KR101719577B1 - Apparatus and Method of User Interface using Touch Screen with Pressure Sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for user input using a touchscreen. The apparatus for user input comprises: a screen displaying a picture; a decompression sensor sensing and outputting a pressure applied to the screen in accordance with touch input of a user on a random position of the screen; and a signal processing part receiving the pressure sensed from the decompression sensor, and selecting and recognizing any one among a plurality of input levels predetermined in accordance with the input pressure. According to the present invention, an input level optimized to a user is able to be sensed.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a user input device using a touch screen provided with a pressure sensor,

The present invention relates to a user input device via a touch screen and a method thereof.

Conventionally, a method of receiving a user's input using a touch screen is widely used in devices including a touch screen such as a smart phone or a tablet. However, the conventional user input method techniques based on the touch screen typically determine the input based on whether the touch is on or off at a specific position on the screen, I could not create input / output.

On the other hand, although a touch screen using a decompression sensor to recognize a user's pressing pressure on the screen and utilize the pressure has been developed, there is a limit in that the user does not correctly reflect different input characteristics.

(Patent Document 0001) Published Patent Application No. 10-2007-0020510

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for sensing an input level value optimized for each user by using a pressure- A user input device and a method for the same are provided.

The present invention also provides a menu navigation method in which a menu is switched according to the amount of force that a user presses a screen on a touch screen using the user input device and the method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a user input device comprising: a screen for displaying a screen; a pressure sensor for sensing and outputting a pressure applied to the screen according to a user's touch input at an arbitrary position of the screen; And a signal processor for receiving the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor unit and selecting one of a plurality of predefined input levels according to the input pressure.

Wherein the pressure reduction sensor unit includes a sensing grid corresponding to a surface of the screen to output information about a position on the screen to which the touch input is applied and the signal processing unit outputs information about a position on the screen to which the touch input is applied From the pressure sensor unit, and recognizes the input level according to the touch input and the coordinate information of the touch input.

The signal processing unit may include an input level recognition unit for comparing the pressure received from the pressure sensor unit with a predetermined threshold value and selecting and recognizing the input level according to the comparison result.

Wherein the plurality of predefined input levels include a first input level, a second input level, and a third input level, wherein the input level recognition unit compares the input pressure with a predetermined first threshold or a second threshold If the input pressure is smaller than the first threshold value, the control unit selects the input level according to the input pressure as the first input level, and if the input pressure is higher than the first threshold value and lower than the second threshold value When the input pressure is greater than the second threshold value, the input level corresponding to the input pressure is set to the third input level, .

Here, the threshold value may be a preset value for the user according to a pre-input of the user.

The input level recognizing unit recognizes the input level based on the pressure inputted at a predetermined recognition time from a point in time when the pressure of the predetermined size or larger is input from the pressure reduction sensor unit in response to a user's touch input to the screen, And a level is selected.

Wherein the recognition time is set as a specific time point or as a specific time period based on a time point at which the pressure is started to be input from the pressure sensor unit at a predetermined magnitude or more, And the input level is selected according to the pressure.

The recognition time may be set to a time of 50 ms to 150 ms based on a time point at which the pressure is input from the pressure sensor unit.

Wherein the recognition time is set based on a time at which the pressure has a maximum value for a predetermined time from a point in time when the pressure of at least a predetermined magnitude is input from the pressure sensor section, And the input level is selected according to the input pressure.

The signal processing unit may include a setting unit configured to set a predetermined threshold value as a comparison reference for selecting the input level using the pressure input from the pressure reduction sensor unit.

Wherein the setting unit receives the selection input for the input level to be set among the plurality of input levels and receives the pressure inputted to the pressure reduction sensor unit according to a touch input of the user to the screen, And setting the threshold value for the input level in accordance with the pressure input at a predetermined recognition time based on a time point at which the pressure of the predetermined size or larger is input from the sensor unit.

Wherein the setting unit receives each of the pressures corresponding to a touch input of the user a plurality of times and sets the threshold values by calculating the pressures inputted at the recognition time according to the touch inputs a plurality of times have.

Wherein the setting unit analyzes the pressure inputted by time according to the touch input on the basis of a time point at which the pressure of the predetermined size or larger is started to be input from the pressure reduction sensor unit in response to a user's touch input to the screen, And setting a recognition time which is an input time of the pressure to be used for selection of the input level.

The setting unit may set the recognition time based on a time at which the pressure has a maximum value for a predetermined time from when the pressure is started to be input from the pressure sensor unit.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of inputting a user, the method comprising: a pressure sensing step of sensing a pressure applied to a screen according to a user's touch input at an arbitrary position on the screen using a pressure- The signal processing unit receives the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor unit, compares the sensed pressure with a predetermined threshold value, and selects an input level by selecting one of a plurality of predefined input levels according to a result of the comparison. And a recognition step.

Wherein the input level recognizing step recognizes the input level based on the pressure inputted at a predetermined recognition time from a point in time when the pressure of the predetermined size or larger is input from the pressure- And selects an input level.

The user input method may further include a setting step of setting a predetermined threshold value as a comparison criterion in order to select the input level using the pressure inputted from the pressure sensor unit by the signal processing unit.

The setting step may include receiving a selection input for the input level to be set among a plurality of the input levels, receiving the pressure inputted to the pressure reducing sensor unit according to a user's touch input to the screen And setting the threshold value for the input level in accordance with the pressure input at a predetermined recognition time based on a time point at which the pressure of the predetermined size or greater is input from the pressure sensor unit.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a menu navigation method comprising: a first screen display step of displaying a first screen on a screen; a first screen display step of displaying a first screen on a screen, Sensing the pressure applied to the screen by the pressure sensor unit, the signal processing unit receiving the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor unit, comparing the pressure with the predetermined threshold value, An input level recognizing step of recognizing any one of a plurality of input levels and a second screen displaying step of displaying a second screen on the screen in accordance with the recognized input level.

Wherein the input level recognition step selects one of a first input level and a second input level by comparing the input pressure with the threshold value and the second screen display step recognizes the first input level and the second input level, The second screen defined as the next screen of the first screen is displayed on the screen, and when the second input level is recognized, the second screen defined as the previous screen of the first screen is displayed on the screen .

According to the user input method of the present invention, a plurality of levels of user input can be received according to the amount of force applied by the user on the touch screen and the touch on the touch screen by using the decompression sensor. Also, according to the user input method according to the present invention, the amount of power to be touched according to the input level is set considering the different input characteristics for each user, and the input level can be optimized for the user by using the amount.

In addition, according to the menu navigation method using the user input method according to the present invention, it is possible to switch a screen or display a menu by minimizing movement of a user's hand.

1 is a block diagram of a user input device using a touch screen having a pressure sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a reference view showing an operation in which the user presses the screen 100 with different intensities.
3 is a detailed block diagram of the signal processing unit 300. As shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a reference diagram for explaining the operation of the input level recognizing unit 310. Referring to FIG.
5 is a reference diagram for explaining preferred setting values of the recognition time.
6 and 7 are flowcharts of a user input method according to the present invention.
8 is a detailed flowchart showing the operation of the setting step S100.
9 is a flowchart of a menu navigation method according to the present invention.
10 is a reference diagram for explaining a menu navigation method according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components throughout the drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. In addition, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but it is needless to say that the technical idea of the present invention is not limited thereto and can be variously modified by those skilled in the art.

A method of receiving a user's input using a touch screen is widely used in smartphones and tablets. However, existing touch screen user input methods only determine the input based on the presence or absence of a touch on the screen, and the user can not generate three-dimensional input and output according to the depth of the pressing force of the screen. On the other hand, although a touch screen using a decompression sensor to recognize a user's pressing pressure on the screen and utilize the pressure has been developed, there is a limit in that the user does not correctly reflect different input characteristics.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a user input device that is provided on a screen and is capable of sensing an input level value optimized for each user by using a pressure-reducing sensor that senses and outputs an amount of force pressing the screen according to a user's touch input, ≪ / RTI > The present invention also provides a menu navigation method in which a menu is switched according to the amount of force that a user presses a screen on a touch screen using the user input device and the method.

Hereinafter, a user input device and a method thereof according to the present invention will be described.

1 is a block diagram of a user input device using a touch screen having a pressure sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The user input device according to the present invention may include a screen 100, a pressure sensor unit 200, and a signal processing unit 300.

The user input device according to the present invention may be embodied as a computer program having a program module that performs a part or all of functions in combination with some or all of the constituent elements selectively combined in one or a plurality of hardware. In addition, each component may be implemented as a single independent hardware or included in each hardware as needed. Further, the user input device according to the present invention may be implemented as a software program and operated on a processor or a signal processing module, or may be implemented in hardware form and included in various processors, chips, semiconductors, devices, and the like. Also, the user input device according to the present invention may be included in the form of hardware or software modules on a computer, various embedded systems or devices. Preferably, the user input device according to the present invention may be implemented or included in a mobile device such as a smart phone, tablet, etc., having a touch screen.

The screen 100 displays a screen. Here, the screen 100 receives an electric signal representing a screen and outputs it as light from a plurality of pixels arranged on a two-dimensional plane, thereby displaying a two-dimensional screen. Preferably, the screen 100 may be a touch screen that is interlocked with the pressure sensor unit 200 and recognizes and outputs the touch position when the user touches the screen 100. [

The depressurization sensor unit 200 senses the pressure applied to the screen 100 according to the user's touch input at an arbitrary position on the screen 100 and outputs the sensed pressure. Here, sensing and outputting the pressure may mean sensing the magnitude of the applied pressure and outputting it. Here, the arbitrary position may mean an arbitrary position in an area including all the positions where the user can touch the specific position of the screen 100 to sense and output the corresponding pressure.

The signal processor 300 receives the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor 200 and selects one of a plurality of predefined input levels according to the input pressure. Here, the input level may be a plurality of predefined levels, and may be defined, for example, as three levels. In this case, the signal processing unit 300 can select any one of the three levels according to the magnitude of the input pressure.

Here, the pressure-reducing sensor unit 200 senses the position where the touch input of the user is generated on the screen 100, and outputs information about the position together with the magnitude of the pressure applied at the corresponding position.

To this end, the pressure sensitive sensor unit 200 may include a sensing grid corresponding to a surface of the screen 100, and may output information about a position on the screen 100 to which the touch input is applied. Here, the information on the position may be coordinate information on the screen 100 to which the touch input is applied.

In this case, the signal processing unit 300 receives information about the position on the screen 100 to which the touch input is applied from the pressure reduction sensor unit 200, receives the input level according to the touch input and the coordinate information of the touch input Can be recognized.

For example, when the x, y coordinate system is set with the lower left end of the screen 100 as a reference point, if the user applies a force of 2N at x = 50 mm and y = 100 mm, The signal processing unit 300 receives the information from the pressure sensor unit 200 and outputs the position information and pressure information of the touch input of the same user at a position of (50 mm, 100 mm) Information can be generated that the pressure has been applied.

Here, the user can press the screen 100 with different pressing strengths, and the pressure-reducing sensor unit 200 can sense the pressure applied on the screen by recognizing the intensity of the touch input of the user.

2 is a reference view showing an operation in which the user presses the screen 100 with different intensities.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the user can press the screen 100 lightly. Here, the intensity at which the user presses the screen 100 may be an intensity enough to lightly raise a finger on the screen 100 by the user. For example, such a case can be defined as a soft touch.

Or the user can press the screen 100 with a moderate intensity as shown in FIG. 2 (b). The intensity at which the user presses the screen 100 may be such that the user generally applies a touch input when using a smartphone or tablet. For example, such a case can be defined as a normal touch.

Or the user can press the screen 100 with a strong intensity as shown in Fig. 2 (c). Here, the intensity at which the user presses the screen 100 may be the intensity at which the user consciously presses the screen 100 with a strong force. For example, such a case can be defined as a hard touch.

In this way, the user can perform touch input by applying a force to the screen 100 with different intensities according to his / her intention, and the reduced pressure sensor unit 200 senses the magnitude of the pressure applied to the coordinates applied with the touch input, .

Hereinafter, the operation of the signal processor 300 for receiving the pressure sensed by the pressure sensor 200 and determining the input level therefrom will be described in more detail.

The signal processing unit 300 may include an input level recognizing unit 310 and may further include a setting unit 320 as needed.

3 is a detailed block diagram of the signal processing unit 300. As shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the operation of the input level recognition unit 310 will be described in detail.

The input level recognition unit 310 compares the pressure input from the pressure reduction sensor unit 200 with a predetermined threshold value, and selects and recognizes the input level according to the comparison result.

It is most preferable that the number of input levels is three. In addition, the number of input levels may be two, if necessary. Here, the case where the number of input levels is one is the conventional on / off touch screen method. Here, when the number of input levels is four or more, it is difficult to distinguish the degree of the force that the user applies the touch input. Therefore, it is most preferable that the number of input levels is set to three. When the number of input levels is two, there are limited changes that can be perceived by the user in comparison with the touch interaction (interaction) that can be performed in the conventional on / off method.

The plurality of predefined input levels may include a first input level, a second input level, and a third input level. For example, as in the example of FIG. 2, the input level recognition unit 310 recognizes whether the touch input by the user on the screen 100 is a soft touch, anormal touch, or a hard touch, can do. Here, the first input level, the second input level, and the third input level may be set to various names such as a weak level, a middle level, a river level, and the like as needed.

At this time, the input level recognizing unit 310 may compare the input pressure with a predetermined first threshold or a second threshold, and determine the input level according to the comparison result.

The input level recognizing unit 310 may select the input level according to the inputted pressure as the first input level when the input pressure is smaller than the first threshold.

Or the input level recognizing unit 310 may select the input level according to the input pressure as the second input level when the input pressure is greater than the first threshold and smaller than the second threshold.

Alternatively, the input level recognizing unit 310 may select the input level according to the input pressure as the third input level when the input pressure is greater than the second threshold.

4 is a reference diagram for explaining the operation of the input level recognizing unit 310 described above. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the user may press the screen 100 with increasingly stronger intensity, where the first input level L1 is less than the first threshold, and the second threshold is greater than the first threshold, The second input level L2 can be selected and recognized as the second input level L3 when the second threshold level is greater than the second threshold level.

Here, the threshold value may be a preset value so that it can be commonly applied to various users as needed. For example, the first threshold may be set to 0.5N, and the second threshold may be set to 3N. It should be understood that the value of the threshold value may be set to a different value as needed.

Here, it is preferable that the threshold value is a preset value for the user according to the dictionary input of the user. This is because age, sex, and physical condition are different for each user who uses the device, and the magnitude of the magnitude of the force applied to the screen 100 differs accordingly. Therefore, the magnitude of the threshold value for determining the input level according to the magnitude of the pressure sensed by the pressure-sensitive sensor unit 200 is preferably set for each user. The operation of setting the threshold value for each user as described above will be described in more detail in the setting section 320 below.

Also, when a user applies a touch input to the screen 100, the force applied by the user to the screen 100 typically starts to increase from the point of time when the touch on the screen 100 starts, Until the touch for the touch panel 100 is released. FIG. 5 is a graph showing a change in force applied to the screen 100 according to the user's touch input according to the passage of time.

Also, the magnitude of the pressure sensed by the pressure sensor unit 200 according to the touch input of the user is also similar to the pattern of FIG.

Therefore, the input level recognition unit 310 recognizes the pressure indicating the intention of the user among the pressures of different sizes inputted from the decompression sensor unit 200 according to the time, and needs to select the input level corresponding to the pressure . For this, the input level recognition unit 310 may set the recognition time and determine the input level by using the pressure input from the pressure reduction sensor unit 200 at a time corresponding to the recognition time.

Here, the input level recognition unit 310 recognizes the input level of the input signal at a predetermined recognition time from the time when the pressure of the predetermined size or larger is input from the pressure sensor unit 200 according to the user's touch input to the screen 100 And the input level is selected based on the pressure. Here, the point of time when the pressure of the predetermined size or more is input from the pressure sensor 200 may indicate a point of time when the user touches the screen 100 for touch input or a point within a predetermined time from the point of time. Here, the predetermined size may be set to a pressure that is basically generated when the user touches the screen 100. [ For example, the predetermined size may be 0.1N.

Here, the recognition time may be set to a specific time point or to a specific time period based on a point in time when the pressure of the predetermined size or greater is input from the pressure sensor unit 200.

At this time, the input level recognition unit 310 can select the input level according to the pressure inputted at the recognition time.

For example, when the recognition time is set to a specific point in time, the input level recognition unit 310 can determine the input level based on the pressure input from the pressure reduction sensor unit 200 at the specific point in time. For example, when the recognition time is set to 100 ms, the input level recognition unit 310 recognizes the input level based on the magnitude of the input pressure at a point of time after 100 ms from the start of input of the pressure of a predetermined magnitude or more from the pressure- The input level can be determined.

Alternatively, the recognition time may be set to a specific time period rather than a specific time point as needed. In this case, the input level recognition unit 310 can determine the input level based on the pressure input from the pressure reduction sensor unit 200 during the corresponding time interval. For example, the input level recognizing unit 310 may calculate an average value of the pressure inputted in the corresponding time interval, and may determine the input level according to the calculated average value. For example, when the recognition time is set to 70 ms to 120 ms, the input level recognizing unit 310 recognizes the input level at a time point of 70 ms from the point in time when the pressure exceeding the predetermined magnitude is input from the pressure- The input level can be determined using the magnitude of the input pressures.

5 is a reference diagram for explaining preferred setting values of the recognition time. Here, L 1, L 2, and L 3 denote graphs showing the increase or decrease in pressure when the user applies a different magnitude of force while intending the first to third input levels, respectively. In other words, the force is applied to the level of the weak level, the middle level, and the level of the river, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 5, the force applied to the screen 100 according to the touch input of the user starts to increase rapidly from about 40 to 50 ms, peaks at about 80 to 100 ms, and then ends at 110 to 120 ms .

When the above experimental results are considered, it is preferable that the recognition time is set to a time of 50 ms to 150 ms based on a point in time when the pressure of the predetermined size or larger from the pressure sensor 200 is input. And more preferably from 70 ms to 110 ms. Referring to FIG. 5, it can be confirmed that when the recognition time is set to be shorter than 50 ms or longer than 150 ms, the magnitude of the applied pressure can not be correctly measured according to the touch input.

Alternatively, the recognition time may be set based on a time at which the pressure has a maximum value for a predetermined time from when the pressure is started to be input from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200 to a predetermined magnitude or more. Preferably, the time at which the pressure has the maximum value may be the recognition time.

That is, the input level recognition unit 310 may analyze the change in the magnitude of the input pressure without setting the fixed recognition time, and may select the input level based on the magnitude of the pressure at the time when the pressure has the maximum value . The use of the maximum pressure value makes it possible to accurately determine the magnitude of the pressure intended by the user and determine the input level accordingly.

For this purpose, the input level recognition unit 310 may store the magnitude of the pressure input from the pressure reduction sensor unit 200 according to time, and may determine the input level using the largest pressure among the stored pressures.

However, when the maximum value is used as described above, since the memory is required for maximum value identification and the power for signal processing may be consumed, the previously set recognition time can be used to save the memory and power. When the preset recognition time is used as described above, the input level can be determined using only the pressure inputted at the recognition time, thereby saving the memory and minimizing the power consumed in the signal processing.

Hereinafter, the operation of the setting unit 320 will be described in detail.

First, the setting unit 320 may set a threshold value that is most suitable for each user according to the input of the user, in order to recognize the input level.

Here, the threshold value may be selected and set according to a user's selection input among a plurality of values presented to the user by a setting program driven by the setting unit 320. [ For example, the designer of the setting program calculates the age, sex, and physical condition of each user based on the results of the experiment, which measures the magnitude of the force applied to the screen 100 when the user touches the screen 100, A threshold value that is most suitable for a user having a condition can be determined and a threshold value for each user profile according to the age, sex, and physical condition of the user can be set in the setting program accordingly. For example, in a setting program driven by the setting unit 320, a threshold value may be set in advance for each user profile, and a preset threshold value may be used for a selected profile by receiving a user's selection input for the user profile . For example, if the setting program preliminarily stores a threshold value corresponding to a user profile for each age and age group, and the user selects 20 user profiles, the setting unit 320 sets a threshold value for 20 user profiles A preset threshold value (first threshold value: 0.5 N, second threshold value 3 N) can be used.

Or the threshold value may be set in such a manner that the setting unit 320 uses the pressure generated in accordance with the touch input of each user. Here, the setting unit 320 sets a predetermined threshold value as a comparison reference to select the input level using the pressure input from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200.

Here, the setting unit 320 may set the threshold value through the following steps.

First, the setting unit 320 may receive a selection input for the input level to be set among a plurality of the input levels. For example, if the user desires to set a threshold for the first input level, the setting menu of the first input level can be selected, and the setting unit 320 can receive the selection input for the first input level.

Next, the setting unit 320 may receive the pressure input to the pressure reduction sensor unit 200 according to the user's touch input to the screen 100. For example, the user may press the screen 100 with a weak intensity according to his / her intention to set the magnitude of the pressure applied to the screen 100 at the first input level. Then, the decompression sensor unit 200 receives the pressure corresponding to the touch input of the user.

Next, the setting unit 330 sets the threshold value for the input level according to the pressure inputted at the predetermined recognition time, based on the time point when the pressure of the predetermined size or larger is input from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200 . As described above, since the magnitude of the pressure applied by the user to the screen 100 varies with time, the user inputs the pressure inputted at the recognition time based on the point in time at which the touch input is started, It is reasonable to regard it as a pressure. Accordingly, in setting the threshold value, it is preferable to set the threshold value using the pressure inputted at the recognition time based on the time when the pressure of the predetermined size or more is applied to the screen 100 according to the touch input of the user. For example, when the recognition time is 100 ms and the predetermined pressure magnitude indicating the start of the touch input is 0.1 N, when the magnitude of the pressure input from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200 reaches 100 ms If the magnitude of the pressure is 4N, the threshold value may be set to 3N by a predetermined size smaller than 4N.

Here, the setting unit 320 preferably receives the touch input of the user several times to set a threshold value to set a threshold value for each input level more accurately. That is, if there is a risk of erroneous setting when determining a threshold value by a single setting input, it is desirable to receive and use the user's touch input several times for threshold setting.

For this, the setting unit 320 may receive the respective pressures corresponding to the touch input of the user a plurality of times.

Next, the setting unit 320 may calculate the pressures inputted at the recognition time according to the touch inputs a plurality of times to set the threshold value.

Also, the setting unit 320 may set the best recognition time according to the user's input for recognizing the input level.

In this case, the setting unit 320 sets a time point at which the pressure is greater than or equal to a predetermined magnitude from the pressure sensor unit 200 according to the user's touch input to the screen 100, It is possible to set the recognition time which is the input time of the pressure to be used for the selection of the input level.

Here, the setting unit 320 may set the recognition time based on a time when the pressure has a maximum value for a predetermined time from the time when the pressure of the predetermined size or larger is input from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200 . Here, the predetermined time is a time period set for observing a change in the pressure magnitude output from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200 according to the user's touch input, and the length may be set as needed. For example, the predetermined time may be set to 300 ms. The setting unit 320 may set the maximum point of the pressure input from the pressure sensor unit 200 for the predetermined time as the recognition time. Alternatively, the setting unit 320 may set a predetermined time interval as the recognition time based on the maximum point of the pressure.

As described above with reference to FIG. 5, the magnitude of the pressure output from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200 by sensing the user's touch input increases and decreases with the passage of time from when the user applies the touch input do. At this time, the user's intended pressure is most likely to be the pressure corresponding to the peak point of the pressure output from the pressure-reducing sensor unit 200, that is, the maximum pressure. Accordingly, the setting unit 320 observes the magnitude of the pressure input from the point in time when the pressure of the predetermined magnitude or more is input from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200, that is, It is preferable to specify the point in time at which the magnitude of the pressure to be maximized becomes larger and set the point in time as the recognition time. For this, the setting unit 320 may store the magnitude of the pressure input at predetermined time intervals, and may specify the magnitude of the maximum pressure among the stored pressures to set the time at which the magnitude of the maximum pressure is input as the recognition time. Also, the setting unit 320 may set a predetermined time interval as a recognition interval based on a point of time when the magnitude of the maximum pressure is input. Here, the recognition time may be set based on a point in time when a pressure greater than a predetermined magnitude is input from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200 according to a user's touch input, as described above.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a user input method using a touch screen having a pressure-reducing sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

6 and 7 are flowcharts of the user input method according to the present invention.

The user input method according to the present invention may include a decompression sensing step (S200), an input level recognition step (S300), and may further include a setting step (S100) if necessary.

Here, each step of the user input method according to the present invention can operate in the same manner as that of the user input device according to the present invention described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. The overlapping portions will be omitted and briefly explained.

The decompression sensing step (S200) senses the pressure applied to the screen (100) according to a user's touch input at an arbitrary position on the screen (100) using a decompression sensor.

The input level recognition step S300 is a step in which the signal processing unit 300 receives the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor unit 200, compares the received pressure with a predetermined threshold value, And selects one of the input levels.

Herein, the input level recognition step S300 is a step of recognizing the input level from the time when the pressure exceeding the predetermined magnitude is input from the pressure-decrease sensor unit 200 according to the user's touch input to the screen 100, The input level can be selected based on the pressure.

Here, as shown in FIG. 7, a threshold value or a recognition time for recognizing the pressure level may be set through the setting step S100.

At this time, in the setting step S100, the signal processing unit 300 can set a predetermined threshold value as a comparison reference in order to select the input level by using the pressure inputted from the pressure reduction sensor unit 200. [

More specifically, the setting step S100 includes receiving a selection input for the input level to be set among a plurality of the input levels (S110) (S120) of receiving the pressure inputted to the rotor (200), a step (S120) of receiving the pressure input from the pressure sensor unit (200) And setting the threshold value for the input level (S130). At this time, there may be a step S115 in which the touch input is applied.

8 is a detailed flowchart showing the operation of this setting step S100.

In order to set the recognition time, in the setting step S100, when the signal processing unit 300 starts to input the pressure of a predetermined size or more from the decompression sensor unit 200 according to the touch input of the user to the screen 100 The user can set the recognition time which is the input time of the pressure used for selecting the input level by analyzing the pressure inputted by time according to the touch input on the basis of the time point.

The menu navigation method according to another embodiment of the present invention can switch a menu or a screen displayed on the screen by using the user input method according to the present invention described above.

9 is a flowchart of a menu navigation method according to the present invention.

The menu navigation method according to the present invention may include a first screen display step S150, a decompression sensing step S200, an input level recognition step S300, a second screen display step S400, And may further comprise a setting step SlOO.

The setting step S100, the decompression sensing step S200, and the input level recognizing step S300 may operate in the same manner as each step of the user input method according to the present invention described above. A duplicate description will be omitted.

The first screen display step (S150) displays the first screen on the screen (100). Here, the first screen may indicate the screen currently displayed on the screen 100.

The decompression sensing step (S200) senses the pressure applied to the screen (100) according to a user's touch input at an arbitrary position on the screen (100) using a decompression sensor.

The input level recognition step S300 is a step in which the signal processing unit 300 receives the sensed pressure from the pressure sensor unit 200, compares the received pressure with a predetermined threshold value, And selects one of the input levels.

The second screen display step S350 displays the second screen on the screen 100 according to the recognized input level.

Here, the input level recognition step S300 may compare the input pressure with the threshold value to select either the first input level or the second input level. It is needless to say that the number of input levels may be three or more according to need.

Here, in the second screen display step S350, when the first input level is recognized, the second screen defined as the next screen of the first screen is displayed on the screen 100, and when the second input level is recognized The second screen defined as the previous screen of the first screen may be displayed on the screen 100. [

For example, when the first input level is the weak level and the second input level is the strong level, when the signal processing unit 300 recognizes the weak level, the screen displayed on the screen 100 from the current screen to the next screen is switched And when the weak level is recognized, the screen displayed on the screen 100 from the current screen to the previous screen can be switched.

FIG. 10 is a reference diagram for explaining the menu navigation method. The screen may be switched to the previous screen SC_B or to the next screen SC_F according to the input level L determined according to the user's touch input when the current screen SC_1 is being displayed as shown in FIG. have.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and all elements constituting the embodiment of the present invention described above are described as being combined or operated in one operation. That is, within the scope of the present invention, all of the components may be selectively coupled to one or more of them.

In addition, although all of the components may be implemented as one independent hardware, some or all of the components may be selectively combined to perform a part or all of the functions in one or a plurality of hardware. As shown in FIG. In addition, such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable medium such as a USB memory, a CD disk, a flash memory, etc., and read and executed by a computer to implement an embodiment of the present invention. As the recording medium of the computer program, a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, a carrier wave medium, and the like can be included.

Furthermore, all terms including technical or scientific terms have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs, unless otherwise defined in the Detailed Description. Commonly used terms, such as predefined terms, should be interpreted to be consistent with the contextual meanings of the related art, and are not to be construed as ideal or overly formal, unless expressly defined to the contrary.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, substitutions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. will be. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention and the accompanying drawings are intended to illustrate and not to limit the technical spirit of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments and the accompanying drawings . The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

100: Screen
200: Pressure sensitive sensor unit
300: Signal processor
310: input level recognition unit
320:
S100: Setup step
S200: Step of decompression sensing
S300: input level recognition step

Claims (20)

A screen for displaying a screen;
A pressure sensor unit for sensing a pressure applied to the screen according to a user's touch input at an arbitrary position on the screen and outputting the sensed pressure; And
And a setting unit configured to set a predetermined threshold value as a comparison criterion for selecting an input level using the pressure input from the pressure sensor unit,
Wherein the input level includes a first level, a second level having a higher pressure intensity than the first level, and a third level having a higher pressure intensity than the second level,
Wherein the setting unit receives a user's selection input for each of the input levels to set the respective levels,
Wherein the setting unit receives the selection input by receiving a plurality of touch inputs from the user for each of the input levels and for each of the received plurality of touch inputs, And a threshold corresponding to each of the input levels is set by analyzing a pressure corresponding to the touch input for a predetermined time from the recognition time as a recognition time, . The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the pressure sensitive sensor unit includes a sensing grid corresponding to a surface of the screen to output information about a position on the screen to which the touch input is applied,
Wherein the signal processing unit receives information on the position on the screen to which the touch input is applied from the pressure reduction sensor unit and recognizes the coordinate level of the input level and the touch input according to the touch input, . The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the signal processing unit comprises an input level recognition unit for comparing the pressure received from the pressure sensor unit with a predetermined threshold value and for selecting and recognizing the input level according to the comparison result. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the input level recognizing unit compares the input pressure with a predetermined first threshold or a second threshold that corresponds to a user's physical condition,
When the input pressure is smaller than the first threshold value, selects the input level according to the input pressure as a first input level,
And selects the input level according to the input pressure as a second input level when the input pressure is greater than the first threshold and smaller than the second threshold,
And selects the input level according to the input pressure as a third input level when the input pressure is greater than the second threshold. delete delete delete The method of claim 3,
Wherein the recognition time is set to a time of 50 ms to 150 ms based on a point in time when the pressure of the predetermined size or greater is input from the pressure sensor unit. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the recognition time is set on the basis of a time when the pressure has a maximum value for a predetermined time from a point in time when the pressure is started to be input from the pressure sensor unit to a predetermined magnitude or more,
Wherein the input level recognizing unit selects the input level according to the pressure inputted at the recognition time. delete delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the setting unit sets the recognition time based on a time at which the pressure has a maximum value for a predetermined time from when the pressure is started to be input from the pressure sensor unit to a predetermined size or more. Sensing a pressure applied to the screen according to a user's touch input at an arbitrary position on the screen and outputting the sensed pressure; And
And a setting step of setting a predetermined threshold value as a comparison criterion for selecting the input level using the applied pressure,
Wherein the input level includes a first level, a second level having a higher pressure intensity than the first level, and a third level having a higher pressure intensity than the second level,
Wherein the setting step comprises receiving a user's selection input for each of the input levels to set each level,
Wherein the step of receiving the selection input comprises receiving a plurality of touch inputs from the user for each of the input levels and for each of the received plurality of touch inputs, And a threshold corresponding to each of the input levels is set by analyzing a pressure corresponding to the touch input for a predetermined time from the recognition time as a recognition time, Way.
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