PIEZORESISTIVE FORCE SENSOR INTEGRATED IN A DISPLAY

• US 20100123686A1
• Filed: 01/21/2009
• Published: 05/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications USA Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Klinghult, Gunnar, Kleverman, Mats
• Application Number:
  US12/356,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20100123686A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/178
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04144 using an array of force sensing means position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells G06F3/0447
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

A device may include a substrate including an input device on a substrate and at least one piezoresistive sensor formed on the substrate outside the area of the input device. A device may include a display formed on a substrate, at least one piezoresistive sensor formed on the substrate, and a processor to calculate an applied force and activate a force response based on the calculated applied force. A method may include monitoring resistance associated with one or more piezoresistive sensors to detect changes in a force applied to a display device, detecting a change in resistance associated with the one or more piezoresistive sensors, calculate a force applied to the display device based on the detected change in resistance, activating a force response in proportion to the change in resistance detected, and displaying a result of the force response via the display device.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

a substrate;

an input device provided on a first portion of the substrate; and

at least one piezoresistive sensor to sense a force applied to the input device, where the piezoresistive sensor is provided on a second portion of the substrate, where the second portion is different than the first portion.

2. The device of claim 1, where the at least one piezoresistive sensor comprises at least one of a piezoresistive sensor located outside each corner of the input device, or a piezoresistive sensor located outside a middle of each edge of the input device.

3. The device of claim 1, where the at least one piezoresistive sensor comprises:

a first pair of piezoresistive sensors formed in a deformable area of the substrate; and

a second pair of piezoresistive sensors formed in a substantially non-deformable area of the substrate.

4. The device of claim 3, where the first pair of piezoresistive sensors and the second pair of piezoresistive sensors are arranged in a Wheatstone bridge configuration.

5. The device of claim 1, where the at least one piezoresistive sensor comprises a sensor having a zigzag pattern.

6. The device of claim 1, where the at least one piezoresistive sensor comprises at least two different sensor arrangements, and the device further comprises:

a processor to select one of the at least two different sensor arrangements based on a desired sensitivity or based on an application being run on the device.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a force calculating component coupled to the at least one piezoresistive sensor, to calculate the applied force based on a change in resistance in the at least one piezoresistive sensor; and

a force response activating component to execute a plurality of actions, where each of the plurality of actions is executed in response to a different calculated applied force.

8. The device of claim 7, where the force response activating component one of:

controls an intensity of an action based on a calculated applied force, selects an action from a plurality of actions based on the calculated applied force, or selects a number of objects to include in an action based on the calculated applied force.

9. The device of claim 1, where the device comprises a mobile communication device.

10. The device of claim 1, where the input device comprises a button, a touch screen, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a keyboard, a keypad, or a scroll wheel.

11. The device of claim 1, where the at least one piezoresistive sensor comprises:

a well formed in the substrate;

a first diffusion region formed at a first end of the well, where the first diffusion region has a higher doping concentration than the well;

a second diffusion region formed at a second end of the well, where the second diffusion region has a higher doping concentration than the well;

a first contact coupled to the first diffusion region; and

a second contact coupled to the second diffusion region.

12. A device, comprising:

a display formed on a substrate;

at least one piezoresistive sensor formed on the substrate to sense a change in resistance based on a force applied to the display;

a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor to execute instructions in the memory to;

receive the sensed change in resistance,

calculate an applied force based on the sensed change in resistance,

activate a force response based on the applied force, and

provide an indication of the activated force response via the display.

13. The device of claim 12, where the at least one piezoresistive sensor is located outside an area of the substrate occupied by the display.

14. The device of claim 12, where the at least one piezoresistive sensor is located within an area of the substrate occupied by the display.

15. A method implemented by an input device, the method comprising:

monitoring a resistance associated with one or more piezoresistive sensors to detect changes in a force applied to a display device;

detecting a change in resistance associated with the one or more piezoresistive sensors;

calculating a force applied to the display device, based on the detected change in resistance;

activating a force response in proportion to the calculated applied force; and

displaying a result of the force response via the display device.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

calibrating the one or more piezoresistive sensors.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

adjusting a sensitivity of the one or more piezoresistive sensors by one of;

selecting an arrangement of the one or more piezoresistive sensors, selecting a length of sensors of the one or more piezoresistive sensors, or adjusting a gain of an amplifier coupled to the one or more piezoresistive sensors.

18. The method of claim 15, where activating a force response comprises one of more of:

changing a brightness of the display device,

changing a speed of scrolling,

changing a speed of zooming,

changing a volume of a speaker,

selecting contents displayed on the display device,

activating a single click of a pointing device, or

activating a double click of the pointing device.

19. The method of claim 15, where activating a force response comprises:

activating an action selected from a plurality of actions, the action being selected based on the calculated applied force.

20. The method of claim 15, where activating a force response comprises:

controlling an intensity of an action or a number of objects to include in an action, based on the calculated applied force.