KR100910813B1 - Pointer control method of terminal having capacitive sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention measures the pressure applied to the pressure sensor input pad by the user, by using the pressure sensor input pad to control the movement of the positioning pointer displayed on the display window of the terminal to simplify the operation of the terminal It relates to a pointing control method of a terminal having a.

In addition, the pointing control method of the terminal having a pressure sensor input pad of the present invention is a pressure sensing unit for detecting a capacitance change amount in the pressure sensor input pad and outputs a digital signal corresponding to the capacitance change amount, the pressure sensor type A position detecting unit for detecting a position of a sensing point whose capacitance is changed in an input pad and outputting a digital signal corresponding to the position of the sensing point, a pressure calculating unit calculating a pressure based on the digital signal input from the pressure sensing unit; The pointing in the terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad including a pointing control unit for controlling the movement of the pointer displayed on the display unit based on the digital signal input from the position sensing unit and the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit. Performed by a control unit, the position detecting unit (A) setting a moving direction of the pointer using an input digital signal, and (b) controlling the display unit to continuously move the pointer in the moving direction set in the step (a). .

Capacitance, pressure, sensor, pointer, position, movement, terminal

Description

Pointing control method of terminal having capacitive sensor

The present invention relates to a pointing control method of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad, and in particular, a user measures a pressure applied to the pressure sensor type input pad and uses the same to specify a positioning pointer displayed on the display window of the terminal. The present invention relates to a pointing control method of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad which makes the operation of the terminal simpler by controlling the movement of.

As is well known, handheld-based terminals (hereinafter referred to as 'terminals'), which are represented by mobile phones or portable multimedia players, have not only been miniaturized and lightened due to steady technology development, but also mp3, camera, and DMB. It is being reborn as having a combination of functions such as (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) and navigation.

In addition, the marketing success of such a terminal will depend on how thin and compact the device can be made while having the same or superior function as that of other companies' products, or how appealing to consumers in terms of design. However, even if these points are excellent, the business vision will be opaque if the user is inconvenient to operate the various functions mounted on the terminal. Therefore, the convenience of the terminal operation can not easily be overlooked in the marketing success.

However, the pointing control method of the conventional terminal has a problem that a user frequently requests key manipulation when moving a pointer called a mouse indicator. For example, if a user wants to move a pointer displayed through a display window to a desired position from an existing position, he or she must manipulate a direction key or a mouse or a touch pad provided in the terminal several times. As a result, frequent manipulation of the user causes a large crowd on the user's wrist, which causes various side effects commonly referred to as mouse syndrome.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, the user measures the pressure applied to the pressure sensor input pad, and the movement of the positioning pointer displayed on the display window of the terminal according to the measured pressure level It is an object of the present invention to provide a pointing control method of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad for controlling.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a pressure sensing unit for sensing a capacitance change amount in a pressure sensor input pad and outputting a digital signal corresponding to the capacitance change amount, and a sensing point of which the capacitance is changed in the pressure sensor input pad. A position sensing unit for sensing a position and outputting a digital signal corresponding to the position of the sensing point, a pressure calculating unit for calculating pressure based on the digital signal input from the pressure sensing unit, and a digital signal input from the position sensing unit And a pointing control unit in a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad including a pointing control unit for controlling the movement of the pointer displayed through the display unit based on the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit. By using digital signal input from negative And a step (b) of controlling the display unit to continuously move the pointer in the moving direction set in the step (a). A pointing control method of a terminal is provided.

In the above configuration, the step (b) may be performed when the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit is more than a predetermined reference.

In addition, step (b) may be performed when the number of sensing points having a change in capacitance sensed by the position sensing unit is greater than or equal to a reference value.

In addition, step (a) may be performed by setting a moving direction of the pointer using a difference between the current position detected by the position detecting unit and the previous position detected before the current position, wherein the current position Is a position detected by the position detecting unit when the number of sensing points having a change in the capacitance calculated by the pressure calculating unit and the capacitance sensed by the position detecting unit is greater than a reference value.

In addition, the step (a) may be performed by setting the movement direction of the pointer using the current position detected by the position detection unit and the origin detected before the current position, wherein the current position and origin are When the number of sensing points having a change in the pressure calculated by the pressure calculating unit and the capacitance sensed by the position detecting unit is greater than or equal to the reference value, the position detecting unit is detected.

In addition, the step (a) may be performed by setting the direction of movement of the pointer using a reference point previously set on the pressure sensor type input pad and the current position detected by the position sensing unit. The current position is detected by the position detecting unit when the number of sensing points whose change in the pressure calculated by the pressure calculating unit and the capacitance sensed by the position detecting unit is greater than or equal to the reference value.

On the other hand, the terminal having the pressure sensor type input pad may further comprise a pointing mode selection unit for outputting a key signal corresponding to the continuous mode of the pointer, wherein step (b) is the pointing mode selection unit It is preferably performed when the key signal input from the device corresponds to the sustain mode. In addition, step (a) may be performed by setting the movement direction of the pointer using the current position detected by the position detecting unit and the origin detected before the current position. In addition, step (a) may be performed by setting a moving direction of the pointer using a reference point preset on the pressure sensor type input pad and a current position detected by the position detecting unit.

In addition, the pointing control method of the terminal having the pressure sensor type input pad may further comprise the step (c) of calculating a weight corresponding to the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit, wherein (b) The moving speed of the pointer in step) is preferably determined by the weight calculated in step (c).

According to the method for controlling the pointing of a terminal having a pressure sensor input pad according to the present invention, the user merely moves while adjusting the force applied to the pressure sensor input pad with a non-conductor tool other than his or her finger or hand. There is an effect that can move the pointer in the desired direction without frequent key operation. In addition, even if the operating radius of the pressure sensor input pad is narrow, the user has an effect that can continuously move the pointer to the desired point.

Hereinafter, a pointing control method of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 are respectively an exploded perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing an example of a pressure sensor type input pad that can be provided in a terminal implementing the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pressure sensor type input pad (hereinafter, simply referred to as an input pad) 100 may include a substrate 110, a first electrode plate 120, an elastic layer 130, and a second electrode plate. 140, a protective layer 150, and a display sheet 160.

In the above-described configuration, the substrate 110 is a conventional substrate such as, for example, a circuit board (PCB and FPCB) capable of printing the electrode portions 120 and 140 in a grid shape, and supports the components of the terminal. It works.

The first pole plate 120 is one of two electrode portions of the pressure sensor for detecting a change in capacitance, and preferably, a strip-shaped thin copper plate may be used. In addition, a plurality of first electrode plates 120 are printed on the substrate 110 such that a plurality of first electrode plates 120 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval.

The elastic layer 130 is coated on the first electrode plates 120 with a constant thickness (d: distance). In addition, the elastic layer 130 is present between the two electrode plates (120, 140) to act as a kind of dielectric. Here, as the elastic layer 130, a well-known thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) such as polyolefin-based, PVC-based, polystyrene-based, polyester-based, polyurethane-based, or polyamide-based may be used.

The second pole plate 140 is another one of the two electrode portions of the pressure sensor for detecting a change in capacitance, and is preferably implemented as a strip-shaped copper plate like the first pole plate 120. In addition, the second electrode plate 140 is printed on the elastic layer 130 in the same manner as the first electrode plate 120, but is printed in the vertical direction with respect to the first electrode plate 120 and in rows at regular intervals.

As such, the first electrode plate 120 and the second electrode plate 140 are cross-printed with each other with the elastic layer 130 interposed therebetween, so that the second electrode plate 140 corresponds to the thickness of the elastic layer 130. At a distance d, the first electrode plate 120 is disposed in a mesh structure having a lattice form. Therefore, the intersection between the anode plates 120 and 140 serves as a sensing point that causes a change in capacitance according to the pressure in the input pad 100.

That is, when the user presses a specific position of the input pad 100 by hand, the elastic layer 130 contracts at the sensing point corresponding to the pressing position, whereby the first electrode plate 120 and the second electrode plate. The distance d between the 140 is variable. Therefore, as the distance d changes, the sensing point corresponds to the formula of C = μA / d, where C is the capacitance, μ is the dielectric constant, A is the area, and d is the distance between the electrode parts. A change in capacitance occurs. At this time, the amount of change in capacitance is different depending on the size of the pressing pressure. Thereafter, when the pressing force is removed, the elastic layer 130 and the second electrode plate 140 are returned to their original positions by the elasticity of the elastic layer 130.

The protective layer 150 is a layer for protecting the second electrode plate 140 and may be formed of, for example, polyester. In addition, the protective layer 150 may be formed as thin as possible as long as it can protect the second electrode plate 140.

The display sheet 160 is a sheet in which letters or numbers 161, etc. necessary for the operation of the terminal are printed at positions corresponding to the sensing points.

In the above description, the protective layer 150 and the display sheet 160 have been described as functionally separated while the input pad 100 is described, but the rest of the protective layer 150 and the display sheet 160 are omitted. It is also possible to configure the functions of the omitted ones together.

3 and 4 are respectively an exploded perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing another example of a pressure sensor type input pad that can be provided in a terminal implementing the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the input pad 200 may include a substrate 210, a first electrode plate 220, an elastic layer 230, a second electrode plate 240, a protective layer 250, and a display sheet. The substrate 210, the elastic layer 230, the protective layer 250, and the display sheet 260 are substantially the same as those of the input pad 100 described above. Details are omitted.

In the above-described configuration, the first electrode plate 220 is one of two electrode portions of the pressure sensor for detecting a change in capacitance, and it is preferable that the first electrode plate 220 is a plurality of circular copper plates instead of a strip shape as shown in FIG. 1.

The second electrode plate 240 is the other one of the two electrode parts of the pressure sensor for detecting a change in capacitance, but is formed on the elastic layer 230, unlike the first electrode plate 220, It is preferable that it is a single copper plate which covers the whole. In addition, a point corresponding to the position of the first electrode plate 220 formed below the second electrode plate 240 serves as a sensing point that causes a change in capacitance due to the pressure in the input pad 200.

That is, when a specific position of the input pad 200 is pressed, the elastic layer 230 is contracted at the sensing point corresponding to the pressing position, thereby the distance between the first pole plate 220 and the second pole plate 240. (d) is variable. Therefore, a change in capacitance occurs at a sensing point corresponding to the change in distance d. At this time, the amount of change in capacitance is different depending on the size of the pressing pressure. Thereafter, when the pressing force is removed, the elastic layer 230 and the second electrode plate 240 are returned to their original positions by the elasticity of the elastic layer 230.

5 is an electrical block diagram of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad embodying the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “terminal”) 300 is an input pad 310 and an input pad 310 in the form described in the above embodiments. The pressure sensing unit 320 for detecting a change in capacitance and outputting a digital signal corresponding to the change amount, and calculates the pressure of the portion pressed by the user based on the digital signal input from the pressure sensing unit 320 The pressure detector 330 and the position detector 340 for detecting a position of a sensing point having a change in capacitance by using the pressure value calculated by the pressure calculator 330 and outputting a digital signal corresponding to the position. Selecting a pointing mode for outputting a key signal corresponding to a continuous mode of a positioning pointer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “pointer”) displayed on the display unit 360, as a key signal output by a user's key operation. (350) The pointing control unit 360 controls the movement of the pointer based on the digital signal input from the position detecting unit 340, the selection signal input from the pointing mode selecting unit 350, and the pressure calculated by the pressure calculating unit 330. It can be made, including.

In the above-described configuration, the pointing control unit 360 is a direction set by the user if the key signal input from the pointing mode selection unit 350 corresponds to the continuous mode even if there is no change in the position value input from the position detecting unit 340. By controlling the display unit 360 to move the pointer continuously.

In addition, the pointing control unit 360, even if a key signal corresponding to the continuous mode is not input from the pointing mode selection unit 350, the pressure value calculated by the pressure calculation unit 330 and the position in the position detecting unit 340 If the number of detected sensing points satisfies a preset criterion, the display unit 360 is controlled to continuously move the pointer in the direction set by the user. For example, when the user manipulates the input pad 310 with a finger but presses the input pad 310 above the reference pressure, the pointing controller 360 recognizes this to perform the continuous mode.

In addition, the terminal 300 may further include a sinusoidal wave generator (not shown) for transmitting an alternating current (sine wave) to the two pole plates of the input pad 310 so that charging / discharging of capacitance occurs at the sensing point. Thus, when the user presses the input pad 310, the capacitance changes at the corresponding sensing point.

In addition, the terminal 300 should be interpreted more broadly as a concept including a handheld-based electronic device as well as a personal computer (PC) such as a notebook or a desktop.

In addition, the above pointer should be interpreted more broadly as a concept including a cursor that designates a position to modify or input any character.

Hereinafter, the function of the pointing controller 360 will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying flowchart. FIGS. 6 to 11 are provided with a pressure sensor type input pad according to an embodiment of the present invention. A flowchart for explaining a pointing control method of a terminal.

First, the terminal 300 periodically detects the position of the sensing point at which the capacitance is changed by the position detecting unit 340 in accordance with the internal clock generation (step S100), and the pressure detecting unit 320 and the pressure calculating unit. The pressure at the position at which the capacitance is changed by 330 is measured (step S200).

In addition, in step S300, the pointing controller (hereinafter, simply referred to as a controller) 360 determines whether the pointer movement mode is the continuous mode based on the selection signal input from the pointing mode selector 350.

As a result of the determination in step S300, when the terminal 300 is initialized to the continuous mode by the user's key manipulation, the process proceeds to steps S310, S330, and S350 shown in FIG. 11. It will be described first and will be described later.

On the other hand, if the determination result in step S300 terminal 300 is not the continuous mode by the pointing mode selection unit 350 proceeds to step S400 to determine whether the pressure value calculated in the pressure calculation unit 330 is higher than the reference. do. In operation S500, it is determined whether the number of sensing points sensed by the position detecting unit 340, that is, the number of sensing points at which the change in capacitance occurs at the same time or more. In this case, if any one of the pressure and the number of sensing points does not satisfy the criteria, the process proceeds to step S600 where the display unit 370 is set such that a pointer is assigned to a position on the monitor corresponding to the position detected by the position detecting unit 340. To control. On the other hand, if the number of pressure and sensing points satisfy the criteria, the next step is to set the direction of continuous movement of the pointer.

As shown in FIG. 7, the controller 360 in step S710 does not satisfy any of the conditions of steps S400 and S500 as shown in FIG. 7. The direction is set by using the difference between the previous position 'and the' current position 'that satisfies the two conditions. For example, when the user performs the general pointer positioning while operating the input pad 310 (step S600) and stops while pressing the input pad 310 at an arbitrary time point, the controller 360 recognizes this. To set the direction.

In addition, referring to another embodiment of setting the continuous moving direction (direction setting mode 2), as shown in FIG. 8, in step S730, the controller 360 determines whether the pressure at the current position satisfies the criterion for the first time. As a result, when the pressure is equal to or greater than the reference pressure for the first time, the process proceeds to step S731 and the current position is set to 'origin' for performing the continuous mode, and then the process returns to step S100. On the other hand, if the origin, that is, the previous position has already been set, the process proceeds to step S733 to set the direction using the origin and the current position. For example, after the user presses a certain point of the input pad 310 by the hand with a reference pressure or more, the user moves the hand to another point while maintaining the pressing pressure above the reference point without releasing the hand from the input pad 310. If so, the controller 360 recognizes this and sets the direction. As another example, when the user presses a certain point of the input pad 310 by hand over the reference pressure and then releases the hand from the input pad 310 and presses another point again, the controller 360 recognizes this. To set the direction. Here, in the latter case, when performing step S731 and then returning to step S100, if it does not branch to step S730 and then branches to step S600, it is preferable that the controller 360 initializes the previously set home point. . That is, if the origin is not initialized, there is an error that a point not intended by the user may be the origin.

In another embodiment of setting the continuous movement direction (direction setting mode 3), as shown in FIG. 9, in step S750, the controller 360 sets a reference point and a current position that are preset on the input pad 310. To set the direction. Here, this reference point will typically be the center point of the input pad 310. For example, when the user presses a certain point of the input pad 310 by hand over the reference pressure, the controller 360 recognizes this and sets the direction of the current position with respect to the center point.

That is, the controller 360 sets the continuous movement direction based on the three preferred embodiments, and then proceeds to step S800 as shown in FIG. 10 to calculate the weight of the pointer movement speed, where the pressure calculation is performed. The higher the pressure calculated by the unit 330, the higher the movement speed of the pointer is set.

Next, in step S900, the controller 360 controls the display unit 370 to continuously move the pointer in the set movement direction based on the calculated weight. Thereafter, when the user releases his or her finger to stop the continuous movement, the controller 360 recognizes this by a signal input from the pressure calculation unit 330 or the position sensing unit 340 to stop the pointer movement. ) To control. Therefore, even if the operating radius of the input pad 310 is narrow, the user can move the pointer to a desired point.

On the other hand, if the terminal 300 is initialized to the continuous mode by the user's key operation as a result of the determination in step S300 again, as shown in FIG. 11, the process proceeds to step S310 and the continuous movement direction of the pointer. Will be set. Here, since step S310 is substantially the same as the direction setting mode 2 or the direction setting mode 3 described above, its detailed description is omitted. However, in step S310, the procedure of checking whether the measured pressure value is higher than the reference will be excluded.

Next, in step S330 after calculating the weight of the pointer movement speed, the control unit 360 proceeds to step S350 to control the display unit 370 to continuously move the pointer in the set movement direction based on the calculated weight. These steps will be substantially the same as step S800 and step S900, respectively.

Pointing control method of the terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment can be carried out in various modifications within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

1 and 2 are respectively an exploded perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing an example of a pressure sensor type input pad that can be provided in a terminal implementing the present invention,

3 and 4 are respectively an exploded perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing another example of a pressure sensor type input pad that can be provided in a terminal implementing the present invention,

5 is an electrical block diagram of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad embodying the present invention,

6 to 11 are flowcharts illustrating a pointing control method of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.

*** Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing ***

100, 200: pressure sensor input pad

300: terminal 310: pressure sensor type input pad

320: pressure detection unit 330: pressure calculation unit

340: position detection unit 350: pointing mode selection unit

360: pointing control unit 370: display unit

Claims (10)

A pressure sensing unit for sensing a capacitance change amount in a pressure sensor input pad and outputting a digital signal corresponding to the capacitance change amount, and detecting a position of a sensing point whose capacitance is changed in the pressure sensor input pad, and at a position of the sensing point A position detector for outputting a corresponding digital signal, a pressure calculator for calculating pressure based on the digital signal input from the pressure detector, and a digital signal input from the position detector and the pressure calculated in the pressure calculator. Is performed by the pointing control unit in a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad including a pointing control unit for controlling the movement of the pointer displayed on the display unit based on, (A) setting a moving direction of the pointer using the digital signal input from the position detecting unit; And (b) controlling the display unit to continuously move the pointer in the movement direction set in the step (a). The method of claim 1, Step (b) is a pointing control method of the terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad, characterized in that is performed when the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit is more than a predetermined reference. The method of claim 2, The step (b) is a pointing control method of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad, characterized in that performed when the number of sensing points with a change in capacitance sensed by the position sensing unit is more than the reference. The method of claim 3, wherein The step (a) is performed by setting the direction of movement of the pointer using the difference between the current position detected by the position detection unit and the previous position detected before the current position, The current position is a pressure sensor input pad, characterized in that detected by the position detecting unit when the number of sensing points with a change in the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit and the capacitance sensed by the position sensing unit is more than the reference. Pointing control method of a terminal having a. The method of claim 3, wherein The step (a) is performed by setting the movement direction of the pointer using the current position detected by the position detection unit and the origin detected before the current position, The current position and the origin point is detected by the position sensor when the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit and the number of sensing points with a change in capacitance sensed by the position sensing unit is greater than or equal to the reference Pointing control method of a terminal having a form input pad. The method of claim 3, wherein The step (a) is performed by setting the direction of movement of the pointer using a reference point previously set on the pressure sensor input pad and the current position detected by the position sensing unit. The current position is a pressure sensor input pad, characterized in that detected by the position detecting unit when the number of sensing points with a change in the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit and the capacitance sensed by the position sensing unit is more than the reference. Pointing control method of a terminal having a. The method of claim 1, The terminal having the pressure sensor type input pad further comprises a pointing mode selection unit for outputting a key signal corresponding to the continuous mode of the pointer. The step (b) is a pointing control method of a terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad, characterized in that is performed when the key signal input from the pointing mode selection unit corresponds to the sustain mode. The method of claim 7, wherein The step (a) is performed by setting the direction of movement of the pointer using the current position detected by the position detection unit and the origin detected before the current position with a pressure sensor type input pad Pointing control method of the terminal. The method of claim 7, wherein The step (a) is performed by setting a moving direction of the pointer using a reference point preset on the pressure sensor input pad and a current position detected by the position sensing unit. Pointing control method of a terminal having an input pad. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 9, Comprising (c) calculating a weight corresponding to the pressure calculated by the pressure calculation unit, The moving speed of the pointer in the step (b) is determined by the weight calculated in the step (c) pointing control method of the terminal having a pressure sensor type input pad.

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