Touch input device and keyboard device for electronic devices

• US 10,642,385 B1
• Filed: 09/15/2017
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Song, Qiaojian, Prabhakar, Alosious Pradeep, Pereira, Shawn, Veerasamy Panneerselvam, Surendar, Eng, Wee Chun
• Primary Examiner(s): Leiby, Christopher E
• Application Number:
  US15/706,202
• Time in Patent Office: 963 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1669 Detachable keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1683 for the transmission of signal or power between the different housings, e.g. details of wired or wireless communication, passage of cabling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0384 Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0213 Arrangements providing an integrated pointing device in a keyboard, e.g. trackball, mini-joystick for pointing devices integrated in a laptop computer G06F1/169; joysticks G05G9/047; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 50/10 using inductive coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00034 Charger exchanging data with an electronic device, i.e. telephone, whose internal battery is under charge
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/00045 Authentication, i.e. circuits for checking compatibility between one component, e.g. a battery or a battery charger, and another component, e.g. a power source
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/342 The other DC source being a battery actively interacting with the first one, i.e. battery to battery charging with circuits for polarity protection H02J7/0034

Abstract

A keyboard device and a touch input device are disclosed. The keyboard device may include several keys designed to generate a command to a computing system, and the touch input device may include a touch input surface designed to generate a touch input by contact with the touch input surface. In addition to carrying several keys, the keyboard device is designed to magnetically couple to the touch input device. Further, the keyboard device may include a transmitter coil and the touch input device may include a receiver coil such that the keyboard device can transmit power to the touch input device by inductive power transmission. The inductive charging can be used to power i) the touch input device, ii) a battery of the touch input device, and/or iii) an electronic device (e.g., smartphone, wearable device, or handheld device) located on the touch input surface.

Claims

1. A touch input device suitable for use with a computing system, the touch input device comprising:

a portable housing separate from the computing system, the portable housing defining an internal volume;

a touch sensitive layer disposed in the internal volume and covered by a touch input surface, the touch sensitive layer configured to detect a user input to the touch input surface;

a processor that translates the user input to the touch input surface and provides information corresponding to the user input to the computing system; and

an inductive charging module disposed in the internal volume and covered by the touch input surface, the inductive charging module configured to inductively charge a battery in an electronic device when the electronic device is in contact with the touch input surface.

2. The touch input device of claim 1, wherein the touch input surface lacks a display.

3. The touch input device of claim 2, further comprising a receiver coil disposed in the internal volume and configured to receive an induced current by inductive power transmission that results in the induced current providing energy to the battery.

4. The touch input device of claim 3, further comprising a magnet disposed in the internal volume and separate from the inductive charging module, the magnet configured to magnetically couple to a magnet of a keyboard device that includes a transmitter coil that is configured to provide an alternating electromagnetic field that is received by the receiver coil to generate the induced current.

5. The touch input device of claim 1, further comprising wireless communication circuitry capable of radio frequency communication that places the processor in communication with the computing system and a keyboard device, wherein when the processor is in communication with the keyboard device, the processor is capable of providing an electrical signal corresponding to the user input to the computing system via the keyboard device such that the processor lacks direct communication with the computing system.

6. The touch input device of claim 1, further comprising a display assembly disposed laterally with respect to the touch input layer, the display assembly comprising a display touch input layer and a display layer, wherein the display assembly comprises a virtual application toolbar displayed on the display layer and selectable via the display touch input layer, wherein the virtual application toolbar is specific to an application executable by the computing system and displayed on the display layer.

7. The touch input device of claim 1, wherein:

the touch input surface overlays the touch sensitive layer, and

the touch sensitive layer overlays the inductive charging module.

8. A keyboard device suitable for use with a computing system, the keyboard device comprising:

a keyboard device housing that defines an internal volume;

keys carried by the keyboard device housing;

a magnet disposed in the internal volume and configured to magnetically couple to a touch input device magnet; and

an inductive transmitter coil disposed in the internal volume and separate from the magnet, wherein;

the inductive transmitter coil is at least partially covered by the keys,

the inductive transmitter coil is configured to transmit energy by inductive power transmission to a receiver coil of the touch input device, and

the energy transmitted by the inductive transmitter coil is configured to charge a battery in the touch input device or power a component of the touch input device.

9. The keyboard device of claim 8, further comprising a power source located in the internal volume and configured to supply the energy to the inductive transmitter coil.

10. The keyboard device of claim 9, wherein the power source comprises a battery that stores the energy that is transferred to the touch input device via the inductive transmitter coil.

11. The keyboard device of claim 10, further comprising a port configured to receive energy to charge the battery.

12. The keyboard device of claim 8, further comprising wireless communication circuitry disposed in the internal volume, the wireless communication circuitry configured to communicate with the touch input device and receive a command defined by a touch input to the touch input device.

13. The keyboard device of claim 12, further comprising a circuit board disposed in the internal volume, wherein the circuit board is in communication with the computing system based on the wireless communication circuitry.

14. The keyboard device of claim 8, wherein the inductive power transmission is defined in part by an alternating electromagnetic field generated by the inductive transmitter coil.

15. A method for charging an electronic device that includes a battery and a receiver coil, the method comprising:

by a touch input device;

receiving, on and in contact with a touch input surface of the touch input device, the electronic device, the touch input device comprising a portable housing, the touch input surface configured to detect a user input and translate the user input to a computing system;

generating an alternating electromagnetic field by a transmitter coil located in an internal volume of the portable housing; and

inducing current, by the transmitter coil, when the electronic device is positioned on the touch input surface, the induced current configured to charge the battery.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving, at the touch input device, a second alternating electromagnetic field by a second transmitter coil located in an external device; and

inducing current at a second receiver coil located in the internal volume, wherein the induced current is used to provide by the transmitter coil in the touch input device to generate the alternating electromagnetic field.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein receiving, at the touch input device, comprises receiving the electronic device on a surface that lacks a display the external device comprises a keyboard device.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving, at the touch input device, electrical energy from an external power source.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the alternating electromagnetic field is subsequent to receiving the electronic device.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing a magnet in the internal volume, the magnet separate from the transmitter coil and the receiver coil;

magnetically coupling the touch input device to a magnet in a keyboard device to define a magnetic circuit; and

initiating the generating of the alternating electromagnetic field subsequent to determining the magnetic circuit is formed.