PORTABLE ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, TOUCH REGION SETTING METHOD, AND TOUCH REGION SETTING PROGRAM

• US 20140232653A1
• Filed: 09/18/2012
• Published: 08/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NEC CASIO Mobile Communications Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NEC CASIO Mobile Communications Limited (NEC Corporation)
• Inventors: Yagihashi, Ayumu, Aoki, Hiroyuki, Murayama, Atsuhiko, Sugahara, Seiji, Kato, Yumi
• Application Number:
  US14/347,633
• Publication Number:
  US 20140232653A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• 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 3/0346 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A supporting-point position detecting unit detects a supporting-point position of a thumb when the finger moves in a state in which a portable electronic apparatus (portable information apparatus) is held, and a finger length acquiring unit acquires a length of the thumb. Then, an application processing unit sets a touch region (for example, a display region of an icon of a push button) in which a touch operation serving as a predetermined input operation is received within a movable range of the finger obtained based on the supporting-point position of the thumb and the length of the thumb in a region in which the touch sensor is able to detect a touch.

Claims

1. A portable electronic apparatus comprising:

a touch sensor configured to detect a touch position;

a supporting-point position detecting unit configured to detect a supporting-point position of a user'"'"'s finger when the finger moves in a state in which the portable electronic apparatus is held;

a user'"'"'s finger length acquiring unit configured to acquire the length of the finger; and

a touch region setting unit configured to set a touch region in which a touch operation serving as a predetermined input operation is received within a movable range of the finger obtained based on the supporting-point position of the finger and the length of the finger in a region in which the touch sensor is able to detect a touch.

2. The portable electronic apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the touch sensor is a front surface touch sensor which is a touch input apparatus capable of performing an operation with a thumb of a hand with which the portable electronic apparatus is held,

wherein the supporting-point position detecting unit detects a supporting-point position of the thumb,

wherein the finger length acquiring unit acquires a length of the thumb, and

wherein the touch region setting unit sets the touch region in the front surface touch sensor within a movable range of the thumb obtained based on the supporting-point position of the thumb and the length of the thumb in the region in which the touch sensor is able to detect the touch.

3. The portable electronic apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a rear surface touch sensor which is the touch sensor operable with any one of an index finger, a middle finger, a ring finger, and a little finger of the hand with which the portable electronic apparatus is held,

wherein the supporting-point position detecting unit detects a supporting-point position of at least one of the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger,

wherein the finger length acquiring unit acquires the length of the finger of the supporting-point position detected by the supporting-point position detecting unit, and

wherein the touch region setting unit sets a touch region in the rear surface touch sensor in the movable range of the finger obtained based on the supporting-point position of the finger detected by the supporting-point position detecting unit and the length of the finger acquired by the finger length acquiring unit in a region in which the rear surface touch sensor is able to detect the touch.

4. The portable electronic apparatus according to claim 3, comprising:

a display unit having a display screen; and

a display control unit configured to cause a cursor to be displayed at a position according to the touch position of the display screen when the rear surface touch sensor detects the touch position within the touch region set by the touch region setting unit.

5. The portable electronic apparatus according to claim 3, comprising:

a display unit having a display screen;

a display control unit configured to cause the display screen to display an icon; and

a processing unit configured to perform a process according to the touch operation detected by the front surface touch sensor and the touch operation detected by the rear surface touch sensor,

wherein the front surface touch sensor is provided on the display screen,

wherein the rear surface touch sensor is provided on a rear surface of the display screen, and

wherein the processing unit performs different processes when the front surface touch sensor receives the touch operation in a display region of the icon and when the rear surface touch sensor receives the touch operation in a rear surface region of the display region of the icon.

6. The portable electronic apparatus according to claim 3, comprising:

a display unit having a display screen; and

a processing unit configured to cause the display unit to display a browser image of an immediately previously displayed screen when the rear surface touch sensor detects a touch position within the touch region set by the touch region setting unit in a state in which the display unit displays the browser image on the display screen.

7. The portable electronic apparatus according to claim 4, comprising:

a tilt detecting unit configured to detect a tilt of a housing of the portable electronic apparatus, and

a display control unit configured to cause the display screen to display a cursor, move the cursor according to the tilt detected by the tilt detecting unit, and stop the cursor when the rear surface touch sensor detects the touch operation within the touch region set by the touch region setting unit.

8. The portable electronic apparatus according to claim 3,

a display unit having a display screen;

a display control unit configured to cause the display screen to display an icon; and

a processing unit configured to perform a process according to the touch operation detected by the front surface touch sensor and the touch operation detected by the rear surface touch sensor,

wherein the front surface touch sensor is provided on the display screen,

wherein the rear surface touch sensor is provided on a rear surface of the display screen, and

wherein the processing unit performs the same process when the front surface touch sensor receives the touch operation in a display region and when the rear surface touch sensor receives the touch operation in a rear surface region of the display region.

9. A touch region setting method of a portable electronic apparatus having a touch sensor configured to detect a touch position, the touch region setting method comprising:

a supporting-point position detecting step of detecting a supporting-point position of a user'"'"'s finger when the finger moves in a state in which the portable electronic apparatus is held;

a finger length acquiring step of acquiring the length of the finger; and

a touch region setting step of setting a touch region in which a touch operation serving as a predetermined input operation is received within a movable range of the finger obtained based on the supporting-point position of the finger and the length of the finger in a region in which the touch sensor is able to detect a touch.

10. A computer-readable recording media having stored thereon a touch region setting program that, when executed on a computer, causes the computer serving as a portable electronic apparatus having a touch sensor configured to detect a touch position to execute:

a supporting-point position detecting step of detecting a supporting-point position of a user'"'"'s finger when the finger moves in a state in which the portable electronic apparatus is held;

a finger length acquiring step of acquiring the length of the finger; and

a touch region setting step of setting a touch region in which a touch operation serving as a predetermined input operation is received within a movable range of the finger obtained based on the supporting-point position of the finger and the length of the finger in a region in which the touch sensor is able to detect a touch.