Electronic Pen Gesture Mapping for Document Productivity Actions

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems for editing electronic documents using digital ink lack efficiency and resource optimization, particularly in applying advanced productivity actions such as styles, formatting, and themes through electronic pens.

Innovation Solution

A system that receives trigger events from electronic pens with associated attributes to determine and apply advanced productivity actions like styles, formatting, and themes to electronic documents, using a document productivity model to calculate probabilities for gesture and attribute-based actions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If gesture-based commands are implemented for editing electronic documents, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of operationVSAvoiddevice complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically detects gestures and interprets them as editing commands without requiring explicit mode switching or complex configuration. The electronic document application serves itself by implementing gesture recognition and interpretation capabilities, allowing users to naturally interact with the document through gestures like circling, underlining, and highlighting, which are automatically translated into appropriate editing operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Productivity

If advanced productivity actions are applied through electronic pen gestures, then productivity is improved, but use of energy increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveproductivityVSAvoiduse of energy
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements a hierarchical gesture recognition approach where simple, common gestures (like basic selection or deletion) are handled by lightweight recognition algorithms, while more complex gestures (like advanced formatting or style application) trigger more sophisticated interpretation only when needed. This partial implementation strategy applies computational resources proportionally to the complexity of the gesture, avoiding excessive energy consumption for routine operations while maintaining advanced productivity capabilities when required.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3803556B1Mapping a gesture and/or electronic pen attribute(s) to an advanced productivity action
Publication Date: 2024.06.26 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP3803556B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3803556B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3803556B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Described herein is a system and method for modifying electronic documents. While a user is editing an electronic document on a canvas of an application, a trigger event related to an electronic pen is received (e.g., explicitly or inferred). The electronic pen has one or more associated attributes (e.g., type of pen, color of pen, thickness of line, transparency value). In response to the trigger event, which of a plurality of advanced productivity actions related to editing to apply to the electronic document is determined based upon at least one of the associated attributes. The advanced production actions can include, for example, styles, formatting, and/or themes. The electronic document is modified in accordance with the determined advanced productivity action.