Patent ID: 6765557
Filing Date: 2004-07-20
Classification: G06F,H04N

Abstract:
A virtual touch screen for controlling a home entertainment device without the use of cursors, the virtual touch screen comprising:a remote control touch pad having a pad width and a pad height, the touch pad determining a touch width location across the pad width and a touch height location across the pad height in response to an operator touch of the touch pad; and a display screen in remote communication with the touch pad, the display screen having a screen width and a screen height, the display screen displaying an Internet page having a plurality of links for accessing other Internet pages, each link located at a control width location across the screen width and at a control height location across the screen height; wherein the entire touch pad is subdivided into a number of touch pad portions equal to the number of links of the Internet page such that each and every touch pad portion corresponds to a respective link; wherein, in response to the operator touch at any location on the touch pad, the link corresponding to the touch pad portion containing the touched location is enabled without the use of a cursor displayed on the display screen based on at least one of (a) and (b), where (a) and (b) are (a) the ratio of the pad width and the screen width, the touch width location, and the control width location of each link; and (b) the ratio of the pad height and the screen height, the touch height location, and the control height location of each link; wherein, in response to the operator tracing a touch across different locations of the touch pad, for each touched location of the trace the link corresponding to the touch pad portion containing the touched location of the trace is selected without the use of a cursor displayed on the display screen based on at least one of (a) and (b) such that different links are uniquely selected without the use of a cursor displayed on the display screen as the operator traces the touch across different touch pad portions.