Touch panel device

• US 10,146,431 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2008
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Abe, Koichi, Tsubouchi, Shogo
• Primary Examiner(s): FLORES, ROBERTO W
• Application Number:
  US12/737,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20110148779A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,736 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-184, 715700-866
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A touch panel device is provided which, even in cases in which a plurality of GUI parts are arranged in a limited space, enables operation of a GUI part in which, unlike a physical button, it is hard to distinguish the boundary by touch, without operational error, using a finger with a very large contact area in comparison to a touch pen. A touch panel device includes a rectangular screen having a detection region which detects contact, and a control section for generating a control signal in response to the contact detected by the detection region. The detection region has a shape that is inclined with respect to a side edge of the rectangular screen. In cases in which a body-part used for the contact is a finger of a user; when the user uses the right hand, the detection region has a shape that is inclined to the left side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen; and when the user uses the left hand, the detection region has a shape that is inclined to the right side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen.

Claims

1. A touch panel device comprising:

a rectangular screen including a detection region for a button on the screen and a respective visible display region for indicating a position of the detection region, the detection region being smaller than, and completely inside, the respective visible display region and having an area greater than an area of a detected contact in the detection region; and

a control section for setting a parallelogram shape of the detection region for the button for generating a control signal in response to the contact detected in the detection region, said control signal indicating a corresponding input;

wherein the parallelogram shape of the detection region has a top boundary, a bottom boundary, a right boundary, and a left boundary, with the top and bottom boundaries being parallel to one another and to a boundary of the visible display region and the left and right boundaries being parallel to one another and inclined with respect to a side edge of the rectangular screen and the visible display region, the inclination being determined based on a hand configuration setting associated with a hand used to contact the detection region, the hand configuration setting being based on user input regarding handedness preferences or a default hand configuration setting; and

wherein the visible display region is not identical to the detection region and comprises a non-detection region.

2. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein:

when the hand configuration setting is a right hand configuration, the detection region has a parallelogram shape that is inclined to the left side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen; and

when the hand configuration setting is a left hand configuration, the detection region has a parallelogram shape that is inclined to the right side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen.

3. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the default hand configuration setting is a right hand configuration.

4. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the hand configuration setting is stored by the control section.

5. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the control section is configured to set the parallelogram shape of the detection region by changing a direction of inclination of at least one side edge.

6. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the left and right boundaries are inclined with respect to the side edge of the visible display region at an angle of about 45°

.

7. A method for processing input, comprising:

configuring a detection region on a screen by setting a parallelogram shape of the detection region, wherein the parallelogram shape of the detection region has a top boundary, a bottom boundary, a right boundary, and a left boundary, with the top and bottom boundaries being parallel to one another and to a boundary of a visible display region and with the left and right boundaries being parallel to one another and inclined with respect to a side edge of the rectangular screen and the visible display region, the inclination being determined based on a hand configuration setting associated with a hand used to contact the detection region, the hand configuration setting being based on user input regarding handedness preferences or a default hand configuration setting;

the visible display region indicating a position of the detection region, wherein the visible display region is not identical to the detection region and comprises a non-detection region, and wherein the detection region is smaller than and completely inside the visible display region and has an area greater than an area of a detected contact in the detection region;

detecting contact in the detection region; and

generating a control signal in response to the contact detected in the detection region, said control signal indicating a corresponding input.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein:

when the hand configuration setting is a right hand configuration, the detection region has a parallelogram shape that is inclined to the left side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen; and

when the hand configuration setting is a left hand configuration, the detection region has a parallelogram shape that is inclined to the right side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the default hand configuration setting is a right hand configuration.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the parallelogram shape of the detection region is set by changing a direction of inclination of at least one side edge.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein the left and right boundaries are inclined with respect to the side edge of the visible display region at an angle of about 45.

12. A touch panel device, comprising:

a rectangular screen including a detection region for a button on the screen and a respective visible display region for indicating a position of the detection region, the detection region being smaller than, and completely inside, the respective visible display region and having an area greater than an area of a detected contact in the detection region;

a user interface comprising a plurality of hardware buttons, a T-bar, a jog dial, and keyboard configured to accept user input regarding handedness preferences; and

a control section for setting a parallelogram shape of the detection region for the button based on the user input and for generating a control signal in response to the contact detected in the detection region, said control signal indicating a corresponding input;

wherein the parallelogram shape of the detection region has a top boundary, a bottom boundary, a right boundary, and a left boundary, with the top and bottom boundaries being parallel to one another and to a boundary of the visible display region and the left and right boundaries being parallel to one another and inclined with respect to a side edge of the rectangular screen and the visible display region, the inclination being determined based on a hand configuration setting associated with a hand used to contact the detection region, the hand configuration setting being based on the user input regarding handedness preferences or a default hand configuration setting; and

wherein the visible display region is not identical to the detection region and comprises a non-detection region.

13. The touch panel device according to claim 12, wherein the default hand configuration setting is a right hand configuration.

14. The touch panel device according to claim 12, wherein the parallelogram shape of the detection region is set by changing a direction of inclination of at least one side edge.

15. The touch panel device according to claim 12, wherein the left and right boundaries are inclined with respect to the side edge of the visible display region at an angle of about 45°

.

16. The touch panel device according to claim 12, wherein:

when the hand configuration setting is a right hand configuration, the detection region has a parallelogram shape that is inclined to the left side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen; and

when the hand configuration setting is a left hand configuration, the detection region has a parallelogram shape that is inclined to the right side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen.