INFORMATION PROCESSING TERMINAL, TERMINAL OPERATION METHOD AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM

• US 20120326981A1
• Filed: 03/25/2011
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Innovations Ltd Hong Kong (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Kurose, Takafumi
• Application Number:
  US13/582,928
• Publication Number:
  US 20120326981A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/160
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0338 with detection of limited linear or angular displacement of an operating part of the device from a neutral position, e.g. isotonic or isometric joysticks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04892 Arrangements for controlling cursor position based on codes indicative of cursor displacements from one discrete location to another, e.g. using cursor control keys associated to different directions or using the tab key arrangements for controlling cursor position based on coordinate signals G06F3/038
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0266 for a display module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/23 Construction or mounting of dials or of equivalent devices; Means for facilitating the use thereof by improving visibility H04M1/22
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

One of a function as a direction key and a function as a confirmation key is executed by a user pressing a display with a finger. When a pressing force detector detects perpendicular movement of the display to a side of an upper surface of the information processing terminal body and a sensor detects sliding of the display in any direction of a side wall surface of the information processing terminal body, the function as the direction key is executed when the moving distance detected by the sensor exceeds a predetermined movement threshold, and the function as the confirmation key is executed when the moving distance is within the movement threshold. Accordingly, it is possible to allow the user to operate the display more intuitively and easily, and to prevent malfunction without disturbing compactness and the like while securing a maximum screen area.

Claims

1. An information processing terminal at least comprising a display on an upper surface of an information processing terminal body, comprising an elastic body connecting a rear surface of the display and an upper surface of the information processing terminal body, and each side surface of the display and each side wall surface of the information processing terminal body opposed to each side surface of the display via a space in which the display is movable,

wherein the information processing terminal at least executes one of a function as a direction key and a function as a confirmation key by a user pressing the display with a finger, the direction key being to move a cursor on a display screen of the display and the display screen, and the confirmation key being to confirm selection on the display screen of the display.

2. The information processing terminal according to claim 1, wherein one of the upper surface of the information processing terminal body and the rear surface of the display includes pressing force detection unit that detects that a front surface of the display has been pressed by the finger of the user and the rear surface of the display has moved to a side of the upper surface of the information processing terminal body, and any one of the side wall surface of the information processing terminal body, the upper surface of the information processing terminal body, the side surface of the display, and the rear surface of the display includes movement detection unit that detects that the front surface of the display has been pressed in an oblique direction by the finger of the user and the display has slid in any direction of the side wall surfaces of the information processing terminal body along the upper surface of the information processing terminal body, and when the pressing force detection unit detects movement of the display to the side of the upper surface of the information processing terminal body and the movement detection unit detects sliding of the display in any direction of the side wall surfaces of the information processing terminal body, if the moving distance detected by the movement detection unit exceeds a predetermined movement threshold, the function as the direction key is executed, and if the moving distance detected by the movement detection unit is within the movement threshold, the function as the confirmation key is executed.

3. The information processing terminal according to claim 2, wherein, the display is able to be slid in all directions including a vertical direction, a horizontal direction, and an oblique direction to the side wall surfaces of the information processing terminal body when the user presses the front surface of the display in the oblique direction with the finger and the display slides in a direction of the side wall surface of the information processing terminal body along the upper surface of the information processing terminal body, and the movement detection unit is able to detect the movement direction, the moving distance, and the moving speed of the display which has slid.

4. The information processing terminal according to claim 2, wherein the movement detection unit is formed of any one of a piezoelectric element, an optical sensor, and a magnetic sensor.

5. The information processing terminal according to claim 2, wherein the pressing force detection unit is formed of any one of a metal dome, a piezoelectric element, an optical sensor, and a magnetic sensor.

6. A terminal operation method in an information processing terminal at least comprising a display on an upper surface of an information processing terminal body, comprising providing a space between a rear surface of the display and an upper surface of the information processing terminal body, and each side surface of the display and each side wall surface of the information processing terminal body opposed to each side surface of the display to allow the display to be movable, and at least executing one of a function as a direction key and a function as a confirmation key by a user pressing the display with a finger, the direction key being to move a cursor on a display screen of the display and the display screen, and the confirmation key being to confirm selection on the display screen of the display.

7. The terminal operation method according to claim 6, wherein, when it is detected that the rear surface of the display has moved to a side of the upper surface of the information processing terminal body by the user pressing the display with the finger and that the display has slid in any direction of the side wall surfaces of the information processing terminal body along the upper surface of the information processing terminal body, the function as the direction key is executed when the moving distance of sliding in any direction of the side wall surfaces of the information processing terminal body exceeds a predetermined moving threshold, and the function as the confirmation key is executed when the moving distance of sliding in any direction of the side wall surfaces of the information processing terminal body is within the movement threshold.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a terminal operation program, comprising executing the terminal operation method disclosed in claim 6 as a program that can be executed by a computer.