Touchscreen Gesture Duration Detection for 3D Model Selection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current CAD systems face challenges in providing touch-friendly interactions, particularly with one-finger gestures on touchscreen devices, as they often result in conflicts with mouse interactions and lack precise magnification without obscuring the visual context, making it difficult for users to perform actions like dragging and selecting in 3D models.

Innovation Solution

The solution involves detecting the duration of a one-finger touch on a touchscreen to execute specific commands, using visual and audible feedback to indicate the command being initiated, and employing a UI tool that is offset from the touch position to allow precise selection and magnification without obscuring contextual content.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If a single-finger touch gesture is used on touchscreen devices, then ease of operation is improved, but command differentiation becomes difficult due to conflicts with mouse interactions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetouchscreen operationVSAvoidcommand differentiation

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically determines command execution based on the duration of the touch gesture. Short-duration touches trigger one set of commands while long-duration touches trigger another set, allowing a single static gesture type to dynamically adapt to multiple command needs without requiring multiple physical buttons or complex gesture combinations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Measurement precision

If magnification is applied to an object on touchscreen, then selection precision is improved, but visual context is lost due to finger obscuration

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveselection precisionVSAvoidvisual context

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The magnification interface is extracted from the physical finger location and rendered as a separate visual element (such as an inset window or overlay) that displays the magnified view. This allows the magnification function to be decoupled from the obscuring finger, maintaining both the precision benefit of magnification and the contextual benefit of visible surrounding area.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

3Ease of operation

If touch interaction areas are enlarged for fingertip contact, then ease of operation is improved, but positioning precision deteriorates due to larger hit areas

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetouch interactionVSAvoidpositioning precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different quality characteristics to different parts of the touch interface. Large hit areas are provided for activation purposes to ensure ease of operation, while the actual selection and manipulation precision is maintained through virtual cursor positioning and magnification tools that operate independently of the physical finger size.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS11226734B1Triggering multiple actions from a single gesture

Publication Date: 2022.01.18 DASSAULT SYSTEMES SOLIDWORKS CORP

AI summary

A computer-implemented method and system enables the execution of multiple commands from a single gesture by detecting an object is touching a touchscreen device, timing the duration that the object remains on the surface of the touchscreen device, indicating the length of the duration, and executing one of two or more commands based on the length of the duration.