Apparatus and method of processing information input using a touchpad

• US 20060119588A1
• Filed: 11/29/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Yoon, Sung-min, Lee, Yong-hoon, Kim, Baum-sauk
• Application Number:
  US11/288,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20060119588A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Apparatus and method of processing touchpad input information are provided. The method includes mapping an input region of a touchpad to a display region as absolute coordinates, converting contact location coordinates into absolute coordinates, when a pointing tool touches the input region, and moving a mouse pointer displayed on the display region according to the converted contact location coordinates. The input region of a touchpad is mapped to a display region as absolute coordinates such that information can be directly input using the touchpad.

Claims

1. A method of processing touchpad input information, the method comprising:

mapping an input region of a touchpad to a predetermined display region as absolute coordinates;

converting contact location coordinates into the absolute coordinates when a pointing unit touches the input region; and

moving a mouse pointer displayed on the display region according to the converted contact location coordinates.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a movement path of the mouse pointer on the display region corresponding to a sequence of contact location coordinates.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

storing the converted contact location coordinates; and

recognizing a character using the stored contact location coordinates.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising displaying the recognized character.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the displayed recognized character replaces the displayed mouse pointer path.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the recognizing a character is performed when character recognition is requested by a user or when the pointing tool does not touch the touchpad for more than a threshold time interval.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising storing a movement path of the mouse pointer as image data.

8. A method of processing locations pointed to within a predetermined area, the method comprising:

mapping the input region of the predetermined area to a display region of a display as absolute coordinates;

converting location coordinates in the predetermined area into absolute coordinates when the locations are pointed to; and

moving a pointer along the display region corresponding to the converted location coordinates pointed to.

9. An apparatus to process touchpad input information, the apparatus comprising:

a coordinate setting unit to map location coordinates of an input region of a touchpad to a display region as absolute coordinates;

a coordinate converting unit to convert the location coordinates where a pointing unit touches the touchpad into the corresponding absolute coordinates; and

a mouse pointer controlling unit to move a mouse pointer displayed on the display region according to the converted contact location coordinates.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the mouse pointer controlling unit displays a movement path of the mouse pointer on the display region.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a storage unit to store the converted contact location coordinates; and

a recognizing unit to recognize a character using the stored touch location coordinates.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the character recognition is performed when character recognition is requested by a user or when the pointing tool does not touch the touchpad for more than a threshold time interval.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising an image generator to store the movement path of the mouse pointer as image data.

14. An apparatus to recognize characters from information input using an input device capable of sensing a touch and outputting touch location coordinates, the apparatus comprising:

a display;

a converting unit to convert touch location coordinates sensed by the input device into absolute display coordinates;

a group processing unit to group a sequence of absolute coordinates and to control displaying the group of coordinates on the display; and

a recognizing unit to recognize a character based on a largest correlation between a group of coordinates and a reference character from a plurality of reference characters.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising:

a storage unit to store upon request display image or a sequence of recognized characters.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising:

a switch to allow a user to select between an absolute coordinates mode and a relative coordinates mode wherein in the relative coordinates mode, the relative coordinates are used instead of the absolute coordinates.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

a post-processing document unit to process the recognized characters to form a document with reference characters.

18. An apparatus to process locations pointed to within a predetermined area, the apparatus comprising:

a mapping unit to map the input region of the predetermined area to a display region of a display as absolute coordinates;

a conversion unit to convert location coordinates in the predetermined area into absolute coordinates when the locations are pointed to; and

a display to display the movements of a pointer along the display region corresponding to the converted location coordinates pointed to.