Force sensing and inadvertent input control of an input device
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- at least one force sensor configured to detect amounts of force applied by an object to an outer surface;
one or more position sensors configured to detect proximity of the object to respective locations of the outer surface; and
a force control module implemented at least partially in hardware, the force control module configured to;
determine a likelihood that a contact made by the object was unintentional based on an amount of time that passes after proximity is detected by the one or more position sensors before an amount of force exceeding a threshold is detected by the at least one force sensor; and
block from processing reports from the at least one force sensor for the contact made by the object responsive to the determination that initiating the contact by the object was unintentional.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Inadvertent input control techniques are described. In one or more implementations, techniques are described that leverage force to determine a likelihood that a user intended to provide an input, e.g., a selection input (e.g., a “click”), gesture, lift off, and so forth. This is usable to identify taps, hovers, continuation of movement of a drag operation, and so on. Implementations are also discussed that leverage an n-manifold in the product space of contact size and signal strength that is usable to define a likelihood of whether a contact includes an application of force. A variety of other examples are also described, including cursor stability techniques that leverage force in order to control movement of a cursor.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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at least one force sensor configured to detect amounts of force applied by an object to an outer surface; one or more position sensors configured to detect proximity of the object to respective locations of the outer surface; and a force control module implemented at least partially in hardware, the force control module configured to; determine a likelihood that a contact made by the object was unintentional based on an amount of time that passes after proximity is detected by the one or more position sensors before an amount of force exceeding a threshold is detected by the at least one force sensor; and block from processing reports from the at least one force sensor for the contact made by the object responsive to the determination that initiating the contact by the object was unintentional. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus comprising:
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a force sensor configured to detect an amount of force applied by an object to an outer surface; a position sensor configured to detect proximity of the object to respective locations of the outer surface; and a force control module implemented at least partially in hardware, the force control module configured to; determine a likelihood that a contact made by the object was unintentional based on an amount of time that passes after the object is detected as being proximal to the outer surface by the position sensor, before the amount of force detected by the force sensor exceeds a threshold and based on whether the amount of force detected by the at least one force sensor is less than a force threshold; and block from processing a report from the position sensor for the contact made by the object, responsive to the determination that initiating the contact by the object was unintentional. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system comprising:
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a force sensor configured to detect an amount of force applied by an object to an outer surface; a position sensor configured to detect a location and movement of the object with respect to the outer surface; and a force control module implemented at least partially in hardware, the force control module configured to; determine a likelihood that a contact made by the object was unintentional based on an amount of time that passes after proximity is detected by the one or more position sensors before an amount of force exceeding a first threshold is detected by the at least one force sensor block from processing reports from the force sensor for the contact made by the object responsive to the determination that initiating the contact by the object was unintentional. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for identifying an inadvertent input captured by a touch-enabled device, the method comprising:
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receiving a first signal indicative of proximity of an object to an outer surface of the touch-enabled device, the proximity being detected by at least one position sensor, the at least one position sensor being configured to detect proximity of the object to the outer surface before contact is made between the object and the outer surface; and receiving a second signal indicative of an amount of force applied by the object to the outer surface of the touch-enabled device, the amount of force being detected by at least one force sensor; examining the first signal in relation to both the second signal and an amount of time during which proximity was detected before contact was made between the object and the outer surface to determine a likelihood that the contact made was an inadvertent input. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification