Wiring method for a graphical programming system on a touch-based mobile device

• US 9,134,895 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2012
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Dove, Andrew P., Attas, Jesse M., Macklem, Grant V., Welch, Jenica A. R., Kodosky, Jeffrey L., Cifra, Christopher G., Kemp, J. Adam
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Matt
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lu, Hua
• Application Number:
  US13/679,725
• Publication Number:
  US 20130145312A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/024 for remote indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 1/025 concerning dedicated user interfaces, e.g. GUI, or dedicated keyboards G01R31/31912 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/34 Graphical or visual programming
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/50 using a mobile data collecting device, e.g. walk by or drive by
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

A touch-gesture wiring method for connecting data flow wires to input/output terminals of nodes in a graphical program is described. The method may be implemented by a graphical programming application that executes on a mobile device that includes a touch-sensitive screen configured to receive user input as touch gestures. The method may aid the user by displaying a magnified view of the input/output terminals that makes it easier (relative to the default view of the graphical program) for the user to see the input/output terminals and/or easier to select a desired one of the input/output terminals.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying a plurality of nodes in a graphical program on a touch-based display device; and

connecting a particular input terminal of a first node of the plurality of nodes to a particular output terminal of a second node of the plurality of nodes in response to touch gesture input received to the graphical program, wherein said connecting includes;

displaying a magnified view of one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input, wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input comprises displaying a respective terminal icon corresponding to each respective input terminal of the one or more input terminals, and wherein said displaying a respective terminal icon corresponding to each respective input terminal of the one or more input terminals comprises arranging the terminal icons along a curved arc;

selecting the particular input terminal from the magnified view of the one or more input terminals in response to touch gesture input, wherein said selecting comprises selecting the respective terminal icon corresponding to the particular input terminal; and

displaying a data flow wire connecting the particular input terminal of the first node to the particular output terminal of the second node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said connecting further includes:

displaying a magnified view of one or more output terminals of the second node in response to touch gesture input; and

selecting the particular output terminal from the magnified view of the one or more output terminals in response to touch gesture input.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the touch gesture input selecting the respective terminal icon corresponding to the particular input terminal comprises a finger tap.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said connecting further includes:

receiving touch gesture input dragging from the first node to the second node.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein the first node has a plurality of input terminals, wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node comprises displaying a subset of the plurality of input terminals without displaying all of the plurality of input terminals.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

scrolling through all of the plurality of input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input comprises displaying a magnifying glass in which the first node is magnified.

8. The method of claim 7,

wherein displaying the magnifying glass comprises displaying the magnifying glass in response to detecting a finger tap held for at least a threshold amount of time.

9. The method of claim 7,

wherein displaying the magnifying glass comprises displaying the magnifying glass at a first location in the graphical program and then moving the magnifying glass over the first node in response to touch gesture input.

10. The method of claim 1,

wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input comprises displaying a zoomed-in view of the entire graphical program in response to touch gesture input.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a wiring icon corresponding to the first node;

wherein the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node is displayed in response to touch gesture input to the wiring icon.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the wiring icon is displayed proximal to the first node.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node comprises displaying the magnified view in a separate window overlayed over the graphical program.

14. The method of claim 1,

wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input comprises displaying a respective terminal name corresponding to each respective input terminal of the one or more input terminals.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node comprises:

receiving a first finger tap to the first node to select the first node; and

receiving an additional finger tap to the first node while the first node is selected, wherein the additional finger tap causes the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node to be displayed.

16. A non-transitory memory medium storing program instructions executable by one or more processors of a mobile device to cause the mobile device to:

display a plurality of nodes in a graphical program on a touch-based display device of the mobile device; and

connect a particular input terminal of a first node of the plurality of nodes to a particular output terminal of a second node of the plurality of nodes in response to touch gesture input received to the graphical program, wherein said connecting includes;

displaying a magnified view of one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input, wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input comprises displaying a respective terminal icon corresponding to each respective input terminal of the one or more input terminals, and wherein said displaying a respective terminal icon corresponding to each respective input terminal of the one or more input terminals comprises arranging the terminal icons along a curved arc;

selecting the particular input terminal from the magnified view of the one or more input terminals in response to touch gesture input, wherein said selecting comprises selecting the respective terminal icon corresponding to the particular input terminal; and

displaying a data flow wire connecting the particular input terminal of the first node to the particular output terminal of the second node.

17. The non-transitory memory medium of claim 16, wherein said connecting further includes:

displaying a magnified view of one or more output terminals of the second node in response to touch gesture input; and

selecting the particular output terminal from the magnified view of the one or more output terminals in response to touch gesture input.

18. A mobile device comprising:

one or more processors;

memory storing program instructions; and

a touch-based display device;

wherein the program instructions are executable by the one or more processors to cause the mobile device to;

display a plurality of nodes in a graphical program on a touch-based display device of the mobile device; and

connect a particular input terminal of a first node of the plurality of nodes to a particular output terminal of a second node of the plurality of nodes in response to touch gesture input received to the graphical program, wherein said connecting includes;

displaying a magnified view of one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input, wherein said displaying the magnified view of the one or more input terminals of the first node in response to touch gesture input comprises displaying a respective terminal icon corresponding to each respective input terminal of the one or more input terminals, and wherein said displaying a respective terminal icon corresponding to each respective input terminal of the one or more input terminals comprises arranging the terminal icons along a curved arc;

selecting the particular input terminal from the magnified view of the one or more input terminals in response to touch gesture input, wherein said selecting comprises selecting the respective terminal icon corresponding to the particular input terminal; and

displaying a data flow wire connecting the particular input terminal of the first node to the particular output terminal of the second node.

19. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein said connecting further includes:

displaying a magnified view of one or more output terminals of the second node in response to touch gesture input; and

selecting the particular output terminal from the magnified view of the one or more output terminals in response to touch gesture input.