TOUCH-SCREEN DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A TOUCH-SCREEN DEVICE

• US 20120287076A1
• Filed: 05/12/2011
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola Mobility, Inc. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Wen, Chien-Hui, Dao, Kevin H.
• Granted Patent: US 9,898,122 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• 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 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1684 Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A touch-screen device and method for operating a touch-screen device are provided herein. The touch device comprises sensors around the edge and/or on the back of the device that will determine where a user is holding the device. Based on this information certain areas of the touch screen will be ignored or inactivated. This allows the device to selectively ignore the touch of the thumb and or palm.

Claims

1. A touch screen device comprising:

a touch screen;

a sensor sensing a user'"'"'s hand gripping the device, and outputting information regarding a location of a user'"'"'s hand; and

a processor determining an area of the touch screen to ignore inputs based on the information regarding the location of the user'"'"'s hand.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a capacitive sensor.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensor comprises a resistive sensor, thermal sensor, or IR sensor.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensor is located on an edge of a devices housing.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensor is located on a back of a device housing, or located on an opposite side of the housing from the touch screen.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the processor determines the area by determining if the area is along a same device edge as the location of a user'"'"'s hand.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the processor determines the area by determining if the area is a predetermined distance from a device edge.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein the area of the touch screen to ignore comprises a portion of the touch screen.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of determining the location of the user'"'"'s hand gripping the device comprises the step of determining the location via a sensor existing upon an edge of a device housing.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of determining the location of the user'"'"'s hand gripping the device comprises the step of determining the location via a sensor existing upon a back of a device housing.

9. A method comprising the steps of:

determining a location of a user'"'"'s hand gripping a device;

determining an input on a touch screen; and

determining an area of the touch screen to ignore based on the location of the user'"'"'s hand gripping the device.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of determining the area of the touch screen to ignore comprises the step of determining if the area is along a same device edge as the location of a user'"'"'s hand.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the step of determining the area of the touch screen to ignore comprises the step of determining if the area is a predetermined distance from a device edge.

14. A method comprising the steps of:

determining a location of a user'"'"'s hand gripping a device;

determining an input on a touch screen;

determining an area of the touch screen to ignore based on the location of the user'"'"'s hand gripping the device; and

wherein the step of determining the area of the touch screen to ignore comprises the step of determining if the area is a predetermined distance from a device edge and determining if the area to ignore is along a same device edge as the location of a user'"'"'s hand.