DETECTING TOUCH ON A CURVED SURFACE

• US 20100245246A1
• Filed: 06/19/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jenkins, Kurt Allen, Izadi, Shahram, Benko, Hrvoje, Helmes, John, Westhues, Jonathan, Rosenfeld, Daniel, Villar, Nicolas
• Granted Patent: US 8,982,051 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0337 Status LEDs integrated in the mouse to provide visual feedback to the user about the status of the input device, the PC, or the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04111 Cross over in capacitive digitiser, i.e. details of structures for connecting electrodes of the sensing pattern where the connections cross each other, e.g. bridge structures comprising an insulating layer, or vias through substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device
• 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

Abstract

Embodiments are disclosed herein that are related to input devices with curved multi-touch surfaces. One disclosed embodiment comprises a touch-sensitive input device having a curved geometric feature comprising a touch sensor, the touch sensor comprising an array of sensor elements integrated into the curved geometric feature and being configured to detect a location of a touch made on a surface of the curved geometric feature.

Claims

1. A touch-sensitive input device for a computing device, comprising:

a curved geometric feature comprising a touch sensor, the touch sensor comprising an array of sensor elements integrated into the curved geometric feature and being configured to detect a location of a touch made on a surface of the curved geometric feature.

2. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 1, wherein the input device is a computer mouse, and wherein the curved geometric feature comprises a body of the mouse.

3. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 2, wherein the touch sensor comprises a flexible substrate on which the array of sensor elements is disposed, and wherein the flexible substrate is coupled to an outer surface of the body of the mouse.

4. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 3, wherein the sensor elements comprises a first set of sensor elements disposed on an opposite face of the substrate as a second set of sensor elements.

5. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 3, wherein the sensor elements comprise a first set of sensor elements and a second set of sensor elements disposed on a same side of the substrate and separated by a dielectric layer.

6. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 3, wherein the sensor array comprises a first set of sensor elements and a second set of sensor elements disposed on a same side of the substrate in a same layer, with an insulating material between connectors for the first set of sensor elements and connectors for the second set of sensor elements.

7. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 2, wherein the sensor elements are printed onto a surface of the mouse body.

8. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 2, wherein the sensor elements are coupled to a non-developable surface of the body of the mouse, and wherein the array of sensor elements is formed on a vacuum formed substrate molded to fit the non-developable surface.

9. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 2, further comprising one or more light sources configured to illuminate a region of a surface of the mouse body mapped to a specific function.

10. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 1, further comprising a pressure sensor.

11. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 10, wherein the pressure sensor comprises a piezoresistive sheet in contact with the sensor array.

12. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 10, wherein the sensor array is a first sensor array, and wherein the pressure sensor comprises a second sensor array and a piezoresistive sheet in contact with the second sensor array.

13. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 10, wherein the touch sensor is a capacitive touch sensor, and further comprising a controller in electrical communication with the touch sensor and the pressure sensor, wherein the controller is configured to distinguish a touch input from the touch sensor and a near-touch input from the touch sensor by a signal from the pressure sensor.

14. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 10, further comprising a controller in electrical communication with the touch sensor and pressure sensor, wherein the controller is configured to detect an actuation of a virtual button via a pressure signal from the pressure sensor.

15. The touch-sensitive input device of claim 1, further comprising a controller in electrical communication with the touch sensor, wherein the controller is configured to output a signal configured to trigger audio feedback in response to a selected touch input.

16. A computer mouse, comprising:

a body;

a capacitive multi-touch sensor integrated with the body that extends across a curved portion of the body, the capacitive multi-touch sensor comprising a plurality of pixels each being configured to detect touch at a location on the body over the pixel, wherein the capacitive multi-touch sensor comprises an array of conductive polymer thick film sensor elements; and

a controller configured to detect a location of a touch on the body by acquiring a plurality of capacitance measurements from the array of sensor elements.

17. The computer mouse of claim 16, wherein the array of sensor elements comprises a first set of m sensor elements and a second set n of sensor elements, and wherein the plurality of capacitance measurements comprises m×

n measurements and/or m+n measurements.

18. In a multi-touch computer input device comprising a curved surface with a capacitive multi-touch sensor array integrated into the curved surface, and a pressure sensitive, variable resistance material in contact with the sensor array, a method of measuring a touch location and touch pressure on the curved surface, comprising:

acquiring a first impedance measurement from the sensor array at a first frequency, the first impedance measurement comprising an impedance value for each pixel of the sensor array;

acquiring a second impedance measurement from the sensor array at a second frequency, the second impedance measurement comprising an impedance value for each pixel of the sensor array, wherein the second frequency is different than the first frequency;

from the first impedance measurement and the second impedance measurement, determining a resistance value and a capacitive reactance value;

from the capacitive reactance value, determining a location of a touch on the curved surface; and

from the resistance value, determining a touch pressure of the touch on the curved surface.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the resistance value and the capacitive reactance value are determined from one or more of a magnitude of the first impedance measurement and a magnitude of the second impedance measurement and a phase shift between the first impedance measurement and the second impedance measurement.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the sensor array comprises m rows of sensors and n columns of sensors, wherein the first impedance measurement and the second impedance measurement each comprise m×

n impedance values, and further comprising acquiring one or more m+n impedance measurements, and then acquiring the first and second impedance measurements with m×

n impedance values if a change in a touch state is detected from the m+n impedance values.