Accessible Menu Navigation Techniques For Electronic Devices
Techniques are disclosed for providing an accessible menu navigation mode in electronic computing devices. The user can engage a manual reading mode, using a manual reading mode activation gesture, wherein the user may navigate through content, share content, or change reading rate, font, volume, or other device settings. The user may navigate through a menu structure using menu navigation gestures and the menu and sub-menu options may be read aloud to the user as they are navigated through. A selection gesture may allow the user to enable or adjust various menu and sub-menu options, and an earcon or sound effect may guide the navigation process and/or confirm a menu selection. The user may configure the navigation gestures and option selection gestures. The menu options may be structured to allow a user to access content navigation options with upward swipe gestures and access device settings using downward swipe gestures.
1 . A device, comprising:
a touch sensitive surface for allowing user input; and
a user interface including an accessible menu navigation mode configured to navigate through menu and sub-menu options in response to one or more navigation gestures, wherein each menu and sub-menu option is aurally presented to the user in response to a corresponding navigation gesture, and wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is further configured to adjust and/or enable menu and sub-menu options in response to a selection gesture.
2 . The device of claim 1 wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is further configured to activate a manual reading mode in response to a manual mode activation gesture, wherein the manual reading mode allows the user to adjust and select navigation and settings options.
3 . The device of claim 1 wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is further configured to aurally present one or more earcons in response to at least one of: accepting a menu option, cancelling a menu option, entering a manual reading mode, entering an automatic reading mode, passing a content boundary, navigating through a menu, and/or adjusting a settings option.
4 . The device of claim 1 wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is configured to navigate through one or more menu options in response to one or more substantially vertical swipe gestures, and to perform at least one of: navigate through one or more sub-menu options, and/or change a value for a menu option in response to one or more substantially horizontal swipe gestures.
5 . The device of claim 1 wherein the selection gesture comprises at least one of: a vertical swipe gesture, a horizontal swipe gesture, a double-tap gesture, and/or lifting a contact point from the touch sensitive surface.
6 . The device of claim 1 wherein the selection gesture is user configurable.
7 . The device of claim 1 wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is configured to navigate through one or more content navigation options in response to a first menu navigation gesture, and to navigate through one or more settings options in response to a second menu navigation gesture, the first and second menu navigation gestures having opposite orientations.
8 . The device of claim 1 wherein the menu and sub-menu options are user configurable.
9 . The device of claim 1 wherein one or more menu and/or sub-menu options allow the user to share selected content over the Internet.
10 . The device of claim 9 wherein one or more menu and/or sub-menu options allow the user to create a customized group of people and share selected content with that group.
11 . The device of claim 1 wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is configured to abandon if no user contact is detected at the touch sensitive surface after a specific period of time.
12 . A mobile computing system, comprising:
a processor and a touch sensitive surface for allowing user input; and
a user interface executable on the processor and including an accessible menu navigation mode configured to navigate through menu and sub-menu options in response to one or more navigation gestures, wherein each menu and sub-menu option is aurally presented to the user in response to a corresponding navigation gesture, and wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is further configured to adjust and/or enable menu and sub-menu options in response to a selection gesture.
13 . The system of claim 12 wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is further configured to activate a manual reading mode in response to a manual mode activation gesture, wherein the manual reading mode allows the user to adjust and select navigation and settings options.
14 . The system of claim 12 wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is further configured to aurally present one or more earcons in response to at least one of: accepting a menu option, cancelling a menu option, entering a manual reading mode, entering an automatic reading mode, passing a content boundary, navigating through a menu, and/or adjusting a settings option.
15 . The system of claim 12 wherein the accessible menu navigation mode is configured to navigate through one or more menu options in response to one or more substantially vertical swipe gestures, and to perform at least one of: navigate through one or more sub-menu options, and/or change a value for a menu option in response to one or more substantially horizontal swipe gestures.
16 . A computer program product comprising a plurality of instructions non-transiently encoded thereon to facilitate operation of an electronic device according to the following process, the process comprising:
receive at a touch sensitive surface of the electronic device a menu navigation gesture;
aurally present a menu option in response to the menu navigation gesture;
receive at the touch sensitive surface a selection gesture; and
adjust a navigation option and/or settings option in response to the selection gesture.
17 . The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the process is further configured to:
receive at the touch sensitive surface a sub-menu navigation gesture; and
aurally present a sub-menu option in response to the sub-menu navigation gesture.
18 . The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the process is further configured to:
receive at the touch sensitive surface a menu option value adjustment gesture; and
adjust a menu option value in response to the value adjustment gesture.
19 . The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the process is further configured to: activate a manual reading mode in response to a manual reading mode activation gesture detected at the touch sensitive surface, wherein the manual reading mode allows the user to adjust and select navigation and settings options.
20 . The computer program product of claim 16 wherein the process is further configured to: aurally present one or more earcons in response to at least one of: accepting a menu option, cancelling a menu option, entering a manual reading mode, entering an automatic reading mode, passing a content boundary, navigating through a menu, and/or adjusting a settings option.