System and method for applying gesture input to digital content

• US 9,755,995 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2013
• Issued: 09/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Underwood, IV, George Milton, Armistead, Elizabeth, Beausoleil, Sean, Cannon, Scott, Cue, Adam, Edwards, Darian, Flory, Steven, Luna, Elanor
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Thanh
• Application Number:
  US14/056,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20140143738A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,419 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A system and method for managing messages within an application interface that includes receiving a message stream; providing a navigational menu to a set of message streams; detecting an initiated gesture item for at least one message within a view of the navigational menu; tracking gesture-state within a progressive order of gesture-states; identifying an action of the gesture-state wherein the action corresponds to the current view and relative ordering of the navigational menu; and applying the message sorting action on the message according to a final gesture-state.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting initiation of a gesture input at a digital content item rendered in a user interface;

during a duration of the gesture input;

tracking the gesture input from a start location on a graphical user interface to a current location in a first direction on the graphical user interface, wherein the start location is within a representation of the digital content item on the graphical user interface;

determining, based on the tracked gesture input, a magnitude of a current displacement of the gesture input from the start location to the current location, where the magnitude corresponds to a distance between the start location and the current location;

determining, based on the magnitude of the current displacement of the gesture input, a current gesture state from a set of gesture states, where the current gesture state corresponds to a first gesture state when the magnitude is less than a threshold distance and where the current gesture state corresponds to a second gesture state when the magnitude is greater than or equal to the threshold distance;

identifying an action mapped to the current gesture state; and

rendering a graphic of the identified action;

upon detecting a termination of the gesture input, selecting the identified action as a selected action; and

applying the selected action to the digital content item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current gesture state is based at least in part on one or more of:

a velocity along the first direction of the gesture input;

or

a duration of the gesture input.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current gesture state is based at least in part on a direction of a current displacement along a first axis of the gesture input from an initial input position and at least in part on a magnitude along the first axis of the current displacement, and wherein determining the current gesture state includes:

selecting a first gesture state as the current gesture state in the event that the direction of the current displacement along the first axis is a first direction and the magnitude along the first axis of the current displacement becomes greater than the first threshold distance;

or

selecting a second gesture state as the current gesture state in the event that the direction of the current displacement along the first axis is the first direction and the magnitude along the first axis of the current displacement becomes greater than the second threshold distance, the second threshold distance being greater than the first threshold distance.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein determining the current gesture state further includes:

selecting a third gesture state as the current gesture state in the event that the direction of the current displacement along the first axis is a second direction opposite the first direction and the magnitude along the first axis of the current displacement becomes greater than the first threshold value.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein determining the current gesture state further includes:

selecting a fourth gesture state as the current gesture state in the event that the direction of the current displacement along the first axis is the second direction and the magnitude along the first axis of the current displacement becomes greater than the second threshold value.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the first threshold value corresponds to a first magnitude that is less than three times a width of an input tool providing the gesture input and the second threshold value corresponds to a second magnitude that is greater than three times the width of the input tool.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current gesture state is based at least in part on a direction of a current displacement along a first axis of the gesture input from an initial input position, the first axis being in a different orientation to an axis of scrolling of a displayed set of content items that includes the digital content item.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

determining the current gesture state is based at least in part on a direction of a current displacement along a first axis of the gesture input from an initial input position; and

rendering the graphic of the action mapped to the current gesture state further comprises animating a translation of the digital content item along the first axis and revealing the graphic of the action in a screen area exposed by the translation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current gesture state includes transitioning from a first gesture state to a second gesture state in the event that the tracked gesture input indicates a screen-edge touch transition.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising if the selected action removes the digital content item from a current navigational view, animating a transition of the digital content item out of the navigational view.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein applying the selected action to the digital content item includes:

displaying a secondary view with a plurality of action options; and

receiving an option input selecting one of the plurality of action options the secondary view,

wherein the selected action is applied according the received option input.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the current gesture state is based at least in part on a number of touch input points included in the tracked gesture input.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the action mapped to the current gesture state is based at least in part on one or more of:

a content type of the digital content item;

or an application navigational context.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital content item includes one or more of:

a media file;

an email message;

or

notification displayed within a notification view of an application.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the gesture input is detected and tracked using an interface selected from a group consisting of a touch-sensitive user interface and a visual gestural input interface.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the digital content item is rendered in a content item grouping presented in the user interface;

wherein identifying an action mapped to the current gesture state includes determining which one of a plurality of hidden content item groupings to move the digital content item into based on the magnitude of the gesture input; and

wherein applying the selected action to the digital content item includes moving the digital content item into the determined hidden content item grouping.

17. A method for controlling a computing device with a display, the method comprising:

detecting initiation of a gesture input at a digital content item rendered in a user interface on the display;

tracking the gesture input at the digital content item for a magnitude of a current displacement of the gesture input from a start location to a current location in a first direction, wherein the start location is within a representation of the digital content item on the graphical user interface, and wherein the magnitude corresponds to a distance between the start location and the current location; and

rendering a graphic of an action mapped to a gesture state, where the gesture state corresponds to a first gesture state when the magnitude is less than a threshold distance and where the current gesture state corresponds to a second gesture state when the magnitude is greater than or equal to the threshold distance, and wherein the rendering comprises animating a translation of the digital content item along a first axis, the translation revealing the graphic of the action in a screen area exposed by the translation.

18. A method comprising:

detecting initiation of a gesture input at a digital content item rendered in a user interface;

during a duration of the gesture input;

tracking the gesture input from a start location on a graphical user interface to a current location on the graphical user interface, wherein the start location is within a representation of the digital content item on the graphical user interface;

determining, based on the tracked gesture input, a distance of a current displacement of the gesture input from the start location to the current location;

determining, based on the distance of the current displacement of the gesture input, a current gesture state from a set of gesture states, wherein determining the current gesture state is based at least in part on a direction of a current displacement along a first axis of the gesture input from an initial input position and at least in part on a magnitude along the first axis of the current displacement, and wherein determining the current gesture state includes;

selecting a first gesture state as the current gesture state in the event that the direction of the current displacement along the first axis is a first direction and the magnitude along the first axis of the current displacement becomes greater than a first threshold value;

selecting a second gesture state as the current gesture state in the event that the direction of the current displacement along the first axis is the first direction and the magnitude along the first axis of the current displacement becomes greater than a second threshold value, the second threshold value being greater than the first threshold value;

identifying an action mapped to the first or second gesture state; and

rendering a graphic of the identified action;

upon detecting a termination of the gesture input, selecting the identified action as a selected action; and

applying the selected action to the digital content item.