DISPLAYS AND INFORMATION INPUT DEVICES

• US 20090021488A1
• Filed: 09/07/2006
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Power2B, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Power2B, Inc.
• Inventors: Gutin, Boris, Kali, Eran, Lipman, Sarah Michelle, Margalit, Moti
• Granted Patent: US 9,494,972 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• 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 3/03542 Light pens for emitting or receiving light
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0386 for light pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An integrated display and input device including a first pixel array operative to provide a visually sensible output, a second pixel array operative to sense at least a position of an object with respect to the first pixel array and circuitry receiving an output from the second pixel array and providing a non-imagewise input to utilization circuitry.

Claims

1. An integrated display and input device comprising:

a first pixel array operative to provide a visually sensible output;

a second pixel array operative to sense at least a position of an object with respect to said first pixel array; and

circuitry receiving an output from said second pixel array and providing a non-imagewise input to utilization circuitry.

2. An integrated display and input device according to claim 1 and also comprising utilization circuitry providing portable communicator functionality.

3. An integrated display and input device according to claim 1 and also comprising utilization circuitry providing interactive television functionality.

4. An integrated display and input device according to claim 1 and also comprising utilization circuitry providing portable computer functionality.

5. An integrated display and input device according to claim 1 and wherein said second pixel array comprises a plurality of detector elements arranged in a plane parallel to a viewing plane.

6. An integrated display and input device according to claim 1 and wherein said second pixel array is coplanar with said first pixel array.

7. An integrated display and input device according to claim 1 wherein said first and second pixel arrays comprise a plurality of elements arranged in parallel planes, parallel to a viewing plane.

8. An integrated display and input device according to claim 1 and wherein said second pixel array comprises a detector assembly arranged at least one edge of a viewing plane defining plate.

9. An integrated display and input device according to claim 8 and wherein said detector assembly is arranged about said at least one edge of said viewing plane defining plate.

10. An integrated display and input device according to claim 8 and wherein said detector assembly is arranged along said at least one edge of said viewing plane defining plate.

11. An integrated display and input device according to claim 8 and wherein said detector assembly comprises:

a support substrate; and

an arrangement of detector elements.

13. An integrated display and input device according to claim 11 and wherein said support substrate is integrated with a housing of said integrated display and input device.

24. An integrated display and input device according to claim 8 and wherein said second pixel array comprises a plurality of generally forward-facing detectors arranged about edges of a display element.

25. An integrated display and input device according to claim 11 and wherein at least one detector in said arrangement detects electromagnetic radiation at a baseline level and senses said position of said object with respect to said first pixel array and said circuitry provides said non-imagewise input according to location of at least one detector in said arrangement for which at least one of the amount of radiation detected and the change in the amount of radiation detected exceed a first predetermined threshold.

26. An integrated display and input device according to claim 25 and wherein said change in the amount of radiation detected results from at least one detector in said arrangement detecting reflected light from said object in addition to detecting said radiation at said baseline level.

27. An integrated display and input device according to claim 26 and wherein said reflected light propagates within said viewing plane defining plate to at least one detector in said arrangement.

28. An integrated display and input device according to claim 26 and wherein said reflected light propagates above said viewing plane defining plate to at least one detector in said arrangement.

31. An integrated display and input device according to claim 25 and also comprising a processing subassembly including:

detector analyzing processing circuitry operative to receive detector outputs of individual detectors in said arrangement, to determine at least one of whether the amount of radiation detected by said individual detectors exceeds said first predetermined threshold, whether the change in the amount of radiation detected by said individual detectors exceeds said first predetermined threshold and whether the amount of radiation detected by said individual detectors is below a second predetermined threshold, and to provide detector analysis outputs for said individual detectors;

array processing circuitry operative to receive said detector analysis outputs of individual detectors in said arrangement and to generate an array detection output therefrom; and

position determining circuitry operative to receive said array detection output of said arrangement and to determine said position of said object therefrom.

35. An integrated display and input device according to claim 25 and wherein said radiation at said baseline level is provided by at least one source of illumination external to said integrated display and input device and said at least one source of illumination comprises at least one of sunlight, artificial room lighting and IR illumination emitted from a human body.

36. An integrated display and input device according to claim 35 and also comprising an illumination subassembly operative to provide illumination for augmenting said radiation at said baseline level.

37. An integrated display and input device according to claim 25 and also comprising an illumination subassembly operative to provide said radiation at said baseline level.

38. An integrated display and input device according to claim 36 and wherein said illumination subassembly comprises at least one electromagnetic radiation emitting source.

39. An integrated display and input device according to claim 38 and wherein said at least one electromagnetic radiation emitting source comprises at least one of at least one IR emitting LED and at least one visible light emitting LED.

40. An integrated display and input device according to claim 39 and wherein said at least one electromagnetic radiation emitting source is disposed at an intersection of two mutually perpendicular edges of said viewing plane defining plate.

41. An integrated display and input device according to claim 39 and wherein said at least one electromagnetic radiation emitting source forms part of a linear arrangement of display backlights underlying said viewing plane defining plate.

42. An integrated display and input device according to claim 37 and wherein said illumination subassembly comprises at least one generally linear arrangement of a plurality of electromagnetic radiation emitting sources arranged in parallel to at least one edge of said viewing plane defining plate.

43. An integrated display and input device according to claim 42 and wherein at least one of said at least one generally linear arrangement is arranged behind said second pixel array.

12. (canceled)

14-23. -23. (canceled)

29-30. -30. (canceled)

32-34. -34. (canceled)

44-57. -57. (canceled)

58. A position sensing assembly comprising:

a plate defining a surface; and

at least one pixel array comprising a plurality of detector elements detecting electromagnetic radiation at a baseline level, said at least one pixel array being operative to sense a position of an object with respect to said surface according to locations of ones of said plurality of detector elements at which at least one of the amount of radiation detected and the change in the amount of radiation detected exceed a predetermined threshold.

59. A position sensing assembly according to claim 58 and wherein said change in the amount of radiation detected results from ones of said plurality of detector elements detecting reflected light from said object in addition to detecting said radiation at said baseline level.

60. A position sensing assembly according to claim 59 and wherein said reflected light propagates within said plate to ones of said plurality of detector elements.

61. A position sensing assembly according to claim 59 and wherein said reflected light propagates above said surface to ones of said plurality of detector elements.

62. A position sensing assembly according to claim 59 and wherein said reflected light is transmitted through said plate directly to at least one of said plurality of detector elements.

63. A position sensing assembly according to claim 58 and also comprising a processing subassembly including:

detector analyzing processing circuitry operative to receive detector outputs of individual ones of said plurality of detector elements, to determine whether at least one of the amount of radiation and the change in the amount of radiation detected by said individual ones of said plurality detector element exceeds said predetermined threshold, and to provide detector analysis outputs for said individual ones of said plurality of detector elements;

array processing circuitry operative to receive said detector analysis outputs of said plurality of detector elements of a single one of said at least one pixel array and to generate an array detection output therefrom; and

position determining circuitry operative to receive said array detection output of said at least one pixel array and to determine said position of said object therefrom.

64. A position sensing assembly according to claim 63 and wherein said array detection output includes information corresponding to the location of an impingement point of said object on said surface.

65. A position sensing assembly according to claim 63 and wherein said array detection output includes information corresponding to the location of said object relative to said surface.

66. A position sensing assembly according to claim 58 and wherein said position of said object comprises at least one of a two-dimensional position of said object, a three-dimensional position of said object and angular orientation of said object.

67. A position sensing assembly according to claim 58 and wherein said radiation at said baseline level is provided by at least one source of radiation external to said position sensing assembly.

68. A position sensing assembly according to claim 67 and wherein said at least one source of radiation comprises at least one of sunlight, artificial room lighting and IR illumination emitted from a human body.

69. A position sensing assembly according to claim 67 and also comprising an illumination subassembly operative to provide illumination for augmenting said radiation at said baseline level.

70. A position sensing assembly according to claim 58 and also comprising an illumination subassembly operative to provide said radiation at said baseline level to said plurality of detector elements.

71-88. -88. (canceled)