Use of a Two Finger Input on Touch Screens

• US 20070252821A1
• Filed: 06/17/2005
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intertrust Technologies Corporation (Fidelio Acquisition Co LLC)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Hollemans, Gerrit, Buil, Vincentius, Hoonhout, Heneriette, Kleinhout, Huib, van ee Wijdeven, Sander
• Granted Patent: US 7,864,161 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0444 using a single conductive element covering the whole sensing surface, e.g. by sensing the electrical current flowing at the corners
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A system and method for detecting at least two-finger input on a touch screen of a display such as computer, etc. includes a display screen; a sensing grid arranged for sensing touch on said display screen; a plurality of electrodes connected electrically to the sensing grid. A controller receives an output from the sensing grid, and a module identifies at least two points on the grid indicating locations of the display screen that have been touched by a user and identifies a geographic portion of the display screen to be identified based on said at least two points. As the position of the fingers are relative to the position of the screen via change in a direction of a Z-coordinate, a variable zoom can be provided by the sensing grid commensurate with different distances that the multiple fingers are sensed from the display screen.

Claims

1. A system for detecting two-finger input on a touch screen, comprising:

a display screen;

a sensing grid arranged for sensing touch on said display screen;

a plurality of electrodes arranged at corners of the sensing grid and being electrically connected to the sensing grid;

a controller that receives an output from the sensing grid; and

a module that identifies at least two points on the grid indicating locations of the display screen that have been touched by a user and identifies a geographic portion of the display screen to be identified based on said at least two points.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least two points have different X and Y coordinates, and the geographic portion comprises a rectangle.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the rectangle comprises two active lines in the sensing grid in a horizontal direction and two active lines in a vertical direction.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least one sensed line is connected between said at least two points.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein a shape of the geographic portion of the display screen to be identified comprises a rectangle.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein if only one vertical or one horizontal sense line is active on the sensing grid, a size of the rectangle is calculated by the control module sensing a length of said at least one sensed line, and at a midpoint of said at least one sensed line calculating a second line that is perpendicular to said at least one sensed line and having a same length as said at least one sensed line, and based on a length defined by a location of said at least two points, and a width defined by two end points of the second line, providing coordinates of a rectangle to be identified on the display screen.

The system according to claim 5, wherein the control module provides the coordinates of a rectangle to display logic, that controls an image shown on said display screen.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein said display screen is adapted for capacitive sensing.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein said display screen is adapted for resistive sensing.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein said display screen is adapted for optical sensing.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein said display screen is adapted for acoustic wave sensing.

11. The system according to claim 1, wherein said display screen is adapted for optical sensing.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein said display screen is adapted for near field imaging (NFI).

13. The system according to claim 1, wherein the identified geographic portion of said display screen is adapted for selection of an area displayed on the display screen determined by a position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein the identified geographic portion of said display screen is adapted for at least one of rotation and deletion by a change in a position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein the identified geographic portion of said display screen is adapted for at least one of highlighting and changing color of items on the display screen by a change in a position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

16. The system according to claim 1, wherein the identified geographic portion of said display screen is adapted for moving an item displayed on said display screen by a change in a position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein the identified geographic portion of said display screen is adapted for variable zooming based on a change in a position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the change in position of the two finger input is based on a sensed distance from the screen determined by the controller.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein a sensed distance is determined by an amount of current drop sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

20. A system for three-dimensional touch sensing but at least two fingers on a touch screen, comprising:

a display screen;

a sensing grid arranged for sensing touch on said display screen;

a plurality of electrodes arranged at edges of the sensing grid and being electrically connected to the sensing grid;

a controller that receives an output of at least two fingers in close proximity to the sensing grid; and

a module that identifies at least two points on the grid indicating locations of the display screen that have been touched by a user and identifies a geographic portion of the display screen to be identified based on said at least two points to determine an X and a Y coordinate for each point,

wherein said module provides a variable zoom factor based on a Z coordinate comprising a distance of said at least two fingers from the display screen.

21. The system according to claim 20, wherein said module calculates an amount of a drop in current detected at said at least two points to determine a height h of the at least two fingers from the display screen.

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein a view of the identified geographic portion of the display screen is variably magnified as a height h of the two fingers from the screen increases up to a predetermined maximum.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the amount of variable magnification is approximately relative to the height h of two fingers from the display screen

24. The system according to claim 20, wherein the identified geographical portion of an image identified on said display screen is adapted for at least one of rotation, selection or deletion according to a change in a position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid 410 and determined by the controller.

25. The system according to claim 20, wherein the identified geographical portion of an image on said display screen is adapted to change color according to a change in position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

26. The system according to claim 20, wherein the identified geographical portion of an image on said display screen is adapted to change shape according to a change in position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

27. The system according to claim 20, wherein the identified geographical portion of an image on said display screen is adapted to change an amount of illumination of the image according to a change in position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

28. A method of detecting a two-finger input on a touch screen, comprising:

(a) providing a display screen;

(b) arranging a sensing grid in communication with said display screen for sensing touch on said display screen;

(c) electrically connecting a plurality of electrodes to the sensing grid;

(d) providing a controller that receives an output from the sensing grid; and

(e) identifying at least two points on the grid indicating locations of the display screen that have been touched by a user to select a geographic portion comprising a rectangular portion of the display screen to be identified based on said at least two points touched by at least two fingers.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein a size of the geographic portion is calculated by the control module sensing a length of at least one sensed line activated by said at least two points touch by said at least two fingers, and at a midpoint of said at least one sensed line calculating a second line that is perpendicular to said at least one sensed line and having a same length as said at least one sensed line, and based on a length defined by a location of said at least two points, and a width defined by two end points of the second line, providing coordinates of a geographic portion to be identified on the display screen.

30. The method according to claim 28, wherein the geographical portion of an image on said display screen is adapted to change color according to a change in position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

31. The system according to claim 28, wherein the geographical portion of an image on said display screen is adapted to change shape according to a change in position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

32. The system according to claim 28, wherein the identified geographical portion of an image on said display screen is adapted to change an amount of illumination of the image according to a change in position of the two finger input sensed by the sensing grid and determined by the controller.

33. A method for detecting for three-dimensional touch sensing by at least two fingers on a touch screen, comprising:

(a) providing a display screen;

(b) arranging a sensing grid in communication with said display screen for sensing touch on said display screen;

(c) electrically connecting a plurality of electrodes arranged at corners of the sensing grid;

(d) providing a controller that receives an output from the sensing grid;

a sensing grid 410 arranged for sensing touch on said display screen;

(e) identifying at least two points on the grid indicating at least two locations of the display screen that have been touched by a user and identifying a geographic portion of the display screen to be based on a position of said at least two points to determine an X and a Y coordinate for each point; and

(f) providing a variable zoom factor based on a Z coordinate comprising a distance of said at least two fingers from the display screen.

34. The method according to claim 33, wherein a view of the identified geographic portion of the display screen is variably magnified as the height h from the screen increases up to a predetermined maximum.