Hover-based interaction with rendered content

• US 9,594,489 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2014
• Issued: 03/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Niranjani, Himanshu, Lichtenstein, Craig, Mittal, Shailendra, Jensen, Devin
• Primary Examiner(s): BHARGAVA, ANIL K
• Application Number:
  US14/458,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20160048304A1
• Time in Patent Office: 945 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04805 Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• 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 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Disclosed are techniques and systems for enabling “hover-based” interaction with content that is rendered on a display of a viewing device. A process may include rendering content on a display, detecting an object hovering in front of a front surface of the display, and in response to detecting the object, determining a location on the front surface of the display corresponding to a position of the object. The determined location on the front surface of the display may then be used to determine a portion of the content that is rendered at the location or within a threshold distance from the location, and a magnified window of the portion of the content may then be displayed in a region of the display. The portion of the content within the magnified window may be actionable by responding to user input when the user input is provided within the magnified window.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

rendering content on a display;

detecting an object in front of, but not in contact with, a front surface of the display;

determining, at least partly in response to the detecting the object, a first location on the front surface of the display that is spaced a shortest distance from the object relative to distances from the object to other locations on the front surface of the display;

determining a first portion of the content that is rendered at the first location or within a threshold distance from the first location;

displaying, in a first region of the display, a magnified window of the first portion of the content;

determining that the object has moved below a predetermined speed across the front surface of the display while maintaining a spaced relationship with the front surface of the display; and

in response to the determining that the object has moved below the predetermined speed across the front surface of the display, moving the magnified window with the object across the front surface of the display to a second region of the display, wherein the magnified window after the moving contains a second portion of the content that is rendered at, or within the threshold distance from, a second location on the front surface of the display corresponding to a position of the object after the object has moved across the front surface of the display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the content includes one or more interactive elements comprising at least one of an embedded link, a video playback button, or an audio playback button, and wherein individual ones of the one or more interactive elements are configured to respond to user input when the user input is provided within the magnified window.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user input comprises the object contacting the front surface of the display on the individual ones of the one or more interactive elements within the magnified window.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the magnified window comprises a browser window rendering the first portion of the content.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting the object in front of, but not in contact with, the front surface of the display comprises determining an input gesture from the object.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the input gesture is determined by:

detecting that the object is at a first position that is within a predetermined distance from the front surface measured in a direction perpendicular to the front surface; and

determining that the object is within a predetermined area of the first position for a predetermined period of time, the predetermined area being parallel to the front surface of the display.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the front surface of the display comprises a top portion, a bottom portion, a left side, and a right side, a positive vertical direction pointing toward the top portion, and wherein the first region includes a bottom boundary that is at a predetermined distance from the first location in the positive vertical direction.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the object has moved farther away from the front surface of the display in a direction perpendicular to the front surface; and

in response to the determining that the object has moved farther away from the front surface, decreasing a magnification level of the second portion of the content within the magnified window.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first region has a width that is no greater than about 75% of a width of the display.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing the magnified window to disappear from the display in response to determining that the object moves across the front surface of the display at or above the predetermined speed subsequently to the object having moved below the predetermined speed across the front surface of the display.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the second location is within a predetermined distance from a boundary of a control area of the display;

determining that the object has moved across the front surface of the display while maintaining a spaced relationship with the front surface of the display from the second location to a third location that is closer to the boundary of the control area relative to a distance from the second location to the boundary of the control area; and

in response to the determining that the object has moved to the third location, panning the second portion of the content within the magnified window to reveal a third portion of the content that is rendered closer to the boundary of the control area relative to a distance from the second portion of the content to the boundary of the control area.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a first contact from the object on the front surface of the display at the second location and a second contact from the object on the front surface of the display at the second location, the second contact being detected within a threshold period of time from the detecting the first contact; and

in response to the detecting the first contact and the second contact, rendering, on the display, a zoomed-in view of the content around the second location.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that the object has moved below the predetermined speed is based at least in part on location data obtained by a proximity sensor associated with the display, and a timer.

14. A system comprising:

a display configured to display content;

one or more sensors configured to detect an object in front of, but not in contact with, a front surface of the display;

one or more processors; and

memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising;

determining, at least partly in response to detecting the object in front of, but not in contact with, the front surface of the display, a location on the front surface of the display that is spaced a shortest distance from the object relative to distances from the object to other locations on the front surface of the display;

determining a portion of the content that is rendered at the location or within a threshold distance from the location;

causing a presentation, in a region of the display, of a magnified window of the portion of the content;

determining that the object moves at or above a predetermined speed across the front surface of the display while maintaining a spaced relationship with the front surface of the display; and

in response to the determining that the object moves at or above the predetermined speed across the front surface of the display, causing the magnified window to disappear from the display.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the portion of the content includes one or more interactive elements comprising at least one of an embedded link, a video playback button, or an audio playback button, and wherein individual ones of the one or more interactive elements are configured to respond to user input when the user input is provided within the magnified window.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the user input comprises the object contacting the front surface of the display on the individual ones of the one or more interactive elements within the magnified window.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the magnified window comprises a browser window rendering the portion of the content.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors are further configured to determine a distance between the front surface of the display and the object in a direction perpendicular to the front surface of the display, the acts further comprising:

determining that the object has moved farther away from the front surface in the direction; and

in response to the determining that the object has moved farther away from the front surface, decreasing a magnification level of the portion of the content within the magnified window.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the location is a first location, the portion of the content is a first portion of the content, and the region is a first region, the acts further comprising, prior to the determining that the object moves at or above the predetermined speed across the front surface of the display:

determining that the object has moved below the predetermined speed across the front surface of the display while maintaining a spaced relationship with the front surface of the display; and

in response to the determining that the object has moved below the predetermined speed across the front surface of the display, moving the magnified window with the object across the front surface of the display to a second region of the display, wherein the magnified window after the moving contains a second portion of the content that is rendered at, or within the threshold distance from, a second location on the front surface of the display corresponding to a position of the object after the object has moved across the front surface of the display.

20. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising memory storing a plurality of programming instructions that are executable by one or more processors of a computing device to cause the computing device to perform acts comprising:

rendering content on a display;

detecting an input gesture from an object in front of, but not in contact with, a front surface of the display;

determining, at least partly in response to the detecting the input gesture, a first location on the front surface of the display that is spaced a shortest distance from the object relative to distances from the object to other locations on the front surface of the display;

determining a first portion of the content that is rendered at the first location or within a threshold distance from the first location;

displaying, in a first region of the display, a magnified window of the first portion of the content;

determining that the object has moved below a predetermined speed across the front surface of the display while maintaining a spaced relationship with the front surface of the display; and

in response to the determining that the object has moved below the predetermined speed across the front surface of the display, moving the magnified window with the object across the front surface of the display to a second region of the display, wherein the magnified window after the moving contains a second portion of the content that is rendered at, or within the threshold distance from, a second location on the front surface of the display corresponding to a position of the object after the object has moved across the front surface of the display.