Tomographic processing for touch detection

• US 10,019,113 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2014
• Issued: 07/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FlatFrog Laboratories AB
• Original Assignee: FlatFrog Laboratories AB
• Inventors: Christiansson, Tomas, Ohlsson, Nicklas, Andreasson, Markus
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin, Hang
• Application Number:
  US14/783,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20160299593A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,553 Days
• 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 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means

Abstract

A signal processor in a touch-sensitive apparatus generates a 2D representation of touch interaction on a touch surface by tomographic processing. The signal processor generates observed values for detection lines that correspond to signal propagation paths across the touch surface. The observed values correspond to sampling points in a sample space defined by a first dimension representing a rotation angle of the detection line on the touch surface and a second dimension representing a distance of the detection line from a predetermined origin on the touch surface. The signal processor processes the observed values, by interpolation in the sample space, to generate estimated values for matched sampling points in the sample space using a tomographic reconstruction function.

Claims

1. A touch-sensitive apparatus comprising:

a panel;

a plurality of light emitters and a plurality of light detectors arranged at a periphery of the panel, wherein the plurality of light emitters are configured to transmit light signals to a plurality of light detectors to define detection lines that extend across a non-circular touch surface on the panel between pairs of the plurality of light emitters and the plurality of light detectors, and wherein the plurality of light detectors are configured to generate an output signal based on the transmitted light signals; and

a hardware processor configured to;

generate a set of observed values for at least a subset of the detection lines based on the output signal, wherein the observed values correspond to sampling points in a two-dimensional sample space, in which a first dimension is defined by an angle parameter that represents a rotation angle of the detection line in a plane of the panel and a second dimension is defined by a distance parameter that represents a distance of the detection line in the plane of the panel from a predetermined origin;

generate estimated values for matched sampling points in the two-dimensional sample space based on interpolation of the observed values, wherein the matched sampling points are arranged to form a plurality of columns of matched sampling points in the two-dimensional sample space, wherein the plurality of columns of matched sampling points extend in the second dimension and include a spacing between immediately adjacent columns in the first dimension, and wherein the spacing between the immediately adjacent columns is variable in the plurality of columns of matched sampling points, and wherein at least some of the plurality of columns of matched sampling points are arranged to coincide with alignment lines that are defined by locations of the sampling points in the two-dimensional sample space;

execute a tomographic reconstruction function on the estimated values for the matched sampling points; and

generate a two-dimensional representation of touch interaction on the touch surface based on the executed tomographic reconstruction function.

2. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 1, wherein the respective alignment line is defined to extend through at least two sampling points in the two-dimensional sample space.

3. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 1, wherein the respective alignment line is defined to extend through at least two sampling points that are aligned with respect to the first dimension in the two-dimensional sample space.

4. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 1, wherein the respective alignment line is defined by sampling points that represent detection lines that extend in parallel across the touch surface.

5. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 1, wherein the touch surface is quadrilateral and comprises at least two opposite sides that are essentially parallel and at least two adjacent sides, and wherein the plurality of light emitters and the plurality of light detectors are arranged along a perimeter of the touch surface, such that the detection lines extend between the at least two opposite sides and between the at least two adjacent sides of the touch surface, wherein the alignment lines are defined by the detection lines that extend between the at least two opposite sides.

6. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 5, wherein the detection lines that extend between the at least two opposite sides correspond to sampling points that are located within one or more confined sub-portions of the two-dimensional sample space, wherein the sampling points within the one or more confined sub-portions form a plurality of columnated clusters of sampling points, and wherein the alignment lines are defined to be co-located with a respective columnated cluster of sampling points.

7. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 6, wherein the columnated clusters correspond to disjoint sets of sampling points within the one or more confined sub-portions.

8. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 6, wherein the columnated clusters are spaced-apart in the first dimension within the one or more confined sub-portions.

9. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 6, wherein the columnated clusters are identified by cluster analysis among the sampling points within the one or more sub-portions, wherein the cluster analysis is configured to identify a predefined number of columnated clusters by clustering the sampling points only based on the value of the angle parameter for the respective sampling point.

10. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 6, wherein the plurality of light emitters and the plurality of light detectors are arranged such that the detection lines that extend between the at least two opposite sides of the touch surface form groups of detection lines with mutually different rotation angles in the plane of the panel, wherein the detection lines within the respective group have mutually similar rotational angles, and wherein the columnated clusters correspond to the groups of detection lines.

11. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 10, wherein at least a subset of the groups consist of mutually parallel detection lines, wherein at least a subset of the columnated clusters consist of a respective column of sampling points in the tow-dimensional sample space, and wherein at least a subset of the alignment lines are defined to coincide with the columns of sampling points.

12. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 6, wherein the signal processor is configured to apply a first interpolation function to generate the estimated values for matched sampling points that are located within at least one of the one or more confined sub-portions and apply a second interpolation function to generate the estimated values for matched sampling points that are located outside the one or more confined sub-portions.

13. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first interpolation function is configured to generate the estimated value for the respective matched sampling point on a given alignment line by interpolation only among observed values for the sampling points within the columnated cluster that defines the given alignment line, and wherein the second interpolation function is configured to generate the estimated value for the respective matched sampling point by interpolation among observed values for the sampling points that are located outside the one or more confined sub-portions.

14. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 12, wherein each columnated cluster consists of a column of sampling points in the two-dimensional sample space, wherein the respective alignment line is defined to coincide with a respective column of sampling points, wherein the first interpolation function is configured to generate the estimated value for the respective matched sampling point by interpolation only among sampling points that are only displaced in the second dimension from the respective matched sampling point, and wherein the second interpolation function is configured to generate the estimated value for the respective matched sampling point by interpolation among observed values for sampling points that are displaced in any of the first and second dimensions from the respective matched sampling point.

15. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate the estimated value for the respective matched sampling point as a weighted combination of the observed values for a respective set of sampling points.

16. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 15, wherein the signal processor is configured to generate the weighted combination for the respective matched sampling point by applying a weight factor to the observed value for each sampling point in the respective set of sampling points, wherein the weight factor is a function of a distance in the two-dimensional sample space between the respective matched sampling point and said each sampling point.

17. The touch-sensitive apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to generate the observed values to be indicative of a decrease in signal energy caused by objects in contact or proximity with the touch surface.

18. A method of enabling touch determination on a non-circular touch surface of a panel, wherein a plurality of light emitters and a plurality of light detectors are arranged at a periphery of the panel, the plurality of light emitters are configured to transmit light signals to a plurality of light detectors to define detection lines that extend across the non-circular touch surface on the panel between pairs of the plurality of light emitters and the plurality of light detectors, the method comprising:

receiving an output signal generated from the plurality of light detectors based on the transmitted light signals;

generating a set of observed values based on the output signal for at least a subset of the detection lines, wherein the observed values correspond to sampling points in a two-dimensional sample space, in which a first dimension is defined by an angle parameter that represents a rotation angle of the detection in the plane of the panel, and a second dimension is defined by a distance parameter that represents a distance of the detection line in a plane of the panel from a predetermined origin;

generating estimated values for matched sampling points in the two-dimensional sample space based on interpolation of the observed values, wherein the matched sampling points are arranged to form a plurality of columns of matched sampling points in the two-dimensional sample space, wherein the plurality of columns extend in the second dimension and include a spacing between immediately adjacent columns in the first dimension, and wherein the spacing between the immediately adjacent columns is variable in the plurality of columns of matched sampling points, and wherein at least some of the plurality of columns of matched sampling points are arranged to coincide with alignment lines that are defined by locations of the sampling points in the two-dimensional sample space;

executing a tomographic reconstruction function on the estimated values for the matched sampling points; and

generating a two-dimensional representation of touch interaction on the touch surface based on the executed tomographic reconstruction function.