Device with touch screen false actuation prevention

• US 9,001,039 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2012
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Carmel-Veilleux, Tennessee, Chen, Zhe
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Quan-Zhen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zheng, Xuemei
• Application Number:
  US13/623,916
• Publication Number:
  US 20140085201A1
• Time in Patent Office: 928 Days
• Field of Search: 345/158, 345/173, 702/150
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00

Abstract

A device and method for preventing false-actuation of a touch screen are provided. When one or more of: (a) an initial proximity event occurs at a proximity sensor of the device, and (b) a reorientation event occurs at an orientation sensor of the device: touch data received via a touch screen of the device is buffered in a memory of the device. Thereafter, a processor of the device: processes the buffered touch data when a further proximity event does not occur within a given time period; and, disables the touch screen when the proximity event occurs within the given time period.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a processor coupled to a memory, a display including a touch screen for detecting touch events at the display, an orientation sensor, and a proximity sensor, the processor configured to;

detect an initial proximity event at the proximity sensor and, thereafter;

buffer in the memory touch data received via the touch screen;

process the buffered touch data when a further proximity event does not occur within a given time period; and

,

disable the touch screen when the further proximity event occurs within the given time period,

wherein same buffering, same processing and same disabling also occurs for a reorientation event detected at the orientation sensor, the processor being further configured to;

set the given time period for the initial proximity event to a first value, and set the given time period for the reorientation event to a second value greater than the first value; and

set the first value to less than or about equal to a sampling latency period of the proximity sensor.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to discard the buffered touch data when the proximity event occurs within the given time period.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor is located adjacent one or more of the touch screen and a speaker.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the given time period is set to one or more of:

less than about 100 ms; and

less than about 400 ms.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to turn off the display when the further proximity event occurs within the given time period.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the orientation sensor comprises one or more of an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a magnetometer.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the reorientation event is indicative of a change in orientation from one of a face-up orientation and face-down orientation to one of a top-up orientation, a left-up orientation and a right-up orientation.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the proximity sensor comprises one or more of an infrared proximity sensor, a light-based proximity sensor, a sonar proximity sensor and an acoustic-based proximity sensor.

9. A method comprising:

detecting, at a processor of a devices, an initial proximity event at a proximity sensor of the device, and thereafter;

buffering, in a memory of the device, touch data received via a touch screen of the device;

processing, at the processor, the buffered touch data when a further proximity event does not occur within a given time period; and

,

disabling, at the processor, the touch screen when the further proximity event occurs within the given time period,

wherein same buffering, same processing and same disabling also occurs for a reorientation event detected at the orientation sensor;

setting, at the processor, the given time period for the initial proximity event to a first value for the initial proximity event, and setting, at the processor, the given time period for the reorientation event to a second value greater than the first value; and

,

setting the first value to less than or about equal to a sampling latency period of the proximity sensor.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising discarding the buffered touch data when the proximity event occurs within the given time period.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the given time period is set to one or more of:

less than about 100 ms; and

less than about 400 ms.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising turning off the display when the further proximity event occurs within the given time period.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the reorientation event is indicative of a change in orientation from one of a face-up orientation and face-down orientation to one of a top-up orientation, a left-up orientation and a right-up orientation.

14. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium having a computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method comprising:

detecting, at a processor of a devices, an initial proximity event at a proximity sensor of the device, and thereafter;

buffering, in a memory of the device, touch data received via a touch screen of the device;

processing, at the processor, the buffered touch data when a further proximity event does not occur within a given time period; and

,

disabling, at the processor, the touch screen when the further proximity event occurs within the given time period,

wherein same buffering, same processing and same disabling also occurs for a reorientation event detected at the orientation sensor;

setting, at the processor, the given time period for the initial proximity event to a first value for the initial proximity event, and setting, at the processor, the given time period for the reorientation event to a second value greater than the first value; and

,

setting the first value to less than or about equal to a sampling latency period of the proximity sensor.