Manipulation of displayed objects by virtual magnetism
US9405456B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 8, 2009 |
| Grant date | Aug 2, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 7, 2034 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/04812
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A computer implemented tactile user interface (TUI) and a method of manipulating objects with a virtual magnet are provided. The TUI includes a display comprising a touch-screen. The display is configured for displaying a set of graphic objects, each graphic object representing a respective one of a set of items, such as documents, e.g., text documents or images. A virtual magnet is caused to move on the display, in response to touching on the touch-screen, e.g., by dragging a finger or other implement across. The magnet is associated with a particular function command such that a subset of the graphic objects exhibits a response to the virtual magnet (e.g., is caused to move, relative to the virtual magnet or exhibits another visible response), each graphic object in the subset moving or otherwise responding as a function of an attribute of the underlying item represented by the graphic object.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.