Apple Patents 'No Look' Technology

for AppAdvice 2013-03-26 16:43:44 UTC

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has approved Apple’s U.S. Patent No. 8,407,623 for "Playback control using a touch interface."

First filed in 2009, the patent covers a technology used on mobile devices that registers touch gestures when no content is displayed on the screen.

According to the invention, users are sometimes in situations when looking at a multitouch display isn’t feasible. For example, during a gym workout. The invention corrects this by offering “no look” controls, even when the device’s screen is dark.

From the patent summary:

To allow a user to control media playback using a touch sensing device without requiring the selection of displayed options, the electronic device can include a mode or configuration for which the touch sensing device can sense touch events, but not display any content on a display. For example, an electronic device with a touch screen can have a mode in which no content is displayed on the touch screen (e.g., the touch screen remains dark), but the touch screen is operative to detect touch events of the user.

Apple’s system includes a number of finger gestures that the user can initiate, including a single tap to play/pause music and clockwise circle to increase the volume. The patent credits Duncan Kerr and Nick King as its inventors.

Image via CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images

This article originally published at AppAdvice here

Topics: apple, Dev & Design, Gadgets, patent, patents, Tech, touchscreen AppAdvice is a Mashable publishing partner that offers news and reviews of iOS apps. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.

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