HANDPAD FOR TOUCHSCREEN OF AN ELECTRIC DEVICE

Abstract

A hand pad for use with a touch screen of an electronic device comprising a pad body and a finger holder mounted on a surface of the pad body, such that the pad body could follow a pen holding hand to move on the touch screen through the finger holder. The surface of the hand pad in contact with the touch screen is configured to enable a smooth motion of the hand pad over the touch screen.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a hand pad, and more particularly to a hand pad for use with a touch screen of an electronic device, particularly a tablet computer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the emergence of iPad, the industry of tablet computer has developed rapidly in recent years, and there are numerous products of the type available on the marketplace, from which one can know their popularity and ever growing demands therefor.

A tablet computer is a new type of notebook computer into which data can be entered via a stylus pen. The tablet computer is easy to carry, and its touch screen enables a user to write or manipulate directly on the screen with the stylus pen or a digital pen, and does not require a traditional physical keyboard or mouse. Its on-screen writing function has greatly facilitated the user to use the tablet computer as a notebook by which the user could take notes, write an article, or draw a picture at any time.

However, the user would always encounter a problem of writing or manipulation with the tablet computer or other types of electronic devices having a touch screen. The user might find it hard to write uninterruptedly on the screen due to the habit of putting the hand over the screen during writing or data manipulating operations, because the habit might cause drawn lines or triggering of a key button when the user's palm touches the screen inadvertently, which might result in a misoperation. This would interrupt frequently the writing or manipulating operations and cause inconveniences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a hand pad adapted for and facilitating writing or manipulating operations on a touch screen of an electronic device.

The hand pad according to the present invention comprises a pad body and a finger holder mounted on a surface of the pad body, such that the pad body could follow a pen holding hand to move on the touch screen through the finger holder. The pad body has a shape and a dimension configured to substantially correspond to a shape and a dimension of a profile formed by a little finger and a lateral side of a palm of the pen holding hand.

The finger holder might be fixedly connected with the pad body by a connecting member, or fixed directly to the pad body, or the finger holder and the pad body might be integrally formed, for example, to have generally a finger configuration, namely the profile of a partial glove defined by the little finger and the lateral side of the palm.

The pad body might be made up of at least one layer of material, preferably two or three layers of material. The pad body might have an overall height of at least 2 mm.

A bottom layer of material of the pad body might be selected from the group consisting of nylon, cotton, microfiber, polyester fiber, non-woven fabric, and any other materials enabling a smooth movement on the touch screen. A surface layer of material of the pad body might be selected from the group consisting of nylon, cotton, microfiber, polyester fiber, leather, PU, PVC, and any other materials with comfortable feeling characteristics.

The multiple layers of material might be joined together in a stitching manner or an adhesive manner to form the pad body.

It is important that a surface of the hand pad in contact with the touch screen shall be configured to enable its smooth movement on the touch screen.

The finger holder might be of different configurations, for example, annular, cylindrical, strip, finger configuration, or other suitable configurations.

The finger holder might be mounted on the pad body in a stitching manner, an adhesive manner, a fastening manner, or other means commonly employed in the art.

The hand pad of the present invention prevents the user from causing misoperation for example creating drawn lines or touching a key button on the screen inadvertently during writing or data manipulating operations on the touch screen of the electronic device, such as a tablet computer, so as to eliminate the inadvertent writing and manipulating interruptions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a hand pad in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the hand pad as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a structural schematic view of the finger holder of the hand pad as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the finger holder as shown in FIG. 3 in a folded position.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the finger holder as shown in FIG. 3 which is mounted on the pad body.

FIG. 6 is a structural schematic view of the pad body of the hand pad as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a variant of the hand pad as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a hand pad in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a structural schematic view of the finger holder of the hand pad as shown in FIG. 8.

FIGS. 10 (1) and (2) are respectively a perspective view and a plan view of a hand pad in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a hand pad in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a hand pad in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A hand pad according to the present invention comprises a pad body and a finger holder, wherein the pad body is designed in such a manner that, when the user holds a pen (e.g., a stylus pen or a digital pen) and uses the hand pad to perform writing or manipulating operations on the touch screen, the planar shape and dimension of the pad body placed on the touch screen would substantially correspond to a shape and a dimension of a profile formed by a little finger and a lateral side of a palm, such that the pad body will not impede the manipulation on the touch screen by the user's hand. The finger holder is arranged on the pad body to enable the pad body to follow the movements of the pen holding hand on the touch screen.

In the following various embodiments of the present invention, the pad body is described to have the type mentioned above or a variant of the type. In a preferred exemplary embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, the pad body 10 is in the form of a flat plate and comprises a front portion 11 and a rear portion 12 whose width W2 is smaller than a width W1 of the front portion 11. The left side of the front portion 11 outwardly protrudes from the pad body and the outer edge of the protruding side joins the left outer edge of the rear portion 12 through a transition section 13, forming a single side tapered. The tapered side is shaped to substantially correspond to the shape of the profile formed by the lateral side of the palm and the little finger of the pen holding hand.

While the foregoing configuration of the hand pad is suitable for a right-handed user, the hand pad might also be constructed to have a configuration mirror-symmetric to the foregoing one in order to cater for a left-handed user. Nevertheless, the hand pad of the present invention is not limited to these configurations, and any other configuration that does not impede the manipulating operations by the hand on the touch screen is possible.

FIGS. 1 to 6 illustrate a hand pad according to an embodiment of the present invention, which comprises a plate-shaped pad body 10 and a finger holder 20 arranged on the pad body 10, wherein the finger holder 20 is arranged on the upper surface of the front portion 11 of the pad body 10. The pad body 10 is composed of three layers of material 10₁, 10₂, 10₃; the finger holder 20 comprises an annular portion 22 and a holding portion 24, both of which are formed integrally. The annular portion 22 allows for insertion of a finger and is arranged close to the leading edge of the front portion 11 of the pad body 10, and the annular portion 22 has two openings respectively orientated to the left and right sides of the pad body. The holding portion 24, which is used to assist the finger inserted into the annular portion to take control of the movement of the hand pad on the touch screen, is located behind the annular portion 22 and orientated to the rear portion 12 of the pad body 11.

In this embodiment, the structure of the finger holder 20 is shown in FIG. 3. As illustrated, the annular portion 22 has a rear end connected with the holding portion 24, and a front end having a T-shaped fixing portion 23. The holding portion 24 comprises two symmetrical halves. The halves form as one piece at their front sections and are cut out at their rear sections along a symmetry axis A.

Referring to FIG. 4, to mount the finger holder 20 on the pad body 11, the fixing portion at the front end of the finger holder 20 is inserted between any two of the layers of material of the pad body from the leading edge of the pad body 10, and fixed on the pad body by stitching or adhesive or other methods well known in the art. The holding portion 24 is folded upwardly along its symmetry axis A, and then flipped over by 90 degrees. Thereafter, the rear sections with the cutouts of the holding portion 24 are flipped outwardly by 90 degrees along a folding line I, and inserted into a slit 15 preformed on the top layer 10₁ of the pad body 10. As shown in FIG. 6, the holding portion 24 is then fixed on the pad body in a stitching manner, an adhesive manner, a fastening manner, or other means commonly employed in the art. The annular portion 22 of the finger holder upon the mounting is substantially sized to match with the finger to be inserted (e.g., the little finger).

FIG. 7 illustrates a variant of the foregoing hand pad, wherein the finger holder and the hand pad are formed integrally. This embodiment is structurally similar with the above embodiment but differs in that the finger holder is fabricated using the same plate material of the pad body, eliminating the need of fixing the front end of the finger holder because the front end is formed integrally with the pad body, and requiring to fix the holding portion of the finger holder in the same way only. In this embodiment, the pad body is preferably made of a single layer of material (e.g., leather), but also may be made of multiple layers of material, and in this case, the finger holder could be fabricated using one layer of material (e.g., the surface layer).

FIG. 8 illustrates a hand pad in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein the pad body 10 is made up of two or three layers of material. In this embodiment, the finger holder 20₂ consists of only an annular or cylindrical portion with its two ends directly fixed on the pad body 10 in a stitching manner, an adhesive manner, or the like.

Alternatively, the finger holder 20₂ might be fabricated using the same material of the top layer of material of the pad body. As shown in FIG. 9, the rear end of the finger holder is formed integrally with the pad body, and the front end of the finger holder is fixed on the pad body 10 in a stitching manner, an adhesive manner, or the like. Alternatively, the front end of the finger holder is a free end detachably fixed on the pad body, for example using a Velcro. This allows the user to adjust the dimension of the finger holder to suit the size of the user's finger.

FIGS. 10 (1) and (2) are respectively a perspective schematic view and a plan schematic view of a hand pad in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, wherein the pad body 10 is made up of two or three layers of material. In this embodiment, the finger holder 20₃ consists of only a holding sheet, which is structurally same as the holding portion of the finger holder shown in FIG. 1. In operation, the little finger bends to grip the holding sheet, which enables to control the movement of the hand pad. As a variant, the finger holder might consist of a holding pillar only (not shown).

FIG. 11 illustrates a hand pad according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, which comprises a pad body 10 and a finger holder 20₄. In this embodiment, the pad body 10 is identical or similar in structure to the pad body of the foregoing embodiments, but differs in that the finger holder 20₄ is of strip configuration with one end having a holding sheet fixed on the pad body 10 by stitching, adhesive, or the like, and the other end which is a free end where a connecting member, such as a becket, is provided for fastening a writing pen. In operation, the finger holder of strip configuration is grasped by use of the little finger of the pen holding hand or by the combined use of the little finger and the ring finger of the pen holding hand, which enables to drive the hand pad to move on the touch screen.

FIG. 12 illustrates a hand pad according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, which comprises a pad body 10′ and a finger holder 20₅. In this embodiment, the hand pad resembles in its overall configuration a glove with the little finger and a lateral side of the palm remaining while other parts of the glove cut away. In this case, the pad body and the finger holder are preferably formed integrally. Nevertheless, they might be provided separately and then joined together, depending on the nature of the material.

The overall thickness of the hand pad in accordance with the present invention is preferably greater than or equal to 2 mm. The pad body might be made up of a single layer of material, such as a leather sheet with a processed bottom surface, or multiple layers of material. It is important to ensure that the bottom surface of the hand pad in contact with the touch screen can move smoothly on the touch screen, without causing any misoperation including creating drawn lines or touching an unwanted key button on the touch screen. For this purpose, the bottom layer of material of the pad body in contact with the touch screen might be selected from the group consisting of nylon, cotton, microfiber, polyester fiber, non-woven fabric, and any other materials enabling a smooth movement on the touch screen.

The surface layer of material of the pad body might be selected from the group consisting of nylon, cotton, microfiber, polyester fiber, leather, PU, PVC, and any other materials with comfortable feeling characteristics.

In the case of the use of the multiple layers of material, the multiple layers of material might be joined together, for example, in a stitching manner, an adhesive manner, or the like, to form the pad body.

The finger holder might be of various configurations, including but not limited to annular, cylindrical, sheet, pillar, strip, finger configuration, or any other suitable configurations that can cooperate with the pen holding hand to drive the movement of the hand pad on the touch screen.

The finger holder might be directly fixed on or connected to the pad body in a manner well known in the art, such as stitching, adhesive, fastening, or the like. For the specific designs, the finger holder might also be fixed on or connected to the pad body via a connecting member.

In order to cater for the finger sizes of different users, the finger holder of the present invention, especially the portions designed to cooperate with the finger (e.g. the annular portion), might be made of an elastic material suitable for use in the embodiment as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, for example.

While several embodiments of the present invention have been described hereinbefore, a person skilled in the art should understand that the above description is given for illustrative purpose and should not be considered to limit the scope of the present invention. Numerous modifications, alterations or substitutions may be obtainable in view of the details of the foregoing embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A hand pad for use with a touch screen of an electronic device, characterized in that it comprises a pad body and a finger holder, wherein the pad body has a shape and a dimension configured to substantially correspond to a shape and a dimension of a profile formed by a little finger and a lateral side of a palm of a pen holding hand, and the finger holder is mounted on a surface of the pad body, such that the pad body follows the pen holding hand to move on the touch screen through the finger holder.

2. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger holder is fixedly connected with the pad body by a connecting member.

3. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger holder is directly fixed to the pad body.

4. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger holder is formed integrally with the pad body.

5. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pad body is made up of at least one layer of material.

6. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pad body is made up of a bottom layer of material and a surface layer of material.

7. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pad body is made up of a bottom layer of material, an intermediate layer of material, and a surface layer of material.

8. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pad body has an overall height of at least 2 mm.

9. A hand pad as claimed in claim 6, wherein the bottom layer of material of the pad body is selected from the group consisting of nylon, cotton, microfiber, polyester fiber, and non-woven fabric.

10. A hand pad as claimed in claim 6, wherein the surface layer of material of the pad body is selected from the group consisting of nylon, cotton, microfiber, polyester fiber, leather, PU, and PVC.

11. A hand pad as claimed in claim 6, wherein the layers of material are joined together in a stitching manner or an adhesive manner.

12. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein a surface of the hand pad in contact with the touch screen is configured to enable its smooth movement on the touch screen.

13. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger holder is of annular or cylindrical configuration.

14. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger holder is of strip configuration.

15. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger holder is of sheet or pillar configuration.

16. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger holder is of finger configuration.

17. A hand pad as claimed in claim 1, wherein the finger holder is fixed on the pad body in a stitching manner, an adhesive manner, or a fastening manner.

18. A hand pad as claimed in claim 7, wherein the bottom layer of material of the pad body is selected from the group consisting of nylon, cotton, microfiber, polyester fiber, and non-woven fabric.

19. A hand pad as claimed in claim 7, wherein the surface layer of material of the pad body is selected from the group consisting of nylon, cotton, microfiber, polyester fiber, leather, PU, and PVC.

20. A hand pad as claimed in claim 7, wherein the layers of material are joined together in a stitching manner or an adhesive manner.