CONTROL SYSTEM FOR MULTI-ZONE INPUT DEVICE

• US 20130120260A1
• Filed: 11/14/2011
• Published: 05/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Logitech Europe S A (Logitech International SA)
• Original Assignee: Logitech Europe S A (Logitech International SA)
• Inventors: Piot, Julien, Merminod, Baptiste, Dayer, Christophe, Harvey, Stephen, Fortin, Frederic, Meisser, Mathieu, Ramond, Nicolas, Mathis, Olivier, Croisonnier, Regis, White, Niall
• Granted Patent: US 9,182,833 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3259 Power saving in cursor control device, e.g. mouse, joystick, trackball
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0332 Ergonomic shaped mouse adjustable to suit one of both hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0333 Ergonomic shaped mouse for one hand
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0334 Ergonomic shaped mouse for vertical grip, whereby the hand controlling the mouse is resting or gripping it with an attitude almost vertical with respect of the working surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03541 Mouse/trackball convertible devices, in which the same ball is used to track the 2D relative movement
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• 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 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 : using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 : for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 : Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A touch sensor system includes a touch controller having a first connector and a second connector and multiple sensor zones. The touch sensor system also includes a plurality of drive lines connected to the first connector of the touch controller and to the multiple sensor zones and a plurality of sets of sense lines connected to the second connector of the touch controller. Each set of the plurality of sets of sense lines is connected to one of the multiple sensor zones.

Claims

1. A touch sensor system comprising:

a touch controller having a first connector and a second connector;

multiple sensor zones;

a plurality of drive lines connected to the first connector of the touch controller and to the multiple sensor zones; and

a plurality of sets of sense lines connected to the second connector of the touch controller, wherein each set of the plurality of sets of sense lines is connected to one of the multiple sensor zones.

2. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein the multiple sensor zones are disposed on a flexible printed circuit board.

3. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein each of the multiple sensor zones are disposed on a separate flexible printed circuit board.

4. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein the touch controller is operable to provide common drive signals to the plurality of drive lines.

5. The touch sensor system of claim 1 further comprising:

a housing for supporting a user'"'"'s hand; and

a displacement sensor, mounted in the housing, for providing a displacement signal, wherein a first sensor zone of the multiple sensor zones is disposed adjacent a first digit of the user and a second sensor zone of the multiple sensor zones is disposed adjacent a second digit of the user.

6. The touch sensor system of claim 5 wherein at least one of the first sensor zone or the second sensor zone comprises a two-dimensional touch pad.

7. The touch sensor system of claim 5 wherein the displacement sensor comprises an optical sensor.

8. An input device comprising:

a housing adapted to support a user'"'"'s hand;

a sensor operable to monitor motion of the housing in two dimensions;

a first touch pad disposed in the housing;

a second touch pad disposed in the housing;

a microprocessor electrically connected to the first touch pad and the second touch pad;

a plurality of drive lines connected to the microprocessor and extending over the first touch pad and the second touch pad; and

a plurality of sets of sense lines connected to the microprocessor, wherein a first set of the plurality of sets of sense lines is electrically connected to the first touch pad and a second set of the plurality of sets of sense lines is electrically connected to the second touch pad.

9. The input device of claim 8 wherein the plurality of drive lines are connected to a first connector of the microprocessor and the plurality of sets of sense lines are connected to a second connector of the microprocessor.

10. The input device of claim 8 wherein said first touch pad is adjacent a first digit of the user'"'"'s hand during operation and said second touch pad is adjacent a second digit of the user'"'"'s hand during operation.

11. The input device of claim 10 wherein the first touch pad comprises a two-dimensional touch pad and the first digit comprises the user'"'"'s thumb.

12. The input device of claim 11 wherein the first touch pad comprises a circular sensor.

13. The input device of claim 10 wherein the second touch pad comprises a two-dimensional touch pad and the second digit comprises the user'"'"'s index finger.

14. The input device of claim 13 further comprising a third touch pad disposed in the housing and adjacent a third digit of the user'"'"'s hand during operation, wherein the third touch pad comprises a two-dimensional touch pad and the third digit comprises the user'"'"'s middle finger.

15. A method comprising:

providing, using a plurality of drive lines, a set of common drive signals to each of a plurality of sensor zones;

receiving, at a touch controller, a first set of sense signals from a first sensor zone of the plurality of sensor zones using a first set of sense lines of a plurality of sets of sense lines; and

receiving, at the touch controller, a second set of sense signals from a second sensor zone of the plurality of sensor zones using a second set of sense lines of the plurality of sense lines.

16. The method of claim 15 further providing a control signal to a computer based on the first set of sense signals and the second set of sense signals.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising receiving, at the touch controller, a third set of sense signals from a third sensor zone of the multiple sensor zones using a third set of sense lines of the plurality of sense lines.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein the multiple sensor zones comprise at least a first solid-state two dimensional touch sensor and a second solid-state two dimensional touch sensor.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the first solid-state two dimensional touch sensor is adjacent a first digit of the user'"'"'s hand during operation and the second solid-state two dimensional touch sensor is adjacent a second digit of the user'"'"'s hand during operation.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the first digit is a thumb.

21. The method of claim 15 wherein the multiple sensor zones are disposed on a flexible printed circuit board.