Pen-based interface for a notepad computer

• US 7,703,047 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2005
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Keely, Leroy Bertrand Jr., Young, Douglas Alan, Palay, Andrew James
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh; Ba
• Assistant Examiner(s): Augustine; Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US11/121,977
• Publication Number:
  US 20050204305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,811 Days
• Field of Search: 715/711, 715/731, 715/858, 715/773, 715/794, 715/831, 715863-864, 715/857, 715/769, 382/175, 382/177, 382/179, 382188-189, 382/314, 708/141, 708/146, 345649-659
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04807 Pen manipulated menu
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A notepad computer with a page display region displaying a page of a document on which a user can write using a pen or stylus type writing tool is provided. Associated with the page is an interface that can be used with the pen. The interface includes a core task tool region adjacent to the page where tool icons are partially visible until the pen is brought near one of the icons. The tool icon becomes fully visible when the pen is within the region of the icon. The tool when activated can pop-up a radial pop-up menu located at an edge of the document where all the menu choices are located in a semi-circle away from the edge so that the users hand while holding the pen and making a selection does not block the choices. A page flipping tool is located in a corner of the page and is an explicit two-stroke menu allowing selection of a next or previous page. A page scrolling tool is located along an edge of the page, the scrolling tool when activated is an implicit button allowing scrolling in one implied direction. The interface also includes a stack region adjacent to said page display region having one or more stack icons each representing a stack of documents. The icon is also an explicit two-stroke radial pop-up menu having forward and backward choices for selecting documents in the stack and a stack document list display displaying a list of documents in the stack when the stack icon is touched by an input pen. The interface also includes a typing tool overlaying a portion of the page and including a writing zone where a user handwrites strokes and, a page zone comprising part of the page where typed text corresponding to the handwritten strokes is displayed as the handwriting occurs.

Claims

1. A display comprising:

an information display region; and

a typing tool approximately the width of the information display region overlaying a portion of the information display region, wherein the entire typing tool is placed at a diagonal orientation relative to the information display region in response to dragging and rotating the typing tool by simultaneously dragging and rotating a stylus by a user, the typing tool comprising a writing zone where the user hand writes strokes, a special character zone where the user selects special characters, and an immediately adjacent typing zone of the region where typed text corresponding to handwritten text of the strokes is simultaneously displayed as the strokes occur.

2. The display as recited in claim 1 further comprising a movable typed text cursor indicating where the next handwritten text will be added.

3. In a computer system including a display and an information display region, a computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

providing a movable typing tool approximately the width of the information display region and overlaying a portion of the information display region by aligning the typing tool under a first diagional line of typed text in the information display region by dragging and rotating the typing tool to a diagional orientation, by simultaneously dragging and rotating a stylus, wherein the movable typing tool comprises a writing zone; and

responsive to a user inputting handwriting strokes in the writing zone, displaying the handwriting strokes in the writing zone and concurrently displaying text corresponding to the handwriting strokes in the first line of typed text.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising providing a movable cursor indicating where a next character corresponding to one or more handwriting strokes will be displayed.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the typing tool includes a special character zone proximate to the writing zone, the special character zone including one or more special characters for entry into the first line of typed text when selected by the user.

6. The method of claim 3 further comprising dragging the typing tool to be aligned under a second line of typed text in the information display region.