Simultaneous input across multiple applications

• US 9,164,659 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2012
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Carpenter, Curt, Everett, Debora, Kramer, Doug, Sunday, Derek E., Whytock, Chris
• Primary Examiner(s): WENG, PEI YONG
• Application Number:
  US13/692,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20130097561A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 715/702, 715750-752, 715/754, 715/778, 715/864
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 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 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces

Abstract

One or more users may interact simultaneously with different applications on the same device through an input system such as a touch-sensitive display screen. Simultaneous user input may be detected by a multiple input system and subsequently transmitted to an application using a single transmission frame. An application corresponding to the user input is determined based on an input location of the user input and a location and size of a corresponding application. Simultaneous user inputs are rendered simultaneously by each corresponding application. Each application may further include a secondary event processing thread that runs in parallel to traditional operating system event threads. The secondary event processing thread bypasses sequential processing limits of an operating system event thread, providing substantially simultaneous processing of input.

Claims

1. A method for processing multiple simultaneous inputs received across different application components that are simultaneously displayed on a single touch-sensitive display, the method comprising:

displaying a first user interface component of a first application on a first portion of a touch-sensitive display;

displaying a second user interface component of a second application on a second portion of the touch-sensitive display, the first user interface component being displayed on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display simultaneous with displaying the second user interface component on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display;

receiving a first touch user input on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display, the first touch user input being directed at the first user interface component;

receiving a second touch user input on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display, the second touch user input being directed at the second user interface component, the first and second touch user inputs being entered at and detected by the touch-sensitive display at the first portion and the second portion at substantially the same time;

determining that the first touch user input corresponds to the first application associated with the first user interface component based on the first touch user input being received on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display;

routing the first touch user input to the first application associated with the first user interface component;

determining that the second touch user input corresponds to the second application associated with the second user interface component based on the second touch user input being received on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display; and

routing the second touch user input to the second application associated with the second user interface component, the second touch user input being routed to the second application substantially at the same time as routing the first touch user input to the first application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first touch user input is routed to a secondary input event processing thread that is running in parallel to a main operating system event processing thread of the first application associated with the first user interface component.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second touch user input is routed to another secondary input event processing thread that is running in parallel to a main operating system event processing thread of the second application associated with the second user interface component.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first touch user input corresponds to the first application associated with the first user interface component and determining that the second touch user input corresponds to the second application associated with the second user interface component also comprises determining a type of the first and second touch user inputs.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the type of touch user inputs comprises determining that the first touch user input is from a first type of object and the second touch user input is from another type of object that is different than the first type of the first object.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising synchronizing the first and second user interface components, by sending the first touch user input to the second application associated with the second user interface component.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the first touch user input and the second touch user input in a single transmission frame.

8. A hardware storage device having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, implement a method for processing multiple simultaneous inputs received across different application components that are simultaneously displayed on a single touch-sensitive display, wherein the method includes:

displaying a first user interface component of a first application on a first portion of a touch-sensitive display;

displaying a second user interface component of a second application on a second portion of the touch-sensitive display, the first user interface component being displayed on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display simultaneous with displaying the second user interface component on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display;

receiving a first touch user input on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display, the first touch user input being directed at the first user interface component;

receiving a second touch user input on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display, the second touch user input being directed at the second user interface component, the first and second touch user inputs being entered at and detected by the touch-sensitive display at the first portion and the second portion at substantially the same time;

determining that the first touch user input corresponds to the first application associated with the first user interface component based on the first touch user input being received on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display;

routing the first touch user input to the first application associated with the first user interface component;

determining that the second touch user input corresponds to the second application associated with the second user interface component based on the second touch user input being received on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display; and

routing the second touch user input to the second application associated with the second user interface component, the second touch user input being routed to the second application substantially at the same time as routing the first touch user input to the first application.

9. The storage device of claim 8, wherein the first touch user input is routed to a secondary input event processing thread that is running in parallel to a main operating system event processing thread of the first application associated with the first user interface component.

10. The storage device of claim 9, wherein the second touch user input is routed to another secondary input event processing thread that is running in parallel to a main operating system event processing thread of the second application associated with the second user interface component.

11. The storage device of claim 8, further comprising synchronizing the first and second user interface components, by sending the first touch user input to the second application associated with the second user interface component.

12. The storage device of claim 8, further comprising transmitting the first touch user input and the second touch user input in a single transmission frame.

20. The storage device of claim 8, wherein determining that the first touch user input corresponds to the first application associated with the first user interface component and determining that the second touch user input corresponds to the second application associated with the second user interface component also comprises determining a type of the first and second touch user inputs.

13. A computing device comprising:

a touch sensitive display;

at least one processor; and

a storage medium having stored instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, implement a method for processing multiple simultaneous inputs received across different application components that are simultaneously displayed on the touch-sensitive display, wherein the method includes;

displaying a first user interface component of a first application on a first portion of the touch-sensitive display;

displaying a second user interface component of a second application on a second portion of the touch-sensitive display, the first and user interface component being displayed on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display simultaneous with displaying the second user interface component on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display;

receiving a first touch user input on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display, the first touch user input being directed at the first user interface component;

receiving a second touch user input on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display, the second touch user input being directed at the second user interface component, the first and second touch user inputs being entered at and detected by the touch-sensitive display at the first portion and the second portion at substantially the same time;

determining that the first touch user input corresponds to the first application associated with the first user interface component based on the first touch user input being received on the first portion of the touch-sensitive display;

routing the first touch user input to the first application associated with the first user interface component;

determining that the second touch user input corresponds to the second application associated with the second user interface component based on the second touch user input being received on the second portion of the touch-sensitive display; and

routing the second touch user input to the second application associated with the second user interface component, the second touch user input being routed to the second application substantially at the same time as routing the first touch user input to the first application.

14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the first touch user input is routed to a secondary input event processing thread that is running in parallel to a main operating system event processing thread of the first application associated with the first user interface component.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the second touch user input is routed to another secondary input event processing thread that is running in parallel to a main operating system event processing thread of the second application associated with the second user interface component.

16. The computing device of claim 13, wherein determining that the first touch user input corresponds to the first application associated with the first user interface component and determining that the second touch user input corresponds to the second application associated with the second user interface component also comprises determining a type of the first and second touch user inputs.

17. The computing device of claim 16, wherein determining the type of touch user inputs comprises determining that the first touch user input is from a first type of object and the second touch user input is from another type of object that is different than the first type of the first object.

18. The computing device of claim 13, further comprising synchronizing the first and second user interface components, by sending the first touch user input to the second application associated with the second user interface component.

19. The computing device of claim 13, further comprising transmitting the first touch user input and the second touch user input in a single transmission frame.