Moving a virtual object based on tapping

• US 9,354,786 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2013
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Tsudik, Maxim
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHREWSBURY, NATHAN K
• Application Number:
  US13/734,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20140195987A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,243 Days
• Field of Search: 715/841, 455/556
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1636 Sensing arrangement for detection of a tap gesture on the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• 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 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser

Abstract

A mobile device enables refined selections of displayed virtual objects by responding to a user'"'"'s tapping actions on the sides of the device. The device can move the object by a small increment in a direction opposite the tapped surface, as though the tapping were gently nudging the object away from that surface. For example, if the user taps on the right side of the device, then the device can responsively move a currently selected object leftward by one pixel. Conversely, if the user taps on the left side of the device, then the device can responsively move the currently selected object rightward by one pixel. Similar movements of similar magnitude and in expected directions can be achieved by tapping the top or bottom of the device. Thus, a currently selected object can be moved in a more refined and precise manner than might be possible using a touchscreen alone.

Claims

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a mobile device with an accelerometer and a plurality of sides, including a side that contains a touch screen display and other sides that do not contain a touch screen display (“

non-display sides”

), cause the mobile device to;

display data on the touch screen display, the displayed data including

selected data having a first scope, and

unselected data;

detect, with the accelerometer, a first impact on a particular side of the mobile device, wherein the particular side is one of the non-display sides; and

,

in response to detecting the first impact, change the first scope of selected data to a second scope of selected data while maintaining selection of at least a portion of the displayed data, distinct from the first scope of selected data, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the first impact has a first magnitude, changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes changing the scope of selected data by a first non-zero amount; and

in accordance with a determination that the first impact has a second magnitude that is different from the first magnitude, changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes changing the scope of selected data by a second non-zero amount that is different from the first non-zero amount.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes expanding or contracting a boundary of the selected data in a direction away from a source of the impact.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, including instructions, which when executed by the mobile device, cause the mobile device to:

display a first selection boundary and a second selection boundary of the selected data;

detect selection, through the touch screen display, of the first selection boundary;

while the first selection boundary is selected, detect, with the accelerometer, a second impact on a second side of the mobile device, wherein the second side is one of the non-display sides; and

in response to detecting the second impact, move the first selection boundary in a direction based on the second impact with the second non-display side.

4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein moving the first selection boundary in a direction based on the second impact with the second non-display side occurs without moving the second selection boundary.

5. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, including instructions, which when executed by the mobile device, cause the mobile device to:

detect selection of a first block of contiguous entities within a plurality of contiguous entities;

while the first block of contiguous entities is selected, detect, with the accelerometer, a second impact on a second side of the mobile device, wherein the second side is one of the non-display sides; and

in response to detecting the second impact, change from having the first block of contiguous entities selected to having a second block of contiguous entities selected, distinct from the first block of contiguous entities.

6. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data is based on a magnitude of a force of the first impact.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the selected data comprises a plurality of contiguous entities, and changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data based on the magnitude of the force of the first impact includes changing selection boundaries around the plurality of contiguous entities by an amount based on the magnitude of the force of the first impact.

8. A mobile device, comprising:

a touch screen display;

a plurality of sides, including a side that contains the touch screen display and other sides that do not contain the touch screen display (“

non-display sides”

);

an accelerometer;

a processor;

memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor, the one or more programs including instructions for;

displaying data on the touch screen display, the displayed data including selected data having a first scope, and

unselected data;

detecting, with the accelerometer, a first impact on a particular side of the mobile device, wherein the particular side is one of the non-display sides; and

,

in response to detecting the first impact, change the first scope of selected data to a second scope of selected data while maintaining selection of at least a portion of the displayed data, distinct from the first scope of selected data, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the first impact has a first magnitude, changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes changing the scope of selected data by a first non-zero amount; and

in accordance with a determination that the first impact has a second magnitude that is different from the first magnitude, changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes changing the scope of selected data by a second non-zero amount that is different from the first non-zero amount.

9. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes expanding or contracting a boundary of the selected data in a direction away from a source of the impact.

10. The mobile device of claim 8, including instructions for:

displaying a first selection boundary and a second selection boundary of the selected data;

detecting selection, through the touch screen display, of the first selection boundary;

while the first selection boundary is selected, detecting, with the accelerometer, a second impact on a second side of the mobile device, wherein the second side is one of the non-display sides; and

in response to detecting the second impact, moving the first selection boundary in a direction based on the second impact with the second non-display side.

11. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein moving the first selection boundary in a direction based on the second impact with the second non-display side occurs without moving the second selection boundary.

12. The mobile device of claim 8, including instructions for:

detecting selection of a first block of contiguous entities within a plurality of contiguous entities;

while the first block of contiguous entities is selected, detecting, with the accelerometer, a second impact on a second side of the mobile device, wherein the second side is one of the non-display sides; and

in response to detecting the second impact, changing from having the first block of contiguous entities selected to having a second block of contiguous entities selected, distinct from the first block of contiguous entities.

13. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein changing the selected data from the first content with the first scope to the second content with the second scope is based on a magnitude of a force of the first impact.

14. The mobile device of claim 13, wherein the selected data comprises a plurality of contiguous entities, and changing the selected data from the first content with the first scope to the second content with the second scope based on the magnitude of the force of the first impact includes changing selection boundaries around the plurality of contiguous entities by an amount based on the magnitude of the force of the first impact.

19. The method of claim 14, including:

detecting selection of a first block of contiguous entities within a plurality of contiguous entities;

while the first block of contiguous entities is selected, detecting, with the accelerometer, a second impact on a second side of the mobile device, wherein the second side is one of the non-display sides; and

in response to detecting the second impact, changing from having the first block of contiguous entities selected to having a second block of contiguous entities selected, distinct from the first block of contiguous entities.

15. A method, comprising:

at a mobile device with a processor, memory, a touch screen display, an accelerometer, and a plurality of sides, including a side that contains the touch screen display and other sides that do not contain the touch screen display (“

non-display sides”

);

displaying data on the touch screen display, the displayed data including selected data having a first scope, and

unselected data;

detecting, with the accelerometer, an first impact on a particular side of the mobile device, wherein the particular side is one of the non-display sides; and

,

in response to detecting the first impact, change the first scope of selected data to a second scope of selected data while maintaining selection of at least a portion of the displayed data, distinct from the first scope of selected data, wherein;

in accordance with a determination that the first impact has a first magnitude, changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes changing the scope of selected data by a first non-zero amount; and

in accordance with a determination that the first impact has a second magnitude that is different from the first magnitude, changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes changing the scope of selected data by a second non-zero amount that is different from the first non-zero amount.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein changing the first scope of selected data to the second scope of selected data includes expanding or contracting a boundary of the selected data in a direction away from a source of the impact.

17. The method of claim 15, including:

displaying a first selection boundary and a second selection boundary of the selected data;

detecting selection, through the touch screen display, of the first selection boundary;

while the first selection boundary is selected, detecting, with the accelerometer, a second impact on a second side of the mobile device, wherein the second side is one of the non-display sides; and

in response to detecting the second impact, moving the first selection boundary in a direction based on the second impact with the second non-display side.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein moving the first selection boundary in a direction based on the second impact with the second non-display side occurs without moving the second selection boundary.

20. The method of claim 15, changing the selected data from the first content with the first scope to the second content with the second scope is based on a magnitude of a force of the first impact.