METHOD FOR CONTROLLING OPERATIONS ACCORDING TO MECHANICAL TOUCHING ACTIONS AND PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE ADAPTED TO THE SAME

• US 20110102350A1
• Filed: 11/03/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: JUNG, Hwi Gwon
• Application Number:
  US12/938,739
• Publication Number:
  US 20110102350A1
• 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 2200/1636 Sensing arrangement for detection of a tap gesture on the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors

Abstract

A method for controlling operations according to mechanical touching actions and a portable electronic device adapted to the method are provided. The portable electronic device includes a sensing unit for detecting a mechanical touching action and a location, to which the mechanical touching action is applied, and a type of mechanical touching action, a motion recognizing unit for identifying a motion scenario according to the identified location and the type of mechanical touching action, and a function conducting unit for performing a corresponding function of the portable electronic device according to the identified motion scenario.

Claims

1. A method for controlling operations of a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

detecting a mechanical touching action applied to the portable electronic device;

identifying a region to which the mechanical touching action is applied; and

performing a function of the portable electronic device, corresponding to the identified region.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a type of mechanical touching action.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the function of the portable electronic device corresponds to a function that is set according to the identified region, to which the mechanical touching action is applied, and the identified type of mechanical touching action.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting of the mechanical touching action comprises measuring at least one of a change in vibration and a change in an electromagnetic field, which are generated according to the mechanical touching action.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the portable electronic device is shaped as a rectangular parallelepiped; and

the region corresponds to one of six sides forming the body of the portable electronic device, to which the mechanical touching action is applied.

6. A portable electronic device comprising:

a sensing unit for detecting a mechanical touching action and creating a detected signal containing at least a region, to which the mechanical touching action is applied, and a type of mechanical touching action;

a motion recognizing unit for identifying a motion scenario of the portable electronic device, corresponding to the detected signal output from the sensing unit; and

a function conducting unit for performing a corresponding function of the portable electronic device, corresponding to the identified motion scenario.

7. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the sensing unit comprises at least one of a sensor for detecting a change in a vibration generated according to the mechanical touching action and a sensor for detecting a change in an electromagnetic field according to the mechanical touching action.

8. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the motion recognizing unit recognizes a location where the mechanical touch action has occurred, the number of mechanical touch actions, a duration time of the mechanical touch action, and direction of the mechanical touch action based on the detected signal.

9. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the motion recognizing unit receives detected signals from the sensing unit, detects a location where the mechanical touch action has occurred, detects the type of mechanical touch action, and outputs a corresponding motion signal to the function conducing unit.

10. The portable electronic device of claim 6, wherein the function conducing unit extracts the motion scenario from a storage unit and matches a recognition result of the motion recognizing unit, and performs a function corresponding to the extracted motion scenario.

11. A method for controlling operations of a portable electronic device, the method comprising:

creating a detected signal in response to a mechanical touching action applied to the portable electronic device;

identifying a region to which the mechanical touching action is applied;

receiving region information to which the mechanical touching action is applied; and

performing a function of the received region information.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

identifying the type of mechanical touching action.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

detecting which portion of the portable electronic device the mechanical touching action is applied based on the change in the acceleration.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the function of the portable electronic device corresponds to a function that is set according to the identified region, to which the mechanical touching action is applied, and the identified type of mechanical touching action.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the mechanical touching action results from at least one of a change in vibration and a change in an electromagnetic field.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the portable electronic device is shaped as a rectangular parallelepiped; and

the region corresponds to one of six sides forming the body of the portable electronic device, to which the mechanical touching action is applied.