PRESSURE-SENSITIVE TOUCH SCREEN

• US 20110181552A1
• Filed: 03/22/2011
• Published: 07/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Inventors: Shain, Joseph, Goertz, Magnus, Eriksson, Thomas, Pettersson, Robert, Sparf, Lars, Jansson, Anders, Karlsson, John, Kvist, Niklas
• Granted Patent: US 8,896,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0425 using a single imaging device like a video camera for tracking the absolute position of a single or a plurality of objects with respect to an imaged reference surface, e.g. video camera imaging a display or a projection screen, a table or a wall surface, on which a computer generated image is displayed or projected tracking a projected light spot to determine a position on a display surface G06F3/0386
• 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

Abstract

A pressure-sensitive touch screen including a housing, at least one light receiver rigidly mounted in the housing, a display flexibly mounted in the housing substantially above the at least one receiver, which depresses in response to pressure of a touch, and a calculating unit connected to the at least one light receiver for receiving outputs indicating amounts of received light by the at least one receiver, and for determining that the display is being depressed based on an increase in an output of the at least one receiver.

Claims

1. A pressure-sensitive touch screen comprising:

a housing;

at least one light receiver rigidly mounted in said housing;

a display flexibly mounted in said housing substantially above said at least one receiver, which depresses in response to pressure of a touch; and

a calculating unit connected to said at least one light receiver for receiving outputs indicating amounts of received light by said at least one receiver, and for determining that said display is being depressed based on an increase in an output of said at least one receiver.

2. The pressure-sensitive touch screen of claim 1 further comprising a touch detector connected to said calculating unit, wherein said calculating unit determines that said display is being depressed only when said touch detector detects a touch on said display.

3. The pressure-sensitive touch screen of claim 2 wherein the outputs of said at least one receiver (i) indicate the presence of a touch on said display based on a receiver output value that deviates significantly from a receiver expected value when said display is not being touched, and (ii) indicate that said display is being depressed based on a receiver output value that deviates significantly from an expected value of the receiver when said display is not depressed.

4. The pressure-sensitive touch screen of claim 3 wherein the outputs of said at least one receiver indicate the presence of a touch on said display based on a receiver output value that is significantly less than the receiver expected value of the receiver when said display is not being touched.

5. The pressure-sensitive touch screen of claim 4 wherein the outputs of said at least one receiver indicate that the display is being depressed based on a receiver output value that is significantly greater than the receiver expected value when said display is not depressed.

6. The pressure-sensitive touch screen of claim 1 wherein said calculating unit determines an amount of pressure being applied to the display based on the deviation between a receiver output value and an expected value of the receiver when said display is not depressed.