Devices and Methods for Manipulating User Interfaces with a Stylus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016364091-A1
Application number	US-201514862085-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 22, 2015
Priority date	Jun 10, 2015
Publication date	Dec 15, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An electronic device with a touch-sensitive display and one or more sensors to detect signals from a stylus associated with the device: displays a user interface on the touch-sensitive display; while displaying the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, detects the stylus moving towards the touch-sensitive display, without the stylus making contact with the touch-sensitive display; determines whether the detected stylus movement towards the touch-sensitive display satisfies one or more stylus movement criteria; in accordance with a determination that the detected stylus movement satisfies the one or more stylus movement criteria, displays a menu overlaid on the user interface, the menu including a plurality of selectable menu options; detects selection of a first menu option in the plurality of selectable menu options; and, in response to detecting selection of the first menu option: performs an operation that corresponds to the first menu option, and ceases to display the menu.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method, comprising:
at an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display, wherein the device includes one or more sensors to detect signals from a stylus associated with the device:
displaying a user interface on the touch-sensitive display;
while displaying the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, detecting the stylus moving towards the touch-sensitive display, without the stylus making contact with the touch-sensitive display;
determining whether the detected stylus movement towards the touch-sensitive display, without making contact with the touch-sensitive display, satisfies one or more stylus movement criteria;
in accordance with a determination that the detected stylus movement satisfies the one or more stylus movement criteria, displaying a menu overlaid on the user interface, the menu including a plurality of selectable menu options;
detecting selection of a first menu option in the plurality of selectable menu options; and,
in response to detecting selection of the first menu option in the plurality of selectable menu options:
performing an operation that corresponds to the first menu option, and
ceasing to display the menu.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein no contacts are detected on the touch-sensitive display while detecting the stylus moving towards the touch-sensitive display.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
detecting the stylus moving towards the touch-sensitive display includes detecting the stylus moving towards a first location in the user interface on the touch-sensitive display; and displaying the menu overlaid on the user interface includes displaying the menu overlaid on the user interface at the first location.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
detecting the stylus moving towards the touch-sensitive display includes detecting the stylus moving while a first object in the user interface has focus; and displaying the menu overlaid on the user interface includes displaying the menu overlaid on the user interface at or adjacent to the first object.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more stylus movement criteria include detecting that the stylus velocity is above a predetermined value during at least part of the detected stylus movement towards the touch-sensitive display.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more stylus movement criteria include detecting that deceleration of the stylus as the stylus moves towards the touch-sensitive display is above a predetermined deceleration value during at least part of the detected stylus movement.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more stylus movement criteria include detecting that the stylus accelerates as the stylus moves towards the touch-sensitive display and then decelerates as the stylus moves towards the touch-sensitive display during the detected stylus movement.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more stylus movement criteria are independent of the tilt of the stylus during the detected stylus movement towards the touch-sensitive display.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more stylus movement criteria are independent of the orientation of the stylus during the detected stylus movement towards the touch-sensitive display.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more stylus movement criteria include a criterion that is met when the stylus is perpendicular to the touch-sensitive display.

11 . The method of claim 1 , including:
in accordance with a determination that the one or more stylus movement criteria are not satisfied, forgo displaying the menu overlaid on the user interface.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the menu is a color palette and the plurality of selectable menu options are colors in the color palette.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein ceasing to display the menu includes displaying an animation of the first menu option appearing to be absorbed by the stylus.

14 . An electronic device, comprising:
a touch-sensitive display; one or more sensors to detect signals from a stylus associated with the device; one or more processors; memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:
displaying a user interface on the touch-sensitive display;
while displaying the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, detecting the stylus moving towards the touch-sensitive display, without the stylus making contact with the touch-sensitive display;
determining whether the detected stylus movement towards the touch-sensitive display, without making contact with the touch-sensitive display, satisfies one or more stylus movement criteria;
in accordance with a determination that the detected stylus movement satisfies the one or more stylus movement criteria, displaying a menu overlaid on the user interface, the menu including a plurality of selectable menu options;
detecting selection of a first menu option in the plurality of selectable menu options; and,
in response to detecting selection of the first menu option in the plurality of selectable menu options:
performing an operation that corresponds to the first menu option, and
ceasing to display the menu.

15 . A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display and one or more sensors to detect signals from a stylus associated with the device, cause the device to:
display a user interface on the touch-sensitive display; while displaying the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, detect the stylus moving towards the touch-sensitive display, without the stylus making contact with the touch-sensitive display; determine whether the detected stylus movement towards the touch-sensitive display, without making contact with the touch-sensitive display, satisfies one or more stylus movement criteria; in accordance with a determination that the detected stylus movement satisfies the one or more stylus movement criteria, display a menu overlaid on the user interface, the menu including a plurality of selectable menu options; detect selection of a first menu option in the plurality of selectable menu options; and, in response to detecting selection of the first menu option in the plurality of selectable menu options:
perform an operation that corresponds to the first menu option, and
cease to display the menu.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Bernstein Jeffrey Traer
• Dong Linda L
• Hauenstein Mark K
• Missig Julian

Classifications

• G06F3/0416

  Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers · CPC title

• G06F3/017

  Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures (interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883) · CPC title

• G06F3/03545 Primary

  Pens or stylus · CPC title

• G06F3/0482 Primary

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title

• G06F3/0488

  using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures · CPC title