TOUCH SCREEN DEVICE, METHOD, AND GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE FOR MOVING ON-SCREEN OBJECTS WITHOUT USING A CURSOR

• US 20170262149A1
• Filed: 03/27/2017
• Published: 09/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: BERNSTEIN, Jeffrey Traer
• Granted Patent: US 10,209,877 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

In some embodiments, an electronic device with a touch screen display: detects a single finger contact on the touch screen display; creates a touch area that corresponds to the single finger contact; determines a representative point within the touch area; determines if the touch area overlaps an object displayed on the touch screen display, which includes determining if one or more portions of the touch area other than the representative point overlap the object; connects the object with the touch area if the touch area overlaps the object, where connecting maintains the overlap of the object and the touch area; after connecting the object with the touch area, detects movement of the single finger contact; determines movement of the touch area that corresponds to movement of the single finger contact; and moves the object connected with the touch area in accordance with the determined movement of the touch area.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

at a computing device with a touch screen display;

displaying a plurality of objects on the touch screen display;

detecting a single finger contact on the touch screen display;

creating a touch area that corresponds to the single finger contact on the touch screen display;

determining a representative point within the touch area;

for an object in the plurality of objects displayed on the touch screen display;

determining if the representative point of the touch area overlaps the object; and

in accordance with a determination that the representative point of the touch area overlaps the object;

connecting the object with the touch area;

after connecting the object with the touch area, detecting movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display; and

determining movement of the touch area that corresponds to movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein connecting the object with the touch area maintains the overlap of the object and the representative point.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

moving the object connected with the touch area in accordance with the determined movement of the touch area.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein moving the object includes updating display of the object to a location on the touch screen display that corresponds with the movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein moving the object includes moving the object independent of a cursor.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

subsequent to determining movement of the touch area that corresponds to movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display, ceasing to detect the single finger contact on the touch screen display; and

in response to ceasing to detect the single finger contact on the touch screen display, disconnecting the touch area from the object.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the touch area includes modeling the detected single finger contact as a geometric object.

8. A computing device, comprising:

a touch screen display;

one or more processors; and

memory storing one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for;

displaying a plurality of objects on the touch screen display;

detecting a single finger contact on the touch screen display;

creating a touch area that corresponds to the single finger contact on the touch screen display;

determining a representative point within the touch area;

for an object in the plurality of objects displayed on the touch screen display;

determining if the representative point of the touch area overlaps the object; and

in accordance with a determination that the representative point of the touch area overlaps the object;

connecting the object with the touch area;

after connecting the object with the touch area, detecting movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display; and

determining movement of the touch area that corresponds to movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein connecting the object with the touch area maintains the overlap of the object and the representative point.

10. The device of claim 8, the one or more programs further including instruction for:

moving the object connected with the touch area in accordance with the determined movement of the touch area.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein moving the object includes updating display of the object to a location on the touch screen display that corresponds with the movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein moving the object includes moving the object independent of a cursor.

13. The device of claim 8, the one or more programs further including instruction for:

subsequent to determining movement of the touch area that corresponds to movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display, ceasing to detect the single finger contact on the touch screen display; and

in response to ceasing to detect the single finger contact on the touch screen display, disconnecting the touch area from the object.

14. The device of claim 8, wherein creating the touch area includes modeling the detected single finger contact as a geometric object.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by a computing device with a touch screen display, the one or more programs including instructions for:

displaying a plurality of objects on the touch screen display;

detecting a single finger contact on the touch screen display;

creating a touch area that corresponds to the single finger contact on the touch screen display;

determining a representative point within the touch area;

for an object in the plurality of objects displayed on the touch screen display;

determining if the representative point of the touch area overlaps the object; and

in accordance with a determination that the representative point of the touch area overlaps the object;

connecting the object with the touch area;

after connecting the object with the touch area, detecting movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display; and

determining movement of the touch area that corresponds to movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein connecting the object with the touch area maintains the overlap of the object and the representative point.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

moving the object connected with the touch area in accordance with the determined movement of the touch area.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 17, wherein moving the object includes updating display of the object to a location on the touch screen display that corresponds with the movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 17, wherein moving the object includes moving the object independent of a cursor.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 15, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

subsequent to determining movement of the touch area that corresponds to movement of the single finger contact on the touch screen display, ceasing to detect the single finger contact on the touch screen display; and

in response to ceasing to detect the single finger contact on the touch screen display, disconnecting the touch area from the object.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable storage of claim 15, wherein creating the touch area includes modeling the detected single finger contact as a geometric object.