Multi-point touch-sensitive sensor user interface using distinct digit identification

• US 9,035,891 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2012
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Deluca, Lisa Seacat
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kimnhung
• Application Number:
  US13/425,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20120188189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 708/200, 178 1801- 1804
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector

Abstract

For digit identification on a multi-point touch sensitive sensor, an assignment module assigns a digit identity to each digit of at least two digits in contact with a multi-point touch sensitive sensor during a learning phase. The digit identity includes a distinct representation of each digit. A receiving module detects a digit interaction of one or more particular digits of the at least two digits with the multi-point touch-sensitive sensor. A determination module recognizes the assigned digit identity for each particular digit involved in the digit interaction.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer readable program code executable by a processor, the computer readable program code comprising;

an assignment module assigning a digit identity to each digit of a hand, in contact with a multi-point touch sensitive sensor during a learning phase based on determining for each digit a number of digits in a group of zero or more digits located to one side of the digit, and determining comparative pressures for each digit during the learning phase, wherein the comparative pressures compare pressures of each digit on the multi-point touch sensitive sensor with each other digit; and

a determination module recognizing the assigned digit identity for each particular digit from a comparative pressure digit interaction with the multi-point touch sensitive sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the computer readable program code further comprising an initiation module initiating a function in response to the determination module recognizing the assigned digit identity.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, the computer readable program code further comprising an initiation module initiating a function in response to a combination of each recognized assigned digit identity and a characteristic of the comparative pressure digit interaction.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, the determination module detecting a predetermined pattern of a plurality of comparative pressure digit interactions, each comparative pressure digit interaction having one or more particular digit comparative pressures, the computer readable program code further comprising an initiation module initiating a function in response to the determination module detecting the predetermined pattern.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each digit is assigned an alphanumeric value.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the determination module recognizes the assigned digit identity for each digit by the comparative pressure digit interaction between two or more digits.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the determination module recognizes the assigned digit identity for each digit by one or more of an amount of comparative pressure applied by two or more digits and a size of a contact point of the digit.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the determination module further recognizes the assigned digit identity for each digit by a relative position of a digit contact point to other digit contact points.

9. A method for digit identification for a multi-point touch sensitive sensor, the method comprising:

assigning, by use of a processor, a digit identity to each digit of a hand, in contact with a multi-point touch sensitive sensor during a learning phase based on determining for each digit a number of digits in a group of zero or more digits located to one side of the digit;

determining comparative pressures for each digit during the learning phase, wherein the comparative pressures compare pressures of each digit on the multi-point touch sensitive sensor with each other digit; and

recognizing the assigned digit identity for each particular digit from a comparative pressure digit interaction with the multi-point touch sensitive sensor.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting a predetermined pattern of a plurality of comparative pressure digit interactions, each comparative pressure digit interaction having one or more particular digit comparative pressures; and

initiating a function in response to detecting the predetermined pattern.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising initiating a function in response to a combination of each recognized assigned digit identity and a characteristic of the comparative pressure digit interaction.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising recognizing the assigned digit identity for each digit by a relative position of a digit contact point to other digit contact points.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising recognizing the assigned digit identity for each digit by a contact area of the digit.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising recognizing the assigned digit identity for each digit by a distance between the digits.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium

the non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code configured to:

assign a digit identity to each digit of a hand, in contact with a multi-point touch sensitive sensor during a learning phase based on determining for each digit a number of digits in a group of zero or more digits located to one side of the digit;

determine comparative pressures for each digit during the learning phase, wherein the comparative pressures compare pressures of each digit on the multi-point touch sensitive sensor with each other digit; and

recognize the assigned digit identity for each particular digit from a comparative pressure digit interaction with the multi-point touch sensitive sensor.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the computer readable program code further;

detecting a predetermined pattern of a plurality of comparative pressure digit interactions, each comparative pressure digit interaction having one or more particular digit comparative pressures; and

initiating a function in response to detecting the predetermined pattern.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the computer readable program code further initiating a function in response to a combination of each recognized assigned digit identity and a characteristic of the comparative pressure digit interaction.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the computer readable program code further recognizing the assigned digit identity for each digit using a plurality of digit characteristics.

19. A method for deploying a non-transitory computer program product comprising integrating computer readable program code into a non-transitory computer readable storage medium of a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system performs the following:

assigning a digit identity to each digit of a hand, in contact with a multi-point touch sensitive sensor during a learning phase based on determining for each digit a number of digits in a group of zero or more digits located to one side of the digit;

determining comparative pressures for each digit during the learning phase, wherein the comparative pressures compare pressures of each digit on the multi-point touch sensitive sensor with each other digit; and

recognizing the assigned digit identity for each particular digit from a comparative pressure digit interaction with the multi-point touch sensitive sensor.

20. The method of claim 19, the method further comprising;

detecting a predetermined pattern of a plurality of comparative pressure digit interactions, each comparative pressure digit interaction having one or more particular digit comparative pressures; and

initiating a function in response to detecting the predetermined pattern.