TOUCH CONTROL METHOD AND ELECTRONIC SYSTEM UTILIZING THE SAME

• US 20130278520A1
• Filed: 04/19/2013
• Published: 10/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cloud Network Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: LIU, DENG-RUNG, LU, CHI-CHANG, WENG, CHENG-HAO
• Granted Patent: US 9,218,077 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A touch control method is implemented in an electronic system. A calculation of the product of a pressure value and the area over which pressure is applied are included in touch input data packets representing a touch operation, the values of net force associated with the touch input packets are thus obtained. A signal of a short press, if recognized, with a value of net force greater than a net force threshold can be recognized as a signal of a long press, thus simulating an operation of long press and triggering the selection of an object, where the selection of the object would otherwise require a long press operation. The touch control method operates to significantly speed up selection of an object.

Claims

1. A touch control method executable in an electronic system comprising a touch device and a processor, wherein the electronic system is operable to display an object and perform a selection of the object in response to a long press operation, the long press operation has an operation period counted from onset of the long press longer than a time threshold, and the touch control method comprising:

detecting touch operations and generating electrical touch operation signals by the touch device representative of the touch operations;

generating digital touch operation signals based on the electrical touch operation signals, wherein the digital touch operation signal comprises a sequence of touch operation packets representative of the touch operations, wherein each packet selected from the touch operation packets comprises a pressure field, area field, and coordinate field respectively operable to store a pressure value, a pressed area, and a coordinate of a touch operation represented by the packet;

inputting a portion of the touch operation packets in the sequence during a time interval to a converter of the electronic system, wherein the converter generates a net force value of each input packet selected from the portion of the touch operation packets via a product calculation of a pressure value and a pressed area of the input packet, and thus to generate net force values of the portion of the touch operation packets as a net force measurement of the touch operations;

utilizing a recognition unit to determine whether at least one net force record in the net force measurement exceeds a net force threshold;

generating a first instance of a long press signal in response to the net force measurement upon a condition that at least one net force record in the net force measurement exceeds the net force threshold, wherein an instance of the long press signal is generated in response to an instance of the long press operation on the electronic system to represent the instance of the long press operation; and

activating a selection of the object in response to the first instance of a long press signal.

2. The touch control method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

generating and transmitting wireless signals representing the net force measurement to an external device to control the external device.

3. The touch control method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the electronic system comprises a smart mobile phone or a tablet computer.

4. The touch control method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the recognition unit is installed in the external device which comprises a smart mobile phone or a tablet computer.

5. The touch control method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

storing by the converter the net force value of the input packet in the pressure field in substitution for the pressure value of the input packet.

6. The touch control method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

utilizing the recognition unit to perform the following steps;

sampling the net force measurement in respect of time to generate sampled net force measurement;

determining whether at least one net force record in the sampled net force measurement exceeds the net force threshold;

generating the first instance of the long press signal to initiate the selection of the object upon a condition that at least one net force record in the sampled net force measurement exceeds the net force threshold; and

terminating the selection of the objection upon receiving an instance of a release operation of the electronic system.

7. The touch control method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

displaying a first graphical user interface component operable to receive a heavy press on the touch device;

generating the net force threshold value based on the heavy press.

8. The touch control method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the first graphical user interface component is operable to unlock a lock mode of the electronic system, and the touch control method further comprises:

unlocking the lock mode of the electronic system when the first graphical user interface component receives a second drag touch operation.

9. The touch control method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

displaying a framework to indicate the selection of the object for a period associated with the selection of the object.

10. The touch control method as claimed in claim 6, further comprising:

utilizing a drag recognition unit to determine whether signals of the net force measurement triggers a first drag operation of the object;

utilizing the drag recognition unit to determine whether the touch operations representative by the net force measurement comprises a touch movement on the touch device which exceeds n pixels, wherein the number n comprises an integer;

initiating the first drag operation of the object upon a condition that the touch movement on the touch device which exceeds n pixels; and

terminating the first drag operation of the object upon completion of the selection of the object.

11. The touch control method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic system comprises a smart television or a set-top box.

12. An electronic system executing a touch control method, comprising:

a media player device operable to display an object and perform a selection of the object in response to a long press operation, the long press operation has an operation period counted from onset of the long press longer than a time threshold;

a mobile device comprising a touch device operable to detect touch operations and generate electrical touch operation signals representative of the touch operations, wherein the touch control method comprising;

generating by the mobile device digital touch operation signals based on the electrical touch operation signals, wherein the digital touch operation signal comprises a sequence of touch operation packets representative of the touch operations, wherein each packet selected from the touch operation packets comprises a pressure field, area field, and coordinate field respectively operable to store a pressure value, a pressed area, and a coordinate of a touch operation represented by the packet;

inputting by the mobile device a portion of the touch operation packets in the sequence during a time interval to a converter of the mobile device, wherein the converter generates a net force value of each input packet selected from the portion of the touch operation packets via a product calculation of a pressure value and a pressed area of the input packet, and thus to generate net force values of the portion of the touch operation packets as a net force measurement of the touch operations;

generating and transmitting by the mobile device wireless signals representing the net force measurement to the media player device;

utilizing by the media player device a recognition unit to determine whether at least one net force record in the net force measurement exceeds a net force threshold;

generating by the media player device a first instance of a long press signal in response to the net force measurement upon a condition that at least one net force record in the net force measurement exceeds the net force threshold, wherein an instance of the long press signal is generated in response to an instance of the long press operation on the media player device to represent the instance of the long press operation; and

activating a selection of the object in response to the first instance of a long press signal.

13. An electronic system operable to display an object and perform a selection of the object in response to a long press operation, the long press operation has an operation period counted from onset of the long press longer than a time threshold, comprising:

a wireless communication device operable to execute a touch control method comprising;

receiving from a mobile device digital touch operation signals, wherein the digital touch operation signal comprises a sequence of touch operation packets representative of touch operations on the mobile device, wherein each packet selected from the touch operation packets comprises a pressure field, area field, and coordinate field respectively operable to store a pressure value, a pressed area, and a coordinate of a touch operation represented by the packet;

inputting a portion of the touch operation packets in the sequence during a time interval to a converter, wherein the converter generates a net force value of each input packet selected from the portion of the touch operation packets via a product calculation of a pressure value and a pressed area of the input packet, and thus to generate net force values of the portion of the touch operation packets as a net force measurement of the touch operations;

a recognition unit operable to determine whether at least one net force record in the net force measurement exceeds a net force threshold;

a command generator operable to generate a first instance of a long press signal in response to the net force measurement upon a condition that at least one net force record in the net force measurement exceeds the net force threshold, wherein an instance of the long press signal is generated in response to an instance of the long press operation on the electronic system to represent the instance of the long press operation; and

activating a selection of the object in response to the first instance of a long press signal.