METHOD OF CONTROLLING HOME APPLIANCE HAVING TOUCH PANEL AND TOUCH PANEL HOME APPLIANCE USING THE SAME

• US 20100020027A1
• Filed: 01/18/2007
• Published: 01/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Lee, Jae Kyung, Park, Jong Seok
• Granted Patent: US 8,797,276 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/30 User interface
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 23/04 using light waves, e.g. infrared
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96046 Key-pad combined with display, back-lit
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41265 having a remote control device for bidirectional communication between the remote control device and client device unidirectional remote control device H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42208 Display device provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42221 Transmission circuitry, e.g. infrared [IR] or radio frequency [RF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42224 Touch pad or touch panel provided on the remote control
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42227 the keys being reprogrammable, e.g. soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light

Abstract

A method of controlling a home appliance having a touch panel and a touch panel home appliance using the same, such as a remote controller for controlling a television receiver, facilitate user recognition and selection of a specific function key displayed on a touchscreen, to enable enhanced control of the function key by a user desiring to step through many values of a range of values quickly and accurately. The method includes steps of displaying a main menu on the touchscreen of the touch panel, the main menu including at least one function key for controlling the home appliance, the touchscreen enabling a function key of the main menu to be selected by a user; displaying, in response to a user selection of one of the at least one function key, a set of enlarged keys corresponding to the selected function key of the main menu, the display of the enlarged keys on the touchscreen wholly replacing the display of the main menu; and executing, in response to a touch event with respect to the touchscreen displaying the set of enlarged keys, a control function corresponding to the selected function key, the control function having a parameter value set according to properties of the touch event.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a home appliance using a touch panel having a touchscreen exhibiting a plurality of coordinates, the method comprising:

displaying a main menu on the touchscreen of the touch panel, the main menu including at least one function key for controlling the home appliance, the touchscreen enabling a function key of the main menu to be selected by a user;

displaying, in response to a user selection of one of the at least one function key, a set of enlarged keys corresponding to the selected function key of the main menu, the display of the enlarged keys on the touchscreen wholly replacing the display of the main menu; and

executing, in response to a touch event with respect to the touchscreen displaying the set of enlarged keys, a control function corresponding to the selected function key, the control function having a parameter value set according to properties of the touch event.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the properties of the touch event include a touch location effected with respect to a reference coordinate of the touchscreen.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the properties of the touch event include a touch area effected with respect to a valid area of the touchscreen.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the properties of the touch event include a touch motion directionality of a dragging of a curser on the touchscreen and at least one of a dragging distance of the curser and a dragging speed of the curser.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one function key of the main menu and the set of enlarged keys are displayed as graphics user interface (GUI) devices.

6. The method of claim 1, said executing comprising:

generating a key code corresponding to the parameter value of the control function; and

transmitting the generated key code to the home appliance.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the home appliance is a television receiver and wherein the transmitted key code is encoded into an infrared signal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the control function is executed by one of a stepped increase of the parameter value and a stepped decrease of the parameter value.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, based on the touch event, which of the stepped increase of the parameter value and the stepped decrease of the parameter value is used in said executing.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based on the touch event, a stepping rate of the parameter value,

wherein the stepping rate corresponds to a distance between a coordinate of the touch event and a reference coordinate of the touchscreen.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the stepping rate increases as the touch event effects a touch location having an increased distance from the reference coordinate of the touchscreen and wherein the stepping rate decreases as the touch event effects a touch location having a decreased distance from the reference coordinate of the touchscreen.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based on the touch event, a stepping rate of the parameter value,

wherein the stepping rate corresponds to a touch area effected by the touch event.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the stepping rate increases as the touch area increases with respect to a valid area of the set of enlarged keys and wherein the stepping rate decreases as the touch area decreases with respect to the valid area of the set of enlarged keys.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the stepping rate is proportional to a count of touched coordinates in the touch area.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch event is generated by a dragging of a cursor.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, based on the touch event, a stepping rate of the parameter value,

wherein the stepping rate corresponds to at least one of a dragging distance of the curser and a dragging speed of the curser.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the stepping rate increases as the dragging distance of the curser increases and wherein the stepping rate decreases as the dragging distance of the curser decreases.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the stepping rate increases as the dragging speed of the curser increases and wherein the stepping rate decreases as the dragging speed of the curser decreases.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the stepping rate increases as the dragging proceeds from a step-down key of the set of enlarged keys to a step-up key of the set of enlarged keys and wherein the stepping rate decreases as the dragging proceeds from the step-up key of the set of enlarged keys to the step-down key of the set of enlarged keys.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

searching, according to the user selection of one of the at least one function key, a graphics user interface (GUI) database for keys in association with values of the plurality of coordinates and a GUI coordinates database including coordinates values of the keys of the GUI database.

21. A method of controlling a home appliance using a touch panel having a touchscreen exhibiting a plurality of coordinates, the method comprising:

displaying a main menu on the touchscreen of the touch panel, the main menu including at least one function key for controlling the home appliance and the touchscreen enabling a function key to be selected by a user;

displaying, in response to a user selection of one of the at least one function key, a set of enlarged keys corresponding to the selected function key of the main menu, the display of the enlarged keys on the touchscreen wholly replacing the display of the main menu; and

effecting a touch event with respect to the touchscreen displaying the set of enlarged keys, the touch event executing a control function corresponding to the selected function key and having a parameter value set according to properties of the touch event, the control function executed by one of a stepped increase of the parameter value and a stepped decrease of the parameter value.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining, based on the touch event, which of the stepped increase of the parameter value and the stepped decrease of the parameter value is used to execute the control function.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining a stepping rate of the parameter value based on the touch event, the stepping rate corresponding to the properties of the touch event.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the properties of the touch event include a touch location effected with respect to a reference coordinate of the touchscreen.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the properties of the touch event include a touch area effected with respect to a valid area of the touchscreen.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the properties of the touch event include a touch motion directionality of a dragging of a curser on the touchscreen and at least one of a dragging distance of the curser and a dragging speed of the curser.

27. A touch panel home appliance, comprising:

a touch panel having a touchscreen exhibiting a plurality of coordinates; and

a controller for controlling the touchscreen of said touch panel to display a main menu on the touchscreen, the main menu including at least one function key for controlling the touch panel home appliance and the touchscreen enabling a function key of the main menu to be selected by a user, and for controlling the touchscreen of said touch panel to display, in response to a user selection of one of the at least one function key, a set of enlarged keys corresponding to the selected function key of the main menu, so that the display of the enlarged keys on the touchscreen wholly replaces the display of the main menu,

wherein said controller executes, in response to a touch event with respect to the touchscreen displaying the set of enlarged keys, a control function corresponding to the selected function key and having a parameter value set according to properties of the touch event.

28. The touch panel home appliance of claim 27, further comprising:

an OSD generator for generating, under control of said controller, OSD data for displaying graphics user interface (GUI) devices on the touchscreen of said touch panel, the GUI devices corresponding to the at least one function key of the main menu and the enlarged keys displayed on the touchscreen in place of the display of the main menu.

29. The touch panel home appliance of claim 27, further comprising:

a graphics user interface (GUI) database including an arrangement of keys in association with values of the plurality of coordinates; and

a GUI coordinates database including coordinates values of the keys of said GUI database,

wherein said GUI database and said GUI coordinates database are searchable according to the user selection of one of the at least one function key.

30. The touch panel home appliance of claim 27, further comprising:

an interface unit for communicating function control commands with respect to the touch panel home appliance according to the execution of the control function by said controller.