Two-sided touch sensor

• US 8,810,524 B1
• Filed: 07/29/2010
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rosenberg, Ilya D., Beguin, Julien G., Moscovich, Tomer
• Primary Examiner(s): Tryder, Gregory J
• Assistant Examiner(s): McLoone, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US12/846,328
• Time in Patent Office: 1,482 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1, 345/1.3, 345/156, 345173-174
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1692 the I/O peripheral being a secondary touch screen used as control interface, e.g. virtual buttons or sliders
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

Touch sensors sensitive to touches on two sides are incorporated into electronic devices and accept input from either side of the device, such as a front and a back of the device. This increases available input area without doubling the number of touch sensors within the device. When combined with one or more displays, low profile two-sided devices are possible.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

an interpolating force-sensitive resistor touch sensor having a first side and a second side opposite one another, configured to accept touch input from the first side, the second side, or both, and configured to distinguish between touches from the first side and touches from the second side; and

a display adjacent to and coincident with the first side of the touch sensor and configured to present an image;

wherein;

the interpolating force-sensitive resistor touch sensor includes a plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers;

touches are detected based at least in part on one of a resistance measurement or capacitance measurement between two or more of the adjacent touch sensor layers;

touches from the first side being touches detected based on measurements involving at least a first outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers and one of a second different outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers or a particular different one of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers; and

touches from the second side being touches detected based on measurements involving at least the second different outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers and one of the first outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers or the particular different one of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor is configured such that the image presented on the display is visible through at least a portion of the touch sensor.

3. The device of claim 2, further comprising an input module configured to determine an orientation with respect to a user and to present the image on the display corresponding to whether the first side or the second side is facing the user.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the input module configured is further configured to de-emphasize an image associated with a side facing away from the user.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a second display adjacent to and coincident with the second side.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the interpolating force-sensitive resistor touch sensor comprises a shared first touch sensor layer between second touch sensor layers corresponding to each of the displays.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor and the display are flexible.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the display comprises an electrophoretic display.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the display comprises a pre-printed image.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising an input module configured to determine from which side a touch originates.

11. The device of claim 10, further comprising a first shaped overlay comprising a plurality of shapes disposed adjacent to and coincident with the first side of the touch sensor and wherein the input module determines from which side the touch originates based at least in part upon the shape of the touch.

12. A device comprising:

a two-sided touch sensor having a first side and a second side and configured to accept touch input from the first side, the second side, or both, and configured to distinguish touch input from the first side and touch input from the second side; and

a touch sensor controller coupled to the touch sensor and configured to generate touch output;

wherein;

the two-sided touch sensor includes a plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers;

touches are detected based at least in part on one of a resistance measurement or capacitance measurement between two or more of the adjacent touch sensor layers;

touches from the first side being touches detected based on measurements involving at least a first outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers and one of a second different outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers or a particular different one of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers; and

touches from the second side being touches detected based on measurements involving at least the second different outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers and one of the first outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers or the particular different one of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the touch sensor comprises an interpolating force-sensitive resistor.

14. The device of claim 12, further comprising a first shaped overlay comprising a plurality of shapes disposed proximate to the first side of the touch sensor and wherein an input module is configured to determine from which side a touch originates based at least in part upon the shape of the touch.

15. The device of claim 12, further comprising an input module configured to determine which side a touch originates from.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the input module determines which side a touch originates from based at least in part upon a pattern of touches on the touch sensor.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the input module determines which side a touch originates from based at least in part upon data from one or more sensors.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein one or more sensors comprise a proximity sensor, magnetometer, light sensor, gravimeter, accelerometer, or position sensor.

19. A method comprising:

distributing a plurality of virtual touch controls on opposite sides of a two-sided touch sensor such that areas associated with each of the virtual touch controls are free from overlap;

accepting a touch for an area associated with one of the plurality of virtual touch controls; and

initiating an action associated with the virtual touch control;

wherein;

the two-sided touch sensor includes a plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers; and

touches are detected based at least in part on one of a resistance measurement or capacitance measurement between two or more of the adjacent touch sensor layers;

the method further comprising

detecting touches from a first side based on measurements involving at least a first outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers and one of a second different outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers or a particular different one of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers; and

detecting touches from a second side based on measurements involving at least the second different outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers and one of the first outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers or the particular different one of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the virtual touch controls modify presentation of an electronic book on a display.

21. A system comprising:

a two-sided touch sensor configured to accept touch input from either a first side, a second side, or both sides and configured to distinguish touch input from the first side and touch input from the second side, wherein;

the two-sided touch sensor includes a plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers;

touches are detected based at least in part on one of a resistance measurement or capacitance measurement between two or more of the adjacent touch sensor layers;

touches from the first side being touches detected based on measurements involving at least a first outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers and one of a second different outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers or a particular different one of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers; and

touches from the second side being touches detected based on measurements involving at least the second different outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers and one of the first outermost touch sensor layer of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers or the particular different one of the plurality of adjacent touch sensor layers;

a shaped overlay disposed adjacent to the first side, the shaped overlay comprising an arrangement of shaped features configured to come into contact with the touch sensor upon application of an incident force; and

an input module configured to;

receive a touch on the touch sensor;

determine a shape of the touch; and

determine an originating side of the touch as the first side based at least in part upon the shape of the touch corresponding to the shaped features.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the shaped overlay comprises a resilient material.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the shaped overlay comprises a protective sheet of one side of the two-sided touch sensor.

24. A device comprising:

a two-sided touch sensor having a first side and a second side and configured to accept touch input from the first side and the second side; and

a touch sensor controller coupled to the touch sensor and configured to distinguish touch input from the first side and touch input from the second side and to generate touch output;

wherein the two-sided touch sensor comprises a shared first touch sensor layer between second touch sensor layers, touches from the first side being touches detected based at least in part on a change in an electrical characteristic between at least the first touch sensor layer and a first of the second touch sensor layers and touches from the second side being touches detected based at least in part on a change in an electrical characteristic between at least the first touch sensor layer and a second of the second touch sensor layers.

25. A device comprising:

a two-sided touch sensor having a first side and a second side and configured to accept touch input from the first side and the second side; and

a touch sensor controller coupled to the touch sensor and configured to distinguish touch input from the first side and touch input from the second side and to generate touch output;

wherein the two-sided touch sensor comprises a first touch sensor layer and a second touch sensor layer, touches from the first side being touches detected based at least in part on a change in an electrical characteristic between at least the first touch sensor layer and the second touch sensor layer and touches from the second side being touches detected based at least in part on a change in an electrical characteristic between at least the first touch sensor layer and the second touch sensor layer.