KR20100033214A - Automatic switching method of input-mode by input pattern - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An automatic input method for transforming mode through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad. The current input mode is recognized automatically based on the touch input pattern of user. Keyboard and mouse input functions are used through one touch pad. CONSTITUTION: The touch signal in which the coordinate information is included is received from the touch pad(ST10). The touch input pattern is analyzed from the touch signal(ST20). In case the touch input pattern is the click pattern, the touch signal is processed as the keyboard input mode(ST40). In case the touch input pattern is the drag pattern, the touch signal is processed as the mouse input mode(ST60).

Description

AUTOMATIC SWITCHING METHOD OF INPUT-MODE BY INPUT PATTERN}

The present invention relates to an input mode automatic switching technology through input pattern recognition of a touch pad, and in particular, a touch input of a user input through a touch pad is a keyboard input operation of a typing method in which a touch is immediately separated from a touched point. The present invention relates to an input mode automatic switching technology for processing a touch signal by setting an input mode of a touch pad to a keyboard input mode or a mouse input mode by recognizing whether a mouse input operation is performed by dragging after moving.

Various methods exist as an interface means for a user to input a command with a conventional electronic device equipped with arithmetic processing capability, but the most representative input means may include a keyboard and a mouse device.

The keyboard performs a function of transmitting the corresponding key value to the controller of the electronic device when the user presses and selects a predetermined character. Therefore, the keyboard is advantageous for inputting information in the form of text or a command in the form of a preset shortcut key.

On the other hand, the mouse device is advantageous for manipulating a more visualized user interface, and has an advantage in that the user can easily move the cursor to a desired coordinate with respect to the entire screen used as an output means of the electronic device. This allows more intuitive typing than the keyboard.

Recently, a technology of using the screen of an electronic device as an output means and an input means has been widely introduced. Of course, this technology has been partially introduced for a long time, but recently, the touch input technology has been applied to mobile devices that require more delicate movements, and thus the technology is being developed to efficiently utilize a narrow space by gradually removing the mechanized buttons. . In some cases, a small touch pad space is set apart from the screen to allow touch input using a touch pen.

In the case of the touch input technology, the touch input surface can be divided into a plurality of X and Y coordinates as in the case of a screen output, so it can be basically applied to both a keyboard input and a mouse input. That is, the touch input surface may be divided into several regions and specific characters may be mapped to each region to be used as a keyboard, or the coordinates may be minutely divided to move the touch point and used as a mouse device.

However, keyboard-type input and mouse-type input have a big difference in the way of processing the input signal. That is, the keyboard method only needs to transmit the pressed specific key value to the controller, but the mouse method should recognize the touch coordinates currently input in real time and reflect them on the screen.

In addition, in the keyboard method, which point the user presses is only an operation of selecting a specific key, but in the mouse method, the user's selection point corresponds immediately to the display point on the screen. Therefore, the keyboard method outputs typed characters on the screen, but the mouse method requires control to generate a mouse cursor and move it along the currently touched coordinates.

As such, the keyboard method and the mouse method are different in the method of processing the input signal. Therefore, in order to implement this in the touch input technology, the input mode can be handled differently in the case of the keyboard method and the mouse method. You need to switch

The easiest way to think about is to have two touch input means, but this is a problem that the efficiency of the space is greatly reduced. In addition, a separate input mode conversion button or a conversion menu may be provided to enable the user to switch the keyboard method or the mouse method.

However, having a separate input mode conversion button has a problem that the volume of the corresponding device becomes large, and when a separate conversion menu is provided, it is very troublesome because the menu must be visited every time and the input mode is changed. .

An object of the present invention is to automatically recognize whether the user wants to use the current touchpad as a keyboard or a mouse through the user's touch input pattern without changing the input mode, and converts the input mode. The TouchPad provides the input mode automatic switching technology that enables two functions, keyboard input function and mouse input function.

In the method of automatically switching the input mode by recognizing the input pattern of the touch pad according to the present invention, a method of receiving and processing a touch signal through the touch pad in a device equipped with the touch pad includes (A) coordinate information from the touch pad. Receiving a received touch signal; (B) analyzing a touch input pattern from the touch signal; (C) In the case where the touch input pattern is a pattern in which the touch is separated without the touch coordinate after the touch is generated within a preset specific range (hereinafter referred to as a 'click pattern'), the input mode of the touch pad is referred to as a touch generating area. Processing a touch signal by setting a keyboard input mode for correspondingly processing a specific character every time; And (D) when the touch input pattern is a pattern in which the touch coordinate is out of a predetermined range or more while maintaining a touch state after a touch is generated (hereinafter, referred to as a 'drag pattern'), the input mode of the touch pad is displayed on the screen. And generating a mouse cursor to set the mouse input mode to move according to the touch input pattern to process the touch signal.

In addition, the method for automatically switching the input mode through the recognition of the input pattern of the touch pad according to the present invention further comprises the steps of: providing a touch pad on which a keyboard pattern composed of a specific character and a set of function keys is displayed on the input surface; The step C) may further include changing the color and illuminance of the touch pad to be distinguished from the case of operating in the mouse input mode when the input mode of the touch pad is set to the keyboard input mode.

In addition, in the method of automatically switching the input mode by recognizing the input pattern of the touch pad according to the present invention, step (C) includes turning on the backlight of the touch pad when the input mode of the touch pad is set to the keyboard input mode; Characterized in that it comprises a, step (D) is the step of turning off the backlight of the touch pad (OFF) when setting the input mode of the touch pad to the mouse input mode.

In addition, the input mode automatic switching method through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad according to the present invention, the touch pad when the state without the touch input for more than a predetermined time (hereinafter referred to as 'keyboard input mode return reference time') Setting the input mode of the keyboard input mode; preferably comprises a further.

In addition, in the method for automatically switching the input mode through the recognition of the input pattern of the touch pad according to the present invention, step (C) includes: (C-1) determining whether a click pattern is generated while operating in a current mouse input mode; (C-2) determining whether the touch input according to the click pattern has occurred within the keyboard input mode return reference time when operating in the current mouse input mode; And (C-3) when the touch input according to the click pattern occurs within the keyboard input mode return reference time, the command for selecting the touch input according to the click pattern while maintaining the input mode of the touch pad as the mouse input mode. Recognizing and processing as a; It is preferably configured to further include.

In addition, in the method of automatically switching the input mode through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad according to the present invention, the step (C) may include: (C-11) determining whether the click pattern is generated while operating in the current mouse input mode; (C-12) determining whether the touch coordinates in contact with the current touch input surface are separately present according to the operation of the mouse input mode in addition to the touch input according to the click pattern when the operation is performed in the current mouse input mode; And (C-13) when the touch coordinates in contact with the current touch input surface are separately present, the touch input according to the click pattern is selected as a command for selecting the mouse input mode while maintaining the input mode of the touch pad as the mouse input mode. Recognizing and processing; preferably comprises a further.

According to the present invention, a keyboard input function and a mouse input function are simultaneously implemented through a single touch pad, thereby increasing the space efficiency, and the user does not need to worry about changing the input mode. Because it can be performed immediately at the time point, it is very convenient to use.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a flowchart illustrating the overall operation of the input mode automatic switching method through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad according to the present invention.

The present invention can be applied to various types of touch pads, and can be widely applied to desktop input devices, public facilities, various terminals, etc. in addition to mobile devices or notebook computers. 4 and 5 illustrate an example in which the present invention is applied to a mobile device in which a touch pad is opened or closed in a folder form or a sliding form, but this is only a limited example to which the present invention is applied.

In the present invention, according to the user's touch input pattern input through the touch pad, the user distinguishes whether the user wants to use the touch pad like a mouse or a keyboard, and automatically switches the input mode according to each case.

To this end, first, the controller of the device in which the touch pad is installed receives a touch signal including coordinate information from the touch pad (ST10). The touch input pattern is analyzed from the provided touch signal (ST20).

If the touch input pattern is a click operation for keyboard input (ST30), the input mode of the touch pad is set to the keyboard input mode to process the corresponding touch signal (ST40).

At this time, in order to distinguish the click operation more clearly, a specific range is set in advance. When the touch is separated as the touch coordinate after the touch does not deviate from the specific range set in advance, the user recognizes that the click operation is performed and controls to set the input mode of the touch pad to the keyboard input mode. The above touch input pattern will be referred to as a 'click pattern' in the future. The most preferable 'click pattern' is the case where touch is generated and touch separation is performed on the exact same coordinates on the touch pad, but the area of the finger in contact with the touch pad is very large compared to the coordinate distribution of the touch pad. Is more appropriate.

In addition, setting to the keyboard input mode means processing a specific character corresponding to each touch generating area of the touch pad, and draws a keyboard pattern on the touch pad in advance to make it easier to input, and typed characters on the screen. Can also be displayed.

However, if the touch input pattern is a drag operation for inputting a mouse method (ST50), the input mode of the touch pad is set to a mouse input mode to process the corresponding touch signal (ST60).

At this time, in order to more clearly distinguish the drag operation, a specific range is set in advance. When the touch coordinate is out of a predetermined range or more while maintaining the touch coordinate after the touch is generated, the control recognizes that the user has performed a drag operation and controls to set the input mode of the touch pad to the mouse input mode. The above touch input pattern will be referred to as a 'drag pattern' in the future.

In addition, setting to the mouse input mode means processing to generate a mouse cursor on the screen and move it according to a touch input pattern. In some cases, a mouse made on a general computer screen such as moving a specific image on the screen instead of the mouse cursor. All control methods can be applied.

After the above touch signal processing is performed, touch input through the touch pad is continuously performed (ST10), and the process of automatically switching the touch pad to be used as a mouse input means or a keyboard input means according to the touch input pattern is repeated repeatedly. do.

2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an input mode of a touch pad is set to a keyboard input mode and a typed character is displayed on a screen as a touch input of a 'click pattern' occurs through the touch pad.

The terminal 100 is provided with a screen 10 and a touch pad 20 is attached as a terminal input means. Here, the terminal includes all devices operated by user input, such as a mobile phone, a PMP, a notebook computer, a PDA, a public place ticket terminal, and the like.

On the input surface of the touch pad 20, a keyboard pattern composed of a specific character and a set of function keys is displayed. Accordingly, the user may type the touch pad 20 while watching the keyboard pattern. Then, the controller of the terminal 100 recognizes that the user's touch input pattern is a 'click pattern' and sets the input mode of the touch pad to the keyboard input mode. Accordingly, the characters typed by the user are displayed on the screen.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an input mode of a touch pad is set to a mouse input mode and a mouse cursor is generated and moved on the screen as a touch input of a 'drag pattern' occurs through the touch pad.

The terminal 100, the screen 10 of the terminal, and the touch pad 20 are the same as described above with reference to FIG. 2. However, the difference from the case of FIG. 2 is that when the user performs a drag operation in which the user touches the touch pad, the control unit of the terminal 100 recognizes that the user's touch input pattern is a 'drag pattern' and thus the touch pad. Is to set input mode of mouse to mouse input mode. Thus, a mouse cursor is displayed on the screen 10 to move along the movement path according to the drag operation of the user.

In this case, it is preferable that a means for allowing a user to more accurately recognize the keyboard input mode of FIG. 2 and the mouse input mode of FIG. 3 is provided. Of course, since the input mode is switched according to the user's touch input operation, the user's own operation may be well understood by himself, but there may be a case where the touch input operation may be ambiguous and the current input mode may not be known.

To this end, when the input mode of the touch pad is set to the keyboard input mode, a control process of changing the color and illuminance of the touch pad to be distinguished from the case of operating in the mouse input mode may be further included.

For example, when the input mode of the touch pad is set to the keyboard input mode, the backlight of the touch pad is turned on and the backlight of the touch pad is turned off when the mouse input mode is set. In the keyboard input mode, the user can touch input while viewing a brightly displayed keyboard pattern. In the mouse input mode where the backlight is turned off, the user can perform the touch input by looking at the screen without looking at the touch pad. This configuration can not only distinguish the input mode of the touch pad, but also reduce the power consumption of the terminal.

In addition, by configuring the keyboard pattern to be displayed by means of ultraviolet ink, liquid crystal, transparent electrode, etc., the keyboard pattern may be displayed only in the keyboard input mode and not displayed in the mouse input mode.

4 is an exemplary view illustrating an embodiment in which a transparent touch pad that can be opened and closed is used by directly touching a screen.

In this embodiment, the touch pad 20 is installed to be opened and closed on the terminal 100, and the touch pad 20 is made of a projectable material and a keyboard pattern can be arbitrarily displayed.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the touch pad 20 is in close contact with the screen 10 of the terminal and is closed, the screen 10 of the rear surface is projected to the outside as it is. The user can enjoy the contents displayed on the screen 10 in a closed state without having to open the touch pad 20. In addition, the user may directly touch the screen to input a command through the touch pad 20 covering the screen 10.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view illustrating an embodiment in which the touch pad of FIG. 4 is opened and used in a folder or sliding manner.

5A illustrates an embodiment in which the touch pad 20 is installed to be opened and closed in a folder manner on the terminal 100 and is configured to allow touch input on both sides of the touch pad 20. Therefore, the screen 10 is externally exposed while the touch pad 20 is opened, and when the touch pad 20 is closed, the screen 10 is projected to the outside through the touch pad 20 as shown in FIG. 4.

In the closed state of the touch pad 20, it is preferable to operate in a mouse input mode without displaying a keyboard pattern. In the open state of the touch pad 20, it is preferable to display a keyboard pattern and operate in a keyboard input mode. At this time, as the touch pad 20 is opened and closed, the touch input surface should be reversed.

In order to switch the touch input surface, a separate sensor may be provided to detect whether the touch pad 20 is opened or closed, but according to the present invention, the input mode may be set through the user's touch input pattern and the touch input surface may be switched. It may be.

5B, the touch pad 20 is installed to be opened and closed in a sliding manner on the terminal 100. In this case, it is not necessary to switch the input surface of the touch pad 20, but it is necessary to switch the display state of the keyboard pattern.

Therefore, it is possible to configure the input mode through the user's touch input pattern and to control the display of the keyboard pattern without having to provide a separate sensor for detecting the open / close state of the touch pad 20.

■ The user's click action is a criterion for the keyboard input mode, but the click action may be necessary even in the mouse input mode. In other words, this is the case when a command to select the point pointed by the mouse pointer should be issued.

Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between the click operation used in this case and the click operation corresponding to typing in the keyboard input mode. However, since these two types of click actions are almost the same by the action itself, it is necessary to consider the surrounding situation in which the click action is performed.

One method for this purpose is to provide a separate button for the click operation in the mouse input mode. That is, by dragging on the touch pad to move the mouse cursor, clicking a separate button provided in the terminal brings about the effect of clicking the mouse pointed object.

In addition, another embodiment of processing the click operation in the mouse input mode is presented through [FIG. 6] and [FIG. 7] below.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the first embodiment of the step S40 of processing the click operation occurring in the mouse input mode in FIG. 1.

According to the first exemplary embodiment, if a click operation is performed immediately after a touch input is made in the mouse input mode, it is recognized as a selection command of the mouse input mode. However, when the state without the touch input elapses for a predetermined time or more, the input mode of the touch pad is set to the keyboard input mode. Herein, the predetermined predetermined time will be referred to as 'keyboard input mode return reference time'.

To this end, when the 'click pattern' defined through the description of FIG. 1 has occurred (ST30), it is determined whether the 'click pattern' has occurred while operating in the current mouse input mode (ST41). If the error occurs while operating in the keyboard input mode, the process may be performed according to the keyboard input mode as it is (ST45).

However, if the 'click pattern' occurs while operating in the current mouse input mode, it is determined whether the touch input according to the 'click pattern' has occurred within the previously defined 'keyboard input mode return reference time' (ST42).

If the touch input according to the 'click pattern' occurs within the 'keyboard input mode return reference time', the touch input according to the click pattern is changed to the mouse input mode while maintaining the input mode of the touch pad as the mouse input mode (ST43). It recognizes and processes a selection command (ST44). That is, if the user's click operation is made immediately enough in the touch state according to the mouse input mode, it is recognized as a mouse click command.

However, if the touch input according to the 'click pattern' occurs outside the 'keyboard input mode return reference time', it is recognized and processed as a typing operation according to the keyboard input (ST45). The above-mentioned 'keyboard input mode return reference time' is preferably set to be optimized for the use environment of the touch pad.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a second embodiment of the step S40 of processing a click operation occurring in a mouse input mode in FIG. 1.

The second embodiment is to process the touch pad to be recognized as a mouse click command when the user touches the touch pad using a separate finger not touched while the touch input is performed in the mouse input mode. For example, the touch pad may be touched with a middle finger while dragging a mouse pointer with an index finger.

To this end, when the 'click pattern' defined through the description of FIG. 1 has occurred (ST30), it is determined whether the 'click pattern' has occurred while operating in the current mouse input mode (ST41-2). If it occurs while operating in the keyboard input mode, it is processed in accordance with the keyboard input mode as it is (ST45-2).

However, if the 'click pattern' occurs while operating in the current mouse input mode, it is determined whether the touch coordinates in contact with the current touch input surface exist separately according to the operation of the mouse input mode in addition to the touch input according to the 'click pattern'. (ST42-2). That is, it is determined whether the user additionally performs a touch input corresponding to the current 'click pattern' without removing the touch contact during the drag operation.

If the touch coordinates that are in contact with the current touch input surface exist separately, the touch input according to the click pattern is selected as a command for selecting the mouse input mode while maintaining the input mode of the touch pad as the mouse input mode (ST43-2). Recognize and process (ST44-2). That is, it is determined that the user has made a touch input separate from the drag movement path of the mouse, and processes it as a mouse click command.

However, if the touch input according to the current 'click pattern' is made alone without any other touch input, it is reasonable to set and process the keyboard input mode unless there is a special reason (ST45-2).

The second embodiment above is applicable in various ways. For example, different processing may be performed depending on whether a 'click pattern' occurs on the left side or a 'click pattern' on the right side based on the touch touch point currently being dragged. This case corresponds to a case in which the case of touching with the thumb and the case of touching with the middle finger while performing the mouse drag using the index finger are interpreted differently.

Or, if more than two click actions are added instead of one, the processing may be recognized as a more special command. For example, an operation of touching the touch pad using the middle finger and the ring finger during the dragging with the index finger may be detected and processed separately from the case of one touch.

In this manner, a mouse selection command input method through a click operation can be widely extended through various combinations of touch inputs.

Although the present invention has been described in more detail with reference to the examples, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

1 is a flow chart showing the entire operation of the input mode automatic switching method through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view illustrating an embodiment in which an input mode of a touch pad is set to a keyboard input mode and a typed character is displayed on a screen as a touch input of a 'click pattern' occurs through the touch pad;

3 is an exemplary view showing an embodiment of setting the input mode of the touch pad to a mouse input mode and generating and moving a mouse cursor on the screen as a touch input of a 'drag pattern' occurs through the touch pad;

4 is an exemplary view illustrating an embodiment of directly touching the screen in a state where the transparent touchpad that can be opened and closed is closed;

5 is an exemplary view showing an embodiment of using the touch pad of Figure 4 by opening in a folder or sliding method,

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of the step S40 of processing a click operation occurring in a mouse input mode in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a second embodiment of the step S40 of processing a click operation occurring in a mouse input mode in FIG. 1.

Claims (6)

A method for receiving and processing a touch signal through the touch pad in a device equipped with a touch pad, (A) receiving a touch signal including coordinate information from the touch pad; (B) analyzing a touch input pattern from the touch signal; (C) When the touch input pattern is a pattern in which the touch is separated without the touch coordinate after the touch occurring within a preset specific range (hereinafter referred to as a 'click pattern'), touch the input mode of the touch pad. Processing the touch signal by setting a keyboard input mode for processing a specific character corresponding to each occurrence area; And (D) When the touch input pattern is a pattern in which the touch coordinate is out of a predetermined range or more while maintaining a touch state after a touch is generated (hereinafter, referred to as a 'drag pattern'), the input mode of the touch pad is displayed on the screen. Generating a mouse cursor to set a mouse input mode to move according to the touch input pattern, and processing the touch signal; Input mode automatic switching method through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad configured to include. The method according to claim 1, The automatic input mode switching method further comprises the steps of: providing a touch pad on which a keyboard pattern composed of a specific character and a set of function keys is displayed on an input surface; The step (C) may further include changing the color and illuminance of the touch pad to be distinguished from the case of operating the mouse input mode when the input mode of the touch pad is set to the keyboard input mode. Automatic switching of input mode by input pattern recognition of touch pad. The method according to claim 2, The step (C) is a step of turning on (ON) the backlight of the touch pad when the input mode of the touch pad is set to the keyboard input mode, characterized in that comprises a, The step (D) may include turning off the backlight of the touch pad when the input mode of the touch pad is set to the mouse input mode. Auto transition method. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The input mode automatic switching method, Setting an input mode of the touch pad to the keyboard input mode when a state in which there is no touch input passes for a predetermined time (hereinafter, referred to as 'keyboard input mode return reference time'); Input mode automatic switching method through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad, characterized in that further comprises a. The method according to claim 4, Step (C) is (C-1) determining whether the click pattern is generated while operating in the current mouse input mode; (C-2) determining whether a touch input according to the click pattern occurs within the keyboard input mode return reference time when operating in the current mouse input mode; And (C-3) if the touch input according to the click pattern occurs within the keyboard input mode return reference time, the mouse inputs the touch input according to the click pattern while maintaining the input mode of the touch pad as a mouse input mode. Recognizing and processing a mode selection command; Input mode automatic switching method through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad, characterized in that further comprises a. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Step (C) is (C-11) determining whether the click pattern occurs while operating in a current mouse input mode; (C-12) in the case of operating in the current mouse input mode as a result of the determination, determining whether a touch coordinate in contact with the current touch input surface exists separately according to the operation of the mouse input mode in addition to the touch input according to the click pattern. ; And (C-13) If the touch coordinates in the contact state currently exist on the touch input surface as a result of the determination, selecting the mouse input mode according to the click pattern while maintaining the input mode of the touch pad as the mouse input mode. Recognizing and processing as an instruction; Input mode automatic switching method through the input pattern recognition of the touch pad, characterized in that further comprises a.

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