Portable terminal, input control program and input control method

• US 9,035,892 B2
• Filed: 11/09/2010
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Original Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
• Inventors: Miyazaki, Kazuto, Izumi, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahn, Sejoon
• Application Number:
  US13/505,937
• Publication Number:
  US 20120212444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,652 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-175
• 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 portable terminal operates while switching first mode for generating, based on a value indicating a degree of contact output by a touchpad, a value indicating degree of the contact for each contacted area and second mode for generating, based on the output value, a value by performing adjustment such that temporal change amount of the value indicating the degree is equal to or less than a predetermined value. When a value of one contacted area generated in the second mode equals or exceeds the first threshold, the portable terminal switches to the first mode, and when a value of one contacted area generated in the first mode falls below the second threshold, the portable terminal switches to the second mode. The portable terminal determines, as a target area to which processing to be performed is allocated, one contacted area having a value that equals or exceeds the first threshold.

Claims

1. A portable terminal comprising:

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

an adjustment unit configured to generate, based on the contact value output by the touchpad, an area contact value for each of one or more contacted areas of the touchpad to which the contact has been made, and to be switched between

a non-adjustment mode in which the area contact value increases or decreases based on the contact value for the contacted area, and

an adjustment mode in which, when a difference between a current contact value and a previous contact value is greater than a predetermined value, the area contact value is incremented or decremented by the predetermined value such that the area contact value increases or decreases in a staircase-like manner;

a storage unit configured to store therein a first threshold and a second threshold less than the first threshold;

a switch control unit configured to,

when the area contact value of one of the contacted areas generated by the adjustment unit in the adjustment mode equals or exceeds the first threshold, switch the adjustment unit to the non-adjustment mode for that contacted area, and

when the area contact value of one of the contacted areas generated by the adjustment unit in the non-adjustment mode falls below the second threshold, switch the adjustment unit to the adjustment mode for that contacted area; and

a determination unit configured to determine, as a target area to which processing to be performed is allocated, one of the contacted areas having the area contact value that equals or exceeds the first threshold.

2. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein until the area contact value of the contacted area determined as the target area falls below the second threshold, the determination unit does not determine a subsequent target area.

3. The portable terminal of claim 2, wherein the storage unit further stores therein a third threshold less than the first threshold, and only when the contacted areas include less than a predetermined number of contacted areas each having an area contact value that equals or exceeds the third threshold, the determination unit performs the determination.

6. The portable terminal of claim 1, wherein, in the adjustment mode, the area contact value is incremented or decremented by the predetermined value after each of one or more time intervals for which a difference between a current contact value and a previous contact value is greater than the predetermined value.

4. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein an input control program for use in a portable terminal including a touchpad configured to detect contact made thereto and output a contact value indicating a degree of the contact, the input control program comprising:

an adjustment module that generates, based on the contact value output by the touchpad, an area contact value for each of one or more contacted areas of the touchpad to which the contact has been made, and is configured to switch between

processing in a non-adjustment mode in which the area contact value increases or decreases based on the contact value for the contacted area, and

processing in an adjustment mode in which, when a difference between a current contact value and a previous contact value is greater than a predetermined value, the area contact value is incremented or decremented by the predetermined value such that the area contact value increases or decreases in a staircase-like manner;

a storage module that stores a first threshold and a second threshold less than the first threshold;

a switch control module that, when the area contact value of one of the contacted areas generated in the adjustment step in the adjustment mode equals or exceeds the first threshold, switches processing to be performed in the adjustment module for the contacted area to the processing in the non-adjustment, and when the area contact value of one of the contacted areas generated in the adjustment step in the non-adjustment mode falls below the second threshold, switches processing to be performed in the adjustment module for the contacted area to the processing in the adjustment mode; and

a determination step of determining, as a target area to which processing to be performed is allocated, one of the contacted areas having the area contact value that equals or exceeds the first threshold.

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

an adjustment step of generating, based on the contact value output by the touchpad, an area contact value for each of one or more contacted areas of the touchpad to which the contact has been made, while processing to be performed is switched between

processing in a non-adjustment mode in which the area contact value increases or decreases based on the contact value for the contacted area, and

processing in an adjustment mode in which, when a difference between a current contact value and a previous contact value is greater than a predetermined value, the area contact value is incremented or decremented by the predetermined value such that the area contact value increases or decreases in a staircase-like manner;

a storage step of storing a first threshold and a second threshold less than the first threshold;

a switch control step of, when the area contact value of one of the contacted areas generated in the adjustment step in the adjustment mode equals or exceeds the first threshold, switching processing to be performed in the adjustment step for the contacted area to the processing in the non-adjustment mode, and when the area contact value of one of the contacted areas generated in the adjustment step in the non-adjustment mode falls below the second threshold, switching processing to be performed in the adjustment step for the contacted area to the processing in the adjustment mode; and

a determination step of determining, as a target area to which processing to be performed is allocated, one of the contacted areas having the area contact value that equals or exceeds the first threshold.