Virtual Touchpad Two-Mode Buttons for Drag Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
In remote sessions, users on small mobile devices face difficulties in performing operations like highlighting and drag operations due to the need for two fingers, which becomes cumbersome, and the delay in button press duration makes it hard to distinguish between button press and release, breaking drag operations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a virtual touchpad with two-mode buttons (click and on/off modes) that allow single-finger operations by transmitting mouse button down and up commands based on tap and release events, disabling 'tap-to-click' during drag operations to prevent interruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If click lock is used to maintain left-click button in mouse button down state, then drag operations can be performed without holding down the button, but the delay between client device and host machine makes it difficult for users to distinguish whether the button has been pressed for a particular time duration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the timer-based mechanical detection system with a state-based software system. Instead of using timers to detect button press duration, the system uses button state management where a button press automatically transitions the button into a pressed state that persists until explicitly released. This eliminates the need for timer-based detection and resolves the ambiguity caused by network delays.
2Ease of operation
If tap to click is enabled on virtual touch pad, then users can perform clicks by tapping on the pad, but this may break drag operations despite click lock as the tap typically ends the continuous button click
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic button state management where the button state changes based on the current operation mode. In drag mode, the button remains in a persistent pressed state that is not terminated by taps. The system dynamically adjusts button behavior based on whether the user is performing a click operation or a drag operation, allowing taps to function as clicks while maintaining drag continuity when needed.
3Reliability
If two fingers are used for drag operations on virtual touch pad, then drag operations can be performed, but this becomes cumbersome on small mobile devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the button functionality into distinct states (normal state and pressed state) rather than requiring multi-finger coordination. By separating the button press action from the drag action, the system allows users to perform drag operations with a single finger by first pressing the button to enter pressed state, then dragging without needing to maintain additional finger positions.
Data Source
AI summary
Left- and right-click buttons of a virtual touchpad each have two modes, a “click” mode and an “on/off” mode. In “click” mode, touching a finger to the left- or right-click button triggers a mouse button down event while releasing a finger from the button triggers a mouse button up event. In “on/off” mode, the left- and right-click buttons each have two states, “on” and “off.” If the current state of the left- or right-click button is “off,” then touching the button triggers the mouse button down event, while releasing the button changes the state of the button to “on” but does not trigger any mouse events. Conversely, if the current state of the left- or right-click button is “on,” then touching the button does not trigger any mouse events, but releasing the button thereafter changes the state of the button to “off” and triggers the mouse button up event.