KR102129319B1 - Method for processing touch input, machine-readable storage medium and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of processing a user's touch input in an electronic device having a touch screen according to an aspect of the present invention includes: detecting a user's touch input; Detecting a position of the touch input; Determining a horizontal pressure direction of the touch input pushing the surface of the touch screen; And performing a program operation corresponding to the horizontal pressure direction.

Description

METHOD FOR PROCESSING TOUCH INPUT, MACHINE-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

The present invention relates to a touch screen, and more particularly, to a method for processing a touch input.

The electronic device directly controlled by the user has at least one display device, and the user can control the electronic device through the input device while observing various operation states or application operations of the corresponding electronic device through the display device. Particularly, a portable terminal manufactured to be carried by a user, such as a mobile phone, does not have a four-way button for receiving up and down, left and right movements due to its limited size, and is an input device capable of a user's screen touch input (ie, A method of providing a user interface with a touch screen) has been widely provided.

Particularly, when the mobile terminal is described as an example, the screen scrolls in a list view state in which a plurality of related items, such as an SMS send/receive item, an address book, and the like, are displayed in a plurality of bar forms, a plurality of box forms, or a plurality of icons Provides movement of list items in a manner. At this time, in the method of providing the user interface through the touch screen, in order to manipulate the movement of the list item, drag (slipping a user's finger or stylus pen while sliding to another point while touching one point on the touch screen) Afterwards, you can move to the desired point by either releasing the touch) or flicking (flick, the user's finger or stylus pen touching a point on the touch screen to quickly move in either direction to release the touch). there was. When there is a drag input, the screen scroll operation is performed in the list view state according to the corresponding direction and movement state, and when there is a flick input, the screen scroll is rapidly performed at the speed and direction corresponding to the flick input. It stops by reducing the speed.

However, in this case, if there are many list items, multiple drag or flick operations must be performed in succession to reach the desired list item, causing inconvenience to the user, and even when the user wants to check the lists slowly, the finger at the corresponding speed It is necessary to move slowly while touching. Particularly, in the case of a device having a small display size such as a portable terminal, since the touch input unit must be used simultaneously with the display screen, there is a problem that the screen is frequently blocked by a finger.

The purpose of certain embodiments of the present invention is to at least partially solve, mitigate or eliminate at least one of the problems and/or disadvantages associated with the prior art.

One object of the present invention is to provide a method for a user to control a program operation such as scrolling the screen more conveniently with a simple operation.

A method of processing a user's touch input in an electronic device having a touch screen according to an aspect of the present invention includes: detecting a user's touch input; Detecting a position of the touch input; Determining a horizontal pressure direction of the touch input pushing the surface of the touch screen; And performing a program operation corresponding to the horizontal pressure direction.

An electronic device for processing a user's touch input according to another aspect of the present invention provides a screen, and a touch screen for detecting a user's touch input and the location of the touch input; And a control unit that determines a horizontal pressure direction of the touch input that pushes the surface of the touch screen based on the location of the touch input, and performs a program operation corresponding to the horizontal pressure direction.

According to the present invention, since a program operation such as screen scrolling and menu selection can be performed without a general drag operation simply by pushing the surface of the touch screen, the user can control the program operation more conveniently with a simple operation. have.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a front perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a rear perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a view showing the main configuration of the touch screen,
5 is a view for illustrating a pattern of the first touch sensor,
6 is a view for illustrating the configuration of the second touch sensor,
7 and 8 are views for explaining the operation of the second touch sensor,
9 is a view illustrating a configuration of a sensor for detection of a horizontal pressure direction,
10 is a view illustrating the operation of the sensor according to the touch pressure,
11 to 13 are views for explaining the arrangement and operation of the pressure sensor,
14 is a view for explaining a change in the detection position of the first and second touch sensors according to the pressure direction,
15 is a view showing another example of the configuration of the pressure sensor for the detection of the horizontal pressure direction,
16 is a view showing another example of detecting the horizontal pressure direction,
17 is a flowchart illustrating a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction;
18 is a view for explaining a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction;
19 is a view showing an example of a touch detection method of a touch screen,
20 is a view showing another example of a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction;
21 is a view showing another example of a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction,
22 is a view showing another example of a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction;
23 is a diagram showing another example of a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction.

The present invention can be applied to various changes and can have various embodiments, and specific embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components. For example, the first component may be referred to as a second component without departing from the scope of the present invention, and similarly, the second component may be referred to as a first component. The term and/or includes a combination of a plurality of related described items or any one of a plurality of related described items.

Terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "include" or "have" are intended to indicate the presence of features, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts or combinations thereof described herein, one or more other features. It should be understood that the existence or addition possibilities of fields or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts or combinations thereof are not excluded in advance.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms, such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary, should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with meanings in the context of related technologies, and should not be interpreted as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in the present application. Does not.

In the present invention, the electronic device may be any device, and the electronic device may be referred to as a portable terminal, a mobile terminal, a communication terminal, a portable communication terminal, or a portable mobile terminal.

For example, the electronic device may be a smart phone, a mobile phone, a game machine, a TV, a display device, a car head unit, a laptop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal media player (PMP), personal digital assistants (PDA), etc. have. The electronic device can be implemented as a pocket-sized portable communication terminal having a wireless communication function. Also, the electronic device may be a flexible device or a flexible display device.

A typical configuration of such an electronic device is for a mobile phone, and in the typical configuration of such an electronic device, some constituent elements may be omitted or changed as necessary.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an electronic device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic device 100 may be connected to an external device (not shown) using at least one of the communication unit 120, the connector 165, and the earphone connection jack 167. The external device is detachable from the electronic device 100 and can be connected through a wired earphone (Earphone), external speaker (External speaker), USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, charger, cradle/dock (Cradle/Dock), DMB It may include one of various devices such as an antenna, a mobile payment related device, a health care device (such as a blood glucose meter), a game machine, and a car navigation device. In addition, the electronic device may include a wirelessly connectable Bluetooth communication device, a Near Field Communication (NFC) device, a WiFi Direct communication device, and a wireless access point (AP). In addition, the electronic device 100 may be connected to one of other portable terminals or electronic devices, for example, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet PC, a desktop PC, and a server, using wired or wireless.

Referring to FIG. 1, the electronic device 100 includes at least one touch screen 190 and at least one touch screen controller 195. In addition, the electronic device 100 includes a control unit 110, a communication unit 120, a multimedia module 140, a camera module 150, an input/output module 160, a sensor module 170, a storage unit 175, and It includes a power supply unit 180.

The communication unit 120 includes a mobile communication module 121, a sub communication module 130 and a broadcast communication module 141.

The sub-communication module 130 includes at least one of a wireless LAN module 131 and a short-range communication module 132, and the multimedia module 140 includes at least one of an audio playback module 142 and a video playback module 143. Includes. The camera module 150 includes at least one of the first camera 151 and the second camera 152. In addition, the camera module 150 of the electronic device 100 of the present invention is a tube for zooming in/out of the first and/or second cameras 151 and 152 according to the main use of the electronic device 100 ( 155), the motor 154 for controlling the movement of the barrel 155 for zooming in/out of the barrel 155, and at least one of a flash 153 for providing a light source for shooting. . In addition, the input/output module 160 includes at least one of a button 161, a microphone 162, a speaker 163, a vibration element 164, a connector 165, and a keypad 166.

The control unit 110 stores a signal or data input from the outside of the electronic device 100, or a ROM 111 in which a control program for controlling the CPU 111, the electronic device 100 is stored, or an electronic device ( It may include a RAM (RAM, 113) used as a storage area for the work performed in 100). The CPU 111 may include a single core, dual core, triple core, or quad core. The CPU 111, the ROM 112, and the RAM 113 may be interconnected through an internal bus.

In addition, the control unit 110 includes a communication unit 120, a multimedia module 140, a camera module 150, an input/output module 160, a sensor module 170, a storage unit 175, a power supply unit 180, The touch screen 190 and the touch screen controller 195 may be controlled.

The control unit 110 is a touch screen 190, when a plurality of objects or items are displayed, a touchable user input means such as an input unit 168 or a user's finger touches or approaches any one object, The user input according to the position close to it is detected, and an object corresponding to the position on the touch screen 190 where the user input has occurred is identified. The user input through the touch screen 190 includes one of a direct touch input that directly touches an object and a hovering input that is an indirect touch input that approaches an object within a preset recognition distance but does not directly touch the object. For example, when the input unit 168 is positioned close to the touch screen 190, an object positioned vertically below the input unit 168 may be selected. In the present invention, the user input, in addition to the user input through the touch screen 190, gesture input through the camera module 150, switch/button input through the button 161 or keypad 166, through the microphone 162 And voice input.

The object or item (or function item) is displayed on or displayed on the touch screen 190 of the electronic device 100, for example, an application, menu, document, widget, photo, video, email, SMS It represents at least one of a message and an MMS message, and can be selected, executed, deleted, canceled, stored, and changed by user input means. Such an item may also be used to mean a button, an icon (or shortcut icon), a thumbnail image, or a folder storing at least one object in an electronic device. In addition, these items may be displayed in the form of images, text, and the like.

The shortcut icon is an image displayed on the touch screen 190 of the electronic device 100 for quick execution of a call, a contact, a menu, etc., which are basically provided in each application or electronic device 100. When a command or selection is entered, the corresponding application is executed.

In addition, the control unit 110 may detect a user input event such as a hovering event as the input unit 168 approaches or approaches the touch screen 190.

The controller 110 performs a preset program operation corresponding to the user input event when a user input event occurs for a preset item or according to a preset method.

The control unit 110 may output a control signal to the input unit 168 or the vibration element 164. The control signal may include information on the vibration pattern, and the input unit 168 or the vibration element 164 generates vibration according to the vibration pattern. The information about the vibration pattern may indicate the vibration pattern itself, an identifier of the vibration pattern, and the like. Alternatively, this control signal may simply include a request for vibration generation.

The electronic device 100 may include at least one of a mobile communication module 121, a wireless LAN module 131, and a short-range communication module 132 according to performance.

The mobile communication module 121 may allow the electronic device 100 to be connected to an external electronic device through mobile communication by using at least one- or multiple-antennas (not shown) under the control of the controller 110. have. The mobile communication module 121 is a mobile phone (not shown), a smart phone (not shown), a tablet PC or other electronic device (not shown) having a phone number input to the electronic device 100, a voice call, video Transmits/receives wireless signals for calls, text messages (SMS) or multimedia messages (MMS).

The sub communication module 130 may include at least one of a wireless LAN module 131 and a short range communication module 132. For example, it may include only the wireless LAN module 131, only the short-range communication module 132, or both the wireless LAN module 131 and the short-range communication module 132.

The wireless LAN module 131 may be connected to the Internet in a place where a wireless access point (AP) (not shown) is installed under the control of the controller 110. The wireless LAN module 131 supports a wireless LAN standard (IEEE802.11x) of the American Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). The short-range communication module 132 may perform short-range communication wirelessly between the electronic device 100 and an external electronic device under the control of the control unit 110. The communication method (or communication protocol) of the wireless LAN module 131 and the short-range communication module 132 is Bluetooth, infrared data association (IrDA), WiFi-Direct communication, and WiFi- Direct) communication, NFC (Near Field Communication), and the like. NFC (Near Field Communication) corresponds to an example of magnetic field communication.

The broadcast communication module 141 is a broadcast signal (eg, a TV broadcast signal, a radio broadcast signal or a data broadcast signal) transmitted from a broadcast station through a broadcast communication antenna (not shown) under the control of the control unit 110, and a broadcast unit information (Eg, EPS (Electric Program Guide) or ESG (Electric Service Guide)) can be received.

The multimedia module 140 may include an audio playback module 142 or a video playback module 143. The audio playback module 142 may play digital audio files (eg, files having a file extension of mp3, wma, ogg, or wav) stored or received in the storage unit 175 under the control of the controller 110. The video playback module 143 may play digital video files (eg, files having a file extension of mpeg, mpg, mp4, avi, mov, or mkv) that are stored or received under the control of the controller 110.

The multimedia module 140 may be integrated into the control unit 110.

The camera module 150 may include at least one of a first camera 151 and a second camera 152 that captures a still image or video under the control of the controller 110. In addition, the camera module 150 includes a tube part 155 that performs zoom-in/zoom-out to photograph a subject, a motor part 154 that controls movement of the tube part 155, and an auxiliary light source necessary to photograph the subject It may include at least one of the flash 153 to provide. The first camera 151 may be disposed on the front of the electronic device 100, and the second camera 152 may be disposed on the rear of the electronic device 100.

The first and second cameras 151 and 152 may each include a lens system, an image sensor, and the like. The first and second cameras 151 and 152 respectively convert optical signals input (or photographed) through the lens system into electrical image signals (or digital images) and output them to the control unit 110. A video or still image may be captured through the first and second cameras 151 and 152.

The input/output module 160 includes at least one button 161, at least one microphone 162, at least one speaker 163, at least one vibration element 164, a connector 165, and a keypad 166. , It may include at least one of the earphone connection jack 167 and the input unit 168. In addition, the input/output module 160 is not limited thereto, and a cursor control such as a mouse, trackball, joystick, or cursor direction keys may be provided to control the movement of the cursor on the touch screen 190. have.

The button 161 may be formed on the front, side, or rear of the housing (or case) of the electronic device 100, and the power/lock button, volume button, menu button, home button, and back button And a search button.

The microphone 162 receives voice or sound under control of the controller 110 to generate an electrical signal.

The speaker 163 transmits sounds corresponding to various signals or data (for example, wireless data, broadcast data, digital audio data, digital video data, etc.) under the control of the controller 110 to the outside of the electronic device 100. Can print The speaker 163 may output a sound corresponding to a function performed by the electronic device 100 (for example, a button operation sound corresponding to a phone call, a call connection sound, and the voice of the other user). The speaker 163 may be formed in one or a plurality of appropriate locations or positions of the housing of the electronic device 100.

The vibration element 164 may convert electrical signals into mechanical vibrations under the control of the controller 110. For example, when the electronic device 100 in the vibration mode receives a voice or video call from another device (not shown), the vibration element 164 operates. One or more vibration elements 164 may be formed in the housing of the electronic device 100. The vibration element 164 may operate in response to a user input through the touch screen 190.

The connector 165 may be used as an interface for connecting the electronic device 100 to an external electronic device or a power source (not shown). The control unit 110 may transmit data stored in the storage unit 175 of the electronic device 100 to an external electronic device or receive data from the external electronic device through a wired cable connected to the connector 165. The electronic device 100 may receive power from a power source through a wired cable connected to the connector 165 or charge a battery (not shown) using the power source.

The keypad 166 may receive a key input from a user for control of the electronic device 100. The keypad 166 includes a physical keypad (not shown) formed on the electronic device 100 or a virtual keypad (not shown) displayed on the touch screen 190. The physical keypad formed on the electronic device 100 may be excluded depending on the performance or structure of the electronic device 100.

The earphone (not shown) may be inserted into the earphone connecting jack 167 and connected to the electronic device 100.

The input unit 168 may be inserted and stored inside the electronic device 100, and when used, may be withdrawn or separated from the electronic device 100. In this, an area inside the electronic device 100 into which the input unit 168 is inserted is provided with a detach/attachment recognition switch 169 that operates in response to mounting and detachment of the input unit 168, and detach/remove. The attachment recognition switch 169 may output a signal corresponding to attachment and detachment of the input unit 168 to the controller 110. The detach/attachment recognition switch 169 may be configured to contact directly or indirectly when the input unit 168 is mounted. Accordingly, the detach/attachment recognition switch 169 is equipped with a signal corresponding to mounting or detachment of the input unit 168 (ie, mounting of the input unit 168) based on whether or not the input unit 168 is contacted. Alternatively, a signal for notifying separation is generated and output to the control unit 110.

The sensor module 170 includes at least one sensor that detects the state of the electronic device 100. For example, the sensor module 170 may be a proximity sensor that detects whether the user has access to the electronic device 100, an illuminance sensor (not shown) that detects the amount of light around the electronic device 100, or electronics. Motion sensor (not shown) that detects the operation of the device 100 (eg, rotation of the electronic device 100, acceleration or vibration of the electronic device 100), and rotational motion of the electronic device 100 Gyroscope to do, accelerometer to detect the acceleration motion of the electronic device 100, Geo-magnetic sensor to detect the point of the compass of the electronic device 100 using the earth's magnetic field, direction of action of gravity It may include at least one sensor, such as a gravity sensor (Gravity Sensor) for detecting, an altimeter (Altimeter) for detecting the altitude by measuring the pressure of the atmosphere, the GPS module.

The GPS module 157 receives radio waves from a plurality of GPS satellites (not shown) in orbit of the earth, and uses the time of arrival from the GPS satellites to the electronic device 100 (Time of Arrival). 100) can be calculated.

The storage unit 175 is a communication unit 120, a multimedia module 140, a camera module 150, an input/output module 160, a sensor module 170 or a touch screen 190 under the control of the control unit 110 Depending on the operation of the input / output signal or data can be stored. The storage unit 175 may store control programs and applications for controlling the electronic device 100 or the control unit 110.

The term “storage unit” refers to a memory card (eg, SD card, memory stick) mounted in the storage unit 175, the ROM 112 in the control unit 110, the RAM 113, or the electronic device 100. It is used as a term to refer to any data storage device. The storage unit 175 may include a non-volatile memory, a volatile memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or a solid state drive (SSD).

In addition, the storage unit 175 is an image, a user for providing applications of various functions such as navigation, video calls, games, time-based alarm applications and the like, and a graphical user interface (GUI) related thereto. Databases or data related to a method for processing information, documents, and touch input, background images (menu screen, standby screen, etc.) required to drive the electronic device 100 or operating programs, photographed by the camera module 150 Images and the like can be saved.

In addition, the storage unit 175 may store a program and related data for executing a wireless connection method using an out-of-band (OOB) according to the present invention.

The storage unit 175 is a machine-readable medium, and the term machine-readable medium is defined as a medium that provides data to the machine so that the machine can perform a specific function. Can. The storage unit 175 may include non-volatile media and volatile media. All such media must be of a type such that the instructions conveyed by the media can be detected by a physical mechanism that reads the instructions into the machine.

The machine-readable medium is, but is not limited to, a floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical disk , At least one of punch card, paper tape, RAM, Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), and FLASH-EPROM Includes.

The power supply unit 180 may supply power to one or a plurality of batteries disposed in the housing of the electronic device 100 under the control of the control unit 110. One or more batteries supply power to the electronic device 100. Further, the power supply unit 180 may supply power input from an external power source to the electronic device 100 through a wired cable connected to the connector 165. Also, the power supply unit 180 may supply power input wirelessly from an external power source to the electronic device 100 through a wireless charging technology.

Also, the electronic device 100 may include at least one touch screen 190 that provides a user graphical interface corresponding to various services (eg, calls, data transmission, broadcasting, and photography).

The touch screen 190 may output an analog signal corresponding to at least one user input input to the user graphic interface to the touch screen controller 195.

The touch screen 190 may receive at least one user input through a user's body (eg, a finger including a thumb) or an input unit 168 (eg, a stylus pen, electronic pen).

The touch screen 190 may receive a continuous movement of one touch (ie, drag input). The touch screen 190 may output an analog signal corresponding to the continuous movement of the input touch to the touch screen controller 195.

In the present invention, the touch is not limited to contact between the touch screen 190 and the finger or the input unit 168, and is capable of detecting a user input means without direct contact (eg, without direct contact with the touch screen 190). It may include a recognition distance (for example, when the user input means is located within 1cm). The distance or interval at which the user input means can be recognized on the touch screen 190 may be changed according to the performance or structure of the electronic device 100, and in particular, the touch screen 190 may be directly touched by contact with the user input means. To detect the touch event and the indirect touch event (ie, the hovering event), a value detected by the direct touch event and the hovering event (eg, an analog value including a voltage value or a current value) may be output differently. Can be configured to.

The touch screen 190 may be, for example, a resistive method, a capacitive method, an infrared method, an ultrasonic wave method, an electromagnetic resonance (EMR) method, or a combination thereof. Can be implemented as

In addition, the touch screen 190 is a finger input and a pen input so that the input (ie, finger input) and the input (ie, pen input) by the input unit 168 can be detected separately. It may include at least two touch screen panels that can detect each. The at least two touch screen panels provide different output values to the touch screen controller 195, and the touch screen controller 195 recognizes values input from the at least two touch screen panels differently, thereby providing a touch screen ( It is also possible to distinguish whether the input from 190 is input by a finger or input by the input unit 168. For example, the touch screen 190 may have a structure in which a capacitive touch screen panel and an electromagnetic resonance (EMR) touch screen panel are combined. In addition, as described above, since the touch screen 190 may be configured to include touch keys such as a menu button 161b, a back button 161c, the finger input or touch screen 190 according to the present invention Finger input on the screen includes touch input on the touch key.

The touch screen controller 195 converts the analog signal input from the touch screen 190 into a digital signal and transmits it to the controller 110. The control unit 110 may control the touch screen 190 using a digital signal received from the touch screen controller 195. For example, the controller 110 may allow a shortcut icon (not shown) or an object displayed on the touch screen 190 to be selected or executed in response to a direct touch event or a hovering event. Also, the touch screen controller 195 may be integrated into the control unit 110.

The touch screen controller 195 may detect a value (eg, a current value, etc.) output through the touch screen 190 to check the hovering interval or distance as well as the user input location, and the confirmed distance value may be a digital signal (eg , Z coordinate) to provide to the control unit 110. Further, the touch screen controller 195 may detect a value (eg, a current value, etc.) output through the touch screen 190 to detect a pressure at which the user input means presses the touch screen 190, and the confirmed pressure The value may be converted into a digital signal and provided to the control unit 110.

2 is a view showing a front perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a view showing a rear perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 3, a touch screen 190 is disposed in the center of the front surface 101 of the electronic device 100. The touch screen 190 may be formed to occupy most of the front surface 101 of the electronic device 100. 2 illustrates an example in which a main home screen is displayed on the touch screen 190. The main home screen is the first screen displayed on the touch screen 190 when the electronic device 100 is turned on. Also, when the electronic device 100 has different home screens of several pages, the main home screen may be the first home screen among the home screens of the multiple pages. Shortcut icons 191-1, 191-2, and 191-3 for executing frequently used applications may be displayed on the home screen, a main menu switching key 191-4, time, weather, and the like. When the user selects the main menu switch key 191-4, a menu screen is displayed on the touch screen 190. In addition, a status bar 192 may be formed on the top of the touch screen 190 to display the status of the electronic device 100 such as a battery charging status, a received signal strength, and a current time.

Touch keys such as a home button 161a, a menu button 161b, and a back button 161c may be formed under the touch screen 190, mechanical buttons, or a combination thereof. In addition, these touch keys may be configured as part of the touch screen 190.

The home button 161a displays a main home screen on the touch screen 190. For example, when the home button 161a is selected while a home screen or menu screen different from the main home screen is displayed on the touch screen 190, the main home screen is displayed on the touch screen 190. Can be displayed. In addition, when the home button 161a is selected while applications are being executed on the touch screen 190, the main home screen shown in FIG. 2 may be displayed on the touch screen 190. Also, the home button 161a may be used to display recently used applications on the touch screen 190 or to display a task manager.

The menu button 161b provides a connection menu that can be displayed on the touch screen 190. The connection menu may include a widget addition menu, a background change menu, a search menu, an edit menu, and an environment setting menu.

The back button 161c may be used to display a screen that was executed immediately before the currently executing screen, or to terminate the most recently used application.

A first camera 151, an illuminance sensor 170a, and a proximity sensor 170b may be disposed above the front surface 101 of the electronic device 100. The second camera 152, the flash (flash) 153, and the speaker 163 may be disposed on the rear surface 103 of the electronic device 100.

The side 102 of the electronic device 100 includes, for example, a power/lock button 161d, a volume increase button 161f, and a volume button 161e having a volume decrease button 161g, a terrestrial DMB antenna for broadcast reception (141a), one or a plurality of microphones 162 may be disposed. The DMB antenna 141a may be fixed to the electronic device 100 or detachably formed.

In addition, a connector 165 is formed on the lower side of the electronic device 100. A plurality of electrodes are formed on the connector 165 and may be connected to an external device by wire. An earphone connection jack 167 may be formed on an upper side of the electronic device 100. Earphones may be inserted into the earphone connection jack 167.

Also, an input unit 168 may be mounted on the lower side of the electronic device 100. The input unit 168 may be inserted and stored inside the electronic device 100, and when used, may be withdrawn and separated from the electronic device 100.

The control unit 110 controls the overall operation of the electronic device 100, and the control unit 110 controls other components in the electronic device 100 to perform a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction.

4 is a view showing the main configuration of the touch screen.

4A is a plan view of the touch screen, and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the touch screen along A-A'.

The touch screen 190 includes a window 210 exposed on the front surface of the mobile terminal 100, a first touch sensor 220 stacked on the central portion 211 of the window 210 to detect user input, and a user It includes a second touch sensor 230 stacked on the peripheral portion 212 of the window to detect the input, and a display unit 240 for screen display. The upper surface of the second touch sensor 230 may be attached to the window 210, and the lower surface thereof may be attached to the display unit 240. In addition, the window 210 is movable in parallel with the fixed display unit 240.

The display unit 240 includes a plurality of pixels, and displays an image through the pixels. As the display unit 240, a liquid crystal display (LCD), organic light emitting diodes (OLED), LED, or the like can be used.

The upper surface of the window 210 forms at least a part of the front surface of the touch screen 190 exposed to the outside. The window 210 is formed of an insulating material that is transparent to visible light. Examples of the insulating material include synthetic resins or plastics such as polyimide and polyethylene terephthalate.

A hard coating layer of high hardness to prevent scratches and the like may be stacked on the upper surface of the window 210, and the hard coating layer may have an anti-glare function with a hardness improving function. For example, the hard coating layer may be formed of a material in which a light scattering agent is added to a conventional hard coating agent.

The first touch sensor 220 may be attached to the window 210 in a state of being formed as a separate substrate, or may be directly stacked on the window 210 by a method such as deposition or printing. The first touch sensor 220 may be configured to provide touch keys such as a menu button 161b and a back button 161c disposed under a screen exposed to a user.

The first touch sensor 220 recognizes the position of the user input means on the surface of the window 210, and for this purpose, the first touch sensor 220 has predetermined patterns. The first touch sensor 220 may have various patterns such as a linear lattice pattern and a diamond pattern, and this example illustrates a linear lattice pattern.

5 is a diagram for illustrating a pattern of the first touch sensor 220. The first touch sensor 220 includes first electrode lines 310 and second electrode lines 320. The cross-sectional view shown at the bottom of FIG. 5 shows the first electrode lines 310 TX1, TX2, TX3, and the second electrode line 320 RX continuously disposed.

Each of the first electrode lines 310 extends in a first direction (for example, an x-axis or a horizontal direction), and a second direction (for example, a y-axis or a vertical direction) perpendicular to the first direction. Direction) or at equal intervals.

Each of the second electrode lines 320 extends along the second direction perpendicular to the first direction and is disposed at the same interval or different intervals along the first direction.

In order to electrically insulate the first electrode lines 310 and the second electrode lines 320, an insulating layer 330 between the first electrode line 310 and the second electrode line 320. ) Is placed. As the material of the insulating layer 330, an insulating dielectric material such as SiO ₂ may be used.

The first touch sensor 220 is formed of a conductive material that is transparent to visible light, and examples of the conductive material include carbon-containing organic materials such as carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphene. have. The first touch sensor 220 may be formed through a process of forming a conductive thin film through a vacuum deposition process and then patterning it using a lithography process. Examples of the vacuum deposition process include electron beam (E-beam), sputtering, and the like.

In order to perform a sensor function, when a scan signal of a predetermined waveform is applied to the first touch sensor 220 and the first user input means contacts the surface of the window 210, the first touch sensor 220 and A detection signal whose waveform is changed due to the capacitance between the first user input means is generated, and the control unit 110 analyzes the detection signal to determine whether the first user input means is in contact or not and where the contact is. . For example, when the first user input means contacts the touch screen 190, the capacitance of the corresponding sensing point 340 increases. The controller 110 detects the occurrence of a touch event based on a detection signal having a peak value above a threshold value (or a minimum value below the threshold value), and also detects an input location. The threshold value is experimentally set as a value capable of distinguishing noise from a normal signal, and may be, for example, a voltage of 0 V or more or a capacitance value of 0 pF or more.

In order to perform a sensor function, voltages (ie, scan signals) of a predetermined waveform are sequentially applied from the touch screen controller 195 to the first electrode lines 310, and the second electrode lines are sequentially applied. 320 outputs the detection signals resulting from the scan signals to the touch screen controller 195. The points at which the first and second electrode lines 310 and 320 intersect are sensing points 340, and in this example, the sensing points 340 are arranged in a matrix structure. That is, the input location is determined as one of the locations of the sensing points 340. When the user input means contacts the surface of the window 210, due to the capacitance between the sensor layer 412 and the user input means, the total capacitance of the sensing point 540 changes. Due to the change in capacitance, voltage waveforms of detection signals output from the second electrode lines 320 are changed, and the input position and/or input intensity of the user input means is grasped from the detection signals whose voltage waveform is changed. Is done.

When the user input means touches the surface of the window 210, the second touch sensor 230 detects a touch position (or touch coordinate), a touch pressure, and a horizontal pressure direction. To this end, the second touch sensor 230 It has a preset configuration or pattern.

The force pressing the surface of the touch screen 190 vertically is called vertical pressure, and the force pushing the surface of the touch screen 190 horizontally is called horizontal pressure.

6 is a diagram for illustrating the configuration of the second touch sensor 230, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams for describing the operation of the second touch sensor.

The second touch sensor 230 includes first to twelfth pressure sensors 401 to 412 having a rectangular strip shape spaced apart from each other as they are arranged in a square band shape on the peripheral portion 212 of the window 210. Three pressure sensors are disposed on each side (ie, each side of a square band) of the periphery 212 of the window 210. The first to twelfth pressure sensors 401 to 412 all have the same configuration, and the arrangement direction varies according to which side of the peripheral portion 212 of each pressure sensor is located. In this example, the first to twelfth pressure sensors 401 to 412 are arranged to be symmetrical up and down and left and right based on the center of the window 210.

Referring to FIG. 7, when the user presses the surface of the central portion 211 of the window surrounded by the second touch sensor 230 with the pressure F, each of the first to twelfth pressure sensors 401 to 412 is also part of the pressure F. Is delivered. The P pressure applied to the pressure sensor S _P is represented by _P f. The control unit 110 calculates an input position based on pressure values output from the first to twelfth pressure sensors 401 to 412.

The user's pressing pressure F can be approximated by the sum of the detection pressures of the first to twelfth pressure sensors 401 to 412.

For example, when the horizontal length of the central portion 211 of the window 210 is Lx and the vertical length is Ly, the x coordinate may be calculated as follows.

x =Lx{a(f1+f2) + b(f5+f6) + c(f9+f10) + d(f4+f8+f12)}/F

At this time, a, b, c, and d are coefficients according to the spacing, structure, and shape of the sensors, and can be experimentally set.

Also, the y coordinate can be calculated as follows.

y = Ly{a(f3+f4) + b(f7+f8) + c(f11+f12) + d(f2+f6+f10)}/F

The control unit 110 detects a touch pressure, a touch position, and a horizontal pressure direction using the first to twelfth pressure sensors 401 to 412. The normal touch direction indicates a change direction of a touch position according to an operation in which a finger slides the surface of the touch screen 190 like a general drag or swipe operation, but the horizontal pressure direction of the present invention is a finger touch screen. It shows the direction in which the surface of the touch screen 190 is pushed while being fixed to one point of 190.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 8, as the finger 420 slides the surface of the touch screen 190 along the direction of the arrow 421, the touch position is changed in the order of 430, 431, and 432 Able to know.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 8, it shows that the finger 420 pushes the surface of the touch screen 190 while being fixed to a point 440 of the touch screen 190. Therefore, the touch position of the finger 420 is maintained constant during the pushing operation of the finger 420 regardless of the direction in which the finger 420 pushes.

9 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a pressure sensor for detection of a horizontal pressure direction. The first to twelfth pressure sensors all have the same configuration, and FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the seventh pressure sensor. 9(a) shows a side view of the seventh pressure sensor 407, and FIG. 9(b) shows a top view of the seventh pressure sensor 407.

Referring to FIG. 9A, the seventh pressure sensor 407 includes lower and upper substrates 410g and 412g, a lower electrode 420g disposed on an upper surface of the lower substrate 410g, and an upper substrate 412g. ), the first and second dielectric layers 430g and 432g disposed between the upper electrode 422g and the lower electrode 420g and the upper electrode 422g. The upper electrode 422g has a smaller area than the lower electrode 420g.

The lower and upper substrates 410g and 412g may be formed of PCB and FPCB, respectively, and the lower and upper electrodes 420g and 422g may be formed of any conductive material such as copper, respectively. The dielectric layers 430g and 432g may be formed of any material having elasticity, for example, a well-known elastic material such as polyolefin-based, PVC-based, polystyrene-based, polyester-based, polyurethane-based, polyamide-based, elastic silicone, and the like. have.

The seventh pressure sensor 407 is a capacitive sensor, and the capacitance value changes by changing the distance between the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g according to pressure. Due to the change in capacitance, voltage waveforms of detection signals output from the seventh pressure sensor 407 are changed, and the controller 110 detects the touch position and touch pressure of the user input means from the detection signals whose voltage waveform is changed. To grasp.

In addition, the seventh pressure sensor 407 has a characteristic that the capacitance value changes according to the touch pressure direction.

The capacitance value C is defined as follows.

C= EP/d1 (F)

In the above formula, E is the dielectric constant of the material located between the upper and lower electrodes 420g, 422g, P is the overlapping area of the upper and lower electrodes 420g, 422g, and d1 is the upper and lower electrodes 420g, 422g It is the interval between. In FIG. 9(a), P1 represents the overlapping section of the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g, and in FIG. 9(b), P denoted by hatching represents the overlapping area of the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g. . In the vertical pressure state or the no-pressure state, the overlapping areas of the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g are kept constant.

When the user presses the surface of the touch screen 190 vertically, the gap between the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g decreases as the first and second dielectric layers 430g and 432g contract, thereby reducing the seventh pressure sensor ( The capacitance value of 407) is increased.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 9, the seventh pressure sensor 407 is configured to detect the pressure direction of the -x axis, and is configured not to detect the pressure direction of the +x, +y, and -y axes.

10 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the pressure sensor according to the touch pressure.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 10, when the surface of the touch screen 190 is pushed to the left while a finger is fixed to a point on the touch screen 190, the overlapping areas of the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g are As it changes, the capacitance value changes. As the upper substrate 412g and the upper electrode 422g move to the left, the overlapping area of the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g decreases, and the spacing between the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g remains constant. . That is, the relationship of P1>P2 and d1=d2 holds.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 10, when a finger pushes the surface of the touch screen 190 to the right while the finger is fixed at a point on the touch screen 190, the upper substrate 412g and the upper electrode 422g are left However, the overlapping area and spacing of the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g are kept constant. That is, the relationship of P3=P1, d3=d1 holds.

In this example, although the overlapping intervals of the upper and lower electrodes of the pressure sensor are changed according to the movement of the surface of the touch screen 190, the pressure sensor is the overlapping area or spacing between the electrodes, the dielectric constant, or a combination thereof. It can also be configured to change.

11 to 13 are views for explaining the arrangement and operation of the pressure sensors.

11 shows cross sections of the fifth, six, seven and eight pressure sensors 405-408. In Fig. 11, cross sections showing the fifth and sixth pressure sensors 405 and 406 along B-B' and cross sections showing the seventh and eighth pressure sensors 407 and 408 along C-C' are shown. .

In the arrangement of these pressure sensors, the fifth pressure sensor 405 is a -y-axis pressure direction, the sixth pressure sensor 406 is a +y-axis pressure direction, and the seventh pressure sensor 407 is -x-axis pressure direction, The eighth pressure sensor 408 is configured to detect the pressure direction of the +x axis, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 12, it shows that the finger 420 is pushed to the left of the surface of the touch screen 190 while being fixed to a point 440 of the touch screen. For this pressure direction, the overlapping interval P2 of the upper and lower electrodes 420g and 422g of the seventh pressure sensor 407 decreases compared to the overlapping interval P1 of the vertical pressure (or no pressure) state, and the eighth pressure sensor ( The overlapping interval P4 of the upper and lower electrodes 420h and 422h of 408 is maintained the same as the overlapping interval P1 in the vertical pressure state. The overlapping interval of each of the fifth and sixth pressure sensors 405 and 406 is also maintained the same as the overlapping interval P1 in the vertical pressure state.

Referring to FIG. 13, it shows that a finger is pushed downward on the surface of the touch screen 190 while being fixed to one point of the touch screen 190. For this pressure direction, the overlapping interval P5 of the upper and lower electrodes 420e and 422e of the fifth pressure sensor 405 decreases compared to the overlapping interval P1 of the vertical pressure state, and the upper and lower portions of the sixth pressure sensor 406 are The overlapping intervals P6 of the lower electrodes 420f and 422f remain the same as the overlapping intervals P1 in the vertical pressure state. The overlapping interval of each of the seventh and eighth pressure sensors 407 and 408 is also maintained the same as the overlapping interval P1 in the vertical pressure state.

6 and 11, the first and ninth pressure sensors 401 and 409 are disposed the same as the fifth pressure sensor 405, and the second and tenth pressure sensors 402 and 410 are sixth The same as the pressure sensor 406, the third and eleventh pressure sensors 403, 411 are arranged the same as the seventh pressure sensor 407, and the fourth and twelfth pressure sensors 404, 412 are It is arranged in the same way as the eighth pressure sensor 408.

Referring to FIG. 4, the second touch sensor 230 is stacked on the lower surface of the window 210 to allow deformation according to the movement of the window 210 (ie, deformation of the dielectric layer), whereas the first touch sensor 230 220) is stacked on the lower surface of the window 210 so that deformation due to the movement of the window 210 is not possible.

That is, when the user pushes the surface of the window 210 in a direction parallel to the second touch sensor 230 is deformed, the first touch sensor 220 moves with the window 210 without deformation. . Therefore, the touch position detected by the first touch sensor 220 remains constant despite the user's pushing operation, while the touch position detected by the second touch sensor 230 varies according to the direction the user pushes. .

14 is a view for explaining a change in detection positions of the first and second touch sensors according to the pressure direction.

14A shows that the finger 420 presses the surface of the touch screen 190 vertically. The touch position 510 detected by the first touch sensor 220 and the touch position 520 detected by the second touch sensor 230 are the same.

FIG. 14B shows that the surface of the touch screen is pushed horizontally to the left with the finger 420 fixed to a point on the touch screen 190. In this case, the touch position 510 detected by the first touch sensor 220 remains the same as the touch position in the vertical pressure state. On the other hand, the touch position 521 detected by the second touch sensor 230 moves to the right from the touch position in the vertical pressure state. That is, the touch position moves in a direction opposite to the direction in which the finger pushes.

Referring to FIG. 12, when the surface of the touch screen 190 is pushed horizontally to the left, the detection value (ie, the capacitance value) of the eighth pressure sensor 408 remains the same as the detection value of the vertical pressure state. On the other hand, the detection value of the seventh pressure sensor 407 (that is, the electrostatic capacity value) decreases than the detection value of the vertical pressure state. For example, when the detection value of the seventh pressure sensor 407 and the detection value of the eighth pressure sensor 408 are the same, the touch position is at the center of the seventh pressure sensor 407 and the eighth pressure sensor 408. It is assumed that it is determined to be located. If the detected value of the eighth pressure sensor 408 is greater than the detected value of the seventh pressure sensor 407, it is determined that the touch position is closer to the eighth pressure sensor 408 than the seventh pressure sensor 407. For this reason, as shown in (b) of FIG. 14, the touch position 521 detected by the second touch sensor 230 moves to the right from the touch position 520 in the vertical pressure state.

FIG. 14(c) illustrates that the surface of the touch screen 190 is pushed horizontally downward with the finger 420 fixed to a point on the touch screen 190, as illustrated in FIG. 13. Shows. In this case, the touch position 510 detected by the first touch sensor 220 remains the same as the touch position in the vertical pressure state. On the other hand, the touch position 522 detected by the second touch sensor 230 moves upward from the touch position 520 in the vertical pressure state. That is, the touch position moves in a direction opposite to the direction in which the finger pushes.

Referring to FIG. 13, when the surface of the touch screen 190 is pushed horizontally downwardly, the detection value (ie, the capacitance value) of the sixth pressure sensor 406 is maintained to be the same as the detection value of the vertical pressure state. On the other hand, the detection value of the fifth pressure sensor 405 (that is, the capacitance value) decreases than the detection value of the vertical pressure state. For example, when the detection value of the fifth pressure sensor 405 is the same as the detection value of the sixth pressure sensor 406, the touch position is at the center of the fifth pressure sensor 405 and the sixth pressure sensor 406. It is assumed that it is determined to be located. If the detected value of the sixth pressure sensor 406 is greater than the detected value of the fifth pressure sensor 405, it is determined that the touch position is closer to the sixth pressure sensor 406 than the fifth pressure sensor 405. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 14C, the touch position 522 detected by the second touch sensor 230 moves upward from the touch position in the vertical pressure state.

In the present invention, the detection of the touch is performed by the touch screen, and the touch information based on the touch detection value, touch pressure (vertical pressure or vertical touch pressure) and/or horizontal pressure direction (or horizontal touch pressure) of touch information such as The calculation may be performed by the touch screen 190, the touch screen controller 195, or the control unit 110 (or a combination thereof).

The controller 110 may perform GUI and/or application control in various ways in consideration of the horizontal pressure direction.

In the above example, although each pressure sensor is illustrated as including the first and second dielectric layers, each pressure sensor may include only one dielectric layer.

15 is a view showing another example of the configuration of the pressure sensor for detecting the horizontal pressure direction.

The pressure sensor 600 includes lower and upper substrates 610 and 612, a lower electrode 620 disposed on an upper surface of the lower substrate 610, and an upper electrode 622 disposed on a lower surface of the upper substrate 612. , And a dielectric layer 630 disposed between the lower electrode 620 and the upper electrode 622. The upper and lower electrodes 620 and 622 have different areas.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments, the horizontal pressure directions in four directions of upper, lower, left and right are illustrated, but the controller 110 can detect any horizontal pressure direction.

16 is a view showing another example of detecting the horizontal pressure direction.

Referring to FIG. 16, it shows that the finger 420 pushes the surface of the touch screen 190 to the left and right while being fixed to a point 440 of the touch screen 190. For this pressure direction, the overlapping interval P5 of the upper and lower electrodes 420e and 422e of the fifth pressure sensor 405 decreases compared to the overlapping interval P1 of the vertical pressure state, and the upper and lower portions of the seventh pressure sensor 407 are The overlapping interval P2 of the lower electrodes 420g and 422g decreases compared to the overlapping interval P1 of the vertical pressure state, and the overlapping interval P4 of the upper and lower electrodes 420h and 422h of the eighth pressure sensor 408 is of the vertical pressure state. It remains the same as the overlapping interval P1, and the overlapping interval P6 of the upper and lower electrodes 420f and 422f of the sixth pressure sensor 406 remains the same as the overlapping interval P1 in the vertical pressure state.

17 is a flowchart for explaining a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction, and FIG. 18 is a view for explaining a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction.

Step S110 is a touch detection process of the first and second touch sensors 220 and 230, and the controller 110 detects that the user touches the touch screen using the first and second touch sensors 220 and 230. do. This user touch can be made on any application screen. Prior to such a user touch, for example, a user may execute an application mapped to the icon by touching an icon he/she wants among various icons displayed on the screen of the touch screen 190.

The control unit 110 receives a user input through the input/output module 160, the touch screen 190, the camera module 150, or the communication module 120. The user selects a button 161, an icon or a menu item through the input/output module 160 or the touch screen 190, inputs a voice command through the microphone 162, or gestures through the camera module 150. Alternatively, motion input may be performed or a specific command may be wirelessly input through the communication module 120. Such an instruction may be an application execution instruction. The application may be any application, for example, a contact application, voice recognition application, schedule management application, document creation application, music application, internet application, map application, camera application, email application, photo application, image editing application, It may be a search application, a file search application, a video application, a game application, an SNS application, a phone application, a message application, and the like. The gesture or motion input, for example, refers to a case in which the user draws a trajectory of a preset pattern such as a circle, triangle, rectangle, etc. toward the camera module 150 with a hand or finger.

Alternatively, the user may perform a user touch on the home screen of the operating application.

Step S120 is a first user input processing process, and the controller 110 processes a user's touch input. The controller 110 may perform a program operation corresponding to the location of the touch input. The first user input may be when a surface of the touch screen 190 is vertically pressed with a finger, an object on the screen is selected, a point on the screen is selected, or the like. Such an operation may be display of a visual object for guiding user input based on object selection, menu display, and horizontal pressure direction.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 18, when the user touches the surface of the touch screen 190 with the finger 420 while the map application screen 700 is displayed, for guiding user input based on the horizontal pressure direction. The visual object 710 may be displayed on the screen 700. In this example, the visual object 710 includes an arrow and an enlarged display (+) and a reduced display (-) according to the direction of the arrow.

Step S130 is the second user input processing process according to the horizontal pressure direction, and when the user pushes the surface of the touch screen without sliding while pressing a point on the touch screen with the finger, the controller 110 pushes the finger, that is, horizontal The pressure direction is determined, and a program operation according to the horizontal pressure direction is performed.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 18, when the user pushes the surface of the touch screen 190 upward without changing the touch point, the control unit 110 displays the enlarged map screen 712.

19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a touch detection method of a touch screen.

Step S210 is a touch detection process of the first touch sensor, and the control unit 110 determines the first touch detection position of the first touch sensor 220 through the output value of the first touch sensor 220.

Step S220 is a touch detection process of the second touch sensor, and the controller 110 determines the second touch detection position of the second touch sensor 230 through the output value of the second touch sensor 230.

Step S230 is a process of comparing the first and second touch detection positions, and when the first and second touch detection positions are the same as the first and second touch detection positions, there is no horizontal pressure (or horizontal pressure direction) in step S240. Decide. Further, the control unit 110 determines the horizontal pressure direction in step S250 when the first and second touch detection positions are the same.

For example, the horizontal pressure direction may be determined from the second touch detection position toward the first touch detection position.

Step S260 is a process of determining the touch position and the touch pressure, the controller 110 determines the first touch detection position as a touch position, and determines the touch pressure based on the output value of the second touch sensor.

20 is a diagram showing another example of a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 20, when the user touches the object 730 of the home screen 720 with the finger 420 on the home screen 720, a menu may be displayed on the screen.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 20, the menu 740 includes five menu items (copy, cut, align, and move (5) corresponding to five horizontal pressure directions, respectively. move) and edit). The user may select or execute a desired menu item by pushing the surface of the touch screen 190 in a corresponding direction while the finger 420 is fixed to a point 440 of the touch screen 190.

Unlike this example, five menu items respectively corresponding to various horizontal pressure directions may be displayed in the form of text or icons around the touch position.

21 is a view showing another example of a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 21, a screen 800 of an image editing application is displayed on a touch screen, and a new image menu item, an open menu item, a save menu item, and a print menu item are displayed on the image editing screen 800. , A top menu 810 including message menu items, a side menu 812 including a handwritten menu item (WRITING), an image menu item (IMG), a string menu item (T), and an image window 820 ) Is displayed.

The user selects a handwritten menu item and draws a mug placed on the table with a finger 420 in the image window. If the user drags the surface of the touch screen without pushing, the user can draw in the normal writing mode. In this normal handwriting mode (or freehand handwriting mode), a curve 830 is drawn according to the touch position trajectory.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 21, when a user pushes and drags the surface of the touch screen, a picture may be drawn in a straight line mode. In this linear mode (or linear handwriting mode), a straight line 832 is drawn according to the touch position trajectory.

22 is a diagram showing another example of a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction. 22 illustrates that when the user executes the phone book application, a contact list 840 having a plurality of contacts is displayed on the touch screen 190.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 22, a part (ie, A5, B1 to B4, C1) of the contact list 840 such as a phone book is displayed on the touch screen 190.

When a user's finger pushes the surface of the touch screen 190 downward at a point 440 of the touch screen 190, as shown in (a) of FIG. 22, the upper portion of the contact list 210 ( That is, while the A5) at the top of the screen moves to the bottom of the touch screen 190, the invisible contacts A1 to A4 are displayed on the touch screen 190.

When the user's finger pushes the surface of the touch screen 190 downward at a point 440 of the touch screen 190, as shown in FIG. 22(c), the lower part of the contact list 210 ( That is, while the C1) at the bottom of the screen moves to the top of the touch screen 190, the invisible contacts C2 to C5 are displayed on the touch screen 190.

In this scrolling up or down, the control unit 110 may control the scrolling speed according to the intensity of the touch pressure.

23 is a diagram showing another example of a user input processing method based on a horizontal pressure direction. 23 illustrates that a webpage is displayed on the touch screen 190 when the user runs the Internet application.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 23, the middle portion 850 of the web page is displayed on the touch screen 190.

When the user's finger 420 pushes the surface of the touch screen 190 to the right while being fixed to a point 440 of the touch screen 190, as shown in FIG. 23(a), the left part of the screen is displayed. While moving to the right end, the left portion 852 of the invisible webpage is displayed on the touch screen 190.

When the user's finger 420 pushes the surface of the touch screen 190 to the left while being fixed to a point 440 of the touch screen 190, as shown in FIG. 23(c), the right part of the screen is displayed. While moving to the left end, the right portion 854 of the invisible webpage is displayed on the touch screen 190.

In addition to the above-described examples, in a typical game, a user may move an object such as an air vehicle or a character in a desired direction by simply pushing a surface of the touch screen in a desired direction while holding a finger at a point on the touch screen.

In the above examples, a touch screen is illustrated as a typical example of a display unit displaying a screen, but instead of the touch screen, a liquid crystal display (LCD) without touch detection function, organic light emitting diodes (Organic Light Emitting Diodes): OLED), LED, or the like can also be used.

It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention are feasible in the form of hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software. Any such software may be volatile or non-volatile storage, such as a storage device such as a ROM, or memory, such as a RAM, memory chip, device or integrated circuit, whether or not it is erasable or rewritable, for example. Alternatively, it may be stored on a storage medium readable by a machine (eg, a computer) while being optically or magnetically recordable, for example, a CD, DVD, magnetic disk, or magnetic tape. It will be appreciated that a storage unit that may be included in an electronic device is an example of a machine-readable storage medium suitable for storing programs or programs including instructions for implementing embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention includes a program comprising code for implementing the apparatus or method described in any claim herein and a machine-readable storage medium storing the program. In addition, such a program can be transferred electronically through any medium, such as a communication signal transmitted over a wired or wireless connection, and the present invention suitably includes this equivalent.

Further, the electronic device may receive and store the program from a program providing device connected by wire or wirelessly. The program providing device includes a program including instructions for performing the method for the electronic device to process a preset touch input, a memory for storing information necessary for a method for processing the touch input, and a wired connection with the electronic device Or it may include a communication unit for performing wireless communication, and a control unit for automatically requesting the electronic device or automatically transmitting the corresponding program to the electronic device.

In the above description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be determined by the described embodiments, but should be determined by equality between the claims and the claims.

100: terminal, 110: control unit, 120: communication module, 130: sub communication module, 140: multimedia module, 150: camera module, 157: GPS module, 160: input / output module, 168: input unit, 170; Sensor module, 175: storage, 180: power supply, 190: touch screen, 195: touch screen controller

Claims (20)

In a method for processing a user's touch input in an electronic device having a touch screen including a first touch sensor and a second touch sensor,
Based on obtaining the touch input that pushes the surface of the touch screen from the user, the first touch detection position of the touch input is confirmed using the first touch sensor, and the second touch sensor is used to determine Confirming a second touch detection position of the touch input;
Confirming whether the first touch detection position matches the second touch detection position;
Confirming a horizontal pressure direction of the touch input using the first touch detection position and the second touch detection position based on a mismatch between the first touch detection position and the second touch detection position; And
And performing a program operation corresponding to the horizontal pressure direction. delete According to claim 1,
And determining the first touch detection position as an input position of the touch input. According to claim 3,
And performing another program operation corresponding to the input location of the touch input. According to claim 4,
The other program operation corresponding to the input position of the touch input includes at least one of object selection, menu display, or display of a visual object for guiding user input based on the horizontal pressure direction. How to handle. delete delete According to claim 1,
And determining that there is no horizontal pressure of the touch input based on the coincidence between the first touch detection position and the second touch detection position. According to claim 1, The program operation corresponding to the horizontal pressure direction,
A method of processing a touch input, comprising at least one of enlarging a portion of the screen, executing a menu item, executing a linear handwriting mode, scrolling a screen, or moving an object. A machine-readable storage medium recording a program for executing a method for processing a touch input according to any one of claims 1, 3 to 5, 8 or 9. An electronic device comprising the machine-readable storage medium of claim 10. In the electronic device for processing the user's touch input,
A touch screen including a first touch sensor and a second touch sensor; And
Includes a control unit;
The control unit,
Acquiring the touch input pushing the surface of the touch screen from the user, confirming a first touch detection position of the touch input using the first touch sensor, and using the second touch sensor to detect the touch input. Checking the second touch detection position, confirming whether the first touch detection position and the second touch detection position coincide, and based on the first touch detection position and the second touch detection position do not match, Electronic processing the touch input, characterized in that using the first touch detection position and the second touch detection position to check the horizontal pressure direction of the touch input, and performs a program operation corresponding to the horizontal pressure direction Device. delete The method of claim 12,
The first touch sensor is disposed in the center of the touch screen, the second touch sensor is an electronic device for processing a touch input, characterized in that disposed in the periphery of the touch screen. 15. The method of claim 14, The second touch sensor is provided with a plurality of pressure sensors, the plurality of pressure sensors,
A lower substrate and an upper substrate;
A lower electrode disposed on an upper surface of the lower substrate;
An upper electrode disposed on a lower surface of the upper substrate;
And a dielectric layer disposed between the lower electrode and the upper electrode,
The lower electrode is fixed, and the upper electrode is an electronic device for processing a touch input, characterized in that it moves with the surface of the touch screen according to the touch input. 16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the plurality of pressure sensors are arranged to detect horizontal pressures in different directions. The method of claim 12, wherein the control unit,
The first touch detection position is determined as an input position of the touch input,
An electronic device for processing a touch input, characterized in that performing another program operation corresponding to the input position of the touch input. The method of claim 17,
The other program operation corresponding to the input position of the touch input includes at least one of object selection, menu display, or display of a visual object for guiding user input based on the horizontal pressure direction. Electronic device to process. delete The method of claim 12, wherein the program operation corresponding to the horizontal pressure direction,
An electronic device for processing a touch input, characterized in that it includes at least one of enlargement of a part of the screen, execution of a menu item, execution of a linear handwriting mode, scrolling of a screen, or moving an object.

Images