Touch screen system and control method therefor capable of setting active regions

• US 20050017957A1
• Filed: 02/27/2004
• Published: 01/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Yi, Jong-jin
• Granted Patent: US 7,564,448 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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

Disclosed is a touch screen system and a control method therefor. The touch screen system includes a display displaying at least one working window; a touch panel outputting a predetermined signal in correspondence with a touch input on the display; a coordinate value calculation unit calculating coordinate values of the touch input based on the signal outputted from the touch panel; a coordinate value storage unit storing coordinate value information indicating active regions for active working windows; a decision unit deciding whether the calculated coordinate values exist in the active regions which the coordinate value information stored in the coordinate value storage unit indicates; and a control unit interrupting a response to the touch input if the calculated coordinate values exist outside the active regions as a result of the decision of the decision unit. Accordingly, the present invention can reduce input errors, to thereby prevent delaying desired processings.

Claims

1. A touch screen system, comprising,

a display unit for displaying at least one of a plurality of interfaces;

a touch panel for outputting a signal in correspondence with a touch input on the display unit;

a coordinate value calculation unit for calculating first coordinate values of the touch input based on the signal outputted from the touch panel;

a coordinate value storage unit for storing coordinate value information indicating an active region of an active interface of the plurality of the interfaces;

a decision unit for deciding whether the first coordinate values exist in the active region indicated by the coordinate value information stored in the coordinate value storage unit, in a decision; and

a control unit for interrupting a response to the touch input if the first coordinate values exist outside the active region according to the decision of the decision unit.

2. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coordinate value information stored in the coordinate value storage unit is updated according to a first interface to be activated.

3. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a mode selection unit for setting an active area, wherein the mode selection unit sets an operation mode of the touch panel to one of a first mode for setting an entire area of the display unit as the active area, a second mode for setting the entire area of the display unit to an inactive area, and a third mode for setting a certain region of the display unit to the active area.

4. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a mode release key for releasing the second mode and the third mode, wherein, if the operation mode of the touch panel is set to one of the second and third modes and a signal for the mode release key is received, the control unit switches the operation mode of the touch panel to the first mode.

8. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 1, wherein one interface of the plurality of interfaces is one of a box, a window, an icon, and a bar.

9. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal is a predetermined sensing signal.

10. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first coordinate values indicate a position of the touch input.

11. The touch screen system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the third mode is for setting only the certain region of the display unit to the active area, wherein the certain region is less than the entire area of the display.

5. A control method for a touch screen system having a display unit for displaying at least one of a plurality of interfaces and a touch panel for outputting a signal corresponding to a touch input on the display unit, comprising steps of:

calculating first coordinate values of a position corresponding to the touch input based on the signal outputted from the touch panel;

deciding whether the first coordinate values exist in an active region of an active interface of the plurality of the interfaces; and

interrupting a response to the touch input if the first coordinate values exist outside the active regions as a result of the decision.

6. The control method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a step of setting an operation mode of the touch panel to one of a first mode for setting an entire area of the display unit as an active area, a second mode for setting the entire area of the display unit as an inactive area, and a third mode for setting a certain region of the display unit as the active area.

7. The control method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising steps of:

receiving a mode release signal for releasing the second mode and the third mode; and

operating the touch panel in the first mode if the operation mode is set to one of the second and third modes and the mode release signal is received.

12. The control method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the one interface of the plurality of interfaces is one of a box, a window, an icon, and a bar.

13. The control method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the signal is a predetermined sensing signal.

14. The control method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first coordinate values indicate a position of the touch input.

15. The control method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the interrupting the response comprises ignoring the touch input.

16. The control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the third mode is for setting only the certain region of the display unit to the active area, wherein the certain region is less than the entire area of the display.