Light-based touch surface with curved borders
First Claim
1. A light-based user input device, comprising:
- a user input area;
a printed circuit board;
a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area so as to be evenly spaced;
a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light;
a curved lens arranged in front of said light emitters along the first edge, such that light emitted by each of said light emitters is refracted as it enters said curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits said curved lens, resulting in unevenly spaced collimated light exiting said curved lens and crossing said user input area to the second edge, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the first edge, the offset being a characteristic of the arrangement of that light emitter vis-à
-vis the curved lens; and
a calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers, based on the values of the characteristic offsets of said light emitters.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A user input device, including a user input area, light emitters arranged along a first edge of the input area so as to be evenly spaced, light receivers arranged along a second edge of the input area, a curved lens arranged in front of the emitters, such that light emitted by each of the emitters is refracted as it enters the curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits the curved lens, resulting in unevenly spaced collimated light exiting the curved lens and crossing the input area, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the first edge, the offset being a characteristic of the arrangement of that emitter vis-à-vis the curved lens, and a calculating unit for determining location of an object inserted into the input area from outputs of the receivers, based on the characteristic offsets of the emitters.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A light-based user input device, comprising:
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a user input area; a printed circuit board; a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area so as to be evenly spaced; a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light; a curved lens arranged in front of said light emitters along the first edge, such that light emitted by each of said light emitters is refracted as it enters said curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits said curved lens, resulting in unevenly spaced collimated light exiting said curved lens and crossing said user input area to the second edge, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the first edge, the offset being a characteristic of the arrangement of that light emitter vis-à
-vis the curved lens; anda calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers, based on the values of the characteristic offsets of said light emitters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A light-based user input device, comprising:
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a user input area; a printed circuit board; a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area; a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light; a curved lens arranged in front of said light emitters such that light emitted by each of said light emitters is refracted as it enters said curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits said curved lens, resulting in collimated light exiting said curved lens and crossing said user input area to the second edge, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the first edge; and a calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers, wherein said light emitters are unevenly spaced to compensate for the offsets, such that light emitted by neighboring emitters is evenly spaced as it exits said curved lens and passes over said user input area. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A light-based user input device, comprising:
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a user input area; a printed circuit board; a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area; a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area so as to be evenly spaced, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light; a curved lens arranged in front of said light receivers along the second edge, such that light received by each of said light receivers crossed said user input area and was refracted as it entered said curved lens, and was again refracted as it exited said curved lens, resulting in collimated light being received by that receiver, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the second edge, the offset being a characteristic of the arrangement of that light receiver vis-à
-vis the curved lens; anda calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers, based on the values of the characteristic offsets of said light receivers. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A light-based user input device, comprising:
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a user input area; a printed circuit board; a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area; a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light; a curved lens arranged in front of said light receivers along the second edge, such that light emitted by each of said light emitters crosses said user input area and is refracted as it enters said curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits said curved lens, resulting in collimated light exiting said curved lens and being received by said light receivers, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the second edge; and a calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers, wherein said light emitters are unevenly spaced to compensate for the offsets, such that light emitted by neighboring emitters is evenly spaced as it exits said curved lens and is received by said light receivers. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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Specification