Touchpad operational mode

• US 9,141,211 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2013
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Feng, Xin, Stewart, Aaron Michael, Sun, Mei-Wen
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US13/737,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20140191977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178 1801- 1809
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• 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 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 3/018 Input/output arrangements for oriental characters
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• 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

A method can include receiving an initiation command to initiate an operational mode of a touchpad; responsive to the initiation command, initiating the operational mode and rendering a graphic to a display (e.g., where the graphic includes a touchpad field and a control field); receiving input via the touchpad and mapping the input to the graphic; receiving additional input and associating the additional input with a control of the graphic; and executing the control of the control field of the graphic (e.g., to perform an action that acts upon the input mapped to the graphic). Various other devices, systems, methods, etc., are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving an initiation command to initiate a navigation operational mode of a touchpad, the touchpad being operatively coupled to a processor operatively coupled to a display, the display nonoverlapping the touchpad;

responsive to the initiation command, initiating the navigation operational mode, rendering a graphic to the display wherein the graphic comprises a touchpad field and a control field, and rendering content file icons to the touchpad field;

receiving input via a central portion of the touchpad and mapping the input received via the central portion to one of the content file icons of the touchpad field of the graphic;

receiving input via a peripheral portion of the touchpad;

associating the input received via the peripheral portion with a transmission control of the control field of the graphic; and

initiating transmission of the content file associated with the content file icon.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising receiving a termination command to terminate the navigation operational mode of the touchpad.

3. The method of claim 1 comprising receiving input via the touchpad and, responsive to the input, visually rendering a preview of content associated with at least one of the content file icons.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising receiving input via the touchpad and, responsive to the input, audibly rendering a preview of content associated with at least one of the content file icons.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the transmission comprises an email transmission or an instant messaging application.

6. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media comprising process-executable instructions wherein the instructions comprise instructions to instruct a processor to:

receive an initiation command to initiate a navigation operational mode of a touchpad, the touchpad being operatively coupled to the processor operatively coupled to a display, the display nonoverlapping the touchpad;

responsive to the initiation command, initiate the navigation operational mode, render a graphic to the display wherein the graphic comprises a touchpad field and a control field, and render content file icons to the touchpad field;

receive input via a central portion of the touchpad and map the input received via the central portion to one of the content file icons of the touchpad field of the graphic;

receive input via a peripheral portion of the touchpad;

associate the input received via the peripheral portion with a transmission control of the control field of the graphic; and

initiate transmission of the content file associated with the content file icon.

7. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 6 comprising instructions to receive a termination command to terminate the navigation operational mode of the touchpad.

8. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 6 comprising instructions to receive input via the touchpad and, responsive to the input, visually render a preview of content associated with at least one of the content file icons.

9. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 6 comprising instructions to receive input via the touchpad and, responsive to the input, audibly render a preview of content associated with at least one of the content file icons.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of claim 6 wherein the transmission comprises an email transmission or an instant messaging application.

11. A system comprising:

a processor;

a memory device having memory accessible by the processor;

a touchpad operatively coupled to the processor;

a display nonoverlapping the touchpad and operatively coupled to the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor wherein the instructions comprise instruction to instruct the system to;

receive an initiation command to initiate a navigation operational mode of a touchpad, the touchpad being operatively coupled to the processor operatively coupled to the display, the display nonoverlapping the touchpad;

responsive to the initiation command, initiate the navigation operational mode, render a graphic to the display wherein the graphic comprises a touchpad field and a control field, and render content file icons to the touchpad field;

receive input via a central portion of the touchpad and map the input received via the central portion to one of the content file icons of the touchpad field of the graphic;

receive input via a peripheral portion of the touchpad;

associate the input received via the peripheral portion with a transmission control of the control field of the graphic; and

initiate transmission of the content file associated with the content file icon.

12. The system of claim 11 comprising instructions to receive a termination command to terminate the navigation operational mode of the touchpad.

13. The system of claim 11 comprising instructions to receive input via the touchpad and, responsive to the input, visually render a preview of content associated with at least one of the content file icons.

14. The system of claim 11 comprising instructions to receive input via the touchpad and, responsive to the input, audibly render a preview of content associated with at least one of the content file icons.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the transmission comprises an email transmission or an instant messaging application.

16. A device comprising:

a processor;

memory accessible by the processor;

a touchpad operatively coupled to the processor;

a display nonoverlapping the touchpad and operatively coupled to the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor wherein the instructions comprise instruction to instruct the device to;

receive an initiation command to initiate a navigation operational mode of a touchpad, the touchpad being operatively coupled to the processor operatively coupled to the display, the display nonoverlapping the touchpad;

responsive to the initiation command, initiate the navigation operational mode, render a graphic to the display wherein the graphic comprises a touchpad field and a control field, and render content file icons to the touchpad field;

receive input via a central portion of the touchpad and map the input received via the central portion to one of the content file icons of the touchpad field of the graphic;

receive input via a peripheral portion of the touchpad;

associate the input received via the peripheral portion with a transmission control of the control field of the graphic; and

initiate transmission of the content file associated with the content file icon.

17. The device of claim 16 comprising instructions to receive a termination command to terminate the navigation operational mode of the touchpad.

18. The device of claim 16 comprising instructions to receive input via the touchpad and, responsive to the input, visually render a preview of content associated with at least one of the content file icons.

19. The device of claim 16 comprising instructions to receive input via the touchpad and, responsive to the input, audibly render a preview of content associated with at least one of the content file icons.

20. The device of claim 16 wherein the transmission comprises an email transmission or an instant messaging application.