Edge-based hooking gestures for invoking user interfaces

• US 9,141,262 B2
• Filed: 01/06/2012
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Nan, Jennifer, Satterfield, Jesse Clay, Robinson, Zach, Jarrett, Robert, Miner, Patrice L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim, Matt
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shiberou, Mahelet
• Application Number:
  US13/345,383
• Publication Number:
  US 20130179781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence

Abstract

Presented herein are techniques for invoking user interfaces in graphical computing environments involving “hooking” gestures applicable to an edge of a display. These gestures involve positioning a pointer near an edge of the display depicting the environment, and then moving the cursor to a second location that is distanced from but near the first location (e.g., moving the pointer into a corner of the display, and then toward the center of the display, or to a midpoint of an adjacent edge of the display), resulting in the presentation of the user interface under the pointer at the second location. Variations include presenting a preview of the user interface (e.g., a subset of a user interface menu) at the second location while the pointer is in the first location, and refraining from presenting the user interface upon failing to complete the gesture or receiving extraneous input before completing the gesture.

Claims

1. A method of presenting a user interface in a graphical user environment on a device defining a first threshold distance and a second threshold distance that is greater than the first threshold distance and having a processor, a display, and a pointing device associated with a pointer, the method comprising:

executing on the processor instructions configured to;

upon detecting a positioning of the pointer at a first location within the first threshold distance of an edge of the display;

enter a user interface suggestion mode; and

at a second location that is within the second threshold distance of the first location and that is not within the first threshold distance of the first location, present a preview of a user interface that is available at the second location; and

upon detecting, while in the user interface suggestion mode, a movement of the pointer from the first location to the second location and absent user interaction with the preview of the user interface, present the user interface at the second location.

2. The method of claim 1:

the first location comprising a location within the first threshold distance of a corner of the display adjoining two selected edges of the display; and

the second location comprising a midpoint of a selected edge.

3. The method of claim 1, the instructions further configured to refrain from presenting a visual indicator of the user interface at the first location.

4. The method of claim 1:

the instructions further configured to position a non-visible detection region at the first location; and

detecting the positioning comprising;

detecting a movement of the pointer into the non-visible detection region.

5. The method of claim 1:

the user interface comprising a user interface region extending to the edge of the display; and

the preview comprising a portion of the user interface region and not extending to the edge of the display.

6. The method of claim 1, the instructions further configured to present the preview upon detecting a hovering, for a hover duration, of the pointer at the first location.

7. The method of claim 1, the instructions further configured to, upon failing to detect the movement of the pointer to the second location within a gesture completion duration from entering the user interface suggestion mode:

remove the preview, and

cancel the user interface suggestion mode.

8. The method of claim 1, the instructions further configured to, upon detecting input other than the movement of the pointer to the second location while in the user interface suggestion mode:

remove the preview, and

cancel the user interface suggestion mode.

9. The method of claim 1:

the computing environment presenting at least one visual control within a threshold distance of the first location; and

the instructions configured to, upon canceling the user interface suggestion mode, send the input to a visual control within the threshold distance of the first location.

10. The method of claim 1, the computing environment presenting a logical display comprising at least two logical display spaces presented by a display of the device.

11. The method of claim 10, detecting the positioning of the pointer at a first location within a threshold distance of an edge of a display comprising:

detecting a movement of the pointer from within the logical display space of a display to the first location within the threshold distance of an edge of the logical display space of the display.

12. The method of claim 10:

a first edge of a first logical display space presented by a first display positioned, within the logical display, adjacent to a second edge of a second logical display space presented by a second display; and

detecting the positioning of the pointer at a first location within a threshold distance of the first edge comprising;

detecting the positioning of the pointer within an edge region comprising;

a first region portion within a threshold distance of the first edge of the first logical display space; and

a second region portion within a threshold distance of the second edge of the second logical display space having a second region portion edge that is adjacent to a first region portion edge of the first region portion.

13. The method of claim 12, the instructions further configured to:

upon detecting a hovering, for a first hover duration, of the pointer in the first region portion, present a preview of the user interface at the second location; and

upon detecting a hovering, for a second hover duration that is different from the first hover duration, of the pointer in the second region portion, present the preview of the user interface at the second location.

14. The method of claim 12, the instructions further configured to:

upon failing to detect, while the pointer is in the first region portion, the movement of the pointer to the user interface within a first gesture completion duration from entering the user interface suggestion mode, cancel the user interface suggestion mode; and

upon failing to detect, while the pointer is in the second region portion, the movement of the pointer to the user interface within a second gesture completion duration from entering the user interface suggestion mode, the second gesture completion duration longer than the first gesture completion duration, cancel the user interface suggestion mode.

15. The method of claim 12, the instructions further configured to, upon detecting the positioning of the pointer within the edge region:

present a first user interface at a first second location within the first logical display space; and

present a second user interface a second location within the second logical display space.

16. The method of claim 1:

the pointer associated with a pointing input mode selected from a pointing input mode set comprising;

an absolute pointing input mode, and

a relative pointing input mode; and

entering the user interface suggestion mode comprising;

upon detecting a positioning of the pointer at a first location within a threshold distance of an edge of the display while the pointer is associated with a relative pointing input mode, enter the user interface suggestion mode.

17. The method of claim 16, the instructions further configured to, upon detecting, while the pointer is associated with an absolute pointing input mode, input at a position of the pointing device corresponding to the first location, present the user interface on the display.

19. The method of claim 10, where presenting the user interface at the second location further comprises:

replacing the preview at the second location with the user interface.

18. A device that presents a user interface in a graphical user environment on a device defining a first threshold distance and a second threshold distance that is greater than the first threshold distance, the device comprising:

a processor,

a display,

a pointing device associated with a pointer, and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, provide a system comprising;

a user interface suggester comprising instructions stored in the memory that, when executed on the processor, cause the device to, upon detecting a positioning of the pointer at a first location within the first threshold distance of an edge of the display;

enter a user interface suggestion mode; and

at a second location that is within the second threshold distance of the first location and that is not within the first threshold distance of the first location, present a preview of a user interface that is available at the second location; and

a user interface presenter comprising instructions stored in the memory that, when executed on the processor, cause the device to, upon detecting, while in the user interface suggestion mode, a movement of the pointer from the first location to the second location and absent user interaction with the preview of the user interface, present the user interface at the second location.

20. A method of presenting a user interface in a graphical user environment on a device defining a first threshold distance and a second threshold distance that is greater than the first threshold distance and having a processor, a display, and a pointing device associated with a pointer, the method comprising:

executing on the processor instructions configured to;

upon detecting a positioning of a pointer within the graphical user environment at a first location within the first threshold distance of an edge of the display;

record a start time of a user interface suggestion mode, and

at a second location that is within the second threshold distance of the first location and that is not within the first threshold distance of the first location, present a preview of a user interface that is available at the second location; and

upon detecting, within a time limit measured from the start time, a movement of the pointer from the first location to the second location and absent user interaction with the preview of the user interface, present the user interface at the second location; and

upon the time limit from the start time elapsing without a movement of the pointer to the second location, exit the user interface suggestion mode.