Input device user interface enhancements

• US 9,195,321 B2
• Filed: 03/18/2012
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellitact LLC
• Original Assignee: Intellitact LLC
• Inventors: Laubach, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Tzeng, Fred
• Application Number:
  US13/423,270
• Publication Number:
  US 20120235912A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,346 Days
• Field of Search: 345/163, 345/173, 345/184
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0213 Arrangements providing an integrated pointing device in a keyboard, e.g. trackball, mini-joystick for pointing devices integrated in a laptop computer G06F1/169; joysticks G05G9/047; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• 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 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• 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 3/04886 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04897 Special input arrangements or commands for improving display capability
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/08 Cursor circuits

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a device, method, system, computer program product and user interface for pointer movement analysis with modal continuous controller conversion. Specifically, some embodiments adapt movements issued from a mouse input device, trackpad, or touchscreen to adjust a position of a UI element. Some embodiments analyze a first set of movements and adapt a subsequent second set of movements to adjust the position of the UI element within a range of UI element positions when the first set of movements satisfies a movement threshold. The movement threshold includes a spiral pattern. In some embodiments, adjusting the position of the UI element includes performing scrolling within a scroll area based on the second set of movements when the first set of movements satisfies the spiral pattern.

Claims

1. A method for automatically suppressing pointer movements issued from an input device comprising at least one of a mouse, trackpad, and touchscreen to instead effectuate scrolling within a graphical user interface (GUI), the method comprising:

with at least one machine that is communicably coupled to the input device, the machine, by operation of a processor;

analyzing a first set of movements that are output from the input device;

scrolling within the GUI according to a second set of movements that are output from the input device when the first set of movements satisfies a defined movement pattern;

adjusting scrolling speed based on radii produced by the second set of movements, wherein adjusting the scrolling speed comprises increasing the scrolling speed when the radii from a first subset of the second set of movements to a later second subset of the second set of movements increases and decreasing the scrolling speed when the radii from the first subset of movements to the later second subset of movements decreases; and

halting said scrolling and producing pointer movements within the GUI in response to a subset of movements from the second set of movements of the input device deviating from and not satisfying the defined movement pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the defined movement pattern is a spiral pattern that is satisfied when the first set of movements produces a spiral pattern of movements.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said scrolling occurs in a first direction when the spiral pattern of movements produced by the first set of movements is clockwise and in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction when the spiral pattern of movements produced by the first set of movements is counter-clockwise.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising computing a size of the spiral pattern of movements when the first set of movements satisfies the defined movement pattern.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising, based on the computed size of the spiral pattern, adjusting an amount with which each movement of the second set of movements scrolls said GUI.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising moving the pointer within the GUI according to said second set of movements when said first set of movements do not satisfy the defined movement pattern.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising not moving the pointer within the GUI according to said second set of movements when said first set of movements satisfy the defined movement pattern.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising changing the pointer to a directional indicator to indicate a scrolling direction when the first set of movements satisfy the defined movement pattern.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein scrolling within the GUI comprises (i) scrolling within a first application of the GUI based on the second set of movements when the pointer is over the first application and (ii) scrolling within a second application of the GUI based on the second set of movements when the pointer is over the second application.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein scrolling within the GUI comprises (i) scrolling a first scrollbar of the GUI based on the second set of movements when the pointer is over the first scrollbar and (ii) scrolling a second scrollbar of the GUI based on the second set of movements when the pointer is over the second scrollbar.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising scrolling within the GUI in an opposite direction from the direction of the second set of movements when a third set of movements are issued after the second set of movements in an opposite direction to the second set of movements while continuing to satisfy the defined movement pattern.

12. A system comprising:

an input device comprising at least one of a mouse, trackpad, and touchscreen;

a display; and

at least one processor modifying presentation of a graphical user interface (GUI) based on input from the input device, the GUI comprising;

a user interface (UI) element comprising one of a graphical scrollbar and a graphical slider that is displayed as part of said GUI; and

a pointer for navigating the GUI using movements issued from the input device, wherein the processor processes said movements (i) by adjusting a position of the UI element when said movements satisfy a spiral pattern, (ii) by modifying a speed with which the position of the UI element is adjusted based on radii produced by said movements satisfying the spiral pattern, wherein modifying the speed comprises increasing the speed with which the UI element is adjusted when the radii from a first subset of the movements to a later second subset of the movements increases and decreasing the speed with which the UI element is adjusted when the radii from the first subset of movements to the later second subset of movements decreases, and (iii) halting said modifying position of the UI element and producing pointer movements within the GUI in response to a subset of said movements from the input device deviating from and not satisfying the spiral pattern.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said movements (i) adjust the position of the UI element in a first direction when said movements satisfy a clockwise spiral pattern and adjust the position of the UI element in a second direction when said movements satisfy a counter-clockwise spiral pattern.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program for adapting movements issued from an input device comprising at least one of a mouse, trackpad, and touchscreen to adjust a position of a user interface (UI) element comprising one of a graphical user interface (GUI) scrollbar or a GUI slider, wherein said computer program instructs a microprocessor to perform sets of instructions for:

analyzing a first set of movements that are output from the input device;

adjusting a position of the UI element based on a second set of movements that are output from the input device when the first set of movements satisfies a defined movement pattern; and

modifying a speed with which the position of the UI element is adjusted based on radii produced by the second set of movements, wherein modifying the speed comprises increasing the speed with which the position of the UI element is adjusted when the radii from a first subset of the second set of movements to a later second subset of the second set of movements increases and decreasing the speed with which the position of the UI element is adjusted when the radii from the first subset of movements to the later second subset of movements decreases; and

halting said modifying position of the UI element and producing pointer movements within the GUI in response to a subset of movements from the second set of movements of the input device deviating from and not satisfying the defined movement pattern.