Information processing method and apparatus for a touch screen device

• US 9,329,711 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2013
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Chen, Guan Cheng, Lin, Haibo, Liu, Tao, Wang, Xu U.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jr., Kenneth B
• Application Number:
  US13/943,194
• Publication Number:
  US 20140022175A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,022 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 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 processing method for a touch screen device includes in response to contact of a user'"'"'s finger with a touch screen of the touch screen device, identifying the finger contacting the touch screen; determining key(s) corresponding to the identified finger based on set correspondence relationship(s) between the finger(s) and the key(s); and displaying at least one character represented by the key(s) corresponding to the identified finger.

Claims

1. An information processing method for a touch screen device, the method comprising:

associating, by a processor, one or more keyboard keys of a virtual keyboard with a user-finger;

in response to contact of the user-finger with a touch screen of the touch screen device, irrespective of a location at which the user-finger contacts the touch screen, identifying the user-finger contacting the touch screen, wherein the user-finger is identified as being one of;

left hand thumb, left hand index finger, left hand middle finger, left hand ring finger, left hand little finger, right hand thumb, right hand index finger, right hand middle finger, right hand ring finger, and right hand little finger;

determining key(s) corresponding to the identified user-finger based the association between the user-finger and the key(s); and

displaying at least one character represented by the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger, irrespective of the location at which the user-finger contacts the touch screen, without displaying a key corresponding to said at least one character on the touch screen.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying the at least one character represented by the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger comprises at least one of the following:

displaying in a to-be-input area the at least one character represented by the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger;

displaying in a to-be-selected area the at least one character represented by the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger; and

displaying all characters represented by the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the displaying in a to-be-selected area the at least one character represented by the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger comprises:

determining possible combination(s) of the characters already existing in the to-be-selected area and the characters represented by the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger; and

displaying in the to-be-selected area at least one of the possible combination(s).

4. The method according to claim 3, further comprising, in response to the user terminating the input, clearing the to-be-selected area.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying the association between the user-finger and key(s).

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying the at least one character in response to determining the contact between the user-finger and the touch screen as performing a selection.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a space to which a position of the contact between the user-finger and the touch screen of the touch screen device belongs, wherein the touch screen comprises a plurality of spaces; and

wherein determining the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger based on the association between the user-finger and the key(s) comprises determining the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger based on the association between the user-finger and the key(s) in the belonging space.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one character represented by the key(s) corresponding to the user-finger is displayed, irrespective of the location at which the user-finger contacts the touch screen and without displaying the virtual keyboard on the touch screen.