Pinch Gesture Content Area Resizing on Multi-Touch Displays

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Solution Overview

Problem

Touch screen interfaces on smaller devices lack simplicity and efficiency in navigating and modifying content areas, requiring more refined and prompt viewing options due to limited screen space.

Innovation Solution

A multi-touch input device system that receives a pinch gesture to adjust the size of predefined content areas, determining the amount of content to display based on the adjusted size and displaying it on the device, allowing users to expand or reduce content areas by interpreting the pinch gesture as a command to resize and reorganize the display.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If traditional touch operations are used on smaller devices, then basic functionality is maintained, but user satisfaction and viewing efficiency deteriorate due to limited screen space and complex navigation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveviewing efficiencyVSAvoidscreen space
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic content area resizing that responds to user pinch gestures. The content areas can be expanded or contracted in real-time based on user interaction, allowing the interface to adapt its layout dynamically. This resolves the contradiction by enabling efficient viewing of multiple content areas without requiring fixed, space-consuming layouts, thus improving ease of operation within limited screen space.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the size parameter of content areas in response to pinch gestures. By detecting the distance between contact points and calculating the desired content area size, the system dynamically adjusts display parameters to optimize screen space utilization. This allows users to view more content efficiently without increasing physical screen area.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Loss of information

If multiple content areas are rendered simultaneously, then information availability increases, but screen space utilization deteriorates due to fragmentation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation visibilityVSAvoidscreen space utilization
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic content area resizing that responds to user pinch gestures. The content areas can be expanded or contracted in real-time based on user interaction, allowing the interface to adapt its layout dynamically. This resolves the contradiction by enabling efficient viewing of multiple content areas without requiring fixed, space-consuming layouts, thus improving ease of operation within limited screen space.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system allows users to partially expand content areas only when needed through pinch gestures, rather than rendering all content areas at full size simultaneously. This selective expansion approach maintains information availability while optimizing screen space utilization by displaying only the necessary portion of each content area at any given time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Measurement precision

If content area size is increased to improve visibility, then viewing quality improves, but the number of renderable content areas decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecontent visibilityVSAvoidnumber of content areas
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements dynamic content area resizing that responds to user pinch gestures. The content areas can be expanded or contracted in real-time based on user interaction, allowing the interface to adapt its layout dynamically. This resolves the contradiction by enabling efficient viewing of multiple content areas without requiring fixed, space-consuming layouts, thus improving ease of operation within limited screen space.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP2754025B1Pinch to adjust
Publication Date: 2021.02.17 GOOGLE LLC
  • EP2754025B1 patent drawingFigure 1A
  • EP2754025B1 patent drawingFigure 1B
  • EP2754025B1 patent drawingFigure 2

AI summary

Methods and systems for resizing a display area of a display device are disclosed. An example method may include receiving an on-screen pinch gesture associated with a first location and a second location, the second location being different from the first location on a multi-touch input device. The method may also include for each of a plurality of predefined content areas: adjusting a respective size of each predefined content area based on the on- screen pinch gesture, determining a respective amount of the content to display in the predefined content area based on the respective adjusted size of the predefined content area, and displaying the respective adjusted amount of content within the respective predefined content area associated with the adjusted size on the multi-touch input device.