Method for determining pressed location of touch screen

• US 8,139,038 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2008
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wi-LAN Inc.
• Original Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Inventors: Chueh, Hsin-Ti, Cheng, Wen-Yao, Ko, Hui-Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US12/208,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20090085887A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-173, 178/18.01
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• 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 method for determining pressed locations of a touch screen, suitable for an electronic device having the touch screen, is provided. In the present method, coordinates and pressure values of m samples where the touch screen is pressed are detected. Then, the pressure values of those samples are compared to find n samples with the highest pressure values. Finally, the coordinates of those n samples are averaged for determining the pressed location of the touch screen. Accordingly, the accuracy of determining the pressed location of the touch screen can be increased and the convenience for operating the electronic device is enhanced.

Claims

1. A method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen, used for an electronic device having the touch screen, the method comprising:

a. detecting coordinates and pressure values of a plurality of m samples where the touch screen is continuously pressed, wherein m is a positive integer;

b. comparing the pressure values of the m samples to find n samples with the highest pressure values, wherein n is a positive integer; and

c. averaging the coordinates of then samples to obtain a first pressed location of the touch screen.

2. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 1 further comprising:

d. continuously detecting a next pressed sample, and comparing the pressure values of final detected continuous m samples to find n samples with the highest pressure values, and averaging the coordinates of the n samples to obtain a second pressed location of the touch screen.

3. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 2 further comprising:

e. repeating the step d, for continuously detecting a next pressed sample until no more samples can be detected, and finally obtaining a k-th location, wherein k is a positive integer.

4. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 3 further comprising:

transmitting the obtained first˜

k-th locations to an operating system of the electronic device.

5. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 4, wherein after the step of transmitting the obtained first˜

k-th locations to the operating system of the electronic device, the method further comprises;

performing a selection by the operating system of the electronic device according to relative relationships of the first˜

k-th locations.

6. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 5, wherein the step of performing a selection by the operating system of the electronic device according to relative relationships of the first˜

k-th locations comprises;

selecting an object located at the first location or located at the k-th location when a distance between the first location and the k-th location is less than a predetermined value.

7. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 5, wherein the step of performing a selection by the operating system of the electronic device according to relative relationships of the first˜

k-th locations comprises;

selecting an object located within a selection range between the first location and the k-th location when a distance between the first location and the k-th location is greater than the predetermined value.

8. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of comparing the pressure values of the m samples to find the n samples with the highest pressure values further comprises:

omitting the first˜

i-th samples within the detected m samples, and only comparing the (i

     1)-th˜

m-th samples to find the n samples with the highest pressure values, wherein i is a positive integer.

9. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coordinates of the samples comprises horizontal coordinates and vertical coordinates.

10. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises a cell phone, a personal digital assistant or a notebook computer.

11. A method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen, used for an electronic device having the touch screen, the method comprising:

a. detecting coordinates and pressure values of a plurality of samples where the touch screen is pressed;

b. selecting j-th˜

(m j−

1)-th samples within the detected samples wherein m is greater than 1, and comparing the pressure values of the m samples to find n samples with the highest pressure values, wherein j, m and n are positive integers; and

c. averaging the coordinates of the n samples to obtain a first pressed location of the touch screen.

12. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

d. selecting the (j

     1)-th˜

(m j)-th samples within the detected samples, and comparing the pressure values of the m samples to find n samples with the highest pressure values, and averaging the coordinates of the n samples to obtain a second pressed location of the touch screen.

13. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 12 further comprising:

e. repeating the step d, until the coordinates and the pressure values of all the detected samples are calculated and a p-th location is obtained.

14. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 13 further comprising:

transmitting the obtained first˜

p-th locations to an operating system of the electronic device.

15. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 14, wherein after the step of transmitting the obtained first˜

p-th locations to the operating system of the electronic device, the method further comprises;

performing a selection by the operating system of the electronic device according to relative relationships of the first˜

p-th locations.

16. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 15, wherein the step of performing a selection by the operating system of the electronic device according to relative relationships of the first˜

p-th locations comprises;

selecting an object located at the first location or located at the p-th location when a distance between the first location and the p-th location is less than a predetermined value.

17. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 15, wherein the step of performing a selection by the operating system of the electronic device according to relative relationships of the first˜

p-th locations comprises;

selecting an object located within a selection range between the first location and the p-th location when a distance between the first location and the p-th location is greater than the predetermined value.

18. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 11, wherein the coordinates of the samples comprises horizontal coordinates and vertical coordinates.

19. The method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen as claimed in claim 11, wherein the electronic device comprises a cell phone, a personal digital assistant or a notebook computer.

20. A method for determining a pressed location of a touch screen, used for an electronic device having the touch screen, the method comprising:

a. detecting coordinates and pressure values of m samples where the touch screen is continuously pressed;

b. selecting the j-th˜

(m j−

1)-th samples within the detected samples, and comparing the pressure values of the m samples to find n samples with the highest pressure values, wherein j, m and n are positive integers;

c. calculating an average value (AVG) and a standard deviation (SD) of the pressure values of the n samples;

d. selecting samples with the pressure values that fall into a scope of (AVG±

f×

SD), wherein f is a positive integer; and

e. averaging coordinates of the selected samples for obtaining a first pressed location of the touch screen.