Operating a touch screen control system according to a plurality of rule sets

• US 9,052,764 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2013
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Day, Shawn P., Barton, Roger W., Gillespie, David W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eisen, Alexander
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Sanjiv D
• Application Number:
  US14/050,191
• Publication Number:
  US 20140035857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 608 Days
• Field of Search: 709208-211, 345173-178, 178 1801- 2004
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• 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: G09G 5/006 Details of the interface to the display terminal specific for a display terminal using a CRT G09G1/167; using a flat panel G09G3/2096; circuits for interfacing with colour displays G09G5/04
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/40 OLEDs integrated with touch screens

Abstract

A touch screen control system comprising a memory and control circuitry is configured to communicate with a host processing system. The control circuitry comprises a blended image generator and a display screen updater, and operates a touch sensor for detecting user input in a sensing region of the touch sensor. The sensing region overlaps a display screen. In response to detection of user input in the sensing region, the blended image generator autonomously generates a blended image by blending primary image and secondary images held in the memory. The display screen updater autonomously updates the display screen with the blended image. The display screen is updated at a higher rate when updated autonomously by the display screen updater than when directed by the host processing system. The autonomous updating of the display screen by the display screen updater reduces processing of the host processing system.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a display screen configured for displaying images;

a host processing system;

a memory; and

control circuitry configured to operate a touch sensor for capacitively detecting user input in a sensing region of a touch sensor, said control circuitry comprising;

display control circuitry comprising;

a blended image generator for autonomously generating a blended image by blending a primary image held in said memory and a secondary image held in said memory in response to a detected user input, wherein said primary image is received from said host processing system; and

a display screen updater for autonomously updating said display screen with said blended image, wherein said display screen is updated at a higher rate when updated autonomously by said display screen updater than when directed by said host processing system, and wherein said autonomously updating said display screen by said display screen updater reduces processing of said host processing system; and

touch sensor control circuitry for operating said touch sensor and for direct communications with said display control circuitry.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein said control circuitry is further configured to provide an indication to said host processing system to enter a low power state in response to detecting an initiation of an input sequence.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein said display control circuitry repeatedly generates blended images with a secondary image at locations associated with changing positions of said user input.

4. A touch screen control system configured to communicate with a host processing system, said touch screen control system comprising:

a memory; and

control circuitry configured to operate a touch sensor for capacitively detecting user input in a sensing region of said touch sensor, wherein said sensing region overlaps a display screen, said control circuitry comprising;

a blended image generator for autonomously generating a blended image by blending image data held in said memory in response to a detection of a first type of user input in said sensing region and without requiring intervention from said host processing system following said detection of said first type of user input; and

a display screen updater for autonomously updating said display screen with said blended image without requiring intervention from said host processing system following said detection of said first type of user input, wherein said display screen is updated autonomously by said display screen updater at an autonomous display image update rate in response to said detection of said first type of user input in said sensing region, and wherein said autonomous display image update rate is higher than an image data update rate at which said host processing system would update said image data in response to said first type of user input in said sensing region.

5. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said display screen updater autonomously updating said display screen reduces image processing by said host processing system, and wherein said control circuitry further comprises:

display control circuitry comprising said blended image generator and said display screen updater; and

touch sensor control circuitry for operating said touch sensor and for direct communications with said display control circuitry.

6. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said control circuitry is further configured to provide an indication to said host processing system to enter a low power state in response to detecting an initiation of an input sequence.

7. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said control circuitry is further configured to provide an indication to said host processing system to enter a full power state in response to detecting a termination of an input sequence.

8. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said blended image comprises a primary image and a secondary image stored in said memory, wherein during a drag function said primary image and said secondary image remain static in said memory.

9. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said control circuitry overlays a secondary image onto a primary image by alpha blending.

10. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said control circuitry blends multiple instances of a secondary image at different locations into said blended image.

11. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein a primary image of said blended image is received from said host processing system.

12. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein a secondary image of said blended image is selected from a plurality of secondary images based on a type of user input.

13. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said blended image comprises a primary image, a secondary image and a tertiary image.

14. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said control circuitry repeatedly generates blended images with a secondary image at locations associated with changing positions of said user input.

15. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said display screen is not required to be updated autonomously in response to a second type of user input in said sensing region.

16. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said control circuitry reports user input information to said host processing system in response to a type of user input.

17. The touch screen control system of claim 4, wherein said control circuitry does not report user input information to said host processing system in response to a type of user input.

18. A method for autonomously updating a display screen, comprising

capacitively detecting user input in a sensing region of a touch sensor, wherein said sensing region overlaps a display screen of an electronic device;

autonomously generating a blended image by blending image data held in memory of said electronic device, wherein said blended image is generated in response to said detection of said user input and without requiring intervention from a host processing system of said electronic device following said detection of said user input; and

autonomously updating said display screen with said blended image without requiring intervention from said host processing system in response to said detection of said user input in said sensing region, wherein said display screen is updated autonomously at an autonomous display image update rate in response to said detection of said user input in said sensing region, and wherein said autonomous display image update rate is higher than an image data update rate at which said host processing system would update said image data in response to said user input in said sensing region.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said blended image is generated by blending a primary image and a secondary image, wherein a secondary image is selected from a plurality of secondary images based on a type of user input.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing an indication to said host processing system to enter a low power state in response to detecting an initiation of an input sequence.