KR20070077314A - Input device and input method using a touch pad and switch - Google Patents

Abstract

An input device and an input method using a touch pad and a switch are provided to execute various input functions by using a touch pad in a small-sized electronic device. A touch pad(24) senses contact pressure and provides information of a contact position. A switch(23) is mounted on a PCB which is positioned at a lower part of a center of the touch pad. The contact position information is provided when the touch pad is pressed by using pressure below a threshold value. The contact position information is provided and the switch is turned on when the touch pad is pressed by using pressure above the threshold value. A position calculation unit(25) provides contact position information by calculating the contact position of the touch pad. A control unit(26) generates a control signal from the contact position information and on/off information of the switch.

Description

Input device and input method using a touch pad and switch}

1 schematically illustrates a conventional input device using five tact switches.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a cross section of the input device shown in FIG. 1.

Figure 3 schematically shows a cross section of an input device according to the invention using a touch pad.

4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an exemplary structure of an input device according to the present invention.

5 illustrates a state in which an upper surface of a touch pad used in the input device according to the present invention is divided into five regions by way of example.

※ Explanation of code about main part of drawing ※

20 ..... Input device 21 ..... PCB board

22..knob 23 ..... tact switch

24 ..... Touch pad 25 ..... Position calculator

26 ..... control

The present invention relates to an input device and an input method using a touch pad and a switch. More specifically, the present invention relates to an input device and a method using the touch pad. An input device and an input method for providing an input function.

Portable small electronic devices such as MP3 players, PMPs, and mobile phones are required to have smaller functions, more functions, and larger storage capacities. In addition, an input device for selecting various functions of a portable small electronic device and inputting a user's command is also required to perform various functions.

1 and 2 schematically illustrate an input device 10 that is currently commonly used in portable small electronic devices. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the conventional input device 10 includes two knobs 11 and 12 and five tact switches disposed below the knobs 11 and 12. (13a to 13e). The two knobs consist of a first knob 11 around and a second knob 12 in the middle. One tact switch 13a to 13d is disposed below the four sides of the first knob 11, and one tact switch 13e is disposed below the second knob 12. The tact switches 13a to 13e are mounted on the PCB board 15 of the electronic device.

The input device 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a direction key for moving the menu bar up, down, left, or right when selecting a specific function of the portable electronic device or selecting a music or video file to play through a menu method. It can function as a key to execute the selected function or to execute the selected function. For example, when the menu bar or the cursor is to be moved to the right, when the right side of the first knob 11 is pressed, the tact switch 13c is turned on, and the controller of the electronic device recognizes this. In addition, when moving to the left side, the tact switch 13a is turned ON by pushing the left side of the 1st knob 11. As shown in FIG. If the user wants to execute the contents selected in the current menu bar, for example, when the second knob 12 is pressed, the tact switch 13e under the second knob 12 is turned on, and the controller of the electronic device Recognize and perform the function.

However, in the above-described conventional input device 10, the function is limited only by the movement and selection of the menu bar or the cursor, and it is inconvenient to assemble and use space because two knobs and five tact switches must be used. There is a restriction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to improve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an input device for a portable electronic device capable of performing various functions as compared to the related art while using only one tact switch.

An input device of a portable electronic device according to one type of the present invention for achieving the above object includes a touch pad for sensing the contact pressure and providing information of the contact position; And a switch mounted on the PCB substrate below the center of the touch pad, wherein the touch pad is provided with only contact position information when the touch pad is pressed at a pressure below the threshold, and the touch pad is pressed at a pressure exceeding the threshold. The switch is turned on together with the provision of the location information.

The input device may further include a location calculator configured to calculate a contact location of the touch pad and provide location information; And a controller configured to generate input information from the contact position information provided by the position calculator and the ON / OFF information of the switch.

The touch pad may be divided into at least five virtual areas. For example, the virtual area of the touch pad may be divided into one area of the center and four areas of the circumference.

According to the present invention, when the touch position of the touch pad is continuously changed while the switch is turned off, the controller may perform a scroll function.

In addition, when the switch is turned on, the controller may perform a predetermined specific function according to the contact position information of the touch pad.

According to the invention, the switch may be, for example, a tact switch.

A portable electronic device according to another type of the invention is characterized by having the above-described input device.

In addition, the input method of the portable electronic device according to another type of the present invention, the step of calculating the contact position information on the touch pad; Determining whether the switch under the touch pad is turned on or off; And performing a predetermined specific function according to contact position information of the touch pad when the switch is in an ON state, and performing a scroll function when the switch is OFF and the touch position of the touch pad is continuously changed. It is done.

For example, when the switch is in the ON state and the contact position of the touch pad is any one of four areas of the circumference, the direction key can function.

In addition, when the switch is in the ON state and the contact position of the touch pad is the area of the central portion, the function of the execution key may be performed.

Hereinafter, an input device and an input method of a portable electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 schematically illustrates a cross section of an input device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention using a touch pad. As shown in FIG. 3, the input device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention has only one knob 22 and a switch 23 (eg, a tact switch). The touch pad 24 is attached to the upper surface of the knob 22, and the switch 23 is mounted on the PCB substrate 21 on the lower surface of the knob 22. The touch pad is mainly used as a mouse in a notebook computer or the like, and a plurality of minute pressure sensors are formed in a small flat plate. Therefore, when a contact is made using a finger or a pen, the pressure can be detected and the position information of the contacted part can be recognized. The touch pad 24 is exposed to the outside through a case of a portable electronic device such as an MP3 player, a PMP or a mobile phone. Meanwhile, the PCB board 21 on which the switch 23 is mounted may be a main board on which other components of the portable electronic device are mounted together.

In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the knob 22 is preferably elastically biased using an elastic member such as a spring, which is disposed between the lower surface of the knob 22 and the PCB substrate 21. Do. Thus, when the user presses the touch pad 24 above a certain threshold value, the switch 23 is turned on while being pushed down the knob 22. Then, when the user releases the touch pad 24, the switch 22 is turned off while the knob 22 returns to its original position.

According to the present invention, when the touch pad 24 is contacted so that the switch 23 is not turned off, for example, a menu bar or a cursor may be moved or scrolled. In addition, when the touch pad 24 is pushed above the threshold value so that the switch 23 is turned on, the predetermined specific function is referred to by referring to the contact position information of the touch pad 24 when the switch 23 is turned on. To operate.

4 is a block diagram exemplarily illustrating the overall configuration of the input device 20 according to the present invention for such an operation. First, the position calculator 25 calculates contact position information on the touch pad 24 using data received from a pressure sensor formed in the touch pad 24. The position calculator 25 may be, for example, software installed in a portable electronic device and interlocked with the touch pad 24. As a method of calculating the contact position information in the position calculator 25, for example, a method of obtaining an average coordinate value of the entire contact area of the touch pad 24 may be used. In addition, when there is a contact at two or more points of the touch pad 24, the position information may be calculated using only the first contact portion and the remaining contact portions may be ignored, or the contact position information may be calculated by averaging a plurality of contact point coordinates. . Since the location information calculation algorithm is already known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The contact position information calculated by the position calculator 25 is provided to the controller 26. The controller 26 generates a control signal by combining contact position information provided by the position calculator 25 and ON / OFF information of the switch 23. The control unit 26 may be, for example, software for interworking with a central processing unit of a portable electronic device or a separate device dedicated to the input device 20. The control signal generated by the control unit 26 may be defined in various ways in advance in the manufacturing process of the input device 20.

For example, when the contact position of the touch pad 24 continuously moves while the switch 23 is turned off, the control unit 26 moves the menu bar or the cursor in the direction in which the contact position moves, or the portable electronic device. It may be set to perform a function of scrolling the screen of the device.

In addition, when the switch 23 is turned on by pressing the touch pad 24 at a pressure exceeding a threshold value, the control unit 26 performs a predetermined specific function according to the contact position information of the touch pad 24. Can be set. For example, as in the conventional input device illustrated in FIG. 1, the functions of the direction key and the execution key may be performed. To this end, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper surface of the touch pad 24 may be divided into at least five virtual regions. That is, the virtual region may be divided into one region 24e at the center of the touch pad 24 and four regions 24a to 24b around the touch pad 24. In this case, for example, when the touch pad 24 is pressed with a pressure equal to or greater than a threshold in a state in which the left region 24c of the touch pad 24 is in contact, the switch 23 is turned on, and the position calculating unit 25 touches. Contact position information of the pad 24 is provided to the control unit 26. Then, the control unit 26 detects that the switch 23 is turned on, recognizes that the left area 24c of the touch pad 24 has been touched according to the contact position information provided from the position calculating unit 25, and has a menu bar or a cursor. Generates a signal to move to the left. Similarly, the movement of the right side and the upper side is made in the same way. In addition, when the touch pad 24 is pressed with a pressure equal to or greater than a threshold in a state in which the center region 24e of the touch pad 24 is in contact, the control unit 26 executes an execution command for executing a menu selected on the current screen. Can be generated.

In the above description, the case in which the switch 23 is turned on to perform the function of the direction key or the execution key has been exemplarily described, but it is also possible to perform other functions according to the preset contents at the time of manufacture.

As described so far, the input device according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention can perform various input functions as compared to the related art while using only one switch, unlike the related art. Therefore, when the input device according to the present invention is used as an input device of a portable electronic device such as an MP3 player, a PMP or a mobile phone, it is possible to fully utilize a narrow space inside the portable electronic device and to increase user convenience.

Claims (13)

In the input device of a portable electronic device, A touch pad that senses contact pressure and provides information of the contact location; And The touch pad includes a switch mounted on the PCB substrate below the center, When the touch pad is pressed at a pressure below a threshold value, only contact position information is provided, and when the touch pad is pressed at a pressure exceeding a threshold value, the switch is turned on with provision of contact position information. The method of claim 1, A position calculator for calculating contact positions of the touch pads and providing contact position information; And a controller configured to generate a control signal from the contact position information provided by the position calculator and the ON / OFF information of the switch. The method of claim 2, The touch pad is divided into at least five virtual areas. The method of claim 3, wherein The virtual region of the touch pad is divided into one region of the center and four regions of the periphery. The method of claim 2, And when the contact position of the touch pad is continuously changed while the switch is turned off, the controller performs a scroll function. The method of claim 2, When the switch is turned on, the control unit performs a predetermined specific function according to the contact position information of the touch pad. The method of claim 1, And the switch is a tact switch. A portable electronic device comprising the input device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. Calculating contact location information on the touch pad; Determining whether the switch under the touch pad is turned on or off; And Performing a predetermined function according to contact position information of the touch pad when the switch is in an ON state, and performing a scroll function when the switch is OFF and the touch position of the touch pad is continuously changed. Input method of a portable electronic device characterized in. The method of claim 9, The touch pad is divided into at least five virtual areas. The method of claim 10, The virtual area of the touch pad is divided into one area of the center and four areas of the periphery. The method of claim 11, And the touch key functions as a direction key when the switch is in an ON state and the contact position of the touch pad is any one of four areas of the circumference. The method of claim 11, And if the switch is in the ON position and the touch position of the touch pad is in the region of the center portion, the input method performs a function of an execution key.

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