
• Inventors: Fudali, Thomas M., Raml, Timothy J., Nicholson, William D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H
• Application Number:
  US10/674,409
• Publication Number:
  US 20050073503A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,345 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 715/810, 715841-843, 178/18.01, 178/19.04
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A user interface for a computing device is provided. The user interface includes a plurality of display elements. A display element includes an active region, a graphical representation, and a textual description. The active region is sized for enabling human finger tip selection of the display element on a touch sensitive display screen. A display module receives coordinate information from the display screen and determines whether the coordinate information corresponds to the active region. When a user touches the active region, an instrument interface module sends a command to a diagnostic instrument. Further features, such as language localization of the textual description, are also provided.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions for invoking a function of a diagnostic instrument, the code, once executed, causing the instrument to display:

a first navigational menu including at least one display element, the at least one display element having a touch sensitive active region therein and a graphical representation of functionality invoked via user selection of the display element by user contact with the touch sensitive active region, the display element and the touch sensitive active region being located on the same surface of a display screen of the diagnostic instrument; and

a second navigational menu configured to be displayed responsive to contact on the touch sensitive active region of the at least one display element, the second navigational menu including a selection group related to a test suite of the diagnostic instrument;

wherein the first and second navigational menus are displayed sized and positioned to be responsive to a gloved finger; and

wherein the display screen is pressure sensitive and provides coordinate information regarding contact on the display screen including depth information, the depth information is used to determine a pressure applied to the display screen, and the pressure is used to define a user contact area.

2. The medium of claim 1, wherein the selection group includes a plurality of display elements, each of the plurality of display elements having a touch sensitive active region to enable user selection of the plurality of display elements.

3. The medium of claim 1, wherein the selection group includes fewer than ten display elements to permit discrete touch sensitive selection of each of the fewer than ten display elements.

4. The medium of claim 1, wherein the first navigational menu includes at least six display elements, each of the at least six display elements having a discrete touch sensitive active region sized to permit finger tip selection.

5. The medium of claim 1, wherein the at least one display element comprises a textual description of functionality invoked by user selection of the display element.

6. The medium of claim 1, wherein the touch sensitive active region comprises an approximately circular shape with a diameter of at least ⅜

inch.

7. The medium of claim 1, wherein the touch sensitive active region comprises an area having a polygonal shape of at least ¼

square inch.

8. The medium of claim 1, wherein the touch sensitive active region comprises an area of at least 1/10 that of the screen area.