Mobile terminal device and driving method thereof

• US 10,209,811 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2015
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Eun Jung, Kim, Ki Duk, Cho, Sung Yong, Kim, Ki Seon
• Primary Examiner(s): Polo, Gustavo D
• Application Number:
  US14/842,660
• Publication Number:
  US 20160062542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,267 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/673 the user being required to key in a code
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

Disclosed is a mobile terminal device in which a locking mode is released based on a touch intensity in order to prevent an unlocking operation by an unintended touch, and a driving method thereof, wherein the driving method includes detecting a touch intensity for each touch when a plurality of touches occur in a locking mode, and releasing the locking mode on the basis of the plurality of touch intensities detected, or executing a function corresponding to the plurality of touch intensities detected.

Claims

1. A method of operation in a mobile terminal device with a touch screen comprising:

(A) detecting a touch intensity for each touch when a plurality of touches occur in a locking mode; and

(B) releasing the locking mode or executing a function on a basis of a temporal order of the plurality of detected touch intensities,

wherein releasing the locking mode or executing the function on a basis of the temporal order of the plurality of detected touch intensities includes;

responsive to detecting a first plurality of touches with a first temporal order of touch intensities, maintaining the locking mode of the mobile terminal device, and

responsive to detecting a second plurality of touches with a second temporal order of touch intensities that match a preset touch scenario, releasing the locking mode or executing the function on the mobile terminal device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (B) includes:

detecting an input touch intensity combination in a combination of weak and strong touches by classifying the plurality of detected touch intensities into the weak and strong touches with respect to first and second reference values, wherein the second reference value is larger than the first reference value; and

releasing the locking mode when a preset unlocking intensity combination is matched to the detected input touch intensity combination.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (B) includes:

detecting an input touch intensity combination in a combination of weak and strong touches by classifying the plurality of detected touch intensities into the weak and strong touches with respect to first and second reference values, wherein the second reference value is larger than the first reference value; and

if a touch scenario which is matched to the detected input touch intensity combination is determined to exist in a plurality of preset touch scenarios, releasing the locking mode and executing a function preset in the touch scenario which is matched to the detected input touch intensity combination,

wherein each of the plurality of touch scenarios is formed by a combination of the weak touch and the strong touch which are selected by a user and are different from each other, and the plurality of touch scenarios are respectively set with different functions selected by a user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (A) includes detecting the touch intensity in each of the plurality of touches by sensing a change of a capacitance in accordance with a change of a thickness in an elastic dielectric member interposed between a touch driving electrode and a touch sensing electrode.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step (A) further includes detecting a haptic area corresponding to a touch location, and generating a vibration corresponding to the detected touch intensity in the haptic area.

6. A method of operating a mobile terminal device with a touch screen comprising:

(A) detecting a touch location and a touch intensity of each touch on the touch screen when a plurality of touches on the touch screen occurs in a locking mode; and

(B) releasing the locking mode on a basis of a temporal order of the touch intensity and the touch location of each touch in the plurality of touches on the touch screen,

wherein releasing the locking mode on the basis of the temporal order of the touch intensity and the touch location of each touch in the plurality of touches on the touch screen includes;

responsive to detecting a first plurality of touches with a first temporal order of touch intensities and touch locations on the touch screen, maintaining the locking mode of the mobile terminal device, and

responsive to detecting a second plurality of touches with a second temporal order of touch intensities and touch locations that match a preset touch scenario, releasing the locking mode of the mobile terminal device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step (B) includes:

detecting an input touch intensity combination in a combination of weak and strong touches by classifying the plurality of detected touch intensities of each touch location into the weak and strong touches with respect to first and second reference values, wherein the second reference value is larger than the first reference value; and

releasing the locking mode if a preset unlocking intensity combination is matched to the detected input touch intensity combination.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step (A) includes detecting the touch intensity in each of the plurality of touches by sensing a change of a capacitance in accordance with a change of a thickness in an elastic dielectric member interposed between a touch driving electrode and a touch sensing electrode.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the step (A) further includes detecting a haptic area corresponding to the touch location, and generating a vibration corresponding to the detected touch intensity in the haptic area.

10. A mobile terminal device comprising:

a touch screen;

a touch driver for generating sensing data by sensing a touch on the touch screen; and

a controller for detecting a touch intensity for each of a plurality of touches on a basis of sensing data for each of the plurality of touches provided from the touch driver on a locking mode, and releasing the locking mode or executing a function on a basis of a temporal order of the plurality of detected touch intensities,

wherein;

responsive to detecting a first plurality of touches with a first temporal order of touch intensities, the controller maintains the locking mode of the mobile terminal device, and

responsive to detecting a second plurality of touches with a second temporal order of touch intensities that match a preset touch scenario, the controller releases the locking mode or executes the function on the mobile terminal device.

11. The mobile terminal device of claim 10, wherein the touch screen includes:

a plurality of touch driving electrodes;

an elastic dielectric member disposed on the plurality of touch driving electrodes; and

a plurality of touch sensing electrode groups disposed in parallel to each other and provided at fixed intervals on the elastic dielectric member, and respectively overlapped and intersected with the plurality of touch driving electrodes, wherein each of the plurality of touch sensing electrode groups include a touch sensing electrode and a first sub-electrode.

12. The mobile terminal device of claim 11, wherein the touch driver connects the first sub-electrode with the touch sensing electrode for sensing the touch intensity, and makes the first sub-electrode electrically floating for sensing a touch location.

13. The mobile terminal device of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of touch sensing electrode groups further includes a second sub-electrode provided in parallel to the first sub-electrode with the touch sensing electrode interposed therebetween,

wherein the touch driver connects the first and second sub-electrodes with the touch sensing electrode in a unit of the touch sensing electrode group for sensing the touch intensity, and makes the first and second sub-electrodes electrically floating in a unit of the touch sensing electrode group for sensing a touch location.

14. The mobile terminal device of claim 13,

wherein the controller detects a haptic area corresponding to the touch location, and generates a haptic driving signal corresponding to the detected touch intensity of the touch location, and

wherein the touch driver generates a vibration in the haptic area by generating an alternating current (AC) voltage corresponding to the haptic driving signal, applying the generated AC voltage to the touch driving electrode included in the haptic area and applying a ground voltage to the first and second sub-electrodes and the touch sensing electrode of the touch sensing electrode group included in the haptic area.

15. The mobile terminal device of claim 10, wherein the controller detects a plurality of touch locations on the basis of the sensing data for each of the plurality of touches, detects the touch intensity by each touch location on the basis of the plurality of touch locations and touch intensities, and releases the locking mode on the basis of the touch intensity by each touch location.

16. The mobile terminal device of claim 15, wherein the touch screen includes:

a plurality of touch driving electrodes;

an elastic dielectric member disposed on the plurality of touch driving electrodes; and

a plurality of touch sensing electrode groups disposed in parallel to each other and provided at fixed intervals on the elastic dielectric member, and respectively overlapped and intersected with the plurality of touch driving electrodes, wherein each of the plurality of touch sensing electrode groups includes a touch sensing electrode and a first sub-electrode.

17. The mobile terminal device of claim 16, wherein the touch driver connects the first sub-electrode with the touch sensing electrode for sensing the touch intensity, and makes the first sub-electrode electrically floating for sensing the touch location.

18. The mobile terminal device of claim 16, wherein each of the plurality of touch sensing electrode groups further includes a second sub-electrode provided in parallel to the first sub-electrode with the touch sensing electrode interposed therebetween,

wherein the touch driver connects the first and second sub-electrodes with the touch sensing electrode in a unit of the touch sensing electrode group for sensing the touch intensity, and makes the first and second sub-electrodes electrically floating in a unit of the touch sensing electrode group for sensing the touch location.

19. The mobile terminal device of claim 18,

wherein the controller detects a haptic area corresponding to the touch location, and generates a haptic driving signal corresponding to the detected touch intensity of the touch location, and

wherein the touch driver generates a vibration in the haptic area by generating an AC voltage corresponding to the haptic driving signal, applying the generated AC voltage to the touch driving electrode included in the haptic area and applying a ground voltage to the first and second sub-electrodes and the touch sensing electrode of the touch sensing electrode group included in the haptic area.

20. The mobile terminal device of claim 10, wherein the controller provides a haptic effect in a touch area on the basis of the sensing data.