DYNAMICALLY MAGNIFYING LOGICAL SEGMENTS OF A VIEW

• US 20120174029A1
• Filed: 12/30/2010
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bastide, Paul R., Broomhall, Matthew E., Loredo, Robert E., Schirmer, Andrew L., Lopez, Jose L.
• Application Number:
  US12/982,418
• Publication Number:
  US 20120174029A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/800
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments disclose a method and system for dynamically magnifying logical segments of a view. The method and system include (a) in response detection of a first user gesture in a first location on a display screen, determining if the first user gesture represents a magnification event; (b) in response to detection of the magnification event, determining a shape of a first object displayed on the display screen within proximity of the first user gesture; (c) magnifying the shape of the first object to provide a magnified first object; (d) displaying the magnified first object in a first window over the first object; and (e) in response to detection of a second user gesture in a different location of the display screen, repeating steps (a) through (d) to magnify a second object and display the second object in a second window simultaneously with the first window. A further embodiment may include dynamically magnifying the magnified first object to various magnification levels.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for dynamically magnifying logical segments of a view, comprising:

(a) in response detection of a first user gesture in a first location on a display screen, determining if the first user gesture represents a magnification event;

(b) in response to detection of the magnification event, determining a shape of a first object displayed on the display screen within proximity of the first user gesture;

(c) magnifying the shape of the first object to provide a magnified first object;

(d) displaying the magnified first object in a first window over the first object; and

(e) in response to detection of a second user gesture in a different location of the display screen, repeating steps (a) through (d) to magnify a second object and display the second object in a second window simultaneously with the first window.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

dynamically magnifying the magnified first object to various magnification levels.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein determining if the first user gesture represents a magnification event further comprises detecting at least one of a finger press and hold and a mouse click on the display screen.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in response to determining that the first user gesture represents a magnification event, determining a location of the user gesture on the display screen.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the shape of an object displayed on the display screen within proximity of the first user gesture further comprises determining the shape of an object displayed on the display screen underneath the first user gesture.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the shape of an object displayed on the display screen further comprises:

determining if the object is text or image data; and

defining a border around the text having edge boundaries of a predefined size and shape.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein dynamically magnifying the magnified first object further includes configurable thresholds for controlling magnification factors and times that magnification levels are displayed.

8. An executable software product stored on a computer-readable medium containing program instructions for dynamically magnifying logical segments of a view, the program instructions for:

(a) in response detection of a first user gesture in a first location on a display screen, determining if the first user gesture represents a magnification event;

(b) in response to detection of the magnification event, determining a shape of a first object displayed on the display screen within proximity of the first user gesture;

(c) magnifying the shape of the first object to provide a magnified first object;

(d) displaying the magnified first object in a first window over the first object; and

(e) in response to detection of a second user gesture in a different location of the display screen, repeating steps (a) through (d) to magnify a second object and display the second object in a second window simultaneously with the first window.

9. The executable software product of claim 8 further comprising program instructions for:

dynamically magnifying the magnified first object to various magnification levels.

10. The executable software product of claim 8 wherein determining if the first user gesture represents a magnification event further comprises detecting at least one of a finger press and hold and a mouse click on the display screen.

11. The executable software product of claim 8 further comprising program instructions for, in response to determining that the first user gesture represents a magnification event, determining a location of the first user gesture on the display screen.

12. The executable software product of claim 8 wherein determining the shape of an object displayed on the display screen within proximity of the first user gesture further comprises determining the shape of an object displayed on the display screen underneath the first user gesture.

13. The executable software product of claim 8 wherein determining the shape of an object displayed on the display screen further comprises:

determining if the object is text or image data; and

defining a border around the text having edge boundaries of a predefined size and shape.

14. The executable software product of claim 8 wherein dynamically magnifying the magnified first object further includes configurable thresholds for controlling magnification factors and times that magnification levels are displayed.

15. A system comprising:

a computer comprising a memory, processor and a display screen;

a gesture recognizer module executing on the computer, the gesture recognizer module configured to receive a user gesture and determine a gesture location and gesture type;

a shape identifier module executing on the computer, the shape identifier module configured to;

receive the gesture location and gesture type from the gesture recognizer module;

determine if the gesture type represents a magnification event; and

in response to detection of the magnification event, determine an edge boundary of an object displayed on the display screen beneath the gesture location to determine the shape of the object; and

a magnifier module executing on the computer, the magnifier module configured to;

receive border coordinates of the object from the shape identifier module and magnify logical segments within the border coordinates of the object to produce a magnified object; and

display the magnified object in a separate window on the display screen over the original object; and

wherein the shape identifier module and the magnifier module are further configured to;

detect multiple magnification events performed on multiple objects displayed on the display screen, and in response, produce corresponding multiple magnified objects that are displayed in multiple windows on the display screen at the same time.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the shape identifier module and the magnifier module are further configured to:

dynamically magnify and display the magnified object in the window with various magnification levels.