Item selection methods

Abstract

Item selection methods. Users touch, drag, and release contact along a touch-sensitive mechanism to select software hotkeys or menu items on a display screen. As soon as contact is made with and remains on the surface of the sensor, a menu appears on the display screen. Sustained contact and dragging along the touch-sensitive mechanism moves or scrolls through content items. When contact is terminated with the touch-sensitive mechanism, the highlighted content item is selected for launching.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will become more fully understood by referring to the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A shows the front of a handheld device;

FIG. 1B shows the side of a handheld device;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a portable devoice with a touch-sensitive mechanism;

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating another embodiment of a portable devoice with a touch-sensitive mechanism;

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram illustrating still another embodiment of a portable devoice with a touch-sensitive mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of an item selection method;

FIGS. 4A and 4B shows an example of an embodiment of item selection;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of list items arranged circularly;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an embodiment of an item selection method; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B shows an example of an embodiment of item selection.

Claims

1. An item selection method, comprising: detecting a contact on a touch-sensitive mechanism;in response to the contact, selecting a first item from a sequence of items;determining whether the contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism remains;if the contact remains and moves along a direction, re-selecting a second item from the items according to the direction; andif the contact terminates, launching the selected item.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: when the contact is detected,in response to the contact, displaying the sequence of the items in a display unit; andhighlighting the selected first item.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising: displaying a schematic diagram of the touch-sensitive mechanism in a display unit; andmarking a contact position corresponding to the contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism in the schematic diagram.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising moving to the second item within the items from the first item along the direction if the contact remains and moves along the direction.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising moving the second item to a specific area of the display unit if the contact remains and moves along the direction.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising contacting a specific portion of the touch-sensitive mechanism, wherein the touch-sensitive mechanism comprises an elongated touch-sensitive surface, and the specific portion comprises one of two ends of the elongated touch-sensitive surface.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the items are arranged circularly.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising detecting the contact by detecting signals corresponding to contact made with the touch-sensitive mechanism.

9. An item selection method for use in a portable device comprising a touch-sensitive mechanism and a display unit, comprising: detecting a contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism;in response to the contact, displaying a sequence of items in the display unit, selecting a first item from the items, and highlighting the first item in a specific area of the display unit, wherein the display unit displays part or all of the items;if the contact remains and moves along a direction, moving the sequence of the items according to the direction, thus displaying a second item within the items in the specific area of the display unit, and re-selecting the second item; andif the contact terminates, launching the selected item.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising: displaying a schematic diagram of the touch-sensitive mechanism in the display unit; andmarking a contact position corresponding to the contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism in the schematic diagram.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising contacting a specific portion of the touch-sensitive mechanism, wherein the touch-sensitive mechanism comprises an elongated touch-sensitive surface, and the specific portion comprises one of two ends of the elongated touch-sensitive surface.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the items are arranged circularly.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the portable device comprises a PDA, smart phone, global positioning device, or mobile phone.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprising detecting the contact by detecting signals corresponding to contact with the touch-sensitive mechanism.

15. An item selection method for use in a portable device comprising a touch-sensitive mechanism and a display unit, comprising: detecting a contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism;in response to the contact, displaying a sequence of items in the display unit, selecting a first item from the items, and highlighting the first item in a specific area of the display unit, wherein the display unit displays part or all of the items;if the contact remains and moves along a direction, moving to a second item within the items from the first item, and re-selecting the second item; andif the contact terminates, launching the selected item.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising: displaying a schematic diagram of the touch-sensitive mechanism in the display unit; andmarking a contact position corresponding to the contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism in the schematic diagram.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising contacting a specific portion of the touch-sensitive mechanism, wherein the touch-sensitive mechanism comprises an elongated touch-sensitive surface, and the specific portion comprises one of two ends of the elongated touch-sensitive surface.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the items are arranged circularly.

19. The method of claim 15 wherein the portable device comprises a PDA, smart phone, global positioning device, or mobile phone.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising detecting the contact by detecting signals corresponding to contact with the touch-sensitive mechanism.

21. A machine-readable storage medium comprising a computer program, which, when executed, causes a device to perform an item selection method, the method comprising: detecting a contact on a touch-sensitive mechanism;in response to the contact, selecting a first item from a sequence of items;determining whether the contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism remains;if the contact remains and moves along a direction, re-selecting a second item from the items according to the direction; andif the contact terminates, launching the selected item.

22. The storage medium of claim 21 wherein the method further comprises detecting the contact by detecting signals corresponding to contact with the touch-sensitive mechanism.

23. A machine-readable storage medium comprising a computer program, which, when executed, causes a device to perform an item selection method, the method comprising: detecting a contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism;in response to the contact, displaying a sequence of items in the display unit, selecting a first item from the items, and highlighting the first item in a specific area of the display unit, wherein the display unit displays part or all of the items;if the contact remains and moves along a direction, moving the sequence of the items according to the direction, thus displaying a second item within the items in the specific area of the display unit, and re-selecting the second item; andif the contact terminates, launching the selected item.

24. The storage medium of claim 23 wherein the method further comprises detecting the contact by detecting signals corresponding to contact with the touch-sensitive mechanism.

25. A machine-readable storage medium comprising a computer program, which, when executed, causes a device to perform an item selection method, the method comprising: detecting a contact on the touch-sensitive mechanism;in response to the contact, displaying a sequence of items in the display unit, selecting a first item from the items, and highlighting the first item in a specific area of the display unit, wherein the display unit displays part or all of the items;if the contact remains and moves along a direction, moving to a second item within the items from the first item, and re-selecting the second item; andif the contact terminates, launching the selected item.

26. The storage medium of claim 25 wherein the method further comprises detecting the contact by detecting signals corresponding to contact with the touch-sensitive mechanism.