Relative touch user interface enhancements

• US 9,817,542 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2015
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellitact LLC
• Original Assignee: Intellitact LLC
• Inventors: Laubach, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Tzeng, Fred
• Application Number:
  US14/595,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20150128091A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,037 Days
• Field of Search: 715810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0213 Arrangements providing an integrated pointing device in a keyboard, e.g. trackball, mini-joystick for pointing devices integrated in a laptop computer G06F1/169; joysticks G05G9/047; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• 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 3/04883 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: G06F 3/04895 Guidance during keyboard input operation, e.g. prompting

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a meta touch interface (MTI) with multiple position indicators with each position indicator operating as a separate pointing tool that can be activated (i) using taps on a touchpad or other touch sensitive surface or (ii) by pressing certain keyboard keys. The MT pointer allows for adjacent UI elements to be selected without having to reposition the MT pointer for each selection or activation. Some embodiments provide a multi-device UI that comprises at least two UIs, wherein the first UI is presented on an essentially horizontal plane that is aligned with operational focus and the second UI that is presented on an essentially vertical plane that is aligned with visual focus of the user. Some embodiments provide a precision pointer that includes an adjustable magnified region to better present underlying on-screen content, thereby allowing the user to more precisely position the pointer.

Claims

1. A graphical pointer for simulating a screen-mapped direct-touch user interface (UI) on a device without a touch enabled display, the graphical pointer comprising:

a graphical element displayed onscreen with at least a first indicator, a second indicator, and a third indicator,

the first indicator, in response to a first input, performing any of a selection or invocation of a first UI element over which the first indicator is positioned,

the second indicator, in response to a second input, performing any of a selection or invocation of a second UI element that is adjacent to the first UI element in the UI without repositioning the pointer or the first indicator away from the first UI element,

the third indicator, in response to a third input, performing any of a selection or invocation of a third UI element that is adjacent to the second UI element in the UI without repositioning the pointer or the first indicator away from the first UI element, and

the graphical pointer collectively moving the first indicator, the second indicator, and the third indicator onscreen in unison in response to a fourth input tied to moving the graphical pointer as a whole,

wherein the first, second, third, and fourth inputs are provided by an input device that is not a touch enabled display.

2. The graphical pointer of claim 1, wherein each of the first, second, and third indicators comprises a transparent area with the first indicator transparent area displaying the first indicator without obscuring a portion of the UI underneath the first indicator, the second indicator transparent area displaying the second indicator without obscuring a portion of the UI underneath the second indicator, and the third indicator transparent area displaying the third indicator without obscuring a portion of the UI underneath the third indicator.

3. The graphical pointer of claim 1, wherein the graphical pointer provides for the selection or the invocation of the first, second, and third UI elements using any of the first, second, and third inputs without repositioning the graphical pointer or any of the first, second, and third indicators.

4. The graphical pointer of claim 1, wherein control of the first indicator is mapped to and activated by a first keyboard key, control of the second indicator is mapped to and activated by a second keyboard key that is adjacent to the first keyboard key, and control of the third indicator is mapped to and activated by a third keyboard key that is adjacent to the second keyboard key.

5. The graphical pointer of claim 1, wherein control of the first indicator is mapped to a touch of a first user finger on a touch sensitive input device comprising a trackpad or a touchpad, control of the second indicator is mapped to a touch of a different second user finger on the touch sensitive input device, wherein the second user finger that is adjacent to the first user finger, and control of the third indicator is mapped to a touch of a different third user finger on the touch sensitive input device, wherein the third user finger that is adjacent to the second user finger.

6. The graphical pointer of claim 5, wherein the touch of the first user finger is a touch of the user index finger, the touch of the second user finger is a touch of the user middle finger, and the touch of the third user finger is a touch of the user ring finger.

7. The graphical pointer of claim 1, wherein the second indicator, in response to the second input, performs a secondary action associated with the first UI element instead of performing any of the selection or invocation of the second UI element when the first indicator selects and holds the first UI element for a specified duration in response to the first input.

8. The graphical pointer of claim 1, wherein a size of the graphical pointer is adjustable in response to fifth input, and wherein the fifth input simultaneously increases a size of each of the first, second, and third indicators.

9. The graphical pointer of claim 1, wherein the graphical pointer maintains a single x-axis coordinate and single y-axis coordinate and a position of each of the first, second, and third indicators is determined based on a different offset from the graphical pointer x-axis and y-axis coordinates.

10. The graphical pointer of claim 9, wherein collectively moving the graphical pointer comprises adjusting the pointer x-axis and y-axis coordinates without adjusting the first, second, and third indicator offsets.

11. A method for accessing multiple user interface (UI) elements of a graphical user interface (GUI) from a single on-screen position, the method comprising:

displaying a graphical pointer onscreen with at least first, second, and third indicators;

moving the graphical pointer within the GUI in response to user directional input;

determining the graphical pointer y-axis coordinate position in said GUI after said moving;

obtaining x-axis and y-axis coordinate positions of a first UI element, a second UI element, and a third UI element displayed in the GUI about the graphical pointer y-axis coordinate position, wherein the first UI element has the smallest x-axis coordinate position of the first, second, and third UI elements, and the third UI element has the largest x-axis coordinate position of the first, second, and third UI elements;

repositioning the graphical pointer first indicator to the x-axis and y-axis coordinate positions of the first UI element, the graphical pointer second indicator to the x-axis and y-axis coordinate positions of the second UI element, and the graphical pointer third indicator to the x-axis and y-axis coordinate positions of the third UI element without further user directional input; and

performing at least one of a selection or invocation of the first UI element in response to activation of the first indicator, selection or invocation of the second UI element in response to activation of the second indicator, and selection or invocation of the third UI element in response to activation of the third indicator.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising repositioning the graphical pointer to a second y-axis coordinate position in response to additional user directional input.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising obtaining x-axis and y-axis coordinate positions of a fourth UI element and a fifth UI element displayed in the GUI about the second y-axis coordinate position of the graphical pointer.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising repositioning the first indicator to the x-axis and y-axis coordinate positions of the fourth UI element and the second indicator to the x-axis and y-axis coordinate positions of the fifth UI element without further user directional input.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein activation of the first indicator comprises detecting at least a press of a first keyboard key, activation of the second indicator comprises detecting at least a press of a different second keyboard key, and activation of the third indicator comprises detecting at least a press of a different third keyboard key.

16. A precision pointer for magnifying presentation of underlying graphical user interface (GUI) content, the precision pointer comprising:

a transparent bounded region moving across the GUI in response to a first input tied to moving the precision pointer, wherein the transparent bounded region presents a portion of the GUI falling within the transparent bounded region with a user configurable amount of magnification, wherein the user configurable amount of magnification within the transparent bounded region increases in response to a second input and decreases in response to a third input; and

an indicator appearing within the transparent bounded region in response to a GUI element entering a sub-region within the transparent bounded region in which the GUI element is selectable or invocable, and disappearing in response to the GUI element exiting said sub-region, the indicator identifying the GUI element that is currently selectable or invocable by the precision pointer.

17. The precision pointer of claim 16, wherein the second input comprises an expansion gesture and the third input comprises a contraction gesture.

18. The precision pointer of claim 17, wherein the expansion gesture comprises user input in which a distance separating two user touches increases, and wherein the contraction gesture comprises user input in which a distance separating two user touches decreases.

19. The precision pointer of claim 16, wherein the transparent bounded region comprises a region in which underlying content of the GUI is magnified relative to content of the GUI that is outside said region.

20. The precision pointer of claim 16, wherein the indicator has a first appearance when a GUI element is selectable by the precision pointer and a second appearance when no GUI element is selectable by the precision pointer.