Multidirectional swipe key for virtual keyboard

• US 9,146,672 B2
• Filed: 04/10/2013
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC (Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC (Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hicks, Kourtny M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lao, Lun-Yi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siddiqui, Md Saiful A
• Application Number:
  US13/860,201
• Publication Number:
  US 20140306899A1
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 345/156, 345/168, 345/172, 178 1801- 1809
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• 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

Techniques are disclosed for providing a multidirectional swipe key for a virtual keyboard of a touch sensitive computing device. The multidirectional swipe key can be used to translate one or more swipe gestures started from the key into cursor movement (or directional input). The characteristics of the multidirectional swipe key gestures, such as the swipe direction and/or swipe length, may affect the resulting cursor movement (or directional input). The multidirectional swipe key may be configured such that held swipe gestures cause continual cursor movement (or directional input). The multidirectional swipe key may also be configured such that dragging the gesture to make a longer swipe accelerates cursor movement (or directional input) and vice versa.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a display for displaying content to a user;

a touch sensitive surface for allowing user input; and

a user interface including a virtual keyboard, the virtual keyboard including a multidirectional swipe key, wherein a swipe gesture started on the multi-directional swipe key causes directional input that tracks a direction of the swipe gesture while the gesture is maintained, and wherein the user interface is configured to allow a number of simultaneous contact points used for the swipe gesture to be increased while the gesture is maintained;

wherein tracking the direction of the swipe gesture while the gesture is maintained includes causing directional input in a first direction in response to swiping in the first direction and causing directional input in a second direction different from the first direction in response to swiping in the second direction, and wherein increasing the number of simultaneous contact points used for the swipe gesture increases at least one of a distance and quantity of directional input.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein swiping in any number of subsequent directions while the gesture is maintained causes further directional input respectively in those subsequent directions.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the directional input is based on at least one of the swipe gesture length, swipe gesture speed, whether the swipe gesture is held, and whether the swipe gesture is dragged.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein a directional pad pop-up is displayed after making contact with the multidirectional swipe key or after a press-and-hold on the multidirectional swipe key for a predetermined duration.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the directional pad pop-up continues to be displayed and allow for additional swipe gestures for additional directional input until the directional pad pop-up display is exited.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein before the gesture is released and in response to the swiping being stopped, no additional directional input is caused until the swiping is continued.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the directional input causes corresponding directional cursor movement.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the swipe gesture is translated into upward, rightward, downward, and/or leftward directional input.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein the directional input distance and direction is at least approximately equal to the swipe gesture distance and direction.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein the multidirectional swipe key is user-configurable.

11. A mobile computing device, comprising:

a display having a touch screen interface and for displaying content to a user; and

a user interface including a virtual keyboard having a multidirectional swipe key that is configured to cause cursor movement determined by a direction of a swipe gesture started on the multidirectional swipe key,

wherein maintaining the swipe gesture causes cursor movement that tracks the direction of the swipe gesture until the gesture is released, and wherein the user interface is configured to allow a number of simultaneous contact points used for the swipe gesture to be increased while the gesture is maintained;

wherein tracking the direction of the swipe gesture while the gesture is maintained includes causing cursor movement in a first direction in response to swiping in the first direction and causing cursor movement in a second direction different from the first direction in response to swiping in the second direction, and wherein increasing the number of simultaneous contact points used for the swipe gesture increases a distance of cursor movement.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein swiping in any number of subsequent directions while the gesture is maintained causes further cursor movement respectively in those subsequent directions.

13. The device of claim 11 wherein a highlight activation action used in combination with the swipe gesture causes highlighting in combination with the cursor movement.

14. The device of claim 11 wherein the swipe gesture is translated into only one of upward, rightward, downward, and leftward cursor movement.

15. A non-transitory computer program product comprising a plurality of instructions that when executed by a processor of an electronic device, causes a process to be carried out, the process comprising:

display a multidirectional swipe key;

in response to user input via the multidirectional swipe key, determine a desired directional input, wherein the user input includes a swipe gesture started from the multidirectional swipe key to indicate the desired directional input, the directional input configured to track a direction of the swipe gesture while the gesture is maintained, allow a number of simultaneous contact points used for the swipe gesture to be increased while the gesture is maintained, wherein tracking the direction of the swipe gesture while the gesture is maintained includes causing directional input in a first direction in response to swiping in the first direction and causing directional input in a second direction different from the first direction in response to swiping in the second direction and wherein increasing a number of simultaneous contact points used for the swipe gesture increases at least one of a distance and quantity of directional input; and

navigate in accordance with the desired directional input.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein before the gesture is released and in response to the swiping being stopped, no additional directional input is caused until the swiping is continued.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the directional input causes corresponding directional cursor movement.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein a directional pad pop-up is displayed after making contact with the multidirectional swipe key or after a press-and-hold on the multidirectional swipe key for a predetermined duration.