Touch-panel cellular phone and input operation method

• US 9,277,045 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2012
• Issued: 03/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Makiguchi, Tomoya
• Primary Examiner(s): Shedrick, Charles
• Application Number:
  US14/114,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20140051482A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,404 Days
• Field of Search: 455/566
• 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 1/169 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 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/0487 using specific features provided by the input device, e.g. functions controlled by the rotation of a mouse with dual sensing arrangements, or of the nature of the input device, e.g. tap gestures based on pressure sensed by a digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72463 to restrict the functionality of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724631 by limiting the access to the user interface, e.g. locking a touch-screen or a keypad

Abstract

A touch-panel cellular phone specifies an invalid area not accepting a user'"'"'s input operation on a touch panel in advance. The cellular phone detects a user'"'"'s touch area on the touch panel so as to execute a function pre-assigned to the touch area not encompassed by the invalid area. Additionally, it is possible to reduce and display menu icons in the display area precluding the invalid area on the touch panel. Thus, it is possible to prevent an error operation when a user holding a cellular phone inadvertently touches the touch panel.

Claims

1. A cellular phone with a touch panel comprising:

an invalid area specifying part configured to specify an invalid area not accepting a user'"'"'s input operation on the touch panel;

an input part configured to detect a user'"'"'s touch area on the touch panel and to execute a function pre-assigned to the touch area not encompassed by the invalid area;

a grip detection part configured to detect presence or absence of a user'"'"'s grip;

a user identification part configured to identify a user having the user'"'"'s grip detected by the grip detection part; and

a recording part configured to store the user identification information in connection with the invalid area, which is specified by the invalid area specifying part, in a storage unit;

wherein;

the input part determines whether or not the user'"'"'s touch area is encompassed by the invalid area on the touch panel when the grip detection part detects the user'"'"'s grip; and

the input part reads the invalid area, related to the user identification information, from the storage unit so as to determine whether or not the user'"'"'s contact area is encompassed by the invalid area.

2. The cellular phone according to claim 1, wherein the grip detection part uses a plurality of sensors to detect the user'"'"'s grip, and wherein the user identification information generated by the user identification part comprises a combination of detection results output from the plurality of sensors.

3. A cellular phone with a touch panel comprising:

an invalid area specifying part which specifies an invalid area not accepting a user'"'"'s input operation on the touch panel;

an input part which detects a user'"'"'s touch area on the touch panel and which executes a function pre-assigned to the touch area not encompassed by the invalid area;

an inscribed quadrilateral calculation part configured to presume a quadrilateral having a same aspect ratio as the touch panel, which is inscribed to the display area of the touch panel precluding the invalid area, so as to calculate a size and coordinates of the quadrilateral;

a ratio calculation part configured to calculate a ratio of the quadrilateral, calculated by the inscribed quadrilateral calculation part, to a size of the touch panel;

a reduction part configured to reduce an image displayed on the touch panel according to the radio calculated by the ratio calculation part; and

a display control part configured to display the image reduced by the reduction part inside the inscribed quadrilateral on the touch panel.

4. A touch command input method comprising:

specifying an invalid area not accepting a user'"'"'s input operation on the touch panel;

detecting a user'"'"'s touch area on the touch panel and executing a function pre-assigned to the touch area not encompassed by the invalid area;

detecting presence or absence of a user'"'"'s grip;

identifying a user having the user'"'"'s grip detected by the grip detection part;

storing, in a storage unit, the user identification information in connection with the invalid area;

determining whether or not the user'"'"'s touch area is encompassed by the invalid area on the touch panel when the user'"'"'s grip is detected; and

reading the invalid area, related to the user identification information, from the storage unit so as to determine whether or not the user'"'"'s contact area is encompassed by the invalid area.

5. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program for causing a cellular phone with a touch panel to implement:

an invalid area specifying part which specifies an invalid area not accepting a user'"'"'s input operation on the touch panel;

an input part which detects a user'"'"'s touch area on the touch panel and which executes a function pre-assigned to the touch area not encompassed by the invalid area;

an inscribed quadrilateral calculation part configured to presume a quadrilateral having a same aspect ratio as the touch panel, which is inscribed to the display area of the touch panel precluding the invalid area, so as to calculate a size and coordinates of the quadrilateral;

a ratio calculation part configured to calculate a ratio of the quadrilateral, calculated by the inscribed quadrilateral calculation part, to a size of the touch panel;

a reduction part configured to reduce an image displayed on the touch panel according to the radio calculated by the ratio calculation part; and

a display control part configured to display the image reduced by the reduction part inside the inscribed quadrilateral on the touch panel.