Electronic device for processing multi-touch input and operating method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10346033-B2
Application number	US-201615041990-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 11, 2016
Priority date	Feb 11, 2015
Publication date	Jul 9, 2019
Grant date	Jul 9, 2019

Abstract

An operating method for an electronic device includes detecting a touch input including a plurality of touch points on the screen, obtaining the positional relationship of the plurality of touch points, and performing a function corresponding to the touch input based on the positional relationship. An electronic device includes a screen configured to detect a touch input comprising a plurality of touch points on the screen, and a controller configured to obtain a positional relationship of the plurality of touch points, and to perform a function corresponding to the touch input based on the positional relationship. Other embodiments are provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of an electronic device, the method comprising:
receiving a touch input comprising a plurality of touch points on a screen;
identifying an application mapped to the touch input, wherein a first application has been mapped to two touch points and a second application has been mapped to three touch points;
in response to identifying that the touch points correspond to the two touch points, identifying a distance between the two touch points and executing a first function for at least one of activating, terminating and switching to the first application based on the distance; and
in response to identifying that the plurality of touch points corresponds to the three touch points, identifying an arrangement of the three touch points and executing a second function for at least one of activating, terminating and switching to the second application based on the arrangement,
wherein the activating or switching to the first or the second application comprises changing a state of the first or the second application from a background state to a foreground state, respectively, and displaying, in response to the executing the first or the second function, a user interface (UI) of the first or the second application, respectively.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, based on determining that the distance between the two touch points corresponds to a first designated value, displaying a designated user interface (UI) upon activating the first application.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying the arrangement comprises identifying distances among the three touch points.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the identifying the arrangement comprises identifying a size of the three touch points.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the identifying the arrangement comprises identifying a shape of the three touch points.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the terminating the first or the second application comprises changing a state of the first or the second application from a foreground state to a background state.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting whether the touch points have been moved;
identifying a speed of the movement of the touch points; and
switching content of a designated user interface (UI) displayed upon activating the first or the second application, based on the identified speed.

8. An electronic device comprising:
a display unit;
a memory storing instructions; and
at least one processor, electrically coupled to the display unit and the memory, configured to execute the stored instructions to:
receive a touch input comprising a plurality of touch points in a screen;
identify an application mapped to the touch input, wherein a first application has been mapped to two touch points and a second application has been mapped to three touch points;
in response to identifying that the plurality of touch points correspond to the two touch points, identify a distance between the two touch points and execute a first function for at least one of activating, terminating and switching to the first application based on the distance; and
in response to identifying that the plurality of touch points corresponds to the three touch points, identify an arrangement of the three touch points and execute a second function for at least one of activating, terminating and switching to the second application based on the arrangement,
wherein the activating or switching to the first or the second application comprises changing a state of the first or the second application from a background state to a foreground state, respectively, and displaying, in response to the executing the first or the second function, a user interface (UI) of the first or the second application, respectively.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
based on determining that the distance between the two touch points corresponds to a first designated value, displaying a designated user interface (UI) upon activating the first application.

10. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
identify distances among the three touch points for identifying the arrangement of the three touch points.

11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the identifying the arrangement comprises identifying a size of the three touch points.

12. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the identifying the arrangement comprises identifying a shape of the three touch points.

13. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the processor is further configured to change a state of the first or the second application from a foreground state to a background state by terminating the first or the second application, respectively.

14. The electronic device of claim 8 , further comprising:
detecting whether the touch points have been moved;
identifying a speed of the movement of the touch points; and
switching content of a designated user interface (UI) displayed upon activating the first or the second application, based on the identified speed.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Shin Sang-Min
• Hwang Hoik

Classifications

• G06F2203/04808

  Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen · CPC title

• G06F3/04883 Primary

  for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text · CPC title