TWI466007B - Multi-touch input method and electronic device thereof - Google Patents

Description

Multi-touch input method and electronic device thereof

The invention relates to a multi-touch input method and an electronic device thereof.

When using the virtual keyboard of an existing smart phone for input, it is usually necessary to hold the phone with one hand and type with the single finger of the other hand. Alternatively, the user can use both hands to hold the phone at the same time, and then use the two thumbs of the left and right hands to perform two-finger typing. However, the typing efficiency of these input methods is not good. In addition, when the virtual keyboard jumps out, the virtual keyboard occupies part of the space of the mobile phone screen, so that the user can browse the screen becomes smaller, which is inconvenient for input operation. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of input using a virtual keyboard. At present, the text input mode of the smart handheld device mostly uses the virtual keyboard of the software, and the advantage is that the button can be programmed, but the viewable picture is taken up half, for example, in the touch screen 10 in FIG. The virtual keyboard 11 occupies half of the area, and the input text can only be displayed on the display screen 12 of the remaining space. In addition, using the above virtual keyboard to input text, at most only the left and right hand thumbs can be used for typing, which is slow in typing. Therefore, how to change the virtual keyboard input mode on the smart handheld device to improve the efficiency of text input is indeed an important issue at present.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a multi-touch input method. The method is applicable to an electronic device and includes the following steps. A first layer of the screen is displayed, and the first layer of the screen is controlled by a first touch module disposed on a front surface of a display unit of the electronic device. In addition, a second layer of the screen is displayed, and the second layer of the screen is controlled by a second touch module disposed on a back surface opposite to the front surface. In addition, the second layer of the screen is transparently overlapped on the first layer of the screen, and the plurality of virtual buttons corresponding to the second touch module are displayed on the second layer of the screen.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a first touch module, a second touch module, and a display unit. The first touch module is configured to receive at least one input signal of a user. The second touch module is configured to receive at least one input signal of a user. The display unit is connected to the first touch module and the second touch module for displaying a first layer of the screen, wherein the first touch module is disposed on a front side of the display unit, and the first layer The screen is controlled by the first touch module. In addition, the display unit is further configured to display a second layer of the screen, wherein the second layer is disposed on a back surface opposite to the front surface, and the second layer is controlled by the second touch module. In addition, the display unit transparently overlaps the second layer of the screen on the first layer of the screen, and displays the plurality of virtual buttons corresponding to the second touch module on the second layer of the screen.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a multi-touch input method and an electronic device thereof. The touch module disposed on the back of the electronic device increases the space for inputting, and displays the virtual button corresponding to the touch module on the back side by using the transparent overlapping screen. In this way, text input can be performed at the same time without affecting the browsing of text on the first layer screen.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a multi-touch input method and an electronic device thereof. The multi-touch input method proposed by the present invention can be divided into two parts. The first part is how to make the user use more fingers (rather than just using the left and right hand's thumb) to type at the same time, and the second part is not Let the virtual keyboard occupy the user's screen view.

First explain the first part, you can set up a multi-touchpad on the back of the electronic device. The multi-touchpad is specifically designed for typing, and the user can use both the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger of the left and right hands to type at the same time. For example, the multi-touchpad is placed on the back of the electronic device (you don't have to cover it with a lid or use a hard button to turn off the touchpad function). Next, the second part is explained, and the second part can be implemented in such a way that the display screen is not occupied by the virtual keyboard. The multi-touch input method proposed by the invention can display a layer of transparent virtual keyboard screen on the display screen. For example, the transparent virtual keyboard appears only when the multi-touchpad cover on the back of the electronic device is turned on, and only the small-sized English letters or numbers of the virtual keyboard appear. Therefore, the display screen will become two layers, the first layer picture is below, and the second layer picture is transparently overlapped with the first layer picture. The words input on the multi-touchpad on the back of the electronic device (this corresponds to the virtual keyboard displayed on the display screen) are transferred to the second layer of the screen. Therefore, the user can use the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger of the left and right hands to type, while using the thumb to control the first layer of the picture. That is, the user can still use the left and right hand thumb to control the touch module on the display screen of the electronic device, for example, browsing the webpage, browsing the article, zooming in or out of the viewed image, or selecting the control in the screen. The project, while the rest of the fingers are responsible for typing, in order to increase the speed of typing.

The multi-touch input method of the present invention can simultaneously utilize the virtual button of the touch screen of the electronic device and the touch module disposed on the back of the electronic device, so that the user can use the left hand when holding the electronic device. Fingers other than the thumb of the right hand are used for text input to improve the efficiency of the overall text input. In addition, a two-layer screen is displayed on the touch screen of the electronic device. The first layer of the screen displays the general content, and the second layer of the screen is transparently overlapped with the first layer of the screen to simultaneously display the virtual button corresponding to the touch module on the back of the electronic device, so that the user can operate the back touch more intuitively. Module.

The proposed multi-touch input method can simultaneously input the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger and the little finger of the left and right hands, in addition to inputting the thumb of the left and right hands. In addition, typing at the same time does not affect the user's browsing of text on the first layer of the screen.

2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The electronic device 20 is adapted to perform the multiple touch input method proposed by the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 , the electronic device 20 includes a first touch module 21 , a second touch module 22 , and a display unit 23 . The first touch module 21 is disposed on a front surface of the display unit 23, that is, on the display screen of the display unit 23. The second touch module 22 is disposed on a back surface opposite to the front surface, that is, the back surface of the electronic device 20 .

In this embodiment, the first touch module 21 is configured to receive one or more input signals of a user, that is, receive one or more input touches of a user, and convert the input touches into Input the signal for subsequent processing. The second touch module 22 is configured to receive one or more input touches of the user and convert the input touches into input signals for subsequent processing. In other embodiments, a second housing (not shown) may be added to the second touch module 22 or a hardware button may be added to the second control module 22 when the outer casing is opened. The second touch module 22 is activated only when the hardware button is switched to the ON state. In addition, in the embodiment, the first touch module 21 can accept input touches of the two thumbs of the right hand and the left hand of the user, and when the second touch module 22 is activated, the second touch module 22 Accept the remaining fingers, for example, the input touch (or input signal) of the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger of the left and right hands. Similarly, when the second touch module 22 is in the activated state, the second touch module 22 is turned off when the user is smashed by the user, or the hardware button is next to the second control module 22 When the state is switched to the OFF state, the second touch module 22 is turned off.

The display unit 23 is connected to the first touch module 21 and the second touch module 22 for displaying a first layer image (not shown in FIG. 2 ), wherein the first layer image is subjected to the first touch mode Group 21 control. The display unit 23 displays an operation result corresponding to one or more input signals of the first touch module 21 on the first layer screen. In addition, the display unit 23 is further configured to display a second layer of the screen, wherein the second layer of the screen is controlled by the second touch module 22 . In addition, the display unit 23 transparently superimposes the second layer of the screen on the first layer of the screen, and displays the plurality of virtual buttons corresponding to the second touch module on the second layer of the screen. The display manner of the transparent overlay will be described with reference to FIG. 5B.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The electronic device 30 is adapted to perform the multi-touch input method proposed by the present invention and is similar to the electronic device 20. Referring to FIG. 3 , the electronic device 30 includes a first touch module 21 , a second touch module 22 , a display unit 23 , a memory module 24 , and a processor . 25 and a control unit 26. The first touch module 21 is disposed on a front surface of the display unit 23, that is, on the screen of the display unit 23. The second touch module 22 is disposed on a back surface opposite to the front surface, that is, the back surface of the electronic device 30.

In this embodiment, the connection relationship and operation mode between the first touch module 21, the second touch module 22 and the display unit 23 are similar to the embodiment of FIG. 2, and the technical content thereof is not described in detail herein. The control unit 26 is connected to the second touch module 22 and the display unit 23 for receiving a user control signal to activate or deactivate the second touch module 22. For example, the user control signal may be a trigger signal of a casing disposed outside the second touch module 22, and when the casing is opened, the second touch module 22 that is originally in the closed state is activated. When the outer casing is smashed, the second touch module 22 that is originally in the activated state is turned off. For example, the user control signal may be a control signal triggered by a hardware button disposed around the second touch module 22, and when the hardware button is switched on, the second touch is originally turned off. The module 22 is activated; when the hardware button is switched off, the second touch module 22 that is originally in the activated state is turned off.

When the second touch module 22 is turned off, the second touch module 22 does not receive any input signal from the user. Moreover, when the second touch module 22 is turned off, the display unit 23 does not display the second layer screen. Conversely, when the second touch module 22 is activated, the display unit 23 performs one or more input touches on the second touch module 22 according to a user, and the first layer screen displays corresponding to one or Multiple input content. In addition, the memory module 24 includes an application 242, and the application 242 is, for example, a virtual input keyboard (corresponding to the second touch module 22), and is executed by the processor 25 to be in the second touch module. When the 22 is activated, the display unit 23 displays that the application 242 is transparently overlapped on the first layer screen. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and the memory module 24 may further include more than one application, and may include an operating system software for managing the first layer of the screen, the second layer of the screen, and other applications.

In the exemplary embodiment, control unit 26 can be a hardware unit. However, in other embodiments of the present invention, the control unit 26 may also be an operating system software or integrated with the operating system of the electronic device 30. After being executed by the processor module 25, the multi-touch proposed by the present invention is performed. Enter the relevant steps for the method.

4 is a schematic diagram of an operating electronic device, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, when the user holds the electronic device 20 with both hands, the user can control the second touch module 22 by using the index finger, the middle finger, the ring finger, and the little finger of the left and right hands, which is set in FIG. The multi-touch panel on the back side of the display screen relative to the electronic device 20.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of a first layer picture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. When the second touch module 22 is turned off, the display unit 23 of the electronic device 20 displays only the first layer screen 51. FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing a second layer of pictures transparently overlapping a first layer picture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. When the second touch module 22 is activated, the display unit 23 of the electronic device 20 displays the second layer picture 52 transparently overlapping the first layer picture 51 in addition to the first layer picture 51. For example, the second layer screen 52 includes a plurality of virtual buttons (eg, the virtual button 53 is one of them), and the second layer screen 52 is transparently overlapped with the input screen 54 of the first layer screen 51. When the user inputs letters or inputs numbers using the second touch module 22, the input screen 54 of the first layer screen displays the input contents. However, the virtual button in the second layer picture 52 does not completely block the first layer picture 51, and the user can still clearly see the first layer picture 51 located below the second layer picture 52.

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram showing a second layer picture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. When the second touch module 22 is activated, the virtual keyboard displayed by the second layer screen 62 (for example, the virtual button 53 is one of them) may be displayed below the display screen as shown in FIG. 6A. In addition, the virtual button presented by the virtual keyboard corresponds to the second touch module 22 (multiple touch panel) on the back of the electronic device 20. The virtual button displayed on the second layer screen 62 prompts the user to input the content (for example, the letter) displayed on the first layer screen (not shown in FIG. 6A) when the user inputs the relative position on the multi-touch panel. , numbers, spaces, or line breaks).

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram showing another second layer picture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. When the second touch module 22 is activated, the virtual keyboard displayed on the second layer screen 64 can display the virtual keys of the virtual keyboard on the left and right sides of the display screen as shown in FIG. 6B. In addition, the virtual button displayed on the second layer 64 corresponds to the second touch module 22 (multiple touch panel) on the back of the electronic device 20. The virtual button displayed on the second layer screen 64 prompts the user to input the content displayed on the first layer screen 54 when the user touches the relative position on the multi-touch panel. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and the second layer screens 62, 64 shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, respectively, are merely exemplary. In other embodiments of the present invention, the second layer of the screen may be displayed by other means to guide the user to use the multiple touch panels on the back of the electronic device 20 to input text.

FIG. 7A is a flow chart of a multi-touch input method according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 7A simultaneously, the multiple touch input method starts at step S710. In step S710, the display unit 23 displays a first layer of the screen, and the first layer of the screen is controlled by the first touch module 21 disposed on a front surface of the display unit 23 of the electronic device 20. In step S720, the display unit 23 displays a second layer of the screen, and the second layer of the screen is controlled by a second touch module 22 disposed on a back side of the front side. In step S730, the display unit 23 transparently superimposes the second layer of the screen on the first layer of the screen, and displays the plurality of virtual buttons corresponding to the second touch module 22 on the second layer of the screen. After step S730, the multi-touch input method ends.

FIG. 7B is a flow chart showing another multi-touch input method according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 7B, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 7B simultaneously, the multi-touch input method starts at step S710. In step S710, the display unit 23 displays the first layer screen, and the first layer screen is controlled by the first touch module 21 disposed on the front surface of the display unit 23 of the electronic device 20.

In step S712, when the second touch module 22 is in the off state, the electronic device 20 receives a user control signal. In step S714, the electronic device 20 activates the second touch module 22 according to the user control signal. In step S720, the display unit 23 displays a second layer of the screen, and the second layer of the screen is controlled by the second touch module 22 disposed on a back side opposite to the front side.

In step S730, the display unit 23 transparently superimposes the second layer of the screen on the first layer of the screen, and displays the plurality of virtual buttons corresponding to the second touch module 22 on the second layer of the screen. In step S732, when the second touch module 22 is activated, the display unit 23 displays the corresponding layer on the first layer according to one or more input signals of the user on the second touch module 22. The input of one or more input signals.

In step S734, when the second touch module 22 is in the activated state, the electronic device 20 receives another user control signal. In step S736, the electronic device 20 turns off the second touch module 22 according to the other user control signal. In step S738, when the second touch module 22 is turned off, the display unit 23 does not display the second layer screen, and the second touch module 22 does not receive any input signal from the user. After step S738, the multi-touch input method ends. The above steps S720 to S732 may be cyclically repeated, or the above steps S712 to S736 may be cyclically repeated.

In summary, according to the above exemplary embodiments, the present invention provides a multi-touch input method and an electronic device thereof. The touch module disposed on the back of the electronic device increases the space for inputting, and displays the virtual button corresponding to the touch module on the back side by using the transparent overlapping screen. In this way, text input can be performed at the same time without affecting the browsing of text on the first layer screen.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

10. . . Touch screen

11. . . virtual keyboard

12. . . Display

20, 30. . . Electronic device

twenty one. . . First touch module

twenty two. . . Second touch module

twenty three. . . Display unit

twenty four. . . Memory module

242. . . application

25. . . processor

26. . . control unit

51. . . First layer picture

52, 62, 64. . . Second layer picture

53. . . Virtual Key

54. . . Input screen

S710~S730, S710~S738. . . step

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of input using a virtual keyboard.

2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another electronic device according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

4 is a schematic diagram of an operating electronic device, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of a first layer picture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram showing a second layer of pictures transparently overlapping a first layer picture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram showing a second layer picture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram showing another second layer picture according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7A is a flow chart of a multi-touch input method according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7B is a flow chart showing another multi-touch input method according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

S710~S730. . . step

Claims (10)

A multi-touch input method is applicable to an electronic device, comprising: displaying a first layer of a picture on a front side of a display unit, wherein the first layer of the picture is received by the front side of the display unit of the electronic device a first touch panel is configured to display a second layer of the screen on the front side of the display unit, wherein the second layer of the screen displayed on the front side of the display unit is disposed on a back surface opposite to the front surface Controlling, by the second touch module, and transparently superimposing the second layer of the image on the first layer of the image, and executing an application to display the plurality of second touch screens corresponding to the second touch module a virtual button, wherein when the second touch module is activated, according to the virtual buttons and at least one input signal of the user on the second touch module disposed on the back side, the first layer The screen displays an input content corresponding to the at least one input signal. The multi-touch input method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a user control signal to turn off the second touch module; and when the second touch module is turned off, The second touch module does not receive any input signal from the user. The multi-touch input method as described in claim 1, wherein: When the second touch module is turned off, the second layer picture is not displayed. The multi-touch input method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a user control signal to activate the second touch module. The multi-touch input method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying an operation result of the at least one input signal corresponding to the first touch module on the first layer screen. An electronic device includes: a first touch module for receiving at least one input signal of a user; a second touch module for receiving at least one input signal of a user; and a display unit, Connecting to the first touch module and the second touch module, the first touch screen is disposed on a front side of the display unit, wherein the first touch module is disposed on the front side of the display unit The first layer of the screen is controlled by the first touch module, and the display unit is further configured to display a second layer of the screen on the front side of the display unit, wherein the second touch module is disposed opposite to the second layer The second layer of the front surface of the display unit is controlled by the second touch module, and the display unit transparently overlaps the second layer of the screen to the first layer of the screen. And a processor executing an application to display a plurality of virtual buttons corresponding to the second touch module on the second layer screen, When the second touch module is activated, the display unit is at the first according to the virtual buttons and the at least one input signal of the user on the second touch module disposed on the back surface. The layer screen displays an input content corresponding to the at least one input signal. The electronic device of claim 6, further comprising: a control unit connected to the display unit and the second touch module for receiving a user control signal to turn off the second touch The module, wherein the second touch module does not receive any input signal from the user when the second touch module is turned off. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the display unit does not display the second layer of the screen when the second touch module is turned off. The electronic device of claim 7, further comprising: the control unit receiving a user control signal to activate the second touch module. The electronic device of claim 6, wherein the operation result of the at least one input signal corresponding to the first touch module is displayed on the first layer screen.