INTEGRATING MULTIPLE DIFFERENT TOUCH BASED INPUTS

• US 20150084873A1
• Filed: 09/25/2013
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hagenbuch, Matthew Lloyd, Locker, Howard, Nicholson, John Weldon, Roper, Matthew Price
• Granted Patent: US 9,652,070 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

For integrating multiple different touch based inputs, a method is disclosed that includes detecting a pressure at a screen pressure module, enabling a first touch module based on the pressure exceeding a pressure threshold value, and integrating input from a second touch module and the first touch module, the input from the first touch module and the second touch module being concurrently received.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a screen;

a first touch module configured to detect, at the screen, a touch based on a first touch sensor type;

a second touch module configured to detect, at the screen, a touch based on a second touch sensor type, the second touch sensor type being different that the first touch sensor type; and

an integration module configured to concurrently process input from the first touch module and the second touch module.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a third touch module configured to detect, at the screen, a touch based on a third touch sensor type, the third sensor type being different than the first sensor type and the second sensor type, the integration module configured to concurrently process input from two or more of the first touch module, the second touch module, and the third touch module.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first touch sensor type is selected from the group consisting of resistive, capacitive, surface acoustic wave, infrared acrylic projection, optical imaging, dispersive signal technology, magnetic resonance, and acoustic pulse recognition.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first touch sensor type is based on capacitance, and the second touch sensor type is based on magnetic resonance.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the integration module is configured to ignore input from the first touch module in response to the first touch module detecting a touch for a threshold period of time.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the integration module is configured to ignore input from the first touch module in response to the first touch module detecting a pre-determined pattern on the screen.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a screen pressure module, the screen pressure module configured to detect a pressure at the screen.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the screen pressure module is configured to enable the first touch module in response to the pressure exceeding a pressure threshold value, and to disable the first touch module in response to the pressure falling below the pressure threshold value.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a user interface module configured to receive the pressure threshold value from a user.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the screen pressure module automatically adjusts the pressure threshold value based on the pressure and one or more inputs from one of the first touch module and the second touch module.

11. A method comprising:

detecting a pressure at a screen pressure module;

enabling a first touch module based on the pressure exceeding a pressure threshold value; and

integrating input from a second touch module and the first touch module, the input from the first touch module and the second touch module being concurrently received.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising disabling the first touch module based on the pressure falling below the pressure threshold value.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first touch module is based on capacitance and the second touch module is based on magnetic resonance, the method further comprising ignoring input from the first touch module in response to the first touch module detecting a pre-determined pattern.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving the pressure threshold value from a user interface module.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising calculating a pressure threshold value based on a plurality of sensed touches, the sensed touches from one of the first touch module and the second touch module.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the first touch module is based on one of a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, a surface acoustic wave sensor, an infrared acrylic projection sensor, an optical imaging sensor, a dispersive signal sensor, a magnetic resonance sensor, and an acoustic pulse recognition sensor.

17. A program product comprising a computer readable storage medium storing machine readable code executable by a processor to perform:

receiving a pressure from a screen pressure module;

enabling a first touch module based on the pressure input from the screen pressure module exceeding a pressure threshold value; and

integrating input from a second touch module and the first touch module, the input from the first touch module and the second touch module being concurrently received.

18. The program product of claim 17, wherein the first touch module is based on capacitance, and the second touch module is based on magnetic resonance.

19. The program product of claim 17, wherein the machine readable code performs disabling the first touch module in response to the pressure falling below the pressure threshold value.

20. The program product of claim 17, wherein integrating input further comprises integrating input from a third touch module, the input from the third touch module being concurrently received with the input from the first touch module and the second touch module.