ADVANCED TOUCH CONTROL OF INTERNET BROWSER VIA FINGER ANGLE USING A HIGH DIMENSIONAL TOUCHPAD (HDTP) TOUCH USER INTERFACE
A method for controlling an internet browser executing on a computing device is disclosed. A user interface touch sensor is configured to be responsive to at least one angle of contact with at least one finger. A change in an angle of the finger with respect to the surface of the touch sensor is measured by the touch sensor to produce measured data. Real-time calculations on the measured data are performed to produce a measured-angle value. The measured-angle value is used to control the value of at least one user interface parameter of the internet browser. At least one aspect of the internet browser changes in response to the angle of the position of the finger with respect to the surface of the touch sensor.
1 . A method for controlling an internet browser application executing on a computing device, the method comprising:
configuring a user interface touch sensor to be responsive to at least one angle of contact with at least one finger, the finger belonging to a human user of a computing device and the user interface touch sensor in communication with an operating system of the computing device;
measuring at least one change in at least one angle of the finger with respect to the surface of the touch sensor to produce measured data, the measuring performed by at least the touch sensor;
performing real-time calculations on the measured data to produce a measured-angle value; and
using the measured-angle value to control the value of at least one user interface parameter of the internet browser;
wherein at least one aspect of the internet browser changes responsive to the angle of the position of the finger with respect to the surface of the touch sensor.
2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control one of: opening and closing a browser window of the internet browser.
3 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control one of: opening and closing a tab in a browser window of the internet browser.
4 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control one of: selecting and deselecting a tab in a browser window of the internet browser.
5 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control manipulation of one or more commands associated with a menu found in the browser.
6 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control manipulation of one or more commands associated with a toolbar found in the browser.
7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control changing at least one or more dimensions of at least one browser window of the internet browser.
8 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control changing at least one dimension of content displayed in a browser window of the internet browser.
9 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control browsing at least one webpage displayed in a browser window of the internet browser.
10 . The method of claim 1 further comprising using the measured-angle value to control one of a: copy, cut, and paste command associated with the browser.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one finger angle comprises one of a: pitch, roll, yaw of the finger with respect to the touch sensor.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interface touch sensor is additionally configured to be responsive to at least one of the: left-right and forward-backward movement of the finger on the touch sensor.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interface touch sensor is additionally configured to be responsive to at least one gesture comprising changes to left-right movement of the finger on the touch sensor.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interface touch sensor is additionally configured to be responsive to at least one gesture comprising changes to forward-backward movement of the finger on the touch sensor.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interface touch sensor is additionally configured to be responsive to gestures comprising changes to pressure applied by the finger to the touch sensor.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user interface touch sensor is further configured to be responsive to simultaneous changes in at least two of finger roll angle, finger pitch angle, finger yaw angle, and finger downward pressure.
17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: calculating a speed of change of the finger angle, and using the speed of the change of the finger angle to control an aspect of the internet browser.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one finger angle is used in a natural metaphor to control an aspect of the internet browser.
19 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining one or more touch gestures performed by the finger on the surface of the touch sensor, wherein at least one of the touch gestures comprises the at least one change in at least one angle of the finger; and
using the measured-angle value and the one or more touch gestures to control the value of at least one user interface parameter of the file browser.
20 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a sequence of touch gestures performed by the finger on the surface of the touch sensor, wherein at least one of the touch gestures comprises the at least one change in at least one angle of the finger.
21 . The method of claim 1 wherein the computing device comprises a mobile device.