Acoustic wave touch bar system and method of use
First Claim
1. An acoustic wave touch bar system comprising:
- a bar including an acoustic cavity formed therein such that the mass per unit area of the acoustic cavity is greater than the mass per unit area of a portion of the bar adjacent the cavity and a surface of the acoustic cavity forming a touch surface for actuating the touch bar system; and
an acoustic wave transducer positioned in the acoustic wave cavity of the bar, the transducer generating an acoustic wave that is substantially trapped in the acoustic cavity, wherein a touch on the touch surface of the cavity produces a detectable change in an output of the transducer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Certain embodiments provide an acoustic wave touch bar system and method of use. Certain embodiments include a bar having two portions of reduced cross-section forming an acoustic cavity in the portion of the bar between the reduced cross-sections. The system includes an acoustic wave transducer positioned on the acoustic wave cavity, wherein the transducer generates an acoustic standing wave that is substantially trapped in the acoustic cavity. The system also includes a circuit coupled to the transducer and responsive to a change in an output of the transducer to detect a touch on a touch surface of the bar. The circuit may be a programmable and/or adaptive circuit, for example. The circuit may detect a change in an exponentially decaying response of the transducer indicating that the touch surface of the bar has been touched.
27 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An acoustic wave touch bar system comprising:
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a bar including an acoustic cavity formed therein such that the mass per unit area of the acoustic cavity is greater than the mass per unit area of a portion of the bar adjacent the cavity and a surface of the acoustic cavity forming a touch surface for actuating the touch bar system; and
an acoustic wave transducer positioned in the acoustic wave cavity of the bar, the transducer generating an acoustic wave that is substantially trapped in the acoustic cavity, wherein a touch on the touch surface of the cavity produces a detectable change in an output of the transducer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An acoustic wave touch bar system comprising:
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a bar, wherein said bar includes two reduced cross-sections forming an acoustic cavity in a portion of the bar between the reduced cross-sections;
an acoustic wave transducer positioned on the acoustic wave cavity portion of the bar, wherein said transducer generates an acoustic wave that is substantially trapped in the acoustic cavity; and
a circuit coupled to said transducer and responsive to a change in a characteristic of said transducer to detect a touch on a touch surface of said bar. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for detecting a touch on a touch responsive bar comprising:
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forming two areas of reduced cross-section in the bar;
creating an acoustic wave cavity in the bar between the two areas of reduced cross-section;
creating an indentation in the acoustic wave cavity portion of the bar;
positioning a transducer in the indentation to generate an acoustic wave in the acoustic wave cavity; and
providing a touch detection signal based on a change in an output of the transducer to detect a touch on the bar.
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26. A method for detecting a touch on a touch responsive bar, wherein said touch responsive bar includes a touch responsive portion, said method comprising:
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generating a standing acoustic wave in the touch responsive portion of the bar;
determining a value representing the time that the acoustic wave in the touch responsive area decays to a predetermined level in an absence of a touch;
comparing the value to a reference to determine whether the subsequent value represents a touch on the touch responsive portion of the bar; and
generating a signal indicating a touch on the touch responsive portion of the bar. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification