Control method of handheld electronic device

The disclosure relates to a handheld electronic device and a control method thereof, and in particular, to a handheld electronic device for preventing an accidental touch and a control method thereof.

With development of handheld electronic devices, games on the handheld electronic devices are also increasingly popular. Generally, a handheld device is equipped with a touchscreen for users to perform a touch operation.

To increase a field of view of a screen and improve user experience, a screen bezel of a handheld electronic device is increasingly narrow. However, a narrow-bezel design is disadvantageous to a touch operation. When operating a handheld electronic device with a narrow-bezel design, a user is likely to accidentally touch the touchscreen, which lowers the user experience.

The disclosure provides a control method of a handheld electronic device adapted to a handheld electronic device. The handheld electronic device includes a touch panel. The control method includes: defining the touch panel into two areas with a trigger region in each; configuring the touch panel to detect a touch point; and determining whether the touch point is located in the trigger region or not, and when the touch point is located in the trigger region, forming a shielding region corresponding to the trigger region, and when the touch point is not located in the trigger region, repeatedly detecting the touch point.

In the control method of the handheld electronic device provided in the disclosure, a corresponding shielding region is formed according to a position of the touch point. The shielding region is used to avoid an accidental touch caused by a hand inadvertently touching an outer edge of a touchscreen when the user operates the handheld electronic device, thereby improving operation experience of the user.

Specific embodiments used in the disclosure are further described by using the following embodiments and drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a control method of a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure;

FIG. 2A illustrates the control method of FIG. 2 by using a touch panel on a handheld electronic device;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a control method of a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure;

FIG. 3A illustrates the control method of FIG. 3 by using a touch panel on a handheld electronic device;

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of a shielding region formed on a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of a control method of a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure; and

FIG. 5A illustrates the control method of FIG. 5 by using a touch panel on a handheld electronic device.

Specific embodiments of the disclosure are described in further detail below with reference to schematic drawings. The advantages and features of the disclosure will become more apparent from the following description and claims. It should be noted that the drawings are all in a very simplified form and are not drawn to accurate scale, but are merely used for convenience and clarity of description of the embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure. As shown in the figure, a handheld electronic device 100 includes a touch panel 120 and a touch processing unit 140 .

The touch panel 120 is configured to detect a touch point P 1 . In an embodiment, the touch point P 1 is a touch point of a single-touch-point signal. However, this is not limited herein. The touch point P 1 is alternatively a signal with a particular touch coordinate position such as a multi-touch-point signal. The touch processing unit 140 is electrically connected to the touch panel 120 to receive the touch point P 1 , and further to control an operation of the touch panel 120 according to the touch point P 1 . For specific operation steps of the touch processing unit 140 , more detailed descriptions are given in the following paragraphs.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 2A together, FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a control method of a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure, and FIG. 2A illustrates the control method of FIG. 2 by using a touch panel on a handheld electronic device. The control method is adapted to the handheld electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 1 , and is performed by a touch processing unit 140 .

The touch panel 120 is divided into two areas, and a trigger region and a shielding region are defined in each area. In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 2A , the touch panel 120 is divided into two areas A 1 and A 2 along a long side direction thereof, and the two areas A 1 and A 2 respectively correspond to a left-hand operation and a right-hand operation of a user. A trigger region B 1 and a shielding region C 1 are defined in the area A 1 , and a trigger region B 2 and a shielding region C 2 are defined in the area A 2 .

First, as shown in step S 120 , a touch panel is configured to execute detection. Next, as shown in step S 140 , a touch point P 1 is detected. In other words, the steps are performed to enable a touch shielding function of the handheld electronic device 100 , and a touch operation is performed by using the touch panel 120 to detect the touch point P 1 .

Subsequently, as shown in step S 160 , whether the touch point P 1 is located in the trigger region B 1 or B 2 is determined.

When the touch point P 1 is located in the trigger region B 1 or B 2 , as shown in step S 180 , the shielding region C 1 or C 2 corresponding to the trigger region B 1 or B 2 in which the touch point P 1 is located is activated to shield a touch detecting signal generated by an accidental touch on a screen.

In an embodiment, when the touch point P 1 is located in the trigger region B 1 that is on the left side, the shielding region C 1 is activated while the shielding region C 2 is not activated. In an embodiment, when the touch point P 1 is located in the trigger region B 2 that is on the right side, the shielding region C 2 is activated while the shielding region C 1 is not activated.

In an embodiment, when the touch point P 1 is a multi-touch-point signal, and the multi-touch points P 1 are located in both the trigger region B 1 that on the left side and the trigger region B 2 that is on the right side, the shielding region C 1 and C 2 are both activated.

When the touch point P 1 is not located in the trigger region B 1 or B 2 , the procedure returns back to step S 140 , and the shielding region C 1 or C 2 is not activated.

When the user taps the touch panel 120 while operating the handheld electronic device 100 , it is easy to accidentally touch the touch panel 120 and thus a false touch detecting signal generates. Based on the method of the present disclosure, regions that likely to be accidentally touched are configured as the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 to shield a generated accidental touch signal. In this way, an accidental touch behavior of a user is prevented from affecting correct operation of the handheld electronic device 100 , thereby improving operation experience of the user.

In an embodiment, the touch panel is divided into two areas A 1 and A 2 , which respectively correspond to a left-hand operation and a right-hand operation of a user. However, this is also not limited in the disclosure. In an embodiment, the touch panel 120 is divided into three or more areas according to requirements. Using three areas as an example, the touch panel 120 is divided into three areas along a long side thereof, namely, a left area, a middle area, and a right area. Using four areas as an example, the touch panel 120 is divided into four areas, namely, an upper left area, an upper right area, a lower left area, and a lower right area. In addition, sizes of the areas are also adjusted according to actual requirements.

A shape of the shielding region is defined according to requirements. As shown in FIG. 2A , in an embodiment, the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 are in a shape of a sector, and are located close to two corners of the touch panel 120 held by two hands. However, this is also not limited herein. In another embodiment, the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 are alternatively in a shape of a triangle or a square.

Positions of the shielding regions are also defined according to requirements. As shown in FIG. A, because when the user operates the handheld electronic device 100 , positions close to two corners of the touch panel 120 held by two hands are most likely to be accidentally touched. In an embodiment, the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 are configured on the lower left corner and the lower right corner of the touch panel 120 , to shield a signal that is generated by an accidental touch.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2A , in an embodiment, the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 are not connected to the trigger regions B 1 and B 2 correspondingly. However, this is not limited herein. In an embodiment, the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 are configured to connect the trigger regions B 1 and B 2 if the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 do not overlap the trigger regions B 1 and B 2 respectively.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a control method of a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure. FIG. 3A illustrates the control method of FIG. 3 by using a touch panel on a handheld electronic device. The control method is adapted to the handheld electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 1 , and is performed by the touch processing unit 140 .

The touch panel 120 is divided into two areas, and a trigger region and a reference point are defined in each area. In an embodiment, referring to FIG. 3A , the touch panel 120 is divided into two areas A 1 and A 2 along a long side direction thereof, and the two areas A 1 and A 2 respectively correspond to a left-hand operation and a right-hand operation of a user. A trigger region B 1 and a reference point R 1 are defined in the area A 1 , and a trigger region B 2 and a reference point R 2 are defined in the area A 2 . Compared with FIG. 2A , the reference points R 1 and R 2 , instead of the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 with fixed scopes, are defined on the touch panel 120 in this embodiment. In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A , the reference points R 1 and R 2 are located on corners of the touch panel 120 .

First, as shown in step S 220 , a touch panel is configured to initiate detection. Next, as shown in step S 240 , a touch point P 1 is detected. In other words, the steps are performed to enable a touch shielding function of the handheld electronic device 100 , and a touch operation is performed by using the touch panel 120 to detect the touch point P 1 . The step is the same as step S 140 in FIG. 2 .

Subsequently, as shown in step S 260 , whether the touch point P 1 is located in the trigger region B 1 or B 2 is determined.

When the touch point P 1 is located in trigger region B 1 or B 2 , as shown in step S 280 , a distance between the touch point P 1 and the corresponding reference point R 1 or R 2 is calculated, and a shielding region C 3 close to the reference point R 1 or R 2 is formed according to the calculated distance, to shield a touch detecting signal generated by an accident touch on a screen. Referring to FIG. 3A , in an embodiment, when the touch point P 1 is located in the trigger region B 1 that is on the left side, the step is performed to calculate a distance D 1 between the touch point P 1 and the reference point R 1 that is on the left side, and form the shielding region C 3 close to the reference point R 1 according to the distance D 1 .

When the touch point P 1 is not detected in the trigger region B 1 or B 2 , the procedure returns back to step S 240 , and the shielding region C 3 is not formed.

Different from the embodiment of FIG. 2 in which the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 with fixed scopes are pre-defined, a size of the shielding region C 3 in this embodiment changes with the position of the touch point P 1 . In an embodiment, the size of the shielding region C 3 is proportional to the distance D 1 between the touch point P 1 and the reference point R 1 corresponding thereto.

In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A , the shielding region C 3 is in a shape of a sector, and a radius r of the sector is the distance D 1 between the touch point P 1 and the reference point R 1 multiplied by a preset ratio. In an embodiment, the preset ratio is less than 0.5. However, this is not limited herein. The shielding region C 3 is alternatively in a shape of a triangle, a square, or an ellipse, and the shielding region C 3 includes a specific size, such as a side length of a triangle, a diagonal length of a square, or a long axis length and a short axis length of an ellipse, that is the distance D 1 between the touch point P 1 and the reference point R 1 multiplied by a preset ratio.

Compared with the embodiment of FIG. 2 and FIG. 2A in which the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 with fixed scopes are formed on the touch panel 120 , a scope of the shielding region C 3 of this embodiment changes with the position of the touch point P 1 , which helps in responding to different accidental touch states derived from different tap positions during an operation process of a user.

In an embodiment, when a tap position (that is, the position of the touch point P 1 of a touch point S 1 ) of the user is close to a center of the touch panel 120 , in step S 280 , a relatively large shielding region C 3 is formed to respond to an accidental touch on the touch panel 120 by the user's palm. On the contrary, when the click position of the user is close to an edge of the touch panel 120 , a relatively small shielding region C 3 is formed in step S 280 .

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of a shielding region formed on a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure. Compared with the embodiment in FIG. 2A , the shielding regions C 1 and C 2 are in a shape of a sector. A shielding region C 4 in this embodiment is formed by two triangles that overlap each other on a corner of the touch panel 120 , and a scope and a position thereof are pre-configured. In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , the shielding region C 4 is located on the lower left corner and the lower right corner of the touch panel 120 , that is, an area of the touch panel 120 , in which incorrect touch points are most likely to be generated. However, this is also not limited in the disclosure. In an embodiment, the shielding region C 4 is alternatively defined on the touch panel by a single triangle or a square.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of a control method of a handheld electronic device according to the disclosure. FIG. 5A illustrates the control method of FIG. 5 by using a touch panel on a handheld electronic device. The control method is adapted to the handheld device 100 shown in FIG. 1 , and is performed by the touch processing unit 140 .

Similar to FIG. 2A , the touch panel 120 is divided into two areas A 1 and A 2 . A trigger region B 1 and a preset shielding region C 5 are defined in the area A 1 , and a trigger region B 2 and a preset shielding region C 6 are defined in the area A 2 .

First, as shown in step S 320 , a touch panel is configured to initiate detection. Next, as shown in step S 330 , an adjustment function of a shielding scope is enabled to receive an adjustment signal S 2 of the shielding scope, and scopes of the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 are adjusted according to the adjustment signal S 2 of the shielding scope. In an embodiment, the adjustment signal S 2 of the shielding scope is a touch point signal. A user configures scopes of the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 through the touch panel 120 in a sliding dragging manner. In another embodiment, the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 are located on corners of the touch panel 120 .

In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A , using the shielding region C 6 that is on the right side as an example, the user moves a corner point P 2 of the shielding region C 6 to a corner point P 2 ′ in a sliding dragging manner, to obtain a shielding region C 6 ′ through adjustment. In this way, sizes and shapes of the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 are adjusted according to a situation. When finishing the configuration, the user saves the configuration by clicking a Store key 122 on the touch panel 120 , or cancels the configuration by clicking a Cancel key 124 .

In FIG. 5A , the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 are in a shape of a square. However, this is not limited herein. According to actual requirements, the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 are alternatively in a shape including an adjustable size for a user to perform adjustment such as a triangle or a sector. In an embodiment, the adjustable size is a diagonal length and an inclination angle of a square, a length and an inclination angle of an oblique side of a triangle, a radius of a sector, or the like.

In an embodiment, the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 located on two corners of the touch panel are symmetrical to each other. The user only needs to configure the shielding region C 5 . That is, configuration of the two shielding regions C 5 and C 6 are automatically performed. However, this is not limited herein. Because operation habits of right and left hands of the user are different, in an embodiment, the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 are alternatively adjusted separately.

Subsequent steps S 340 , S 360 and S 380 of the control method is similar to steps S 140 , S 160 and S 180 in FIG. 2 , and a difference therebetween only lies in different formed shielding regions. Details of the steps are not described herein again.

In an embodiment, the scopes of the shielding regions C 1 , C 2 , C 3 , and C 4 in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4A are pre-configured in the touch processing unit 140 in a form of software or firmware. In an embodiment, the shielding regions C 5 and C 6 shown in FIG. 5A are adjusted according to user's habits thus to improve operation experience of the user.

In the handheld electronic device and the control method provided in the disclosure, a corresponding shielding region is formed according to the position of the touch detecting signal, to prevent the user from accidentally touching the screen when the user operates the handheld electronic device, thereby improving the operation experience of the user.

The foregoing descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the disclosure in any way. Equivalent replacement or modification, made by any person skilled in the art in any form, to the technical means and technical contents disclosed by the disclosure without departing from the scope of the technical means of the disclosure does not depart from the contents of the technical means of the present disclosure and still falls within the protection scope of the disclosure.