Touch sensitive device employing impulse reconstruction

• US 20050146511A1
• Filed: 12/31/2003
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Sullivan, Darius M., Hill, Nicholas P.R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,315,300 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0433 in which the acoustic waves are either generated by a movable member and propagated within a surface layer or propagated within a surface layer and captured by a movable member
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0436 in which generating transducers and detecting transducers are attached to a single acoustic waves transmission substrate

Abstract

A touch sensitive apparatus includes a touch plate and a number of sensors coupled to the touch plate. Each of the sensors is configured to sense bending waves in the touch plate and, in response to a touch to the touch plate, generate sensor signals. A controller is coupled to the sensors. The controller corrects for dispersion in the sensor signals and determines a location of the touch using the dispersion corrected signals. The controller performs impulse reconstruction, by which impulses representative of impulses generated by the touch to the touch sensitive device are produced. Using the reconstructed impulses, the controller confirms the location of the touch.

Claims

1. A method for use with a touch sensitive device comprising a touch plate to which a plurality of sensors are coupled, the method comprising:

generating, in response to a touch to the touch sensitive device, sensor signals exhibiting dispersion;

correcting for the dispersion in the sensor signals to produce dispersion corrected signals;

determining a location of the touch using the dispersion corrected signals;

reconstructing impulses representative of impulses generated by the touch to the touch sensitive device; and

confirming the location of the touch using the reconstructed impulses.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein reconstructing the impulses further comprises determining a dispersion relation of the touch plate.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein reconstructing the impulses further comprises determining dimensions of the touch plate.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the dimensions of the touch plate comprises using an excitation transducer coupled to the touch plate and the plurality of sensors to determine the dimensions of the touch plate.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the dimensions of the touch plate comprises:

applying an excitation signal generated by the excitation transducer to the touch plate and sensing the excitation signal by each of the sensors;

determining a transfer function of an input at the excitation transducer to an output at each of the sensors;

determining, for each of the sensors, a dispersion corrected impulse response using the transfer function; and

determining the dimensions of the touch plate using the respective dispersion corrected impulse responses.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein reconstructing the impulses comprises:

determining a separation distance between the touch location and each of the sensors;

developing, for each of the sensors, an inverse phase factor using the respective separation distances; and

applying the inverse phase factor to the sensor signals to reconstruct the impulses.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein confirming the location of the touch comprises assessing similarity of one or more features of the reconstructed impulses.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein assessing similarity of the reconstructed impulses comprises:

confirming the touch location as valid in response to the similarity assessment achieving a threshold; and

considering the touch location as invalid in response to the similarity assessment failing to achieve the threshold.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein confirming the location of the touch comprises assessing synchronicity of the reconstructed impulses.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein confirming the location of the touch comprises assessing time of arrival and shape of each of the reconstructed impulses.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein confirming the location of the touch comprises:

computing an average of the reconstructed impulses to emphasize a particular feature of the reconstructed impulses; and

assessing similarity of the particular feature of the reconstructed impulses.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein confirming the location of the touch comprises:

computing an average of the reconstructed impulses;

applying a scaling factor to the computed average of the reconstructed impulses to produce a scaled reconstructed impulse, the scaling factor selected to emphasize first arrival energy of the averaged reconstructed impulses; and

comparing the scaled reconstructed impulse against a threshold to confirm the touch location as valid or invalid.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein sensor signals are generated in response to a touch to a bezel or frame of the touch sensitive device, and confirming the location of the touch comprises confirming the touch to the bezel or frame as an erroneous touch.

14. A touch sensitive apparatus, comprising:

a touch plate;

a plurality of sensors coupled to the touch plate, each of the sensors configured to sense bending waves in the touch plate and, in response to a touch to the touch plate, generate sensor signals; and

a controller coupled to the sensors, the controller correcting for dispersion in the sensor signals, determining a location of the touch using the dispersion corrected signals, and reconstructing impulses representative of impulses generated by the touch to the touch sensitive device, the controller confirming the location of the touch using the reconstructed impulses.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a plurality of active buffer circuits, each of the active buffer circuits respectively coupled to one of the sensors.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising an excitation transducer coupled to the touch plate and configured to induce bending waves in the touch plate.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein:

the sensors produce bending wave signals responsive to the induced bending waves; and

the controller computes dimensions of the touch plate using the bending wave signals, the controller using the touch plate dimensions to reconstruct the impulses.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:

a plurality of active buffer circuits, each of the active buffer circuits respectively coupled to one of the sensors; and

an excitation transducer coupled to the touch plate and configured to induce bending waves in the touch plate;

wherein the controller is coupled to the sensors via the active buffer circuits and to the excitation transducer via a non-actively buffered connection.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller determines a dispersion relation of the touch plate, the controller using the dispersion relation to reconstruct the impulses.

20. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller accesses data corresponding to dimensions of the touch plate and a dispersion relation of the touch plate, the controller using the data corresponding to the touch plate dimensions and dispersion relation to reconstruct the impulses.

21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller determines a separation distance between the touch location and each of the sensors, and develops an inverse phase factor associated with each of the sensors using the respective separation distances, the controller applying the inverse phase factor to the sensor signals to reconstruct the impulses.

22. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller determines similarity of one or more features of the reconstructed impulses to confirm the location of the touch.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the controller confirms the touch location as valid in response to the similarity determination achieving a threshold and verifies the touch location as invalid in response to the similarity determination failing to achieve the threshold.

24. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller evaluates synchronicity of the reconstructed impulses to confirm the location of the touch.

25. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the controller evaluates time of arrival and shape of each of the reconstructed impulses to confirm the location of the touch.

26. A touch sensitive apparatus comprising a touch plate to which a plurality of sensors are coupled, the apparatus comprising:

means for generating sensor signals in response to a touch to the touch sensitive device;

means for correcting for dispersion in the sensor signals to produce dispersion corrected signals;

means for determining a location of the touch using the dispersion corrected signals;

means for reconstructing impulses representative of impulses generated by the touch to the touch sensitive device; and

means for confirming the location of the touch using the reconstructed impulses.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the reconstructing means comprises means for determining a dispersion relation of the touch plate.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the reconstructing means comprises means for determining dimensions of the touch plate.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the dimensions determining means comprises means for applying an excitation signal to the touch plate and means for sensing signals responsive to the excitation signal.

30. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the confirming means comprises means for assessing similarity of one or more features of the reconstructed impulses.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the assessing means comprises means for confirming the touch location as valid in response to the similarity assessment achieving a threshold and for considering the touch location as invalid in response to the similarity assessment failing to achieve the threshold.

32. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the confirming means comprises means for assessing synchronicity of the reconstructed impulses.