Input gestures using device movement

• US 9,442,517 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2011
• Issued: 09/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Croughwell, William Joseph III
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Quan-Zhen
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, DAVID J
• Application Number:
  US13/307,648
• Publication Number:
  US 20130135203A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,749 Days
• Field of Search: 345/158
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• 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

Abstract

A handheld electronic device has a cursor which is moved by tilting and or accelerating the device, where the cursor movement correlates to a bubble in a bull'"'"'s eye level. Gestures include flicking, shaking, and reversing an acceleration or tilting, to control movement of the cursor, and to execute instructions corresponding to a position of the cursor. These gestures may be combined with touch, speech, buttons, or other known methods of communication between users and devices.

Claims

1. A method of processing an input gesture, comprising:

displaying a cursor upon a display of a handheld electronic device;

moving the cursor across the display in response to a change in orientation of the handheld electronic device relative to a first plane defined by the handheld electronic device;

determining if the cursor is in a position at least partially overlapping with a graphical object presented on the display;

selecting the graphical object in response to an activation of an actuator, when the cursor is determined to be in a position at least partially overlapping with the graphical object; and

moving the cursor and graphical object together simultaneously in response to a further change in orientation of the handheld electronic device;

calculating a rate of movement of the cursor, when moving the cursor, to correspond to a rate of a change in orientation of the device in a first direction; and

calculating slowing the rate of movement of the cursor to correspond to a rate of change in orientation of the device in a second direction, different than the first direction.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the change in orientation is a change in orientation around at least one axis of rotation of the handheld electronic device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein movement of the cursor is further based upon a change in position of the handheld electronic device in an x-y plane that is co-planar to the display, the movement sensed by a sensor.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a calibration menu;

moving the cursor to a predefined region of the display independent of a current orientation of the handheld electronic device; and

defining a current plane of the handheld electronic device as the first plane.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the current plane is defined as being the first plane in response to activation of an actuator.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein movement of the cursor is caused only after the rate of change in orientation is above a first given threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, further including determining that a gesturing mode has been initiated by detecting a first movement along a first plane in a first direction to a first extent followed directly by a second movement in a direction opposite from the first direction and to a second extent substantially greater than the first extent.

8. A handheld electronic device for processing an input gesture corresponding to a cursor movement operation, comprising:

a display;

a sensor operative to sense a change in orientation of the handheld electronic device; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the display, an actuator, and the sensor, the processor operative in a first mode to

display a cursor upon the display,

determine that a tilting mode is enabled by detecting tilting of the device about an axis of rotation of the device using input from the sensor;

in response to determining that the tilting mode is enabled, move the cursor across the display in response to further tilting of the handheld electronic device;

determine if the cursor is in a position at least partially overlapping with a graphical object presented on the display,

select the graphical object in response to an activation of the actuator when the cursor is in a position at least partially overlapping with the graphical object presented on the display; and

move the cursor and graphical object simultaneously in response to a further tilting of the handheld electronic device;

calculate a rate of movement of the cursor, when moving the cursor, to correspond to a rate of a change in orientation of the device in a first direction; and

calculate slowing the rate of movement of the cursor to correspond to a rate of change in orientation of the device in a second direction, different than the first direction.

9. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein the processor is further operative, in a second mode, to define a first plane by presenting a calibration menu on the display, moving the cursor to a predefined region of the display independent of a current orientation of the device, and defining a current plane of the device as the first plane.

10. The handheld electronic device of claim 9, further comprising an actuator communicatively coupled with the processor, wherein the current orientation is defined as defining the current plane in response to an actuator being activated.

11. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein a current plane is defined as being a first plane in response to an amount of time in which the device is in substantially in the current plane.

12. The handheld electronic device of claim 8, wherein

the processor is further operative to

measure a rate of change in the orientation of the handheld electronic device in a first direction around a given axis of rotation;

in response to the rate of change in orientation being above a given threshold, move the cursor across the display based upon the rate of change in orientation that has been measured in the first direction around the given axis of rotation; and

in response to the rate of change in orientation being below a given threshold in a second direction around the given axis of rotation, wherein the second direction is substantially opposite the first direction, halting movement of the cursor.

13. The device of claim 8, wherein determining that a cursor mode is enabled by detecting tilting of the device about an axis of rotation of the device includes detecting tilting of the device corresponding to at least one of a predetermined rate of tilting and a predetermined extent of tilting.

14. A handheld electronic device for processing an input gesture corresponding to a cursor drag operation, comprising:

a display;

a sensor operative to sense a change in orientation of the handheld electronic device; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the display, an actuator and the sensor, the processor operative, in a first mode, to

display a cursor upon the display,

move the cursor across the display in response to the change in orientation of the device relative to a first plane defined by the handheld electronic device,

determine if the cursor is in a position at least partially overlapping with a graphical object presented on the display,

determine that a drag mode is enabled by detecting tilting of the device about an axis of rotation of the device;

in response to determining that the drag mode is enabled, select the graphical object,

move the cursor and graphical object simultaneously, in response to a further change in orientation of the handheld electronic device, to overlay at least a portion of an activation zone of the display;

calculate a rate of movement of the cursor, when moving the cursor, to correspond to a rate of a change in orientation of the device in a first direction; and

calculate slowing the rate of movement of the cursor to correspond to a rate of change in orientation of the device in a second direction, different than the first direction.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein determining that a drag mode is enabled by detecting tilting of the device about an axis of rotation of the device includes detecting tilting of the device corresponding to at least one of a predetermined rate of tilting and a predetermined extent of tilting.