Touch-Sensitive Panel

• US 20110047494A1
• Filed: 01/23/2009
• Published: 02/24/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elo Touch Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Elo Touch Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Filton, Thomas, Chaine, Sebastien, Pelletier, Sebastien
• Granted Patent: US 9,489,089 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0436 in which generating transducers and detecting transducers are attached to a single acoustic waves transmission substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

The invention relates to a touch sensitive panel comprising a single interaction means with at least a first and a second interaction area, wherein the interaction means is transparent in the first interaction area, at least one transforming means for transforming a mechanical, in particular pressure, excitation of the at least first and/or second interaction area of the interaction means into respective signals, and a processing means configured to identify the position of the excitation based on the signals. It furthermore relates to a device comprising such touch sensitive panel. It furthermore relates to an improved drag and drop method.

Claims

1. Touch sensitive panel comprising:

a single interaction means (3) with at least a first and a second interaction area, wherein the interaction means is transparent in the first interaction area,

at least one transforming means for transforming a mechanical, in particular pressure, excitation of the at least first and/or second interaction area of the interaction means into a respective signal, and

a processing means configured to identify the position of the excitation based on the signal/signals.

2. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, wherein the second interaction area comprises secondary button areas and wherein the processing means (13) is configured to trigger predetermined actions upon an excitation of at least one of the secondary button areas.

3. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, wherein the second interaction area is opaque.

4. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, wherein the at least one transforming means and/or the processing means are arranged in the second interaction area.

5. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, wherein the transforming means and/or the processing means are embedded in the interaction means, preferably in the second interaction area.

6. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, wherein the first interaction area is positioned on a main surface of the single interaction means and the second interaction area is at least positioned on at least one side surface of the interaction means.

7. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, wherein the single interaction means, the at least one transforming means and the processing means form a module.

8. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, wherein the single interaction means furthermore comprises at least one additional third interaction area being transparent.

9. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, further comprising a writable area over the second interaction area.

10. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 1, wherein said touch sensitive panel comprises a laptop, an on-board computer, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television, a HiFi device, an automatic vending or teller machine, a playing console or a machine input device, comprising a screen with a display panel.

11. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 10, wherein the touch sensitive panel is arranged such that the first interaction area is over the display panel of the screen thereby forming a touch sensitive display and such that the second interaction area is positioned away from the display panel.

12. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 11, configured to carry out predetermined actions upon triggering by the processing means of an excitation at a predetermined area of the second interaction area, wherein the action is in particular linked to information displayed on the screen (soft key action) and/or linked to a hardware functionality.

13. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 10, configured to drag an action from the screen based on a triggered excitation on the first interaction area and to drop the action onto a secondary button area of the second interaction area based on a subsequent triggered excitation on the second interaction means.

14. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 10, wherein the second interaction area only extends over the area of the frame of the display panel.

15. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 10, wherein the interaction means extends laterally on at least one side over the device.

16. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 10, configured to carry out a scroll bar functionality in the screen based on excitations identified on at least one of the side surfaces of the interaction means.

17. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 10, comprising at least one interface configured to allow a connection with an external device and arranged within or adjacent the second interaction area:

wherein the second interaction area comprises a predetermined area assigned to the interface and

wherein the processing means is configured to trigger a predetermined interaction task between the device and the external device upon triggering of an excitation at the predetermined area assigned to the interface.

18. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 17, wherein the predetermined area assigned to the interface is adjacent, in particular touching, an edge region of the interface.

19. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 18, wherein the predetermined area assigned to the interface is encircling the interface.

20. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 17, wherein the interface is on the main surface of the single interaction means.

21. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 10, further comprising a secondary screen with a secondary display panel positioned underneath the third transparent interaction area.

22. Touch sensitive panel according to claim 21, comprising at least one interface configured to allow a connection with an external device and arranged within or adjacent the second interaction area:

wherein the processing means is configured to trigger a predetermined interaction task between the device and the external device upon triggering of an excitation of the third interaction area.

26. The touch sensitive panel according to claim 7, wherein said module attached to any device turns the device into a touch-sensitive device.

27. The touch sensitive panel according to claim 26, wherein said device provides additional input surfaces on the second interaction area.

23. Drag and Drop method, comprising the steps of:

dragging an object, wherein said dragging is carried out on a first location; and

dropping of the object, wherein said dropping is carried out at a second location;

wherein one of the first and second location is over a graphical user interface and the other of the first and second location is outside any graphical user interface.

24-25. -25. (canceled)