Ultrasound-based force sensing and touch sensing
First Claim
1. A touch I/O device, includingone or more touch sensors capable of providing touch location information, the touch location information including one or more locations at which a contact or near-contact occurs;
- one or more ultrasonic force sensors capable of providing force of touch information, the force of touch information including a measure of an amount of force presented at the one or more locations at which a contact or near-contact occurs, wherein the one or more ultrasonic force sensors are separate from the one or more touch sensors;
one or more drive circuits coupled to the touch sensors and to the ultrasonic force sensors, the one or more drive circuits configured to drive the touch sensors at a first time and at a first frequency and configured to drive the ultrasonic force sensors at least one of at a second different time or at a second different frequency;
one or more sense circuits coupled to the touch sensors and to the ultrasonic force sensors, and capable of combining information from the touch sensors and from the ultrasonic force sensors.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An input/output device for a computing device including one or more touch sensors and one or more force sensors. The touch sensors sense data including one or more locations at which a contact or near-contact occurs. The force sensor sense data including a measure of an amount of force presented at the one or more locations at which a contact occurs. The touch sensors and the force sensors responsive to signals occurring in response to whether the signals are in response to contact or in response to an amount of force. The input/output device also includes one or more circuits coupled to the touch sensors and to the force sensors, and capable of combining information from both sensors.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A touch I/O device, including
one or more touch sensors capable of providing touch location information, the touch location information including one or more locations at which a contact or near-contact occurs; -
one or more ultrasonic force sensors capable of providing force of touch information, the force of touch information including a measure of an amount of force presented at the one or more locations at which a contact or near-contact occurs, wherein the one or more ultrasonic force sensors are separate from the one or more touch sensors; one or more drive circuits coupled to the touch sensors and to the ultrasonic force sensors, the one or more drive circuits configured to drive the touch sensors at a first time and at a first frequency and configured to drive the ultrasonic force sensors at least one of at a second different time or at a second different frequency; one or more sense circuits coupled to the touch sensors and to the ultrasonic force sensors, and capable of combining information from the touch sensors and from the ultrasonic force sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method, including operations of:
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driving one or more touch sensors at a first time and a first frequency; driving one or more ultrasonic force sensors at a second time and a second frequency, wherein at least one of the second time does not overlap with the first time or the second frequency is distinct from the first frequency; providing touch location information in response to the one or more touch sensors, the touch location information including one or more locations at which a contact or near-contact occurs; providing force of touch information in response to the one or more ultrasonic force sensors, the force of touch information including a measure of an amount of force presented at the one or more locations at which a contact or near-contact occurs; providing the signals at discernible times in response to whether the signals are in response to contact or in response to an amount of force; and combining information from the touch sensors and from the ultrasonic force sensors;
whereinthe one or more ultrasonic force sensors is discrete from the one or more touch sensors. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification