Acoustic Touch Sensitive Testing

• US 20130113751A1
• Filed: 11/09/2011
• Published: 05/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Uzelac, Aleksandar, Batchvarov, Andrey B.
• Granted Patent: US 9,785,281 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2221 to test input/output devices or peripheral units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means

Abstract

Acoustic touch sensitive testing techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a touch-sensitive surface of a touch-sensitive device is tested by detecting contact made with the touch sensitive surface using an acoustic sensor and comparing data describing the contact that is received from the acoustic sensor with data describing the contact that is received from the touch-sensitive device.

Claims

1. A method implemented by one or more devices, the method comprising:

testing a touch-sensitive surface of a touch-sensitive device by;

detecting contact made with the touch-sensitive surface using an acoustic sensor; and

comparing data describing the contact that is received from the acoustic sensor with data describing the contact that is received from the touch-sensitive device.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the testing is configured to determine latency of detection of the contact by the touch-sensitive device.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the detecting is performed using the acoustic sensor by detecting when a signal from the acoustic sensor passes a defined threshold.

4. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the threshold is defined to correspond to an approximate maximum magnitude associated with background noise.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the detecting includes converting a signal received from the acoustic sensor to a single polarity.

6. A method as described in claim 5, wherein the converting is performed by passing the signal through a rectifier.

7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the detecting includes use of a recorder that is configured to record a signal from the acoustic sensor and the comparing includes use of software post processing.

8. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the touch-sensitive surface is a touchscreen.

9. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the touchscreen employs one or more capacitive sensors to detect the contact.

10. A method as described in claim 9, wherein the contact is grounded to be detectable by the one or more capacitive sensors.

11. A method as described in claim 8, wherein the touchscreen is operable as a display for a mobile communications device.

12. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the contact is made by a human user.

13. A method as described in claim 1 wherein the detecting is performed by a plurality of said acoustic sensors.

14. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising performing trilateration using signals obtained from a plurality of said acoustic sensors to estimate a position of the contact.

15. An apparatus comprising:

an acoustic sensor configured for placement proximal a touch-sensitive surface; and

one or more modules implemented at least partially in hardware to use a signal received from the acoustic sensor and a signal received from the touch-sensitive surface to test the touch-sensitive surface.

16. An apparatus as described in claim 15, wherein the one or more modules are configured to test latency in an ability of a device that employs the touch-sensitive surface to detect contact.

17. An apparatus as described in claim 15, wherein the one or more modules are configured to test the touch-sensitive surface by comparing the signal received from the acoustic sensor and the signal received from the touch-sensitive surface.

18. An apparatus as described in claim 15, wherein the acoustic sensor is configured to detect an acoustic wave produced by contact with the touch-sensitive surface.

19. A system comprising one or more modules that are implemented at least partially in hardware and configured to test latency of a touchscreen of a touchscreen device using a signal received from an acoustic sensor that is disposed proximal to a touchscreen of the touchscreen device to detect contact made with the touchscreen and data received from the touchscreen device that describes the contact.

20. A system as described in claim 19, wherein the touchscreen device is configured as a mobile phone.