Unintentional touch rejection

• US 10,019,080 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2017
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Townsend, Reed L., Kolmykov-Zotov, Alexander J., Dodge, Steven P., Scott, Bryan D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jr., Kenneth B
• Application Number:
  US15/453,464
• Publication Number:
  US 20170177101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 489 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• 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 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A method for rejecting an unintentional palm touch is disclosed. In at least some embodiments, a touch is detected by a touch-sensitive surface associated with a display. Characteristics of the touch may be used to generate a set of parameters related to the touch. In an embodiment, firmware is used to determine a reliability value for the touch. The reliability value and the location of the touch is provided to a software module. The software module uses the reliability value and an activity context to determine a confidence level of the touch. In an embodiment, the confidence level may include an evaluation of changes in the reliability value over time. If the confidence level for the touch is too low, it may be rejected.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a touch on a touch-sensitive display of a device;

calculating a function based on an acceleration of the touch;

based at least in part on the calculated function and at least one other characteristic of the touch, determining a probability that the touch is intentional; and

based at least in part on the determined probability indicating that the touch is an intentional touch, communicating an input associated with the touch to an application.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a location of the touch over time.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the touch is too fast to be representative of a human touch.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

calculating a confidence level for the touch based on the determined probability; and

comparing the confidence level for the touch to a predetermined confidence level.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the confidence level for the touch is based at least in part on determining a reliability of the touch.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a level of noise associated with measuring the acceleration of the touch.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein determining the probability that the touch is intentional is based at least in part on the level of noise.

8. A computing device comprising:

at least one processing unit; and

at least one memory storing computer readable instructions that when executed by the at least one processing unit cause the computing device to;

receive a first touch on a touch-sensitive display of a device;

receive at least a second touch at substantially the same time;

based at least in part on a proximity of a first location of the first touch and second location of the second touch, determine a probability that the first touch is intentional; and

based at least in part on the determined probability indicating that the first touch is an intentional touch, communicate an input associated with the touch to an application.

9. The computing device of claim 8, the computer readable instructions when executed by the at least one processing unit further causing the computing device to:

determine whether multiple touches are expected.

10. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the second location of the second touch is different than the first location of the first touch, the computer readable instructions when executed by the at least one processing unit further causing the computing device to:

determine that the second touch is a valid touch.

11. The computing device of claim 8, the computer readable instructions when executed by the at least one processing unit further causing the computing device to:

identify the first location of the first touch and the second location of the second touch within the touch-sensitive display.

12. The computing device of claim 11, the computer readable instructions when executed by the at least one processing unit further causing the computing device to determine an activity context comprising one or more of:

determine whether the first location of the first touch is in a window associated with an application; and

determine whether the application is active.

13. The computing device of claim 8, the computer readable instructions when executed by the at least one processing unit further causing the computing device to:

determine whether a profile of the touch matches a known gesture.

14. A computer storage device not consisting of a carrier wave and comprising computer readable instructions that when executed by a processing unit cause a computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving a touch on a touch-sensitive display of a device;

determining a time period over which the touch is received;

based at least in part on the time period and at least one other characteristic of the touch, determining a probability that the touch is intentional; and

based at least in part on the determined probability indicating that the touch is an intentional touch, communicating an input associated with the touch to an application.

15. The computer storage device not consisting of a carrier wave of claim 14, wherein the touch is represented by multiple different reliability values over the time period.

16. The computer storage device not consisting of a carrier wave of claim 14, further comprising determining an activity context comprising:

determining a second time period during which the application waited for an input.

17. The computer storage device not consisting of a carrier wave of claim 14, further comprising:

determining that the touch has progressed through a range of shapes and sizes over the time period.

18. The computer storage device not consisting of a carrier wave of claim 17, further comprising:

determining that the touch is not an intentional touch.

19. The computer storage device not consisting of a carrier wave of claim 14, further comprising:

determining that the touch moves outside of an expected region of contact over the time period.

20. The computer storage device not consisting of a carrier wave of claim 19, further comprising:

determining that a confidence level associate with the touch has decreased over the time period.