Multitouch gestures for a measurement system

• US 9,965,174 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2013
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Herbordt, Wlfgang, Reich, Friedrich, Rowland, Barry, Muessig, Rene
• Primary Examiner(s): Abdin, Shaheda
• Application Number:
  US14/783,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20160070461A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,856 Days
• 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 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 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A Method for a measurement system, wherein the measurement system includes a touch-screen, a control-unit for the touch-screen, a measurement hardware, a measurement application and a gesture detection unit, wherein the measurement application interacts with the measurement hardware. In a first step the control-unit detects a position and/or a movement of one or more physical objects on and/or near the touch-screen. In a second step the gesture detection unit assigns the position and/or the movement of one or more physical objects to one gesture within a set of gestures. In a third step the gesture detection unit communicated the detected gesture to the measurement application. Furthermore, the measurement application performs a different function for the same detected gesture depending on a user interface of the measurement application which is displayed on the touch-screen when the gesture is detected.

Claims

1. A method for a measurement system, wherein the measurement system comprises a touch-screen, a control-unit for the touch-screen, a measurement hardware, a measurement application and a gesture detection unit, wherein the measurement application interacts with the measurement hardware, the method comprising steps of:

detecting a position of one or more physical objects on and/or near the touch-screen by the control-unit, and/or detecting a movement of one or more physical objects on and/or near the touch-screen by the control-unit;

assigning the position and/or the movement of one or more physical objects to one gesture within a set of gestures by a gesture detection unit;

communicating the detected gesture to the measurement application;

detecting a parallel drag-left or parallel drag-right gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by;

detecting the gesture on a fifth user interface in a first step and toggling between single acquisitions of the history of recorded acquisitions in temporal backward or forward direction in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on a sixth user interface in a first step and toggling between the search results of the recorded acquisitions in temporal backward or forward direction in a second step,

wherein the measurement application performs a different function for the same detected gesture depending on a user interface of the measurement application which is displayed on the touch-screen when the gesture is detected, and

a first user interface displays a history of recorded acquisitions, and/or

a second user interface displays search results of recorded acquisitions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

a third user interface displays at least one measured signal in the time domain, and/or

a fourth user interface displays at least one measured signal in the frequency domain, and/or

the fifth user interface displays the measured signal which is displayed in the third, and/or fourth user interface with an adjusted zoom, and/or

the sixth interface displays a hardware block diagram describing the configuration of the measurement hardware.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a horizontally spread gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and increasing the horizontal scale of the time axis in the third user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the third user interface, wherein the left or right fingertip is kept fixed and only the right or left fingertip moves apart in a first step and fixing the position in the time axis at the left fingertip or the right fingertip and increasing the horizontal scale of the time axis from this position in the time axis in one direction in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the third user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the horizontal position of the time axis which is fixed in a first step and increasing the horizontal scale of the time axis from this position in the time axis in both directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and increasing a resolution of the frequency axis in the fourth user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface, wherein the left or right fingertip is kept fixed and only the right or left fingertip moves apart in a first step and fixing the position in the frequency axis at the left fingertip or the right fingertip and increasing the resolution of the frequency axis from this position in the frequency axis in one direction in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the horizontal position of the frequency axis which is fixed in a first step and increasing the resolution of the frequency axis from this position in the frequency axis in both directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface in a first step, and increasing the horizontal zoom factor for the displayed measured signal in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface, wherein the left or right fingertip is kept fixed and only the right or left fingertip moves apart in a first step and fixing the position in the time or frequency axis at the left fingertip or the right fingertip and increasing the zoom factor of the time or frequency axis from this position in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the horizontal position of the time or frequency axis which is fixed and marked as the center for the zoom in a first step and increasing the zoom from the center in both horizontal directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the sixth user interface in a first step and increasing the level of detail of the respective hardware blocks in the hardware block diagram in a second step.

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

decreasing the moving speed when moving through a single acquisition which is separated from the beginning or the end of the history of recorded acquisitions by a predetermined number of acquisitions, and/or

stopping the movement if a tap on the touch-screen is detected by the gesture detection unit.

5. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a vertically spread gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and increasing the vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in the third user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the third user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the vertical position of the displayed measured signal which is fixed in a first step and increasing the vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and increasing the vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in the fourth user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the vertical position of the displayed measured signal which is fixed in a first step and increasing the vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface in a first step and increasing the vertical zoom factor for the displayed measured signal in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the vertical position of the time or frequency axis which is fixed and marked as the center for the zoom in a first step and increasing the zoom from the center in both vertical directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the sixth user interface in a first step and increasing the level of detail of the respective hardware blocks in the hardware block diagram in a second step.

6. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a diagonally spread gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and increasing the vertical and horizontal scale of the displayed measured signal in the third user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the third user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the position of the displayed measured signal which is fixed in a first step and increasing the vertical and horizontal scale of the displayed measured signal in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and increasing the horizontal and vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in the fourth user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the position of the displayed measured signal which is fixed in a first step and increasing the horizontal and vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface in a first step and increasing the horizontal and vertical zoom factor for the displayed measured signal in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the position of the time or frequency axis which is fixed and marked as the center for the zoom in a first step and increasing the zoom from the center in both horizontal and vertical directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the sixth user interface in a first step and increasing the level of detail of the respective hardware blocks in the hardware block diagram in a second step.

7. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a horizontally pinch gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and decreasing the horizontal scale of the time axis in the third user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the third user interface, wherein the left or right fingertip is kept fixed and only the right or left fingertip moves together in a first step and fixing the position in the time axis at the left fingertip or the right fingertip and decreasing the horizontal scale of the time axis from this position in the time axis in one direction in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the third user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the horizontal position of the time axis which is fixed in a first step and decreasing the horizontal scale of the time axis from this position in the time axis in both directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and decreasing a resolution of the frequency axis in the fourth user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface, wherein the left or right fingertip is kept fixed and only the right or left fingertip moves together in a first step and fixing the position in the frequency axis at the left fingertip or the right fingertip and decreasing the resolution of the frequency axis from this position in the frequency axis in one direction in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the horizontal position of the frequency axis which is fixed in a first step and decreasing the resolution of the frequency axis from this position in the frequency axis in both directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface in a first step and decreasing the horizontal zoom factor for the displayed measured signal in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface, wherein the left or right fingertip is kept fixed and only the right or left fingertip moves together in a first step and fixing the position in the time or frequency axis at the left fingertip or the right fingertip and decreasing the zoom factor of the time or frequency axis from this position in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the horizontal position of the time or frequency axis which is fixed and marked as the center for the zoom in a first step and decreasing the zoom from the center in both horizontal directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the sixth user interface in a first step and decreasing the level of detail of the respective hardware blocks in the hardware block diagram in a second step.

8. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a vertically pinch gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and decreasing the vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in the third user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the third user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the vertical position of the displayed measured signal which is fixed in a first step and decreasing the vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and decreasing the vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in the fourth user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the vertical position of the displayed measured signal which is fixed in a first step and decreasing the vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface in a first step and decreasing the vertical zoom factor for the displayed measured signal in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the vertical position of the time or frequency axis which is fixed and marked as the center for the zoom in a first step and decreasing the zoom from the center in both vertical directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the sixth user interface in a first step and decreasing the level of detail of the respective hardware blocks in the hardware block diagram in a second step.

9. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a diagonally pinch gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and decreasing the vertical and horizontal scale of the displayed measured signal in the third user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the third user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the position of the displayed measured signal which is fixed in a first step and decreasing the vertical and horizontal scale of the displayed measured signal in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and decreasing the horizontal and vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in the fourth user interface in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the position of the displayed measured signal which is fixed in a first step and decreasing the horizontal and vertical scale of the displayed measured signal in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface in a first step and decreasing the horizontal and vertical zoom factor for the displayed measured signal in a second step, or detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface, wherein a balance point of the left and the right fingertip corresponds to the position of the time or frequency axis which is fixed and marked as the center for the zoom in a first step and decreasing the zoom from the center in both horizontal and vertical directions in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the sixth user interface in a first step and decreasing the level of detail of the respective hardware blocks in the hardware block diagram in a second step.

10. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a drag-left or drag-right gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and moving the horizontal position of the displayed measured signal or of a reference point to the left or to the right in a second step, wherein depending upon a former detection of a horizontal two-finger tap gesture the horizontal position of the displayed measured signal or of the reference point is moved, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and moving the center frequency to the left or to the right in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface in a first step and moving the horizontal position of the displayed measured signal to the left or to the right in a second step.

11. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a drag-up or drag-down gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and moving the vertical position of the displayed measured signal or of an offset up or down in a second step, wherein depending upon a former detection of a vertical two-finger tap gesture the vertical position of the displayed measured signal or of the offset is moved, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and moving the displayed measured signal up or down in a second step, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fifth user interface in a first step and moving the vertical position of the displayed measured signal or of an offset up or down in a second step, wherein depending upon a former detection of a vertical two-finger tap gesture the vertical position of the displayed measured signal or of the offset is moved.

12. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a rotate-left or rotate-right gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the third user interface in a first step and increasing or decreasing a record length or a horizontal resolution in a second step depending on whether the record length or the horizontal resolution is selected before, and/or

detecting the gesture on the fourth user interface in a first step and increasing or decreasing a resolution bandwidth in a second step.

13. The method according to claim 2, further comprising detecting a flick-left or flick-right gesture on the touch-screen by the gesture detection unit by:

detecting the gesture on the first user interface in a first step and moving through single acquisitions of the history of recorded acquisitions in temporal fast backward or fast forward direction in a second step, wherein the moving speed increases with the detected speed of the flick-left or flick-right gesture, and/or

detecting the gesture on the second user interface in a first step and moving through the search results of recorded acquisitions in temporal fast backward or fast forward direction in a second step, wherein the moving speed increases with the detected speed of the flick-left or flick-right gesture.

14. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium containing program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of claim 1.