Information input device, on-screen arrangement method thereof, and computer-executable program

• US 8,898,590 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2011
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Mori, Hidetoshi, Okada, Mamoru, Matsubara, Masaki, Tsukiyama, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Augustine, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US13/176,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20120026200A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,239 Days
• Field of Search: 715/798, 715/788, 715/794, 715/796, 715/797, 715/799, 715/800, 715/802
• US Class Current: 715/798
• 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

Provided are an information input device, an on-screen arrangement method thereof, and a computer-executable program capable of preventing deterioration of operability even when an input disable region is set on a touch panel. An information input device capable of inputting information by an indicator touching a touch panel formed on a display screen includes an input disable region setting controller that sets an input disable region on a part of the touch panel and a display controller that rearranges an object being displayed on the display screen to avoid the set input disable region.

Claims

1. An information input device comprising:

a touch panel formed on a display unit that is capable of receiving positional touch information;

an input disable region controller that sets an input disable region at a location of the touch panel where the positional touch information is actively received, wherein the input disable region is configured to be set and cleared;

a display controller that determines if one or more objects are displayed within the input disable region and while maintaining a position and size of the input disable region moves the one or more objects to be displayed outside the input disable region, detects the positional touch information in the input disable region, and restores an original arrangement of the one or more objects moved by the setting of the input disable region in response to a command clearing the input disable region.

2. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the display controller executes at least one of moving and resizing the one or more objects.

3. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein each of the one or more objects is one of a window, an icon, a taskbar, and a button.

4. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the display controller moves one of all the objects on the display unit, part of the objects on the display unit, and only the front-most window on the display unit.

5. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the input disable region is set by one of a graphical user interface and a hardware button, and wherein the input disable region setting is cleared by one of the graphical user interface and the hardware button.

6. The information input device according claim 1, wherein the touch panel has a detection region corresponding to an effective display region of the display unit and an extension region surrounding the periphery of the detection region, and wherein responsive to touch of the extension region, the display controller sets the detection region present around the touched position as the input disable region.

7. An on-screen arrangement method comprising:

setting an input disable region at a location of a touch panel formed on a display unit that is capable of receiving positional touch information, wherein the input disable region is configured to be set and cleared;

determining if one or more objects are displayed within the input disable region;

while maintaining a position and size of the input disable region, moving the one or more objects to be displayed outside the input disable region;

detecting the positional touch information in the input disable region; and

restoring an original arrangement of the one or more objects moved by the setting of the input disable region in response to a command clearing the input disable region.

8. The on-screen arrangement method according to claim 7, wherein moving the one or more objects comprises resizing the one or more objects.

9. The on-screen arrangement method according to claim 7, wherein each of the one or more objects is one of a window, an icon, a taskbar, and a button.

10. The on-screen arrangement method according to claim 7, wherein moving the one or more objects comprises moving one of all of the objects on the display unit, part of the objects on the display unit, and only the front-most window on the display unit.

11. The on-screen arrangement method according to claim 7, wherein setting the input disable region is initiated by one of a graphical user interface and a hardware button.

12. The on-screen arrangement method according to claim 7, wherein the touch panel has a detection region corresponding to an effective display region of the display unit and an extension region surrounding the periphery of the detection region, and wherein responsive to touch of the extension region being detected, the detection region present around the touched position is set as the input disable region.

13. The on-screen arrangement method according to claim 7, wherein the method further comprises:

clearing the input disable region setting.

14. A computer program product comprising a storage device storing machine readable code executed by a processor to perform the operations of:

setting an input disable region at a location of a touch panel formed on a display unit that is capable of receiving positional touch information, wherein the input disable region is configured to be set and cleared;

determining if one or more objects are displayed within the input disable region;

while maintaining a position and size of the input disable region, moving the one or more objects to be displayed outside the input disable region;

detecting the positional touch information in the input disable region; and

restoring an original arrangement of the one or more objects moved by the setting of the input disable region in response to a command clearing the input disable region.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein moving the one or more objects comprises resizing the one or more objects.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein each of the one more objects is one of a window, an icon, a taskbar, and a button.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein moving the one or more objects comprises moving at least one of all of the objects on the display unit, part of the objects on the display unit, and only the front-most window on the display unit.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the touch panel has a detection region corresponding to an effective display region of the display unit and an extension region surrounding the periphery of the detection region, and wherein responsive to touch of the extension region being detected, the detection region present around the touched position is set as the input disable region.

19. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise:

clearing the input disable region setting.