Method and system for providing touch-sensitive screens for the visually impaired

A method in a computer system for controlling a scroll bar, the computer system having a touch-sensitive panel with a scroll bar region, the scroll bar region having a scroll box sub-region, the method comprising the steps of:

• determining whether the user is contacting the touch-sensitive panel over the scroll box sub-region;
• when the user is contacting the touch-sensitive panel over the scroll box sub-region,
• setting a first position of contact for the scroll box sub-region;
• determining whether the user terminates contact with the touch-sensitive panel without contacting the touch-sensitive panel outside of the scroll box sub-region;
• and
• when the user terminates contact with the touch-sensitive panel in such a way, setting a scroll mode to on;
• and
• while the scroll mode is on,
• determining whether the user has contacted the touch-sensitive panel and determining a second position of contact;
• and
• calculating an amount to scroll based on a difference between the first and the second position of contact.

A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for controlling a computer processor in a computer system to select a control region of a touch-sensitive panel from among a plurality of control regions that are touch-sensitive and a plurality of non-control regions that are touch-sensitive, the control regions and non-control regions arranged in at least a two dimensional arrangement on the touch-sensitive panel with at least two control regions separated by a non-control region, by performing the steps of:

• determining whether a user is touching the touch-sensitive panel on a first control region;
• and
• when the user is touching the touch-sensitive panel on the first control regions
• determining whether the user has terminated touching the first control region;
• when the user has terminated touching the first control region by releasing contact from the touch-sensitive panel over the first control region, selecting the first control region;
• and
• when the user has terminated touching the first control region by is moving contact such that the user is touching the touch-sensitive panel over a non-control region,
• without selecting the fist control region, waiting for the user to touch the touch-sensitive panel over a second control region;
• and
• when the user is touching the touch-sensitive panel over the second control region, determining whether the user has terminated touching the second control region, and when the user has terminated touching the second control region by releasing contact from the touch-sensitive panel over the second control region, selecting the second control region.

A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions for controlling a computer processor in a computer system to control a scroll bar, the computer system having a touch-sensitive panel with a scroll bar region, the scroll bar region having a scroll box sub-region, by performing the steps of:

• determining whether the user is contacting the touch-sensitive panel over the scroll box sub-region;
• when the user is contacting the touch-sensitive panel over the scroll box sub-region,
• setting a first position of contact for the scroll box sub-region;
• determining whether the user terminates contact with the touch-sensitive panel without contacting the touch-sensitive panel outside of the scroll box sub-region;
• and
• when the user terminates contact with the touch-sensitive panel in such a way, setting a scroll mode to on;
• and
• while the scroll mode is on,
• determining whether the user has contacted the touch-sensitive panel and determining a second position of contact;
• and
• calculating an amount to scroll based on a difference between the first and the second position of contact.