Fabric laminated touch input device

• US 9,632,602 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2014
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Marwah, Rahul, Kujawski, Christopher H.
• Primary Examiner(s): MERCEDES, DISMERY E
• Application Number:
  US14/532,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20160124531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• 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 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means

Abstract

Techniques for fabric laminated touch input device are described. In at least some embodiments, a touch input device is mounted to a chassis of an apparatus. The touch input device and the chassis are laminated with a fabric layer, such as by adhering a portion of fabric over the chassis and the touch input device to enclose the touch input device beneath the fabric layer. According to one or more embodiments, a touch input device laminated with fabric can support different types of touch input, such click input for object selection, touch input for object movement, and so forth.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a chassis including a bezel portion;

a touch input device mounted within the chassis adjacent the bezel portion and including a sensor substrate and a switch; and

a fabric layer laminated over the sensor substrate and at least partially laminated over the bezel portion, at least a portion of the fabric layer that overlays the sensor substrate being thinner than a portion of the fabric layer that overlays the bezel, such that touch input is receivable by the touch input device responsive to touch interaction with the fabric layer over the sensor substrate, the touch input device configured such that touch interaction with the fabric layer over the sensor substrate that exceeds a threshold force causes the switch to generate a click input event, and touch interaction with the fabric layer over the sensor substrate that does not exceed the threshold force causes the sensor substrate to generate a touch input event.

2. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises an input device operably attached to a computing device.

3. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a wearable device.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein touch input device is configured such that touch interaction with the fabric layer over the sensor substrate that exceeds the threshold force causes an audible click.

5. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the fabric layer is laminated over the sensor substrate via an adhesive layer that partially covers the sensor substrate.

6. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the fabric layer is laminated over the sensor substrate via an adhesive layer that at least partially covers the sensor substrate such that at least one of:

a gap exists between an edge of the adhesive layer and an adjacent edge of the chassis;

or

at least a portion of a periphery of the adhesive layer is thinner than an inner portion of the adhesive layer.

7. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the fabric layer that overlays the sensor substrate includes an input surface that is textured differently than one or more surface portions of the fabric layer that overlay the bezel portion.

8. An apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the chassis includes a mounting cavity surrounded by the bezel portion and the fabric layer seals the touch input device within the mounting cavity.

9. An input device comprising:

a chassis;

a touch input sensor mounted on or within an outer surface of the chassis;

a bezel region that represents portions of the outer surface of the chassis; and

a fabric layer that is laminated at least in part to the bezel region and the touch input sensor such that touch interaction with the fabric layer over the touch input sensor that exceeds a threshold force causes the touch input sensor to generate a click event, at least a portion of the fabric layer that overlays the touch input sensor includes an input surface that is textured differently than one or more surface portions of the fabric layer that overlay the bezel region.

10. An input device as recited in claim 9, wherein the touch input sensor includes a sensor substrate to which the fabric layer is at least partially laminated, the sensor substrate being configured to cause a touch input event to be generated in response to a touch interaction with the fabric layer over the touch input sensor that does not exceed the threshold force.

11. An input device as recited in claim 9, wherein the fabric layer is laminated to the touch input sensor via an adhesive layer that partially covers the touch input sensor such that at least one of:

a gap exists between an edge of the adhesive layer and an adjacent edge of the bezel region;

or

at least a portion of a periphery of the adhesive layer is thinner than an inner portion of the adhesive layer.

12. An input device as recited in claim 9, wherein the touch input sensor includes a sensor substrate, and wherein the touch input sensor is configured such that touch interaction with the fabric layer over the sensor substrate that exceeds the threshold force causes an audible click.

13. An input device as recited in claim 9, wherein the input device comprises an external peripheral device that is configured to be communicatively coupled and uncoupled from a computing device.

14. An input device as recited in claim 9, wherein the touch input sensor includes a sensor substrate, and wherein at least a portion of the fabric layer overlays the sensor substrate and is thinner than one or more portions of the fabric layer that overlay the bezel.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a chassis including a mounting cavity surrounded by a bezel region;

a touch input device moveably mounted within the mounting cavity, the touch input device including a sensor substrate, sensor circuitry, and a switch; and

a fabric layer laminated at least in part to the bezel region and covering the sensor substrate such that touch interaction with the fabric layer covering the sensor substrate that exceeds a threshold force causes the sensor substrate and the sensor circuitry to move within the mounting cavity and actuate the switch to generate a click event, the fabric layer laminated at least in part to the bezel region via an adhesive layer such that at least one of;

a gap exists between an edge of the adhesive layer and an adjacent edge of the chassis;

or

at least a portion of a periphery of the adhesive layer is thinner than an inner portion of the adhesive layer.

16. An apparatus as described in claim 15, wherein the apparatus comprises an external peripheral device.

17. An apparatus as described in claim 15, wherein the apparatus comprises a wearable device.

18. An apparatus as described in claim 15, wherein the sensor substrate is configured to cause a touch input event to be generated in response to a touch interaction with the fabric layer over the touch input device that does not exceed the threshold force.

19. An apparatus as described in claim 15, wherein the fabric layer seals the touch input device within the mounting cavity.

20. An apparatus as described in claim 15, wherein at least a portion of the fabric layer that overlays the sensor substrate is thinner than one or more portions of the fabric layer that overlays the bezel region.