Sony Corporation

Sony Mobile Communications Inc.

Sony Group Corporation

Anatol Ward

Kouichiro Takashima

An apparatus, method and computer program product provide a simplified method for unlocking an electronic device that uses soft keys, such as capacitive touch keys, or proximity detection areas and patterns. The keys may be implemented in the form of areas of a sensor, and a processing circuit observes a touch pattern and compares the same with the registered pattern to determine if there is a likeness. In doing so, the electronic device is operated at a low power state, and in that low power state observes whether a predetermined pattern is observed and when it is, unlocks the electronic device for interaction with a user at a fully operational state. By operating in the low power state while waiting to observe a predetermined pattern before unlocking the user interface, the device does not waste power on false positive detections, and allows for convenient wakeup and accessibility by a user.

Sensor managed apparatus, method and computer program product

An apparatus, method and computer program product provide a simplified method for unlocking an electronic device that uses soft keys, such as capacitive touch keys, or proximity detection areas and patterns. The keys may be implemented in the form of areas of a sensor, and a processing circuit observes a touch pattern (or proximity pattern, or characteristic pattern such as a capacitance pattern of a user's finger) and compares the same with the registered pattern to determine if there is a likeness. In doing so, the electronic device is operated at a low power state, and in that low power state observes whether a predetermined pattern is observed and when it is, unlocks the electronic device for interaction with a user at a fully operational state. By operating in the low power state while waiting to observe a predetermined pattern before unlocking the user interface, the device does not waste power on false positive detections, and allows for convenient wakeup and accessibility by a user.

A touch panel device that detects a touch input at a touch panel including a plurality of electrodes arrayed in X and Y directions, calculates a width corresponding an object approaching the touch panel based on an output distribution of capacitance values from the touch panel, and determines whether an input operation corresponding to the object is valid based on the calculated width of the object.

Touch panel device, portable terminal, position detecting method, and recording medium

A touch panel device including a touch panel unit having transparent electrodes arranged in an X and Y direction; an electrical potential detection unit configured to scan the electrodes and detect electrostatic capacitance values in the X and Y direction; an object type detection unit configured to detect a type of object that has come within proximity to the surface of the touch panel unit on the basis of a distribution shape of the electrostatic capacitance values detected by the electrical potential detection unit; and an operation position detection unit configured to, based on the detected type of object, change a data extraction threshold value used to calculate a touch position of the object, and detect coordinates of a position at which the object has come within proximity to or come into contact with the surface of the touch panel unit based on the changed data extraction threshold value.

Method for detecting a contact

An apparatus, method and computer program product provide a simplified method for unlocking an electronic device that uses soft keys, such as capacitive touch keys, or proximity detection areas and patterns. The keys may be implemented in the form of areas of a sensor, and a processing circuit observes a touch pattern (or proximity pattern, or characteristic pattern such as a capacitance pattern of a user's finger) and compares the same with the registered pattern to determine if there is a likeness. In doing so, the electronic device is operated at a low power state, and in that low power state observes whether a predetermined pattern is observed and when it is, unlocks the electronic device for interaction with a user at a fully operational state.

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Tokyo, Japan

Anatol Ward