Touch screen control

• US 9,223,471 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2010
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Pahud, Michel, Hinckley, Kenneth P., Buxton, William A. S.
• Primary Examiner(s): FRY, MATTHEW A
• Application Number:
  US12/979,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20120162093A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,827 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 715/700, 715/800, 715/810, 715/815, 715/828, 715/825
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2203/04804 Transparency, e.g. transparent or translucent windows
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• 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

Abstract

This document relates to touch screen controls. For instance, the touch screen controls can allow a user to control a computing device by engaging a touch screen associated with the computing device. One implementation can receive at least one tactile contact from a region of a touch screen. This implementation can present a first command functionality on the touch screen proximate the region for a predefined time. It can await user engagement of the first command functionality. Lacking user engagement within the predefined time, the implementation can remove the first command functionality and offer a second command functionality.

Claims

1. A method implemented by at least one hardware processor of a computing device, the method comprising:

receiving a first tactile contact at a first location on a touch screen;

responsive to receiving the first tactile contact, displaying a toolbar on the touch screen, wherein the first location of the first tactile contact defines positioning of the toolbar on the touch screen and the toolbar includes at least a displayed drawing command for activating a drawing tool and at least one other displayed command for performing other functionality;

receiving a second tactile contact on the touch screen;

determining that the second tactile contact identifies the displayed drawing command on the toolbar instead of the at least one other displayed command;

responsive to determining that the second tactile contact identifies the displayed drawing command, activating the drawing tool;

using the drawing tool, drawing a shape including a first point and a second point on the touch screen, the first point of the drawn shape being defined by the first location that also defines the positioning of the toolbar; and

moving the second point of the drawn shape responsive to sliding of the second tactile contact on the touch screen.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the drawing tool is a line drawing tool, the drawn shape comprises a straight line segment, the first point comprises a first end point of the straight line segment, the second point comprises a second end point of the straight line segment that is opposite the first end point, and the first location of the first tactile contact that defines positioning of the toolbar also defines an initial location of the first end point of the straight line segment.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising removing the toolbar while a user controls the first end point and the second end point of the straight line segment or making the toolbar transparent or semi-transparent while the user controls the first end point and the second end point of the straight line segment.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising re-presenting the toolbar when the user stops controlling the first end point and the second end point of the straight line segment and ceasing the re-presenting unless the user engages the toolbar within a predefined time period.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first tactile contact is received from a finger and the second tactile contact is received from a stylus.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising moving the first point of the drawn shape responsive to the first tactile contact sliding on the touch screen away from the first location that defines the positioning of the toolbar.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the displayed drawing command includes a representation of the drawn shape.

8. A computing device comprising:

a touch screen;

hardware storage configured to store computer-readable instructions; and

at least one hardware processor configured to execute the computer-readable instructions;

wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by the at least one hardware processor, cause the at least one hardware processor to;

receive a first tactile contact at a first location on the touch screen;

responsive to the first tactile contact, display multiple different commands on the touch screen wherein the first location of the first tactile contact defines positioning of the multiple different commands on the touch screen, the multiple different commands displayed responsive to the first tactile contact including at least a drawing command and another command;

receive a second tactile contact selecting the drawing command from the multiple different commands displayed on the touch screen; and

responsive to receiving the second contact selecting the drawing command, draw a shape including a first point and a second point on the touch screen, wherein the first point of the drawn shape is defined by the first location that also defines the positioning of the multiple different commands and the second point on the drawn shape is defined by a second location of the second tactile contact.

9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the computer-readable instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to:

display the first point of the drawn shape offset at a specified distance from the first tactile contact.

10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the computer-readable instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to:

display a visual cue offset from the first tactile contact at the specified distance.

11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the computer-readable instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to:

as the first tactile contact is moved on the touch screen, move the visual cue and the first point of the drawn shape on the touch screen while maintaining the specified distance of the visual cue from the first tactile contact.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the visual cue comprises a colored dot of a first color displayed on the touch screen proximate the first point.

13. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to:

display another visual cue on the touch screen proximate the first tactile contact and maintain the another visual cue proximate the first tactile contact as the first tactile contact is moved on the touch screen,

the visual cue and the another visual cue being displayed such that the visual cue moves with the first point on the shape and the another visual cue moves with the first tactile contact while the offset is maintained between the visual cue and the another visual cue.

14. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the visual cue is offset from the first tactile contact in both an x direction and a y direction on the touch screen.

15. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the computer-readable instructions cause the at least one hardware processor to:

detect that the first tactile contact has approached an edge of the touch screen;

responsive to detecting that the first tactile contact has approached the edge of the touch screen, display a handle at the first point of the drawn shape; and

responsive to dragging of the handle to the edge of the touch screen, move the first point of the drawn shape to the edge of the touch screen.

16. A computing device comprising:

a touch screen;

a geometry tracking component;

a tactile command relation component; and

at least one hardware processor configured to execute the geometry tracking component and the tactile command relation component,

wherein the geometry tracking component is configured to;

identify a first location on the touch screen where a first tactile contact is received from a user;

wherein the tactile command relation component is configured to;

responsive to the first tactile contact, cause a toolbar to be presented on the touch screen proximate the first location of the first tactile contact, wherein the toolbar has multiple icons including a drawing tool icon for selecting a drawing tool and another icon for selecting other functionality and the first location of the first tactile contact defines positioning of the toolbar on the touch screen;

wherein the geometry tracking component is further configured to;

identify a second location on the touch screen of a second tactile contact received from the user;

wherein the tactile command relation component is further configured to;

determine that the second tactile contact selects the drawing tool icon from the toolbar; and

responsive to the drawing tool icon being selected by the second tactile contact, draw a shape on the touch screen, wherein the drawn shape includes a first point and a second point, the first point of the drawn shape being defined by the first location that also defines the positioning of the toolbar and the second point on the drawn shape being defined by movement of the second tactile contact on the touch screen.

17. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the tactile command relation component is further configured to:

move the first point of the drawn shape responsive to sliding of the first tactile contact on the touch screen.

18. The computing device of claim 16, wherein the second point on the drawn shape co-occurs with the second tactile contact as the second tactile contact is moved on the touch screen.

19. The computing device of claim 18, wherein the first point on the drawn shape is offset from the first location of the first tactile contact.

20. The computing device of claim 19, wherein the first tactile contact is received from a finger and the second tactile contact is received from a stylus.