Mobile terminal using proximity touch and wallpaper controlling method thereof

• US 8,576,181 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2009
• Issued: 11/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Cho, Seon-Hwi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): STEPP JONES, SHAWNA T
• Application Number:
  US12/468,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20090289914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,631 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Discloses are a mobile terminal having a proximity touch and a method for controlling a display screen thereof. A difference of recognition rates caused by a minute difference of capacitances generated when a human body approaches a touch screen depending on users can be calibrated to be suitable for each user. Also, in the state of the recognition rate being calibrated, operations of objects, i.e., icons, avatars and menus, displayed on a wallpaper and displaying effects on the wallpaper can variously be controlled according to a user'"'"'s proximity touch, thereby allowing users to control the display screen more conveniently and accurately.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

a display having a touch screen;

a sensing unit configured to detect a proximity touch or a real touch of a pointer; and

a controller configured to;

control the display to display a reference figure and a guide figure upon the sensing unit detecting the proximity touch or the real touch;

control the display to decrease or increase a size of the guide figure upon the sensing unit detecting movement of the pointer toward or away from the touch screen; and

set a value of a capacitance of the touch screen as a maximum proximity capacitance or a minimum proximity capacitance when the size of the guide figure becomes equal to a size of the reference figure.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the pointer comprises a stylus pen or a finger.

3. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the reference figure comprises a circle or a polygon.

4. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

control the display to decrease the size of the guide figure upon the sensing unit detecting movement of the pointer toward the touch screen when the sensing unit detects the proximity touch of the pointer;

set the value of the capacitance of the touch screen as the maximum proximity capacitance when the size of the guide figure becomes equal to the size of the reference figure when the sensing unit detects the proximity touch;

control the display to increase the size of the guide figure upon the sensing unit detecting movement of the pointer away from the touch screen when the sensing unit detects the real touch of the pointer; and

set the value of the capacitance of the touch screen as the minimum proximity capacitance when the size of the guide figure becomes equal to the size of the reference figure when the sensing unit detects the proximity touch.

5. A method for calibrating a capacitance of a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

displaying a calibration screen on a touch screen;

detecting a proximity touch or a real touch of a pointer via the touch screen;

displaying a reference figure and a guide figure on the calibration screen upon detecting the proximity touch or the real touch;

decreasing or increasing a size of the guide figure upon detecting movement of the pointer toward or away from the calibration screen;

comparing the size of the guide figure with a size of the reference figure; and

setting a value of the capacitance of the touch screen as a maximum proximity capacitance or a minimum proximity capacitance when the size of the guide figure becomes equal to the size of the reference figure.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the reference figure comprises a circle or a polygon.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the pointer comprises a stylus pen or a finger.

8. The method of claim 5,

wherein decreasing or increasing the size of the guide figure upon detecting movement of the pointer toward or away from the calibration screen comprises decreasing the size of the guide figure upon detecting movement of the pointer toward the calibration screen when the proximity touch is detected, and

wherein setting the value of the capacitance of the touch screen as the maximum proximity capacitance or the minimum proximity capacitance comprises setting the value of the capacitance of the touch screen as the maximum proximity capacitance when the size of the guide figure becomes equal to the size of the reference figure when the proximity touch is detected.

9. The method of claim 5,

wherein decreasing or increasing the size of the guide figure upon detecting movement of the pointer toward or away from the calibration screen comprises increasing the size of the guide figure upon detecting movement of the pointer away from the calibration screen when the real touch is detected, and

wherein setting the value of the capacitance of the touch screen as the maximum proximity capacitance or the minimum proximity capacitance comprises setting the value of the capacitance of the touch screen as the minimum proximity capacitance when the size of the guide figure becomes equal to the size of the reference figure when the real touch is detected.