TOUCH PANEL DEVICE

• US 20110148779A1
• Filed: 09/11/2008
• Published: 06/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: Abe, Koichi, Tsubouchi, Shogo
• Granted Patent: US 10,146,431 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 touch panel device is provided which, even in cases in which a plurality of GUI parts are arranged in a limited space, enables operation of a GUI part in which, unlike a physical button, it is hard to distinguish the boundary by touch, without operational error, using a finger with a very large contact area in comparison to a touch pen. A touch panel device includes a rectangular screen having a detection region which detects contact, and a control section for generating a control signal in response to the contact detected by the detection region. The detection region has a shape that is inclined with respect to a side edge of the rectangular screen. In cases in which a body-part used for the contact is a finger of a user; when the user uses the right hand, the detection region has a shape that is inclined to the left side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen; and when the user uses the left hand, the detection region has a shape that is inclined to the right side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen.

Claims

1. A touch panel device comprising:

a rectangular screen including a detection region which detects contact; and

a control section for generating a control signal in response to the contact detected by the detection region;

wherein

the detection region has a shape that is inclined with respect to a side edge of the rectangular screen.

2. A touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein

a body-part used for the contact is a finger of a user;

when the user uses the right hand, the detection region has a shape that is inclined to the left side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen; and

when the user uses the left hand, the detection region has a shape that is inclined to the right side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen.

3. A touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein

the rectangular screen further includes a visible display region showing a position of the detection region, and

the display region is not identical to the detection region.

4. A touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein

the rectangular screen further includes a visible display region showing a position of the detection region, and

the display region is identical to the detection region.

5. A touch panel device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an information input section for inputting information of the user;

wherein

the control section sets a shape of the detection region, based on the information of the user inputted by the information input section.

6. A touch panel device comprising:

a rectangular screen including a plurality of detection regions each of which detects contact; and

a control section for generating a control signal in response to the contact detected by any of the plurality of detection regions;

wherein

each of the plurality of detection regions has a shape that is inclined with respect to a side edge of the rectangular screen.

7. A touch panel device according to claim 6, wherein

a body-part used for the contact is a finger of a user;

when the user uses the right hand, each of the plurality of detection regions has a shape that is inclined to the left side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen; and

when the user uses the left hand, each of the plurality of detection regions has a shape that is inclined to the right side with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen.

8. A touch panel device according to claim 6, wherein

the plurality of detection regions are arranged to be mutually adjacent, on a straight line perpendicular to the side edge of the rectangular screen, and a part of a boundary that separates mutually adjacent detection regions has a shape that is inclined with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen, corresponding to a body-part that the user uses in making contact.

9. A touch panel device according to claim 8, wherein the boundary that separates the mutually adjacent detection regions comprises:

a first boundary section extending approximately parallel to the side edge of the rectangular screen;

a second boundary section, corresponding to a body-part the user uses in making contact, inclined with respect to the side edge of the rectangular screen, and extending contiguously from the first boundary section;

and a third boundary section extending contiguously from the second boundary section, approximately parallel to the first boundary section.

10. A touch panel device according to claim 6, wherein

in cases in which contact is detected at approximately the same time from two or more detection regions, among the plurality of detection regions, the control section computes contact strength for detected contact in each of the two or more detection regions, and generates a control signal based on the contact detected from a detection region in which the contact strength for detected contact is largest.

11. A touch panel device according to claim 10, wherein

the contact strength for detected contact in each of the two or more detection regions includes either of area of detection region in which contact is detected, or strength of contact pressure.

12. A touch panel device according to claim 6, wherein

the rectangular screen further includes a plurality of visible display regions respectively showing positions of the plurality of detection regions, and

each of the plurality of display regions is not identical to each of the plurality of corresponding detection regions.

13. A touch panel device according to claim 6, further comprising

an information input section for inputting information of a user;

wherein

the control section sets shape of the plurality of detection regions, based on the information of the user inputted by the information input section.