COMPUTER DEVICE WITH TOUCH SCREEN AND METHOD FOR OPERATING THE SAME

• US 20120050159A1
• Filed: 08/26/2011
• Published: 03/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: YU, YING-CHEN, Yen, Jacqueline Li-Ling, Chuang, Po Ya, Wang, Wendy Ping Wen
• Granted Patent: US 9,104,303 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/157
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A method for operating a computer device incorporating a touch screen is provided. The method includes pre-defining a first pointing device command and a second pointing device command, which are not related to directional pointing control, in the computer device. In response to a first touch, the touch screen generates a first touch signal. The first pointing device invokes a command in response to the first touch signal. In response to a second touch different from the first touch, the touch screen generates a second touch signal. The second pointing device command is invokes in response to the second touch signal.

Claims

1. A computer device, comprising:

a touch screen configured to, in response to a first touch, generate a first touch signal, and in response to a second touch, generate a second touch signal, wherein the first touch and the second touch are different at least in pressure applied by a user;

an operating system configured to pre-define a first command and a second command; and

a processor configured to, in response to the first touch signal, invoke the first command, and in response to the second touch signal, invoke the second command.

2. The computer device of claim 1, further including a pointing device configured to, in response to different operations by the user, generate a first pointing device signal and a second pointing device signal;

wherein the first command includes a first pointing device command, and the second command includes a second pointing device command irrelevant to directional pointing control; and

wherein the processor is configured to invoke the first pointing device command in response to any one of the first touch signal and the first pointing device signal, and the processor is configured to invoke the second pointing device command in response to any one of the second touch signal and the second pointing device signal.

3. The computer device of claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to execute an application, the application runs a first process in response to the first pointing device command and runs a second process in response to the second pointing device command.

4. The computer device of claim 3, wherein the first touch and the second touch both target to a same position on the touch screen.

5. The computer device of claim 3, wherein the application presents a graphic object on the touch screen, and the first touch and the second touch both target to the graphic object.

6. The computer device of claim 1, further comprising:

a multimedia file browsing application, providing a first browsing mode and a second browsing mode;

wherein the touch screen is configured to generate the first touch signal in response to a first touch on a multimedia file presented on the touch screen by the multimedia file browsing application, and generate the second touch signal in response to a second touch on the multimedia file;

wherein, the first command is a browsing command in the first browsing mode, and the second command is a switching command to switch the first browsing mode to the second browsing mode.

7. The computer device of claim 6, wherein the first browsing mode and the second browsing mode are a vertical read mode and a horizontal read mode;

a page locking mode and a page drag-able mode;

a read-only mode and a highlight and notation mode;

or a full page mode and a column mode.

8. The computer device of claim 6, wherein the touch screen is resistive type or inductive type.

9. A method of initiating a command on a computer device having a touch screen, the method comprising:

in response to a first touch on said touch screen, invoking a first command; and

in response to a second touch on said touch screen, invoking a second command;

wherein said first command and said second command are invoked by application of unequal pressure on said touch screen.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the computer device further includes a pointing device, the method further comprising:

receiving a first pointing device signal from the pointing device;

in response to the first pointing device signal, invoking the first command;

receiving a second pointing device signal from the pointing device;

in response to the second pointing device signal, invoking the second command; and

wherein the first command is a first pointing device command, and the second command is a second pointing device command.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

executing an application;

in response to the first pointing device command, the application running a first process; and

in response to the second pointing device command, the application running a second process.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first touch and the second touch both target to a same position on the touch screen.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein a graphic object is presented on the touch screen, and the first touch and the second touch both target to the graphic object.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

executing a multimedia file browsing application to present a multimedia file on the touch screen and provide a first browsing mode and a second browsing mode;

in the first browsing mode, in response to a first touch on the multimedia file, invoking the first command;

in response to a second touch on the multimedia file, invoking the second command; and

wherein the first command is a browsing command to browse the multimedia file in the first browsing mode, and the second command is a switching command to switch the first browsing mode to the second browsing mode.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first touch and the second touch both target to a same position on the touch screen.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

in response to a third touch on the multimedia file, invoking a second browsing command to browse the multimedia file in the second browsing mode;

wherein the second touch and the third touch are different.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first touch and the second touch are different at least in pressure applied by the user, and the second touch and the third touch are different at least in pressure applied by the user.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first touch and the second touch are different at least in pressure applied by the user, and the second touch and the third touch are different at least in touch duration.

19. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium storing a program code to be executed on a computer for causing the computer to perform operations including:

in response a first touch on a touch screen of the computer, invoking a first command;

in response to a second touch on the touch screen, invoking a second command;

wherein the first touch and the second touch are different at least in pressure applied by the user.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising program code for:

receiving a first pointing device signal from a pointing device of the computer;

in response to the first pointing device signal, invoking the first command;

receiving a second pointing device signal from the pointing device;

in response to the second pointing device signal, invoking the second command; and

wherein the first command is a first pointing device command, and the second command is a second pointing device command.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, further comprising program code for:

executing an application;

in response to the first pointing device command, the application running a first process; and

in response to the second pointing device command, the application running a second process.

22. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising computer code for:

executing a multimedia file browsing application to present a multimedia file on the touch screen and provide a first browsing mode and a second browsing mode;

in the first browsing mode, in response to a first touch on the multimedia file, invoking the first command;

in response to a second touch on the multimedia file, invoking the second command; and

wherein the first command is a browsing command to browse the multimedia file in the first browsing mode, and the second command is a switching command to switch the first browsing mode to the second browsing mode.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, further comprising computer code for:

in response to a third touch on the multimedia file, invoking a second browsing command to browse the multimedia file in the second browsing mode; and

wherein the second touch and the third touch are different.