Touch sensitive computing device and method

• US 8,319,736 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2009
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Petschnigg, Georg, Harris, Jonathan Reed, Hinds, Joshua J., Boler, Sabrina
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow, Van
• Application Number:
  US12/356,045
• Publication Number:
  US 20100182246A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,408 Days
• Field of Search: 715/863
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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

Touch sensitive computing systems and methods are provided. The touch sensitive computing device may include a touch sensitive display configured to receive a touch input. A gesture recognition module may be coupled with the touch sensitive display, and may be configured to receive the touch input. The gesture recognition module may also be configured to determine, based on the touch input, and by selecting from a plurality of different predefined gestures, a recognized gesture that corresponds to the touch input. The touch sensitive computing device may also include a personal information management (PIM) module including a PIM database. The PIM module may be configured to apply a selected item shown on the touch sensitive display to a selected one of a plurality of different PIM schemas of the PIM database. The selected one of the PIM schemas may be selected based on the recognized gesture.

Claims

1. A touch sensitive computing device, comprising:

a touch sensitive display configured to receive a touch input;

a touch input recognition module configured to receive touch input in the form of a marking so that the marking is displayed via the touch sensitive display;

a gesture recognition module configured to recognize from the touch input a recognized gesture from a plurality of predefined gestures;

a character recognition module configured to recognize alphanumeric characters from the marking upon recognition of the recognized gesture; and

a personal information management (PIM) module including a PIM database, the PIM module configured to apply the marking to a selected one of a plurality of different PIM schemas of the PIM database and to save the alphanumeric characters into the PIM database as a searchable item associated with the selected one of the PIM schemas, the selected one of the PIM schemas being selected based on the recognized gesture.

2. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 1, further comprising a data-holding subsystem operatively coupled with the touch sensitive display and configured to hold a plurality of hierarchically flat sequentially arranged journal pages, where the touch sensitive display is configured to selectively display the journal pages, and where the marking is graphically disposed on one of the plurality of journal pages.

3. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 2, further comprising an aging module operatively coupled with the touch sensitive display and the data-holding subsystem and configured to selectively control display of aging characteristics for the plurality of journal pages.

4. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 3, where the aging characteristics are variably applied to the plurality of journal pages and are selected from the group consisting of yellowing, smudges, crinkles, wrinkles, rips, folds, and soil marks.

5. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 3, where for a given one of the plurality of journal pages, the aging module is configured to control aging characteristics of such journal page based on at least one of an age of such journal page and an amount of usage associated with such journal page.

6. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 1, further comprising an ink rendering module configured to display the marking as part of a selected journal page graphic as a marked-up journal page graphic, and an analog input module configured to cause the marked-up journal page graphic to be saved in a mass storage.

7. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 1, where the gesture recognition module is configured so that upon determination of the recognized gesture, the gesture recognition module causes the touch sensitive display to display verification of the application of the marking to the selected one of the plurality of PIM schemas.

8. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 1, where the plurality of PIM schemas include one or more of a calendar item, a task item, and a contact item.

9. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 1, where the user interface is configured to display verification of the application of the marking to the selected one of the plurality of PIM schemas.

10. A touch sensitive computing device, comprising:

a touch sensitive display configured to selectively display a plurality of hierarchically flat sequentially arranged journal page graphics;

a touch input recognition module configured to receive touch input in the form of a marking so that the marking is graphically disposed on a selected one of the plurality of journal page graphics via the touch sensitive display;

a gesture recognition module configured to recognize from the touch input a recognized gesture from a plurality of predefined gestures;

a user interface configured to apply the marking from the selected one of the plurality of journal page graphics to a selected one of a plurality of PIM schemas in response to recognition of the recognized gesture; and

an aging module configured to control aging appearance characteristics for each of the journal page graphics according to predetermined temporal conditions and predetermined use conditions.

11. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 10, further comprising a character recognition module configured to recognize alphanumeric characters in the marking, and to save the alphanumeric characters in a mass storage.

12. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 10, where the plurality of PIM schemas include a calendar schema, a tasks schema and a contacts schema.

13. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 10, where for the selected one of the plurality of the journal page graphics, the predetermined temporal conditions include a duration from a first use of the selected one of the journal page graphics, and the predetermined use conditions include an amount of use incurred by the selected one of the journal page graphics.

14. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 10, where the aging appearance characteristics include graphical journal page depictions selected from the group consisting of yellowing, smudges, crinkles, wrinkles, rips, folds, and soil marks.

15. A method for receiving and processing touch inputs in a computing device, comprising:

receiving a touch input in the form of a marking at a touch sensitive display;

recognizing, from the touch input, a recognized gesture from a plurality of predefined gestures; and

applying the marking to a selected one of a plurality of PIM schemas, the selected one of the PIM schemas being selected based on the recognized gesture.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

displaying a journal page graphic on the touch sensitive display, to appear as a paper journal page from a paper journal;

saving the marking as a simulated writing implement marking on the journal page graphic; and

modifying the appearance of the journal page graphic in accordance with preselected aging and/or use criteria.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising selectively displaying additional journal page graphics upon receiving a scroll page gesture from the input device on the interface surface.

18. The method of claim 17, where the additional journal page graphics are from a plurality of hierarchically flat sequentially arranged journal pages.

19. The method of claim 16, where the modifying the appearance includes adding graphical features to the journal page graphic that appear as one or more of crinkles, smudges, wrinkles, rips, and soiling in accordance with a cumulative duration of a time the journal page graphic has been displayed, and/or a cumulative number of touch inputs received on the surface of the display.