Gesture inputs for a portable display device

• US 8,169,410 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2005
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Hashimoto, Hideyuki, Kitayama, Shigetoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAM, VIET DAVID
• Application Number:
  US11/253,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20060101354A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,385 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/1.1, 715/747, 715/762, 715/863
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1075 using a touch screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/301 using an additional display connected to the game console, e.g. on the controller
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• 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 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/14 Tree-structured documents parsing G06F40/205; validation G06F40/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]

Abstract

An application such as a web browser running on a portable display device is responsive to gestures to a touch-sensitive surface of the portable display device. The gestures are supplied by touching and then sliding on the touch-sensitive surface. Various operations of the application may be controlled based on the gestures.

Claims

1. A method of controlling displays on first and second display screens of a handheld display device configured for web browsing, the method comprising:

detecting a gesture supplied to a touch-sensitive surface of the handheld display device while first web-based content is displayed on the first display screen and different, second web-based content is displayed on the second display screen, the gesture being formed by touching and then sliding on the touch-sensitive surface; and

interchanging the web-based display contents of the first and second display screens based on the gesture so that the second web-based content is displayed on the first display screen and the first web-based content is displayed on the second screen.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the gesture comprises touching the touch-sensitive surface and then sliding on the touch-sensitive surface in a first direction and then in a second direction.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the touch-sensitive surface is part of one of the first and second display screens.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second display screens are physically different display screens.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first and second display screens are different portions of the same physical display screen.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions executable by a processor of a handheld display device configured for web browsing to control web-based displays on first and second display screens of the handheld display device by:

detecting a gesture supplied to a touch-sensitive surface of the handheld display device while first web-based content is displayed on the first display screen and different, second web-based content is displayed on the second display screen, the gesture being formed by touching and then sliding on the touch-sensitive surface; and

interchanging the web-based display contents of the first and second display screens based on the gesture so that the second web-based content is displayed on the first display screen and the first web-based content is displayed on the second screen.

7. The computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein the gesture comprises touching the touch-sensitive surface and then sliding on the touch-sensitive surface in a first direction and then in a second direction.

8. The computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein the first and second display screens are physically different display screens.

9. The computer-readable medium according to claim 6, wherein the first and second display screens are different portions of the same physical display screen.

10. A handheld image display device, comprising:

a first body which incorporates a touch-sensitive first display screen on a face thereof;

a second body which is movable relative to the first body and incorporates a second display screen on a face thereof;

an image processing system for simultaneously generating image content for display on the first and second display screens;

communication circuitry configured for internet communications;

memory; and

a program, wherein the program is stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the image processing system, the program including instructions for;

detecting a gesture supplied to the touch-sensitive first display screen while first web-based content is displayed on the first display screen and different, second web-based content is displayed on the second display screen, the gesture being formed by touching and then sliding on the first display screen; and

interchanging the web-based contents of the first and second display screens based on the gesture so that the second web-based content is displayed on the first display screen and the first web-based content is displayed on the second screen.