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US 6,346,935 B1Granted
Touch-sensitive tablet
AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
InventorsNaoki Nakajima, Noriyuki Hidaka, Tadashi Ano, Hiroyuki Asahi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
When an instructor such as a finger moves along a flat surface of a touch-sensitive tablet, a touch-sensitive tablet generates an input signal indicative of information of points touched with the instructor on the flat surface. A frame is provided around the touch tablet with a predetermined gap measured from the edge thereof. A maximum moveable range of the instructor of the flat surface is defined by the frame. The predetermined gap is determined such that the instructor can touch the periphery of the flat surface even when the movement of the instructor is restricted by the frame.
Claims30
A touch-sensitive tablet comprising:
- a touch sensor comprising
- an integral number of corners, and
- a plurality of specific regions provided contiguously to each other, each of said plurality of specific regions are operable to acquire touch information indicative of whether an instructor touches respective specific regions;
- a storage operable to store a correspondence table, the correspondence table establishing correspondence between a plurality of operations and a respective plurality of combinations of contiguous specific regions among said plurality of specific regions;
- and
- a controller operable to start a determined operation in response to a successive touching of a combination of contiguous specific regions by the instructor, the determined operation being based on the touch information and the correspondence table;
- wherein the plurality of operations are operable to be individually and selectively started in response to corresponding combinations of the successively touched contiguous specific regions,
- wherein said plurality of specific regions includes a first specific region, second specific regions and third specific regions,
- said first specific region provided in one of said corners of said touch sensor,
- said third specific regions provided contiguously to said second specific regions, respectively, and
- said second specific regions provided between said first specific region and said third specific regions, and
- wherein said controller is operable to
- start the operations only when the touch information indicates that said first specific region is touched first, and
- suspend start up of the operations when the touch information indicates that said second specific regions are touched.
11 more elements
A touch-sensitive tablet comprising:
- a flat surface capable of being touched with an instructor, and operable to detect information about the position corresponding to the touch of the instructor on said flat surface;
- a function region provided on said flat surface and assigned a specific function;
- a storage for storing an operation corresponding to the specific function assigned to said function region;
- and
- a controller operable to retrieve the operation from said storage when the instructor successively touches said function region with a first touch and a second touch, within a predetermined time;
- wherein on receipt of information about any one of the first touch and the second touch existing in the function region and the other one of the first touch and the second touch existing outside said function region but within a predetermined range measured from said function region, said controller is operable to retrieve the operation from said storage.
3 more elements
A method of successively touching a plurality of specific regions provided contiguously to each other on a touch surface of a touch-sensitive tablet having an integral number of corners and executing a function assigned to one of said plurality of specific regions, comprising:
- acquiring touch information indicative of whether an instructor touches any one of said plurality of specific regions;
- storing a correspondence table, the correspondence table establishing correspondence between a plurality of functions and a respective plurality of combinations of contiguous specific regions among said plurality of specific regions;
- and
- controlling start up of a determined function in response to a successive touching of a combination of contiguous specific regions by the instructor, the determined function being based on the touch information and the correspondence table;
- wherein the plurality of functions are operable to be individually and selectively started in response to corresponding combinations of the successively touched contiguous specific regions;
- wherein said plurality of specific regions includes a first specific region, second specific regions and third specific regions, said first specific region provided in one of said corners of said touch sensor, said third specific regions each respectively provided contiguously to said second specific regions, and said second specific regions provided between said first specific region and said third specific regions;
- and
- wherein controlling start up further includes
- starting the determined function only when the touch information indicates that said first specific region is touched first, and
- suspending start up of the determined function when the touch information indicates that said second specific regions are touched.
7 more elements
An icon display device for displaying an icon corresponding to a specific section in distinction from another icon, comprising:
- a touch-sensitive tablet operable to input plane coordinates, a storage, and a controller;
- said touch-sensitive tablet comprising an integral number of corners, and a plurality of specific regions provided contiguously to each other, each of said plurality of specific regions are operable to acquire touch information indicative of whether an instructor touches respective specific regions;
- said storage operable to store a correspondence table, the correspondence table establishing correspondence between a plurality of operations and a respective plurality of combinations of contiguous specific regions among said plurality of specific regions;
- and
- said controller operable to start a determined operation in response to a successive touching of a combination of contiguous specific regions by the instructor, the determined operation being based on the touch information and the correspondence table;
- a section specifier operable to manage one or more sections defined by coordinates inputted from said touch-sensitive tablet, and to specify the section including the inputted coordinates;
- a display operable to display icons;
- and
- an icon image generator operable to enable said display to display said icons corresponding to respective sections managed by said section specifier;
- wherein the plurality of operations are operable to be individually and selectively started in response to corresponding combinations of the successively touched contiguous specific regions;
- wherein said plurality of specific regions includes a first specific region provided in one of said corners of said touch sensor, second specific regions, and third specific regions provided contiguously to said second specific regions, respectively, said second specific regions provided between said first specific region and said third specific regions;
- wherein said controller is operable to start the operations only when the touch information indicates that said first specific region is touched first, and to suspend start up of the operations when the touch information indicates that said second specific regions are touched;
- and
- wherein said display is operable to display an icon corresponding to the section specified by said section specifier in distinction from another icon.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.