SENSOR-BASED DISPLAY OF VIRTUAL KEYBOARD IMAGE AND ASSOCIATED METHODOLOGY

• US 20090303200A1
• Filed: 06/10/2009
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Europe (Amsterdam) BV (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Europe Limited (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: GRAD, Joel
• Granted Patent: US 8,619,034 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• 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 display device includes a touch screen having a display surface that displays images. The touch screen outputs a signal indicating a position on the display surface that has been touched. The display device also includes a first sensor that senses a position of an object relative to the display surface. The display device further includes a controller that generates a virtual keyboard image including a plurality of virtual keys for display on the display surface. The controller generates a left side portion and a right side portion of the virtual keyboard image, and chooses, as a display portion, one of the left side portion and the right side portion of the virtual keyboard image corresponding to the position of the object relative to the display surface as sensed by the first sensor. The controller controls the touch screen to display the display portion on the display surface.

Claims

1. An information-processing apparatus, comprising:

a display device including,

a touch screen having a display surface configured to display a plurality of images, the touch screen being configured to output a signal indicating a position on the display surface that has been touched;

a first sensor configured to sense a position of an object relative to the display surface; and

a controller configured to generate a virtual keyboard image including a plurality of virtual keys for display on the display surface, to generate a left side portion of the virtual keyboard image and a right side portion of the virtual keyboard image, to choose, as a display portion, one of the left side portion of the virtual keyboard image and the right side portion of the virtual keyboard image corresponding to the position of the object relative to the display surface as sensed by the first sensor, and to control the touch screen to display the display portion on the display surface.

2. The information-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to choose, as the display portion, the left side portion of the virtual keyboard image or the right side portion of the virtual keyboard image in response to the first sensor sensing the object to a left side of the display surface or a right side of the display surface.

3. The information-processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to choose, as the display portion, a combination of both the left side portion of the virtual keyboard image and the right side portion of the virtual keyboard image in response to the first sensor sensing the object to the left side of the display surface and to the right side of the display surface to display the virtual keyboard image on the display surface.

4. The information-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual keyboard is an image including a standard alphabet key array.

5. The information-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor is positioned at one lateral side of the display surface.

6. The information-processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a second sensor positioned at an opposite lateral side of the display surface, relative to the one lateral side of the display surface.

7. The information-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information-processing apparatus is a telephone device.

8. The information-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information-processing apparatus is a personal organizer.

9. The information-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information-processing apparatus is a portable gaming device.

10. A method of displaying a virtual keyboard image on a display surface of a touch screen configured to output a signal indicating a position on the display surface that has been touched, the method including:

sensing, with a sensor, a position of an object relative to the display surface;

choosing, as a display portion, one of a left side portion of the virtual keyboard image and a right side portion of the virtual keyboard image corresponding to the position of the object sensed in the sensing, the choosing being performed with a processor; and

displaying the display portion on the display surface of the touch screen.

11. A computer readable medium including a program for performing, when the program is run on a computer, a method of displaying a virtual keyboard image on a display surface of a touch screen configured to output a signal indicating a position on the display surface that has been touched, the method including:

sensing a position of an object relative to the display surface;

choosing, as a display portion, one of a left side portion of the virtual keyboard image and a right side portion of the virtual keyboard image corresponding to the position of the object sensed in the sensing; and

displaying the display portion on the display surface of the touch screen.

12. An information-processing apparatus, comprising:

a touch screen having a display surface configured to display a plurality of images, the touch screen being configured to output a signal indicating a position on the display surface that has been touched;

means for sensing a position of an object relative to the display surface; and

means for generating a virtual keyboard image including a plurality of virtual keys for display on the display surface, for generating a left side portion of the virtual keyboard image and a right side portion of the virtual keyboard image, for choosing, as a display portion, one of the left side portion of the virtual keyboard image and the right side portion of the virtual keyboard image corresponding to the position of the object relative to the display surface as sensed by the means for sensing, and for controlling the touch screen to display the display portion on the display surface.