Touch-sensitive user interface

• US 8,643,621 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2012
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neodrón Limited (Atlantic IP Services Limited)
• Original Assignee: Atmel Corporation (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Inventors: Yilmaz, Esat
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin M
• Application Number:
  US13/614,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20130100052A1
• Time in Patent Office: 509 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-183, 715/702, 715/862
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

A touch-sensitive user interface includes a sensor element providing a plurality of sensing areas, a measurement circuit coupled to the sensor element and operable to iteratively acquire measurement signal values indicative of the proximity of an object to the respective sensing areas, and a processor operable to receive the measurement signal values from the measurement circuit and to classify a sensing area as an activated sensing area for a current iteration according to predefined selection criteria, wherein the predefined selection criteria are such that activation of at least a first sensing area in a current iteration is suppressed if at least a second sensing area has previously been classified as an activated sensing area within a predefined period before the current iteration. Thus a sensing area may be prevented from being activated for a predefined period of time after another sensing area has been activated.

Claims

1. A touch-sensitive user interface comprising:

a sensor element having a plurality of sensing areas, each of the plurality of sensing areas being selectively activated when an object is placed by a user in the proximity of a selected one of the plurality of sensing areas;

a measurement circuit coupled to the sensor element and operable to acquire at least one measurement signal value indicative of the proximity of the object to the selected one of the plurality of sensing areas; and

a processor operable to;

receive a first measurement signal value indicating the selection by the user of a first sensing area of the plurality of sensing areas;

classify the first sensing area as an activated sensing area;

receive a second measurement signal value indicating the selection by the user of a second sensing area of the plurality of sensing areas;

determine that the second measurement signal value was received within a predetermined period of time after the first sensing area was classified as an activated sensing area; and

in response to determining that the second measurement signal value was received within the predetermined period of time, suppress activation of the second sensing area as the activated sensing area.

2. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 1, wherein the predefined period for suppressing activation of the second sensing area following activation of the first sensing area is dependent on a spatial relationship between the first and second sensing areas within the sensor element.

3. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 1, wherein:

the measurement circuit is operable to acquire a plurality of iterations of measurement signals values, each iteration comprising a plurality of measurement signal values for the plurality of sensing areas; and

the processor is operable to suppress the activation of the second sensing area in a current iteration in response to determining that the first sensing area was previously classified as the activated sensing area in a previous iteration occurring within the predefined period before the current iteration.

4. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 3, wherein the predefined period corresponds to a predefined number of measurement signal acquisition iterations.

5. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 4, wherein the processor is operable to maintain a counter value representing an inactivity period for the first sensing area, the inactivity period being a time from when the first sensing area was last activated, and wherein the processor is operable to compare the counter value for the first sensing area for a current iteration with the predefined number of measurement signal acquisition iterations corresponding to the predefined period for suppressing the second sensing area following activation of the first sensing area.

6. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 1, wherein the processor is further operable to:

based on the at least one measurement signal value, classify a third sensing area as being an activated sensing area;

determine that the first sensing area or the second sensing area were previously classified as an activated sensing area within a predefined period before the third sensing area was classified as the activated sensing area; and

in response to determining that the second sensing area was previously classified as the activated sensing area within the predefined period, suppress activation of the third sensing area as the activated sensing area.

7. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 4, wherein the predefined period for suppressing activation of the third sensing area following activation of the first sensing area or the second sensing area is different from the predefined period for suppressing activation of the first sensing area following activation of the second sensing area.

8. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 1, wherein the predefined period corresponds to a predefined time duration.

9. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 1, wherein the first sensing area is a first plurality of sensing areas and the second sensing area is a second plurality of sensing areas such that activation of some of the second plurality of sensing areas in a current iteration is suppressed if some of the first plurality of sensing areas have been previously classified as activated sensing areas within different predefined periods before the current iteration.

10. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 9, wherein at least one sensing area is common to both the first plurality of sensing areas and the second plurality of sensing areas.

11. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 10, wherein the first plurality of sensing areas and the second plurality of sensing areas include some of the same sensing areas.

12. The touch-sensitive user interface of claim 9, wherein the different predefined periods depend on the respective spatial relationships between some of the sensing areas in the first plurality of sensing areas and some of the sensing areas in the second plurality of sensing areas.

13. A method comprising:

receiving a first measurement signal value indicating a placement of an object by a user within a proximity of a first sensing area of a plurality of sensing areas in a touch-sensitive user interface;

classifying the first sensing area as an activated sensing area;

receiving a second measurement signal value indicating the selection by the user of a second sensing area of the plurality of sensing areas;

determining that the second measurement signal value was received within a predefined period of time after the first sensing area was classified as the activated sensing area; and

in response to determining that the second measurement signal value was received within the predefined period of time, suppressing activation of the second sensing area as the activated sensing area.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predefined period for suppressing activation of the second sensing area following activation of the first sensing area is dependent on a spatial relationship between the first and second sensing areas within the sensor element.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising acquiring a plurality of iterations of measurement signals values, each iteration comprising a plurality of measurement signal values for the plurality of sensing areas, and

wherein the first measurement signal value is received in a previous iteration and the second measurement signal value is received in a current iteration,

wherein activation of the second sensing area is suppressed in the current iteration in response to determining that the first sensing area was previously classified as the activated sensing area in the previous iteration occurring within the predefined period before the current iteration.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the predefined period corresponds to a predefined number of measurement signal acquisition iterations.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

maintaining a counter value representing an inactivity period for the first sensing area, the inactivity period being a time from when the first sensing area was last activated; and

comparing the counter value for the first sensing area for a current iteration with the predefined number of measurement signal acquisition iterations corresponding to the predefined period for suppressing the second sensing area following activation of the first sensing area.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

based on the at least one measurement signal value, classifying a third sensing area as being an activated sensing area;

determining that the first sensing area or the second sensing area were previously classified as an activated sensing area within a predefined period before the third sensing area was classified as the activated sensing area; and

in response to determining that the first sensing area or the second sensing area were previously classified as the activated sensing area within the predefined period, suppressing activation of the third sensing area as the activated sensing area.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the predefined period for suppressing activation of the third sensing area following activation of the first sensing area or the second sensing area is different from the predefined period for suppressing activation of the second sensing area following activation of the first sensing area.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein the predefined period corresponds to a predefined time duration.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein the first sensing area is a first plurality of sensing areas and the second sensing area is a second plurality of sensing areas such that activation of some of the second plurality of sensing areas in a current iteration is suppressed if some of the first plurality of sensing areas have been previously classified as activated sensing areas within different predefined periods before the current iteration.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein at least one sensing area is common to both the first plurality of sensing areas and the second plurality of sensing areas.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first plurality of sensing areas and the second plurality of sensing areas include some of the same sensing areas.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein the different predefined periods depend on the respective spatial relationships between some of the sensing areas in the first plurality of sensing areas and some of the sensing areas in the second plurality of sensing areas.

25. A controller comprising:

a processor operable to acquire a measurement signal value and, based on predefined selection criteria, classify a first sensing area associated with the measurement signal as being an activated sensing area, wherein the predefined selection criteria are such that activation of the first sensing area as the activated sensing area is suppressed when a second sensing area was previously classified as an activated sensing area within a predefined period before the second sensing area was classified as an activated sensing area.