Electronic device and method for processing gesture thereof

• US 10,942,546 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2019
• Issued: 03/09/2021
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Park, Jeong-rok, Lee, Kang-min, Kim, Dong-churl, Huh, Jae-young
• Primary Examiner(s): Polo, Gustavo
• Application Number:
  US16/393,479
• Publication Number:
  US 20190250671A1
• Time in Patent Office: 685 Days
• 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 1/1641 the display being formed by a plurality of foldable display components G06F1/1647 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1652 the display being flexible, e.g. mimicking a sheet of paper, or rollable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• 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

A method of an electronic device for processing gesture is provided. The method includes, in response to an input of a hovering gesture to a flexible display of the electronic device, wherein the flexible display is divided in response to folding of the electronic device into a first area and a second area based on a folding line, sensing the hovering gesture in the first area and the second area, respectively, and determining a hovering point corresponding to the hovering gesture, based on the sensed positions of the first area and the second area, respectively. Accordingly, a hovering gesture can be detected with increased accuracy.

Claims

1. A method of an electronic device for processing a gesture, the method comprising:

in response to a hovering gesture to a flexible display of the electronic device being input while the flexible display is folded based on a folding line, wherein the flexible display is divided in response to folding of the electronic device into a first area and a second area based on the folding line, sensing a plurality of positions of the hovering gesture in each of the first area and the second area, respectively; and

determining a hovering point corresponding to the hovering gesture, based on the plurality of sensed positions of the first area and the second area, respectively.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hovering gesture is performed in vicinity of a folding area comprising the folding line of the flexible display.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

sensing a folding state of the electronic device,

wherein the folding area is determined according to the folding state of the electronic device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the folding state of the electronic device is one of:

an in-bending state in which the electronic device is bent inward, or

an out-bending state in which the electronic device is bent outward.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein a size of the folding area is increased as a folding angle of the electronic device is increased.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensed positions in the first area correspond to a position of an electrode of electrodes in the first area for which a sensed value measured with respect to the hovering gesture has a peak point.

7. An electronic device comprising:

a flexible display dividable into a first area and a second area based on a folding line; and

a processor configured to, in response to a hovering gesture being input while the flexible is folded based on the folding line, sense a plurality of positions of the hovering gesture in each of the first area and the second area, respectively, and determine a hovering point corresponding to the plurality of positions of the hovering gesture based on the plurality of sensed positions in the first area and the second area, respectively.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the hovering gesture is performed in vicinity of a folding area comprising the folding line of the flexible display.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 further comprising:

a state sensor configured to sense a folding state of the electronic device,

wherein the processor determines the folding area according to the folding state.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the folding state of the electronic device is one of:

an in-bending state in which the electronic device is bent inward;

or

an out-bending state in which the electronic device is bent outward.

11. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein a size of the folding area is increased as a folding angle of the electronic device is increased.

12. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the plurality of sensed positions in the first area correspond to a position of an electrode of electrodes in the first area for which a sensed value measured according to the hovering gesture has a peak point.