Electronic device equipped with touch panel

• US 9,696,836 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2014
• Issued: 07/04/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Kowaka, Makoto, Nakazato, Yosuke, Matsuki, Yoshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US14/553,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20150148010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• Field of Search: 455411, 370338
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/065 Continuous authentication

Abstract

An electronic device includes a touch panel, an operation position detecting unit that detects an operation position, in a locked state, at which a touch operation has been made on the touch panel, an ear pinna determining unit that determines whether the touch operation has been made by a user'"'"'s ear pinna, according to the detected operation position, and an ear pinna operation accepting unit that, if the touch operation is determined to have been made by the user'"'"'s ear pinna, accepts an operation input made by the touch operation by the ear pinna.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a touch panel that detects a touch operation made on the touch panel;

an operation position detecting unit that detects an operation position at which the touch operation has been made on the touch panel;

an ear pinna determining unit that determines whether the touch operation has been made by a user'"'"'s ear pinna, according to the detected operation position;

an ear pinna operation accepting unit that, if the touch operation is determined to have been made by the user'"'"'s ear pinna, accepts a first operation input made by the touch operation by the ear pinna;

a locking unit that locks an operation of the electronic device based on a second operation input made by the touch operation by a user but not accepted by the ear pinna operation accepting unit, the second operation input being made independently of the first operation input;

an unlocking unit that, if the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input, releases a lock for the operation based on the second operation input; and

a call enabling unit that, if the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input, enables a call for an incoming call, wherein

in a situation where the incoming call arrives while the locking unit locks the operation based on the second operation input, if the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input, the unlocking unit releases the lock for the second operation input, and then the call enabling unit enables the call, and

when the call completes, the locking unit again locks the operation based on the second operation input.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, comprising:

an authentication information storing unit that stores operation position information about a touch operation by a user'"'"'s ear pinna as ear pinna authentication information about the user;

an ear pinna authentication unit that, if the touch operation is determined to have been made by the ear pinna, authenticates the user who has made the touch operation by the ear pinna according to the detected operation position and the operation position information; and

if the user is authenticated, the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input made by the touch operation by the ear pinna.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, comprising a vibrator that can vibrate, the vibrator being attached to the touch panel;

and

a vibration control unit that transmits a vibration of the vibrator during the call to have the touch panel function as a speaker.

4. An operation accepting method comprising:

detecting, via a touch panel, a touch operation made on the touch panel;

detecting, via an operation position detecting unit, an operation position at which the touch operation has been made on the touch panel;

determining, via an ear pinna determining unit, whether the touch panel has been made by a user'"'"'s ear pinna, according to the detected operation position;

accepting, if the touch operation is determined to have been made by the ear pinna, a first operation input made by the touch operation by the ear pinna via an ear pinna operation accepting unit;

locking, via a locking unit, an operation of the electronic device based on a second operation input made by the touch operation by a user but not accepted by the ear pinna operation accepting unit, the second operation input being made independently of the first operation input;

releasing, via an unlocking unit, if the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input, a lock for the operation based on the second operation input; and

enabling, via a call enabling unit, if the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input, a call for an incoming call, wherein

in a situation where the incoming call arrives while the locking unit locks the operation based on the second operation input, if the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input, the unlocking unit releases the lock for the second operation input, and then the call enabling unit enables the call, and

when the call completes, the locking unit again locks the operation based on the second operation input.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores an operation accepting program executable by a computer, the operation accepting program comprising:

first program code that causes the computer to detect a touch operation made on the touch panel;

second program code that causes the computer to detect an operation position at which the touch operation has been made on the touch panel;

third program code that causes the computer to determine whether the touch operation has been made by a user'"'"'s ear pinna, according to the detected operation position;

fourth program code that, if the touch operation is determined to have been made by the ear pinna, causes the computer to accept a first operation input made by the touch operation by the ear pinna;

fifth program code that causes the computer to lock an operation of the electronic device based on a second operation input made by the touch operation by a user but not accepted by an ear pinna operation accepting unit, the second operation input being made independently of the first operation input;

sixth program code that, if the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input, causes the computer to release a lock for the operation based on the second operation input; and

seventh program code that, if the ear pinna operation accepting unit accepts the first operation input, causes the computer to enable a call for an incoming call, wherein in a situation where the incoming call arrives while the operation based on the second operation input is locked by the fifth program code, if the first operation input is accepted by the fourth program code, the sixth program code causes the computer to release the lock for the second operation input, and then the seventh program code causes the computer to enable the call, and

when the call completes, the fifth program code again causes the computer to lock the operation based on the second operation input.