Replacement of physical buttons with virtual controls

• US 10,067,671 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2017
• Issued: 09/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Adderly, Darryl M., Mannan, Rosanna S., Schultz, Kevin L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Simpson, Lixi Chow
• Application Number:
  US15/729,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20180196595A1
• Time in Patent Office: 328 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• 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 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• 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

Abstract

In an approach for controlling a computing device without mechanical buttons the computer detects an interaction with a touch capacitive sensing surface on a computing device. The computer determines that the detected interaction includes at least three interactions including at least two different touch capacitive sensing surfaces. The computer determines a virtual control button to display based on the detected interaction. The computer displays the determined virtual control button to the user. The computer receives an interaction with the displayed virtual control button. The computer implements an action associated with the determined virtual control button based on the received interaction.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a computing device without mechanical buttons the method comprising:

detecting, by one or more computer processors, an interaction with a touch capacitive sensing surface on a computing device, wherein the computing device includes touch capacitive sensing surfaces in place of mechanical buttons;

determining, by one or more computer processors, whether the detected interaction is a first interaction, wherein the first interaction starts a defined sequence of at least three interactions;

responsive to determining the detected interaction is the first interaction, identifying, by one or more computer processors, the first interaction with a first touch capacitive surface of the computing device and coordinates of the first interaction;

detecting, by one or more computer processors, a change in the coordinates of the first interaction;

determining, by one or more computer processors, whether the change in coordinates of the first interaction are within the first touch capacitive sensing surface, wherein the change in the coordinates of the first interaction is based on determining whether the first interaction changes from a first geometric plane to a second geometric plane, wherein the coordinates of the first interaction are associated with a single set of coordinates;

responsive to determining the change in coordinates of the first interaction are not within the first touch capacitive sensing surface, identifying, by one or more computer processors, a second interaction with a second touch capacitive sensing surface of the computing device and coordinates of the second interaction;

detecting, by one or more computer processors, a change in the coordinates of the second interaction;

determining, by one or more computer processors, whether the change in coordinates of the second interaction are within the second touch capacitive sensing surface, wherein the change in the coordinates of the second interaction is based on determining whether the second interaction changes from one of the following;

the second geometric plane to a third geometric plane, and the second geometric plane to the first geometric plane;

responsive to determining the change in coordinates of the second interaction are not within the second touch capacitive sensing surface, identifying, by one or more computer processors, a third interaction with a third capacitive surface of the computing device, and coordinates of the third interaction;

comparing, by one or more computer processors, the first interaction, the second interaction, and the third interaction in order with defined interactions in memory, wherein the first interaction, the second interaction, and the third interaction in order form a single type of defined interaction selected from a group of types of defined interactions stored in memory that include;

a continuous motion that includes at least three touch capacitive sensing surfaces and a sequence of defined interactions that includes a series of separate interactions with at least three touch sensing capacitive surfaces, wherein the series of separate interaction includes one or more of adjacent interactions and non-adjacent interactions, wherein the detected interaction is a defined interaction that is a customized predefined interaction created by a user wherein the defined interaction links to a specific action that identifies a specific virtual control for operating an aspect of the computing device;

identifying, by one or more computer processors, a match between the first interaction, the second interaction, and the third interaction in order and the defined interactions in memory based on the comparison;

determining, by one or more computer processors, a virtual control button based on the identified match;

determining, by one or more computer processors, that a time length of the first interaction, the second interaction, and the third interaction in order at least meets a defined time;

displaying, by one or more computer processors, the determined virtual control button on the computing device in proximity to the third interaction to the user;

receiving, by one or more computer processors, an interaction with the displayed virtual control button; and

implementing, by one or more computer processors, an action associated with the determined virtual control button based on the received interaction.