Self-aligning user interface

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11435853-B2
Application number	US-201916238787-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 3, 2019
Priority date	Jan 3, 2019
Publication date	Sep 6, 2022
Grant date	Sep 6, 2022

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing a self-aligning user interface in a mobile electronic communications device having a touch sensitive surface include detecting a finger touch on the touch sensitive surface and determining an angular orientation of the touching finger in a continuous angular coordinate system. A user input orientation is assigned to the touch sensitive surface such that it matches the angular orientation of the touching finger. When a finger gesture is detected on the touch sensitive surface, it is then interpreted by reference to the assigned user input orientation.

First claim

We claim:

1. A mobile electronic communications device with a self-aligning user interface, the mobile electronic communications device comprising:
a touch sensitive display screen presenting a user interface spanning an entirety of the touch sensitive display screen and aligned along a reference vector; and
a processor linked to the touch sensitive display screen and configured to detect a finger touch on the touch sensitive display screen, determine an angular orientation vector of a touching finger in a continuous angular coordinate system, assign a user input orientation for the touch sensitive display screen by rotating an entirety of the user interface such that the reference vector is aligned with the angular orientation vector of the touching finger, detect a finger gesture on the touch sensitive display screen, and interpret the finger gesture by reference to the user input orientation.

2. The mobile electronic communications device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine the angular orientation vector of the finger touch by resolving a ridge structure of the finger touch.

3. The mobile electronic communications device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the user interface comprises graphical user interface objects linked to executable applications, wherein rotation of the user interface rotates all graphical user interface objects of the user interface.

4. The mobile electronic communications device in accordance with claim 3 , wherein at least one graphical user interface object consists of an icon presented on the user interface.

5. The mobile electronic communications device in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a tilt sensor that yields tilt data describing a tilt of the mobile electronic communications device with respect to gravity, and wherein the processor is further configured to assign the user input orientation based upon the tilt data prior to detecting a finger touch on the touch sensitive display screen.

6. The mobile electronic communications device in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of hover sensors associated with the touch sensitive display screen, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine the angular orientation vector of the finger touch by detecting a touch location via the touch sensitive display screen and by detecting a location of a portion of the finger touch via at least one of the plurality of hover sensors.

7. The mobile electronic communications device in accordance with claim 6 , wherein determining the angular orientation vector of the finger touch further comprises determining that the angular orientation vector of the touching finger lies on a common axis with both the touch location and a detected location of a hovering portion of the touching finger.

8. The mobile electronic communications device in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising an image sensor, and wherein the processor is further configured to confirm the angular orientation vector of the finger touch via the image sensor.

9. The mobile electronic communications device in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a thermal sensor, and wherein the processor is further configured to confirm the angular orientation vector of the finger touch via the thermal sensor.

10. The mobile electronic communications device of claim 1 , wherein the mobile electronic communications device comprises a circular device housing with the touch sensitive display screen concentrically located in, and defining a major surface of, the circular device housing, wherein rotation of the reference vector occurs in forty-five degree increments.

11. A method of providing a mobile electronic communications device with a self-aligning user interface, the method comprising:
presenting the self-aligning user interface on a touch sensitive display screen with the self-aligning user interface bounded by a perimeter of the touch sensitive display screen and having a self-aligning user interface direction defined by an orientation vector;
detecting a finger touch on the touch sensitive display screen;
determining an angular orientation vector of the finger touch in a continuous angular coordinate system; and
rotating the orientation vector such that the orientation vector is aligned with the angular orientation vector of the touching finger within a predefined angular deviation, thereby changing an entirety of the self-aligning user interface direction.

12. The method in accordance with claim 11 , further comprising rotating an orientation mark aligned with the orientation vector and presented on the self-aligning user interface to indicate an orientation of the orientation vector.

13. The method in accordance with claim 12 , wherein rotating the orientation vector translates the orientation mark from a first location on the touch sensitive display screen to a second location on the touch sensitive display screen that is axially displaced from the first location.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13 , wherein the orientation mark is located at a top portion of the self-aligning user interface.

15. The method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein rotation of the orientation vector occurs while the touch sensitive display screen is dark.

16. The method in accordance with claim 11 , further comprising, prior to detecting the finger touch, determining a direction of local gravity when the mobile electronic communications device is tilted and causing the orientation vector to align with the direction of local gravity and causing an orientation mark aligned with the orientation vector to move to a top of the touch sensitive display screen along a vertical axis defined by the direction of local gravity.

17. The method in accordance with claim 16 , wherein rotation of the orientation vector translates the orientation mark to a bottom of the touch sensitive display screen.

18. The method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein rotation of the orientation vector causes all graphical user interface objects of the self-aligning user interface to rotate.

19. The method in accordance with claim 11 , wherein rotation of the orientation vector causes an orientation mark located at a top of the self-aligning user interface to rotate along the touch sensitive display screen in an arc.

20. A method in a mobile electronic communications device of providing a self-aligning user interface, the method comprising:
detecting a finger touch on the mobile electronic communications device;
determining an orientation vector of the finger touch, wherein the orientation vector of the finger touch may be any angle within a continuous angular coordinate system; and
rotating an entire user interface on the mobile electronic communications device such that an alignment vector indicating a rotational orientation of the self-aligning user interface has an angular orientation aligned with the orientation vector of the finger touch to a highest available resolution of the continuous angular coordinate system.

Assignees

• Motorola Mobility Llc

Inventors

• Merrell Thomas
• Gorsica John J
• Zylema Jenna

Classifications

• G06V40/28

  Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language (static hand signs G06V40/113) · CPC title

• G06V40/107

  Static hand or arm · CPC title

• G06F3/0418 Primary

  for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment · CPC title

• G06F3/0346 Primary

  with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a three-dimensional [3D] space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors · CPC title

• G06F3/04883

  for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text · CPC title