KR101432267B1 - Touch Pad and method for sensing input thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a touch pad and a method for sensing an input of the touch pad. The touch pad detects a touch coordinate value of a point touched by a finger or a pen in a first touch region having the combination of electrode cells arranged in a lattice form by X and Y axes and used for tracking by the pressure variation in each electrode cell; calculates a display coordinate value on a display based on the touch coordinate value on the detected first touch region; and controls the position of a cursor on the display. The present invention provides the touch pad including a tracking part for activating or deactivating the cursor on the display by detecting cases that two points on the first touch region are simultaneously touched on or touched off; performing tracking treatment according to the movement of each touch point by recognizing the two touch points detected on the first touch region as left and right touch points for the tracking; and detecting a touch-off state and a touch-on state for a left touch point and a right touch point, respectively, thereby performing a left or right click function of a mouse key, and provides the method for sensing the input of the touch pad. Therefore the present invention enables users to control the touch pad with one hand.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a touch pad,

The present invention relates to a touch pad and a method of sensing an input of the touch pad. More particularly, the present invention relates to a touch pad without a click button, And a touch pad capable of detecting a left finger or a right finger of the pad and detecting a touch and performing a click button function, and an input sensing method thereof.

In particular, a mouse is used to move the position of a cursor (or a pointer) displayed on the monitor screen, or to execute a command at a specific position on the displayed screen It is widely used as a convenient tool to do.

In recent years, netbooks, notebooks, and tablets, which are important in portability, have become popular. Due to the nature of these devices, a touch pad capable of replacing the functions of a mouse or a trackball for movement of a cursor It is mainly installed and released.

In general, a touch pad is a flat pointing device. The touch pad is configured to be operated by touching a surface with a finger, and may also be referred to as a track pad. The touch pad may be a finger pad, It is possible to move the cursor or the pointer precisely and more accurately than when using the mouse because it is used as a basic principle to recognize the operation of touching the pad.

However, since such a touch pad is configured such that left and right click buttons for executing a function corresponding to a mouse key are installed and used together with the periphery (particularly, the lower portion) of the touch pad, , It is difficult to operate the right-click button at the same time. Therefore, the user is required to operate the touch pad and the click button using both hands or to connect the external mouse separately, thereby causing a secondary problem It became a cause.

In this regard, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-1999-015774 (hereinafter referred to as "Patent Document 1") discloses a touch pad in which a mouse key function is implemented and a method thereof.

According to Patent Document 1, detection means for detecting a second coordinate value occurring when a first coordinate value and a first coordinate value occurring when a touch pad is touched is recognized, and a second coordinate value Comparing means for comparing a first coordinate value with a second coordinate value; and, if it is determined that the first coordinate value is larger, performing an operation corresponding to a left button input of the mouse, and if the first coordinate value is smaller than the second coordinate value And a control means for performing an operation corresponding to a right button input of the mouse when it is determined that the mouse button is pressed, thereby performing functions of all the mice on one pad without providing a separate mouse key on the touch pad Respectively.

Also, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2007-0103626 (published on October 24, 2007, hereinafter referred to as "Patent Document 2") discloses an input information control of a touch pad for controlling unintended input information A method and an apparatus are disclosed.

According to Patent Document 2, there is provided a comparison unit that compares a touch pad to which a touch signal is input and whether information input to the touch pad is included within a tolerance range of reference information preset in the storage unit, And if it is within an allowable error range, extracts and provides information similar to the input information from the storage unit, and if any of the similar information provided by the user By selecting the information, the corresponding function is performed.

However, according to the conventional technique, since the logic is configured to detect the second coordinate value generated by touch-on again when the first coordinate value generated when the touch pad is touched is recognized, the first coordinate value There is a disadvantage in that a temporal operation delay characteristic according to the detection of the second coordinate value necessarily occurs, and it is also unclear how the dragging and tracking gesture executed with one finger are the same and the system is switched back to tracking after dragging There was a risk of falling into an infinite drag state.

In the latter case, when the information input to the touchpad is outside the tolerance range of the reference information, similar information to the input information is extracted from the storage unit and provided to the user so that the user can select and input the information. Not only deteriorated but also reduced convenience.

On the other hand, in the case of the touch pad for the fish, the two button type and the multi touch type same as the laptop are produced by Logitech and Apple, and they are already sold, and the Logitech touch pad (wireless or T650 etc.) The pad requires a lot of movement of the hand or the finger during manipulation, resulting in a problem such as a heavy burden on the finger or the wrist.

KR 10-1999-015774 A 1999.03.05 Released KR 10-2007-0103626 A

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to realize a touch pad without a click button, detect two fingers touching the pad at the same time or vice versa, The touch button is activated to detect the touch of the left or right finger on the pad and the click button function is performed to improve the response characteristic according to the touch and the same gesture has different input information, The present invention provides a touch pad and an input sensing method that can provide general mouse level convenience by allowing the touch pad to be operated by one hand while improving the problem, and also provide a familiar interface and design of a PS2 mouse.

In addition, according to the present invention, the touch pad can be conveniently used by both the left-handed user and the right-handed user according to the necessity of using both hands, and the touch pad can be implemented as an independent USB touch pad for a desktop as well as a notebook, Pad and method of detecting the input.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a touch pad including a plurality of electrode cells arranged in a lattice arrangement in an X-axis and a Y-axis, A touch for detecting a touch coordinate value on the first touch area with respect to a touch point of a finger or a pen by a pressure change and calculating a display coordinate value on the screen using the touch coordinate value on the first touch area detected and controlling the cursor position on the screen In the pad, it is detected whether touch-on or touch-off is simultaneously performed at two points on the first touch area to activate or deactivate the cursor on the screen. When a touch is simultaneously detected at two points on the first touch area, If it is detected that touch-on is performed simultaneously at three points on the first touch area while the cursor is activated, the left one is scrolled And the right two points are recognized as the left and right tracking touch points for tracking so as to detect the moving direction with respect to the scroll touch point in the first touch area and to display the image at the cursor display position in the corresponding direction And a tracking unit for executing a scrolling function or detecting a touch-off state and a touch-on state of the left tracking touch point or the right tracking touch point in the first touch region and executing a left or right click function of the mouse key, .

The touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention constitutes a second touch area for scrolling which is distinguished from the first touch area of the tracking part, and the pressure of the finger or pen And a scroll unit for detecting a moving direction according to the movement and executing a function of scrolling up and down at a cursor display position on the screen in the corresponding direction.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of sensing an input of a touch pad, the method comprising: sensing a first touch region for tracking in which a plurality of electrode cells arranged in a lattice- (B1) touching on at two points on the first touch region at the same time, the method comprising the steps of: (b1) detecting a touch coordinate value on a first touch region of a touch point of a finger or a pen (B2) recognizing the two simultaneously touched points detected through the step (b1) as a left touch point and a right touch point for tracking, respectively; (b3) Detecting movement of each touch point recognized in the first touch region through the step (b2) and performing a tracking process according to movement of the touch point; (b4) when the cursor is activated on the screen, Recognizing the left one of the three touch points as the scroll touch point for scrolling and the right two points as the left and right tracking touch points for tracking, detecting a moving direction of the scroll touch point recognized in the first touch area through a step (b4) and performing a top-bottom scrolling function at a cursor display position on the screen in the corresponding direction; and (b6) The off state of each of the left and right tracking touch points recognized in the first touch area is detected through the step (b2) or the step (b4) in the activated state, so as to deactivate the cursor on the screen or execute the left and right click functions of the mouse key And selectively processing the image data.

In the method of sensing an input of a touch pad according to another embodiment of the present invention, step (b6) includes the steps of: (b61) repeating the step (b2) (B62) detecting an off state of any one of two touch points recognized in the first touch area through the step (b2) or (b4) And a step of executing the left-click start and end or the right-click function of the key, respectively.

According to the present invention, a touch pad can be implemented without a click button, and two fingers on a pad can be touched simultaneously or vice versa, thereby enabling or disabling the mouse cursor on the screen, Therefore, it is possible to provide general mouse-level convenience, while improving the response characteristic according to the touch and having different input information by the same gesture, There is an advantage that it can provide the familiar interface and the beauty of the design.

According to the present invention, the scroll portion can be selectively disposed on the left and right sides of the tracking portion according to necessity of both hands, so that it can be conveniently used for both the left-handed user and the right-handed user, So that it is possible to replace an existing mouse.

1A and 1B are block diagrams of a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2A and 2B are reference views illustrating a state in which a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention is formed in a drawer type and a folding type (folder type), respectively, and installed in a laptop computer.
3A to 3C are operational flowcharts illustrating an input sensing method of a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4A to 4D are operational flowcharts illustrating an input sensing method of a touch pad according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the configuration and overall operation of a touch pad and an input sensing method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is to be understood that the words or words used in the present specification and claims are not to be construed in a conventional or dictionary sense and that the inventor can properly define the concept of a term in order to describe its invention in the best possible way And should be construed in light of the meanings and concepts consistent with the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein and the configurations shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiments of the present invention, and that various equivalents and modifications may be substituted for them at the time of the present application shall.

1A and 1B are schematic diagrams of a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in the drawing, a touch pad 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a touch pad 10, A touch coordinate value on the first touch region with respect to a touch point of a finger or a pen is detected by a pressure change with respect to each electrode cell in a first touch region 11a for tracking in which a plurality of arrayed electrode cells are combined, The touch pad includes a tracking unit (11) and a scroll unit (12). The touch pad includes a tracking unit (11) and a scroll unit (12) .

The tracking unit 11 detects a case where touch-on or touch-off is simultaneously performed at two points on the first touch region 11a, and a control signal for activating or deactivating a cursor on the screen and a state for distinguishing each state (For example, distinguishes each state by the size or color of a cursor) and generates a control signal for display.

The tracking unit 11 recognizes the two touch points detected on the first touch area 11a as a left touch point and a right touch point for tracking and performs a tracking process according to the movement of each touch point, Or the touch-off state and the touch-on state of the right touch point are detected and the left or right click function of the mouse key is executed.

The scroll part 12 constitutes a second touch area 12a for scrolling which is distinguished from the first touch area 11a of the tracking part 11. The scroll part 12 is formed by a pressure change for each electrode cell in the second touch area, And detects the direction of movement corresponding to the movement of the finger or the pen and performs the up and down scrolling function at the cursor display position on the screen in the corresponding direction. The second touch area 12a constituting the scroll part 12 is separated and arranged on the left and right sides of the first touch area 11a of the tracking part 11 about one reference line, As shown in FIG.

The scroll portion 12 may be disposed horizontally (as illustrated in FIG. 1A) or vertically (as shown in FIG. 1A), as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, Or may be inclined (as illustrated in FIG. 1B) for convenient use with a thumb. In addition, the arrangement of the scroll portion 12 is not limited thereto, and it is needless to say that the scroll portion 12 may be arranged in other forms not mentioned here.

The scroll portion 12 may be selectively disposed on the left side of the tracking portion 11 for a right-hand user as illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and may include a tracking portion 11 As shown in Fig.

2A and 2B are views illustrating a state in which a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention is respectively configured as a drawer type and a folding type (folder type) and installed on a keypad 1a of a laptop computer 1, The touch pad of the present invention may be provided with a groove formed on the right or left side of the keypad 1a of the laptop computer 1 as illustrated in FIG. 2A, and may be installed in a drawer type that can be stored in or drawn out from the groove, The keyboard computer 1 may be installed in a foldable form such that one end thereof is hinged to the right or left of the keypad 1a of the laptop computer 1 and folded or unfolded around the hinge. Although not illustrated in the drawings, in the case of such a folding type, the other side end portion spread when the touch pad is spread may be formed to have an inclined surface so as not to form a short structure with the bottom surface. That is, it is preferable that the touch pad 10 according to the present invention is formed as an inclined surface whose thickness becomes thinner from one side end portion fixedly coupled to the keypad 1a to the other side end portion.

In addition, in the case of such a folder type, the upper surface edge of the end portion expanded when the touch pad 10 is opened is finished with a curved surface, and the groove of the keypad 1a corresponding to the curved surface is formed concavely, It is possible to smoothly engage the end edge of the keypad 1a when the end edge of the keypad is folded in correspondence with the groove of the keypad 1a and also to prevent dust from being caught in the end of the groove.

Meanwhile, the touch pad according to another embodiment of the present invention may include only the tracking unit 11 on the first touch area 11a. In this case, the tracking unit 11 detects when touch-on or touch-off is simultaneously performed at two points on the first touch area 11a, activates or deactivates the cursor on the screen, activates or deactivates the cursor on the screen, When a case where touch-on is simultaneously detected at three points on the touch area is detected, the left one is recognized as a scroll touch point for scrolling and the right two points are recognized as left and right tracking touch points for tracking, A scroll button for touching a left touching point or a right touching point detected in the first touch area, Off state and the touch-on state are detected to execute the left or right click function of the mouse key.

3A to 3C are operational flowcharts illustrating an input sensing method of a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention. In an input sensing method of a touch pad according to an embodiment of the present invention, (A1) detecting a case where touch-on is simultaneously performed at two points on the first touch region to activate a cursor on the screen (S101-S103); (a2) (S104) of recognizing two simultaneously touched points detected through the touch point and the left touch point and the right touch point for tracking, respectively; (a3) detecting movement of each touch point recognized through the step (a2) (A4) detecting an off state of each touch point detected through the step (a1) in a cursor activation state on the screen, and detecting the off state of each touch point detected through the step (a1) Cursor (S108-S122) of selectively deactivating or executing the left and right click functions of the mouse key.

In operation (a4), (a41) detecting the simultaneous off states of the two touch points detected through the operation (a1) and deactivating the cursor on the screen (S108-S114) (S115-S119, S120-S122) of detecting the off state of any one of the two touch points detected through the mouse key . Of course, at this time, the scroll part separately provided detects the moving direction of the finger or the pen due to the pressure change with respect to each electrode cell in the second touch area for scrolling, and scrolls up and down Function can be executed.

4A to 4D are operational flowcharts illustrating an input sensing method of a touch pad according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the method of sensing an input of a touch pad according to another embodiment of the present invention, (B1) detecting a case where touch-on is simultaneously performed at two points on the first touch region to activate a cursor on the screen (S201-S203), (b2) (B3) recognizing each of the two touch points simultaneously detected by the left touch point and the right touch point for tracking, and (b3) recognizing each of the touches recognized in the first touch area through step (S206, S207). (B4) When the on-state is detected at three or more touch points in the cursor activation state on the screen, a step of detecting the movement of the touch point (S208, S209) of recognizing one point as a scroll touch point for scrolling and recognizing the right two points as a left and right tracking touch point for tracking, respectively (b5) (S210, S211) of detecting the moving direction of the scroll touch point recognized by the touch point on the screen and performing the upward / downward scroll function at the cursor display position on the screen in the corresponding direction, and (b6) ) Or step (b4) to selectively detect the off state of each of the left and right tracking touch points recognized in the first touch area and perform the cursor deactivation or the left and right click functions of the mouse key on the screen (S212 to S226).

In operation (b6), the step (b61) may include detecting the simultaneous off states of the two touch points recognized in the first touch region through steps (b2) and (b4) and deactivating the cursor on the screen (S212 to S218) , (b62) detecting the off state of any one of the two touch points recognized in the first touch area through the step (b2) or (b4), and detecting the left click start and end of the mouse key or the right click function (Steps S219 to S223, S224 to S226), respectively.

The operation and effect of the touch pad and the input sensing method of the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail as follows.

3 (a) and 3 (b), the tracking unit detects the movement of the touch pad 10 at two points on the first touch region at the same time (S101). When it is detected that touch-on is performed simultaneously at two points on the first touch area (Y branch in S101), the cursor on the screen is activated (S103) The cursor on the screen is inactivated (S102) and the disabled state is displayed (for example, the size or color of the cursor is differently displayed) so that the user can recognize the cursor deactivation state Let's do it.

Then, the tracking unit recognizes the two touch points simultaneously detected by the step (a1) as the left touch point and the right touch point for tracking (S104), and then, recognizes each of the touches recognized through the step (a2) (S106). When the movement of the touch point is detected (Y branch in S106), the tracking operation is performed in accordance with the movement of any one of the touch points (which may be any one of preset left and right touch points) (S107).

In addition, the tracking unit detects (S108, S115, S120) the off state of each touch point detected through the step (a1) in the cursor activation state on the screen, When the simultaneous off state is detected (Y branch in S108), a first time counter T1 set to judge whether the user is intentionally touch point off (finger detaching operation) is operated (S109) (Y branch in S110), the cursor on the screen is deactivated (S111). At this time, if the ON state of any of the left or right touch points is detected (Y branch in S112 or Y branch in S113) before the set time of the designated first time counter T1 elapses, the operation of the first time counter (S114), and then returns to the touch point movement or off state detection step (S106).

On the other hand, if the off state of any one of the two touch points is detected as a result of the off state detection for each touch point (Y branch in S115 or Y branch in S120), that is, for example, It is judged whether or not a second designated time (for example, 0.1 sec) set for judging whether temporary non-contact exists or not is elapsed (S116) to judge whether it is a temporary non-contact state (S116) (Y branch in S116), the mouse key is recognized as being started to be left-clicked, processed and displayed (S117), and whether or not the ON state of the left touch point has been detected is confirmed (S118) Recognizes and performs the corresponding processing, and then displays the state (S119).

For example, if the off state of the right touch point among the two touch points is detected (Y branch of S120), it is first checked whether or not a second designated time (for example, 0.1 sec) set for judging whether or not a temporary non- (S121). If it is not in a temporary non-contact state (Y branch in S121), it is recognized by the right click of the mouse key and the right click function is executed (S122). Of course, at this time, the scroll part separately provided detects the moving direction of the finger or the pen due to the pressure change with respect to each electrode cell in the second touch area for scrolling, and scrolls up and down Function can be executed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4D, the tracking unit determines whether the touch unit is simultaneously turned on at two points on the first touch area (S201 If it is detected that touch-on is performed simultaneously at two points on the first touch area (Y branch of S201), the cursor on the screen is activated (S203). If not touch-on simultaneously at two points on the first touch area The cursor on the screen is inactivated (S202) and the disabled state is displayed (for example, the size or color of the cursor is displayed differently) so that the user can recognize the cursor deactivation state.

Then, the tracking unit recognizes (S204) the two simultaneously touched touch points detected through the step (b1) as the left touch point and the right touch point for tracking (S204), and then recognizes each touch (S206). When the movement of the touch point is detected (Y branch in S206), it is determined whether or not the movement of the touch point according to the movement of any one of the touch points (which may be any one of preset left and right touch points) (S207).

If the on state is detected from three or more touch points (Y branch in S208), the tracking unit checks whether the on state is detected from three touch points or more from the first touch region (S208) , The left one of the three touch points is recognized as a scroll touch point for scrolling and the right two points are recognized as left and right tracking touch points for tracking (S209).

Next, in step (b4), the moving direction of the scroll touch point recognized in the first touch area is detected (S210), and the moving direction of the scroll touch point (for example, the leftmost touch point among the three touch points) (Y branch in S210), the upper / lower scrolling function at the cursor display position on the screen in the corresponding direction is executed (S211).

Further, the tracking unit detects (S212, S219, S224) the off state for the right two touch points among the three touch points detected through the step (b1) in the cursor activation state on the screen, If a simultaneous OFF state of two touch points is detected as a result of the state detection (Y branch in S212), the first time counter T1 set to determine whether the user is intentionally touch point off (S213). When the touch point OFF is maintained for the designated time (Y branch in S215), the cursor on the screen is deactivated (S214). If the ON state of any of the left or right touch points is detected (Y branch in S216 or Y branch in S217) before the set time of the designated first time counter T1 elapses, the operation of the first time counter (S218) and returns to the touch point movement or off state detection step (S206).

On the other hand, if the off state of any one of the two touch points is detected as a result of the off state detection for the right two touch points (Y branch in S219 or Y branch in S224), that is, It is judged whether or not a second designated time (for example, 0.1 sec) set for judging whether temporary non-contact exists or not is elapsed (S220), and a temporary non-contact state (S220) (Y branch in S220), the mouse key is recognized as a start of left-click and processed, the corresponding state is displayed (S221), and again whether or not the ON-state of the left touch point is detected is checked (S222) Recognizes and executes the corresponding process, and displays the status (S223).

For example, if the OFF state of the right second touch point is detected (Y branch in S224), it is first checked whether or not a second designation time (for example, 0.1 sec) (S225). If it is not in a temporary non-contact state (Y branch in S225), it is recognized by the right click of the mouse key and the right click function is executed (S226).

Accordingly, the present invention can improve the difficulty of simultaneously controlling the conventional touch pad and the click button with one hand, thereby providing convenience in general mouse level.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, Modification is possible. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto, and that all equivalent or equivalent variations thereof fall within the scope of the present invention.

1: laptop computer 1a: keypad
10: touch pad 11: tracking part
11a: first touch area 12: scroll part
12a: second touch area

Claims (6)

delete delete delete delete A touch coordinate value on a first touch region with respect to a touch point of a finger or a pen due to a pressure change with respect to each electrode cell in a first touch region for tracking in which a plurality of electrode cells arranged in a lattice- A method of detecting an input of a touch pad,
(b1) detecting a case where touch-on is simultaneously performed at two points on the first touch region and activating a cursor on the screen;
(b2) recognizing the two simultaneously touched points detected through the step (b1) as a left touch point and a right touch point for tracking, respectively;
(b3) detecting movement of each touch point recognized in the first touch region through the step (b2), and performing a tracking process according to the movement of the touch point;
(b4) When the on-state is detected from three or more touch points in the cursor activation state on the screen, the left one of the three touch points is recognized as a scroll touch point for scrolling, and the right two points are detected as left and right tracking touch Respectively;
(b5) detecting a moving direction of the scroll touch point recognized in the first touch area through the step (b4), and performing an up-down scroll function at a cursor display position on the screen in the corresponding direction;
(b6) detecting an off state of each of the left and right tracking touch points recognized in the first touch area through the step (b2) or (b4) in the cursor activation state on the screen, And performing a left-click and right-click function execution of the touch pad.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein step (b6)
(b61) detecting simultaneous off states of the two touch points recognized in the first touch region through the step (b2) or (b4) and deactivating the cursor on the screen;
(b62) Detecting an off state of any one of two touch points recognized in the first touch region through the step (b2) or (b4), respectively, and the left-click start and end or right click functions of the mouse key are respectively Executing; The method comprising the steps of: (a)

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