{
  "patent_number": "US 7479949",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Touchscreens Understand Your Finger Swipes and Scrolls",
  "original_title": "Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics",
  "summary": "This patent describes how touchscreens use smart rules, called heuristics, to figure out if your finger movement means scrolling up, moving around a map, or flipping to the next photo, especially by looking at how you start your swipe.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a method for a computing device with a touchscreen to interpret finger movements as specific commands. It works by detecting finger contacts and then applying a set of 'heuristics' – which are like smart rules or educated guesses – to figure out what the user intends. For example, a key heuristic (Claim 1) differentiates between a one-dimensional vertical scroll (like reading a long article) and a two-dimensional screen translation (like moving around a map) based on the *initial angle* of the finger's movement. If your finger starts moving mostly up or down within a specific angle (Claim 4), it's a vertical scroll. If it starts moving at a wider range of angles (Claim 5), it might be a 2D translation. Another heuristic (Claim 1) helps switch from one item to the next, like flipping through photos. The system can even apply different sets of heuristics depending on which app is open, such as a web browser versus a photo album (Claim 9).",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover touch input from non-finger sources, such as a stylus or palm, as it specifies 'one or more finger contacts' (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover systems that determine vertical or two-dimensional scrolling commands without considering the *initial angle* of a finger's movement (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover devices that interpret gestures without using 'heuristics' (rules of thumb) to decide what a finger contact means (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover systems that use the same number of fingers for translating content within a frame and translating an entire page (Claim 8).",
    "Does not cover screen rotation commands that are not specifically triggered by a simultaneous two-thumb twisting gesture (Claim 7)."
  ],
  "filed": "2008-04-11",
  "granted": "2009-01-20",
  "expires": "2028-04-11",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Apple Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/apple-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Freddy Allen Anzures",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/freddy-allen-anzures"
    },
    {
      "name": "Scott Forstall",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/scott-forstall"
    },
    {
      "name": "Wayne C. Westerman",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/wayne-c-westerman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gregory Novick",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/gregory-novick"
    },
    {
      "name": "Chris Blumenberg",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/chris-blumenberg"
    },
    {
      "name": "Richard Williamson",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/richard-williamson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jeremy A. Wyld",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/jeremy-a-wyld"
    },
    {
      "name": "Charles J. Pisula",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/charles-j-pisula"
    },
    {
      "name": "Paul D. Marcos",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/paul-d-marcos"
    },
    {
      "name": "Bas Ording",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/bas-ording"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michael Matas",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/michael-matas"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jeffrey Bush",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/jeffrey-bush"
    },
    {
      "name": "Henri C. Lamiraux",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/henri-c-lamiraux"
    },
    {
      "name": "Imran Chaudhri",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/imran-chaudhri"
    },
    {
      "name": "Virgil Scott King",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/virgil-scott-king"
    },
    {
      "name": "Kenneth Kocienda",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/kenneth-kocienda"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marcel van Os",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/marcel-van-os"
    },
    {
      "name": "Greg Christie",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/greg-christie"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andre M. J. Boule",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/andre-m-j-boule"
    },
    {
      "name": "Scott Herz",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/scott-herz"
    },
    {
      "name": "Stephen O. Lemay",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/stephen-o-lemay"
    },
    {
      "name": "Patrick Lee Coffman",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/patrick-lee-coffman"
    },
    {
      "name": "Francisco Ryan Tolmasky",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/francisco-ryan-tolmasky"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nitin K. Ganatra",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/nitin-k-ganatra"
    },
    {
      "name": "Steven P. Jobs",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/steven-p-jobs"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 1120,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software",
    "telecommunications"
  ],
  "abstract": "A computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a computing device with a touch screen display comprises: detecting one or more finger contacts with the touch screen display, applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device, and processing the command. The one or more heuristics comprise: a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a one-dimensional vertical screen scrolling command, a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a two-dimensional screen translation command, and a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a command to transition from displaying a respective item in a set of items to displaying a next item in the set of items.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7479949/iphone-multi-touch",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7479949/iphone-multi-touch/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US7479949",
  "relatedPatents": [
    {
      "patentNumber": "7469381",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "How Touchscreens Show and Snap Back When You Scroll Past an Edge",
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    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "7844915",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "How Touchscreens Handle Scrolling and Rubber-Band Effects",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7844915/application-programming-interfaces-for-scrolling-operations"
    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "8683378",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "How Smartphones Switch Between Slow and Fast Scrolling",
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    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "20160291760",
      "countryCode": "US",
      "title": "Adjusting Touchscreen Sensitivity Based on Device Tilt Angle",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/20160291760/contact-discrimination-using-a-tilt-angle-of-a-touch-sensitive-surface"
    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "7812826",
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    }
  ]
}