Method of synchronizing data acquisition and a portable electronic device configured to perform the same

• US 8,436,806 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2009
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Research In Motion Limited (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Almalki, Nazih, Simmons, Sean Bartholomew
• Primary Examiner(s): OSORIO, RICARDO
• Application Number:
  US12/572,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20110080350A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,313 Days
• Field of Search: 345/104, 345173-175, 178 1801- 1805, 178 1901- 1903
• US Class Current: 345/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A method of synchronizing force data with touch data and a portable electronic device configured to perform the same are provided. In accordance with one embodiment, there is provided a method of synchronizing data acquisition in a portable electronic device, the method comprising: detecting touch events on a touch-sensitive display and storing touch data for each touch event with a time stamp for the touch event; detecting force events on the touch-sensitive display and storing force data for each force event with a time stamp for the force event; matching touch data for a particular touch event with force data for a force event corresponding to the particular touch event; and outputting the matched touch data and force data for input processing operations.

Claims

1. A method of synchronizing data acquisition in a portable electronic device comprising a touch-sensitive display and a force sensing transducer, the method comprising:

detecting, by the touch-sensitive display, touch events on the touch-sensitive display and storing touch data for each touch event with a time stamp for the touch event;

detecting, by the force sensing transducer, force events caused by forces applied to the touch-sensitive display and storing force data for each force event with a time stamp for the force event;

matching touch data for a particular touch event with force data for a force event corresponding to the particular touch event; and

outputting the matched touch data and force data for input processing operations.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein touch data for the particular touch event is matched with force data having a time stamp equal to a reference time adjusted by a predetermined time correction factor (Y).

3. The method of claim 2, wherein a countdown timer is started or restated when each new touch event is detected and when each new force event is detected, wherein a countdown counter which defines the maximum number of times the countdown timer can expire is set or reset to a predetermined value (X) when each new touch event is detected and when each new force event is detected.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the touch-sensitive display has a scan cycle longer than a scan cycle of a force sensing transducer which measures the forces and generates the force data, wherein the reference time is a time at which the countdown timer last expired when no touch event was detected in a last scan cycle of the touch-sensitive display, and wherein the predetermined time correction factor (Y) is deducted from the reference time.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the reference time is a time of a time stamp of a new touch event detected in the last scan cycle of the touch-sensitive display.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the countdown timer is started or restarted with a duration equal to a duration of the scan cycle of the touch-sensitive display (t_sc) plus a predetermined margin (Z).

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the countdown counter is decremented by one each time the countdown timer expires.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined time correction factor is equal to twice the duration of the scan cycle of the touch-sensitive display (t_sc).

9. The method of claim 1, wherein touch events are detected by interrupt signals generated by the touch-sensitive display when a change greater than a predetermined threshold occurs on a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein force events are detected by interrupt signals generated by a force sensing transducer measuring forces applied to the touch-sensitive display when a force greater than a predetermined force threshold is applied to the touch-sensitive display.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the input processing operations comprise registering an input in accordance with the matched touch data and force data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the input is a click input or an unclick input, or a selection or deselection input.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

causing movement of the touch-sensitive display relative to a device housing which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch in response to registering an input.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the portable electronic device comprises at least one piezoelectric element resiliently biased and located beneath a back side of the touch-sensitive display opposite to a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display, the movement of the touch-sensitive display being caused by modulating a charge of the piezoelectric element thereby providing haptic feedback which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch.

15. A portable electronic device, comprising:

a housing;

a controller received within the housing;

a touch-sensitive display having a touch-sensitive overlay, the touch-sensitive display being mechanically constrained by the housing; and

at least one force sensing transducer located below the touch-sensitive display on an opposite side to the touch-sensitive overlay, the at least one force sensing transducer being connected to the controller and measuring forces applied to the touch-sensitive display;

wherein the controller is configured for;

receiving notifications of touch events on a touch-sensitive display, detected by the touch-sensitive display, and storing touch data for each touch event with a time stamp for the touch event;

receiving notifications of force events, detected by the at least one force sensing transducer, caused by forces applied to the touch-sensitive display and storing force data for each force event with a time stamp for the force event;

matching touch data for a particular touch event with force data for a force event corresponding to the particular touch event; and

outputting the matched touch data and force data for input processing operations.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the input processing operations comprise registering an input in accordance with the matched touch data and force data.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the input is a click input or an unclick input, or a selection or deselection input.

18. The device of claim 15, further comprising:

a least one piezoelectric element connected to the controller, wherein the piezoelectric element is resiliently biased and located beneath a back side of the touch-sensitive display opposite to a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the controller is configured for modulating a charge of the piezoelectric element thereby causing movement of the touch-sensitive display related to the housing and providing haptic feedback which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the force sensing transducer is a force sensing resistor.

20. The device of claim 15, further comprising:

a plurality of force sensing transducers located beneath a back side of the touch-sensitive display opposite to the touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display, the force sensing transducers measuring forces applied to the touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display, wherein a sum of force data measured by the force sensing transducers is used to determine whether an applied force is greater than the predetermined force threshold; and

a plurality of piezoelectric elements resiliently biased and located beneath the back side of the touch-sensitive display opposite to the touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display, wherein the controller is configured for modulating a charge of the piezoelectric elements thereby causing movement of the touch-sensitive display related to the housing and providing haptic feedback which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the plurality of piezoelectric elements comprise four piezoelectric disks, each piezoelectric disk being located near a respective corner of the touch-sensitive display.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the force sensing transducers comprise four force sensing resistors, each force sensing resistor being located near a respective corner of the touch-sensitive display.

23. A method of synchronizing force data with touch data of a portable electronic device comprising a touch-sensitive display and a force sensing transducer, the method comprising:

receiving an interrupt signal generated by the touch-sensitive display when a change greater than a predetermined threshold occurs on a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display;

generating a time stamp when the interrupt signal is received from the touch-sensitive display;

receiving an interrupt signal generated by the force sensing transducer when a force greater than a predetermined force threshold is applied to the touch- sensitive display;

generating a time stamp when the interrupt signal is received from the force sensing transducer;

synchronizing touch data for a particular touch event with force data for a force event corresponding to the particular touch event;

outputting the synchronized touch data and force data to input processing operations.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein touch data for the particular touch event is synchronized with force data having a time stamp equal to a reference time adjusted by a predetermined time correction factor (Y).

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the reference time is a time stamp of the particular touch event.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein a countdown timer is started or restarted when each new touch event is detected and when each new force event is detected, wherein a countdown counter which defines the maximum number of times the countdown timer can expire is set or reset to a predetermined value (X) when each new touch event is detected and when each new force event is detected.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the touch-sensitive display has a scan cycle longer than a scan cycle of a force sensing transducer which measures the forces and generates the force data, wherein the reference time is a time at which the countdown timer last expired when no touch event was detected in a last scan cycle of the touch-sensitive display, and wherein the predetermined time correction factor (Y) is deducted from the reference time.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the reference time is a time of a time stamp of a new touch event detected in the last scan cycle of the touch-sensitive display.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the countdown timer is started or restarted with a duration equal to a duration of the scan cycle of the touch-sensitive display (t_sc) plus a predetermined margin (Z).

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the countdown counter is decremented by one each time the countdown timer expires.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the predetermined time correction factor is equal to twice the duration of the scan cycle of the touch-sensitive display (t_sc).

32. The method of claim 23, wherein the input processing operations comprise registering an input in accordance with the synchronized touch data and force data.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the input is a click input or an unclick input, or a selection or deselection input.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising:

causing movement of the touch-sensitive display relative to a device housing which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch in response to registering an input.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the portable electronic device comprises at least one piezoelectric element resiliently biased and located beneath a back side of the touch-sensitive display opposite to a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display the movement of the touch-sensitive display being caused by modulating a charge of the piezoelectric element thereby providing haptic feedback which simulates the collapse of a dome-type switch.

36. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

generating the interrupt signal by the touch-sensitive display when a change greater than a predetermined threshold occurs on a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display; and

generating the interrupt signal by the force sensing transducer when a force greater than a predetermined force threshold is applied to the touch-sensitive display.

37. A portable electronic device having a device housing in which a controller is received and which mechanically constrains a touch-sensitive display and a force sensing transducer each connected to the controller, the controller being configured to:

receive an interrupt signal generated by the touch-sensitive display when a change greater than a predetermined threshold occurs on a touch-sensitive overlay of the touch-sensitive display;

generate a time stamp when the interrupt signal is received from the touch- sensitive display;

receive an interrupt signal generated by the force sensing transducer when a force greater than a predetermined force threshold is applied to the touch-sensitive display;

generate a time stamp when the interrupt signal is received from the force sensing transducer;

synchronize touch data for a particular touch event with force data for a force event corresponding to the particular touch event;

output the synchronized touch data and force data to input processing operations.