DEVICE AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED USE OF FORCE SENSING TOUCH PANELS

1 . A method, comprising:

determining an application-in-use data, the application-in-use data indicative of an application being executed by a processor on an electronic device;

receiving, by a touch sensitive input device of the electronic device, a touch input data including at least one of a finger use input data, a force input data, a gesture input data, and a location input data, the finger use input data indicative of a manner in which the touch input data is entered, the force input data indicative of a pressure applied in how the touch input data is entered, the gesture input data indicative of a motion included in the touch input data over time, the location input data indicative of a position on the touch sensitive input device the touch input is received; and

determining a command to be executed as a function of the application-in-use data and at least one of the finger use input data, the force input data, the gesture input data, and the location input data.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the manner of the finger use input data is one of a one finger touch input, a multi-finger touch input, a stylus input, a palm input, and a combination thereof.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pressure of the force input data is one of a low pressure, a middle pressure, and a high pressure, wherein the low pressure has a first range of areas of contact, the middle pressure has a second range of areas of contact greater than the first range, the high pressure has a third range of areas of contact greater than the second range.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the motion of the gesture input data is one of a left-to-right motion, a right-to-left motion, a back-and-forth motion, an arc-type motion, an angled-type motion, a diagonal motion, and a combination thereof.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each combination of the finger use input data, the force input data, the gesture input data, and the location input data applicable to the application-in-use data are stored in a gesture library.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the determining the command step comprises:

determining a first plurality of commands associated with the finger use input data, the first commands being a subset of the combinations for the application-in-use data;

determining a second plurality of commands associated with the force input data, the second commands being a subset of the first commands;

determining a third plurality of commands associated with the location input data, the third commands being a subset of the second commands; and

determining the command associated with the gesture input data, the command being one of the third commands.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the touch sensitive input device includes a force sensor configured to determine a plurality of granularities associated with the touch input data.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein a predetermined range of granularities is indicative of the force input data as a function of the finger use input data.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the application in use data defines predetermined regions on the touch sensitive input device for receiving the touch input data.

10 . A device, comprising:

a processor configured to execute an application; and

a touch sensitive input device configured to receive a touch input data including at least one of a finger use input data, a force input data, a gesture input data, and a location input data, the finger use input data being indicative of a manner in which the touch input data is entered, the force input data being indicative of a pressure applied in how the touch input data is entered, the gesture input data being indicative of a motion included in the touch input data over time, the location input data indicative of a position on the touch sensitive input device the touch input is received,

wherein the processor is configured to determine an application-in-use data as a function of the application being executed,

wherein the processor is configured to determine a command to be executed as a function of the application-in-use data and at least one of the finger use input data, the force input data, the gesture input data, and the location input data.

11 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the manner of the finger use input data is one of a one finger touch input, a two finger touch input, a stylus input, and a palm input, and a combination thereof.

12 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the pressure of the force input data is one of a low pressure, a middle pressure, and a high pressure, wherein the low pressure has a first range of areas of contact, the middle pressure has a second range of areas of contact greater than the first range, the high pressure has a third range of areas of contact greater than the second range.

13 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the motion of the gesture input data is one of a left-to-right motion, a right-to-left motion, a back-and-forth motion, an arc-type motion, an angled-type motion, a diagonal motion, and a combination thereof.

14 . The device of claim 10 , further comprising:

a memory arrangement storing a gesture library including each combination of the finger use input data, the force input data, the gesture input data, and the location input data applicable to the application-in-use data.

15 . The device of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine a first plurality of commands associated with the finger use input data, the first commands being a subset of the combinations for the application-in-use data;

determine a second plurality of commands associated with the force input data, the second commands being a subset of the first commands;

determine a third plurality of commands associated with the location input data, the third commands being a subset of the second commands; and

determine the command associated with the gesture input data, the command being one of the third commands.

16 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the touch sensitive input device includes a force sensor configured to determine a plurality of granularities associated with the touch input data.

17 . The device of claim 16 , wherein a predetermined range of granularities is indicative of the force input data as a function of the finger use input data.

18 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the application in use data defines predetermined regions on the touch sensitive input device for receiving the touch input data.

19 . The device of claim 10 , wherein the touch sensitive input device is one of an incorporated input/output (I/O) device with a display device, a separate I/O device disposed on a periphery of a housing of the device, and a transparent, multi-touch force sensor disposed over the display device.

20 . A computer readable storage medium including a set of instructions executable by a processor, the set of instructions operable to:

determine an application-in-use data, the application-in-use data indicative of an application being executed by a processor on an electronic device;

receive, by a touch sensitive input device of the electronic device, a touch input data including at least one of a finger use input data, a force input data, a gesture input data, and a location input data, the finger use input data indicative of a manner in which the touch input data is entered, the force input data indicative of a pressure applied in how the touch input data is entered, the gesture input data indicative of a motion included in the touch input data over time, the location input data indicative of a position on the touch sensitive input device the touch input is received; and

determine a command to be executed as a function of the application-in-use data and at least one of the finger use input data, the force input data, the gesture input data, and the location input data.