TOUCH DEVICE COMMUNICATION

• US 20120139865A1
• Filed: 12/03/2010
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: KRAH, Christoph Horst, HOTELLING, Steven Porter
• Granted Patent: US 9,851,849 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• 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

A system for data communication between a plurality of touch devices is disclosed. The system can include a first touch device having a first touch surface, and at least one other touch device having at least one other touch surface. The first touch device and the at least one other touch device can include a touch controller detecting communications coupling between the first touch surface and the least one other touch surface. The first touch device and the at least one other touch device can include a communication unit communicating data between the first touch device and the at least one other touch device, via the first touch surface and the at least one other touch surface, when the communications coupling is detected. The communications coupling can be detected when a coupling conduit contacts, or is proximate to, the first touch surface and at least one other touch surface.

Claims

1. A method of data communication, comprising:

detecting a communications coupling at a first touch surface of a first device; and

communicating data at the first device, the communicating of data being between the first device and at least one other device via the first touch surface and at least one other touch surface through the communications coupling when the communications coupling is detected.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detected communications coupling at the first touch surface is at least one capacitive coupling conduit.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the detected at least one capacitive coupling conduit is a touch on the first touch surface.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the detected at least one capacitive coupling conduit is an object proximate, but not in contact with, the first touch surface.

5. The method of claim 1, the detecting of the communications coupling comprising:

listening, at the first device, for a signal at a predetermined frequency from the at least one other device during a listening cycle.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising frequency shift key (FSK) encoding the data at the first device before transmitting the data from the first device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of phase shift key (PSK) encoding and quadrature PSK (QPSK) encoding the data at the first device before transmitting the data from the first device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of amplitude modulating (AM) and quadrature amplitude modulating (QAM) the data at the first device before transmitting the data from the first device.

9. The method of claim 1, the detecting of the communications coupling comprising detecting a known signature of the at least one other device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting of the communications coupling comprises receiving one or more handshaking signals.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first device and the at least one other device is incorporated within a computing system.

12. A touch device configured to communicate with at least one other touch device, comprising:

a touch controller configured to detect a communications coupling between a first touch surface of the device and at least one other touch surface of the at least one other device, and

a communication unit configured to communicate data at the touch device, the communicating of data being between the touch device and the at least one other touch device via the first touch surface and the at least one other touch surface through the communications coupling when the capacitive coupling is detected.

13. The touch device of claim 12, wherein the communications coupling is detected when at least one capacitive coupling conduit contacts the first touch surface and at least one other touch surface.

14. The touch device of claim 13, wherein the at least one capacitive coupling conduit is a user contacting the first touch surface and the at least one other touch surface.

15. The touch device of claim 12, wherein the touch controller is further configured to detect the communications coupling when the first touch surface is proximate, but not in contact with, the at least one other touch surface.

16. The touch device of claim 12, wherein the touch controller is configured to listen for a signal at a predetermined frequency from the at least one other device during a listening cycle.

17. The touch device of claim 12, wherein the communication unit is configured to frequency shift keyed (FSK) encode the data at the first device before transmitting the data from the first device.

18. The touch device of claim 12, wherein the communication unit is configured to phase shift keyed (PSK) encode the data at the first device before transmitting the data from the first device.

19. The touch device of claim 12, wherein the communication unit is configured to amplitude modulate (AM) the data at the first device before transmitting the data from the first device.

20. The touch device of claim 12, wherein the communication unit is configured to communicate data using at least one of quadrature PSK and quadrature AM.

21. The touch device of claim 13, wherein the data is communicated via the conduit.

22. The touch device of claim 12, wherein at least one of the touch device and the at least one other device is incorporated within a computing system.

23. A system for data communication between a plurality of touch devices, comprising:

a first touch device having a first touch surface; and

at least one other touch device having at least one other touch surface, wherein the first touch device and the at least one other touch device include

a touch controller configured to detect communications coupling between the first touch surface and the least one other touch surface, and

a communication unit configured to communicate data between the first touch device and the at least one other touch device, via the first touch surface and the at least one other touch surface, when the communications coupling is detected.

24. A computer-readable storage medium storing program code for enabling data communications, the program code for causing performance of a method comprising:

configuring a first device for communicating with a second device;

sensing a touching or hovering object at a first touch surface of the first device;

establishing a communications coupling with the second device at the first touch surface via the touching or hovering object; and

communicating data at the first device, the communicating of data being between the first device and the second device via the first touch surface through the communications coupling when the communications coupling is established.

25. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 24, the program code further for causing performance of a method comprising establishing the communications coupling after detecting a known signature of the second device.