HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING A TOUCHSCREEN AND A METHOD OF USING A TOUCHSCREEN OF A HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE

• US 20100194692A1
• Filed: 01/30/2009
• Published: 08/05/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Holbein, Marc, Orr, Kevin
• Granted Patent: US 8,633,901 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• 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

A handheld electronic device having a touchscreen and a method of using a touchscreen of a handheld electronic device are provided. In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a method of controlling a handheld electronic device having a touchscreen display, comprising: determining a location of a touch input on a touch-sensitive input surface of the touchscreen display; determining one or more characteristics of a motion signal of a motion sensor of the handheld electronic device; and generating an input from one of at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input in accordance with the characteristics of the motion signal.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a handheld electronic device having a touchscreen display, comprising:

determining a location of a touch input on a touch-sensitive input surface of the touchscreen display;

determining one or more characteristics of a motion signal of a motion sensor of the handheld electronic device; and

generating an input from one of at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input in accordance with the characteristics of the motion signal.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising determining whether the characteristics of the motion signal logically correspond to a normal tap or hard tap.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising comparing the characteristics of the motion signal to predetermined thresholds to determine whether the motion signal logically corresponds to a normal tap or hard tap, and selecting the input from the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input in accordance with the characteristics of the motion signal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the characteristics of the motion signal comprise the magnitude of the motion signal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining whether the magnitude of the motion signal logically corresponds to a normal tap or hard tap comprises, determining whether the magnitude of the motion signal is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold representing a hard tap, and wherein the motion signal logically corresponds to a hard tap when it is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold and the motion signal logically corresponds to a normal tap when it is less than the predetermined threshold.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the input comprises displaying a displayable character when the handheld electronic device is in a text entry mode and the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input are displayable characters.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the input comprises performing an action operation when the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input are executable actions.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the motion signal is generated in response to an external force applied to the touch-sensitive input surface which generates the touch input, wherein the generating is dependent on the motion signal and touch input being detected within a predetermined duration of each other.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising:

displaying a virtual keyboard on the touchscreen display, the virtual keyboard comprising a plurality of virtual keys at least some of which have at least two inputs associated with them;

generating an input of a virtual key associated with the location of the touch input from the at least two inputs associated with the virtual key in accordance with the characteristics of the motion signal.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least some of the virtual keys have at least two inputs comprising a first letter character input which causes the first letter character to be displayed on the touchscreen display, and a second letter character input which causes the second letter character to be displayed on the touchscreen display.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein at least some of the virtual keys have at least two inputs comprising a lower case input of a letter character which causes the letter to be displayed on the touchscreen display in lower case, and a upper lower case input of the letter character which causes the letter to be displayed on the touchscreen display in upper case.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein at least some of the virtual keys have at least two inputs comprising a letter character input which causes the letter character to be displayed on the touchscreen display, and a number or symbol character input which causes the number or symbol character be displayed on the touchscreen display.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein at least some of the virtual keys have at least two inputs comprising a letter character input which causes the letter character to be displayed on the touchscreen display, and a command input which causes an executable action to be performed.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the input is generated in accordance with whether input from a virtual control button of the virtual keyboard was received prior to input from the virtual key or concurrently with the input from the virtual key.

15. A handheld electronic device, comprising:

a controller for controlling the operation of the device;

a touchscreen display connected to the controller and having a touch-sensitive input surface which generates a touch input signal in response to detection of an external force being applied to the touch-sensitive input surface, wherein the touch input signal having one or more characteristics representing at least a location on the touch-sensitive input surface at which the external force was detected; and

a motion detection subsystem connected to the controller which generates a motion signal in response to motion of the handheld electronic device, the motion signal having one or more characteristics representing the detected motion;

the controller being configured to generate an input from one of at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input in accordance with the characteristics of the motion signal.

16. The handheld electronic device of claim 15, wherein the motion detection subsystem comprises an accelerometer.

17. The handheld electronic device of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to determine a location of a touch input on a touch-sensitive input surface of the touchscreen display.

18. The handheld electronic device of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to determine the one or more characteristics of a motion signal of a motion sensor of the handheld electronic device.

19. A method of verifying input using a touchscreen display of a handheld electronic device, comprising:

detecting a touch input on a touch-sensitive input surface of the touchscreen display;

detecting a motion signal of a motion sensor of the handheld electronic device having one or more characteristics;

verifying the touch input when the characteristics of the motion signal logically correspond to a tap and generating an input associated with a location of the touch input; and

rejecting the touch input when the characteristics of the motion signal do not logically correspond to a tap.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the characteristics of the motion signal comprise the magnitude of the motion signal, the method comprising determining whether the magnitude of the motion signal logically corresponds to a tap including determining whether the magnitude of the motion signal is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold representing a tap, wherein the motion signal logically corresponds to a tap when it is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold and the motion signal does not logically correspond to a tap when it is less than the predetermined threshold.

21. The method of 19, wherein the motion signal is generated in response to an external force applied to the touch-sensitive input surface which generates the touch input, wherein the verifying is dependent on the motion signal and touch input being detected within a predetermined duration of each other.