CONTACT TRACKING AND IDENTIFICATION MODULE FOR TOUCH SENSING

• US 20090251438A1
• Filed: 04/10/2009
• Published: 10/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: John G. Elias, Wayne Westerman
• Original Assignee: John G. Elias, Wayne Westerman
• Inventors: ELIAS, John G., WESTERMAN, Wayne
• Granted Patent: US 8,466,881 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/24137 Distances to cluster centroïds
• 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 2203/04104 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 2203/04106 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 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0235 using chord techniques G06F3/0234 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• 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 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/19173 Classification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/1983 Syntactic or structural pattern recognition, e.g. symbolic string recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/107 : Static hand or arm
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/9622 : using a plurality of detectors, e.g. keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960725 : Charge-transfer

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for simultaneously tracking multiple finger and palm contacts as hands approach, touch, and slide across a proximity-sensing, multi-touch surface. Identification and classification of intuitive hand configurations and motions enables unprecedented integration of typing, resting, pointing, scrolling, 3D manipulation, and handwriting into a versatile, ergonomic computer input device.

Claims

1. A method for providing input to a computing device having an associated touch sensitive surface, the method comprising:

detecting a plurality of touch devices on or near the touch sensitive surface;

identifying a group of contacts including two or more contacts based on the detected touch devices;

tracking the path of the group of contacts as a whole and the paths of individual contacts within the group of contacts;

generating a first event signal when the individual contacts within the group of contacts are moved or generating a second event signal when the group of contacts is moved as a whole.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein identifying the group of contacts further comprises obtaining a sequence of proximity images by scanning a plurality of capacitive sensors associated with the touch sensitive surface.

3. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the group of contacts corresponds to a group of fingers on a single hand.

4. The method as recited in claim 3 further comprising performing at least one manipulation task based on a determined motion attributed to the group of contacts as a whole in response to the second event signal.

5. The method as recited in claim 4 further comprising generating the determined motion by performing at least one of finger translation weighting and finger velocity component nonlinear scaling depending on relative speed between fingers.

6. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein the at least one manipulation task is at least one of a whole hand translation, a hand scaling by uniformly flexing or extending the fingers, a hand rotation about a wrist of the hand, and a rotation between fingers.

7. The method as recited in claim 1 further comprising performing at least one manipulation task based on motion of the individual contacts within the group of contacts in response to the first event signal.

8. An apparatus for providing input to a computing device having an associated touch sensitive surface, the apparatus comprising:

a contact identifier for identifying a group of contacts including two or more contacts corresponding to multiple touch devices detected on or near the surface of the touch sensitive device;

a path tracker for tracking the paths of the group of contacts as a whole and the paths of individual contacts within the group of contacts;

an event generator for generating a first event signal when the individual contacts within the group of contacts are moved or for generating a second event signal when the group of contacts is moved as a whole.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein the contact identifier identifies the group of contacts by obtaining a sequence of proximity images by scanning a plurality of capacitive sensors associated with the touch sensitive surface.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein the group of contacts corresponds to a group of fingers on a single hand.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 10 wherein at least one manipulation task is performed in response to the second event signal based on a determined motion attributed to the group of contacts as a whole.

12. The apparatus as recited in claim 11 wherein the determined motion is generated by performing at least one of finger translation weighting and finger velocity component nonlinear scaling depending on relative speed between fingers.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 11 wherein the at least one manipulation task is at least one of a whole hand translation, a hand scaling by uniformly flexing or extending the fingers, a hand rotation about a wrist of the hand, and a hand rotation between the fingers.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 8 wherein a manipulation task is performed in response to the first event signal based on motion of the individual contacts within the group of contacts.

15. A computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by an apparatus, the apparatus including a touch sensitive surface that provides input to a computing system, cause the apparatus to:

detect a plurality of touch devices on or near the touch sensitive surface;

identify a group of contacts including two or more contacts based on the detected touch devices;

track the path of the group of contacts as a whole and the paths of individual contacts within the group of contacts;

generate a first event signal when the individual contacts within the group of contacts are moved or generate a second event signal when the group of contacts is moved as a whole.

16. The computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 15 wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to obtain a sequence of proximity images by scanning a plurality of capacitive sensors associated with the touch sensitive surface.

17. The computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 15 wherein the group of contacts corresponds to a group of fingers on a single hand.

18. The computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 15 wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to perform at least one manipulation task in response to the second event signal based on a determined motion attributed to the group of contacts as a whole.

19. The computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 18 wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to generate the determined motion by performing at least one of finger translation weighting and finger velocity component nonlinear scaling depending on relative speed between fingers.

20. The computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 18 wherein the at least one manipulation task is at least a whole hand translation, a hand scaling by uniformly flexing or extending the fingers, a hand rotation about a wrist of the hand, and a hand rotation between the fingers.

21. The computer readable storage medium as recited in claim 15 wherein the instructions further cause the apparatus to perform at least one manipulation task in response to the first event signal based on motion of the individual contacts within the group of contacts.