PORTABLE TERMINAL, INPUT CONTROL PROGRAM AND INPUT CONTROL METHOD

• US 20110298740A1
• Filed: 11/09/2010
• Published: 12/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Miyazaki, Kazuto, Izumi, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 9,081,546 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1633 Constructional details or arrangements of portable computers not specific to the type of enclosures covered by groups G06F1/1615 - G06F1/1626
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

A portable terminal includes a touchpad that detects contact made thereto and output a value indicating a degree of the contact, and stores a first threshold and a second threshold less than the first threshold. The portable terminal calculates, based on the output value, an area contact value indicating a degree of the contact for each of contacted areas of the touchpad. The portable terminal judges whether the contacted areas include two areas that are not directly adjacent to each other and each have a calculated area contact value equal to or greater than the second threshold. When judging negatively, the portable terminal determines, as a target area to which processing to be performed is allocated, one of the contacted areas having an area contact value equal to or greater than the first threshold, and when judging affirmatively, the portable terminal does not to determine the target area.

Claims

1-11. -11. (canceled)

12. A portable terminal comprising:

a touchpad configured to detect contact made thereto and output a value indicating a degree of the contact; and

a target determination unit configured to (i) specify, among one or more contacted areas of the touchpad to which the contact has been made, a first area as a candidate of a target area to which processing to be performed is allocated, based on the value output by the touchpad, and (ii) when contact made to a second area has been detected until the contact made to the first area is released, to determine, as the target area, one of the first area and the second area according to an area contact value indicating a degree of the contact made to the second area, the second area being directly adjacent to the first area in a predetermined direction.

13. The portable terminal of claim 12, wherein

the target determination unit (i) calculates, for each of the one or more areas to which the contact has been made, a value that increases as a size of a contacted portion of the area increases, as a contact area value indicating a degree of the contact based on the value output by the touchpad, (ii) specifies, as the first area, one of the one or more areas having the highest contact area value, and (iii) when a difference in contact area value between the first area and the second area is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the target determination unit determines the second area as the target area.

14. The portable terminal of claim 13, wherein

the target determination unit manages the keys that are arranged on the areas of the touchpad in a matrix, and

a key corresponding to the second area is arranged directly above, directly to the left of, or directly to the right of a key corresponding to the first area.

15. An input control program for use in a portable terminal including a touchpad configured to detect contact made thereto and output a value indicating a degree of the contact, the input control program comprising

a target determination step of (i) specifying, among one or more contacted areas of the touchpad to which the contact has been made, a first area as a candidate of a target area to which processing to be performed is allocated, based on the value output by the touchpad, and (ii) when contact made to a second area has been detected until the contact made to the first area is released, determining, as the target area, one of the first area and the second area according to an area contact value indicating a degree of the contact made to the second area, the second area being directly adjacent to the first area in a predetermined direction.

16. An input control method for use in a portable terminal including a touchpad configured to detect contact made thereto and output a value indicating a degree of the contact, the input control program comprising

a target determination step of (i) specifying, among one or more contacted areas of the touchpad to which the contact has been made, a first area as a candidate of a target area to which processing to be performed is allocated, based on the value output by the touchpad, and (ii) when contact made to a second area has been detected until the contact made to the first area is released, determining, as the target area, one of the first area and the second area according to an area contact value indicating a degree of the contact made to the second area, the second area being directly adjacent to the first area in a predetermined direction.