Method and apparatus for multitouch text input

• US 8,217,787 B2
• Filed: 07/14/2009
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Miller, Thomas Marshall IV
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TOAN NGOC
• Application Number:
  US12/502,655
• Publication Number:
  US 20110012716A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: 340/540, 340/407.1, 340/407.2, 340/815.4, 345/173, 463/37, 463/43, 463/46, 463/30
• US Class Current: 340/540
• 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 3/0235 using chord techniques G06F3/0234 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

Text input may be entered on an electronic text input device by a user simultaneously contacting at least two of a plurality of discrete touch sensitive areas on a first surface of the device. A text character for input is determined, based on the touch sensitive areas which are detected as being simultaneously in contact with the user. The determined text character is locked by subsequent user action. A second surface of the device, such as that opposite the first surface, may include a display on which the determined text character and other information may be displayed.

Claims

1. A method for inputting text comprising:

detecting user contact simultaneously with at least two of a plurality of discrete of touch sensitive areas, wherein input of a text character requires simultaneous contact by a user with at least two of the touch sensitive areas;

determining a text character based on the detected simultaneous user contact with at least two touch sensitive areas; and

confirming user selection of the text character based on additional user contact with a touch-sensitive area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein confirming user selection of the text character comprises at least one of the user contacting another touch sensitive area or depressing a button.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing feedback following at least one of the determination of the text character or confirming the user selection.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the feedback comprises at least one of an audible, a visible or a vibrational output.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the feedback comprises display of the determined text character on a display.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch sensitive areas are external to the display.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the text character is displayed on a first portion of the display before the confirmation.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the text character is displayed on a second portion of the display after the confirmation, the second portion being different than the first portion.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising displaying indicia representative of the detected areas as they are being contacted by the user.

10. A system comprising:

a housing having a first surface and a second surface, the first and second surfaces being opposed to each other;

at least two touch-sensitive regions on the second surface;

a screen on the first surface;

a processor;

a memory storing instructions executable by the processor;

the instructions comprising;

identifying the regions that have been simultaneously touched by a user,

determining a text character associated with the combination of the regions simultaneously touched by the user, and

displaying the text character on the screen.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein each touch-sensitive regions is a button spaced apart from the other regions.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein each touch-sensitive regions comprises a different portion of the same touch-sensitive component.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the touch-sensitive component is a touchpad.

14. The system of claim 10 wherein the memory stores a set of text characters and associates each different character of the set with a different combination of selected regions.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the instructions further comprise detecting the proximity of a user'"'"'s fingers near the touch-sensitive regions, and displaying on the display an indication of such proximity.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the instructions further comprise displaying, on the display, an indication of the regions being touched by the user.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the indication comprises displaying an indication on a portion of the screen that corresponds with a touched region.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the portion of the screen is opposed to the touched region.

19. A system comprising:

a first, second, third and fourth user-selectable region, each region being separately selectable from the others;

a screen;

a processor;

a memory storing instructions executable by the processor;

the instructions comprising;

identifying the first, second and third regions that have been simultaneously selected by the user,

determining a text character based on the combination of the identified regions,

displaying the determined text character on the screen in a first area of the screen,

determining whether the user has selected the fourth user-selectable region, and

displaying the determined text character on the screen in a second area of the screen, different from the first area, based on the user selecting the fourth-selectable region.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the first, second and third regions are different regions of the same touchpad.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the display is a single touch screen and the first, second and third regions are different regions of the touch screen.

22. The method of claim 19 wherein the display is a single touch screen and the first, second, third and fourth regions are different regions of the touch screen.

23. The method of claim 19 wherein the display is a single touch screen and the first, second, third are different regions of the touch screen, wherein the fourth region is also a region of the display screen, and wherein the fourth region is indicated after the text character is determined.

24. The method of claim 19 wherein the text character is determined based on the correspondence between the identified first, second and third regions with a Braille alphabet.