Layout for a touch input surface

• US 10,761,569 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2018
• Issued: 09/01/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Klein, Christian, Berger, Jr., Roy Henry
• Primary Examiner(s): Polo, Gustavo
• Application Number:
  US15/897,113
• Publication Number:
  US 20190250666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• 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

Techniques for layout for a touch input surface are described. Generally, the described techniques enable a touch input surface and/or combination of touch input surfaces to be characterized as a single logical input surface. Based on different contextual factors, the single logical input surface can be divided into different touch input zones that can each receive touch input to invoke a different respective functionality. In at least some implementations, different haptic effects can be output to correspond to different touch input zones.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

one or more computer-readable storage media including instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the at least one processor, cause the system perform operations including;

identifying one or more touch input surfaces that are available for receiving touch input;

determining, based on an evaluation of context data that comprises display position information of one or more displays associated with the system and application state information for one or more applications executing on the system, a layout to be applied to the one or more touch input surfaces; and

dividing, based on the layout determined from the evaluation of the context data, the one or more touch input surfaces into multiple touch input zones, the multiple touch input zones including a first input zone and a second input zone and the first input zone being selectable to invoke a first functionality and the second input zone being selectable to invoke a second functionality that is different than the first functionality.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a single touchpad surface, and wherein said dividing comprises dividing the single touchpad surface into the multiple touch input zones.

3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a sub-region of a display device, and wherein said dividing comprises dividing the sub-region of the display device into the multiple touch input zones.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a first touch input surface on a display associated with a first device and a second touch input surface on a display associated with a second device that is external to the first device.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a first touch input surface on a display associated with a first device and a second touch input surface on a display associated with a second device that is external to the first device, and wherein the first input zone is positioned on the first touch input surface, and the second input zone is positioned on the second input surface.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a first touch input surface on a display associated with a first device and a second touch input surface on a display associated with a second device that is connected to the first device via a wireless connection.

7. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a first display device and a second display device connected to the first display device via a hinge.

8. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a first display device and a second display device connected to the first display device via a hinge, and wherein the context data comprises an indication of a posture of the first display device relative to the second display device.

9. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the operations further include:

receiving an indication of a modification gesture applied to the first input zone; and

modifying, based on the modification gesture, the second functionality to specify a modified version of the second functionality that is invocable via input to the second input zone.

10. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the operations further include specifying a first haptic effect for the first input zone and a second, different haptic effect for the second input zone.

11. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the operations further include:

receiving an indication of a gesture applied to the first input zone, the gesture being associated with simulating a physical input object; and

invoking an object functionality that is associated with the physical input object.

12. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first input zone and the second input zone are adjacent one another, and wherein the operations further include:

receiving an indication of input to the first input zone to invoke the first functionality;

determining that the input proceeds from the first input zone to impinge on the second input zone; and

causing the input to invoke the first functionality and not the second functionality while the input impinges on the second input zone.

13. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the operations further include:

determining, based on the change in the context data, a different layout to be applied to the one or more touch input surfaces; and

applying the different layout to divide the one or more touch input surfaces into multiple different touch input zones.

14. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

defining one or more touch input surfaces as a logical input surface;

determining, based on an evaluation of context data that comprises display position information of one or more displays associated with a computing device and application state information for one or more applications executing on the computing device, a layout to be applied to the logical input surface; and

dividing, based on the layout determined from the evaluation of the context data, the logical input surface into multiple logical touch input zones.

15. A method as described in claim 14, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a touchpad surface, and wherein said dividing comprises dividing the touchpad surface into the multiple logical touch input zones, the multiple logical touch input zones including a first input zone that is selectable to invoke a first functionality, and a second input zone that is selectable to invoke a second functionality that is different than the first functionality.

16. A method as described in claim 14, wherein the one or more touch input surfaces comprise a first touch input surface on a first display device associated with the computing device and a second touch input surface on a second display device that is external to the first display device.

17. A method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:

determining, based on the change in the context data, a different layout to be applied to the logical input surface; and

applying the different layout to divide the logical input surface into multiple different touch input zones.

18. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein the logical touch input zones include a first input zone and a second input zone, and wherein the method further comprises specifying a first haptic effect for the first input zone and a second, different haptic effect for the second input zone.

19. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

defining one or more touch input surfaces as a single logical input surface;

determining, based on a context data that comprises display position information of one or more displays associated with a computing device and application state information for one or more applications executing on the computing device, a layout to be applied to the single logical input surface;

dividing, based on the layout determined from the evaluation of the context data, the single logical input surface into multiple touch input zones;

determining, based on a change in the context data, a different layout to be applied to the single logical input surface; and

applying the different layout to divide the single logical input surface into multiple different touch input zones.

20. A system as recited in claim 19, wherein the one or more input surfaces comprise a first touch input surface on a first display device and a second touch input surface on a second display device that is external to the first display device.