Motion control touch screen method and apparatus

• US 9,684,439 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2011
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Yong-gook, Eom, Ju-il, Jung, Ji-su, Han, Kuk-hyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Sanjiv D
• Application Number:
  US13/228,059
• Publication Number:
  US 20120056837A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,112 Days
• Field of Search: 715863, 345173-178, 178 1801- 2004, 463 39- 36
• 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 2203/04105 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An apparatus and method of controlling a motion of an object on a touch screen of a device including recognizing pressures at least two positions on the touch screen of the device, and controlling a motion of the object on the touch screen using a difference in pressure between the at least two recognized positions.

Claims

1. A method of controlling movement of a position of an object displayed on a touch screen of a device, the method comprising:

recognizing intensities of pressure at two or more static positions presented concurrently on the touch screen of the device; and

controlling the movement of the position of the object on the touch screen using a difference in intensities of pressure between the two or more recognized static positions when the difference is greater than a predetermined critical value,

wherein controlling the movement of the position of the object comprises;

comparing a distance on a first axis with a distance on a second axis between the two or more static positions;

determining the movement of the position of the object to be in the first axis when the distance on the first axis is longer than the distance on the second axis, or the second axis when the distance on the second axis is longer than the distance on the first axis; and

scrolling the object on the touch screen on which the intensities of pressure at two or more static positions were presented concurrently in the determined movement of the position of the object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the motion movement of the position of the object comprises:

determining a direction of the movement of the position of the object to be toward a position having a higher pressure when there are only two static positions; and

determining the direction of the movement of the position of the object by using a vector when there are three or more static positions.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the movement of the position of the object further comprises determining a speed of the movement of the position of the object using a difference in intensity of pressure between the two or more static positions.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the vector for the direction of motion is determined using coordinates of a static position having the lowest pressure and coordinates of a static position having the highest pressure.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a speed or strength of the linear movement of the object on the touch screen by analyzing information of the intensities of pressure at the two or more static positions.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring a pressure difference between the intensities of pressure at two or more static positions to determine the pressure difference when the device is held normally;

storing the determined pressure difference as the critical value; and

only controlling the linear movement of the object if the difference between the recognized intensities of pressure at two or more static positions is greater than the critical value.

7. An apparatus for controlling movement of a position of an object displayed on a touch screen of a device, the apparatus comprising:

a recognition unit configured to recognize intensities of pressure at two or more static positions presented concurrently on the touch screen of the device; and

a processing unit configured to control the movement of the position of the object on the touch screen using a difference in intensities of pressure between the two or more static positions when the difference is greater than a predetermined critical value, by comparing a distance on a first axis with a distance on a second axis between the two or more static positions, determining the movement of the position of the object to be in the first axis when the distance on the first axis is longer than the distance on the second axis, or the second axis when the distance on the second axis is longer than the distance on the first axis, and scrolling the object on the touch screen on which the intensities of pressure at two or more static positions were presented concurrently in the determined movement of the position of the object, wherein the object is persistent before and after pressure is applied to the touch screen.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing unit determines a direction of the movement of the position of the object to be toward a position having a higher pressure when there are only two static positions, and determines the direction of the movement of the position of the object by using a vector when there are three or more static positions.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing unit determines a speed of the movement of the position of the object using a difference in intensity of pressure between the two or more static positions.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the vector for the direction of the movement of the position is determined using coordinates of a static position having the lowest pressure and coordinates of a static position having the highest pressure.

11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing unit is further configured to determine a speed or strength of the linear movement of the object on the touch screen by analyzing information of the intensities of pressure at the two or more static positions.

12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

monitor a pressure difference between the intensities of pressure at two or more static positions to determine the pressure difference when the device is held normally;

store the determined pressure difference as the critical value; and

only control the linear movement of the object if the difference between the recognized intensities of pressure at two or more static positions is greater than the critical value.

13. A method of controlling movement of a position of an object displayed on a touch screen of a device, comprising:

recognizing pressures at two or more static positions presented concurrently on the touch screen of the device; and

controlling the movement of the position of the object on the touch screen using a difference in pressure between the two or more recognized static positions when the difference is greater than a predetermined critical value, wherein the movement of the position of the object is constrained to one of two orthogonal axes,

wherein the two orthogonal axes comprise a first axis and a second axis,

and

wherein controlling the movement of the position of the object comprises;

comparing a distance on the first axis with a distance on the second axis between the two or more static positions;

determining the movement of the position of the object to be in the first axis when the distance on the first axis is longer than the distance on the second axis, or the second axis when the distance on the second axis is longer than the distance on the first axis; and

scrolling the object on the touch screen on which the intensities of pressure at two or more static positions were presented concurrently in the determined movement of the position of the object.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining a speed or strength of the linear movement of the object on the touch screen by analyzing information of the intensities of pressure at the two or more static positions.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

monitoring a pressure difference between the intensities of pressure at two or more static positions to determine the pressure difference when the device is held normally;

storing the determined pressure difference as the critical value; and

only controlling the linear movement of the object if the difference between the recognized intensities of pressure at two or more static positions is greater than the critical value.

16. An apparatus for controlling movement of a position of an object displayed on a touch screen of a device, comprising:

a recognition unit configured to recognize pressures at two or more static positions presented concurrently on the touch screen of the device; and

a processing unit configured to control the movement of the position of the object on the touch screen using a difference in pressure between the two or more static positions when the difference is greater than a predetermined critical value, wherein the movement of the position of the object is constrained to one of two orthogonal axes,

wherein the two orthogonal axes comprise a first axis and a second axis, and

wherein the processing unit is further configured to;

compare a distance on the first axis with a distance on the second axis between the two or more static positions;

determine the movement of the position of the object to be in the first axis when the distance on the first axis is longer than the distance on the second axis, or the second axis when the distance on the second axis is longer than the distance on the first axis; and

scrolling the object on the touch screen on which the intensities of pressure at two or more static positions were presented concurrently in the determined movement of the position of the object.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processing unit is further configured to determine a speed or strength of the linear movement of the object on the touch screen by analyzing information of the intensities of pressure at the two or more static positions.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

monitor a pressure difference between the intensities of pressure at two or more static positions to determine the pressure difference when the device is held normally;

store the determined pressure difference as the critical value; and

only control the linear movement of the object if the difference between the recognized intensities of pressure at two or more static positions is greater than the critical value.