Touch sensitive device with multi-sensor stream synchronized data

• US 10,642,404 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2015
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qeexo Co. (TDK Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Qeexo Co. (TDK Corporation)
• Inventors: Harrison, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Adams, Carl
• Application Number:
  US14/834,434
• Publication Number:
  US 20170060279A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,716 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• 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 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means

Abstract

Touch sensitive devices having sensor systems and sensor systems for use with touch sensitive devices are provided. A vibration sensor senses vibrations and a touch sensor senses contact with an object. Vibration data representing sensed vibration is stored in a sensor data memory and touch data indicative of contact between the object and the touch sensitive surface is stored in the sensor data memory in temporal association with the vibration data. The touch data and the temporal association with vibration data can be used to identify segments of the vibration data that are of interest.

Claims

1. A touch sensitive device, comprising:

a touch sensor system having a touch sensitive surface that senses contact made by an object to or proximate to the touch sensitive surface and that generates touch signals indicative of the contact sensed by the touch sensor system;

a vibration sensor system that senses vibrations that occur when the contact is made by the object to the touch sensitive surface and that senses vibrations that are not associated with the contact and that generates vibration signals indicative of the vibrations sensed by the vibration sensor system;

a sensor data memory; and

at least one controller adapted to receive the vibration signals and to cause vibration data indicative of particular vibrations sensed during each of a plurality of sample periods to be stored in a vibration data in the sensor data memory, wherein the controller is further adapted to receive the touch signals and to cause touch data to be stored in the sensor data memory in temporal association with the vibration data record, wherein the at least one controller provides a first portion of the vibration record data that is in temporal association with the touch data for the contact to a processor, and wherein the at least one controller does not provide a second portion of the vibration data that is not in temporal association with the touch data for the contact to the processor so that the second portion of the vibration data corresponds to vibrations that are not associated with the contact.

2. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the vibration sensor senses at least one of vibrations of the touch sensitive device, vibrations of a medium proximate to the touch sensitive device and acoustic vibrations.

3. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the vibration sensor comprises a touch sensor that senses conditions indicative of the touch.

4. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the touch data is stored in a touch data record, and wherein the touch data indicates whether there is contact between the object and the touch sensitive surface during a sample period.

5. The touch sensitive device of claim 4, wherein a duration of the sample periods is changed in response to a touch signal indicating the proximate presence of an object.

6. The touch sensitive device of claim 5, wherein a sensor hub is joined to a main bus such that the sensor system data and touch data are provided to the sensor hub without passing through the main bus.

7. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor system is adapted to sense when the object is in a position that is proximate to but not in contact with the touch sensitive surface and generates a touch signal from which the controller further stores data in the touch data indicating the proximate presence of the object that is not in contact with the touch sensitive surface.

8. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the temporal association comprises providing a data structure having vibration data representing sensed vibrations during a plurality of sequential sample periods having a logical association with touch data representing sensed contact with the touch sensitive surface during each of the plurality of sequential sample periods such that the touch data can be used to identify a segment of the vibration data that may have been sensed at a time of contact between an object and the touch sensitive surface.

9. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the temporal association comprises providing a sequential data structure having vibration data representing sensed vibrations during a plurality of sequential or substantially sequential periods arranged in association with touch data associated with the sequential data structure such that the touch data can be used to identify a segment of the vibration data that may have been sensed at a time of contact between an object and the touch sensitive surface.

10. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the sensor data memory is located in a sensor hub that is linked to the touch sensor system and the vibration sensor system.

11. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller comprises a touch sensor system driver and wherein the sensor data memory is positioned in the touch sensor system.

12. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller comprises a vibration sensor system driver and wherein the sensor data memory is positioned in the touch sensor system.

13. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, further comprising sensor hub and wherein the at least one controller comprises a driver in the sensor hub and wherein the sensor data memory is positioned in the sensor hub.

14. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, wherein the sensor data memory is at the processor and wherein the at least one controller is at least one of a touch sensor system driver, a sensor system driver and a driver in a sensor hub.

15. The touch sensitive device of claim 1, further comprising object classification unit that analyzes a segment of the vibration data and the touch data to classify an object contacting the touch sensitive surface.

16. The sensitive device of claim 1 wherein the vibration is an acoustic vibration.

17. A sensor system for use in a touch sensitive device, comprising:

a first sensor adapted to sense a first physical condition experienced at the touch sensitive device and to generate a first sensor signal, the first physical condition associated with when a contact is made by an object proximate to or in direct contact with the touch sensitive surface and that generates the first sensor signal; and

a sensor driver adapted to receive the first sensor signal and store first sensor data in a sensor data memory representing conditions, including the first physical condition, sensed during each of a sequence of sample periods and further adapted to receive a vibration signal indicative of a plurality of conditions, including the first physical condition and a second physical condition experienced at the touch sensitive device, and to store second sensor data for the vibration signal in the sensor data memory in temporal association with the first sensor data, wherein the second physical condition is independent of the first physical condition;

wherein the sensor driver is adapted to provide a first portion of the first sensor data and the second sensor data that are temporally associated together in association with the first physical condition to a processor, and wherein the sensor driver is adapted to not provide a second portion of the first sensor data and the second sensor data that are temporally associated together in association with the second physical condition to a processor.

18. The sensor system of claim 17, further comprising a second sensor adapted to sense the first and second physical condition experienced at the touch sensitive device and to generate the second sensor signal.

19. The sensor system of claim 17, wherein sensor data memory is located in one of the first sensor, the second sensor, a sensor hub and the processor.