Touchpad Module which is Capable of Interpreting Multi-Object Gestures and Operating Method thereof

• US 20090315841A1
• Filed: 02/26/2009
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
• Inventors: Yang, Wei-Wen, Cheng, Chien-Wei, Liu, Ji-Han, Tsai, Ming-Chieh
• Application Number:
  US12/393,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20090315841A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A touchpad module, capable of interpreting multi-object gestures and an operating method, includes a detecting element for detecting an object amount and gesture made from a conductive object placed on the touchpad surface and a processing element for interpreting and driving a corresponding simulation such as a mouse, a keyboard or a hot-key simulation and thus controlling a change of document, icon, picture or frame displayed on a display. Accordingly, the touchpad and the operating method thereof detect and interpret multi-object gestures so that it may simulate the input operation with the input devices such as a mouse and a keyboard and the selection of hot-key functions provided by various application programs.

Claims

1. A touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures, comprising:

a detecting element for detecting an object amount and a gesture made from a conductive object placed on a touchpad surface; and

a processing element for interpreting and driving a corresponding simulation according to the object amount and the gesture to control a change of a document, icon, picture or frame displayed on a display, wherein the corresponding simulation is a mouse simulation, a keyboard simulation or a hot-key simulation.

2. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is one or more than one and the gesture comprises of tapping the touchpad surface by one or more than one of the conductive objects one time simultaneously, if the mouse simulation is pressing a left-, a right or a middle button of mouse one time.

4. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is three and the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface, moving in a negative Y direction of two-dimension coordinates till a window having window icons is popped up, sliding for searching the desired window icon of the window having window icons in a positive or a negative X direction of two-dimension coordinates by any one or all of the three conductive objects simultaneously and then lifting when finding the desired window icon, if the mouse simulation is switching to a desired window.

5. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is three and the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface simultaneously and moving in a positive Y direction of two-dimension coordinates till a disk or folder icon is displayed, if the mouse simulation is opening a window of my computer.

6. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is three and the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface, moving in a negative X direction or moving in the negative X direction and then lifting simultaneously, if the mouse simulation is paging up to last document, picture or frame.

7. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is three and the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface, moving in a positive X direction or moving in the positive X direction and then lifting simultaneously, if the mouse simulation is paging down to next document, picture or frame.

8. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is sufficient to cover the area consisting of two third of X traces and thee fourth of Y traces of the touchpad module at the same time, the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface by the conductive object or the conductive objects, and the conductive object comprises a palm of a hand, if the mouse simulation is switching to a window of desktop.

9. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is three and the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface, moving in a negative X direction or moving in the negative X direction and then lifting simultaneously, if the keyboard simulation is paging up to last document, picture or frame via direction key of a keyboard.

10. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is three and the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface, moving in a positive X direction or moving in the positive X direction and then lifting simultaneously, if the keyboard simulation is paging down to next document, picture or frame via direction key of a keyboard.

11. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is sufficient to cover the area consisting of two third of X traces and thee fourth of Y traces of the touchpad module at the same time, the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface by the conductive objects, and the conductive object comprises a palm of a hand, if the keyboard simulation is switching to a window of desktop via a keyboard.

12. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount touched the touchpad surface is one, two and one in turn and the gesture comprises of touching and staying at the touchpad surface by one conductive object, tapping the touchpad surface twice by the other conductive object to enable a magnifying glass, and then moving the magnifying glass to the document, icon or picture to be magnified by one of the conductive objects or disable the magnifying glass by tapping one of the conductive objects one time after the magnifying glass is displayed, if the hot-key simulation is magnifying partially the document, icon or picture.

13. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is two and the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface by the conductive objects simultaneously, and then pivot circularly moving one conductive object in a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction on the other conductive object or pivot circularly moving two conductive objects on a midpoint of a virtual line of the two conductive objects, if the hot-key simulation is rotating the document, picture or frame.

14. The touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 1, wherein the object amount is two and the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface by the conductive objects simultaneously, and then moving one conductive object in an outward or a toward direction to the other conductive object or the outward or the toward direction to each other, if the hot-key simulation is a zooming the document, icon or picture.

3. (canceled)

15. An operating method of a touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures for controlling a change of a document, icon, picture or frame displayed on a display comprising:

touching a touchpad surface by a conductive object or a plurality of conductive objects and a gesture for a detecting element to detect an object amount and the gesture and for a processing element to interpret and drive a corresponding simulation, wherein the corresponding simulation is a browse simulation and a hot-key simulation, the processing element interprets and drives the browse simulation if the object amount is two, and the processing element interprets and drives the hot-key simulation if the object amount is three.

17. The operating method of a touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 15, wherein the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface by the conductive objects simultaneously, and then pivot circularly moving one of the conductive objects in a clockwise or a counterclockwise direction on the other one of conductive objects or pivot circularly moving the conductive objects on a midpoint of a virtual line of the conductive objects, if the browse simulation is rotating the document, picture or frame.

18. The operating method of a touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 15, wherein the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface by the conductive objects simultaneously, and then moving one of the conductive objects in an outward or a toward direction to the other one of the conductive objects or the outward or the toward direction to each other, if the browse simulation is zooming the document, icon or picture.

19. The operating method of a touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 15, wherein the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface, moving in a negative Y direction of two-dimension coordinates till a window having multiple window icons is displayed, and then sliding for searching a desired window icon of the window having window icons in a positive or a negative X direction of two-dimension coordinates by the conductive objects simultaneously, if the hot-key simulation is switching to a desired window.

20. The operating method of a touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 15, wherein the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface simultaneously and moving in a positive Y direction of two-dimension coordinates, if the hot-key simulation is opening a window of my computer.

21. The operating method of a touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 15, wherein the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface by sufficient amount of the conductive objects to cover the area consisting of two third of X traces and thee fourth of Y traces of the touchpad module at the same time, and the conductive object comprises a palm of a hand, if the hot-key simulation is switching to a window of desktop.

22. The operating method of a touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 15, wherein the gesture comprises of touching the touchpad surface, moving in a positive X or a negative direction or lifting after moving in the positive or the negative X direction simultaneously, if the hot-key simulation is paging.

16. The operating method of a touchpad module which is capable of interpreting multi-object gestures of claim 16, wherein the gesture comprises of touching and staying at the touchpad surface by one of the conductive objects, tapping the touchpad surface twice by the other one of conductive objects to enable a magnifying glass, and then moving the magnifying glass to the document, icon or picture to be magnified by one of the conductive objects after the magnifying glass is displayed, if the browse simulation is magnifying partially the document, icon or picture.