Back-Side Interface for Hand-Held Devices

• US 20070103454A1
• Filed: 01/05/2007
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Computer Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Inventors: Elias, John
• Granted Patent: US 9,727,082 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An electronic device uses separate surfaces for input and output. One of the surfaces (e.g., the bottom) includes a force-sensitive touch-surface through which a user provides input (e.g., cursor manipulation and control element selection). On a second surface (e.g., the top), a display element is used to present information appropriate to the device'"'"'s function (e.g., video information), one or more control elements and a cursor. The cursor is controlled through manipulation of the back-side touch-surface. The cursor identifies where on the back-side touch-surface the user'"'"'s finger has made contact. When the cursor is positioned over the desired control element, the user selects or activates the function associated with the control element by applying pressure to the force-sensitive touch-surface with their finger. Accordingly, the electronic device may be operated with a single hand, wherein cursor movement and control element selection may be accomplished without lifting one'"'"'s finger.

Claims

1. A method for operating a hand-held electronic device, comprising:

displaying first information on a display element on a first surface of a hand-held electronic device;

displaying control elements and a cursor on the display element when the electronic device is in a specified state;

adjusting a display position of the cursor in response to a contact on a force-sensitive touch-surface on a second surface of the electronic device, the second surface being a different surface than the first surface; and

activating a function associated with a first displayed control element when the cursor is positioned coincident with the first displayed control element and an activation force is applied to the force-sensitive touch-surface at a position corresponding to the cursor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying control elements comprises displaying one or more control elements selected from the list consisting of a button, a slider, a spin-wheel, a numeric input key, an alpha input key and an alpha-numeric input key.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying control elements comprises displaying translucent control elements.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the act of displaying translucent control elements is performed so that the first information remains at least partially visible through the control elements.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying control elements comprises displaying opaque control elements.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying control elements further comprises displaying one or more menu items, wherein the one or more menu items identify at least one operation.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of displaying a cursor comprises displaying a translucent cursor.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of activating is performed continuously with the act of adjusting so that the contact does not leave the surface of the force-sensitive touch-surface.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified state is associated with an operational mode of the hand-held electronic device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the operational mode comprises a telephone mode.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the operational mode comprises a alpha-numeric data entry mode.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the operational mode comprises a character-based input mode.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the act of adjusting comprises tracking the contact as it moves about the force-sensitive touch-surface.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the hand-held electronic device comprises a mobile telephone.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the hand-held electronic device comprises a hand-held computer system.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the hand-held electronic device comprises a personal digital assistant.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the hand-held electronic device comprises a video display unit.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the hand-held electronic device comprises a digital music device.

19. A program storage device, readable by a processor, comprising instructions stored thereon for causing the programmable control device to perform the method in accordance with claim 1.

20. A hand-held electronic device, comprising:

a first surface having a display element coupled thereto;

a second surface having a touch-surface coupled thereto, the second surface not coplanar with the first surface, the touch-surface adapted to detect a location on the touch-surface contacted by an object and an activation force applied to the touch-surface by the object; and

control means for—

displaying on the display element first information, control elements, and mark representing the contact'"'"'s location on the touch-surface,

determining when the mark is spatially coincident with one of the control elements,

determining the activation force is greater than a specified threshold, and

activating a function associated with the one control element.

21. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, wherein the device comprises a mobile telephone.

22. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, wherein the device comprises a video playback device.

23. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, wherein the device comprises an audio playback device.

24. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, wherein the device comprises a personal digital assistant.

25. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, wherein the first information comprises one or more of the following types of information:

video, graphic and textual.

26. The hand-held electronic device of claim 25, wherein the first information is displayed opaque.

27. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, wherein the control elements comprise one or more of a button, a numeric key, an alpha key, a slider, a click-wheel and a menu.

28. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, wherein one or more of the control elements are transparent.

29. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, further comprising one or more physical buttons coupled to a surface of the device.

30. The hand-held electronic device of claim 29, wherein one of the one or more physical buttons comprises a power button adapted to turn-off the display element.

31. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, wherein the means for displaying is activated after a contact to the second surface has been made and held substantially in one place for a specified period of time.

32. The hand-held electronic device of claim 20, further comprising at least one etched button on the second surface, the at least one etched button corresponding to a displayed control element.