Reaching any touch screen portion with one hand

• US 9,817,511 B1
• Filed: 09/16/2016
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Brillante, Francesco, Lazzaro, Luca, Scotti, Alessandro
• Primary Examiner(s): Dharia, Prabodh M
• Application Number:
  US15/268,150
• Time in Patent Office: 424 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-184, 345654, 386241, 348 52, 715240, 715773, 715784
• 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 1/1686 the I/O peripheral being an integrated camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A mobile computing device and method performed by a mobile computing device are provided. The mobile computing device includes a touch screen display, a touch enabled border surface, and a processor. The processor is configured to generate image data representing a viewport of the device. The processor is configured to add a graphic representation of at least one user interface element to the image data. The processor is configured to determine a press intensity of a touch pressure applied by a user of the device to the touch screen display in a region where the graphic representation of the at least one user interface element is displayed. The processor is configured to determine a position of the hand of the user using the touch enabled border surface. The processor is configured to slide the viewport downwards based on the press intensity and the position of the hand of the user.

Claims

1. A mobile computing device, comprising:

a touch screen display;

a touch enabled border surface; and

a processor configured to;

use a viewport to display data on a user interface of the touch screen display, the data including a graphic representation of at least one user interface element;

determine a press intensity applied by a thumb of a user on the touch enabled border surface, the press intensity relating to at least a time duration of contact of the thumb of the user on the touch enabled border surface; and

adjust, based on the press intensity applied by the thumb of the user, a position of the viewport such that the viewport moves from its original position toward a region in proximity to a hand of the user to enable the user to access an unreachable portion of the same user interface displaying the graphic representation of at least one user interface element via the thumb, and moves back to its original position upon release of the thumb of the user.

2. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the viewport is adjusted by an amount that is proportional to the press intensity applied by the thumb of the user.

3. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the press intensity is a long press resulting in adjusting the position of the viewport by a distance defined by a size of the touch screen display.

4. The mobile computing device of claim 3, wherein after the user accesses the graphic representation of at least one user interface element via the thumb, the touch screen display automatically resets to its original position.

5. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the press intensity is a short press resulting in adjusting the position of the viewport by a distance defined by a size of the touch screen display.

6. The mobile computing device of claim 1, further comprising one or more cameras for capturing one or more images of the hand of the user, wherein the processor is further configured to determine biometrics of the hand of the user and a position of the hand of the user based on the one or more images.

7. The mobile computing device of claim 6, wherein the position of the hand of the user is determined based on light passing through spaces between fingers of the hand of the user.

8. The mobile computing device of claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to modify the one or more images of the hand of the user using a color recognition system to desaturate all colors except flesh colors, and determine the positions of the hand of the user using the modified images.

9. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a position of at least one finger on the hand of the user using the touch screen display and the touch enabled border surface.

10. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to calculate a reachable screen portion for the user based on a position of the hand acid the position of the at least one finger on the hand.

11. The mobile computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to calculate the reachable screen portion for the user further based on biometric parameters of the hand of the user.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 9, further comprising determining the position of at least one other finger on the hand of the user using the touch screen display and the touch enabled border surface, when the at least one finger is determined to be positioned holding the device.

13. The mobile computing device of claim 1, wherein the touch enabled border surface is divided into a set of bands, and wherein a position of the hand of the user is determined based on which of the bands are in contact with the hand of the user.

14. The mobile computing device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to calculate an arc-shaped thumb trajectory corresponding to a touchable part of the touch screen display, and make a remaining portion of the touch screen display, with respect to a reachable screen portion, at least temporarily reachable to the user by adjusting the viewport in a first direction.

15. The mobile computing device of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a base point of the thumb on the hand of the user using the touch enabled border surface, and wherein the arc-shaped thumb trajectory is calculated using the base point of the thumb as a starting point.

16. A method performed by a mobile computing device having at least a touch screen display and a processor, the method comprising:

using a viewport to display data on a user interface of the touch screen display, the data including a graphic representation of at least one user interface element;

determining a press intensity applied by a thumb of a user on the ouch enabled border surface, the press intensity relating to at least a time duration of contact of the thumb of the user on the touch enabled border surface; and

adjusting, based on the press intensity applied by the thumb of the user, a position of the viewport such that the viewport moves from its original position toward a region in proximity to a hand of the user to enable the user to access an unreachable portion of the same user interface displaying the graphic representation of at least one user interface element via the thumb, and moves back to its original position upon release of the thumb of the user.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the touch enabled border surface is divided into a set of bands, and wherein a position of the hand of the user is determined based on which of the bands are in contact with the hand of the user.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

calculating an arc-shaped thumb trajectory corresponding to a touchable part of the touch screen display; and

making a remaining portion of the touch screen display, with respect to a reachable screen portion, at least temporarily reachable to the user by adjusting the viewport in a first direction.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the processor is farther configured to determine a base point of the thumb on the hand of the user using the touch enabled border surface, and wherein the arc-shaped thumb trajectory is calculated using the base point of the thumb as a starting point.

20. A computer program product for making screen regions, of a mobile computing device having at least a touch screen display and a processor, accessible to a user of the device, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform a method comprising:

using a viewport to display data a user interface of on the touch screen display, the data including a graphic representation of at least one user interface element;

determining a press intensity applied by a thumb of a user on the touch enabled border surface, the press intensity relating to at least a time duration of contact of the thumb of the user on the touch enabled border surface; and

adjusting, based on the press intensity applied by the thumb of the user, a position of the viewport such that the viewport moves from its original position toward a region in proximity to a hand of the user to enable the user to access an unreachable portion of the same user interface displaying the graphic representation of at least one user interface element via the thumb, and moves back to its original position upon release of the thumb of the user.