Fast multi-touch sensor with user identification techniques

• US 9,710,113 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2014
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tactual Labs Co.
• Original Assignee: Tactual Labs Co.
• Inventors: Wigdor, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): MANDEVILLE, JASON M
• Application Number:
  US14/217,015
• Publication Number:
  US 20150261344A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,219 Days
• Field of Search: 345173, 345174
• 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 2203/04109 FTIR in optical digitiser, i.e. touch detection by frustrating the total internal reflection within an optical waveguide due to changes of optical properties or deformation at the touch location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03542 Light pens for emitting or receiving light
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

A method and system for distinguishing between sources of simultaneous touch events on a touch sensitive device with row conductors and column conductors, the path of each of the row conductors crossing the path of each of the column conductors. Each of a plurality of orthogonal row signals are simultaneously transmitted on a respective one of at least some of the plurality of row conductors. An amount of each of the orthogonal row signals present on each of the plurality of column conductors is detected, and the touch events are identified using the detected amount. Each of the simultaneous touch events is associated with a discrete source based on the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals.

Claims

1. A method for distinguishing between sources of simultaneous touch events on a touch sensitive device, the touch sensitive device comprising a plurality of row conductors and a plurality of column conductors, the path of each of the row conductors crossing the path of each of the column conductors, the method comprising:

simultaneously transmitting each of a plurality of orthogonal row signals on a respective one of at least some of the plurality of row conductors;

detecting an amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals present on each of the plurality of column conductors;

identifying the simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device using the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals, respective locations of the simultaneous touch events being determined based on the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals being detected with a certain amount on a respective one of the plurality of column conductors; and

associating at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with a discrete source, the associating based on body-transmitted cross talk of at least one of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals identified based on the detected amount of the at least one of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals being present on a respective one of the plurality of column conductors in an amount that is weaker than the certain amount,

wherein the at least two simultaneous touch events are associated with touch events coming from a same hand of a same user when the detected amount is weaker than the certain amount and stronger than another amount, and the at least two simultaneous touch events are not associated with touch events coming from the same hand of the same user when the detected amount is weaker than the another amount.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

simultaneously transmitting each of a plurality of orthogonal column signals on a respective one of at least some of the column conductors; and

,

detecting an amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal column signals present on each of the plurality of row conductors.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of associating the at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with a discrete source further comprises using the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal column signals to associate the least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with the discrete source.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device is performed by a signal processor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device comprises detecting coupling between at least one row and one column being touched by a first one of a user'"'"'s digits and at least one row and one column being touched by a second one of the user'"'"'s digits.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying the simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device comprises detecting coupling between rows and columns in proximity to a touch event caused by one part of a user'"'"'s body and between rows and columns in proximity to a touch event caused by another part of the user'"'"'s body.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the one part of a user'"'"'s body is a digit and the another part of the user'"'"'s body comprises the user'"'"'s palm.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of detecting the amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals present on each of the plurality of column conductors comprises detecting a change in the amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals present on each of the plurality of column conductors resulting from the occurrence of simultaneous touch events.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the simultaneous touch events comprises a touch event due to the proximity of a part of a user'"'"'s body with the plurality of row conductors and the plurality of column conductors.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the simultaneous touch events comprises a touch event due to the proximity of another part of a user'"'"'s body with the plurality of row conductors and the plurality of column conductors.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of associating the at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with a discrete source comprises using the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals to associate at least one of the simultaneous touch events with a part of a user'"'"'s body and at least one other of the simultaneous touch events with an object.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the object is a stylus.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch events comprise an action by a user that occurs in proximity to the touch sensitive device.

14. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of orthogonal row signals is transmitted at the same time as the plurality of orthogonal column signals.

15. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of orthogonal row signals is not transmitted at the same time as the plurality of orthogonal column signals.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the body-transmitted cross talk comprises coupling between at least one row in proximity to a touch event caused by one part of a user'"'"'s body and at least one column in proximity to a touch event caused by another part of the user'"'"'s body.

17. A method for distinguishing between sources of simultaneous touch events on or near a touch sensitive device, the touch sensitive device comprising a plurality of row conductors and a plurality of column conductors, the path of each of the row conductors crossing the path of each of the column conductors, the method comprising:

simultaneously transmitting an orthogonal row signal on each of the plurality of row conductors;

detecting an amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals associated with each of the plurality of row conductors present on each of the plurality of column conductors;

using the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals associated with each of the plurality of row conductors to identify a plurality of simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device, respective locations of the simultaneous touch events being determined based on the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals being detected with a certain amount on a respective one of the plurality of column conductors; and

using detection of body-transmitted cross talk in the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals associated with each of the plurality of row conductors to associate at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events as coming from a discrete source, the body-transmitted cross talk identified based on the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals being present on a respective one of the plurality of column conductors in an amount that is weaker than the certain amount,

wherein the at least two simultaneous touch events are associated with touch events coming from a same hand of a same user when the detected amount is weaker than the certain amount and stronger than another amount, and the at least two simultaneous touch events are not associated with touch events coming from the same hand of the same user when the detected amount is weaker than the another amount.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

at least one touch event from a first user and at least one touch event from a second user.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

two fingers from one hand.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

a finger from one hand and a finger from another hand of a single user.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

a finger from one hand of a first user and a finger from one hand of a second user.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

at least one finger from one hand of a first user and at least one finger from one hand of a second user.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

at least one finger from each of both hands of a first user and at least one finger from one hand of a second user.

24. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of associating at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with a discrete source comprises using the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals to associate at least one of the simultaneous touch events with a part of a user'"'"'s body and at least one other of the simultaneous touch events with an object.

25. The method of claim 17, wherein the body-transmitted cross talk comprises coupling between at least one row in proximity to a touch event caused by one part of a user'"'"'s body and at least one column in proximity to a touch event caused by another part of the user'"'"'s body.

26. A method for distinguishing between sources of simultaneous touch events on a touch sensitive device, the touch sensitive device comprising a plurality of row conductors and a plurality of column conductors, the path of each of the row conductors crossing the path of each of the column conductors, the method comprising:

simultaneously transmitting each of a plurality of orthogonal row signals on a respective one of at least some of the plurality of row conductors;

detecting an amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals present on each of the plurality of column conductors;

identifying the simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device using the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals, respective locations of the simultaneous touch events being determined based on the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals being detected with a certain amount on a respective one of the plurality of column conductors; and

associating at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with a discrete source, the associating based on body-transmitted cross talk of at least one of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals identified based on the detected amount of the at least one of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals being present on a respective one of the plurality of column conductors in an amount that is weaker than the certain amount,

wherein the at least two simultaneous touch events are associated with touch events coming from a same user when the detected amount is weaker than the certain amount and stronger than another amount, and the at least two simultaneous touch events are not associated with touch events coming from the same user when the detected amount is weaker than the another amount.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

simultaneously transmitting each of a plurality of orthogonal column signals on a respective one of at least some of the column conductors; and

,

detecting an amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal column signals present on each of the plurality of row conductors.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of associating the at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with a discrete source further comprises using the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal column signals to associate the at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with the discrete source.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of identifying the simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device is performed by a signal processor.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of identifying the simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device comprises detecting coupling between at least one row and one column being touched by a first one of a user'"'"'s digits and at least one row and one column being touched by a second one of the user'"'"'s digits.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of identifying the simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device comprises detecting coupling between rows and columns in proximity to a touch event caused by one part of a user'"'"'s body and between rows and columns in proximity to a touch event caused by another part of the user'"'"'s body.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the one part of a user'"'"'s body is a digit and the another part of the user'"'"'s body comprises the user'"'"'s palm.

33. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of detecting the amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals present on each of the plurality of column conductors comprises detecting a change in the amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals present on each of the plurality of column conductors resulting from the occurrence of simultaneous touch events.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein at least one of the simultaneous touch events comprises a touch event due to the proximity of a part of a user'"'"'s body with the plurality of row conductors and the plurality of column conductors.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein at least one of the simultaneous touch events comprises a touch event due to the proximity of another part of a user'"'"'s body with the plurality of row conductors and the plurality of column conductors.

36. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of associating the at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with a discrete source comprises using the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals to associate the at least one of the simultaneous touch events with a part of a user'"'"'s body and at least one other of the simultaneous touch events with an object.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the object is a stylus.

38. The method of claim 26, wherein the touch events comprise an action by a user that occurs in proximity to the touch sensitive device.

39. The method of claim 27, wherein the plurality of orthogonal row signals is transmitted at the same time as the plurality of orthogonal column signals.

40. The method of claim 27, wherein the plurality of orthogonal row signals is not transmitted at the same time as the plurality of orthogonal column signals.

41. The method of claim 26, wherein the body-transmitted cross talk comprises coupling between at least one row in proximity to a touch event caused by one part of a user'"'"'s body and at least one column in proximity to a touch event caused by another part of the user'"'"'s body.

42. A method for distinguishing between sources of simultaneous touch events on or near a touch sensitive device, the touch sensitive device comprising a plurality of row conductors and a plurality of column conductors, the path of each of the row conductors crossing the path of each of the column conductors, the method comprising:

simultaneously transmitting an orthogonal row signal on each of the plurality of row conductors;

detecting an amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals associated with each of the plurality of row conductors present on each of the plurality of column conductors;

using the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals associated with each of the plurality of row conductors to identify a plurality of simultaneous touch events on the touch sensitive device, respective locations of the simultaneous touch events being determined based on the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals being detected with a certain amount on a respective one of the plurality of column conductors; and

using detection of body-transmitted cross talk in the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals associated with each of the plurality of row conductors to associate at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events as coming from a discrete source, the body-transmitted cross talk identified based on the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals being present on a respective one of the plurality of column conductors in an amount that is weaker than the certain amount,

wherein the at least two simultaneous touch events are associated with touch events coming from a same user when the detected amount is weaker than the certain amount and stronger than another amount, and the at least two simultaneous touch events are not associated with touch events coming from the same user when the detected amount is weaker than the another amount.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

at least one touch event from a first user and at least one touch event from a second user.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

two fingers from one hand.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

a finger from one hand and a finger from another hand of a single user.

46. The method of claim 42, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

a finger from one hand of a first user and a finger from one hand of a second user.

47. The method of claim 42, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

at least one finger from one hand of a first user and at least one finger from one hand of a second user.

48. The method of claim 42, wherein the discrete sources of simultaneous touch events comprise:

at least one finger from each of both hands of a first user and at least one finger from one hand of a second user.

49. The method of claim 42, wherein the step of associating the at least two of the plurality of simultaneous touch events with a discrete source comprises using the detected amount of each of the transmitted orthogonal row signals to associate at least one of the simultaneous touch events with a part of a user'"'"'s body and at least one other of the simultaneous touch events with an object.

50. The method of claim 42, wherein the body-transmitted cross talk comprises coupling between at least one row in proximity to a touch event caused by one part of a user'"'"'s body and at least one column in proximity to a touch event caused by another part of the user'"'"'s body.