Method for unlocking screen-locked state of touch screen, electronic device and recording medium using the same

• US 8,826,172 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2009
• Issued: 09/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Original Assignee: HTC Corporation
• Inventors: Brinda, David
• Primary Examiner(s): WENG, PEI YONG
• Application Number:
  US12/542,710
• Publication Number:
  US 20100306693A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,841 Days
• Field of Search: 715/784
• US Class Current: 715/784
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A method for unlocking a screen-locked state of a touch screen, and an electronic device and a recording medium using the same are disclosed. In the present method, during a screen-locked state, an unlocking area of a touch screen of the mobile device is divided into a first touch area and a second touch area by a separate line. Next, the touch screen is used to detect a touch operation of a user. If it is determined that the touch operation is started from the first touch area and ended in the second touch area, the screen of the mobile device is to be unlocked.

Claims

1. A method for unlocking an electronic device, comprising:

displaying a protection layer on the touch screen in the screen-locked state of the electronic device;

detecting a touch operation with the touch screen;

revealing an original layer visually covered by the protection layer by moving the entire protection layer according to the touch operation, wherein a spatial size of a revealed part of the original layer is positively correlated to a vertical moving distance of a top edge of the entire protection layer; and

moving the entire protection layer until the entire original layer is displayed on the touch screen, wherein a relative position between the original layer and the touch screen is not changed during moving the entire protection layer, and the electronic device is unlocked after the entire original layer is displayed on the touch screen.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of revealing the original layer visually covered by the protection layer by moving the entire protection layer according to the touch operation comprises:

moving the entire protection layer along a specific direction when a displacement of the touch operation along the specific direction is greater than a predetermined value.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the step of revealing the original layer visually covered by the protection layer by moving the entire protection layer according to the touch operation further comprises:

determining a moving distance of the protection layer according to the displacement of the touch operation along the specific direction.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of revealing the original layer visually covered by the protection layer by moving the entire protection layer according to the touch operation comprises:

moving the entire protection layer according to the touch operation only when the touch operation is moved within a specific area on the touch screen.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

unlocking the electronic device when determining that the touch operation is started from a first touch area and ended in a second touch area; and

bouncing back the entire protection layer to its original position to re-cover the original layer when the touch operation is determined not started from the first touch area or not ended in the second touch area.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a prompt message on the protection layer to prompt a latest untreated event.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the untreated event comprises one of a missed call, an unread voicemail, an unread message and an unread E-mail.

8. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch screen, displaying a protection layer in a screen-locked state and detecting a touch operation; and

a processing module, coupled to the touch screen, for revealing an original layer visually covered by the protection layer by moving the entire protection layer according to the touch operation, wherein a spatial size of a revealed part of the original layer is positively correlated to a vertical moving distance of a top edge of the entire protection layer, and moving the entire protection layer until the entire original layer is displayed on the touch screen, wherein a relative position between the original layer and the touch screen is not changed during moving the entire protection layer, and the electronic device is unlocked after the entire original layer is displayed on the touch screen.

9. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the processing module further moves the entire protection layer along a specific direction when a displacement of the touch operation along the specific direction is greater than a predetermined value.

10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processing module further determines a moving distance of the protection layer according to the displacement of the touch operation along the specific direction.

11. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the touch screen further has a specific area, and the processing module further moves the entire protection layer according to the touch operation only when the touch operation is moved within the specific area on the touch screen.

12. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the processing module further unlocks the electronic device when determining that the touch operation is started from a first touch area and ended in a second touch area,

the processing module further bounces back the entire protection layer to its original position to re-cover the original layer when determining that the touch operation is not started from the first touch area or not ended in the second touch area.

13. The electronic device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the touch screen displays a prompt message on the protection layer to prompt a latest untreated event.

14. The electronic device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the untreated event comprises one of a missed call, an unread voicemail, an unread message and an unread E-mail.

15. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium used for storing a computer program, said computer program comprising a plurality of codes used for being loaded into an electronic device and enabling the electronic device to execute the following steps:

displaying a protection layer on the touch screen in the screen-locked state of the electronic device;

detecting a touch operation with the touch screen;

revealing an original layer visually covered by the protection layer by moving the entire protection layer according to the touch operation, wherein a spatial size of a revealed part of the original layer is positively correlated to a vertical moving distance of a top edge of the entire protection layer; and

moving the entire protection layer until the entire original layer is displayed on the touch screen, wherein a relative position between the original layer and the touch screen is not changed during moving the entire protection layer, and the electronic device is unlocked after the entire original layer is displayed on the touch screen.

16. An electronic device, comprising:

a touch screen, displaying a protection layer in a screen-locked state;

a detecting means for detecting a touch operation with the touch screen;

a moving means for revealing an original layer visually covered by the protection layer by moving the entire protection layer according to the touch operation, wherein a spatial size of a revealed part of the original layer is positively correlated to a vertical moving distance of a top edge of the entire protection layer; and

an unlocking means for moving the entire protection layer until the entire original layer is displayed on the touch screen, wherein a relative position between the original layer and the touch screen is not changed during moving the entire protection layer, and the electronic device is unlocked after the entire original layer is displayed on the touch screen.