System and method for retrieving information from an information carrier by means of a capacitive touch screen

• US 8,497,850 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2011
• Issued: 07/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Touchcode Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Printechnologics GmbH
• Inventors: Thiele, Jan, Kreutzer, Andre, Foerster, Matthias, Voigt, Sascha
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US13/576,976
• Publication Number:
  US 20120306813A1
• Time in Patent Office: 609 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178 1801- 1806
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/002 Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16 other optical apparatus G02B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/067 Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/081 electrostatic, e.g. by detecting the charge of capacitance between electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/089 hand-held scanners

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method comprising providing one or more information carrier(s) with a dielectric and/or conductive pattern and a detection device having a capacitive touch screen and inducing an interaction between the information carrier and the touch screen, wherein the interaction is based on a difference in the dielectric coefficient and/or the conductivity of the pattern and generates a touch signal and wherein the interaction is induced by relative motion between the information carrier and the touch screen. The invention further relates to a system comprising an information carrier comprising a dielectric and/or conductive pattern which encodes information and a detection device having a touch screen; the detection device is able to decode the information upon interaction between the information carrier and the touch screen, wherein the interaction is caused by a difference in the dielectric coefficient and/or the conductivity of the pattern.

Claims

1. A method with the following steps:

a. providing one or more information carrier(s) with a dielectric and/or conductive pattern and a detection device having a capacitive touch screen, and

wherein the information carrier (1) comprises a substrate (2) with a first dielectric coefficient ∈

1 and a second material with a second dielectric coefficient ∈

2, the second coefficient ∈

2 being different from the first coefficient ∈

1, or

wherein the information carrier (1) comprises a substrate (2) with a first conductivity σ

1 and a second material with a second conductivity σ

2, the second conductivity σ

2 being different from the first conductivity σ

1,

b. inducing an interaction between the information carrier and the touch screen, wherein the interaction is based on a difference in the dielectric coefficient and/or the conductivity of the pattern and generates a touch signal and

c. wherein the interaction is induced by relative motion between the information carrier and the touch screen.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the relative motion includes manipulating gestures, deictic gestures, and/or symbolic gestures, emulating gestures and/or imitating gestures.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the relative motion includes a slide-through-gesture, a slide-in-gesture, a turnkey-gesture, putting, slapping, crumpling, rubbing and/or a combination of these.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a feedback is returned from the detection device and/or a device connected to the detection device by haptic perception, tactile perception, auditory perception and/or visual perception.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein inducing the interaction is achieved by bringing the information carrier and the touch screen into at least partial direct contact.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interaction is induced by placing at least a part of the information carrier on at least a part of the touch screen.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection device and/or information carrier is moved.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the device is vibrating during and/or after the interaction.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the device gives a tactile, acoustic and/or visual signal before, during and/or after the interaction.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information carrier has supporting features.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection device comprises magnetic, mechanical, acoustic, tactile and/or visual positioning means.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein a proximity between the information carrier and the touch screen is detected by the detection device.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein each single interaction occurs for less than 1 minute.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein each single interaction occurs for less than 30 seconds.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein each single interaction occurs for less than 15 seconds.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interaction between a user of the detection device, the touch screen and/or the information carrier comprises the following interactions:

the user is interacting with the information carrier,

the information carrier is interacting with the touch screen,

the user is interacting with the information carrier and the touch screen,

the information carrier is interacting with the user and the touch screen and/or

the touch screen is interacting with the user and the information carrier.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user has two or more connections to the information carrier.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least two users are connected to the information carrier and/or are interacting with the touch screen.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the information carrier is stationary and the touch screen is moving, the touch screen is stationary and the information carrier is moving or the touch screen and the information carrier are moving.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection device and/or information carrier is aligned in a vertical or horizontal orientation.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection device is detecting whether the information carrier interacts with the touch screen.

22. A system comprising:

a. an information carrier comprising a dielectric and/or conductive pattern which encodes information, and

wherein the information carrier (1) comprises a substrate (2) with a first dielectric coefficient ∈

1 and a second material with a second dielectric coefficient ∈

2, the second coefficient ∈

2 being different from the first coefficient ∈

1, or

wherein the information carrier (1) comprises a substrate (2) with a first conductivity σ

1 and a second material with a second conductivity σ

2, the second conductivity σ

2 being different from the first conductivity σ

1,

b. a detection device having a capacitive touch screen;

the detection device decodes the information upon interaction between the information carrier and the touch screen, wherein the interaction is based on a difference in the dielectric coefficient and/or the conductivity of the pattern, wherein the interaction is induced by relative motion between the information carrier and the touch screen.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein

a. the size of the information carrier is smaller than the size of the touch screen or

b. the size of the information carrier is equal to the size of the touch screen or

c. the size of the information carrier is bigger than the size of the touch screen.

24. The system according to claim 22, wherein the system includes supporting features on the information carrier and/or supporting features on the touch screen and/or supporting features in the depiction on the touch screen, comprising tactile, haptic, optical, acoustical, mechanical and/or magnetic features.

25. The system according to claim 22, wherein the system comprises at least one mean for the determination of pressure, force, visual information, acoustic information, proximity, movement, tilt and/or orientation.

26. The system according to claim 22, wherein the detection device and/or the touch screen comprise at least one magnetic, mechanical, acoustic, tactile and/or visual positioning mean.

27. The system according to claim 22, wherein the information carrier comprises at least one magnetic, mechanical, acoustic, tactile and/or visual positioning mean.

28. The system according to claim 22, wherein the system provides information about the states and/or actions comprising:

a user needs assistance,

the user has a connection to the touch screen,

the user has no connection to the touch screen,

the user has a connection to the information carrier,

the user has no connection to the information carrier,

the position of the information carrier was determined,

the orientation of the information carrier was determined,

the distance between the information and the touch screen was determined,

the touch screen has moved, the touch screen has not moved,

the touch screen is moving,

the information carrier has moved,

the information carrier has not moved,

the information carrier is moving,

the user has moved,

the user has not moved,

the user is moving.