Touch-sensitive system and method for controlling the operation thereof

• US 8,686,974 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2010
• Issued: 04/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FlatFrog Laboratories AB
• Original Assignee: FlatFrog Laboratories AB
• Inventors: Christiansson, Tomas, Wassvik, Ola
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheng, Joe H
• Application Number:
  US13/393,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20120162142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• Field of Search: 345/175, 345/173, 345/174, 345/176, 345/179, 178/18.01, 178/18.09, 178/18.11, 250/221
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04109 FTIR in optical digitiser, i.e. touch detection by frustrating the total internal reflection within an optical waveguide due to changes of optical properties or deformation at the touch location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen

Abstract

A touch-sensitive system comprises a light transmissive panel defining a touch surface and an opposite surface; an illumination arrangement comprising emitters configured to introduce light into the panel for propagation in the panel in an emission pattern; a light detection arrangement comprising detectors configured to receive the light propagating in the panel. A control unit is arranged to control the operation of the touch-sensitive system. The control unit executes a control method to monitor the light received in the light detecting arrangement for detection of touches on the touch surface, the touches attenuating the light propagating in the panel. The control method also selects a mode for the emission pattern in dependence of the occurrence of touches on the touch surface and controls the emission pattern in accordance with the selected mode.

Claims

1. A touch-sensitive system comprising:

a light transmissive panel defining a touch surface and an opposite surface;

an illumination arrangement including emitters configured to introduce light into the panel for propagation in the panel in an emission pattern;

a light detection arrangement including detectors configured to receive the light propagating in the panel; and

a control unit for controlling the illumination arrangement,

wherein the control unit includes a mode selector configured to,

monitor the light received in the light detection arrangement to detect one or more touches on the touch surface, said one or more touches attenuating the light propagating in the panel, and

select a mode for the emission pattern in dependence of the occurrence of touches on the touch surface,

wherein the control unit is configured to control the emission pattern in accordance with the selected mode, and

wherein the control unit is configured to control the emission pattern by changing at least one of the number of active emitters in the illumination arrangement and the intensity of the light emitted by the emitters.

2. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to control the frame rate, the frame rate being the frequency by which data from all relevant detectors and emitters are collected and touch coordinates are computed.

3. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 1, wherein the mode selector is configured to count the number of touches on the touch surface, and to select a mode for the emission pattern in accordance with the number of touches.

4. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 1, wherein the mode selector is configured to determine geometrical position of touches on the touch surface and to select a mode for the emission pattern in accordance with the geometrical position of the touches.

5. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 4, wherein the mode selector is configured to select a signature mode when a single geometrical touch position is detected on the touch surface, and wherein the control unit is configured to control the emitters in the illumination arrangement to accurately cover said single geometrical touch position by activating a tailored subset of the emitters.

6. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 4, wherein the mode selector is configured to select a normal mode when the number of determined geometrical touch positions exceeds a number limit, and wherein the control unit is configured to control the emitters to accurately cover the total touch surface by activating all available emitters.

7. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 6, wherein the mode selector is configured to select a mixed mode when the number of determined geometrical touch positions is more than 1 but less than said number limit, and wherein the control unit is configured to control the emitters in the illumination arrangement to accurately cover the number of determined geometrical touch positions by activating a tailored subset of the emitters.

8. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, after detecting one or more touches in one frame, is configured to change the emission pattern within the same frame to allow computation of touch coordinates within the same frame, a frame being a period of time in which data from all relevant pairs of emitters and detectors are collected and touch coordinates are computed.

9. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to operate in a sequence of frames, wherein the control unit is configured to, within each frame, activate a subset of the emitters, and wherein the mode selector, within each frame, is configured to select a mode based on the monitored light received by the light detection arrangement from the subset.

10. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 9, wherein the mode selector is configured to select an idle mode, if absence of touches on the touch surface is detected based on the monitored light received by the light detection arrangement from the subset.

11. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is configured to, for each frame, activate only the subset during the idle mode.

12. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 9, wherein the mode selector is configured to select a normal mode, if presence of touches on the touch surface is detected based on the monitored light received by the light detection arrangement from the subset, wherein the control unit is configured to activate all emitters during the normal mode.

13. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 9, wherein the control unit is configured to determine the number of touches on the touch surface based on the monitored light received by the light detection arrangement from the subset, and wherein the mode selector is configured to select a mode based on the number of touches.

14. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 13, wherein the control unit is configured to determine the geometrical position of touches on the touch surface based on the monitored light received by the light detection arrangement from the subset, and to determine the emission pattern based on the geometrical position of touches.

15. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 1, wherein the mode selector is configured to detect touches on the touch surface by analyzing the temporal behavior of signals representative of the received energy on a plurality of light paths between activated emitters and the detectors.

16. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 15, wherein the mode selector is configured to analyze the temporal behavior by comparing said signals representative of the received energy on the plurality of light paths to reference signals, wherein each reference signal is obtained as an average representation of previously received energy on the respective light path.

17. The touch-sensitive system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to compute touch coordinates representing a geometrical position of the touches on the touch surface by reconstructing an attenuation map of the touch surface, based on signals representative of the light transmission on a plurality of light paths between activated emitters and the detectors, the control unit being configured to form the signals by dividing a measured energy value for each light path by a background value that represents a measured energy for the light path without touches on the touch surface.

18. A method for controlling a touch-sensitive system including a light transmissive panel defining a touch surface and an opposite surface, the method comprising:

introducing light into the panel with an illumination arrangement including emitters, for propagating in the panel in an emission pattern;

receiving the light propagating in the panel with a light detection arrangement including detectors;

monitoring the light received by the light detection arrangement to detect one or more touches on the touch surface, said one or more touches attenuating the light propagating in the panel;

selecting a mode for the emission pattern in dependence of the occurrence of touches on the touch surface;

controlling the emission pattern in accordance with the selected mode; and

wherein the emission pattern is controlled by changing at least one of the number of active emitters in the illumination arrangement and the intensity of the light emitted by the emitters.

19. The method according to claim 18, which operates in a sequence of frames, each frame including activating a subset of the emitters, and selecting a mode based on the monitored light received by the light detection arrangement from the subset.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing processing instructions that, when executed by a data processor, cause the data processor to perform a method for controlling a touch-sensitive system including a light transmissive panel defining a touch surface and an opposite surface, the method comprising:

introducing light into the panel with an illumination arrangement including emitters, for propagating in the panel in an emission pattern;

receiving the light propagating in the panel with a light detection arrangement including detectors;

monitoring the light received by the light detection arrangement to detect one or more touches on the touch surface said one or more touches attenuating the light propagating in the panel;

selecting a mode for the emission pattern in dependence of the occurrence of touches on the touch surface;

controlling the emission pattern in accordance with the selected mode; and

wherein the emission pattern is controlled by changing at least one of the number of active emitters in the illumination arrangement and the intensity of the light emitted by the emitters.