Electronic Device and Method Using a Touch-Detecting Surface
An electronic device includes a processor and one or more touch-detecting surfaces for detecting a gesture sequence including a first touch gesture and a subsequent second touch gesture. A related method includes detecting a first touch gesture applied to the touch-detecting surface; and initiating a sequential touch mode if the first touch gesture has a predetermined characteristic. When in the sequential touch mode, the method detects a second touch gesture that is subsequently applied to the touch-detecting surface, wherein the second touch gesture includes a glide movement. The method determines a first parameter and a second parameter associated with the second touch gesture, identifies a corresponding device function in accordance with the determined first parameter, and controls the execution of the identified device function in accordance with the determined second parameter.
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The present invention relates to sequential touch gestures for simulating simultaneous touch gestures using a touch-detecting surface of an electronic device.
BACKGROUNDElectronic devices such as mobile phones, smart phones, and other handheld or portable electronic devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), audio players, headsets, etc. have become popular and ubiquitous. As more and more features have been added to such devices, there has been an increasing desire to equip them with input/output mechanisms that accommodate numerous user commands and/or react to numerous user behaviors. For example, many mobile devices are now equipped not only with various buttons and/or keypads, but also with touch-detecting surfaces such as touch screens or touch pads by which a user, simply by touching the surface of the mobile device and/or moving the user's finger along the surface of the mobile device, is able to communicate to the mobile device a variety of instructions.
A so-called multi-touch touch-detecting surface allows for the detection of multiple touches that occur simultaneously, while a single-touch touch-detecting surface only allows for the detection of a single touch at a time. Multi-touch surfaces are advantageous in that various gesture combinations performed using two or more simultaneous touches (such as using two fingers) are detectable, so that a richer and more varied set of device functions (such as scaling and translation) can be controlled in a straightforward manner. For example, two fingers moving apart on a multi-touch touch-detecting surface can be used to zoom out on an associated map or document or photograph, while two fingers moving together can be used to zoom in. Also, two fingers moving together across a multi-touch touch-detecting surface can be used to translate an item at twice the speed compared to moving just one finger across the touch-detecting surface. However, multi-touch touch-detecting surfaces are in general more expensive and complex than single-touch touch-detecting surfaces, so that single-touch surfaces are advantageous from a cost and simplicity standpoint. Further, in certain circumstances, it can be difficult for a user to interact with an electronic device using simultaneous touches, such as when a user has only one finger (e.g., a thumb) available for touch interaction or otherwise has limited finger mobility due to, for example, injury or arthritis.
An electronic device with a processor and one or more touch-detecting surfaces detects sequential touches, identifies a corresponding gesture sequence, and operates to control the execution of various device functions such as a scaling function (zooming in and out), a translation function (scrolling and panning), and a rotation function, which are associated with an item displayed on a display screen of the electronic device. A corresponding method controls the execution of such electronic device functions. The functionality of an electronic device having a multi-touch touch-detecting surface and capable of detecting multiple simultaneous touches can be emulated using sequential touches on a touch-detecting surface, providing a simpler user experience because simultaneous touches are not required. The touch-detecting surface can take the form of a single-touch touch-detecting surface, thereby providing simplicity and saving cost as compared to the use of a multi-touch touch-detecting surface. The touch-detecting surface can alternately be a multi-touch touch-detecting surface that receives single-touch user interactions. The touch-detecting surfaces can be any of a variety of known touch-detecting technologies such as a resistive technology, a capacitive technology, an optical technology, or others.
Referring to
Referring to
More specifically, the wireless transceivers 202 can include both cellular transceivers 203 and a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 205. Each of the wireless transceivers 202 utilizes a wireless technology for communication, such as cellular-based communication technologies including analog communications (using AMPS), digital communications (using CDMA, TDMA, GSM, iDEN, GPRS, EDGE, etc.), and next generation communications (using UMTS, WCDMA, LTE, IEEE 802.16, etc.) or variants thereof, or peer-to-peer or ad hoc communication technologies such as HomeRF, Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g or n), or other wireless communication technologies.
The memory 206 can encompass one or more memory devices of any of a variety of forms (e.g., read-only memory, random access memory, static random access memory, dynamic random access memory, etc.), and can be used by the processor 204 to store and retrieve data. The data that is stored by the memory portion 206 can include operating systems, applications, and informational data. Each operating system includes executable code that controls basic functions of the communication device, such as interaction among the various internal components, communication with external devices via the wireless transceivers 202 and/or the component interface 212, and storage and retrieval of applications and data to and from the memory portion 206. Each application includes executable code that utilizes an operating system to provide more specific functionality for the communication devices, such as file system service and handling of protected and unprotected data stored in the memory portion 206. Informational data is non-executable code or information that can be referenced and/or manipulated by an operating system or application for performing functions of the communication device.
Exemplary operation of the wireless transceivers 202 in conjunction with others of the internal components 200 of the electronic device 102 can take a variety of forms and can include, for example, operation in which, upon reception of wireless signals, the internal components detect communication signals and the transceiver 202 demodulates the communication signals to recover incoming information, such as voice and/or data, transmitted by the wireless signals. After receiving the incoming information from the transceiver 202, the processor 204 formats the incoming information for the one or more output devices 208. Likewise, for transmission of wireless signals, the processor 204 formats outgoing information, which may or may not be activated by the input devices 210, and conveys the outgoing information to one or more of the wireless transceivers 202 for modulation as communication signals. The wireless transceiver(s) 202 convey the modulated signals to a remote device, such as a cell tower or an access point (not shown).
The output components 210 can include a variety of visual, audio, and/or mechanical outputs. For example, the output devices 208 can include one or more visual output devices 216 including the display screen 106, which can be a liquid crystal display. One or more audio output devices 218 can include a speaker, alarm, and/or buzzer, and a mechanical output device 220 can include a vibrating mechanism for example. Similarly, the input devices 210 can include one or more visual input devices 222 such as an optical sensor of a camera, an audio input device 224 such as a microphone, and a mechanical input device 226. In particular, the mechanical input device 226 can include, among other things, the touch-detecting surface 104, and the keypad 108 of
The sensors 228 can include both proximity sensors 229 and other sensors 231, such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, or any other sensor that can provide pertinent information, such as to identify a current location or orientation of the device 102.
The touch-detecting surface 104 provides a signal via link 232 to the processor 204 indicative of an applied touch gesture. The processor monitors output signals from the touch-detecting surface 104 and, in conjunction therewith, can detect applied touch gestures having appropriate characteristics, and can determine a location (e.g., co-ordinates) of the applied touch on the touch-detecting surface 104. As more fully described below, the processor 204 can also be programmed to determine one or more other parameters associated with a touch gesture, such as a relative location with respect to another touch gesture, a movement amount (e.g., a touch distance), a direction, a speed, and/or a duration of a glide movement portion of the touch gesture. Further, the processor can be programmed to identify a touch gesture sequence and thus a corresponding device function to control according to one or more of the determined parameters. For example, the relative location of first and second touch gestures and/or a glide movement direction or movement pattern can be used to determine whether the touch gesture sequence is one associated with a scaling function, a rotation function, or a translation function, such that instructions can then be generated to control the execution of the corresponding device function in accordance with another of the determined parameters, such as a glide movement touch distance.
Controlling device functions of the device 102 with a sequence of single-touch touch gestures is explained with reference to
In particular, as shown in
The touch gestures can be provided by way of touching the touch-detecting surface 104 by various means, including for example using a finger (including a thumb), fingernail, hand or portion thereof, or a stylus device. In some embodiments, the touch-detecting surface 104 can be activated by way of other types of actions, such as by swiping, pinching, and applying pressure, which actions are all considered touches. However, the touch-detecting surface 104 need not be capable of distinguishing between different pressures or forces of touches. Further, as used herein, a glide movement occurs when a finger or other object remains in contact with the touch detecting surface, for an amount determined by the user and as more fully described below.
The touch gesture sequence of
The arc 504 is shown as counter-clockwise, which can control the rotation in a counter-clockwise direction. If the arc was in a clockwise direction, the displayed item's rotation would be controlled in a clockwise direction. The rotation of the item can occur around an axis defined by the location 500 of the first touch gesture, the starting location 502 of the second touch gesture, or at a midpoint between these locations, and the amount of rotation (e.g., degrees of rotation) of the object can correspond to the amount of the glide movement. This touch gesture can have the same effect as a gesture wherein two fingers are simultaneously touching a multi-touch touch-detecting surface and one is rotating around the other (or both touches are rotating about a center point) to effect rotation of a displayed item.
Referring now to
At a step 606, the electronic device detects whether a first touch gesture is applied to the touch detecting surface 104. If not, processing proceeds to step 604, and if so, processing proceeds to a step 607. At a step 607, it is determined whether a proper first touch gesture has occurred, that is, whether the first touch gesture has a characteristic such that indicates that a sequential single-touch mode should be initiated. A proper first touch gesture occurs for example when a touch gesture is applied to the touch-detecting surface for a duration that is greater than a predetermined duration. For this purpose, the processor can be programmed to determine a duration of the applied first touch gesture. In other embodiments, a proper first touch gesture can be one that is defined by another predetermined characteristic, such as being applied to a designated location of the touch-detecting surface.
If a proper first touch gesture is not detected, then processing proceeds to step 609. At step 609, the touch gesture is processed as a normal (non-sequence) single-touch touch gesture. If a proper first touch gesture is detected, then processing proceeds to step 608.
At step 608, the electronic device determines and records the location of the first touch gesture, and continues to monitor user inputs. Processing then proceeds to a step 610, at which the electronic device determines whether a proper second touch gesture is applied to the touch detecting surface. A proper second touch gesture can occur for example when a second touch gesture is applied to a location on the touch-detecting surface, such as a second designated touch area, and/or if the second touch gesture occurs within a predetermined time from the first touch gesture, and/or if a stationary portion of the second touch gesture is applied for a duration that is greater than a predetermined duration. For example, if there is no second touch gesture after a predetermined time period such as two seconds, then a proper second touch gesture is not detected.
If a proper second touch gesture is not detected, then processing again proceeds to step 604. If a proper second touch gesture is detected, then processing proceeds to step 612. At step 612, a first parameter and a second parameter of the second touch gesture are determined in order to identify a corresponding device function to be controlled at a step 614 and to control the identified device function in a desired way at a step 616.
With respect to the first parameter, this can be a relative location of the second touch gesture's initial location with respect to the first touch gesture's location. For example, with reference to
At step 616, the device can control the execution of the identified device function based on the determined second parameter. With respect to the second parameter, this can be a movement amount (touch distance) of the glide movement, a movement shape (e.g., linear or arcuate), a movement direction (e.g., toward or away from the first touch location; a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal direction; a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction; etc.), or a glide movement's duration or speed. A movement amount of a glide movement can be determined at various points during the glide movement and can then be used to control a corresponding function, such as to control the amount of scaling, the amount of translation, or the amount of rotation of a displayed item. After the glide movement is completed (for example when a finger is removed from the touch-detecting surface), the control of the device function can be terminated.
At a step 618, the device determines whether the sequential touch-detecting routine has been turned off. If not, the process returns to step 604. If so, the process ends at step 620.
By utilizing a touch-detecting surface to recognize two or more predefined single-touch gestures in sequence, the functionality provided by a multi-touch touch-detecting surface can be achieved, and touch gesture sequences which are easy to perform can be defined.
It is specifically intended that the present invention not be limited to the embodiments and illustrations contained herein, but include modified forms of those embodiments, including portions of the embodiments and combinations of elements of different embodiments as come within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. An electronic device comprising:
- a touch-detecting surface; and
- a processor in electronic communication with the touch-detecting surface programmed to detect a first touch gesture applied to the touch-detecting surface, to initiate a sequential touch mode if the first touch gesture has a predetermined characteristic, to detect a subsequent second touch gesture including a glide movement applied to the touch-detecting surface in the sequential touch mode, and to determine a first parameter and a second parameter of the second touch gesture, wherein the first parameter is relative location of an initial location of the second touch gesture with respect to a location of the first touch gesture;
- further wherein the processor identifies a corresponding one of a plurality of device functions of the electronic device in accordance with the determined first parameter, and controls the execution of the identified device function of the electronic device in accordance with the determined second parameter.
2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the sequential touch mode is initiated if a duration of the first touch gesture is greater than a predetermined duration.
3. The electronic device of claim 1, further wherein the processor is programmed to determine whether an applied second touch gesture occurs within a predetermined period after the first touch gesture, and provide instructions to exit the sequential touch mode if the applied second touch gesture occurs after the predetermined period.
4. The electronic device of claim 1, further wherein the processor is programmed to determine whether an applied second touch gesture has a duration greater than a predetermined duration, and to provide instructions to exit the sequential touch mode if the applied second touch gesture has a duration greater than the predetermined duration.
5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a controlled device function of the electronic device includes one of a scaling function, a translation function, and a rotation function.
6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the controlled device function controls the display of an item on a display screen of the electronic device.
7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the touch-detecting surface is one of a single-touch and a multi-touch touch-detecting surface.
8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the touch-detecting surface forms a touchscreen.
9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the touch-detecting surface is a touchpad.
10. A method for controlling an electronic device having a touch-detecting surface, the method comprising:
- detecting a first touch gesture applied to the touch-detecting surface;
- initiating a sequential touch mode if the first touch gesture has a predetermined characteristic;
- in the sequential touch mode, detecting a second touch gesture that is subsequently applied to the touch-detecting surface, wherein the second touch gesture includes a glide movement;
- determining a first parameter and a second parameter associated with the second touch gesture, wherein the first parameter is a relative location of an initial location of the second touch gesture with respect to a location of the first touch gesture;
- identifying a corresponding device function in accordance with the determined first parameter; and
- controlling the execution of the identified device function in accordance with the determined second parameter.
11. The method of claim 10, further including determining a duration of the applied first touch gesture and initiating the sequential touch mode if the duration of the applied first touch gesture is greater than a predetermined duration.
12. The method of claim 10, further including determining whether an applied second touch gesture occurs within a predetermined period after the first touch gesture, and if not, then exiting the sequential touch mode.
13. The method of claim 10, further including determining whether an applied second touch gesture has a duration less than a predetermined duration, and if so, then exiting the sequential touch mode.
14. The method of claim 10, further including controlling at least one of a scaling function, a translation function, and a rotation function.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the controlling includes controlling the display of an item on a display screen of the electronic device.
16. The method of claim 10, wherein the second parameter is one of a touch distance, a duration, and a speed of the glide movement.
17. The method of claim 10, wherein the second parameter is a direction of the glide movement.
18. The method of claim 10, wherein the first parameter further includes a direction of the glide movement.
19. The method of claim 10, wherein the determining a first parameter includes determining a movement pattern of the glide movement and the identifying includes identifying the controlled device function in accordance with the determined movement pattern.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 9, 2012
Publication Date: Apr 16, 2015
Patent Grant number: 9141195
Applicant: Motorola Mobility LLC (Libertyville, IL)
Inventor: Meng Huang (Beijing)
Application Number: 13/647,427