Gesture based device activation

• US 20070236468A1
• Filed: 03/30/2006
• Published: 10/11/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Tuli, Apaar
• Application Number:
  US11/394,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20070236468A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A method of device feature activation is provided. The method includes detecting a mark made by an input device on a touch enabled screen of the device, displaying at least one command to at least one feature available to be selected on the screen in response to a detection of the mark and activating the at least one feature upon detecting that the mark has been extended into a region of the screen where the at least one command is displayed.

Claims

1. A method to activate features of a device:

comprising;

detecting a mark made by an input device on a touch enabled screen of the device;

displaying at least one command to at least one selectable feature in at least one region of the screen in response to the detection of the mark; and

activating the at least one feature upon detecting that the mark has been extended into the region of the screen where the at least one command is displayed.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting that the mark originates in a corner region of the screen and extends into a center region of the screen before displaying the at least one command.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the at least one command in a corner region of the screen.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the at least one command along at least one edge of the screen.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting that the mark is continuous from its origin to the region of the screen where the at least one command is displayed prior to activating the at least one feature.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising reverting to a prior configuration of a display on the screen if it is detected that the mark is discontinuous prior to detecting that the mark is extended into the region of the screen where the command is displayed.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one command displayed on the screen is associated with an origin of the mark.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one command includes a command for locking the touch screen device, powering off the touch screen device, creating an e-mail, creating an SMS and/or creating an MMS.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a different one of the at least one command is displayed in each of the at least one region of the screen.

10. A method for activating functions with a pointing device on a device having a touch screen comprising:

placing the pointing device substantially in contact with a touch screen at a first region of the touch screen;

forming a first mark on the touch screen with the pointing device;

automatically displaying at least one feature command of the device upon detection of the first mark;

forming a second mark on the touch screen wherein an end point of the second mark is substantially in a second region of the touch screen; and

automatically activating a selected function upon detection of the end point of the second mark.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second mark is continuous with the first mark.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying the at least one feature command in a corner region of the touch screen.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising displaying the at least one feature command along at least one edge of the touch screen.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first mark is a line extending from a corner region of the touch screen towards a center region of the touch screen.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one feature command displayed on the touch screen is associated with a respective start point of the first mark.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the first and second regions correspond to different corner regions of the touch screen.

17. A device comprising:

a display processor;

a touch enabled screen coupled to the display processor;

an input detection unit coupled to the display processor that is configured to receive an input in the form of a mark made by an input device on the touch enabled screen;

an input recognition unit coupled to the display processor that is configured to detect an origin of the mark and an end of the mark; and

a feature engagement unit coupled to the display processor configured to present at least one command to at least one feature on the screen and activate a selected one of the at least one feature.

18. The touch screen device of claim 17, wherein the at least one command is located along at least one edge of the screen.

19. The touch screen device of claim 17, wherein the at least one command is located in a corner region of the screen.

20. The touch screen device of claim 17, wherein the feature engagement unit is configured to display the at least one command on the screen after the mark is extended into a center region of the screen.

21. The touch screen device of claim 17, wherein the at least one command displayed on the screen depends on the origin of the mark.

22. The touch screen device of claim 17, wherein the feature engagement unit is configured to activate the at least one feature when the mark is extended into a region of the screen where the at least one feature is displayed.

23. The touch screen device of claim 22, where the feature engagement unit is configured to not activate the at least one feature if the mark is discontinuous.

24. The touch screen device of claim 22, wherein the device is able to revert to a prior configuration of the screen if the mark is discontinuous.

25. A computer program product comprising:

a computer useable medium having a computer readable code means embodied therein for causing a computer activate a feature of a touch screen device, the computer readable program code means in the computer program product comprising;

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to form a mark as defined with a pointing device on a touch screen, the mark originating in a corner region of the touch screen and passing through a center region of the touch screen;

computer readable program code means for causing the computer to automatically display a at least one command to at least one feature of the device; and

computer readable program code means for causing a computer to activate at least one feature of the device corresponding to a selected one of the at least one command, wherein the selected one of the at least one command is selected by extending the mark into a region of the screen where the at least one command is displayed.

26. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the at least one command is displayed upon the mark passing through the center region of the screen.

27. The computer program product of claim 25, wherein the at least one command displayed on the screen depends on the origin of the mark.