Touch Input Data Handling

• US 20110157062A1
• Filed: 03/07/2011
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Dodge, Steven P., Townsend, Reed L., Scott, Bryan D., Kolmykov-Zotov, Alexander J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,816,971 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers

Abstract

A system for enabling a tablet input object is described. A tablet input object can take various inputs from touch, a mouse, and a pen and sends their information to an application or operating system. Also, a pen message pathway may also be used to handle touch messages, thereby reusing an existing pen message pathway for messages created by something other than a pen.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a client side object receiving input information from a server side object;

the client side object exchanging the input information with a client side application;

determining an input type using one or more signatures of input messages; and

distinguishing between a first contact area that is sufficiently small to indicate intentional contact by a finger and a second contact area that is not sufficiently small to indicate intentional contact by the finger, the second contact area indicating accidental contact by a palm, wherein the accidental contact is ignored.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the input information based upon a determined input type.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising providing one or more options of a set of options corresponding to the determined input type.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the server side object receives input information from a digitizer, the digitizer responsive to touch input.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

defining a plurality of different input types including touch input, made via the finger, and pen input; and

providing a corresponding set of options for each of the plurality of different input types.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the client side object exchanges the input information with the client side application using out of process remote procedure calls.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

defining a plurality of different input types including touch input, made via the finger, and mouse events; and

providing a corresponding set of options for each of the plurality of different input types.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating mouse events based on information from a digitizer, the mouse events based on touch input, made via the finger, wherein the mouse events are passed to the client side application, the client side application using the mouse events to make touch-specific modifications to the client side application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the client side object determines accidental touch input or intentional touch input using a contact pressure.

10. A computer readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

receiving input information from a server side object;

exchanging the input information with a client side application;

determining an input type using one or more signatures of input messages; and

distinguishing between a first contact area that is sufficiently small to indicate intentional contact by a finger and a second contact area that is not sufficiently small to indicate intentional contact by the finger, the second contact area indicating accidental contact by a palm, wherein the accidental contact is ignored.

11. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising instructions for processing the input information based upon a determined input type.

12. The computer readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising instructions for providing one or more options of a set of options corresponding to the determined input type.

13. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising:

instructions for defining a plurality of different input types including touch input, made via the finger, and pen input; and

instructions for providing a corresponding set of options for each of the plurality of different input types.

14. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising:

instructions for defining a plurality of different input types including touch input, made via the finger, and mouse events; and

instructions for providing a corresponding set of options for each of the plurality of different input types.

15. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising:

instructions for generating mouse events based on information from a digitizer, the mouse events based on touch input, made via the finger, wherein the mouse events are passed to the client side application, the client side application using the mouse events to make touch-specific modifications to the client side application.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprising instructions for determining accidental touch input or intentional touch input by analyzing a contact pressure.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, further comprising instructions for modifying an interface when the mouse events are created from touch input to a digitizer.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, further comprising instructions for modifying the interface to prevent touch from controlling at least a part of the interface.