Vibration sensing touch input device

• US 8,106,888 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2004
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Hill, Nicholas P. R., Sullivan, Darius M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Moon, Seokyun
• Application Number:
  US10/957,364
• Publication Number:
  US 20060071912A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,678 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-177
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves

Abstract

The present invention provides a touch sensitive input device that uses vibrations due to touch impacts and/or frictional movement of a touch implement across a surface to determine information related to the touch, such as touch position. The present invention also provides for detecting lift-off events in such vibration sensing input devices. Lift-off detection can be accomplished by monitoring for a signal that indicates a sustained touch on the touch plate, and correlating a change in such a signal with a lift-off event. Signals indicating a sustained touch can include low frequency rumbles coupled into the touch plate via the touch implement, touch plate bending under the force of a sustained touch, and touch plate displacement under the force of a sustained touch.

Claims

1. A method for detecting the presence of a sustained touch on a vibration-sensing touch sensor comprising:

determining position of a touch to a touch surface of a touch plate using vibrations, via a parameter represented by signals in a range of frequencies, propagating in the touch plate due to the touch;

detecting at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact of the touch on the touch surface, the at least one parameter being different from the parameter of the vibrations used to determine the position of the touch;

responsive to detecting the at least one parameter, generating a signal indicative of the sustained contact; and

determining a removal of the touch from the touch surface responsive to a sufficient change in signal level of the signal wherein detecting the at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact includes at least one of detecting displacement of the touch plate, detecting flexing of the touch plate, and detecting low frequency rumble coupled in the touch plate.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising monitoring for changes in the signal level of the signal indicative of the sustained contact at least from when the touch is first detected until removal of the touch is determined.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising updating a baseline signal level for the signal indicative of the sustained contact when a change is detected.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sufficient change in the signal indicative of the sustained contact comprises a threshold percentage drop off in the signal level.

5. The method of claim, 1 wherein detecting a signal indicative of sustained contact of the touch comprises detecting displacement of the touch plate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting a signal indicative of sustained contact of the touch comprises detecting flexing of the touch plate.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact of the touch comprises detecting low frequency rumble coupled into the touch plate due to the sustained contact.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the removal of the touch is registered as a lift-off that triggers performance of a function in a system that uses the vibration-sensing touch sensor as an input device.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact is not used to determine the position of the touch to the touch surface of the touch plate.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the vibrations used to determine the location of the touch are passive vibrations.

9. A touch input device capable of determining touch input information from signals generated in response to vibrations propagating in a touch plate due to the touch input on a touch surface of the touch plate, the device comprising:

one or more sensors coupled to the touch plate and configured, in response to detecting at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact of the touch input on the touch surface, to generate signals indicative of the sustained contact while the touch input remains on the touch surface, the at least one parameter being derived from a source different from the vibrations, as represented by signals in a range of frequencies, used to determine position of the touch input on the touch surface; and

electronics configured to receive the signals generated by the one or more sensors and to determine whether the touch input has been removed from the touch surface based on a change in signal level of the received signals wherein detecting the at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact includes at least one of detecting displacement of the touch plate, detecting flexing of the touch plate, and detecting low frequency rumble coupled in the touch plate.

10. The touch input device of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to generate signals in response to displacement of the touch plate.

11. The touch input device of claim 10, wherein the one or more sensors comprise variable capacitor force sensors.

12. The touch input device of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to generate signals in response to flexing of the touch plate.

13. The touch input device of claim 12, wherein the one or more sensors comprise piezoelectric transducers.

14. The touch input device of claim 9, wherein the at least one parameter is low frequency rumble coupled into the touch plate from the touch input.

15. The touch input device of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect vibrations propagating in the touch plate due to the touch input and generate signals that can be used to determine touch position.

16. The touch input device of claim 9, further comprising one or more vibration sensing devices, separate from the one or more sensors, that are coupled to the touch plate and configured to detect vibrations propagating in the touch plate due to the touch input and generate signals that can be used to determine touch position, wherein the one or more sensors are not used to determine touch position.

17. The touch input device of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to generate signals in response to at least one of displacement of the touch plate, flexing of the touch plate, and low frequency rumble coupled in to the touch plate from the touch input.

19. The touch input device of claim 9, wherein the at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact is not indicative of the position of the touch input on the touch surface of the touch plate.

24. The touch input device of claim 9, further comprising one or more vibration sensing devices that are coupled to the touch plate and configured to detect vibrations propagating in the touch plate due to the touch input and generate signals that can be used to determine touch position, wherein said one or more sensors include different sensing capabilities than the one or more vibration sensing devices.

20. A method for detecting the presence of a sustained touch on a touch surface of a touch plate, the method comprising:

using a vibration sensor coupled to the touch plate to detect vibrations propagating in the touch plate due to a touch input on the touch surface of the touch plate;

determining a position of the touch input on the touch surface using the detected vibrations;

using another sensor coupled to the touch plate to detect at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact of the touch input on the touch surface, the at least one parameter being different from the detected vibrations and the at least one parameter not being used to determine the position of the touch input on the touch surface;

responsive to detecting the at least one parameter, generating a signal indicative of the sustained contact; and

determining a removal of the touch input from the touch surface responsive to a sufficient change in signal level of the signal indicative of the sustained contact wherein detecting the at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact includes at least one of detecting displacement of the touch plate, detecting flexing of the touch plate, and detecting low frequency rumble coupled in the touch plate.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the signal indicative of the sustained contact is not used to determine the position of the touch input on the touch surface, and wherein the other sensor is a plate displacement sensor that detects the at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact responsive to changes in capacitance of the plate displacement sensor.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the other sensor is not used to determine the position of the touch input on the touch surface.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising generating a signal indicative of the position of the touch input on the touch surface responsive to the detected vibrations and using the signal indicative of the position of the touch input on the touch surface to determine the position of the touch input on the touch surface.

25. A touch input device capable of determining touch input information from signals generated in response to vibrations propagating in a touch plate due to the touch input on a touch surface of the touch plate, the device comprising:

one or more sensors coupled to the touch plate and configured, in response to detecting at least one parameter indicative of sustained contact of the touch input on the touch surface, to generate signals indicative of the sustained contact while the touch input remains on the touch surface, the at least one parameter being derived from a source different from the vibrations used to determine position of the touch input on the touch surface;

electronics configured to receive the signals generated by the one or more sensors and to determine whether the touch input has been removed from the touch surface based on a change in signal level of the received signals; and

one or more vibration sensing devices that are coupled to the touch plate and configured to detect vibrations propagating in the touch plate due to the touch input and generate signals that can be used to determine touch position, the one or more vibration sensing devices being sensitive to vibrations in a first frequency range and wherein said one or more sensors are rumble detectors being sensitive to vibrations in a second frequency range, the second frequency range including frequencies below 200 Hz, and the first frequency range including frequencies above 200 Hz.