Density-based filtering of gesture events associated with a user interface of a computing device

• US 8,704,792 B1
• Filed: 01/25/2013
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Kataoka, Satoshi, Kuroyanagi, Keisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLOOMQUIST, KEITH D
• Application Number:
  US13/750,694
• Time in Patent Office: 452 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• 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

In one example, a computing device may receive an indication of a user input entered at a location of a presence-sensitive screen and defines a group of gesture events based at least in part on the indication. The computing device may determine a density of a portion of the group of gesture events. The density may indicate, for example, a quantity of gesture events associated with a region of the presence-sensitive screen over a time duration. In response to determining that the density satisfies a threshold, the computing device may modify the group of gesture events based at least in part on the density.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a computing device, an indication of a user input entered at a location of a presence-sensitive screen;

generating, by the computing device and based at least in part on the indication, a group of gesture events based on the indication of the user input, wherein at least two of the gesture events in the group of gesture events comprises a representation of a location;

determining, by the computing device, a density of a portion of the group of gesture events, wherein the density indicates a quantity of gesture events associated with a region of the presence-sensitive screen over a time duration, and wherein the density further indicates a ratio between the quantity of gesture events and an area that bounds the locations of the gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events; and

responsive to determining that the density satisfies a threshold, modifying, by the computing device and based at least in part on the density, the group of gesture events.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the group of gesture events comprises a temporal sequence of gesture events and the portion of the group of gesture events comprises a plurality of gesture events associated with the time duration from the temporal sequence of gesture events.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the density is a first density, the quantity is a first quantity, the area is a first area, the ratio is a first ratio, and wherein modifying the group of gesture events further comprises:

responsive to removing at least one gesture event from the portion of the group of gesture events, determining, by the computing device, that a second density of the portion of the group of gesture events comprises a second ratio between a second quantity of gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events and a second area that bounds the locations of the gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events; and

responsive to determining that the second density satisfies the threshold, removing, by the computing device, at least one gesture event from the group of gesture events associated with the at least one gesture event removed from the portion of the group of gesture events.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the density is a first density, the quantity is a first quantity, the area is a first area, the ratio is a first ratio, and wherein modifying the group of gesture events further comprises:

responsive to combining at least two gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events into a single gesture event, determining, by the computing device, that a second density of the portion of the group of gesture events comprises a second ratio between a second quantity of gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events and a second area that bounds the locations of the gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events; and

responsive to determining the second density satisfies the threshold, replacing, by the computing device, at least two gesture events in the group of gesture events with the single gesture event, wherein the at least two gesture events in the group of gesture events are associated with the at least two gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events combined into the single gesture event.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a graphical keyboard,

wherein the location at the presence-sensitive screen at which the indication is entered is included in the graphical keyboard.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device and for display at the presence-sensitive screen, a gesture graphical keyboard,

wherein the indication of the user input comprises a gesture input for selecting a plurality of keys within the gesture graphical keyboard.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the threshold comprises a predefined optimal density value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the density is a first density, and wherein the portion of the group of gesture events comprises gesture events based on a second portion of the user input, wherein the threshold indicates a second density of gesture events based on a first portion of the user input different from the second portion of the user input.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the gesture events are touch events associated with a region of a touch-sensitive display.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

outputting, by the computing device, the modified group of gesture events to an application.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the application is a gesture graphical keyboard application.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the group of gesture events further comprises:

determining, by the computing device, a mean gesture event from the portion of the group of gesture events; and

replacing, by the computing device, at least one of the portion of the group of gesture events with the mean gesture event.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the gesture events in the group of gesture events comprises a representation of a location, wherein modifying the group of gesture events further comprises:

determining, by the computing device and based on the location of each gesture event in the portion of the group of gesture events, at least one of a best fit linear and polynomial representation of locations of the presence-sensitive screen;

determining, by the computing device and based on the at least one of the best fit linear and polynomial representation, one or more outlier gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events; and

removing, by the computing device, the one or more outlier gesture events from the group of gesture events.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein modifying the group of gesture events further comprises:

identifying, by the computing device, a filter estimation of the portion of the group of gesture events;

determining, by the computing device and based on the filter estimation, at least one outlier gesture event in the portion of the group of gesture events; and

removing, by the computing device, the at least one outlier gesture event from the group of gesture events.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input comprises at least one of one or more tap gestures and one or more non-tap gestures.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the group of gesture events comprises a first quantity of gesture events prior to being modified by the computing device, wherein the group of gesture events comprises a second quantity of gesture events subsequent to being modified by the computing device, and wherein the second quantity of gesture events is less than the first quantity of gesture events, the method further comprising:

determining, by the computing device, a selection of one or more keys of a graphical keyboard based on the user input.

17. A computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor of a computing device to:

receive an indication of a user input entered at a location of a presence-sensitive screen;

generate, based at least in part on the indication, a group of gesture events based on the indication of the user input, wherein at least two of the gesture events in the group of gesture events comprises a representation of a location;

determine, a density of a portion of the group of gesture events, wherein the density indicates a quantity of gesture events associated with a region of the presence-sensitive screen, and wherein the density further indicates a ratio between the quantity of gesture events and an area that bounds the locations of the gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events; and

responsive to determining that the density satisfies a threshold, modify, based at least in part on the density, the group of gesture events.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the gesture events are touch events associated with a region of a touch-sensitive display over a time duration.

19. A computing device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one module operable by the at least one processor to;

receive an indication of a user input entered at a location of a presence-sensitive screen;

generate, based at least in part on the indication, a group of gesture events based on the indication of the user input, wherein at least two of the gesture events in the group of gesture events comprises a representation of a location;

determine, a density of a portion of the group of gesture events, wherein the density indicates a quantity of gesture events associated with a region of the presence-sensitive screen, and wherein the density further indicates a ratio between the quantity of gesture events and an area that bounds the locations of the gesture events in the portion of the group of gesture events; and

responsive to determining that the density satisfies a threshold, modify, based at least in part on the density, the group of gesture events.

20. The computing device of claim 19, wherein the gesture events are touch events associated with a region of a touch-sensitive display.