Electronic device having display and surrounding touch sensitive bezel for user interface and control

• US 9,047,009 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2009
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: King, Nick, Kerr, Duncan, Herbst, Paul, Hotelling, Steven P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hicks, Charles V
• Application Number:
  US12/486,710
• Publication Number:
  US 20090295753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,176 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-184
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• 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 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1612 Flat panel monitor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• 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 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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 electronic device has a display and has a touch sensitive bezel surrounding the display. Areas on the bezel are designated for controls used to operate the electronic device. Visual guides corresponding to the controls are displayed on the display adjacent the areas of the bezel designated for the controls. Touch data is generated by the bezel when a user touches an area of the bezel. The device determines which of the controls has been selected based on which designated area is associated with the touch data from the bezel. The device then initiates the determined control. The device can have a sensor for determining the orientation of the device. Based on the orientation, the device can alter the areas designated on the bezel for the controls and can alter the location of the visual guides for the display so that they match the altered areas on the bezel.

Claims

1. A method of operating an electronic device, the method comprising:

detecting touching on a surface of the electronic device, wherein the surface includes at least a first region and a second region located adjacent to the first region, the first region including a display and the second region being free of physical buttons and including one or more touch areas;

configuring the one or more touch areas in the second region upon detecting one of at least three different orientations of the electronic device; and

initiating operations on the electronic device in response to the detected touching.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the touching detected comprises one or more touch gestures.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more touch gestures comprises one or more taps.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more touch gestures comprises at least one sliding touch.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, if executed by a specialized electronic device having a surface including at least a first region and a second region located adjacent to the first region, the first region including a display and the second region being free of physical buttons and including one or more touch areas, causes the electronic device to perform a method comprising:

detecting touching in at least the second region of the electronic device; and

initiating operations by the specialized electronic device in response to the detected touching,

wherein the one or more touch areas are altered or relocated in the second region upon detecting one of at least three different orientations of the electronic device.

6. The article of claim 5, wherein the touching detected comprises one or more touch gestures.

7. The article of claim 6, wherein the one or more touch gestures comprises one or more taps.

8. The article of claim 6, wherein the one or more touch gestures comprises at least one sliding touch.

9. An apparatus comprising:

an electronic device including a surface, the surface including at least a first region and a second region located adjacent to the first region, the first region including a display and the second region being free of physical buttons and including one or more touch areas;

wherein the electronic device further includes a controller capable of configuring the one or more touch areas in the second region upon detecting one of at least three different orientations of the electronic device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is further capable of detecting touching comprising one or more touch gestures.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more touch gestures comprise one or more taps.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more touch gestures comprise at least a sliding touch.

13. A method of configuring an electronic device, comprising:

configuring a surface of the electronic device to include at least a first region and a second region located adjacent to the first region, the first region including a display and the second region being free of physical buttons and including one or more touch areas;

determining an orientation of the electronic device; and

configuring the one or more touch areas in the second region upon detecting one of at least three different orientations of the electronic device.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

detecting a touch input in one of the one or more touch areas in the second region; and

initiating an operation in the electronic device in accordance with a control associated with the one touch area in which the touch input is detected.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the configuring the one or more touch areas further includes altering the touch areas in the second region based on the determined orientation.

16. An electronic device comprising:

a touch screen including at least a first region and a second region located adjacent to the first region, the first region including a display and the second region being free of physical buttons and including one or more touch areas; and

a processor coupled to the touch screen, the processor configured to determine an orientation of the electronic device and configure the one or more touch areas in the second region upon detecting one of at least three different orientations of the electronic device.

17. The device of claim 16, further comprising an orientation sensor configured to detect the orientation of the electronic device.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to alter the one or more touch areas in the second region based on the determined orientation of the device.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to detect a touch input in one of the one or more touch areas in the second region and perform an operation in accordance with a control associated with the one touch area in which the touch input is detected.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions which, if executed by an electronic device including a surface, the surface including at least a first region and a second region located adjacent to the first region, the first region including a display and the second region being free of physical buttons and including one or more touch areas, causes the electronic device to:

determine an orientation of the electronic device; and

configure the one or more touch areas in the second region upon detecting one of at least three different orientations of the electronic device.