Graphics tablets, also known as digitizing tablets, graphics pads, and drawing tablets, are a type of input device typically used with desktop computers as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, other input devices, such as a mouse or trackball. Graphics tablets, such as those manufactured by Wacom, typically comprise a flat surface for drawing and a drawing tool, such as a pen, stylus, puck, or mouse device. Graphics tablets may also include a number of programmable or nonprogrammable buttons for performing various tasks or functions, such as copying or pasting data, starting an application, or performing a macro. Graphics tablets are available in a variety of shapes and sizes and can connect to a desktop computer via a number of connection types, such as a serial connection, a USB connection, a Bluetooth connection, etc. Graphics tablets can operate in “absolute” or “relative” modes. In absolute mode, a location on the flat surface of the graphics tablet corresponds to a position on the display of a user computer. In relative mode, the graphics tablet behaves more like a mouse in that the position of a cursor on the display is not associated with any position on the flat surface. Because the flat surface and drawing tool of the graphics tablet are used much like pencil and paper, graphics tablets are often used by artists, such as computer-aided design (“CAD”) users, graphical designers, technical illustrators, etc., to generate digital images. Graphics tablets are also used by artists and non-artists as pointing devices because they are considered by many to be more intuitive and natural to use than a mouse or trackball. Graphics tablets are the preferred input device for many users but, due to their size, can consume a relatively large amount of desktop space and are not considered portable.
Portable mobile devices, such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), are used by many and are becoming more and more common throughout the world. Mobile devices, while compact and easy to transport, provide a host of features and services, such as communications, information storage and retrieval, multimedia entertainment, etc. Users may interact with some mobile devices, such as the HTC Touch Diamond, via an integrated touch screen. A user may interact with the touch screen using, for example, a finger or some other pointing device, such as a stylus. Through the touch screen, a user can write, draw, interact with various menus or applications, make telephone calls, compose and send emails, etc. The touch screen provides an intuitive method for interacting with applications and features of the mobile device.
A system and method for using a mobile device having a touch screen as a graphics tablet input device for a user computer is disclosed. A graphics tablet application executing at the mobile device may replace a standard display of the mobile device with a simulated surface of a graphics tablet. A user may interact with the graphics tablet application by drawing on the touch screen of the mobile device. As the user draws across the touch screen of the mobile device, the graphics tablet application samples the position of the user input at a predetermined rate and transmits an indication of this position information, such as x, y position information or a recognized symbol, to the user computer where the input can be further processed. Because the mobile device may be connected to a user computer for any number of reasons, such as to copy data to or from the mobile device, charge the mobile device, or upgrade the firmware of the mobile device, a graphics tablet application may also be responsible for configuring the mobile device to be recognized as a graphics tablet input device or some other pointing device when connected to the user computer.
The graphics tablet application may disable or modify various features of the mobile device while the graphics tablet application is active. A user may configure the behavior of each feature of the mobile device while the graphics tablet application is active. When the graphics tablet application is terminated, each feature of the mobile device may return to its normal configuration.
A support pad for the mobile device may also be provided to maintain stability of the mobile device while it is being used as a graphics tablet input device and also to avoid damaging the mobile device. A recess at or near the center of the support pad may be designed such that its length, width, and depth dimensions are substantially similar to the corresponding dimensions of the mobile device so that when the mobile device is placed within the recess of the support pad, its movement is restricted and the surface of the mobile device is substantially coplanar with a surface of the support pad. Each support pad may include at least one passage for cabling from an exterior side wall of the support pad through to a side wall of the recess. Each support pad may comprise a number of layers including a nonskid bottom layer to prevent the support pad from sliding while in use, a resilient body layer composed of, for example, foam rubber or NEOPRENE, and a smooth top layer to provide a comfortable surface for a user to rest and glide his or her hand while using the mobile device as a graphic tablet input device from the support pad.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A system and method for using a mobile device having a touch screen as a graphics tablet input device for a user computer is disclosed. In some embodiments, a graphics tablet application executing at the mobile device may replace a standard display of the mobile device with a simulated surface of a graphics tablet. For example, the graphics tablet application may display a solid color across the entire surface of the touch screen of the mobile device or a grid pattern that can be matched to a grid pattern on the display of the user computer. The simulated graphics tablet surface may also include a number of programmable or nonprogrammable soft buttons that represent buttons found on graphics tablets. Alternatively, the graphics tablet application may configure hard buttons on the mobile device to perform as graphics tablet input device buttons while the graphics tablet application is executing. A user may interact with the graphics tablet application through these buttons or by drawing on the touch screen of the mobile device using, for example, a finger or a stylus. As the user draws across the touch screen of the mobile device, the graphics tablet application samples the position of the user input at a predetermined rate and transmits an indication of this position information to the user computer. For example, the graphics tablet application may transmit x, y position data to the user computer. As another example, the graphics tablet application may attempt to recognize a symbol (e.g., alphanumeric characters or punctuation) and transmit a Unicode value for the recognized symbol to the user computer. As another example, the graphics tablet application may include an input method component for recognizing characters not found on the input device, such as Microsoft's Input Method Editor (IME). As another example, a user may interact with a standard or modified keyboard layout (QWERTY, Dvorak, etc.) displayed on the touch screen of the mobile device. The graphics tablet application may also recognize other types of user input, such as when a user “taps” on the mobile device's touch screen or lifts their finger or stylus from the touch screen.
A connection between the mobile device and the user computer may be established in any number of ways, such as a standard serial connection, a USB connection, an IEEE 1394 connection, a network connection, etc. In some cases, the mobile device may be connected to the user computer via a wireless connection (e.g., Bluetooth, Infrared, or Ultra-wideband (UWB)). Because the mobile device may be connected to a user computer for any number of reasons, such as to copy data to or from the mobile device, charge the mobile device, or upgrade the firmware of the mobile device, a graphics tablet application may also be responsible for configuring the mobile device to be recognized as a graphics tablet input device or some other pointing device when connected to the user computer. As an example, a graphics tablet application executing at the mobile device may temporarily alter a plug-and-play identifier of the mobile device. As another example, the graphics tablet application may intercept communications between the mobile device and the user computer during an identification phase of a human interface device (HID) protocol and transmit data. When the user computer receives the indication of the user input, the user computer may process the indication by, for example, moving a cursor across an associated display device, drawing a curve representative of the user input, displaying the recognized symbol, or sending the data to an application for further processing.
In some embodiments, the graphics tablet application may disable or modify various features of the mobile device while the graphics tablet application is active. For example, to prevent interruptions in the use of a mobile telephone device as a graphics tablet input device for a user computer, the graphics tablet application may prevent the mobile telephone device from receiving telephone calls while the graphics tablet application is active. As another example, the graphics tablet application may display an indication of a received call or message on the touch screen of the mobile telephone device, the display of the user computer, or both. By clicking or selecting the call indicator, the user can answer the call or read the received message. In some cases, the graphics tablet application may redirect a telephone call through the user computer so that the user can communicate via a microphone and speaker of the user computer. In some embodiments, a user can configure the behavior of each feature of the mobile device while the graphics tablet application is active. For example, a user may configure a mobile telephone device to send all incoming calls to voicemail or answer all incoming calls in speakerphone mode. When the graphics tablet application is terminated, each feature of the mobile device may return to its normal configuration.
A support pad for the mobile device may also be provided to maintain stability of the mobile device while it is being used as a graphics tablet input device and also to avoid damaging the mobile device. A support pad may be specially designed for each mobile device to provide a custom fit so that the mobile device does not wobble or slide during use. A recess at or near the center of the support pad may be designed such that its length, width, and depth dimensions are substantially similar to the corresponding dimensions of the mobile device so that when the mobile device is placed within the recess of the support pad, its movement is restricted and the surface of the mobile device is substantially coplanar with a surface of the support pad. Each support pad may include at least one passage from an exterior side wall of the support pad through to a side wall of the recess. These passages allow for cabling, such as communications or power cabling, to reach the mobile device while reducing interference with the top and bottom surfaces of the support pad. The support pad may also include a hole or cutout portion passing from the bottom of the support pad to the bottom of the recess. This cutout portion allows a user to easily remove the mobile device from the support pad. Each support pad may comprise a number of layers including a nonskid bottom layer to prevent the support pad from sliding while in use, a resilient body layer composed of, for example, foam rubber or NEOPRENE, and a smooth top layer to provide a comfortable surface for a user to rest and glide his or her hand while using the mobile device as a graphic tablet input device from the support pad. In some embodiments, a support pad may be molded, although one skilled in the art will recognize that support pads may be manufactured in any fashion, such as by machining or stamping.
User computer 220 includes graphics tablet interface component 221 and application component 222. Graphics tablet interface component 221 receives and processes graphics tablet data from mobile device 210 in accordance with a graphics tablet input device protocol and/or a graphics tablet input device driver installed at the user computer. Graphics tablet interface component 221 may also interact with application component 222 by providing the received user input to the application. For example, a standard word processing application may receive text input from graphics tablet interface component 221 received from mobile device 210. As another example, a graphics editing program may receive drawing input from graphics tablet interface component 221. Data is exchanged or communicated between mobile device 210 and user computer 220 via connection 230. Connection 230 may provide a direct connection between mobile device 210 and user computer 220 via a cable or wireless communications link or may connect the mobile device and user computer over a communications network.
The computing devices on which the mobile device graphics tablet input system is implemented may include a central processing unit, memory, input devices (e.g., keyboard and pointing devices), output devices (e.g., display devices), and storage devices (e.g., disk drives). The memory and storage devices are computer-readable media that may be encoded with computer-executable instructions that implement the mobile device graphics tablet input system, which means a computer-readable medium that contains the instructions. In addition, the instructions, data structures, and message structures may be stored or transmitted via a data transmission medium, such as a signal on a communications link, and may be encrypted. Various communications links may be used, such as the Internet, a personal area network, a local area network, a wide area network, a point-to-point dial-up connection, a cell phone network, and so on.
Embodiments of the mobile device graphics tablet input system may be implemented in and used with various operating environments that include personal computers, server computers, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, programmable consumer electronics, digital cameras, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and so on.
The mobile device graphics tablet input system may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.