Input method and electronic device thereof

• US 10,268,310 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2017
• Issued: 04/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Company Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Company Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Xiaoping, Yang, Chunlong, Cao, Lu
• Primary Examiner(s): Edwards, Mark
• Application Number:
  US15/582,867
• Publication Number:
  US 20170315663A1
• Time in Patent Office: 722 Days
• Field of Search: 345174
• 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 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• 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

An input method is provided. The method includes receiving a touch operation in a first region of a touch screen, the first region corresponding to an input region of a virtual input unit; measuring a pressure of the touch operation; determining a first input key corresponding to a location of the touch operation; and determining an instruction corresponding to the touch operation based on the measured pressure and the first input key.

Claims

1. An input method, comprising:

determining whether a virtual input unit is in a first input mode or a second input mode;

measuring a pressure of a touch operation upon receiving the touch operation at an input region of the virtual input unit;

determining whether the measured pressure is higher than a threshold value;

determining a first input key corresponding to a location of the touch operation at the input region of the virtual input unit;

determining that the first input key corresponds to a first instruction if the virtual input unit is in the first input mode and the measured pressure is lower than the threshold value, the first instruction causing a character corresponding to the first input key to be displayed in a first display mode;

determining that the first input key corresponds to a second instruction if the virtual input unit is in the second input mode and the measured pressure is lower than the threshold value, the second instruction causing the character corresponding to the first input key to be displayed in a second display mode;

determining that the first input key corresponds to the second instruction or a third instruction if the virtual input unit is in the first input mode and the measured pressure equals to or is higher than the threshold value, the third instruction causing execution of a function corresponding to a key combination of a functional key and the character corresponding to the first input key without actuation of the functional key, and the functional key being unrelated to the first input mode or the second input mode; and

determining that the first input key corresponds to the first instruction or the third instruction if the virtual input unit is in the second input mode and the measured pressure equals to or is higher than the threshold value.

2. The input method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual input unit supports different input modes;

and under each input mode, an input key of the virtual input unit corresponds to two or more instructions, each instruction having a different priority level.

7. The input method according to claim 1, wherein the third instruction causes execution of a function corresponding to a key combination of a Ctrl key and the character corresponding to the first input key without actuation of the Ctrl key.

3. An input device, comprising:

a virtual input unit; and

a processor configured to;

determine whether the virtual input unit is in a first input mode or a second input mode;

measure a pressure of a touch operation upon receiving the touch operation at an input region of the virtual input unit;

determine whether the measured pressure is higher than a threshold value;

determine a first input key corresponding to a location of the touch operation at the input region of the virtual input unit;

determine that the first input key corresponds to a first instruction if the virtual input unit is in the first input mode and the measured pressure is lower than the threshold value, the first instruction causing a character corresponding to the first input key to be displayed in a first display mode;

determine that the first input key corresponds to a second instruction if the virtual input unit is in the second input mode and the measured pressure is lower than the threshold value, the second instruction causing the character corresponding to the first input key to be displayed in a second display mode;

determine that the first input key corresponds to the second instruction or a third instruction if the virtual input unit is in the first input mode and the measured pressure equals to or is higher than the threshold value, the third instruction causing executing of a function corresponding to a key combination of a functional key and the character corresponding to the first input key without actuation of the functional key, and the functional key being unrelated to the first input mode or the second input mode; and

determine that the first input key corresponds to the first instruction or the third instruction if the virtual input unit is in the second input mode and the measured pressure equals to or is higher than the threshold value.

4. The input device according to claim 3, wherein the virtual input unit supports different input modes;

and under each input mode, an input key of the virtual input unit corresponds to two or more instructions, each instruction having a different priority level.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including contents that are configured to cause a computing system to receive input by performing a method comprising:

determining whether a virtual input unit is in a first input mode or a second input mode;

measuring a pressure of a touch operation upon receiving the touch operation at an input region of the virtual input unit;

determining whether the measured pressure is higher than a threshold value;

determining a first input key corresponding to a location of the touch operation at the input region of the virtual input unit;

determining that the first input key corresponds to a first instruction if the virtual input unit is in the first input mode and the measured pressure is lower than the threshold value, the first instruction causing a character corresponding to the first input key to be displayed in a first display mode;

determining that the first input key corresponds to a second instruction if the virtual input unit is in the second input mode and the measured pressure is lower than the threshold value, the second instruction causing the character corresponding to the first input key to be displayed in a second display mode;

determining that the first input key corresponds to the second instruction or a third instruction if the virtual input unit is in the first input mode and the measured pressure equals to or is higher than the threshold value, the third instruction causing execution of a function corresponding to a key combination of a functional key and the character corresponding to the first input key without actuation of the functional key, and the functional key being unrelated to the first input mode or the second input mode; and

determining that the first input key corresponds to the first instruction or the third instruction if the virtual input unit is in the second input mode and the measured pressure equals to or is higher than the threshold value.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 5, wherein the virtual input unit supports different input modes;

and under each input mode, an input key of the virtual input unit corresponds to two or more instructions, each instruction having a different priority level.