Simultaneous Local Zoom Windows on Touch Screens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Touch-sensitive devices struggle with accuracy, particularly on small screens like cell phones and PDAs, where users find it difficult to precisely target objects due to the imprecision of finger input, and existing solutions like zooming fail to maintain a view of the 'big picture' when zooming into specific areas.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for touch-sensitive devices that allow users to zoom into specific portions of content while maintaining the original zoom size of other areas, enabling simultaneous zooming into multiple localized areas without expanding the entire screen, using a touch input device to select and manage local zoom modes within a nested structure of map windows.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the entire screen is zoomed in to improve precision of targeting small objects, then the view of the big picture is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The display screen is segmented into multiple independent zoomable regions. Each region can be zoomed in independently using local zoom windows that display enlarged views of specific portions of the content. This allows the user to examine details in one area while other areas remain at their original scale, preserving the overall context and big picture view.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested window structure where local zoom windows are overlaid on the main display. The zoom windows contain enlarged views of specific regions, creating a nested hierarchy where detailed views are embedded within the broader context of the original display. This nested structure allows simultaneous viewing of both detailed and overview information.
2Measurement precision
If traditional zooming is used to view detailed information, then the user cannot simultaneously view multiple areas of interest
Solution Approach 1:
The display is divided into multiple independent zoomable regions, each capable of displaying enlarged content. Users can activate multiple local zoom windows simultaneously, with each window focused on a different area of interest. This segmentation allows the user to examine multiple detailed regions at once while maintaining the ability to switch between different zoom levels and locations.
3Area of stationary object
If the display is optimized for small screens to show more content, then the precision of finger input becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary cursor mechanism that mediates between the imprecise finger input and the required precise selection. The cursor can be positioned with greater precision than direct finger touching, and it provides visual feedback about the current target. This intermediary allows users to navigate and select small objects on dense displays with improved accuracy compared to direct finger manipulation.
Data Source
AI summary
Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to a technique for generating simultaneous zoom in windows on a touch sensitive device. A first portion of the user content is zooming into by touching the display screen in a proximity of the first portion using the touch input device while retaining an original zoom size of a first remaining portion of the user content. A second portion of the user content from the first remaining portion is zoomed into by touching the display screen in a proximity of the second portion using the touch input device while retaining a zoomed in first portion and an original zoom size of a second remaining portion of the of the first remaining portion, the original zoom size of the first and the second remaining portions being the same.