Invalid area specifying method for touch panel of mobile terminal

• US 9,843,664 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2016
• Issued: 12/12/2017
• 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 TERRELL
• Application Number:
  US15/002,467
• Publication Number:
  US 20160134745A1
• Time in Patent Office: 691 Days
• Field of Search: 455566, 345173
• 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. An invalid area specifying method for a touch panel of a mobile terminal, comprising:

detecting a touch area corresponding to a contact position on the touch panel by a user;

upon inputting a predetermined operation, specifying a predetermined shape including the detected contact position as an invalid area not accepting a user'"'"'s input operation;

recording the specified invalid area; and

displaying display information representing the predetermined shape on the touch panel.

2. The invalid area specifying method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation is a user'"'"'s touching on a predetermined area on the touch panel.

3. The invalid area specifying method according to claim 1 further comprising:

executing an invalid area specifying application,

wherein the invalid area is specified based on the shape of the touch area upon inputting the predetermined operation according to the invalid area specifying application.

4. The invalid area specifying method according to claim 1 further comprising:

displaying a message after specifying the invalid area.

5. The invalid area specifying method according to claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether the user touches the touch panel after recording the invalid area,

determining whether the contact position touched by the user belongs to the invalid area,

notifying the contact position that does not belong to the invalid area.

6. The invalid area specifying method according to claim 1, wherein the invalid area is automatically determined to have the predetermined shape complementary to a shape of a remaining area accepting the user'"'"'s touch operation within an entire area of the touch panel.

7. An invalid area specifying method for a touch panel of a mobile terminal, comprising;

detecting a touch area on the touch panel by a user;

specifying an invalid area having an arbitrary shape covering a shape of the touch area

within an entire area of the touch panel upon inputting a predetermined operation with the mobile; and

recording the invalid area as not accepting a user'"'"'s touch operation on the touch panel, wherein the invalid area is automatically determined to have the predetermined shape which is formed inwardly from at least one edge of the touch panel.