DETECTING TOUCH INPUT FORCE

• US 20130141365A1
• Filed: 11/19/2012
• Published: 06/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sentons, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sentons, Inc.
• Inventors: Lynn, Lapoe E., Sheng, Samuel W., Shih, Shih-Ming, Hsieh, Yenyu
• Granted Patent: US 10,198,097 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04805 Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Detecting a touch input force is disclosed. A signal to be used to propagate a propagating signal through a propagating medium with a surface is sent. The propagating signal that has been disturbed by a touch input with an amount of force on the surface is received. The received signal is processed to determine an identifier associated with the amount of force.

Claims

1. A system for detecting a touch input force, comprising:

a communication interface configured to send a signal to be used to propagate a propagating signal through a propagating medium with a surface and receive the propagating signal that has been disturbed by a touch input with an amount of force on the surface; and

a processor coupled to the communication interface and configured to process the received signal to determine an identifier associated with the amount of force.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein processing the received signal to determine the identifier includes determining a user indication associated with the disturbance.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein determining the user indication associated with the disturbance includes determining a location of the disturbance on the surface.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the processed received signal is one of a plurality of versions of the disturbed propagating signal received by the communication interface.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the processed received signal was selected among the plurality of versions due to a signal-to-noise ratio associated with the processed received signal.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the processed received signal was selected among the plurality of versions due to a location associated with a detector that received the processed received signal.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein processing the received signal includes normalizing the received signal.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein normalizing the received signal includes adjusting an amplitude of the received signal.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein adjusting the amplitude includes scaling the amplitude using a value determined using a distance value associated with a location of the disturbance on the surface.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein processing the received signal includes determining a signal amplitude associated with a portion of the received signal disturbed by the touch input.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein determining the signal amplitude associated with the portion of the received signal disturbed by the touch input includes determining a signal amplitude of a normalized version of the received signal.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein a value of the signal amplitude is a function of the amount of the force.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein determining the identifier includes using the signal amplitude to locate a data structure entry, wherein the data structure entry includes the identifier associated with the amount of force.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the data structure entry was located in a data structure identified to match a detector that received the processed received signal.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein determining the identifier includes averaging the determined signal amplitude with one or more other signal amplitudes of one or more other received signals.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to combine the identifier associated with the amount of force with one or more other identifiers associated with an amount of force of one or more other touch input location points to determine a combined force identifier.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the identifier is used at least in part to provide a user interface interaction.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the identifier indicates an amount of pressure.

19. A method for detecting a touch input force, comprising:

sending a signal to be used to propagate a propagating signal through a propagating medium with a surface;

receiving the propagating signal that has been disturbed by a touch input with an amount of force on the surface; and

using a processor to process the received signal to determine an identifier associated with the amount of force.

20. A computer program product for detecting a touch input force, the computer program product being embodied in a tangible computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

sending a signal to be used to propagate a propagating signal through a propagating medium with a surface;

receiving the propagating signal that has been disturbed by a touch input with an amount of force on the surface; and

processing the received signal to determine an identifier associated with the amount of force.

21. A system for detecting a touch input force including:

a surface configured to receive a touch input with an amount of force;

a transmitter that propagates a propagating signal through a medium of the surface, wherein the propagating signal is disturbed by the touch input that disturbs the propagating signal; and

a detector that detects the disturbed propagating signal, wherein the detector outputs data indicating a disturbance of the propagating signal that is indicative of the amount of force.