Dual screen portable touch sensitive computing system

• US 8,446,377 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2009
• Issued: 05/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Estrada, Julio, Petschnigg, Georg
• Primary Examiner(s): Giesy, Adam R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sasinowski, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US12/410,303
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245256A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,519 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1, 345/18.03, 345156-157, 345173-175, 712/702
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A touch sensitive computing system is provided, including a first touch sensitive display and a second touch sensitive display. The displays are operatively coupled with a processing subsystem, and with a memory subsystem which stores a plurality of content pages. User interface instructions are stored in the memory subsystem and are executable by the processing subsystem to provide user interactivity with the content pages through the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display. The interface instructions are further configured to control the displays so that they operate as discretely organized interface units for the content pages.

Claims

1. A portable touch sensitive computing system, comprising:

a first touch sensitive display;

a second touch sensitive display;

a memory subsystem and a processing subsystem operatively coupled with the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display; and

user interface instructions storable in the memory subsystem and executable by the processing subsystem to control user interactivity with content pages contained in the memory subsystem of the portable touch sensitive computing system, wherein such user interactivity occurs via the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display and is controlled by the user interface instructions so that the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display operate as discretely organized interface units with respect to the content pages, with the first touch sensitive display providing navigation and user interface controls and the second touch sensitive display lacking structured interface controls and providing a touch sensitive freeform interface for receiving and processing freeform inputs to edit the content pages.

2. The system of claim 1, where the user interface instructions, first touch sensitive display and second touch sensitive display are configured so that the first touch sensitive display provides a UI-burdened editing interface for modifying one of the content pages, with the second touch sensitive display simultaneously providing an unburdened freeform editing interface for modifying the one of the content pages via touch inputs received from a pen-type implement.

3. The system of claim 2, where the user interface instructions are configured to interpret the touch inputs received from the pen-type implement and cause such touch inputs to effect one of a plurality of pre-defined modifications to the one of the content pages.

4. The system of claim 2, where the user interface instructions, first touch sensitive display and second touch sensitive display are configured so that the content pages are navigable via handtouch swiping inputs applied to either or both of the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display, and in particular so that the one of the content pages is replaceable via such handtouch swiping navigation so that a second one of the content pages is displayed on the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display for editing via the UI-burdened editing interface and the unburdened freeform editing interface.

5. The system of claim 1, where the user interface instructions, first touch sensitive display and second touch sensitive display are configured so that the first touch sensitive display provides a navigable overview of the content pages, with the second touch sensitive display simultaneously providing an unburdened freeform editing interface for modifying one of the content pages via touch inputs received from a pen-type implement.

6. The system of claim 5, where the user interface instructions are configured to interpret the touch inputs received from the pen-type implement and cause such touch inputs to effect one of a plurality of pre-defined modifications to the one of the content pages.

7. The system of claim 6, where the navigable overview is advanceable via touch swiping inputs applied to the first touch sensitive display.

8. The system of claim 1, where the portable touch sensitive computing system further comprises a body having a first body portion coupled via a hinge to a second body portion, where the first touch sensitive display is disposed on the first body portion and the second touch sensitive display is disposed on the second body portion.

9. The system of claim 1, where the user interface instructions are configured to cause automatic switching between landscape and portrait orientations for material displayed on the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display in response to changes in rotational position of the portable touch sensitive computing system.

10. A portable touch sensitive computing system, comprising:

a first touch sensitive display;

a second touch sensitive display;

a memory subsystem and a processing subsystem operatively coupled with the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display; and

user interface instructions storable in the memory subsystem and executable by the processing subsystem to control user interactivity with content pages contained in the memory subsystem of the portable touch sensitive computing system, where such user interactivity occurs via the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display and is controlled by the user interface instructions so that the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display operate to simultaneously display a same view of one of the content pages and simultaneously provide two different editing interfaces, the two different editing interfaces having one or more differing input mechanisms from one another and differing interface controls for editing the one of the content pages.

11. The system of claim 10, where the first touch sensitive display provides a UI-burdened editing interface for editing the one of the content pages, and where the second touch sensitive display provides a touch sensitive freeform interface for editing the one of the content pages.

12. The system of claim 11, where the touch sensitive freeform editing interface is configured to receive touch inputs from a pen-type implement, and where the user interface instructions are configured to interpret the touch inputs so as to cause the touch inputs to effect one of a plurality of predefined modifications to the content pages.

13. The system of claim 10, where the user interface instructions are configured to cause the portable touch sensitive computing device to operate in a mode in which at least one of the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display provide a navigable overview of the content pages.

14. The system of claim 13, where the navigable overview is advanceable via application of handtouch swiping inputs applied to the navigable overview.

15. The system of claim 10, where the user interface instructions are configured to cause automatic switching between landscape and portrait orientations for material displayed on the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display in response to changes in rotational position of the portable touch sensitive computing system.

16. The system of claim 10, where the portable touch sensitive computing system further comprises a body having a first body portion coupled via a hinge to a second body portion, where the first touch sensitive display is disposed on the first body portion and the second touch sensitive display is disposed on the second body portion.

17. A user interface method for a portable touch sensitive computing system, comprising:

providing user access to and interactivity with content pages stored on the portable touch sensitive computing system via a first touch sensitive display and a second touch sensitive display;

controlling presentation of the content pages on the first touch sensitive display and second touch sensitive display so that the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display operate as discretely organized interface units with respect to the content pages, with the first touch sensitive display providing navigation and structured user interface controls including a structured input mechanism to which a discrete user input is directed in order to perform a first command corresponding to the structured input mechanism and the second touch sensitive display simultaneously providing an unstructured touch sensitive freeform interface for modifying the content pages by interpreting a freeform user input and performing a second command corresponding to the freeform user input that is not directed to any structured input mechanism;

receiving touch inputs applied to the second touch sensitive display with a pen-type implement; and

for each of the touch inputs, processing the touch input to cause it to effect one of a plurality of predefined modifications upon one of the content pages displayed upon the second touch sensitive display.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising providing a navigable overview of the content pages on the first touch sensitive display.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising displaying one of the content pages simultaneously on both the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display, where the first touch sensitive display is implemented as a UI-burdened interface for modifying the content page and the second touch sensitive display is implemented as an unstructured interface for modifying the content page.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising sensing a change in an orientation of the portable touch sensitive computing system and, for content displayed on the first touch sensitive display and the second touch sensitive display, changing between portrait and landscape presentations of such content in response to the change in orientation.