Filtering of Inadvertent Contact with Touch Pad Input Device

• US 20100245258A1
• Filed: 03/25/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Stewart, Aaron Michael, Mori, Hidetoshi, Matsubara, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,570,280 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

An approach is provided that filters out inadvertent contact with a touch pad input device. A filter area is defined within a surface of a touch pad input device that is accessible from an information handling system, such as a computer system. When a user of the information handling system contacts the surface of the touch pad, an input stream is received. The input stream includes an origination point where contact was initially made by the user. If the origination point is within the defined filter area, then the input stream is filtered out (not processed). On the other hand, if the origination point is outside of the defined filter area, then the input stream is processed by the information handling system.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method executing on an information handling system comprising:

defining a filter area within a surface of a touch pad input device accessible from the information handling system;

receiving an input stream from the touch pad input device resulting from the a user contacting the surface of the touch pad, wherein the input stream includes an origination point where contact was initially made by the user;

filtering out the input stream in response to the origination point being within the defined filter area; and

processing the input stream in response to the origination point being outside the defined filter area.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the origination point includes a plurality of pixels and the method further comprises:

retrieving a predetermined contact amount from a memory area;

identifying a total number of pixels from the plurality of pixels that are inside the defined filter area;

determining whether the origination point is inside the filter point by comparing the total number of pixels to the predetermined contact amount.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

prior to receiving the input stream;

configuring a plurality of filter values by a user of the information handling system, wherein the contact threshold percentage is one of the filter values defined by the user; and

storing the filter values including the contact threshold percentage in the memory area accessible to the information handling system.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying that a button included in the information handling system is being pressed when the input stream is received; and

enlarging the defined filter area in response to identifying that the button is being pressed.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying that the input stream is an input tap that is within a tap zone defined on the touch pad; and

performing a predefined tap command corresponding to the tap zone in response to the input stream being outside of the defined filter area.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

configuring a plurality of filter values by a user of the information handling system, wherein the defined filter area is defined by the user; and

storing the filter values in a data store in a nonvolatile memory area accessible to the information handling system.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

prior to receiving the input stream;

retrieving a use history that tracks where on the track pad prior origination points have been located; and

identifying the defined filter area by comparing the retrieved use history to one or more edge areas of the surface of the touch pad.

8. An information handling system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory coupled to at least one of the processors;

a nonvolatile storage area coupled to at least one of the processors;

a touch pad input device accessible to at least one of the processors, the touch pad receiving user input at a surface of the touch pad; and

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executed by at least one of the processors in order to perform actions of;

defining a filter area within the surface of the touch pad input device;

receiving an input stream from the touch pad input device resulting from the a user contacting the surface of the touch pad, wherein the input stream includes an origination point where contact was initially made by the user;

filtering out the input stream in response to the origination point being within the defined filter area; and

processing the input stream in response to the origination point being outside the defined filter area.

9. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the origination point includes a plurality of pixels and the information handling system further comprises additional actions of:

retrieving a predetermined contact amount from a memory area;

identifying a total number of pixels from the plurality of pixels that are inside the defined filter area;

determining whether the origination point is inside the filter point by comparing the total number of pixels to the predetermined contact amount.

10. The information handling system of claim 8 further comprising additional actions of:

prior to receiving the input stream;

configuring a plurality of filter values by a user of the information handling system, wherein the contact threshold percentage is one of the filter values defined by the user; and

storing the filter values including the contact threshold percentage in the memory area accessible to the information handling system.

11. The information handling system of claim 8 further comprising additional actions of:

identifying that a button included in the information handling system is being pressed when the input stream is received; and

enlarging the defined filter area in response to identifying that the button is being pressed.

12. The information handling system of claim 8 further comprising additional actions of:

identifying that the input stream is an input tap that is within a tap zone defined on the touch pad; and

performing a predefined tap command corresponding to the tap zone in response to the input stream being outside of the defined filter area.

13. The information handling system of claim 8 further comprising additional actions of:

configuring a plurality of filter values by a user of the information handling system, wherein the defined filter area is defined by the user; and

storing the filter values in a data store in the nonvolatile storage.

14. The information handling system of claim 8 further comprising additional actions of:

prior to receiving the input stream;

retrieving a use history that tracks where on the track pad prior origination points have been located; and

identifying the defined filter area by comparing the retrieved use history to one or more edge areas of the surface of the touch pad.

15. A computer program product stored in a computer readable medium, comprising functional descriptive material that, when executed by an information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform actions comprising:

defining a filter area within a surface of a touch pad input device accessible from the information handling system;

receiving an input stream from the touch pad input device resulting from the a user contacting the surface of the touch pad, wherein the input stream includes an origination point where contact was initially made by the user;

filtering out the input stream in response to the origination point being within the defined filter area; and

processing the input stream in response to the origination point being outside the defined filter area.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the origination point includes a plurality of pixels and the wherein the functional descriptive material, when executed by the information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform further actions comprising:

retrieving a predetermined contact amount from a memory area;

identifying a total number of pixels from the plurality of pixels that are inside the defined filter area;

determining whether the origination point is inside the filter point by comparing the total number of pixels to the predetermined contact amount.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the functional descriptive material, when executed by the information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform further actions comprising:

identifying that a button included in the information handling system is being pressed when the input stream is received; and

enlarging the defined filter area in response to identifying that the button is being pressed.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the functional descriptive material, when executed by the information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform further actions comprising:

identifying that the input stream is an input tap that is within a tap zone defined on the touch pad; and

performing a predefined tap command corresponding to the tap zone in response to the input stream being outside of the defined filter area.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the functional descriptive material, when executed by the information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform further actions comprising:

configuring a plurality of filter values by a user of the information handling system, wherein the defined filter area is defined by the user; and

storing the filter values in a data store in a nonvolatile memory area accessible to the information handling system.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein the functional descriptive material, when executed by the information handling system, causes the information handling system to perform further actions comprising:

prior to receiving the input stream;

retrieving a use history that tracks where on the track pad prior origination points have been located; and

identifying the defined filter area by comparing the retrieved use history to one or more edge areas of the surface of the touch pad.