Interacting with radial menus for touchscreens

• US 9,261,989 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Kuscher, Alexander Friedrich, Kuhne, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US13/615,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20140071063A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,251 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178 1801- 1809, 715/702, 715/810, 715/816, 715/834
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

The subject technology discloses configurations for providing a radial menu on one or more computing devices with a touch-sensitive screen. In one example, a user activates the radial menu after touching a first finger at a first or anchor point on a touchscreen that serves as a center of the radial menu. While the first finger is disposed, the user then touches a second finger at a second point some distance from the anchor point corresponding to the first finger on the touchscreen. The radial menu is generated based on a distance calculated between the anchor point and the second finger at the second point. The radial menu is not a complete circle and instead displayed as a partial circle, and the radial menu is generated so that the display area is bisected from the anchor point to the second point in some configurations.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

detecting an anchor point and a second point based on touch input on a touch-sensitive screen, wherein the second point is detected from a separate touch input on a separate portion of the touch-sensitive screen than the anchor point;

displaying, in response to detecting the anchor point and the second point, a radial menu having a display area shaped as a sector of a circle, the sector of the circle having a center point at the anchor point and the second point lying on a perimeter of the sector of the circle;

receiving a subsequent touch input on the touch-sensitive screen corresponding to the radial menu, wherein the subsequent touch input comprises a gesture including an initial position corresponding to the detected second point and a third point corresponding to an end position of the gesture, wherein the third point is separate from the second point and the anchor point;

determining if the third point corresponds to a sub-menu provided by the radial menu; and

providing for display the sub-menu based on a distance between the second point and the anchor point plus an additional distance, wherein the sub-menu comprises a second display area including one or more additional menu options.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a radius of the sector of the circle is defined by a line from the anchor point and the second point.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second display area of the sub-menu comprises a portion of a concentric circle that extends from a portion of the radial menu defined by a partial circumference based the radius.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein second display area of the sub-menu comprises an arc defined by a vertex based on the anchor point.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving additional touch input to select a menu option within the sub-menu, wherein the additional touch input comprises a fourth point corresponding to an end position of the additional touch input.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

detecting a release of the fourth point to activate the selected menu option within the sub-menu.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

activating the selected menu option in response to the detected release of the fourth point, wherein another menu option is activatable by another touch input prior to detecting release of the another touch input.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a release of both the anchor point and the second point to exit the radial menu.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a release of the anchor point to exit the sub-menu.

10. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving a first touch input on a touch-sensitive screen for selecting a menu option provided in a radial menu, wherein the radial menu comprises a display area including one or more menu options, while simultaneously receiving a second touch input corresponding to an anchor point of the radial menu, the second touch input being separate from the first touch input, the radial menu being shaped as a sector of a circle having a radius defined by a line from the anchor point to a second point;

determining whether automatic activation of the selected menu option is provided; and

activating the selected menu option when automatic activation is provided, wherein the same selected menu option is not activated when automatic activation is not provided.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first touch input comprises a gesture including an initial position corresponding to the second point and a third point corresponding to an end position of the gesture.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first touch input corresponds to input received from a second finger while a first finger is disposed on the touch-sensitive screen at the anchor point.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

indicating a selection of the selected menu option if automatic activation of the selected menu option is absent;

detecting a release of the first touch input corresponding to a position of the second finger; and

activating the selected menu option in response to detecting the release of the first touch input.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more menu options of the display area comprise a plurality of menu options of the display area and automatic activation is individually configurable for each of the plurality of menu options.

15. A device comprising:

at least one processor circuit configured to;

detect an anchor point and a second point corresponding to a radial menu based on touch input on a touch-sensitive screen, wherein the radial menu comprises a display area including one or more menu options, the second point is separate from the anchor point, the display area comprises a partial circle having a center point at the anchor point, and the second point lies on a circumference of the partial circle;

receive a subsequent touch input on the touch-sensitive screen corresponding to the radial menu, wherein the subsequent touch input comprises a gesture including an initial position corresponding to the detected second point and a third point corresponding to an end position of the gesture, and determine if the third point corresponds to a sub-menu provided by the radial menu; and

provide for display the sub-menu based on a distance between the second point and the anchor point plus an additional distance, wherein the sub-menu comprises a second display area including one or more additional menu options.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein a radius of the partial circle is defined by a line between the anchor point and the second point.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the second display area of the sub-menu comprises a portion of a concentric circle that extends from a portion of the radial menu defined by a partial circumference based the radius.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein second display area of the sub-menu comprises an arc defined by a vertex based on the anchor point.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor circuit is further configured to receive additional touch input to select a menu option within the sub-menu, wherein the additional touch input comprises a fourth point corresponding to an end position of the additional touch input.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor circuit is further configured to detect a release of the fourth point to activate the selected menu option within the sub-menu, and activate the selected menu option in response to the detected release of the fourth point.

21. The device of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor circuit is configured to detect a release of both the anchor and second points to exit the radial menu.

22. The device of claim 15, wherein the at least one processor circuit is configured to detect a release of the anchor point to exit the sub-menu.

23. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

providing, for display on a touch-sensitive screen, a radial menu comprising a display area including one or more menu options, wherein a size of the radial menu is based at least in part on a distance from a first touch input being provided on the touch-sensitive screen to a second touch input being simultaneously provided on the touch-sensitive screen, the first touch input corresponding to an anchor point and the second touch input corresponding to a second point;

receiving a subsequent touch input on the touch-sensitive screen corresponding to the radial menu, wherein the subsequent touch input comprises a gesture including an initial position corresponding to the detected second point and a third point corresponding to an end position of the gesture;

determining if the third point corresponds to a sub-menu provided by the radial menu;

providing for display the sub-menu based on a distance between the second point and the anchor point plus an additional distance, wherein the sub-menu comprises a second display area including one or more additional menu options;

receiving additional touch input to select a menu option within the sub-menu, wherein the additional touch input comprises a fourth point corresponding to an end position of the additional touch input;

detecting a release of the fourth point to activate the selected menu option within the sub-menu; and

activating the selected menu option in response to the detected release of the fourth point.