Multi-segment wearable accessory

• US 9,122,249 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2012
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Lyons, Kenton M., Nguyen, David H., Ashbrook, Daniel L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bost, Dwayne
• Assistant Examiner(s): Azari, Sepehr
• Application Number:
  US13/586,314
• Publication Number:
  US 20130271389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,112 Days
• Field of Search: 345/168, 345/173, 345/428, 455/566, 715/863, 715/761
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 17/083 Watches distributed over several housings
• CPC Class Codes: G04G 21/02 Detectors of external physical values, e.g. temperature
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1641 the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components G06F1/1647 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1649 the additional display being independently orientable, e.g. for presenting information to a second user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2356/00 Detection of the display position w.r.t. other display screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/02 Flexible displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0206 Portable telephones comprising a plurality of mechanically joined movable body parts, e.g. hinged housings
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0247 comprising more than two body parts
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/16 : including more than one display unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 : including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided to facilitate the use of a multi-segment wearable accessory. In this regard, methods, apparatus and computer program products are provided for controlling and, in some instances, interacting with a multi-segment wearable accessory. In particular, a method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided that receive touch input via at least first and second segments of a multi-segment wearable accessory and determine that the touch input associated with the second segment is moving relative to the touch input associated with the first segment. A presentation of content displayed at least partially by the first segment may be modified based upon movement of the touch input associated with the second segment, such as in an expand operation, in which content is displayed on a second segment, or a collapse operation, in which content is removed from the second segment following an expand operation.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

determine that a touch input has been received via a first segment of a multi-segment wearable accessory, wherein the touch input received via the first segment designates content displayed at least partially by the first segment, wherein the content comprises a first portion of content and a second portion of content, wherein one of the first or second portions of content corresponds to a location at which the touch input associated with the first segment is received;

provide for a determination that a touch input associated with a second segment of the multi-segment wearable accessory is moving in a direction away from the touch input associated with the first segment; and

cause the presentation of a respective one of the first or second portions of the designated content that corresponds to the location at which the touch input associated with the first segment is received to be displayed over the first and second segments in an expand operation and cause the presentation of the other of the first or second portions of the designated content not corresponding to the location at which the touch input is received to be maintained as originally displayed based upon movement of the touch input associated with the second segment.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to execute the expand operation regardless of continued receipt of touch input via the second segment in an instance in which it is determined that the touch input associated with the second segment has exceeded a threshold movement distance.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to abort the expand operation in an instance in which it is determined that the touch input associated with the second segment is discontinued prior to the touch input associated with the second segment achieving a threshold movement distance.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are further configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to cause a presentation of content displayed at least partially by the second segment prior to the receipt of the touch input to be displaced to a third segment in response to at least a portion of the content displayed by the first segment being displayed by the second segment in the expand operation.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to cause the presentation of content displayed at least partially by the second segment to be modified by causing at least a portion of the content to be removed from the second segment in a collapse operation in an instance in which it is determined that another touch input associated with the second segment is moving in a direction toward another touch input associated with the first segment.

6. A method comprising:

determining that a touch input has been received via a first segment of a multi-segment wearable accessory, wherein the touch input received via the first segment designates content displayed at least partially by the first segment, wherein the content comprises a first portion of content and a second portion of content, wherein one of the first or second portions of content corresponds to a location at which the touch input associated with the first segment is received;

providing for a determination, via a processor, that a touch input associated with a second segment of the multi-segment wearable accessory is moving in a direction away from the touch input associated with the first segment; and

causing the presentation of a respective one of the first or second portions of the designated content that corresponds to the location at which the touch input associated with the first segment is received to be displayed over the first and second segments in an expand operation and cause the presentation of the other of the first or second portions of the designated content not corresponding to the location at which the touch input is received to be maintained as originally displayed based upon movement of the touch input associated with the second segment.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein causing the presentation of a respective one of the first or second portions of the designated content to be displayed over the first and second segments in an expand operation comprises executing the expand operation regardless of continued receipt of touch input via the second segment in an instance in which it is determined that the touch input associated with the second segment has exceeded a threshold movement distance.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein causing the presentation of a respective one of the first or second portions of the designated content to be displayed over the first and second segments in an expand operation comprises aborting the expand operation in an instance in which it is determined that the touch input associated with the second segment is discontinued prior to the touch input associated with the second segment achieving a threshold movement distance.

9. The method of claim 6 further comprising causing a presentation of content displayed at least partially by the second segment prior to the receipt of the touch input to be displaced to a third segment in response to at least a portion of the content displayed by the first segment being displayed by the second segment in the expand operation.

10. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code portions stored therein, the computer-executable program code portions comprising program code instructions for:

determining that a touch input has been received via a first segment of a multi-segment wearable accessory, wherein the touch input received via the first segment designates content displayed at least partially by the first segment, wherein the content comprises a first portion of content and a second portion of content, wherein one of the first or second portions of content corresponds to a location at which the touch input associated with the first segment is received;

providing for a determination that a touch input associated with a second segment of the multi-segment wearable accessory is moving in a direction away from the touch input associated with the first segment; and

causing the presentation of a respective one of the first or second portions of the designated content that corresponds to the location at which the touch input associated with the first segment is received to be displayed over the first and second segments in an expand operation and cause the presentation of the other of the first or second portions of the designated content not corresponding to the location at which the touch input is received to be maintained as originally displayed based upon movement of the touch input associated with the second segment.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the program code instructions configured for causing the presentation of a respective one of the first or second portions of the designated content to be displayed over the first and second segments in an expand operation are further configured for executing the expand operation regardless of continued receipt of touch input via the second segment in an instance in which it is determined that the touch input associated with the second segment has exceeded a threshold movement distance.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the program code instructions configured for causing the presentation of a respective one of the first or second portions of the designated content to be displayed over the first and second segments in an expand operation are further configured for aborting the expand operation in an instance in which it is determined that the touch input associated with the second segment is discontinued prior to the touch input associated with the second segment achieving a threshold movement distance.

13. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the program code instructions are further configured for causing a presentation of content displayed at least partially by the second segment prior to the receipt of the touch input to be displaced to a third segment in response to at least a portion of the content displayed by the first segment being displayed by the second segment in the expand operation.

14. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the program code instructions are further configured for causing the presentation of content displayed at least partially by the second segment to be modified by causing at least a portion of the content to be removed from the second segment in a collapse operation in an instance in which it is determined that another touch input associated with the second segment is moving in a direction toward another touch input associated with the first segment.