MOBILE TERMINAL CAPABLE OF RECOGNIZING FINGERNAIL TOUCH AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE OPERATION THEREOF

• US 20100279738A1
• Filed: 04/28/2010
• Published: 11/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: LEE, Eun Sang, YOO, Seung Hwan, LEE, Young Sun, LIM, Soo Chul, KIM, Doo Hwan, KIM, Mi Jung, KIM, Jong Hwan
• Granted Patent: US 8,224,392 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A method of controlling a mobile terminal, and which includes displaying, on a touch screen display of the mobile terminal, an operation screen corresponding to a current operating mode executing on the mobile terminal; detecting, via a detecting device, a touch input on the touch screen display of the mobile terminal; determining, via a controller on the mobile terminal, a first finger characteristic describing a finger touching the touch screen display and a second finger characteristic describing the finger touching the touch screen display that is different than the first finger characteristic; performing, via the controller, a first operation relevant to the current operating mode based on the determined first finger characteristic; and performing, via the controller, a second operation relevant to the current operating mode based on the determined second finger characteristic.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

displaying, on a touch screen display of the mobile terminal, an operation screen corresponding to a current operating mode executing on the mobile terminal;

detecting, via a detecting device, a touch input on the touch screen display of the mobile terminal;

determining, via a controller on the mobile terminal, a first finger characteristic describing a finger touching the touch screen display and a second finger characteristic describing the finger touching the touch screen display that is different than the first finger characteristic;

performing, via the controller, a first operation relevant to the current operating mode based on the determined first finger characteristic; and

performing, via the controller, a second operation relevant to the current operating mode based on the determined second finger characteristic.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first finger characteristic describes a

fingernail of the finger touching the touch screen display and the second finger characteristic describes a portion of the finger not including the fingernail touching the touch screen display.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first finger

characteristic describes a first finger touching the touch screen display and the second finger characteristic describes a second finger touching the touch screen display that is different than the first finger.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first finger characteristic is determined

via a characteristic of the touch screen display changing when the finger touches the touch screen display, and the second finger characteristic is determined via image processing of an image captured of the finger touching the touch screen display.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first finger characteristic is determined

via a characteristic of the touch screen display changing a first amount when the finger touches the touch screen display, and the second finger characteristic is determined via the characteristic of the touch screen display changing a second amount when the finger touches the touch screen display.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first operation includes displaying first information relevant to the current operating mode and the second operation includes displaying second information relevant to the current operating mode that is different than the first information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a first haptic effect corresponding to the first operation; and

generating a second haptic effect corresponding to the second operation and that is different than the first haptic effect.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing finger characteristics for a plurality of fingers of a user operating the mobile terminal, said stored finger characteristics include at least the first and second finger characteristics.

9. The mobile terminal of claim 8, wherein the first finger characteristic corresponds to a stored finger characteristic of a first finger of the user and the second finger characteristic corresponds to a stored finger characteristic of a second finger of the user.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing the first and second operations relevant to the current operating mode are based on the determined first and second finger characteristics and at least one of a pattern drawn on the touch screen display and a length of time a finger corresponding to the first and second finger characteristics are touched on the touch screen display, respectively.

11. A mobile terminal, comprising:

a touch screen display configured to display an operation screen corresponding to a current operating mode executing on the mobile terminal;

a detecting device configured to detect a touch input on the touch screen display of the mobile terminal; and

a controller configured to determine a first finger characteristic describing a finger touching the touch screen display and a second finger characteristic describing the finger touching the touch screen display that is different than the first finger characteristic, to perform a first operation relevant to the current operating mode based on the determined first finger characteristic, and to perform a second operation relevant to the current operating mode based on the determined second finger characteristic.

12. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the first finger characteristic describes a fingernail of the finger touching the touch screen display and the second finger characteristic describes a portion of the finger not including the fingernail touching the touch screen display.

13. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the first finger characteristic describes a first finger touching the touch screen display and the second finger characteristic describes a second finger touching the touch screen display that is different than the first finger.

14. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the first finger characteristic is determined via a characteristic of the touch screen display changing when the finger touches the touch screen display, and the second finger characteristic is determined via image processing of an image captured of the finger touching the touch screen display.

15. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the first finger characteristic is determined via a characteristic of the touch screen display changing a first amount when the finger touches the touch screen display, and the second finger characteristic is determined via the characteristic of the touch screen display changing a second amount when the finger touches the touch screen display.

16. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the first operation includes displaying first information relevant to the current operating mode and the second operation includes displaying second information relevant to the current operating mode that is different than the first information.

17. The mobile terminal of claim 11, further comprising:

a haptic module configured to generate a first haptic effect corresponding to the first operation, and to generate a second haptic effect corresponding to the second operation and that is different than the first haptic effect.

18. The mobile terminal of claim 11, further comprising:

a memory configured to store finger characteristics for a plurality of fingers of a user operating the mobile terminal, said stored finger characteristics include at least the first and second finger characteristics.

19. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein the first finger characteristic corresponds to a stored finger characteristic of a first finger of the user and the second finger characteristic corresponds to a stored finger characteristic of a second finger of the user.

20. The mobile terminal of claim 11, wherein the controller is further configured to perform the first and second operations relevant to the current operating mode based on the determined first and second finger characteristics and at least one of a pattern drawn on the touch screen display and a length of time a finger corresponding to the first and second finger characteristics are touched on the touch screen display, respectively.