Touch event model

• US 8,560,975 B2
• Filed: 11/06/2012
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Beaver, Jason Clay, Platzer, Andrew W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pesin, Boris
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hur, Ece
• Application Number:
  US13/670,378
• Publication Number:
  US 20130069899A1
• Time in Patent Office: 343 Days
• Field of Search: 715/863, 715/764, 715/781, 715/702, 345/173, 345/156, 455/566
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• 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 2203/04808 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 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A device with a touch-sensitive surface detects a touch on the touch-sensitive surface, determines that the touch is cancelled, and in accordance with a determination that the touch is cancelled, sends a touch cancel event to at least one of the one or more applications. Also disclosed is a device configured to determine that a respective touch has been cancelled by the device. If the respective touch has been cancelled, the device ignores the respective touch. If the respective touch has not been cancelled, the device processes the respective touch. In addition, a device configured to detect one or more touches and process at least a subset of the touches with at least one application is described. While processing at least a subset of the touches, the device receives a touch cancel event, and, in response to receiving the touch cancel event, ignores the touches.

Claims

1. A method for handling touch at a multi-touch device, comprising:

displaying two or more views;

executing two or more software elements, wherein a first view of the two or more views is associated with one or more software elements and a second view, distinct from the first view, of the two or more views is associated with one or more software elements;

associating a first exclusive touch flag with the first view;

associating a second exclusive touch flag with the second view;

receiving one or more touches at the first view; and

while receiving the one or more touches at the first view;

receiving one or more touches at the second view; and

sending one or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the one or more touches at the second view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view, wherein the one or more touch events are processed by at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view in accordance with a determination that a value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is not an exclusive view, and the one or more touch events are not processed by any of the one or more software elements associated with the second view in accordance with a determination that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending one or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the one or more touches at the first view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view.

3. The method of claim 1, including:

determining whether the first exclusive touch flag associated with the first view indicates that the first view is an exclusive touch view.

4. The method of claim 3, including:

in accordance with a determination that the first view is not an exclusive touch view, sending, to at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view, at least one of the one or more touch events describing the one or more touches at the second view; and

,

in accordance with a determination that the first view is an exclusive touch view, preventing the one or more touch events describing the one or more touches at the second view from being sent to the one or more software elements associated with the second view.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more touch events are ignored in accordance with the determination that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating a multi-touch flag with the first view;

receiving two or more touches at the first view; and

sending two or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the two or more touches at the first view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view, wherein the two or more touch events are processed by at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view in accordance with a determination that a value of the multi-touch flag indicates that the first view is a multi-touch view, and only one of the two or more touch events is processed by the one or more software elements associated with the first view in accordance with a determination that the value of the multi-touch flag indicates that the first view is not a multi-touch view.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the two or more views includes a third view that is not associated with an exclusive touch flag.

22. The method of claim 1, including:

determining that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.

8. A multi-touch device, comprising memory storing one or more programs, the one or more programs for execution at the multi-touch device, the one or more programs including instructions configured to cause the multi-touch device to:

display two or more views;

execute two or more software elements, wherein a first view of the two or more views is associated with one or more software elements and a second view, distinct from the first view, of the two or more views is associated with one or more software elements;

associate a first exclusive touch flag with the first view;

associate a second exclusive touch flag with the second view;

receive one or more touches at the first view; and

while receiving the one or more touches at the first view,

receive one or more touches at the second view distinct; and

send one or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the one or more touches at the second view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view, wherein the one or more touch events are processed by at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view in accordance with a determination that a value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is not an exclusive view, and the one or more touch events are not processed by any of the one or more software elements associated with the second view in accordance with a determination that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.

9. The multi-touch device of claim 8, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:

sending one or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the one or more touches at the first view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view.

10. The multi-touch device of claim 8, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for:

determining whether the first exclusive touch flag associated with the first view indicates that the first view is an exclusive touch view.

11. The multi-touch device of claim 10, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the first view is not an exclusive touch view, sending, to at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view, at least one of the one or more touch events describing the one or more touches at the second view; and

,

in accordance with a determination that the first view is an exclusive touch view, preventing the one or more touch events describing the one or more touches at the second view from being sent to the one or more software elements associated with the second view.

12. The multi-touch device of claim 8, wherein the one or more touch events are ignored in accordance with the determination that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.

13. The multi-touch device of claim 8, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for:

associating a multi-touch flag with the first view;

receiving two or more touches at the first view; and

sending two or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the two or more touches at the first view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view, wherein the two or more touch events are processed by at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view in accordance with a determination that a value of the multi-touch flag indicates that the first view is a multi-touch view, and only one of the two or more touch events is processed by the one or more software elements associated with the first view in accordance with a determination that the value of the multi-touch flag indicates that the first view is not a multi-touch view.

14. The multi-touch device of claim 8, wherein the two or more views includes a third view that is not associated with an exclusive touch flag.

23. The multi-touch device of claim 8, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:

determining that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by a multi-touch device, the one or more programs including instructions for:

displaying two or more views;

executing two or more software elements, wherein a first view of the two or more views is associated with one or more software elements and a second view, distinct from the first view, of the two or more views is associated with one or more software elements;

associating a first exclusive touch flag with the first view;

associating a second exclusive touch flag with the second view;

receiving one or more touches at the first view; and

while receiving the one or more touches at the first view;

receiving one or more touches at the second view; and

sending one or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the one or more touches at the second view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view, wherein the one or more touch events are processed by at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view in accordance with a determination that a value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is not an exclusive view, and the one or more touch events are not processed by any of the one or more software elements associated with the second view in accordance with a determination that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:

sending one or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the one or more touches at the first view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for:

determining whether the first exclusive touch flag associated with the first view indicates that the first view is an exclusive touch view.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the one or more programs include instructions for:

in accordance with a determination that the first view is not an exclusive touch view, sending, to at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the second view, at least one of the one or more touch events describing the one or more touches at the second view; and

,

in accordance with a determination that the first view is an exclusive touch view, preventing the one or more touch events describing the one or more touches at the second view from being sent to the one or more software elements associated with the second view.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more touch events are ignored in accordance with the determination that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:

associating a multi-touch flag with the first view;

receiving two or more touches at the first view; and

sending two or more touch events, each touch event describing a respective touch of the two or more touches at the first view, to at least one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view, wherein the two or more touch events are processed by at least the one of the one or more software elements associated with the first view in accordance with a determination that a value of the multi-touch flag indicates that the first view is a multi-touch view, and only one of the two or more touch events is processed by the one or more software elements associated with the first view in accordance with a determination that the value of the multi-touch flag indicates that the first view is not a multi-touch view.

21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the two or more views includes a third view that is not associated with an exclusive touch flag.

24. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more programs further include instructions for:

determining that the value of the first exclusive touch flag indicates that the first view is an exclusive view.