Inputting method and inputting apparatus

• US 8,570,277 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2003
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Rekimoto, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pervan, Michael
• Application Number:
  US10/514,393
• Publication Number:
  US 20060152497A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,822 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 178 1801- 1811, 178 1901- 1907
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04112 Electrode mesh in capacitive digitiser: electrode for touch sensing is formed of a mesh of very fine, normally metallic, interconnected lines that are almost invisible to see. This provides a quite large but transparent electrode surface, without need for ITO or similar transparent conductive material
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning

Abstract

There are provided with a detection sensor 110 for detecting an approach and a contact of a living body or a material body in a predetermined detection region, a control means which outputs a drive signal in a case when an approach is detected by a detection sensor and which performs an input process for accepting an input of a predetermined function in a case when a contact is detected on a predetermined condition, and an actuator 120 being vibrated temporarily by the drive signal outputted by the control means. By doing like this, in a case when, for example, a finger, a pen or the like is approached to the detection region of the sensor while the equipment is held in a hand, the equipment vibrates temporarily by detecting the approach in the sensor 110 and the vibration transmits to the hand holding the equipment such that it becomes possible to comprehend that an input will be carried out by touching the position.

Claims

1. An input method comprising:

detecting an approach of a living body or material body in a predetermined detection region comprising an area of an operation button;

determining whether the approach is within the area of an operation button;

generating, if it is determined that the approach is within the area of an operation button, a first vibration in a first vibration pattern in response to detecting the approach;

detecting a contact of the living body or material body on the area of an operation button; and

performing a predetermined input process and generating a second vibration in a second vibration pattern in response to detecting the contact.

2. An input method according to claim 1, wherein generating the second vibration comprises transmitting the second vibration to the area of an operation button.

3. An input method according to claim 1, wherein generating the second vibration comprises transmitting the second vibration to a predetermined region other than the area of an operation button.

4. An input method comprising:

detecting a contact position of a living body or material body in a predetermined detection region;

accepting a specific input corresponding to a change of the contact position, the change in the contact position maintaining contact in the predetermined detection region; and

vibrating at least a vicinity of the predetermined detection region when the change of the contact position is a predetermined amount or more relative to the detected contact position.

5. An input method according to claim 4, wherein detecting the contact position comprises determining a change of a signal transmitted between one or more transmission electrodes disposed within the predetermined detection region and one or more receiving electrodes.

6. An input method according to claim 4, further including simultaneously detecting a plurality of contact positions according to a change of a signal transmitted between one or more transmission electrodes disposed in the predetermined detection region and one or more receiving electrodes.

7. An input method according to claim 4, wherein:

the predetermined detection region comprises an annular detection region, and

detecting a contact position comprises determining a change of a signal transmitted between one or more transmission electrodes disposed within the annular detection region and one or more a plurality of receiving electrodes.

8. An input method according to claim 4, wherein:

the predetermined detection region comprises an annular detection region, and

detecting a contact position comprises a second detection of an operation inside the annular detection region.

9. An input method according to claim 4, wherein:

the predetermined detection region comprises an annular detection region;

detecting a contact position comprises a second detection of an operation inside the annual detection region; and

a function for accepting an input is changed in response to a detection pattern in each detection.

10. An input method according to claim 4, wherein detecting comprises determining a change of a signal transmitted between one or more transmission electrodes disposed within the predetermined detection region and one or more receiving electrodes.

11. An input method according to claim 4, wherein detecting comprises determining a change of a signal transmitted between one or more transmission electrodes disposed within the predetermined a detection region and one or more receiving electrodes, wherein the predetermined detection region is disposed linearly adjacent to at least one side of a display.

12. An input method according to claim 4, wherein detecting comprises:

determining a change of a signal transmitted between one or more transmission electrodes disposed within the predetermined a detection region and one or more receiving electrodes, wherein the detection region is disposed linearly adjacent to at least one side of a display; and

inputting a function relating to the display by detecting a contact position.

13. An input method according to claim 4, wherein detecting a contact position comprises:

determining a change of a signal transmitted between one or more transmission electrodes disposed within the predetermined detection region and one or more receiving electrodes, wherein the predetermined detection region is disposed linearly adjacent to at least one side of a display; and

accepting an input of a function relating to the display by detecting a contact position; and

magnification of the display when two contact positions detected approximately simultaneously are mutually approaching or mutually separating.

14. An input apparatus comprising:

a detection sensor for detecting an approach of a living body or a material body in a predetermined detection region comprising an area of an operation button;

a control unit for outputting a first signal when an approach is detected, the approach being within the area of an operation button, and for performing an input process for accepting an input of a predetermined function and outputting a second signal when a contact is detected on a predetermined condition; and

an actuator for making a first vibration in a first vibration pattern responsive to the first signal and for making a second vibration in a second vibration pattern responsive to the second signal.

15. An input apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the control unit performs a process for making a vibration temporarily in the actuator when a contact on a predetermined condition is detected.