Pointing device dwell time
AssigneeGateway, Inc.
InventorKim C. Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method, apparatus, and signal-bearing medium that selects an object displayed on a display screen when a cursor controlled by a pointing device pauses at the object for a time period longer than a dwell-time threshold. The dwell-time threshold is adjusted based on the density of the objects displayed on the screen. Thus, when the density of displayed objects is higher, the dwell-time threshold is longer and the user must hold the cursor at the desired object for a longer time in order to select the object. Similarly, when the density of displayed objects is lower, the dwell-time threshold is lower, and the user must hold the cursor at the desired object for a shorter time in order to select the object.
Claims21
A method comprising:
- determining a density of a plurality of objects displayed on a screen of an output device;
- and
- adjusting a dwell-time threshold for a pointing device based on the density.
A signal-bearing medium bearing instructions that when executed by a processor comprise:
- determining a location of a cursor on a screen of an output device;
- determining a region around the location;
- determining a density of a plurality of objects within the region;
- and
- adjusting a dwell-time threshold for a pointing device based on the density of the plurality of objects within the region.
A signal-bearing medium encoded with a data structure accessed by a controller that executes on a computer, the data structure comprising a plurality of entries, each entry comprising:
- a location of a region on a screen of an output device;
- and
- a density of objects displayed within the region, wherein the controller is to adjust a dwell-time threshold for a pointing device based on the density.
A system comprising:
- a pointing device to indicate position information;
- and
- an electronic device comprising:
- a controller to display a cursor on a screen at a location corresponding to the position information and select a target object displayed on the screen when the cursor pauses at the target object for a time period longer than a dwell-time threshold, wherein the controller is further to adjust the dwell-time threshold based on a density of a plurality of objects displayed on the screen.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.