Input device and input method

• US 8,952,870 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2011
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company), Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Sitta, Grant
• Application Number:
  US13/239,905
• Publication Number:
  US 20120242594A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,237 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-174
• US Class Current: 345/13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An input device includes a body unit, a first touch type position detection unit which detects a first touch position of a human body on a first detection surface of the body unit, a second touch type position detection unit which detects a second touch position of the human body on a second detection surface of the body unit, the second detection surface being on an opposite side of the body unit as the first detection surface, and a detection area restriction unit which restricts an area, which can be detected by the second touch type position detection unit, on the second detection surface according to information of the first touch position and information determined in advance. The information determined in advance is data indicating a relation between the first touch position on the first detection surface and the restricted area on the second detection surface.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

a device body;

a first touch type position detector which detects a first touch position of a human body on a first detection surface of the device body, the first detection surface being a surface with which images are displayed so as to be viewable;

a second touch type position detector which detects a second touch position of the human body on a second detection surface of the device body, the second detection surface being on an opposite side of the device body from the first detection surface;

an input processor which receives information of the detected second touch position; and

a detection area restrictor which determines a restricted area on the second detection surface according to information of the first touch position and information determined in advance, and which prevents information of any touch position of the human body within the restricted area from being received by the input processor, wherein

the information determined in advance comprises data indicating a relation between the first touch position on the first detection surface and the restricted area on the second detection surface,

the information determined in advance comprises an average value of data of a plurality of persons, each of the data of the persons being a relation between an operation area and a certain position,

the operation area is acquired based on a touch position of a forefinger or a middle finger on the second detection surface when a thumb is touched on at least one position of the first detection surface in a case that the device body is held with the thumb and the forefinger or the middle finger, and

the certain position is the one position of the first detection surface.

2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the detection area restrictor prevents the information of any touch position of the human body within the restricted area from being received by the input processor by preventing any touch position of the human body within the restricted area from being detected by the second touch type position detector.

3. The input device according to claim 1, wherein

the first touch type position detector detects at least two of the first touch positions on the first detection surface at the same time,

the detection area restrictor determines the restricted area based on one of the first touch positions, and the detection area restrictor determines an additional restricted area on the second detection surface, such that information of any touch position of the human body within the additional restricted area is not received by the input processor, based on another of the first touch positions.

4. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising an acceleration sensor, wherein

the first touch type position detector detects a touch area of the human body on the first detection surface and determines the first touch position based on the detected touch area,

the information determined in advance comprises a plurality of pieces of information determined in advance depending on a direction in which the device body is held, and

the detection area restrictor selects one of the pieces of information determined in advance based on a holding direction of the device body, the holding direction being determined by a direction of the touch area detected by the first touch type position detector and a direction of gravity detected by the acceleration sensor, and

the detection area restrictor determines the restricted area according to the selected piece of information determined in advance.

5. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display screen with a surface being the first detection surface; and

a display controller which controls the display screen, wherein

the first touch type position detector detects a touch area of the human body on the first detection surface and determines the first touch position based on the detected touch area,

the first touch type position detector detects two of the touch areas on the first detection surface, and

the display controller changes a direction of screen components displayed on the display screen based on each of a direction of the two touch areas detected by the first touch type position detector.

9. The input device according to claim 1, wherein

the device body is flat-shaped,

the first detection surface is on a face side of the device body, and

the second detection surface is on a back side of the device body.

10. The input device according to claim 9, wherein the face side of the device body comprises a display screen with a surface being the first detection surface.

13. The input device according to claim 1, wherein:

the second touch type position detector outputs the information of any touch position of the human body in the restricted area to the detection area restrictor, and

the detection area restrictor prevents the information of any touch position of the human body within the restricted area from being received by the input processor by not outputting the information of any touch position of the human body in the restricted area to the input processor.

15. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the input processor also receives information of the detected first touch position.

17. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the detection area restrictor determines the restricted area also according to a history of previous second touch positions on the second detection surface.

6. An input method comprising:

detecting a first touch position of a human body on a first detection surface of a device body, the first detection surface being a surface with which images are displayed so as to be viewable;

detecting a second touch position of the human body on a second detection surface that is on an opposite side of the device body from the first detection surface;

determining a restricted area on the second detection surface of the device body, according to information of the first touch position and information determined in advance;

sending to an input processor information of the detected second touch position;

preventing the input processor from receiving information of any touch position of the human body within the restricted area of the second detection surface; and

determining an average value of data of a plurality of persons, each of the data of the persons being a relation between an operation area and a certain position, wherein

the information determined in advance is data indicating a relation between the first touch position on the first detection surface and the restricted area on the second detection surface,

the operation area is acquired based on a touch position of a forefinger or a middle finger on the second detection surface when a thumb is touched on at least one position of the first detection surface in a case that the device body is held with the thumb and the forefinger or the middle finger,

the certain position is the one position of the first detection surface, and

the information determined in advance comprises the average value of data of the plurality of persons.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a program stored thereon, the program causing a computer to execute the input method according to claim 6.

8. The input method according to claim 6, wherein the preventing of the input processor from receiving information of any touch position of the human body within the restricted area of the second detection surface comprises preventing any touch position of the human body within the restricted area from being detected by the second touch type position detector.

11. The input method according to claim 6, wherein

the device body is flat-shaped,

the first detection surface is on a face side of the device body, and

the second detection surface is on a back side of the device body.

12. The input method according to claim 11, wherein the face side of the device body comprises a display screen with a surface being the first detection surface.

14. The input method according to claim 6, further comprising sending to the detection area restrictor the information of any touch position of the human body in the restricted area,

wherein the preventing of the input processor from receiving information of any touch position of the human body within the restricted area of the second detection surface comprises preventing the detection area restrictor from outputting the information of any touch position of the human body in the restricted area to the input processor.

16. The input method according to claim 6, further comprising sending to the input processor information of the detected first touch position.

18. The input method according to claim 6, wherein the restricted area is determined also according to a history of previous second touch positions on the second detection surface.