Sensing data input

• US 20010017934A1
• Filed: 12/15/2000
• Published: 08/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Mobile Phones UK Limited (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Paloniemi, Jari, Kinnunen, Timo, Ulvinen, Vesa
• Granted Patent: US 7,787,666 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/107
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0338 Fingerprint track pad, i.e. fingerprint sensor used as pointing device tracking the fingertip image
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface

Abstract

A user input device comprising: a sensor capable of sensing surface relief of human skin; a movement detector responsive to variation of the output of the sensor for detecting movement of skin across the sensor; and user interface apparatus responsive to the movement detector to alter its state in correspondence to the detected movement.

Claims

1. A user input device comprising:

a sensor capable of sensing surface relief of human skin;

a movement detector responsive to variation of the output of the sensor for detecting movement of skin over the sensor; and

user interface apparatus responsive to the movement detector to alter its state in correspondence to the detected movement.

2. A device as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the sensor comprises a plurality of sensing units arranged in a substantially planar array.

3. A device as claimed in

claim 2

, wherein the sensing units are optical sensing units.

4. A device as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the sensor is a fingerprint sensor.

5. A device as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the movement detector is responsive to variation of the output of the sensor for determining the direction of movement of skin across the sensor.

6. A device as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the sensor comprises a first sensing section extending in a first direction and a second sensing section extending in a second direction, and the movement detector is operable to compare successive outputs from the first sensing section to detect movement in the first direction and to compare successive outputs from the second sensing section to detect movement in the second direction.

7. A device as claimed in

claim 6

, wherein the movement detector is operable to determine a composite direction of movement across the sensor from combination of detected movement in the first and second directions.

8. A device as claimed in

claim 1

, including storage apparatus capable of storing successive outputs from the sensor in a memory so as to form a record of the surface relief of skin drawn across the sensor.

9. A device as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the user interface apparatus includes a display and a display controller capable of controlling the display so as to cause at least part of an image to move across the display in correspondence to detected movement across the sensor.

10. A device as claimed in

claim 9

, wherein the display controller is capable of controlling the display so as to cause the said at least part of an image to move across the display in apparently the same direction as the detected movement across the sensor.

11. A device as claimed in

claim 1

, wherein the sensor is capable of sensing relative rotation of skin and the sensor.

12. A communication terminal comprising a user input device as claimed

claim 1

.

13. A method of operation in a user input device comprising a sensor capable of sensing surface relief of human skin, the method comprising:

detecting movement of skin over the sensor; and

altering the state of user interface apparatus in response to the detected movement.

14. A method of operation in a user input device substantially as herein described.