Feedback during crossing of zoom levels

• US 8,514,252 B1
• Filed: 09/22/2010
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Oplinger, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Yang, Ryan R
• Application Number:
  US12/888,209
• Time in Patent Office: 1,063 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/661
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/045 Zooming at least part of an image, i.e. enlarging it or shrinking it
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

Aspects of this disclosure are directed to zooming into or out of image content. A user may request to zoom into or out of image content by inputting a multi-touch gesture. The request may reach one or more discrete zoom levels of a plurality of discrete zoom levels. Discrete zoom levels may indicate specific magnification factors for which a device may be able to clearly render image content. The device may output an indication when the request reaches the one or more discrete zoom levels.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, at a touch-sensitive surface, a multi-touch gesture input indicating a request to zoom in or zoom out of image content that is displayed;

determining, by a device, during receipt of the multi-touch gesture input, that a first discrete zoom level associated with a stored version of the image content has been reached;

determining, by the device, during receipt of the multi-touch gesture input, that a second, different discrete zoom level associated with a stored version of the image content has been reached subsequent to the first discrete zoom level;

responsive to determining that the first discrete zoom level has been reached, outputting, by the device, a first indication that the first discrete zoom level has been reached; and

responsive to determining that the second discrete zoom level has been reached, outputting, by the device, a second indication that the second discrete zoom level has been reached.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more magnification factors during the receipt of the multi-touch gesture input; and

determining whether at least one of the one or more magnification factors corresponds to the first or the second discrete zoom levels,

wherein outputting the first indication comprises, responsive to determining whether at least one of the one or more magnification factors corresponds to the first discrete zoom level and responsive to determining that the first discrete zoom level has been reached, outputting the first indication, and

wherein outputting the second indication comprises, responsive to determining whether at least one of the one or more magnification factors corresponds to the second discrete zoom level and responsive to determining that the second discrete zoom level has been reached, outputting the second indication.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the one or more magnification factors during receipt of the multi-touch gesture comprises determining the one or more magnification factors during increments of the multi-touch gesture.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining a distance traversed by the multi-touch gesture input,

wherein determining the one or more magnification factors during the receipt of the multi-touch gesture comprises determining, based on the distance traversed by the multi-touch gesture input, the one or more magnification factors during receipt of the multi-touch gesture.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the distance traversed by the multi-touch gesture input comprises determining a distance that two fingers moved in providing the multi-touch gesture input.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the multi-touch gesture input indicating the request to zoom in or zoom out of image content comprises receiving multi-touch gesture input indicating the request to zoom in or zoom out of image content with a two-finger touch technique.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second discrete zoom levels are between a maximum and a minimum zoom boundary for displaying the image content.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein outputting the first indication comprises outputting at least one of a physical indication, an audio indication, and a visual indication.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein outputting the physical indication comprises vibrating the device.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein outputting the audio indication comprises outputting a sound.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein outputting the visual indication comprises outputting at least one of a magnification factor of the first discrete zoom level, and changing a color of the touch-sensitive surface.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored version of the image content that is associated with the first discrete zoom level and the stored version of the image content that is associated with the second discrete zoom level are stored in an external server.

13. A computer-readable storage device comprising instructions that cause one or more processors of a device to:

receive, at a touch-sensitive surface, a multi-touch gesture input indicating a request to zoom in or zoom out of image content that is displayed;

determine, during receipt of the multi-touch gesture input, that a first discrete zoom level associated with a stored version of the image content has been reached;

determine, during receipt of the multi-touch gesture input, that a second, different discrete zoom level associated with a stored version of the image content has been reached subsequent to the first discrete zoom level;

responsive to determining that the first discrete zoom level has been reached, output, by the device, a first indication that the first discrete zoom level has been reached; and

responsive to determining that the second discrete zoom level has been reached, output, by the device, a second indication that the second discrete zoom level has been reached.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 13, further comprising instructions that cause the one or more processors of the device to:

determine one or more magnification factors during the receipt of the multi-touch gesture input; and

determine whether at least one of the one or more magnification factors corresponds to the first or the second discrete zoom levels,

wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to output the first indication comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to, responsive to determining whether at least one of the one or more magnification factors corresponds to the first discrete zoom level and responsive to determining that the first discrete zoom level has been reached, output the first indication, and

wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to output the second indication comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to, responsive to determining whether at least one of the one or more magnification factors corresponds to the second discrete zoom level and responsive to determining that the second discrete zoom level has been reached, output the second indication.

15. The computer-readable storage device of claim 14, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine the one or more magnification factors during receipt of the multi-touch gesture comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine the one or more magnification factors during increments of the multi-touch gesture.

16. The computer-readable storage device of claim 14, further comprising instructions that cause the one or more processors of the device to:

determine a distance that two fingers moved in providing the multi-touch gesture input,

wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine the one or more magnification factors during the receipt of the multi-touch gesture comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to determine, based on the distance traversed by the two fingers in providing the multi-touch gesture input, the one or more magnification factors during receipt of the multi-touch gesture.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 13, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to output the first indication comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to output at least one of a physical indication, an audio indication, and a visual indication.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to output the physical indication comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to cause the device to vibrate, wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to output the audio indication comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to cause the device to output a sound, and wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to output the visual indication comprises instructions that cause the one or more processors to output at least one of a magnification factor of the first discrete zoom level, and change a color of the touch-sensitive surface.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 13, wherein the stored version of the image content that is associated with the first discrete zoom level and the stored version of the image content that is associated with the second discrete zoom level are stored in an external server.

20. A device comprising:

a touch-sensitive surface configured to receive a multi-touch gesture input indicating a request to zoom in or zoom out of image content that is displayed; and

one or more processors configured to;

determine, during receipt of the multi-touch gesture input, that a first discrete zoom level associated with a stored version of the image content has been reached;

determine, during receipt of the multi-touch gesture input, that a second, different discrete zoom level associated with a stored version of the image content has been reached;

responsive to determining that the first discrete zoom level has been reached, cause the device to output a first indication that the first discrete zoom level has been reached; and

responsive to determining that the second discrete zoom level has been reached, cause the device to output a second indication that the second discrete zoom level has been reached.