TOUCH SENSING WITH A COMPLIANT CONDUCTOR

• US 20070268275A1
• Filed: 07/30/2007
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Elias, John, WESTERMAN, WAYNE
• Granted Patent: US 9,448,658 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/24137 Distances to cluster centroïds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• 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 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• 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 3/0235 using chord techniques G06F3/0234 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• 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
• 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: G06V 30/19173 Classification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1983 Syntactic or structural pattern recognition, e.g. symbolic string recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/107 : Static hand or arm
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/9622 : using a plurality of detectors, e.g. keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960725 : Charge-transfer

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for simultaneously tracking multiple finger and palm contacts as hands approach, touch, and slide across a proximity-sensing, multi-touch surface. Identification and classification of intuitive hand configurations and motions enables unprecedented integration of typing, resting, pointing, scrolling, 3D manipulation, and handwriting into a versatile, ergonomic computer input device.

Claims

1. A touch-sensitive apparatus comprising:

a. a deformable touch layer having a top surface accessible to a user and a bottom surface;

b. a compliant sense object layer mounted below the deformable touch layer and adjacent to the bottom surface;

c. a compliant dielectric layer mounted below the deformable sense object layer; and

d. a plurality of sensors spaced apart from each other and mounted below the compliant dielectric layer, each sensor capable of providing an indication of proximity to the sense object layer.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the deformable touch layer is a dielectric material.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensors are also capable of providing an indication regarding the proximity of an object to the top surface of the deformable touch layer.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensors are capacitance sensors and the sense object layer is an electrical conductor.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sense object layer is an electrical conductor.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the sense object layer is coupled to a local ground connection.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein top surface has indication of characters thereon.

8. A method of sensing the position of an object comprising the steps of:

e. providing a deformable touch layer having a top surface accessible to a user and a bottom surface, the top surface having a length and width;

f. providing a compliant sense object layer mounted below the deformable touch layer;

g. providing a compliant dielectric layer mounted below the sense object layer;

h. sensing the presence of an object positioned above the deformable touch layer; and

i. providing a signal indicating the three dimensional position of the object.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the sensing step is performed by a plurality of sensors spaced apart from each other and affixed beneath the compliant dielectric layer.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the signal comprises information regarding the position of the object with respect to the length and width of the top surface and the position of the object with respect to one or more of the sensors.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein each sensor is capable of providing an indication of proximity to the sense object layer.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of applying force with an object to the top surface of the deformable touch layer, thereby deforming the compliant sense object layer to move a portion of the sense object layer closer to the one or more sensors.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the deformable touch layer is a dielectric.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the signal indicates position relative to the length and width by determining a subgroup of the plurality of sensors closest to the object.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the subgroup is a single sensor.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the signal indicates position relative to a portion of the sense object layer by determining the intensity of response from one or more sensors.

17. The method of claim 8 wherein the top surface is not planar.

18. A method of sensing the position of an object comprising the steps of:

j. providing a deformable touch layer having a top surface accessible to a user and a bottom surface, the top surface having a length and width;

k. providing a compliant sense object layer mounted below the deformable touch layer;

l. providing a compliant dielectric layer mounted below the sense object layer;

m. providing a plurality of sensors spaced apart and affixed generally below the dielectric layer, the combination of the deformable touch layer, sensors and compliant layer forming a three dimensional assembly having x and y axes correlating with the length and width, and a z axis generally perpendicular to the x and y axes;

n. sensing the presence of an object generally in the x and y axes by evaluating one or more sensors to determine which one or more sensors are closest to the object; and

o. sensing the presence of an object in the z axis by evaluating one or more sensors to determine the relative position of a sensor with respect to the closest portion of the sense object layer.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the sensors are capacitive in nature and the sense object layer is electrically conductive.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the top surface is not planar.