Multi-touch text input

• US 8,957,868 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2011
• Issued: 02/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Zhu, Bin Benjamin, Li, Shipeng, Yang, Maowei, Yang, Xuyong
• Primary Examiner(s): MISHLER, ROBIN J
• Application Number:
  US13/152,272
• Publication Number:
  US 20120306769A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 2203/04808 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 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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

Abstract

This document describes tools associated with symbol entry control functions. In some implementations, the tools identify a first finger that is in tactile contact with a touch screen. The first finger can select a subset of symbols from a plurality of symbols that can be entered via the touch screen. The tools can also identify whether one or more other fingers are in concurrent tactile contact with the first finger on the touch screen. The tools can select an individual symbol from the subset based on whether the one or more other fingers are in concurrent tactile contact with the first finger on the touch screen.

Claims

1. A computing system comprising:

a touch screen;

one or more processing devices; and

one or more computer-readable storage media comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to;

identify a finger that is in tactile contact with the touch screen;

select an individual symbol from a plurality of symbols based on the identified finger;

after the individual symbol is selected, determine whether another finger that comes into tactile contact with the touch screen concurrently with the finger is a thumb or a different finger;

in first instances when the another finger is not the thumb, change the individual symbol to another individual symbol from the plurality of symbols; and

in second instances when the another finger is the thumb, change the individual symbol to a corresponding capitalized symbol.

2. The computing system according to claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processing devices to:

while the thumb remains in contact with the touch screen, select a series of several other capitalized symbols corresponding to other symbols selected by other fingers that contact the touch screen.

3. The computing system according to claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processing devices to:

detect a rightward drag of the thumb on the touch screen; and

responsive to the rightward drag of the thumb on the touch screen, performing a delete operation of the individual symbol.

4. The computing system according to claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processing devices to:

detect a leftward drag of the thumb on the touch screen; and

responsive to the leftward drag of the thumb on the touch screen, performing a backspace operation over the individual symbol.

5. The computing system according to claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processing devices to:

in the first instances, enter the another individual symbol responsive to detecting that the finger and the another finger have been removed from the touch screen; and

in the second instances, enter the corresponding capitalized symbol responsive to detecting that the finger and the thumb have been removed from the touch screen.

6. The computing system according to claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processing devices to:

determine whether the another finger is the thumb by;

identifying a cluster of contacts on the touch screen, and

determining that another contact by the thumb is relatively distal from the cluster.

7. The computing system according to claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processing devices to:

determine whether the another finger is the thumb by evaluating a fingerprint of the another finger.

8. The computing system according to claim 1, wherein the computer-executable instructions cause the one or more processing devices to:

perform a registration or calibration operation to determine a specified location of the thumb; and

determine whether the another finger is the thumb based on a relationship between the specified location of the thumb and another location where the another finger contacts the touch screen.

9. The computing system according to claim 1, embodied as a smart phone, tablet, or laptop.

10. A method performed by a computer processing unit, the method comprising:

determining an identity of a finger that is in tactile contact with a touch screen;

selecting an individual symbol from a plurality of symbols based on the identity of the finger;

after the individual symbol is selected, determining whether another finger that comes into tactile contact with the touch screen concurrently with the finger is a thumb or a different finger;

in first instances when the another finger is not the thumb, change the individual symbol to another individual symbol from the plurality of symbols; and

in second instances when the another finger is the thumb, change the individual symbol to a corresponding capitalized symbol.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of symbols include a first subset of symbols and a second subset of symbols, wherein the first subset of symbols is designated by contact of an index finger with the touch screen, the second subset of symbols is designated by contact of a middle finger and not the index finger with the touch screen, and the first subset of symbols does not share symbols with the second subset of symbols.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

when the identity is the index finger, selecting the individual symbol from the first subset; and

when the identity is the middle finger and the index finger is not in tactile contact with the touch screen, selecting the individual symbol from the second subset.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

in the first instances and when the identity is the index finger, selecting the another individual symbol from the first subset based on the another identity of the another finger, the another identity being from a group comprising a middle finger, a ring finger, and a little finger.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

in the first instances and when the identity is the middle finger and the index finger is not in tactile contact with the touch screen, selecting the another individual symbol from the second subset based on the another identity of the another finger.

15. A hardware computer-readable storage media storing instructions which, when executed by a computer processing unit, cause the computer processing unit to perform acts comprising:

determining an identity of an individual finger that is in tactile contact with a touch screen;

selecting an individual symbol from a plurality of symbols based on the identity of the individual finger;

after the individual symbol is selected, determining another identity of another individual finger that comes into tactile contact with the touch screen concurrently with the individual finger, the another identity being one of a thumb, an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger, or a little finger;

in first instances when the another identity is not the thumb, change the individual symbol to another individual symbol from the plurality of symbols; and

in second instances when the another identity is the thumb, change the individual symbol to a corresponding capitalized symbol.

16. The hardware computer-readable storage media of claim 15, the acts further comprising:

selecting the individual symbol, the another individual symbol, and the corresponding capitalized symbol from a plurality of subsets of symbols based on the identity of the individual finger, the plurality of subsets including at least a first subset of symbols, a second subset of symbols, a third subset of symbols, and a fourth subset of symbols.

17. The hardware computer-readable storage media of claim 16, the acts further comprising:

in the first instances;

when the identity is the index finger, selecting the individual symbol and the another individual symbol from the first subset or the second subset, and

when the identity is the middle finger and the index finger is not contacting the touch screen, selecting the individual symbol and the another individual symbol from the third subset or the fourth subset.

18. The hardware computer-readable storage media of claim 17, the acts further comprising:

in the first instances and when the identity is the index finger;

selecting the individual symbol and the another individual symbol from the first subset when the index finger is in contact with an upper layer that identifies the first subset, and

selecting the individual symbol and the another individual symbol from the second subset when the index finger is in contact with a lower layer that identifies the second subset.

19. The hardware computer-readable storage media of claim 18, the acts further comprising:

in the first instances and when the identity is the middle finger and the index finger is not contacting the touch screen;

selecting the individual symbol and the another individual symbol from the third subset when the middle finger is in contact with upper layer that identifies the third subset, and

selecting the individual symbol and the another individual symbol from the fourth subset when the middle finger is in contact with a lower layer that identifies the fourth subset.

20. The hardware computer-readable storage media of claim 19, wherein the first subset, the second subset, the third subset, and the fourth subset share no common symbols.