Patent Publication Number: US-2009231290-A1

Title: System and method for controlling an electronic device

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to device controlling systems and methods, and particularly to a system and method for controlling an electronic device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Presently, electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants, global positioning system (GPS) consoles, or personal computers (PC), can use touch screens and display screens to allow input and output of data via contact therewith, increasing convenience for the user. 
     However, display screens of most electronic devices use liquid crystal display (LCD) technology, increasing device costs. Moreover, stylus operation on the LCD touch panel can deteriorate surface integrity thereof, resulting in reduction of lifespan of the LCD touch panel. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a system and method for controlling an electronic device to overcome the described limitations. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a front side of an electronic device with a display screen and a contact key. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a back side of the electronic device in  FIG. 1  with a touch panel. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system for controlling an electronic device via the touch panel and the contact key. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for controlling an electronic device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE EMBODIMENTS 
     All of the processes described may be embodied in, and fully automated via, functional code modules executed by one or more general purpose computers or processors. The code modules may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other storage device. Some or all of the methods may alternatively be embodied in specialized computer hardware or electronic apparatus. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a front side  10  of an electronic device  1 .  FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a back side  20  of the electronic device  1  in  FIG. 1 . The front side  10  of the electronic device  1  includes a display screen  11  and a contact key  12 . The back side  20  of the electronic device  1  includes a touch panel  21 . In this embodiment, the electronic device  1  is a portable electronic device, but may alternatively be a query terminal device, a point of sale (POS) device, a retail cashier device, an automatic teller machine (ATM), or other devices without limiting the scope of the disclosure. 
     Depending on the embodiment, the display screen  11  may be, but is not limited to, a thin film transistor (TFT) screen, a thin film diode (TFD) screen, a ultra fine bright (UFB) screen, a super-twisted nematic (STN) screen, a color super-twisted nematic (CSTN) screen, a dual-layer super-twisted nematic (DSTN) screen, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) screen, or a field emitting diode (FED) screen. Additionally, the display screen  11  displays a cursor. The touch panel  21  comprises corresponding circuitry and a panel so as to enable one or more touches from an input device. The input device may be a human finger and/or a stylus, for example. 
     The contact key  12  and the touch panel  21  synchronously control actions of the cursor. Movements of the cursor on the display screen  11  are in response to contact on the touch panel  21 . Contact with the contact key  12  confirms activation of the cursor, resulting in an instruction to active one or more instructions for an operating system and software applications of the electronic device  1 . It may be understood that the any key in addition to the contact key  12  may be positioned on the front side of the electronic device  1  to control actions of the cursor synchronously with the touch panel  21 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of one embodiment of a system  30  for controlling the electronic device  1 . In one embodiment, the electronic device  1  includes the contact key  12 , the touch panel  21 , a sensor  40 , a processor  50 , a memory system  60 , and the system  30  for controlling the electronic device  1  to perform actions via the touch panel  21  and the contact key  12 , and displaying the corresponding actions via the cursor displayed on the display screen  11 . The sensor  40 , connected to the touch panel  21  and the contact key  12 , acquires analog signals of the contact on the touch panel  21  and the contact of the contact key  12 . 
     The system  30  includes an initiation module  301 , a definition module  302 , a synchronization module  303 , an acquisition module  304 , a signal conversion module  305 , and a control module  306 . The modules  301 ,  302 ,  303 ,  304 ,  305  and  306  may execute one or more operations for the system  30 . Additionally, the electronic device may comprise one or more specialized or general purpose processors, such as the processor  50  for executing the modules  301 ,  302 ,  303 ,  304 ,  305  and  306 . 
     The initiation module  301  is configured for initiating display of the cursor on the display screen  11 . The cursor provides control of the operating system and the software applications of the electronic device  1 . 
     The definition module  302  is configured for defining a relationship between the contact on the touch panel  21  and a cursor movement on the display screen  11 . For example, a left direction sliding on the touch panel  12  may define the cursor moving from the current position on the display screen  11  leftward. In one embodiment, data about the relationship may be stored in the memory system  60 . The memory system  60  may be a hard disk drive, a flash memory, or any other kind of memory storage systems. 
     The definition module  302  is further configured for setting an activation of the cursor on the display screen  11  corresponding to the contact on the contact key  12 . For example, the definition module  302  invokes a function corresponding to an icon highlighted by the cursor when the contact key  12  has been contacted. 
     The synchronization module  303  is configured for synchronizing the contact on the touch panel  21  and the contact of the contact key  12  with the corresponding cursor responses on the display screen  11 . In one embodiment, the cursor responses comprise cursor movements, e.g., left-right shifts or up-down shifts on the display screen  11 , and the activation of the cursor. 
     The acquisition module  304 , connected to the sensor  40 , is configured for acquiring first analog signals corresponding to the contact on the touch panel  21 , and second analog signals corresponding to the contact of the contact key  12 . 
     The signal conversion module  305  is configured for converting the first analog signals into first digital signals, and converting the second analog signals into second digital signals. 
     The control module  306  is configured for controlling the cursor movements according to the first digital signals, and controlling the activation of the cursor according to the second signals. In this embodiment, the cursor movements and the activation of the cursor provide instructions to operate an operating system and software applications of the electronic device  1 . 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart of one embodiment of a method for controlling the electronic device  1  via the touch panel  21  and the contact key  12 . Additional blocks may be added or deleted and blocks may be executed in a different order than that described without deviating from the spirit of the disclosure. First, in block S 41 , the initiation module  301  initiates the display of a cursor on the display screen  11  of the electronic device  1 . 
     In block S 42 , the definition module  302  defines a relationship between contact on the touch panel  21  and a cursor movement on the display screen  11 . As mentioned above, for example, a left direction sliding on the touch panel  12  may define the cursor moving from the current position on the display screen  11  leftward. 
     In block S 43 , the definition module  302  sets an activation of the cursor on the display screen  11  corresponding to contact of the contact key  12 . Thus, when the cursor highlights an icon, such as a file folder on the display screen  11 , if a user touches the contact key  12 , the cursor will hit the file folder to display a sub-directory under the file folder. 
     In block S 44 , the synchronization module  303  synchronizes the contact on the touch panel  21  and the contact of the contact key  12  with the corresponding cursor responses on the display screen  11 . As mentioned above, the cursor responses comprise cursor movements, e.g., left-right shifts or up-down shifts on the display screen  11 , and the activation of the cursor. 
     In block S 45 , the acquisition module  304  acquires first analog signals of the contact on the touch panel  21 , and/or second analog signals of the contact of the contact key  12 . For example, the acquisition module  304  acquires the first analog signals of the left direction sliding on the touch panel  12 . 
     In block S 46 , the signal conversion module  305  converts the first analog signals into first digital signals, and/or converts the second analog signals into second digital signals. 
     In block S 47 , the control module  306  controls the cursor movements according to the first digital signals, and controls the activation of the cursor according to the second signals. For example, the control module  306  controls the cursor moving from the current position on the display screen  11  leftward according to the first digital signals. 
     The above embodiments apply a touch panel on a backside of an electronic device, and an contact key on a front side of the electronic device. Thus, a user can synchronously control actions of a cursor displayed on a display screen of the electronic device via touches on the touch panel and the contact key. As a result, the display screen of the electronic device is protected from defacing by frequently touches. In addition, the user can user both hands to quickly control operations of the electronic device, especially when play games. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described inventive embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations, and set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the present disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described inventive embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the above-described inventive embodiments, and the present disclosure is protected by the following claims.