METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETECTING TOUCH PRESSURE IN MOBILE TERMINAL

Methods and devices are disclosed for detecting touch pressure on a display panel including one or more transparent electrodes. In one implementation, a method includes detecting one or more capacitance values corresponding to each of one or more capacitors formed between the one or more transparent electrodes and a support array in the display panel, determining a representative capacitance value from the detected one or more capacitance values, and determining a pressure value exerted on the display panel according to at least the representative capacitance value.

This application is based on and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Serial No. 201510494192.0, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of P. R. China on Aug. 12, 2015, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of display technology, and more particularly to a method and a device for detecting touch pressure in a mobile terminal.

BACKGROUND

A touch panel may be integrated with a liquid crystal display panel. Two-dimensional coordinate positions of user touches on the touch panel may be sensed based on position-dependent capacity change induced by the touches on the touch panel. The traditional detection technology does not provide determination of touch pressure.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method for detecting touch pressure on a display panel comprising one or more transparent electrodes is disclosed. The method comprises: detecting one or more capacitance values corresponding to each of one or more capacitors formed between the one or more transparent electrodes and a support array in the display panel; determining a representative capacitance value from the detected one or more capacitance values; and determining a pressure value exerted on the display panel according to at least the representative capacitance value.

In another embodiment, a device is disclosed, comprising a display panel; one or more transparent electrodes in the display panel; a support array in the display panel; and a processor is configured to: detect one or more capacitance values corresponding to each of one or more capacitors formed between the one or more transparent electrodes and the support array in the display panel; determine a representative capacitance value from the detected one or more capacitance values; and determine a pressure value exerted on the display panel according to at least the representative capacitance value.

In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored therein instructions is disclosed. The instructions, when executed by a processor of an electronic device having one or more transparent electrodes in a display panel, cause the electronic device to detect one or more capacitance values corresponding to each of one or more capacitors formed between the one or more transparent electrodes and a support array in the display panel; determine a representative capacitance value from the detected one or more capacitance values; and determine a pressure value exerted on the display panel according to at least the representative capacitance value.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Terms used in the disclosure are only for purpose of describing particular embodiments, and are not intended to be limiting. The terms “a”, “said” and “the” used in singular form in the disclosure and appended claims are intended to include a plural form, unless the context explicitly indicates otherwise. It should be understood that the term “and/or” used in the description means and includes any or all combinations of one or more associated and listed terms.

It should be understood that, although the disclosure may use terms such as “first”, “second” and “third” to describe various information, the information should not be limited herein. These terms are only used to distinguish information of the same type from each other. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information, and the second information may also be referred to as the first information, without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Based on context, the word “if” used herein may be interpreted as “when”, or “while”, or “in response to a determination”.

By way of introduction, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods and apparatus for detecting touch pressure on a display panel of an electronic device such as a mobile terminal. The electronic device may comprise a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel. The LCD panel may comprise a liquid crystal layer having therein a transparent electrode and a support array (seeFIG. 3andFIG. 4and description therein). A user may use the LCD panel as an input device to sense pressure of touches/presses on the LCD panel. Specifically, presses on LCD panel may result in a pressure-dependent deformation of the transparent electrode at the point of press, leading to a pressure-dependent change of capacitance between the transparent electrode and the support array. Optionally, a touch screen may be placed in close contact with, e.g., directly on top of, the LCD panel for sensing coordinate positions of user touches/presses. Because the touch panel may be thin, presses on the touch screen may transfer to pressure-dependent deformation of the transparent electrode in the LCD panel at the point of press. Thus, the capacitance between the transparent electrode and the support array in the LCD panel may be monitored and used as a measure of touch pressure. The measurement of touch pressure adds another dimension to touch input for enhancing user-computer interaction.

FIG. 1shows an exemplary method for detecting touch pressure on an LCD panel. In step101, a capacitance value between the transparent electrode and the support array in the liquid crystal layer of the LCD panel is measured (the geometrical relationship between the transparent electrode and support array is shown inFIG. 3andFIG. 4and will be discussed in more detail below). In step102, a pressure exerted by a pressing object on the liquid crystal display is determined according to the capacitance value measured. The term “touch” and “press” are used interchangeably in this disclosure. A pressing object may include but is not limited to a fingertip, a finger knuckle, and a stylus. The pressing object may be also referred to as operation body.

FIG. 2illustrates a schematic diagram of a liquid crystal display. The liquid crystal display200comprises a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) array glass substrate201, a color filter202, a liquid crystal layer203arranged between the TFT array glass substrate201and the color filter202, a first polarizer204arranged on a side of the color filter202away from the liquid crystal layer203, and a second polarizer205arranged on a side of the TFT array glass substrate201away from the liquid crystal layer203.

As shown byFIG. 3, the liquid crystal layer203may include a support array such as spacer structure203-1and a transparent electrode203-2. The transparent electrode203-2may be placed in the liquid crystal layer on the side closer to the TFT array glass substrate201and the support array203-1may be placed in the liquid crystal layer on the side closer to the color filter202. Liquid crystal is filled in the liquid crystal layer203between the support array203-1and the transparent electrode203-2. Alternatively, as shown byFIG. 4, the transparent electrode203-2and the support array203-1may be placed in opposite sides of the liquid crystal layer. These two geometry configurations are mere examples, other arrangement may be contemplated. The transparent electrode may be, e.g., an ITO (indium tin oxide) glass which conducts electricity and at the same time transparent to back light of the LCD panel for producing images (back light is shown by207ofFIG. 2).

As shown inFIG. 2, the liquid crystal display200may further include a control chip206, and the transparent electrode203-2may be electrically connected with the control chip206via the electrical connection208. The control chip206may be a MCU (Micro Controller Unit). The MCU also includes an A/D converter, which may convert an analogue voltage signal carried by the transparent electrode203-2to a digital voltage value, and the MCU may further calculate a capacitance value based on the voltage value.

In a first implementation, the transparent electrode203-2may be one single piece of transparent electrode, e.g., one single ITO layer that extends the entire liquid crystal layer. The support array203-1and the transparent electrode203-2are separated by a certain spatial distance filled with liquid crystal in the liquid crystal layer203and thus have no direct electrical contact. A capacitor is thus formed between the support array203-1and the transparent electrode203-2. When the liquid crystal display200is not touched/pressed by a pressing object, the average distance between the support array203-1and the transparent electrode203-2is known, and so is the reference capacitance of the capacitor formed between the support array203-1and the transparent electrode203-2. When the liquid crystal display200is pressed, a pressure-dependent deformation of the transparent electrode leads to pressure-dependent change in the average distance and thus capacitance between the support array203-1and the transparent electrode203-2. Thus, the capacitance value may be monitored as a measure of pressure.

In some other alternative implementations, the transparent electrode203-2may comprise a plurality of transparent electrodes arranged as, for example, either transverse strips, longitudinal strips, or transvers and longitudinal crossing strips in the liquid crystal layer203, as respectively illustrated inFIG. 5,FIG. 6, andFIG. 7. The term “transverse” and “longitudinal” are only meant to denote two orthogonal directions and are not in reference to any fixed axis. The strips running along the same direction may be electrically separate from each other by the distances between them in the plane of the liquid crystal layer203. The strips running across each other (FIG. 7) may be electrically isolated by some insulating layer or distance between the crossing strips in the direction normal to the plane of the liquid crystal layer203. In addition and similar to the first implementation, the support array203-1has no direct contact with each transparent electrode in the transparent electrodes203-2in the liquid crystal layer203, and there may be a spatial separation between the support array203-1and each transparent electrode. A capacitor is formed between the support array203-1and each transparent electrode, and the number of capacitors corresponds to the number of transparent electrodes included in the transparent electrodes203-2. When the liquid crystal display200is not touched/pressed by a pressing object, a reference distance between the support array203-1and each transparent electrode is known, and so is the reference capacitance value for each capacitor formed between the support array203-1and each transparent electrode in the transparent electrodes203-2. Therefore, the reference capacitance value of each capacitor may be pre-detected and recorded and may be used as a reference to determine touch/press pressure when the liquid crystal display200is pressed by the pressing object. Generally, the rest distances (distance when there is no touch/press) between the support array203-1and each of the transparent electrodes203-2are identical, and therefore the capacitance values of the capacitors formed between the support array203-1and the transparent electrodes may be identical when the liquid crystal display200is not pressed by the pressing object. Thus the pre-detected reference capacitance value for any one of the transparent electrodes may be used as a common reference capacitance value when the liquid crystal display200is not pressed by the pressing object.

In the implementation ofFIGS. 5-7, the MCU206may be electrically coupled to and thus address separately each electrode of the transparent electrode or electrodes203-2. When203-2is referred to hereinafter, the term “electrode” or “electrodes” may either refer to a single electrode ofFIG. 2or multiple electrodes ofFIGS. 5-7unless specified otherwise. The analogue voltage signal in each electrode may be converted by the MCU to digital values for monitoring the capacitance between each of transparent electrodes203-2.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the pressure value on the liquid crystal display is determined by detecting the capacitance value between the transparent electrodes and the support array in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display, in addition to a one dimensional coordinate position detection that may be achieved in the configuration ofFIG. 5andFIG. 6or a two-dimensional coordinate position detection that may be achieved in the configuration ofFIG. 7(see more details below inFIG. 8). This additional user input parameter (pressure) provides expanded functionality in human-computer interaction. The coordinate position detection may be alternatively achieved by a separate touch panel that is placed on top of the liquid crystal panel and is sufficiently thin that touch induced deformation of the transparent electrode in the liquid crystal panel and consequently the pressure measurement is not significantly impeded.

FIG. 8shows a flow diagram of a method for detecting touch pressure in a mobile terminal. This method may be applied in an electronic device such as a mobile terminal and a tablet computer. The mobile terminal may comprise a liquid crystal display, a transparent electrode arranged in a liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display as illustrated inFIGS. 2-7. In step801, capacitance value or values between the transparent electrode or electrodes and a support array in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display is detected and measured. For example, the control chip206may supply a predetermined amount of charges to a transparent electrode for charging the corresponding capacitor and generate a voltage across the transparent electrode and the support array. The control chip and associated circuity may measure and digitize the voltage. The control chip may calculate the capacitance value according to the voltage value and the predetermined charge amount. Accordingly, step801may be realized by steps as follows.

In step801-1, a voltage value in the transparent electrode is detected/measured. In a first implementation of801-1, the transparent electrode may be a whole transparent electrode as shown inFIG. 2and thus one capacitor is formed between the support array and the single transparent electrode. In such an implementation, only one voltage value may be detected. Accordingly, the control chip only sends one charging signal to the entire transparent electrode via the electric connection208shown inFIG. 2. In a second implementation of801-1, the transparent electrode consists of a plurality of transparent electrodes in a transverse and parallel arrangement and/or a plurality of transparent electrodes in a longitudinal and parallel arrangement, shown byFIGS. 5-7. Multiple capacitors may be formed by the transparent electrodes. The control chip then independently charges each capacitor and measures the voltage values via separate electric connections208as shown inFIGS. 5-7. Accordingly, in step801-1for this second implementation, voltage values on the multiple transparent electrodes many be measured periodically at a first preset time periodicity and in each time period, the multiple transparent electrodes are measured sequentially. The control chip may provide switching circuitry to sequentially address each electrode and a corresponding single A/D converter may be time-shared. Alternatively, the voltage values on the multiple transparent electrodes may be measured periodically in parallel at a second preset time periodicity. For such parallel detection and measurement, multiple set of A/D converters may be needed. Further for the second implementation, if the transparent electrodes comprises a plurality of transparent electrodes in both the transverse and longitudinal arrangement shown inFIG. 7, a row identifier or a column identifier of each transparent electrode may be preset, in which, rows and columns may be set corresponding to the geometrical arrangement for each transparent electrode in a transverse and parallel arrangement or in a longitudinal and parallel arrangement. The location of each transparent electrode in the liquid crystal display may be pre-determined corresponding to the row identifier or the column identifier. As will be shown with regard to step803-805below, these row and/or column identifiers and predetermined positions of the corresponding electrodes in the plane of the liquid crystal display may facilitate additional touch/press position detection.

In step801-2, the capacitance value between the transparent electrode and the support array in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display is determined according to the measured voltage value. A correspondence between capacitance values and voltage values may be preset based on, for example, the predetermined amount of charge supplied to the capacitor, and the capacitance value is directly obtained from the correspondence according to the voltage value detected and measured. Step801-2may be implemented in two ways:801-2-1alone, and801-2-1and801-2-2together, respectively corresponding to the first and second implementation above for step801-1. When there is only one capacitance value to be measured, i.e. the transparent electrode is a single transparent electrode as shown inFIG. 2(corresponding to the first implementation of801-1), the single capacitance value may be obtained directly from a correspondence between capacitance values and voltage values and used as the measured capacitance, as shown by step801-2-1alone. In an alternative implementation for step801-2-1, the single capacitance may be determined by measuring the difference between the current capacitance with the known and pre-measured rest capacitance (when the liquid crystal display is not pressed by the pressing object). When there are a plurality of capacitors, i.e.,203-2consists of a plurality of transparent electrodes illustrated inFIGS. 5-7(corresponding to the second implementation of801-1), the control chip determines multiple capacitance values based on measured voltage values for the multiple transparent electrodes in step801-2-1, and then selects, for example, the maximum of measured capacitance values as a representative capacitance value for determining pressure in step801-2-2. The transparent electrode having the maximum capacitance is likely to be the most deformed electrode among the plurality of electrodes. This is because a larger deformation of an electrode (caused by a harder press) leads to smaller average distance between the electrode and the support array and higher capacitance. Thus, the electrode with maximum capacitance is approximately located at the center of the pressure. Its capacitance may more accurately represent the magnitude of the pressure.

For displaying image frames by the liquid crystal display, voltages may be applied across the liquid crystal layer203ofFIGS. 2-4for biasing the liquid crystal cells (pixels) independent of the capacitance measurements. To avoid interference from these voltages during the touch pressure sensing process, step801(including801-1and801-2) of detecting and measuring capacitance may be executed when the liquid crystal display200is in a blanking interval.

In step802, the pressure value corresponding to the capacitance value detected and measured is obtained according to a preset correspondence between capacitance values and pressure values. The obtained pressure value is determined to represent the actual touch pressure on the liquid crystal display. The correspondence between the capacity value and pressure originates from the relationship between the pressure and deformation of the transparent electrodes and is fixed when the design and manufacturing of the liquid crystal panel is completed. The correspondence may thus be predetermined by experiments that measure both the pressure and capacitance under various pressing strength on the liquid crystal panel. In some implementations, the correspondence may be recalibrated by the user in case that it changes over time as the liquid crystal panel ages.

The steps803,804, and805inFIG. 8are for locating the touch/press position when the transparent electrodes are configured as multiple electrodes, following, for example,FIGS. 5-7. For configurations inFIG. 5andFIG. 6, only touch/press position in one dimension in the plane of the liquid crystal display may be determined. For the configuration ofFIG. 7, touch/press position in both of the two dimensions in the plane of the liquid crystal display may be determined. The accuracy for determining the touch/press positon in each dimension may be determined at least partially by the number of transparent electrodes in that dimension. The steps803,804, and805for determining touch/press position may be before, after or in parallel with step803. No limitation on the order is given by this disclosure.

In step803, transparent electrodes having a change of capacitance value from when the liquid crystal display is not touched/pressed are identified. The capacitance value of non-pressed electrode may be referred to as a reference capacitance value. A touch/press may lead to change of capacitance for multiple transparent electrodes. The capacitance value between each electrode and the support array when the liquid crystal display is not touched/pressed may be pre-measured and recorded. Typically, capacitance between the support array and like electrodes, such as the strips inFIG. 5, or strips inFIG. 6, or the transvers strips inFIG. 7, or the longitudinal strips inFIG. 7, may be identical. In that situation, pre-measurement of capacitance may only need to be made for one electrode in each group.

In step804, row identifiers and column identifiers of the transparent electrodes having changed capacitance are obtained. Specifically, the row identifier or the column identifier of each transparent electrode may be preset. Because the controller chip charge and read the voltage of each transparent electrode either in addressable sequence or in parallel, the controller chip may correlate measured capacitance values with row and/or column identifiers. A position calibration on the liquid crystal display may be performed according to the known coordinates of the row or column identifiers of the transparent electrodes. In step805, a touch press location on the liquid crystal display is determined according to the row identifiers and/or the column identifiers obtained in step805. Specifically, a touch/press may deform one or more transparent electrodes. The measured changes in capacitance as well as the positions for all affected electrode may be combined for determining the coordinate position of the touch/press.

For example, inFIG. 5, the longitudinal position of each transverse electrode relative to the longitudinal axis of the liquid crystal display is known from the fabrication design. The electrodes may be identified with row identifier1to4, as shown inFIG. 5. When the liquid crystal panel is touched or pressed at spot A, both electrode2and3may be deformed. As a consequence, both the capacitance between electrode2and the support array and the capacitance between electrode3and the support array may be affected by the press. The control chip may measure the capacitance between all electrodes (1-4) and the support array and identify that electrodes2and3provide capacitances different from the no-touch reference values. Because the touch spot A is closer to electrode2, electrode2may be deformed more than electrode3. As a result, the measured capacitance between electrode2and the support array may be more affected by the touch/press than the capacitance between electrode3and the support array. The control chip may measure the changes in capacitance for both electrode2and electrode3and use them as weight (e.g., linear weight) to average the known longitudinal positions of electrode2and3. The position of electrode2may accordingly be weighed more heavily. Thus, the control chip may approximately identify the touch spot A as closer to electrode2than to electrode3. Similar principles may be used for the electrode configuration ofFIG. 6except that transverse rather than longitudinal position of the touch/press may be determined. Similar principles may further be used for the electrode configuration ofFIG. 7, except that both transverse and longitudinal positions of the touch/press may be determined.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the pressure value on the liquid crystal display is determined by detecting the capacitance value between the transparent electrode and the support array in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display, in addition to determining coordinate positions of the touch/press. Thus, more functionality may be realized based on the pressure detection and human-computer interaction may be improved.

The embodiments above and hereafter use liquid crystal display panel as an example. The principle described in this disclosure applies to systems other than liquid display panels. For example, structures similar to the transparent electrodes203-2ofFIGS. 3-7may be implemented in an OLED (Organic LED) display panel for pressure and coordinate position detection of touches/presses.

Corresponding to the methods for detecting touch pressure in a liquid crystal display panel provided in the example embodiments above,FIG. 9illustrate an exemplary device for detecting pressure in a mobile terminal having a liquid crystal display, and a transparent electrode arranged in a liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display. The device ofFIG. 9includes a detecting module901and a first determining module902. The detecting module901is configured to detect capacitance values between the transparent electrodes and a support array in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display, preferably during a blanking interval of the liquid crystal display. The first determining module902is configured to determine a pressure value exerted by a pressing object on the liquid crystal display according to the capacitance values detected based on a preset correspondence between capacitance values and pressure values.

As shown inFIG. 10, the detecting module901is configured to detect capacitance values and may include a detecting unit901-1and a calculating unit901-2. The detecting unit901-1is configured to detect voltage values in the transparent electrodes. The calculating unit901-2is configured to calculate the capacitance values between the transparent electrodes and the support array in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display according to the voltage value. The transparent electrodes may comprise a plurality of transparent electrodes in a transverse and parallel arrangement and/or a plurality of transparent electrodes in a longitudinal and parallel arrangement, and as shown inFIG. 11, the detecting unit901-1includes a first detecting sub-unit901-1-1and a second detecting sub-unit901-1-2. The first detecting sub-unit901-1-1is configured to detect a voltage value of each transparent electrode one by one sequentially according to a first preset period. The second detecting sub-unit901-1-2is configured to detect a voltage value of each transparent electrode simultaneously according to a second preset period. As shown inFIG. 12, the calculating unit901-2ofFIG. 10may comprise a calculating sub-unit901-2-1and a choosing sub-unit901-2-2. The calculating sub-unit901-2-1is configured to calculate a capacitance value corresponding to each transparent electrode according to the voltage value in each transparent electrode. The choosing sub-unit901-2-2is configured to choose a maximum of capacitance value calculated as the capacitance value between the transparent electrode and the support array in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display.

Returning toFIG. 9, the device further includes a choosing module903, an obtaining module904and a second determining module905. The choosing module903is configured to choose transparent electrodes having capacitance values different from those detected when the liquid crystal display is not pressed by the pressing object. The obtaining module904is configured to obtain row identifiers and column identifiers of the transparent electrodes chosen. The second determining module905is configured to determine a press location on the liquid crystal display according to the measured change of capacitance for the chosen transparent electrodes and the corresponding row and column identifiers.

Thus, in the embodiment ofFIG. 9, the pressure value on the liquid crystal display is determined by detecting the capacitance value between the transparent electrodes and the support array in the liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal display, in addition to coordinate position detection of the touch/press. More functionality based on detected touch pressure may be realized, providing improved human-computer interaction.

FIG. 13shows a block diagram of a device1300. For example, the device1300may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a digital broadcasting terminal, a messaging device, a game console, a tablet device, a fitness equipment, a Personal Digital Assistant PDA, etc.

Referring toFIG. 13, the terminal1300may include the following one or more components: a processing component1302, a memory1304, a power component1306, a multimedia component1308, an audio component1310, an Input/Output (I/O) interface1312, a sensor component1314, and a communication component1316.

The processing component1302controls overall operations of the terminal1300, such as the operations associated with display, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recording operations. The processing component1302may include one or more processors1320to execute instructions to perform all or part of the steps in the above described methods. Moreover, the processing component1302may include one or more modules which facilitate the interaction between the processing component1302and other components. For instance, the processing component1302may include a multimedia module to facilitate the interaction between the multimedia component1308and the processing component1302.

The power component1306provides power to various components of the terminal1300. The power component1306may include a power management system, one or more power sources, and any other components associated with the generation, management, and distribution of power in the terminal1300.

The multimedia component1308includes a display screen or panel providing an output interface between the terminal1300and the user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel or a OLED panel and a touch panel (TP). If the screen includes the touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, swipes, and other gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may not only sense a boundary of a touch or swipe action, but also sense a duration time and a pressure associated with the touch or swipe action. The display screen panel may have integrated therein the transparent electrodes and support arrays illustrated inFIGS. 3-7and discussed above. In some embodiments, the multimedia component1308includes a front camera and/or a rear camera. The front camera and the rear camera may receive external multimedia data while the terminal1300is in an operation mode, such as a photographing mode or a video mode. Each of the front camera and the rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have focus and optical zoom capability.

The audio component1310is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component1310may include a microphone (MIC) configured to receive an external audio signal when the intelligent terminal1300is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signal may be further stored in the memory1304or transmitted via the communication component1316. In some embodiments, the audio component1310further includes a speaker to output audio signals.

The sensor component1314includes one or more sensors to provide status assessments of various aspects of the terminal1300. For instance, the sensor component1314may detect an open/closed status of the terminal1300and relative positioning of components (e.g. the display and the keypad of the terminal1300). The sensor component1314may also detect a change in position of the terminal1300or of a component in the terminal1300, a presence or absence of user contact with the terminal1300, an orientation or an acceleration/deceleration of the terminal1300, and a change in temperature of the terminal1300. The sensor component1314may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. The sensor component1314may also include a light sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component1314may also include an accelerometer sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor or thermometer.

The communication component1316is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the terminal1300and other devices. The terminal1300can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, LTE, or 4G cellular technologies, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component1316receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component1316further includes a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communications. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, an infrared data association (IrDA) technology, an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, a Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In exemplary embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided. The storage medium includes instructions, when executed by the processor1320in the terminal1300, causing the processor1320to perform the above-described methods. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a RAM, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage device, and the like.

Each module or unit discussed above forFIG. 9-12, such as the detecting module, the first determining module, the choosing module, the obtaining module, the second determining module, the detecting unit, the calculating unit, the first detecting sub-unit, the second detecting sub-unit, the calculating sub-unit, and the choosing sub-unit may take the form of a packaged functional hardware unit designed for use with other components, a portion of a program code (e.g., software or firmware) executable by the processor1320or the processing circuitry that usually performs a particular function of related functions, or a self-contained hardware or software component that interfaces with a larger system, for example.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of the various embodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein. Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the embodiments disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the disclosure following the general principles thereof and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art. It is intended that the specification and examples are considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims in addition to the disclosure.