Handheld electronic device having a touchscreen and a method of using a touchscreen of a handheld electronic device

• US 8,633,901 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2009
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Orr, Kevin, Holbein, Marc
• Primary Examiner(s): HARRIS, DOROTHY H
• Application Number:
  US12/362,604
• Publication Number:
  US 20100194692A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,817 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-183
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• 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

A handheld electronic device having a touchscreen and a method of using a touchscreen of a handheld electronic device are provided. In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a method of controlling a handheld electronic device having a touchscreen display, comprising: determining a location of a touch input on a touch-sensitive input surface of the touchscreen display; determining one or more characteristics of a motion signal of a motion sensor of the handheld electronic device; and generating an input from one of at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input in accordance with the characteristics of the motion signal.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a handheld electronic device, comprising:

determining using a capacitive touchscreen display a location of a touch input on a touch-sensitive input surface of the capacitive touchscreen display;

determining one or more characteristics of a motion signal generated corresponding to a motion of the handheld electronic device by an accelerometer in response to an external force applied to the touch-sensitive input surface of the capacitive touchscreen display which generates the touch input, wherein the one or more characteristics of the motion signal are associated with the external force applied to the touch-sensitive input surface of the capacitive touchscreen display which generates the touch input;

comparing the one or more characteristics of the motion signal to predetermined thresholds to determine whether the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap or hard tap;

selecting an input from at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input in accordance with whether the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap or hard tap; and

generating the input selected from the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input, wherein the generation of the input selected is dependent on the motion signal and touch the input being detected within a predetermined duration of each other.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more characteristics of the motion signal comprise a magnitude of the motion signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining whether the magnitude of the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap or hard tap comprises determining whether the magnitude of the motion signal is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold representing a hard tap;

wherein the motion signal corresponds to a hard tap when it is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold and the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap when it is less than the predetermined threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein generation of the input selected comprises displaying a displayable character when the handheld electronic device is in a text entry mode and the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input are displayable characters.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generation of the input selected comprises performing an action operation when the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input are executable actions.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a virtual keyboard on the capacitive touchscreen display, the virtual keyboard comprising a plurality of virtual keys at least some of which have at least two inputs associated therewith;

wherein the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises an input of a virtual key associated with the location of the touch input.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least some of the virtual keys have at least two inputs comprising a first letter character input which causes the first letter character to be displayed on the capacitive touchscreen display, and a second letter character input which causes the second letter character to be displayed on the capacitive touchscreen display.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises the first letter character input when the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap and the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises the second letter character input when the motion signal corresponds to a hard tap.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein at least some of the virtual keys have at least two inputs comprising a lower case input of a letter character which causes the letter to be displayed on the capacitive touchscreen display in lower case, and an upper case input of the letter character which causes the letter to be displayed on the capacitive touchscreen display in upper case.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises the lower case input of the letter character when the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap and the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises the upper case input of the letter character when the motion signal corresponds to a hard tap.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein at least some of the virtual keys have at least two inputs comprising a letter character input which causes the letter character to be displayed on the capacitive touchscreen display, and a number or symbol character input which causes the number or symbol character be displayed on the capacitive touchscreen display.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises the letter character input when the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap and the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises the number or symbol character input when the motion signal corresponds to a hard tap.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein at least some of the virtual keys have at least two inputs comprising a letter character input which causes the letter character to be displayed on the capacitive touchscreen display, and a command input which causes an executable action to be performed.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises the letter character input when the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap and the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises the command input when the motion signal corresponds to a hard tap.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein the input is generated in accordance with whether input from a virtual control button of the virtual keyboard was received prior to input from the virtual key or concurrently with the input from the virtual key.

16. A handheld electronic device, comprising:

a controller;

a capacitive touchscreen display coupled to the controller and having a touch-sensitive input surface which generates a touch input signal in response to detection of an external force being applied to the touch-sensitive input surface, wherein the touch input signal has one or more characteristics representing at least a location on the touch-sensitive input surface at which the external force was detected; and

a motion detection subsystem comprising an accelerometer which is coupled to the controller which generates a motion signal corresponding to motion of the handheld electronic device in response to an external force applied to the touch-sensitive input surface of the capacitive touchscreen display which generates the touch input signal;

the controller being configured to;

determine using the capacitive touchscreen display a location of the touch input on a touch-sensitive input surface of the capacitive touchscreen display;

determine one or more characteristics of the motion signal generated by the accelerometer in response to an external force applied to the touch-sensitive input surface of the capacitive touchscreen display which generates the touch input signal wherein the one or more characteristics of the motion signal are associated with the external force applied to the touch-sensitive input surface of the capacitive touchscreen display which generates the touch input signal;

compare the one or more characteristics of the motion signal to predetermined thresholds to determine whether the motion signal logically corresponds to a normal tap or hard tap;

select an input from at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input in accordance with whether the motion signal logically corresponds to a normal tap or hard tap; and

generate the input selected from the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input, wherein the generation of the input selected is dependent on the motion signal and the touch input signal being detected within a predetermined duration of each other.

17. The handheld electronic device of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the magnitude of the motion signal is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold representing a hard tap;

wherein the motion signal corresponds to a hard tap when it is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold and the motion signal corresponds to a normal tap when it is less than the predetermined threshold.

18. The handheld electronic device of claim 16, wherein the generation of the input selected comprises displaying a displayable character when the handheld electronic device is in a text entry mode and the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input are displayable characters.

19. The handheld electronic device of claim 16, wherein the generation of the input selected comprises performing an action operation when the at least two inputs associated with the location of the touch input are executable actions.

20. The handheld electronic device of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to display a virtual keyboard on the capacitive touchscreen display, the virtual keyboard comprising a plurality of virtual keys at least some of which have at least two inputs associated therewith;

wherein the input selected from the at least two inputs comprises an input of a virtual key associated with the location of the touch input.