Electronic device with function of recognizing multi-touch inputs and method thereof

• US 8,564,562 B2
• Filed: 04/29/2011
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Ge, Chi-Sheng
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KIMNHUNG T
• Application Number:
  US13/097,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20120249432A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178 1801- 1804
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An electronic device with a function of recognizing multi-touch inputs includes a multi-touch display unit, an input unit receiving multi-touch inputs on the multi-touch display unit, a storage unit, and a processing unit. Each multi-touch input includes a plurality of touch points which forms a touch area. The storage unit stores a table which records a relationship between an area of the touch area of the multi-touch input and a function of the electronic device. The processing unit senses whether there is a multi-touch input on the display unit, computes the area of the touch area of the multi-touch input when there is a multi-touch input on the multi-touch display unit, and determines a function associated with the computed area in the table stored in the storage unit.

Claims

1. An electronic device with a function of recognizing multi-touch inputs, comprising:

a multi-touch display unit;

an input unit to receive multi-touch inputs on the multi-touch display unit, wherein each multi-touch input comprises a plurality of touch points which forms a touch area;

a storage unit to store a table which records a relationship between an area of the touch area of the multi-touch input and a function of the electronic device; and

a processing unit to sense whether there is a multi-touch input on the multi-touch display unit, compute the area of the touch area of the multi-touch input when there is a multi-touch input on the multi-touch display unit, and execute a function associated with the computed area in the table stored in the storage unit.

2. The electronic device as described in claim 1, wherein the processing unit comprises:

a sensing module to sense whether there is a multi-touch input on the multi-touch display unit;

a collecting module to determine the plurality of touch points of the multi-touch input when there is a multi-touch input on the display unit, and collecting a coordinate value of each touch point;

a comparing module to compare the coordinate values of the plurality of touch points to determine the minimum x and y coordinate values and the maximum x and y coordinate values;

a computing module to compute the area of the touch area of the multi-touch input according to the determined minimum x and y coordinate values and the determined maximum x and y coordinate values;

a function determining module to determine the function associated with the determined area in the table stored in the storage unit; and

an implementing module to execute a corresponding operation on the electronic device according to the determined function.

3. The electronic device as described in claim 2, wherein the computing module is configured to compute a x difference between the maximum x coordinate value and the minimum x coordinate value, compute a y difference between the maximum y coordinate value and the minimum y coordinate value, and compute a result of the x difference multiplying the y difference which is defined as the area of the touch area of the multi-touch input.

4. A method for recognizing multi-touch inputs implemented by an electronic device, wherein the electronic device comprises a multi-touch display unit, an input unit for receiving multi-touch inputs on the multi-touch display unit, and a storage unit, each multi-touch input comprises a plurality of touch points which forms a touch area, the storage unit is configured to store a table which records a relationship between an area of the touch area of the multi-touch input and a function of the electronic device, the method comprising:

sensing whether there is a multi-touch input on the multi-touch display unit;

determining the plurality of touch points of the multi-touch input when there is a multi-touch input on the display unit, and collecting a coordinate value of each touch point;

comparing the coordinate values of the plurality of touch points to determine the minimum x and y coordinate values and the maximum x and y coordinate values;

computing the area of the touch area of the multi-touch input according to the determined minimum x and y coordinate values and the determined maximum x and y coordinate values;

determining a function associated with the determined area in the table stored in the storage unit; and

executing a corresponding operation on the electronic device according to the determined function.

5. The method as described in claim 4, wherein the method for computing the area of the touch area further comprises:

computing a x difference between the maximum x coordinate value and the minimum x coordinate value;

computing a y difference between the maximum y coordinate value and the minimum y coordinate value; and

computing a result of the x difference multiplying the y difference which is defined as the area of the touch area of the multi-touch input.