Input aggregation for a multi-touch device

• US 8,797,271 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2008
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kramer, Doug, Kennedy, Kevin, Mazeev, Maxim, Ramani, Sundaram, Levy, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Sitta, Grant
• Application Number:
  US12/038,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20090213084A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,351 Days
• Field of Search: 345170-180, 173 1801- 1901
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

The aggregation of multiple inputs in a touch-sensitive input device is disclosed. For example, one disclosed embodiment comprises receiving multiple inputs related to a virtual object, aggregating the inputs into an aggregated output, and providing the aggregated output to an application that controls the virtual object.

Claims

1. In a computing device, a method of aggregating multiple inputs from a touch-based input device, the method comprising:

displaying a virtual object that is controlled by a control;

receiving a first touch-based input related to the virtual object;

receiving a second touch-based input related to the virtual object;

forwarding the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input from the control to a manipulation processor;

aggregating via the manipulation processor the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input into an aggregated output;

providing the aggregated output to the control; and

varying a display of the virtual object based upon the aggregated output.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the aggregated output comprises information related to one or more of a position, a translation, a rotation and a scaling of the virtual object.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the information related to a position comprises an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the information related to a translation comprises a translation of an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the information related to a rotation comprises a degree of rotation about an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input relative to a reference direction.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein aggregating the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input into an aggregated output comprises aggregating spatially non-overlapping touch-based inputs into an aggregated output.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein aggregating the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input into an aggregated output comprises aggregating temporally non-overlapping touch-based inputs into an aggregated output.

8. A computer-readable storage medium excluding a signal per se, the computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions executable by a computing device to aggregate inputs from a multi-touch input device, the inputs being related to a virtual object, and the instructions being executable to perform a method comprising:

detecting a first touch-based input from a first manipulator;

passing the first touch-based input to an application;

passing the first touch-based input from the application to a manipulation processor;

detecting a second touch-based input from a second manipulator;

passing the second touch-based input to the application;

passing the second touch-based input from the application to the manipulation processor;

aggregating the first and second touch-based inputs into an aggregated output comprising information related to one or more of a position, a translation, a rotation and a scaling of the virtual object; and

passing additional inputs from the first manipulator and the second manipulator directly to the manipulation processor.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the information related to a position comprises an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the information related to a translation comprises a translation of an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the information related to a rotation comprises a degree of rotation about an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input relative to a reference direction.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the information related to a scaling is a scaling of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input in relation to an average location.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the information further comprises information regarding one or more of a wheel input, a virtual object zoom, a tap, and a touch-and-hold.

14. An apparatus comprising:

a touch-sensitive display comprising a touch-sensing mechanism configured to detect multiple touch inputs related to a virtual object displayed on the display; and

a controller in communication with the touch-sensitive display, the controller comprising a processor and memory comprising computer-readable instructions executable by the processor to;

display the virtual object on the touch-sensitive display, the virtual object being controlled by a control application;

at the control application, receive from the touch-sensing mechanism a set of one or more touch-based inputs related to the virtual object from a first type of manipulator;

at the control application, receive from the touch-sensing mechanism a set of one or more touch-based inputs related to the virtual object from a second type of manipulator;

forward the set of touch-based inputs from the first type of manipulator to a manipulation processor, and not forward the set of one or more touch based inputs from the second type of manipulator to the manipulation processor;

via the control application, adjust an appearance of the virtual object based on the set of one or more touch-based inputs from the second type of manipulator;

aggregate the set of one or more touch-based inputs sent to the manipulation processor into an aggregated output at the manipulation processor;

provide the aggregated output to the control application; and

adjust an appearance of the virtual object based on the aggregated output.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the aggregated output comprises information related to one or more of a position, a translation, a rotation and a scaling of the virtual object.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the information related to a position comprises an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the information related to a translation comprises a translation of an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the information related to a rotation comprises a degree of rotation about an average location of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input relative to a reference direction.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the information related to a scaling comprises a scaling of the first touch-based input and the second touch-based input in relation to an average location.

20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein any of the translation, rotation and scaling of the virtual object can be enabled or disabled as the aggregated output.