Multi-zone touchscreen sensing at a portable information handling system

• US 8,830,204 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2012
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Sultenfuss, Andrew T., Peana, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Shankar, Vijay
• Application Number:
  US13/533,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20130342474A1
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178, 178 1801- 1809, 178 2001- 2004
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1614 Image rotation following screen orientation, e.g. switching from landscape to portrait mode
• 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 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• 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

An information handling system includes a touch screen with a first zone disposed over a display and a second zone that extends past a periphery of the display. End users interact with an operating system and applications of the information handling system with touches input in the first zone responsive to images presented at the display. End users perform management functions with touches input in the second zone independent of images presented at the display.

Claims

1. An information handling system comprising:

a housing;

a processor disposed in the housing and operable to execute an operating system and one or more applications;

memory interfaced with the processor and operable to store the operating system and one or more applications;

a touch screen display integrated with the housing and interfaced with the processor, the touch screen display having a display portion operable to present information as images and a touch portion disposed over the display portion and operable to detect touches, the touch portion having a first zone that overlaps the display portion and a second zone that extends outside of a periphery of the display portion; and

a touch controller interfaced with the touch portion and operable to perform a first function in response to inputs at the first zone and a second function in response to inputs at the second zone.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the first function comprises an operating system function and the second function comprises a non-operating system function.

3. The information handling system of claim 2 further comprising:

a chipset having one or more processors; and

a BIOS executing on the chipset;

wherein the non-operating system function is a function performed by the BIOS.

4. The information handling system of claim 1 having a first power state in which the operating system is active and second power state in which the operating system is inactive, wherein the touch controller reduces a scan density of the touch portion in the second power state.

5. The information handling system of claim 4 wherein detection of a touch in the second power state at a predetermined location of the second zone commands a transition to the first power state.

6. The information handling system of claim 5 further having a third power state in which the touch controller powers down.

7. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising an indicator disposed under the second zone, the indicator associated with a second function input available through touching of the second zone.

8. The information handling system of claim 7 wherein the second function input comprises a volume setting for speakers disposed in the housing.

9. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the indicator comprises one or more LEDs illuminated to indicate a selected volume setting.

10. The information handling system of claim 7 wherein the indicator comprises an electronic ink display.

11. A method for interacting with an information handling system, the method comprising:

presenting an image at a display;

interacting with the image through touches at a first zone of a touch screen, the first zone disposed over the display; and

interacting with a management function through touches at a second zone of the touch screen, the second zone extending beyond a periphery of the display.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the management function comprises power management including selection of a power state from plural power states.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the management function comprises setting a display brightness.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein the management function comprises setting a speaker volume.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising presenting an indicator associated with the management function, the indicator presented beyond the periphery of the display.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the indicator comprises one or more LEDs that illuminate to indicate a management function setting.

17. A touch screen display comprising:

a display operable to present information as images, the display having a periphery;

a single touch surface disposed over the display and operable to detect touches, the touch surface extending past at least a portion of the display periphery; and

a touch controller interfaced with the touch surface and operable to associate touches at the touch surface within the periphery with an operating system function and to associate touches at the touch surface outside the periphery with a management function.

18. The touch screen display of claim 17 wherein the management function comprises selection of power state for an information handling system.

19. The touch screen display of claim 17 wherein the management function comprises selection of a brightness setting for presentation of images at the display.

20. The touch screen display of claim 17 further comprising an indicator disposed outside the periphery and operable to indicate a position of the touch surface for interacting with the management function.