Devices and methods for processing touch inputs over multiple regions of a touch-sensitive surface

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9846535-B2
Application number	US-201514866231-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2015
Priority date	Jun 5, 2015
Publication date	Dec 19, 2017
Grant date	Dec 19, 2017

Abstract

An electronic device, while displaying a user interface that includes a first region corresponding to a first software application and a second region corresponding to a second software application, receives a first touch input, on a touch-sensitive display, that originates from a first location corresponding to the first region and extends to a second location corresponding to the second region. The first region includes a non-boundary region and a boundary region. In response to receiving the first touch input, when the first location corresponds to a non-boundary region of the first region, the device processes the first touch input with the first software application. When the first location corresponds to a boundary region of the first region, the device conditionally processes the first touch input with the second software application.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
at an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display:
while displaying a user interface that includes a first region that corresponds to a first software application and a second region that corresponds to a second software application that is distinct from the first software application:
receiving a first touch input, on the touch-sensitive display, that originates from a first location on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to the first region of the user interface and extends to a second location on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to the second region of the user interface; and,
in response to receiving the first touch input:
in accordance with a determination that the first location corresponds to a non-boundary region of the first region, processing the first touch input with the first software application, wherein the non-boundary region of the first region is included in the first region and located away from the second region in the user interface; and,
in accordance with a determination that the first location corresponds to a boundary region of the first region, conditionally processing the first touch input with the second software application, wherein the boundary region of the first region is included in the first region and located between the non-boundary region of the first region and the second region in the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1 , including:
in response to receiving the first touch input and in accordance with the determination that the first location corresponds to the boundary region of the first region and that the first touch input has not entered the non-boundary region of the first region on the touch-sensitive display, processing the first touch input with the second software application.

3. The method of claim 1 , including:
in response to receiving the first touch input and in accordance with a determination that the first location corresponds to the boundary region of the first region and that the first touch input has entered the non-boundary region of the first region on the touch-sensitive display, processing the first touch input with the first software application.

4. The method of claim 1 , including:
in response to detecting the first touch input at the first location on the touch-sensitive display, sending a touch began event to the first software application; and,
subsequent to sending the touch began event to the first software application and in response to detecting the first touch input at a third location on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to the second region of the user interface:
sending a touch cancel event to the first software application; and
sending a touch began event to the second software application.

5. The method of claim 1 , including:
in response to detecting the first touch input at the first location on the touch-sensitive display, sending a touch began event to the first software application; and,
subsequent to sending the touch began event to the first software application:
in response to detecting that the first touch input has left the first region of the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, sending a touch cancel event to the first software application; and,
in response to detecting that the first touch input has entered the second region of the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, sending a touch began event to the second software application.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the touch began event sent to the second software application includes information identifying the touch began event as an edge touch event.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the touch cancel event is sent from a third software application that is distinct from the first software application and the second software application.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interface includes a third region, that is distinct from the first region and the second region, between the first region and the second region.

9. The method of claim 8 , including:
receiving a second touch input, on the touch-sensitive display, that is distinct and separate from the first touch input and originates from a location on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to the third region and moves toward a location on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to the first region or the second region of the user interface; and,
in response to receiving the second touch input:
moving a boundary of the first region adjacent to the third region in accordance with the second touch input; and/or
moving a boundary of the second region adjacent to the third region in accordance with the second touch input.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
while displaying the user interface:
receiving multiple concurrent touch inputs, on the touch-sensitive display, that include one or more touch inputs in the first region of the user interface and one or more touch inputs in the second region of the user interface; and,
in response to receiving the multiple concurrent touch inputs:
processing the multiple concurrent touch inputs that include the one or more touch inputs in the first region and the one or more touch inputs in the second region with a third software application that is distinct from the first software application and the second software application;
sending one or more touch events that correspond to the one or more touch inputs in the first region of the user interface to the first software application; and
sending one or more touch events that correspond to the one or more touch inputs in the second region of the user interface to the second software application.

11. The method of claim 1 , including:
prior to detecting that the first touch input has entered the second region of the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, processing the first touch input with the first software application.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein:
processing the first touch input with the first software application includes updating the first region of the user interface in accordance with the first touch input.

13. The method of claim 12 , further including:
in response to detecting that the first touch input has entered the second region of the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, undoing the update to the first region of the user interface, made prior to detecting that the first touch input has entered the second region of the user interface on the touch-sensitive display.

14. The method of claim 12 , further including:
in response to detecting that the first touch input has entered the second region of the user interface on the touch-sensitive display, ceasing to further update the first region of the user interface in accordance with the first touch input while the first touch input is detected in the second region of the user interface.

15. An electronic device, comprising:
a touch-sensitive display;
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:
while displaying a user interface that includes a first region that corresponds to a first software application and a second region that corresponds to a second software application that is distinct from the first software application:
receiving a first touch input, on the touch-sensitive display, that originates from a first location on the touch-sensitive display that corresponds to the f

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Paine Brittany D
• Drummond Jonathan E
• Nielsen Benjamin E

Classifications

• G06F9/451

  Execution arrangements for user interfaces · CPC title

• G06F3/0418

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

• G06F3/04883

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

• G06F2203/04803

  Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas · CPC title

• G06F3/04886

  by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus · CPC title