Composite gesture for switching active regions

• US 9,996,242 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2013
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Nishihashi, Shigeaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Bhatia, Ajay M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pan, Phoebe X
• Application Number:
  US14/391,081
• Publication Number:
  US 20150067586A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,905 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• 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 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• 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

A display system that is configured to select one of multiple display regions as an active region and which can avoid complicated operations for selecting an icon is provided. In the display system, one of the display regions is selected as an active region by an input operation to an input screen, and an icon in the active region is selected by another input operation to the input screen. The display system stores a specific input operation in advance as a switching operation, and determines whether an input operation is the switching operation. When the input operation is determined as the switching operation, the display region corresponding to the switching operation is selected as the active region, and the icon in the active region is displayed in a selectable state.

Claims

1. A display system comprising:

a display screen that defines thereon a plurality of display regions each displaying a plurality of selective image sections which are to be selected by an operation inputted into an input screen, wherein;

the display screen displays, as an active region, one display region selected from among the plurality of display regions in a manner that only the selective image sections on the active region are selectable based on a selection operation inputted to the input screen, the display screen having a display coordinate system defined on the display screen;

the input screen is located apart from the display screen and inputs the selection operation for selecting the selective image section, the input screen having an input coordinate system defined on the input screen corresponding to the display coordinate system;

the display system further comprising at least one control unit, each having a processor and memory, a specific operation to be inputted to the input screen corresponding to a gesture of drawing a specific locus being pre-stored as a switching operation in the memory, the at least one control unit determining whether the switching operation is inputted to the input screen and switching the active region from the one display region to another display region of the plurality of display regions when the at least one control unit determines that the switching operation is inputted;

wherein there are one or more pre-stored switching operation, each switching operation correspond to a gesture of drawing a specific locus which is different and distinct from the selection operation inputted into the input screen for selecting the plurality of selective image;

wherein when the at least one control unit determines that a first gesture of the switching operation drawing a specific locus of circle is inputted, the at least one control unit;

upon determining that the first gesture of the switching operation drawing the circle is inputted to the input screen, the at least one control unit determines whether or not a second gesture of a move operation of linearly moving an operation body in a specific direction in the input coordinate system following the first gesture of switching operation drawing the circle is detected, wherein the first and second gesture forms a compound gesture and are performed as a single continuously gesture without the operation body lifting off the input screen;

upon the at least one control unit determining that the move operation of linearly moving the operation body in the specific direction in the input coordinate system following the switching operation drawing the circle is not detected, the at least one control unit switches the active region from the one display region into the another display region located in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the one display region in the display coordinate system;

upon the at least one control unit determining that the move operation of linearly moving the operation body in the specific direction in the input coordinate system following the switching operation drawing the circle is detected, the at least one control unit defines a direction in the display coordinate system corresponding to the specific direction as a corresponding direction, switches the active region from the one display region into the another display region located in the corresponding direction with respect to the one display region in display coordinate system.

2. The display system according to claim 1, wherein the display system further comprises a display device, with the display device forming the display screen and comprising the at least one control unit.

3. The display system according to claim 1, wherein the display system further comprises an operation device, with the operation device forming the input screen and comprising the at least one control unit.

4. The display system according to claim 1, wherein:

the input screen is a single input screen formed in a specific region of a touchpad; and

the same single input screen of the touchpad receives both the switching operation and the selection operation, the switching operation being an input operation for selecting the active region, the selection operation being an input operation for selecting the selective image section in the active region, and the selection operation being different in input gesture manner from the switching operation.

5. The display system according to claim 1, wherein:

the at least one control unit determines whether or not a second switching operation drawing a specific locus is inputted to the input screen;

upon determining that the second switching operation drawing the specific locus is inputted to the input screen, the at least one control unit determines whether or not a second move operation of linearly moving the operation body in a second specific direction in the input coordinate system following the second switching operation drawing the specific locus is detected; and

upon the at least one control unit determining that the second move operation of linearly moving the operation body in the specific direction in the input coordinate system following the second switching operation drawing the specific locus is detected, the at least one control unit switches the active region from the current active display region into a second display region located in the second specific direction with respect to the current active display region in the display coordinate system.

6. The display system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one control unit includes a display control unit located with the display screen and separate from the input screen.

7. The display system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one control unit includes an operation control unit located with the input screen and separate from the display screen.

8. The display system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one control unit includes (i) a display control unit located with the display screen and separate from the input screen and (ii) an operation control unit located with the input screen and separate from the display screen.

9. A system comprising:

a display screen having a display coordinate system defined on the display screen, the display screen being configured to display a plurality of display regions, each display region displaying a plurality of icons;

a touchpad located separately from the display screen, the touchpad having an input coordinate system defined on the touchpad, the input coordinate system corresponding to the display coordinate system; and

at least one control unit, each having a processor and memory, configured to receive input from the touchpad and to control the display screen;

the display screen being configured to display a first display region selected from the plurality of display regions as an active display region, with only the plurality of icons corresponding to the active display region being selectable by an icon selection operation performed on the touchpad, the icon selection operation including selecting an icon from the plurality of icons by tapping the touchpad at a touchpad location within the input coordinate system that corresponds to an icon location of the selected icon within the display coordinate system, and

wherein the memory stores at least one pre-stored switching operation, each switching operation of the at least one pre-stored switching operation corresponding to a gesture of drawing a specific locus which is different and distinct from the icon selection operation performed on the touchpad for selecting an icon from the plurality of icons; and

wherein when the at least one control unit determines that a first gesture of the switching operation drawing a specific locus of circle is inputted, the at least one control unit;

upon determining that the first gesture of the switching operation drawing the circle is inputted to the touchpad, the at least one control unit determines whether or not a second gesture of a move operation of linearly moving an operation body in a specific direction in the input coordinate system following a first gesture of switching operation drawing the circle is detected, wherein the first and second gesture forms a compound gesture and are performed as a single continuously gesture without the operation body lifting off the touchpad;

upon the at least one control unit determining that the move operation of linearly moving the operation body in the specific direction in the input coordinate system following the switching operation drawing the circle is not detected, the at least one control unit switches the active display region from the first display region into a second display region located in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the first display region in the display coordinate system;

upon the at least one control unit determining that the move operation of linearly moving the operation body in the specific direction in the input coordinate system following the switching operation drawing the circle is detected, the at least one control unit defines a direction in the display coordinate system corresponding to the specific direction as a corresponding direction, switches the active display region from the first display region into the second display region located in the corresponding direction with respect to the first display region in display coordinate system.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the specific locus of the gesture of the switching operation corresponds to at least one of a circle and a semi-circle.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the display screen is located within an instrument panel of a vehicle.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the touchpad is located within a center console of a vehicle.