Portable Terminal Touch Panel Key Operation Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing portable terminals with touch panels suffer from erroneous key presses when a user's finger slides from the display unit to the key area outside, leading to unintended operations, and existing solutions either increase device size or complicate finger detection processing.

Innovation Solution

A portable terminal design with a touch panel on the display unit and a key part outside, featuring a detection area near the key part on the display unit that prevents key presses from being registered until a certain time has elapsed or the finger is released, using a control unit to manage key operations and prevent erroneous touches.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a distance between the display unit and the touch keys is made longer to prevent erroneous operations, then erroneous operations are reduced, but the device increases in size

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerroneous operation preventionVSAvoiddevice size
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of finger placement on the display unit before the finger can reach the key part. When a finger is detected on the display unit, the system preemptively disables key pressing functionality, preventing erroneous operations before they can occur. This eliminates the need for increased physical distance between display and keys.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If touch duration monitoring is implemented to prevent erroneous key presses, then some erroneous operations are reduced, but erroneous operations are difficult to be completely eliminated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerroneous operation preventionVSAvoidcontrol complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of monitoring touch duration after contact occurs, the system performs preliminary detection of finger placement on the display unit. This proactive approach identifies potential erroneous inputs before they reach the key area, providing more reliable prevention with simpler control logic compared to duration-based methods.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If finger sliding detection is implemented to control key pressing, then subsequent key pressing can be controlled, but the processing of detecting finger sliding increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvekey pressing controlVSAvoiddetection processing
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system detects finger placement on the display unit as a preliminary condition and immediately disables key pressing based on this simple binary state (finger present/absent). This avoids the complex continuous monitoring and analysis required for finger sliding detection, achieving effective control with reduced processing complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2717127B1Portable terminal, key operation control method thereof, and program
Publication Date: 2016.11.23 NEC PLATFROMS LTD
  • EP2717127B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2717127B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2717127B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

To prevent a user from erroneously touching a key part arranged outside a display unit on a touch panel while operating the display unit via the touch panel, causing an erroneous operation. A portable terminal includes a display unit, a touch panel which is arranged on the display unit and a part other than the display unit extended from the display unit and is directed for detecting a position touched by a user on the display unit and outside the display unit, a key part which is arranged outside the display unit on the touch panel and is capable of detecting key pressing via the touch panel, and a control unit which, when detecting that the user touches a detection area set near the key part of the display unit via the touch panel, even if detecting that the user touches the key part, does not process the touch on the key part as key pressing.