CLEANABLE TOUCH AND TAP-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD

• US 20090073128A1
• Filed: 09/19/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Typesoft Technologies Incorporated (Apple Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cleankeys, Inc.
• Inventors: Marsden, Randal J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,325,141 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/168
• 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 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0231 Cordless keyboards

Abstract

A touch sensitive surface having touch-capacitive and vibration sensors. This surface allows the user to rest their fingers on the keys and type as they would on a regular keyboard. As the user places their fingers on the keys, the touch capacitive sensors (one per key) report the signal strength level of each key touched to a processor, but no keystroke is issued by the processor until a corresponding “tap” (ie. vibration) is detected. When a tap is detected, the processor references the status of the touch capacitance sensors before, during, and/or immediately after the moment in time the tap occurred.

Claims

1. A method of detecting user input on a solid planar touch-sensitive surface to determine the location of a user'"'"'s input, the method comprising:

recording user touches of the touch-sensitive surface based on a plurality of touch sensors included in the touch-sensitive surface;

receiving a tap event signal from one or more vibration sensors coupled to the touch-sensitive surface based on a tap event sensed by the one or more vibration sensors; and

asserting a selection after the tap event signal is received based on the recorded user touches.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface comprises a plurality of alphanumeric keys associated with corresponding touch sensors.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the touch-sensitive surface comprises first tactile markers identifying the location of each key.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first tactile markers are shallow indentations on the touch-sensitive surface.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein second tactile markers that are distinguished from first tactile markers are placed on predesignated home keys.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein second tactile markers that are distinguished from first tactile markers are placed on outer-lying keys.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising emitting an audible sound when a selection is asserted.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining when one of the touch sensors has been touched according to a sliding motion.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the asserted selection is associated with one of the touch sensors that was not recently determined to have been touched according to the sliding motion.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a wiping motion based on the recorded user touches; and

suspending assertions when a wiping motion has been detected.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising removing one or more selections asserted before detection of the wipe motion.

12. The method of claim 2, further comprising communicating with a host computer by wired or wireless methods.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface performs the function of a mouse pointing device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface is a touch-screen on a dynamic display computing device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface comprises a numeric keypad.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface is user definable.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein sensitivity of the touch sensors is adjustable.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensitivity of the vibration sensors is adjustable.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sensing when the user is about to use the surface; and

changing from a low power consumption state of the surface to a full power operation state when it is sensed the user is about to use the surface.

20. The method of claim 2, wherein asserting generates a command signal after a combination of keys have been asserted.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a number of recorded user touches since a predefined condition; and

enabling a warning indicator if the determined number of recorded user touches exceeds a threshold.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising cumulatively recording the level of user interaction with the touch surface until a first contamination threshold is reached.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising asserting an alert when the first contamination threshold is reached.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the alert is at least one of a warning light, an audible sound, a vibration, or a command sent to a host computer terminal.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein cumulatively recording is continued until a first user cleaning threshold is exceeded.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the first user cleaning threshold is based on a number of wipes and touch surface area wiped.

27. The method of claim 25, further comprising unasserting the alert when the cleaning level threshold is exceeded.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein the first user cleaning threshold is based on an array of the touch sensors.

29. The method of claim 23, wherein the level of user interaction comprises one or more of recorded user touches, received tap events, sensed movements of the surface or determinations when the user is in close proximity of the device.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein a key is asserted to be held down by tapping the surface at the location of the key, lifting and then tapping and holding again in quick succession.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein a key that is asserted to be held down is released by lifting off the key.

32. The method of claim 2, further comprising suspending operation of the surface by activating a disabling key combination of one of a single key, two or more simultaneous key activations, or a series of two or more sequential key presses.

33. The method of claim 2, wherein user settings are changeable on the touch surface.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the user settings are displayed on a plurality of LED indicators.

35. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sensing movement of the touch surface; and

suspending operation of the surface if the sensed movement is above a predefined threshold.

36. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving a second tap event signal; and

asserting a key press and hold event based on the received second tap event signal and a recorded user touch on the same key associated with the previous asserted selection.

37. A method of detecting user input on a solid planar touch-sensitive surface wherein touch sensors only are included to determine the location of the users input, the method comprising:

recording user touches of the touch-sensitive surface based on a plurality of touch sensors included in the touch-sensitive surface;

determining if a recorded user touch changes according to a predefined change threshold; and

asserting a selection if user touches are determined to change according to the predefined change threshold.