Apple Inc., maker of the iPhone and iPod Touch media player, filed a patent application for software that lets users control computers and phones using swipes of their fingers.

Apple's system would allow users to insert spaces, line breaks and uppercase characters by swiping the screen rather than pressing keys, according to the application titled ''Swipe Gestures for Touch Screen Keyboards.'', which was made public by the US Patent and Trademark Office yesterday.

There are four natural swipe movements mentioned. The filing suggests that the OS could use the up swipe for "shift" / "caps", down for "enter" / "return", left for backspace, and right for space. Each of these four functions are commonly used, and being able to supplement the "locate the key then tap it" option with a quick, location-free swipe could improve user-keyboard interaction efficacy.

According to Apple, the touch-sensitive input can include a virtual keyboard area, in which taps of a touch object generate text input.

For example, the method can include detecting a swipe gesture across the virtual keyboard, determining a direction of the swipe gesture, and performing a predetermined function determined by the direction of the swipe gesture.

A swipe gesture can include a touchdown of a touch object followed by a sliding motion of the touch object across the virtual keyboard.

''Particular swipe gestures that can be linked to particular functions can include using a rightward swipe gesture to invoke a space, using a leftward swipe gesture to invoke a backspace, using a downward swipe gesture to invoke a carriage return and / or a new line, and using an upward swipe gesture to invoke a shift,'' explained Apple in its patent application filing.

''Additionally, a second upward swipe gesture can be used to invoke a caps lock. The second upward swipe can either be performed sequentially to the first upward swipe or concurrently with the first upward swipe, ie, as a multi-fingered swipe gesture. Other alternative mappings of swipe gestures to functions include using an upward swipe gesture to insert a punctuation character, such as a period or apostrophe.''

Apple's iPhone 3G passed Motorola Inc's Razr to become the most popular handset sold in the US in the third quarter after less than three months on the market, research firm NPD Group said in November. Users control the device by tapping and swiping the screen, and enter text using a virtual keyboard.

Apple applied for the patent in June 2007. Requests for patents are confidential for 18 months after they are filed.