Providing radial menus with touchscreens

• US 9,195,368 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Kuscher, Alexander Friedrich, Kuhne, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): AYAD, MARIA S
• Application Number:
  US13/615,256
• Publication Number:
  US 20140075388A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,167 Days
• Field of Search: 715/834, 345/173
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04807 Pen manipulated menu
• 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 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• 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

The subject technology discloses configurations for providing a radial menu on one or more computing devices with a touch-sensitive screen. In one example, a user activates the radial menu after touching a first finger at a first or anchor point on a touchscreen that serves as a center of the radial menu. While the first finger is disposed, the user then touches a second finger at a second point some distance from the anchor point corresponding to the first finger on the touchscreen. The radial menu is generated based on a distance calculated between the anchor point and the second finger at the second point. The radial menu is not a complete circle and instead displayed as a partial circle, and the radial menu is generated so that the display area is bisected from the anchor point to the second point in some configurations.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, the method comprising:

receiving a first touch input on a touch-sensitive screen, wherein the first touch input corresponds with an anchor point on the touch-sensitive screen;

receiving a second touch input at a second point on the touch-sensitive screen;

determining a distance between the second point and the anchor point on the touch-sensitive screen;

determining a line from the anchor point to the second point;

generating a radial menu based on the distance between the second point and the anchor point, the radial menu corresponding to a portion of a circle, the portion being less than a whole circle, and the anchor point corresponding to a center of the circle,

wherein the radial menu comprises a display area including one or more menu options, and

wherein the radial menu is generated so that the display area of the radial menu is bisected relative to the line from the anchor point to the second point and so that the line passes through one of the one or more menu options; and

providing for display the radial menu.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the display area includes respective graphical segments corresponding to the one or more menu options.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the distance between the second point and the anchor point defines a radius of the circle utilized for generating the display area of the radial menu.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the respective graphical segments extend a distance equivalent to a predetermined portion of the radius from the second point.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined portion of the radius from the second point comprises twenty percent of the radius.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the display area of the radial menu comprises a circular sector of the circle utilized for generating the display area.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the circular sector comprises the portion of the circle based on a predetermined arc and the radius of the circle, and the arc comprises an angle defined by a vertex based on the anchor point.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the radial menu further comprises an empty inner concentric circle that represents a portion of the radial menu completely absent of menu options.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more menu options comprise at least one of text, icons, graphical elements, or pictures.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the circle is displayed to cover a display area equivalent to a portion of a circumference defined by a radius based on the distance between the second point and the anchor point.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the radial menu comprises a graphical element indicating availability of a sub-menu for at least one of the menu options, the method further comprising:

detecting a swipe motion of the second touch input to a third point outside of the at least one menu option; and

displaying the sub-menu in response to the detected swipe motion, wherein the sub-menu comprises a portion of a concentric circle that extends beyond a radius of the radial menu and extends along at least two of the one or more menu options.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein in bisecting the display area of the radial menu relative to the line from the anchor point to the second point, a first half of the display area is positioned on a first side of the line and a second half of the display area is positioned on a second side of the line opposite the first side of the line.

13. A system, the system comprising:

memory;

one or more processors;

one or more modules stored in memory and configured for execution by the one or more processors, the modules comprising;

a touch input module configured to receive a first touch input on a touch-sensitive screen, wherein the first touch input corresponds with an anchor point on the touch-sensitive screen, receive a second touch input at a second point on the touch-sensitive screen, determine a distance between the second point and the anchor point on the touch-sensitive screen, and determine a line from the anchor point to the second point;

a radial menu module configured to generate a radial menu based on the distance between the second point and the anchor point, the radial menu corresponding to a portion of a circle, the portion being less than a whole circle, and the anchor point corresponding to a center of the circle,

wherein the radial menu comprises a display area including one or more menu options that fill an entirety of the display area, and

wherein the radial menu is generated so that the display area of the radial menu is bisected relative to the line from the anchor point to the second point and so that the line passes through one of the one or more menu options; and

a graphical user interface (GUI) display module configured to provide for display the radial menu.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the display area includes respective graphical segments corresponding to the one or more menu options.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the distance between the second point and the anchor point defines a radius of the circle utilized for generating the display area of the radial menu.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the respective graphical segments extend a distance equivalent to a predetermined portion of the radius from the second point.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the predetermined portion of the radius from the second point comprises twenty percent of the radius.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the display area of the radial menu comprises a circular sector of the circle utilized for generating the display area.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the circular sector comprises the portion of the circle based on a predetermined arc and the radius of the circle, and the arc comprises an angle defined by a vertex based on the anchor point.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the radial menu further comprises an empty inner concentric circle that represents a portion of the radial menu completely absent of menu options.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more menu options comprise at least one of text, icons, graphical elements, or pictures.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the circle is displayed to cover a display area equivalent to a portion of a circumference defined by a radius based on the distance between the second point and the anchor point.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein the radial menu comprises a graphical element indicating availability of a sub-menu for at least one of the menu options,

wherein the touch input module is further configured to detect a swipe motion of the second touch input to a third point outside of the at least one menu option,

wherein the radial menu module is further configured to display the sub-menu in response to the detected swipe motion, and

wherein the sub-menu comprises a portion of a concentric circle that extends beyond a radius of the radial menu, and the portion of the concentric circle extends along at least two of the one or more menu options.

24. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving a first touch input on a touch-sensitive screen, wherein the first touch input corresponds with an anchor touch point on the touch-sensitive screen;

receiving a second touch input at a second touch point on the touch-sensitive screen;

determining a distance between the second touch point and the anchor touch point on the touch-sensitive screen;

determining a line from the anchor touch point to the second touch point;

generating a radial menu based on the distance between the second touch point and the anchor touch point, the radial menu corresponding to a portion of a circle, the portion being less than a whole circle, and the anchor touch point corresponding to a center of the circle,

wherein the radial menu comprises a display area including one or more menu options, and

wherein the radial menu is generated so that the display area of the radial menu is bisected relative to the line from the anchor touch point to the second touch point and so that one of the one or more menu options is bisected relative to the line from the anchor touch point to the second touch point; and

providing for display the radial menu.