DEVICE AND METHOD FOR LOCATING A LOCALLY DEFORMING CONTACT ON A DEFORMABLE TOUCH-SENSITIVE SURFACE OF AN OBJECT

• US 20120200517A1
• Filed: 06/02/2010
• Published: 08/09/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (AES Corporation)
• Inventors: Nikolovski, Jean-Pierre
• Granted Patent: US 9,007,348 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0433 in which the acoustic waves are either generated by a movable member and propagated within a surface layer or propagated within a surface layer and captured by a movable member
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0436 in which generating transducers and detecting transducers are attached to a single acoustic waves transmission substrate

Abstract

A device for locating a locally deforming contact on a deformable touch-sensitive surface of an object includes at least one transmitting transducer and at least one receiving transducer configured to respectively transmit and capture elastic mechanical waves propagating in the deformable touch-sensitive surface of the object. Further, an electronic central processing unit is connected to the transmitting and receiving transducers and is programmed to detect a frequency offset of at least one natural mode of a resonant vibration of the touch-sensitive surface due to presence of the locally deforming contact, the vibration being produced by the propagation of the waves transmitted in the touch-sensitive surface, and to locate the locally deforming contact by analyzing the frequency offset.

Claims

1-11. -11. (canceled)

12. A device for locating a locally deforming contact on a deformable touch-sensitive surface of an object, comprising:

at least one transmitting transducer configured to transmit elastic mechanical waves propagating in the deformable touch-sensitive surface of the object;

at least one receiving transducer configured to capture elastic mechanical waves propagating in the deformable touch-sensitive surface of the object; and

one central processing unit, connected to the transmitting and receiving transducers;

wherein the central processing unit is programmed to;

detect a frequency offset of at least one natural mode of a resonant vibration of the touch-sensitive surface due to presence of the locally deforming contact, the vibration being produced by propagation of the waves transmitted in the touch-sensitive surface, and

locate the locally deforming contact by analyzing a frequency offset.

13. A device according to claim 12, comprising plural rigid attachment zones between the deformable touch-sensitive surface and the object, these zones forming nodes of resonant vibration for the touch-sensitive surface, and in which the transmitting and receiving transducers are located in these zones.

14. A device according to claim 12, comprising at least one pair of transmitting and receiving transducers and in which each transducer in a pair is located in a zone that is diametrically opposite that of the other transducer of the same pair in the deformable touch-sensitive surface.

15. A device according to claim 12, comprising plural pairs of transmitting and receiving transducers, each pair being arranged at ends of a line that is characteristic of the deformable touch-sensitive surface, specifically a line of symmetry for the touch-sensitive surface.

16. A device according to claim 15, in which the transmitting transducers are directional transmission transducers for elastic mechanical waves and are oriented to present a directional pattern of maximum intensity in the direction of the other transducer within the same pair.

17. A device according to claim 14, in which each transducer is configured to either transmit or receive elastic mechanical waves, and the central processing unit is further programmed to select one of the two transducers in a single pair as a transmitting transducer based on an approximate presupposed location of the contact to be detected.

18. A device according to claim 12, in which the transducers are connected to spacers that attach the deformable touch-sensitive surface to a rigid frame, such that vibrations are caused in the spacers and transmitted to the deformable touch-sensitive surface when such vibrations come from transmitting transducers or transmitted to receiving transducers when they come from the deformable touch-sensitive surface.

19. A device according to claim 12, in which the central processing unit is further programmed, in response to detecting the frequency offset due to the presence of the locally deforming contact, to excite at least one transmitting transducer using an electrical validation signal that generates vibroacoustic waves in which the sound frequency is related to the detected frequency offset and the amplitude is substantially higher than other elastic mechanical waves transmitted in the touch-sensitive surface for the location of the contact.

20. A communicating object comprising:

a shell with a deformable touch-sensitive surface and a device according to claim 12,

wherein the deformable touch-sensitive surface of the shell comprises at least one locally delineated zone that is functionalized with a specific deformability, such as monostability or asymmetric bistability.

21. A method for locating a locally deforming contact on a deformable touch-sensitive surface of an object, comprising:

monitoring of a locally deforming contact by propagation, in the touch-sensitive surface of the object, of elastic mechanical waves from at least one transmitting point of the object, and by detecting the elastic mechanical waves in at least one receiving point of the object to obtain at least one captured signal; and

locating a locally deforming contact on the touch-sensitive surface of the object based on characteristics of the captured signal;

wherein the locating comprises analysis of a frequency offset of at least one natural mode of a resonant vibration of the touch-sensitive surface due to presence of the locally deforming contact, the vibration being produced by propagation of the waves transmitted in the touch-sensitive surface.

22. A method according to claim 21, in which the monitoring comprises transmission of elastic mechanical pulse waves with frequencies scanned in a predetermined range of frequencies including at least one fundamental natural frequency of resonant vibration of the touch-sensitive surface without contact and double of that frequency.