Presentation of a control interface on a touch-enabled device based on a motion or absence thereof

• US 9,645,651 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2013
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Hwang, Daniel J., Dai, Juan (Lynn), Viswanathan, Sharath, Tobens, Joseph B., Rodriguez, Jose A., Davis, Peter G.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEGGETT, ANDREA C.
• Application Number:
  US14/035,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20150089419A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• Field of Search: 715765
• 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 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• 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

Techniques are described herein that are capable of causing a control interface to be presented on a touch-enabled device based on a motion or absence thereof. A motion, such as a hover gesture, can be detected and the control interface presented in response to the detection. Alternatively, absence of a motion can be detected and the control interface presented in response to the detection. A hover gesture can occur without a user physically touching a touch screen of a touch-enabled device. Instead, the user'"'"'s finger or fingers can be positioned at a spaced distance above the touch screen. The touch screen can detect that the user'"'"'s fingers are proximate to the touch screen, such as through capacitive sensing. Additionally, finger movement can be detected while the fingers are hovering to expand the existing options for gesture input.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting one or more fingers in a hover position, the one or more fingers being a spaced distance from a touch screen, the detecting the one or more fingers in the hover position causing a hover mode to be entered, the hover mode enabling detection of a motion of at least one of the one or more fingers;

detecting the motion of the at least one of the one or more fingers in response to the detecting the one or more fingers in the hover position causing the hover mode to be entered, the motion being a user command to increase visibility of a control interface that is at least partially visible on the touch screen, the control interface configured to control content associated with a virtual element that is displayed on the touch screen, the motion occurring without the at least one of the one or more fingers touching the touch screen; and

causing the visibility of the control interface on the touch screen to increase, at least by decreasing transparency of the control interface from a first transparency that is less than one-hundred percent to a second transparency that is less than the first transparency, based at least in part on the motion.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the motion comprises:

detecting that the motion occurs for at least a specified period of time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the one or more fingers includes a plurality of fingers;

and

wherein detecting the motion comprises;

detecting that the plurality of fingers are moved together, or

detecting that the plurality of fingers are moved apart.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the transitioning is periodic and includes one or more discrete intermediate states between the first state and the second state;

wherein each successive intermediate state is characterized by an incrementally greater visibility of the control interface; and

wherein the second state is characterized by a visibility of the control interface that is greater than a visibility of the control interface that characterizes each of the one or more discrete intermediate states.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual element is a representation of a song or a video;

and

wherein the motion is the user command to present the control interface that enables a user to control the song or the video.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual element is a representation of a message;

and

wherein the motion is the user command to present the control interface that enables a user to perform an operation with respect to the message.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the visibility of the control interface on the touch screen to increase comprises:

causing the control interface to change from a first state in which the control interface is partially transparent to a second state in which the control interface is opaque.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein causing the visibility of the control interface on the touch screen to increase comprises:

causing the control interface to change from a first state to a second state;

wherein, in the first state, the control interface is partially transparent to provide a first extent of transparency; and

wherein, in the second state, the control interface is partially transparent to provide a second extent of transparency that is less than the first extent.

9. A system comprising:

a touch screen sensor configured to detect one or more fingers in a hover position, the one or more fingers being a spaced distance from a touch screen, detection of the one or more fingers in the hover position causing a hover mode to be entered, the hover mode enabling detection of a motion of at least one of the one or more fingers;

a gesture engine configured to detect the motion of the at least one of the one or more fingers that occurs without the at least one of the one or more fingers touching the touch screen in response to detection of the one or more fingers in the hover position causing the hover mode to be entered, the motion being a user command to increase visibility of a control interface that is at least partially visible on the touch screen, the control interface configured to control content associated with a virtual element that is displayed on the touch screen; and

a rendering engine configured to cause the visibility of the control interface on the touch screen to increase, at least by decreasing transparency of the control interface from a first transparency that is less than one-hundred percent to a second transparency that is less than the first transparency, based at least in part on the motion.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the rendering engine is configured to cause the control interface to change from a first state in which the control interface is partially transparent to a second state in which the control interface is opaque.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the rendering engine is configured to cause the control interface to change from a first state to a second state;

wherein, in the first state, the control interface is partially transparent to provide a first extent of transparency; and

wherein, in the second state, the control interface is partially transparent to provide a second extent of transparency that is less than the first extent.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the rendering engine is configured to cause the control interface to change from a first state in which a portion of the control interface is shown on the touch screen to a second state in which an entirety of the control interface is shown on the touch screen, the portion being less than all of the control interface.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the gesture engine is configured to detect a finger hover flick performed by the at least one of the one or more fingers.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the gesture engine is configured to detect a high-velocity flick performed by the at least one of the one or more fingers, the high-velocity flick defined by the at least one of the one or more fingers traveling at a velocity that is greater than or equal to a threshold velocity.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the gesture engine is configured to detect a finger hover circle performed by the at least one of the one or more fingers.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer program logic recorded thereon for enabling a processor-based system to cause a control interface to be presented on a touch screen, the computer program product comprising:

a first program logic module for enabling the processor-based system to detect one or more fingers in a hover position, the one or more fingers being a spaced distance from the touch screen;

a second program logic module for enabling the processor-based system to detect a user command to present the control interface configured to control content associated with a virtual element that is displayed on the touch screen, the user command characterized by the one or more fingers remaining in the hover position for at least a specified period of time and further characterized by the one or more fingers remaining motionless for at least the specified period of time; and

a third program logic module for enabling the processor-based system to cause the control interface to be presented on the touch screen based at least in part on detection of the user command.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the third program logic module comprises:

logic for enabling the processor-based system to cause a transition from a first state in which the control interface is not shown on the touch screen to a second state in which the control interface is shown on the touch screen.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the third program logic module comprises:

logic for enabling the processor-based system to cause the control interface to change from a first state in which the control interface is partially transparent to a second state in which the control interface is opaque.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the third program logic module comprises:

logic for enabling the processor-based system to cause the control interface to change from a first state to a second state;

wherein, in the first state, the control interface is partially transparent to provide a first extent of transparency; and

wherein, in the second state, the control interface is partially transparent to provide a second extent of transparency that is less than the first extent.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the third program logic module comprises:

logic for enabling the processor-based system to cause the control interface to change from a first state in which a portion of the control interface is shown on the touch screen to a second state in which an entirety of the control interface is shown on the touch screen, the portion being less than all of the control interface.