Touch-sensitive bezel techniques

• US 9,582,122 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2012
• Issued: 02/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Bathiche, Steven Nabil
• Primary Examiner(s): GIESY, ADAM
• Application Number:
  US13/674,357
• Publication Number:
  US 20140132551A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,569 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Touch-sensitive bezel techniques are described. In one or more implementations, touch sensors located in a display portion and a bezel portion detect a touch input and determine, based on one or more characteristics of the touch input, a likelihood that a user intends or does not intend to interact with the computing device. A location of a centroid of an area of the touch input is on such characteristic that can be utilized. In at least some implementations, the bezel portion has display capabilities such that when a touch input is detected, the display capabilities in a region of the bezel portion can be made active to cause a menu to be displayed in the region of the bezel.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting a touch input using one or more touch sensors, the one or more touch sensors located in a display capable bezel portion and a main display portion of a display device of a computing device; and

determining, based on a centroid of the touch input being detected within the display capable bezel portion, that a user intends the touch input to cause a display to occur in the display capable bezel portion and that the user does not intend to interact with the main display portion as a result of the touch input while the computing device is in an operational mode in which the computing device is configured to recognize and respond to a variety of touch inputs.

2. The method of claim 1, the determining further based on one or more characteristics of the touch input comprising a size of the touch input, a shape of the touch input, a location of the touch input, a velocity of the touch input, a distance the touch input travels, or a lifetime of the touch input.

3. The method of claim 1, the determining comprising:

calculating the centroid of the touch input;

determining a location of the centroid relative to the bezel portion of the display device; and

determining that the location of the centroid is within the bezel portion of the display device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining that the user intends the touch input further comprises mapping the centroid of the touch input to its location on the bezel portion.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the calculating the centroid of the touch input is weighted in part based on a shape of the touch input.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the calculating the centroid is based in part on a signal from a capacitive digitizer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more touch sensors are pressure sensitive touch sensors.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

executing one or more software modules on a processor of the computing device to perform the determining that the user intends the touch input to interact with the computing device.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling one or more circuits of the computing device to perform the determining that the user intends the touch input to interact with the computing device.

10. The method of claim 1, the determining comprising determining that the touch input is not likely indicative of a user holding the computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the touch input is detected using one or more touch sensors located in the display portion.

12. The method of claim 1, the one or more touch sensors comprising one or more capacitive touch sensors.

13. A device comprising:

one or more touch sensors included in a display portion of a display device and in a bezel portion of the display device, the one or more touch sensors configured to detect a touch input; and

one or more circuits configured to determine a likelihood that the touch input is indicative of a user'"'"'s intention to cause the bezel portion of the display device to turn on and display a menu and that the user does not intend to interact with the display portion of the display device as a result of determining that a location of a centroid of the touch input is within an area corresponding to the bezel portion of the display device.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the one or more circuits are configured to determine the likelihood by determining the location of the centroid of the touch input relative to the display portion or the bezel portion of the display device.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the one or more circuits are configured to determine the likelihood by determining that the touch input is likely indicative of the user'"'"'s intention to cause the menu to be displayed when the location of the centroid falls within the area corresponding to the bezel portion of the display device.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the one or more circuits are configured to determine the likelihood by mapping the centroid of the touch input to its location relative to the display portion or the bezel portion of the display device.

17. The device of claim 14, wherein the one or more circuits are configured to determine the likelihood by calculating the centroid of the touch input weighted in part based on a shape of the touch input.

18. The device of claim 13, wherein the one or more circuits are configured to determine the likelihood by determining that the touch input is not likely indicative of a user holding the device.

19. The device of claim 13, wherein the one or more touch sensors included in the bezel portion extends from the display portion into the bezel portion.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the one or more touch sensors extending from the display portion into the bezel portion comprise one or more capacitive touch sensors.

21. A method comprising:

detecting a touch input using one or more touch sensors, the one or more touch sensors located in a bezel portion and a display portion of a display device of a computing device, said detecting the touch input while display capabilities of a region of the bezel portion are powered off and inactive, and while the display portion of the display device is active; and

responsive to a location of a centroid of the detected touch input being within an area corresponding to the bezel portion, making the display capabilities of the region of the bezel portion active effective to cause the region of the bezel portion to act as an extension of the display portion of the display device.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein at least a portion of the touch input is within an area corresponding to the display portion.

23. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

detecting a subsequent touch input using the one or more touch sensors located in the region of the bezel portion while the display capabilities of the bezel portion are active; and

determining a likelihood that the subsequent touch input is indicative of a user'"'"'s intention to interact with the extension of the display portion of the display device.

24. The method of claim 23, the determining comprising determining that a location of a centroid of the subsequent touch input is within an area corresponding to the region.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein the making the display capabilities of the region is performed responsive to determining that the touch input is indicative of a user'"'"'s intention to interact with the computing device.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein the making the display capabilities of the region is performed responsive to the touch input lasting about 0.25 seconds or less.