Touch-Based User Interface Corner Conductive Pad

• US 20110109587A1
• Filed: 09/21/2010
• Published: 05/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Ferencz, Andrew, Carvajal, Santiago, Rip, Bojan, Sakalowsky, John Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,638,306 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• 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 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- 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 without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0448 Details of the electrode shape, e.g. for enhancing the detection of touches, for generating specific electric field shapes, for enhancing display quality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

A touch sensor employing capacitive sensing technology in which a series of conductive pads enabling the detection of levels of capacitance imparted to each of the conductive pads as a result of the close proximity of a tip of a digit of a user, in which adjacent pairs of the conductive pads form slider controls, in which one of the conductive pads is a corner-type conductive pad at which two adjacent slider controls formed by the corner-type conductive pad and each of two adjacent conductive pads forms a corner in the series of slider controls, and in which the series of slider controls perhaps forms a rectangular ring shape loop of slider controls in which there are four of the corner-type conductive pads at which four different pairs of slider controls meet at right angles.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a corner-type conductive pad to enable detection of an additional capacitance imparted to the corner-type conductive by the close proximity of a tip of a digit to the corner-type conductive pad, wherein the corner-type conductive pad comprises;

a central region;

a first tooth extending in a first direction outward from the central region of the corner-type conductive pad; and

a second tooth extending in a second direction outward from the central region of the corner-type conductive pad, wherein the first and second directions are not in line and form an angle therebetween with the central region of the corner-type conductive pad located at the corner formed at the angle;

a first conductive pad adjacent to the corner-type conductive pad to enable detection of an additional capacitance imparted to the first conductive by the close proximity of a tip of a digit to the first conductive pad, wherein the first conductive pad comprises;

a central region; and

a third tooth extending outward from the central region of the first conductive pad in a direction parallel to the first direction in which the first tooth extends such that the first and third teeth extend alongside each other such that they are enmeshed and form a first slider control between the corner-type conductive pad and the first conductive pad that extends in the first direction from the central region of the corner-type conductive pad; and

a second conductive pad adjacent to the corner-type conductive pad to enable detection of an additional capacitance imparted to the first conductive by the close proximity of a tip of a digit to the first conductive pad, wherein the second conductive pad comprises;

a central region; and

a fourth tooth extending outward from the central region of the second conductive pad in a direction parallel to the second direction in which the second tooth extends such that the second and fourth teeth extend alongside each other such that they are enmeshed and form a second slider control between the corner-type conductive pad and the second conductive pad that extends in the second direction from the central region of the corner-type conductive pad such that a series of slider controls is formed having a corner where the first and second sliders meet at the central region of the corner-type conductive pad and at the angle formed between the first and second directions.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the third and fourth teeth extend into the central region of the corner-type pad and end at locations within the central region of the corner-type conductive pad close to an outer portion of the corner formed at the central region of the corner-type pad by the angle between the first and second directions.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the corner-type, the first and the second conductive pads have equal surface areas.

4. A method comprising:

measuring levels of capacitance of a corner-type conductive pad, a first conductive pad and a second conductive pad on a recurring basis, wherein;

the corner-type conductive pad and the first conductive pad each extend a tooth towards the other to form a first slider control extending in a first direction;

the corner-type conductive pad and the second conductive pad each extend a tooth towards the other to form a second slider control extending in a second direction that is not inline with and is not parallel to the first direction; and

the first and second slider controls meet at the corner-type conductive pad at an angle between the first and second directions, forming a series of slider controls with a corner formed at the corner-type conductive pad; and

in response to detecting a level of capacitance among the measured levels of capacitance of the corner-type, the first and the second conductive pads that meets a minimum capacitance threshold, comparing the measured levels of capacitance of the corner-type, the first and the second conductive pads to determine a position of a tip of a digit of a user.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising determining that the tip of the digit is centered on the corner-type conductive pad in response to the level of capacitance of the corner-type conductive pad being greater than the levels of capacitance of each of the first and second conductive pads, and in response to the levels of capacitance of the first and second conductive pads being substantially equal.