Method for scroll bar control on a touchpad

• US 8,378,973 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2005
• Issued: 02/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation, Elantech Devices Corporation (Elan Microelectronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Chiu, Yen-Chang, Chien, Yung-Lieh, Wu, Zhi-Long
• Primary Examiner(s): Pervan, Michael
• Application Number:
  US11/171,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20060001652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,790 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 178 1801- 1907
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/04855 Interaction with scrollbars
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

In a method for scroll bar control on a touchpad, the fingers touching on the touchpad are detected to start up and terminate a scroll bar control function. In the scroll bar control function, the movement of the finger or fingers touching on the touchpad is detected for scrolling on a window, and the vertical distance and the horizontal distance of the movement are evaluated for determining the scrolling amount of a vertical scroll bar or a horizontal scroll bar of the window.

Claims

1. A method for scroll bar control on a touchpad, comprising the steps of:

detecting if a number of fingers touching on the touchpad is equal to or larger than a first threshold, for starting up a scroll bar control function;

selectively redefining the touchpad in operational configuration between alternative cursor control and scroll bar control functions responsive to the detection independent of a sliding movement of said number of fingers;

in the scroll bar control function, detecting the sliding movement of said number of fingers on the touchpad for scrolling on a window in accordance with the finger movement, selectively setting a scroll direction based on comparative vertical and horizontal distances of the finger movement; and

continuing said scroll bar control function to scroll in further distance-based response to at least one finger remaining continuously on said touchpad when said number of fingers remaining continuously on said touchpad is greater than a second threshold;

wherein said first threshold is larger than one and said second threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first threshold is two.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising terminating the scroll bar control function once the number of fingers touching on the touchpad are equal to or less than a second threshold.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the second threshold is zero.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising evaluating a vertical distance and a horizontal distance of the movement for scrolling a vertical scroll bar, a horizontal scroll bar, or a combined vertical and horizontal scroll bar on the window, respectively.

6. A method for scroll bar control on a touchpad comprising the steps of:

detecting if a number of fingers touching on a region of the touchpad is equal to or larger than a first threshold, for starting up a scroll bar control function;

selectively redefining the touchpad in operational configuration between alternative cursor control and scroll bar control functions responsive to the detection independent of a sliding movement of said number of fingers;

in the scroll bar control function, detecting the sliding movement of one or more fingers on the touchpad for scrolling on a window in accordance with the finger movement; and

,

selectively setting a scroll direction based on comparative vertical and horizontal distances of the movement for scrolling a vertical scroll bar on the window if the vertical distance is larger than the horizontal distance over a reference, or a horizontal scroll bar on the window if the horizontal distance is larger than the vertical distance over the reference; and

continuing said scroll bar control function to scroll in further distance-based response to at least one finger remaining continuously on said touchpad when said number of fingers remaining continuously on said touchpad is greater than a second threshold;

wherein said first threshold is larger than one and said second threshold.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising determining a scrolling amount for the vertical scroll bar in proportion to a difference between the vertical distance and the horizontal distance.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising determining a scrolling amount for the vertical scroll bar in proportion to the vertical distance.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising determining a scrolling amount for the horizontal scroll bar in proportion to a difference between the horizontal distance and the vertical distance.

10. The method according to claim 6, further comprising determining a scrolling amount for the horizontal scroll bar in proportion to the horizontal distance.

11. A method for scrolling a window on a touchpad, comprising the steps of:

detecting a number of fingers touching on the touchpad for starting up a scrolling window configuration and selectively reconfiguring the touchpad between a cursor control window configuration and the scrolling window configuration responsive to the number of fingers meeting a first threshold independent of a sliding movement of said number of fingers;

in the scrolling window configuration, selectively setting a scroll direction based on comparative evaluation of vertical and horizontal distances of a continuous movement of one or more fingers sliding on the touchpad for a vertical scrolling, a horizontal scrolling, or a combined vertical and horizontal scrolling;

continuing said scrolling in the scrolling window configuration in further distance-based response to at least one finger remaining continuously on said touchpad; and

transmitting a scrolling amount to a host system a selected one of the vertical, horizontal, or combined vertical and horizontal scrolling directions;

wherein said first threshold is larger than one.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first threshold is two.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising continuing the scrolling window configuration responsive to the number of fingers touching on the touchpad is greater than a second threshold;

wherein said first threshold is larger than said second threshold.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the second threshold is one.

15. The method according to claim 11, further comprising terminating the scrolling window configuration once the number of fingers touching on the touchpad are equal to or less than a second threshold;

wherein said first threshold is larger than said second threshold.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the second threshold is zero.

17. The method according to claim 11, wherein a vertical scrolling amount for scrolling the window in the vertical direction is proportional to the vertical distance of continuous finger movement.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein a horizontal scrolling amount for scrolling the window in the horizontal direction is proportional to the horizontal distance of continuous finger movement.