Multi-finger sub-gesture reporting for a user interface device

• US 8,217,909 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2008
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monterey Research, LLC (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Young, David W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Negron, Daniell L
• Application Number:
  US12/339,317
• Publication Number:
  US 20100156804A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,299 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Touch sensor methods, devices and systems are disclosed. One embodiment of the present invention pertains to a method for reporting a sub-gesture on a touch sensing surface, e.g., laid over a display of a user interface device. The method comprises determining a number of fingers simultaneously placed on the touch sensing surface. The method also comprises periodically sampling respective position data of the fingers moving along the touch sensing surface and calculating event data based on the position data, wherein each of the event data includes a geometric shape associated with the number of fingers and a centroid of the geometric shape. The method further comprises forwarding the event data to a presentation layer of application of the user interface device, where the application is configured to identify a gesture based on a subset of the event data.

Claims

1. A method of reporting data related to a touch sensing surface of a user interface device, the method comprising:

determining a number of fingers simultaneously detected on the touch sensing surface;

periodically sampling respective position data of the fingers moving along the touch sensing surface and calculating event data based on the position data, wherein the event data comprises;

an initial event data for reporting initial placement of the fingers on the touch sensing surface,

a final event data for reporting any change in the number of fingers on the touch sensing surface, and

a plurality of intermediate event data between the initial event data and the final event data, each of the event data comprises;

a geometric shape associated with the number of fingers and a centroid of the geometric shape,

a primary report being a straight line connecting respective position data of the number of fingers which comprises a length of the straight line, a center point of the straight line, and an angle of the straight line from a y-axis, and

a secondary report representing a distance between the center point of the straight line for the initial event and one of a center point of a respective straight line for the intermediate event; and

forwarding the event data for receipt by an application of the user interface device, wherein the application is configured to identify a gesture based on a subset of the event data, the subset including a plurality of secondary reports each measured from the center point of the straight line for the initial event to the centerpoint of each respective straight line for each corresponding intermediate event.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of fingers comprises two fingers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary report further comprises an angle of the straight line from a z-axis of the display.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the application comprises a graphical user interface program of the user interface device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the forwarding the event data comprises broadcasting the event data to the application, wherein the application is registered for receipt of the event data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the forwarding the event data comprises posting of the event data in a messaging system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifying of the gesture is performed using a lookup table with preconfigured finger gestures.

8. A user interface device, comprising:

a touch sensing surface configured to sense a multiple-finger contact applied by fingers along the touch sensing surface;

a processor configured to generate a plurality of position data associated with the multi-finger contact; and

a driver configured to periodically sample position data of the fingers and to generate event data which comprises a geometric shape formed by the fingers and a centroid of the geometric shape for each sampled position data, an initial event data for reporting initial placement of the fingers on the touch sensing surface, a final event data for reporting any change in the number of fingers on the touch sensing surface and a plurality of intermediate event data between the initial event data and the final event data,

wherein;

each event data comprises a primary report being a straight line connecting respective position data of the number of fingers which comprises a length of the straight line, a center point of the straight line, and an angle of the straight line from a y-axis, and a secondary report representing a distance between the center point of the straight line for the initial event and one of a center point of a respective straight line for the intermediate event,

the driver is further configured to identify a gesture based on a subset of the event data, and

the subset includes a plurality of secondary reports each measured from the center point of the straight line for the initial event to the centerpoint of each respective straight line for each corresponding intermediate event.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the fingers comprises two fingers.

10. The device of claim 8, wherein the event data is forwarded to a plurality of applications associated with the touch sensing surface.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of applications is registered for receipt of the subset of the event data.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the subset of the event data is processed by each of the plurality of application programs for identification of the multi-finger gesture.

13. The device of claim 8, further comprising a display placed positioned under the touch sensing surface.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of processing data comprising:

determining a number of fingers simultaneously detected on the touch sensing surface;

periodically sampling respective position data of the fingers moving along the touch sensing surface and calculating event data based on the position data, wherein each of the event data comprises a geometric shape associated with the number of fingers and a centroid of the geometric shape, an initial event data for reporting initial placement of the fingers on the touch sensing surface, a final event data for reporting any change in the number of fingers on the touch sensing surface and a plurality of intermediate event data between the initial event data and the final event data, a primary report, and a secondary report, the primary report being a straight line connecting respective position data of the number of fingers which comprises a length of the straight line, a center point of the straight line, and an angle of the straight line from a y-axis, and the secondary report representing a distance between the center point of the straight line for the initial event and one of a center point of a respective straight line for the intermediate event; and

forwarding the event data for receipt by an application of the user interface device, wherein the application is configured to identify a gesture based on a subset of the event data, the subset including a plurality of secondary reports each measured from the center point of the straight line for the initial event to the centerpoint of each respective straight line for each corresponding intermediate event.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the number of fingers comprises two fingers.