Apple patent is for a techniques for interactive input to portable electronic devices
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Jan 24, 2008 at 10:18am
An Apple patent (number 20080018616) for techniques for interactive input to portable electronic devices has appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. The invention relates to improved techniques for providing user input to interactive and multitasking computing environments.
The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including a method, an apparatus, a computer readable medium. The patent involves techniques for providing input to interactive and multitasking applications are disclosed. A game input area (surface or plane) receives input for multiple applications including an interactive application executed in connection with a scene.
The input received is directed to the appropriate application based on one or more locations (e.g., points, positions, regions, portions) of the input area effectively identified when input is received (or entered). In addition, the manner in which input is received (or entered) can be used to determine which application should receive the input. The input area can additionally resemble or approximate the shape of a scene (e.g., game scene) to allow a person to provide input in a more intuitive way.
Accordingly, input can be provided in a simple and more intuitive manner by effectively allowing the user to interact with the input area in a way that mimics or approximates a desired action (e.g., moving a ball or bat around by inputting a rotational movement). Examples of such interaction include positional, directional (e.g., rotational), press or pressure input (or movement) that can easily be provided by a thumb or a finger, for example, on a touch screen.
Here’s Apple’s background on the invention: “Conventional input devices (e.g., a keyboard, mouse) are used to provide input to various application programs (applications) running (or being executed) on conventional computing systems (e.g., personal computers). Generally speaking, providing input to an application program running on a mobile device (e.g., portable media player, mobile phones) poses a more difficult problem, especially when an “interactive” application (e.g., gaming application) and/or multiple applications are to be supported. Broadly speaking, applications that receive or require input can be characterized as ‘interactive’ applications.
“Typically, interactive applications require input in connection with data or content displayed. The data or content displayed can be characterized as a ‘scene.’ In general, data or content (or scene) displayed is manipulated or controlled based on the input when an interactive application is executed. Often, a person (or a human being) provides the input while viewing the data or content (or scene) displayed by the interactive application.
“In a ‘multitasking’ (or multiprogramming) computing environment, multiple applications are effectively supported at the same time. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that multitasking poses difficult technical challenges, especially when an interactive application is supported on a mobile device. Despite these challenges, interactive and multitasking applications have become increasingly more popular with users of mobile devices. Accordingly, improved techniques for providing user input to interactive and multitasking applications would be useful.”
The inventors are Michael D. Lampell, Francois-Yves Bertrand, Alan Berfield, Leo Lee and Eric Snider. The graphic below depicts a computing environment where first and second application programs (or applications) are effectively executed by a computing device in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.
The “Macsimum MWSF 2007 Coupon Book” is available for download. You can find it here and print it as a PDF. It has discounts, special offers and promotions.
Article Information
Comment on this Article Print this Article Email this Article Digg This
Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
