Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Scott Robert Honji

Masahiko Kaneko

Paul Millsap

Jan-Kristian Markiewicz

Sarah Graham Williams

Vincent L Ball

Eric W Hebenstreit

Marc Descamp

Amish Patel

Robert D Young

Stephen Harry Wright

Elliot H Omiya

Albert Peter Hwang

Peter Drayton

Daniel M Sangster

Kevin John Smith

Harley Michael Rosnow

Eric Boller Fleegal

Xin Gong

Lei Wang

Richard Shailer Turner, Jr

Xianfeng Tian

Mark Vulfson

Richard Turner

Paul R Millsap

A computer system supports a protocol to process directional navigation inputs to a host application and its component, to manage which component is currently active to receive input events. A first component determines whether to transfer focus to a second component. The first component initiates the transfer by sending a request to the second component. Further input events are queued. The second component processes the request to determine how to transfer focus within the second component. The second component indicates to the operating system how focus has been transferred. The operating system updates information to reflect the changes in state of the components, and informs the host and component that the state has been updated. Queued input events then can be released for processing according to the changed focus. Where the components are separate, independent processes, the protocol can be implemented through inter-process communication techniques.

Processing non-spatial input by multiple program elements of a computer program executed on a computer

To allow a computer platform to provide a consistent interface for applications to use information from multi-point indirect touch input devices, an application programming interface is provided to a software interface layer that manages interaction of the system with a variety of instantiations of multi-pointer indirect touch input devices. A runtime module provides information from the indirect touch input devices to an input stack accessible by applications on the computer system. The runtime module provides mapping of contacts on the indirect touch input devices to a display.

Application programming interface for a multi-pointer indirect touch input device

An indirect interaction input device, such as but not limited to a touch sensor, can provide multiple points of input, such as two or more positions in a coordinate space where a user is touching the sensor. These multiple points are in turn mapped to multiple positions on an output device such as a display. The mapping can be relative or absolute. With a relative mapping, boundary conditions for single and multiple displays are applied and, if appropriate, remedial offsets are added to the input points to maintain a desired user interaction model.

Display mapping modes for multi-pointer indirect input devices

To allow a computer platform to provide a consistent interface for applications to use information from multi-point indirect touch input devices, an application programming interface is provided to a software interface layer that manages interaction of the system with a variety of instantiations of multi-pointer indirect touch input devices.

One or more techniques and/or systems are provided for utilizing input data received from an indirect interaction device (e.g., mouse, touchpad, etc.) as if the data was received from a direct interaction device (e.g., touchscreen). Interaction models are described for handling input data received from an indirect interaction device. For example, the interaction models may provide for the presentation of two or more targets (e.g., cursors) on a display when two or more contacts (e.g., fingers) are detected by indirect interaction device. Moreover, based upon a number of contacts detected and/or a pressured applied by respective contacts, the presented target(s) may be respectively transitioned between a hover visualization and an engage visualization. Targets in an engage visualization may manipulate a size of an object presented in a user interface, pan the object, drag the object, rotate the object, and/or otherwise engage the object, for example.

Interaction models for indirect interaction devices

An indirect interaction input device, such as but not limited to a touch sensor, can provide multiple points of input. These multiple points are in turn mapped to multiple positions on an output device such as a display. The multiple points of input, however, make the application of pointer ballistics and resolution differences between the input sensor and target display more difficult to manage. Thus, a characteristic of the set of points is identified and used to adjust the mapping of each of the points. For example, one way to solve this problem is to identify the input point with the least displacement from a prior frame, whether from its prior point or from a reference point. This displacement is used to adjust the mapping of the set of input points from the input device to their corresponding display coordinates.

Acceleration-based interaction for multi-pointer indirect input devices

A data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by a logic subsystem is provided. The instructions are configured to receive one or more touch-input messages reporting touch contacts recognized by a touch input device, if a touch contact reported by the one or more touch-input messages satisfies a first criterion, initiating a virtual mouse input mode, in the virtual mouse input mode, outputting a cursor position corresponding to a position of the touch contact that satisfies the first criterion, if no touch contacts reported by the one or more touch-input messages satisfy the first criterion, and one or more touch contacts reported by the one or more touch-input messages satisfies a second criterion, initiating a multi-touch input mode, and in the multi-touch input mode, outputting a multi-touch gesture command corresponding to the one or more touch contacts that satisfy the second criterion.

Modal touch input

In an indirect interaction input device, z-information can be considered in defining a user interaction model for the device. Any measurement of displacement in a z-direction can be used, if such information is available from the input device. The pressure data can be used to define states of interaction, with transitions between these states determined by various thresholds. The device can provide raw or normalized data, and can provide state information or data defining its thresholds that specify state transitions. This information can be provided as an attribute of a contact point provided by the device. Data can be normalized across various similar devices. Applications can use the raw pressure data from the device for their own purposes, or rely on the device itself or host operating system software to interpret the pressure data according to thresholds and states.

Pressure-based interaction for indirect touch input devices

A computing system includes one or more input-device user-interface runtime applications to dynamically display images on a dynamic input device. The one or more input-device user-interface runtime applications are executed in a currently active desktop. The computing system further includes a dominant application configured to execute in the currently active desktop. The dominant application is configured to specify an input-device user-interface runtime application corresponding to a current context of the dominant application. The specified input-device user-interface runtime application is configured to dynamically display virtual controls on the dynamic input device. The specified input-device user-interface runtime application is also configured to report activation of the virtual controls to the dominant application.

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Scott Robert Honji