Digital device having side touch region and control method for the same

• US 9,389,784 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2014
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Yongsin, Lee, Doyoung, Park, Sihwa, Kim, Jihwan, Chun, Sinae
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, David
• Application Number:
  US14/267,017
• Publication Number:
  US 20150268747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• 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

Abstract

Disclosed are a digital device and a control method for the same. The digital device may set a device grip mode upon detecting that a user grips the digital device and maintains the multiple touch inputs to a first region set in a side of the digital device. The processor may set a portion of the first region to a first touch enable region upon detecting that a first touch input, among the multiple touch inputs maintained in the device grip mode, is released at a first position, the first touch enable region containing the first position. The processor may execute a first function in response to a touch input of touching the first touch enable region.

Claims

1. A digital device comprising:

a processor;

a touch sensor unit configured to detect multiple touch inputs to a first region and a second region and to transmit the detected multiple touch inputs to the processor,

wherein the first region is set in a side surface of the digital device, and the second region is set in a front surface of the digital device, and

wherein the side surface and the front surface are discriminated by at least one edge of the digital device; and

a display unit configured to display first visual information in the second region, wherein the processor is configured to;

set a device grip mode when the touch sensor unit detects the multiple touch inputs to the first region during a predetermined time period,

wherein the device grip mode is a mode in which the touch sensor unit detects the multiple touch inputs, and does not use the detected multiple touch inputs to control the digital device,

set a third region related to a predetermined first function when a first touch input of the multiple touch inputs is released from a first position of the first region while the device grip mode is set,

wherein the third region includes the first position and is set to extend within a threshold distance from the first position in the first region,

wherein remaining region of the first region except the third region maintains the device grip mode, and

wherein the first visual information related to the predetermined first function in the second region is displayed while the first touch input is released from the first region, and

execute the predetermined first function when a second touch input of the multiple touch inputs is detected in the third region within a threshold time,

wherein the processor is further configured to;

display the first visual information at a second position in the second region,

wherein the second position corresponds to a position in the first region where the third region is set, and

wherein the first visual information is information related to a remaining time of the threshold time, and

release the third region when the threshold time is passed without the second touch input.

2. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to set a portion of the first region, except for contact positions of the multiple touch inputs, to the third region.

3. The digital device according to claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to:

set a fourth region containing a second position at the portion of the first region upon detecting that the second touch input is released at the second position, and

execute a second function when a third touch input of the multiple touch inputs is detected in the fourth region.

4. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the third region includes a first inner region and a second inner region, and

wherein the processor is further configured to:

if the third region is set,

execute the predetermined first function when a third touch input of the multiple touch inputs is detected in the first inner region, and

execute a second function when the third touch input is detected in the second inner region.

5. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to release the set third region when the second touch input is not detected in the third region within a threshold time.

6. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the first visual information is information related to the predetermined first function to be executed corresponding to the first touch input detected in the third region.

7. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the first visual information is an indicator guiding a position of the third region.

8. The digital device according to claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to set the second position to be adjacent to the first position, and

set a region within a threshold distance from the second position to the indicator,

wherein the indicator has the same size as that of the third region.

9. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to set the device grip mode upon detecting that a user grips the digital device and maintains the multiple touch inputs to the first region and detecting a touch input of touching an icon displayed in the second region.

10. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to set the device grip mode upon detecting that a user grips the digital device and maintains the multiple touch inputs to the first region in a state in which a main user interface is displayed in the second region.

11. The digital device according to claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the predetermined first function corresponding to the main user interface.

12. The digital device according to claim 11, further comprising a camera unit, wherein the main user interface is an interface using the camera unit.

13. The digital device according to claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to set the predetermined first function to a function of capturing an image using the camera unit.

14. The digital device according to claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to display a sub-user interface in the first region,

wherein the sub-user interface corresponds to the main user interface and the sub-user interface includes a first icon and a second icon.

15. The digital device according to claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to:

execute the predetermined first function based on the first icon when the third region is set at a position where the first icon is displayed, and

execute the predetermined first function based on the second icon when the third region is set at a position where the second icon is set.

16. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to detect that a user grips the digital device upon detecting that the user maintains touch inputs to a first side and a second side of the digital device.

17. The digital device according to claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to detect that the user grips the digital device upon detecting that the touch inputs to the first side and the second side are maintained for a threshold time or more.

18. The digital device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit feedback to a user when the device grip mode is set.

19. The digital device according to claim 18, wherein the feedback includes at least one of visual feedback, audio feedback, and tactile feedback.

20. A control method for a digital device, the method comprising:

detecting multiple touch inputs to a first region and a second region;

setting a device grip mode when multiple touch inputs to the first region are detected during a predetermined time period,

wherein the first region is set in a side surface of the digital device, and the second region is set in a front surface of the digital device,

wherein the side surface and the front surface are discriminated by at least one edge of the digital device, and

wherein the device grip mode is a mode in which the multiple touch inputs are detected, and the detected multiple touch inputs are not used to control the digital device;

setting a third region related to a predetermined first function when a first touch input of the multiple touch inputs is released from a first position of the first region while the device grip mode is set,

wherein the third region includes the first position and is set to extend within a threshold distance from the first position in the first region, and

wherein remaining region of the first region except the third region maintains the device grip mode;

displaying first visual information related to the predetermined first function in the second region while the first touch input is released from the first region;

executing the predetermined first function when a second touch input of the multiple touch inputs is detected in the third region within a threshold time,

wherein the processor is further configured to display the first visual information at a second position in the second region,

wherein the second position corresponds to a position in the first region where the third region is set, and

wherein the first visual information is information related to a remaining time of the threshold time; and

releasing the third region when the threshold time is passed without the second touch input.