Closing, starting, and restarting applications

• US 9,715,282 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2013
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Doan, Christopher, Sareen, Chaitanya, Worley, Matthew, Vranjes, Miron, Krause, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo, Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOBO, CARL P
• Application Number:
  US13/853,964
• Publication Number:
  US 20140298272A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• 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 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Described herein are embodiments that relate to implementation of multi-stage gestures, using multi-stage gestures to control applications, and allowing, under certain conditions, invocation of an open operation (which would normally only open an application or bring an application to the fore) to cause a target application to terminate before being newly opened. A multi-stage gesture may be used to invoke different functions at respective gesture stages of a same input stroke. The functions may be different forms of application “closing”, such as backgrounding or suspending an application, terminating an application, and restarting an application. The restarting (including termination) of an application when the application is opened may be termed a “smart-restart”, which may involve interpreting from specific user activity that a user intends to restart an application.

Claims

1. A method of implementing a multi-stage gesture on a computing device comprising a processor, a display, and an input device, the method comprising:

receiving strokes, each stroke comprising a discrete contiguous two-dimensional path inputted by a user, each stroke controlling movement of a graphic representation of an application selected thereby, each application either executing or in a state of suspended execution, the computing device providing a first task management operation and a second task management operation, the task management operations available to be performed for applications configured to execute on the computing device, wherein the first task management operation comprises suspending or hiding an application on the computing device and the second task management operation comprises terminating an application on the computing device;

automatically identifying first-stage gestures by determining that corresponding first of the strokes have each individually satisfied a first condition, wherein each of the first of the strokes have ceased being inputted by the user after having satisfied the first condition and before being able to satisfy a second condition;

each time a first-stage gesture is identified, responding by automatically triggering the first task management operation on the correspondingly selected open application;

automatically identifying second-stage gestures by determining that second of the strokes have each individually satisfied the first condition and then satisfied the second condition, each of the second of the strokes having ceased to be inputted by the user after satisfying the first and second conditions; and

each time a second-stage gesture is identified, responding by automatically triggering the second task management operation on the correspondingly selected open application.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the computing provides a third task management operation, the method further comprising:

automatically identifying third-stage gestures by determining that corresponding third of the strokes have each individually satisfied the first condition then the second condition then the third condition, each of the third of the strokes having ceased to be inputted by the user in correspondence with satisfying the third condition.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein each time a third-stage gesture is identified, responding by automatically triggering a third task management operation comprising restarting the correspondingly selected application on the computing device.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the first task management operation further comprises maintaining the correspondingly selected application in memory and causing the correspondingly selected application to be at least partially removed from the display, wherein the terminating an application comprises removing the application from memory, and wherein the re-starting comprises removing the application from memory and starting a new execution of the application.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first condition comprises:

immediately before having moved in a direction determined to substantially match a first specified direction, having started at a first defined area or location, having moved a threshold distance, and/or having entered or ended at a second pre-defined area or location.

6. A method according to claim 2, wherein the third condition comprises:

having ended at a first pre-defined location or area, having ended after moving a threshold distance, and/or having ended at a second pre-defined location or area.

7. One or more computer-readable storage medium storing information to enable a computing device comprising a display, storage, and a processor to perform a process, the process comprising:

providing a first application management procedure and a second application management procedure, each available to be performed on applications configured to execute on the computing device;

receiving strokes detected by a user input device, each stroke comprising a discrete two-dimensional user-inputted path comprising a start of being inputted, an end of being inputted, and continuous input immediately after the start up until the end, and each stroke selecting a corresponding application installed on the computing device and controlling movement, on the display, of a corresponding graphic application representation; and

for each of the strokes, according to features of the strokes, determining when to invoke the first application management procedure and when to invoke the second application management procedure, wherein when a stroke lacking a second pre-defined feature is determined to have a first pre-defined feature before the corresponding end of being inputted, then the first application management procedure is invoked on the correspondingly selected application, and, when a stroke is determined to have the first pre-defined feature and immediately thereafter have a second pre-defined feature followed by the corresponding end of being inputted, then the second application management procedure is invoked on the correspondingly selected application, wherein the first and second application management procedures respectively comprise either (1) terminating an application and restarting an application, or (2) suspending an application and terminating an application.

8. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 7, the process further comprising providing a third application management procedure available to be invoked on the applications, and determining when to invoke the third application management procedure, wherein the third application management feature is invoked on a correspondingly selected application based on a determination that the stroke has the pre-defined first feature, the second pre-defined feature, and the third pre-defined feature.

9. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 7, wherein when a completed stroke does not have the second pre-defined feature then the second application management procedure is not invoked for the correspondingly selected application.

10. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein the first application management procedure hides whichever application it is invoked on but does not terminate the application, and the second application management procedure at least terminates whichever application it is invoked on such that the application is neither running nor suspended after being terminated.

11. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein whether a stroke invokes the first or second application management procedure depends, respectively, on whether the stroke is determined to have (i) the first pre-defined feature, or (ii) the first and second pre-defined features.

12. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 7, the process further comprising displaying a first visual effect responsive to detecting the first pre-defined feature and displaying a second visual effect responsive to detecting the second pre-defined feature.

13. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein the first visual effect comprises displaying a reduced-size representation of the application, and the second visual effect comprises displaying a second representation of the application.

14. A computing device comprising:

a display;

storage storing instructions; and

a processor, when the computing device is operating, configured by the instructions to execute a process, the process comprising;

receiving inputs of strokes, each stroke consisting of a chain of one or more segments formed by a discrete continual two-dimensional user input, each stroke selecting an application on the computing device and controlling movement, on the display, of a graphic that represents the correspondingly selected application;

recognizing gestures for the respective strokes, the gestures recognized including first gestures, and second gestures, wherein;

each first gesture is recognized based on a first determination of a corresponding stroke, which upon finishing lacks a second and third type of stroke segment, finishing being inputted by a user after a segment of the corresponding stroke has been determined to match a first type of stroke segment was inputted, each type of stroke segment defined by a respective distance, location, and/or duration,

each second gesture is recognized based on a second determination of a corresponding stroke, having a first segment matching the first type of stroke segment followed by a second segment matching the second type of stroke segment; and

responding to each recognition of the first gesture by performing a first operation on the correspondingly selected application and responding to each recognition of the second gesture by performing a second operation on the correspondingly selected application, wherein the first operation and the second operation comprise two different operations from a group consisting of;

hiding an application, suspending an application, terminating application, and restarting an application.

15. A computing device according to claim 14, wherein each second gesture is recognized based further on a second determination that the corresponding stroke, upon finishing, lacks a third type of stroke segment.

16. A computing device according to claim 14, wherein the gestures recognized further includes third gestures.

17. A computing device according to claim 16, wherein each third gesture is recognized based on a third determination of a corresponding stroke having a first segment matching the first type of stroke segment followed by a second segment having the second type of stroke segment followed by a third segment having a third type of stroke segment.