DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROL INTERFACE SENSITIVE TO A MOVEMENT OF A BODY OR OF AN OBJECT AND CONTROL EQUIPMENT INTEGRATING THIS DEVICE

• US 20120188200A1
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Published: 07/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quickstep Technologies, LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Nanotec Corporation
• Inventors: Roziere, Didier
• Granted Patent: US 8,917,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• 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 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• 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 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• 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 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0425 using a single imaging device like a video camera for tracking the absolute position of a single or a plurality of objects with respect to an imaged reference surface, e.g. video camera imaging a display or a projection screen, a table or a wall surface, on which a computer generated image is displayed or projected tracking a projected light spot to determine a position on a display surface G06F3/0386
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback

Abstract

A method and device is provided for control interface sensitive to a movement of a body or of an object and the control equipment integrating this device, in particular gestural and/or tactile and/or vocal, sensitive to a movement of at least one part of a body or of an object within a detection space, including a detection surface, at least one capacitive sensor, having a measurement electrode, a guard made of electrically conducting material disposed in proximity to the measurement electrodes, and electronic apparatus for processing the signals emanating from the at least one capacitive sensor. The active surfaces of the measurement electrodes are independent of one another, and an electronic device for excitation and processing interrogate these measurement electrodes independently of one another.

Claims

1. A device for control interface sensitive to a movement of a body or of an object, comprising:

a detection surface,

at least one capacitive sensor, said sensor(s) each comprising a measurement electrode including an active surface facing the detection surface, or substantially coinciding with said detection surface,

a guard of electrically conducting material disposed in proximity to the measurement electrodes at least along their face substantially opposite to the active surface, which guard is excited at an alternating (AC) electrical potential substantially identical to that of the measurement electrodes,

electronic means for exciting the measurement electrodes and processing the signals emanating from said capacitive sensors, so as to provide distance information between the active surface of the electrodes and said object,

the active surfaces of the measurement electrodes are independent of one another, and

the electronic means of excitation and processing are further arranged to interrogate said measurement electrodes independently of one another.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the electronic means of excitation and processing have a measurement extent enabling both:

detecting and identifying a relative movement of the body or of the object with respect to the active surface of the measurement electrodes, and

detecting a contact of said body or of said object with the detection surface.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the electronic means of excitation and processing are at least in part referenced to the electrical potential of the guard.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the electronic means of excitation and processing comprise scrutinising means enabling the measurement signals emanating from the capacitive sensors to be sequentially read, the electrodes which are not being scrutinised being connected to the potential of the guard.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the electronic means of excitation and processing comprise means enabling the measurement electrodes to be electrically gathered, so that said gathered electrodes make up a single measurement electrode.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that it further comprises a dielectric material disposed on the active surface side of the measurement electrodes, the surface of said dielectric material opposite to the electrodes making up the detection surface.

7. The device according to claim 5, characterised in that the dielectric material is disposed so as to be substantially contacting the active surface of the electrodes.

8. The device according to claim 5, characterised in that the dielectric material comprises a flexible material enabling the detection surface to be substantially deformed toward the measurement electrodes through local thinning of the material due to a supporting force.

9. The device according to claim 6, characterised in that the dielectric material comprises a substantially rigid plate, movable to the measurement electrodes due to a supporting force, at an angle depending on the point of application of said supporting force.

10. The device according to claim 1, characterised in that the detection surface has relief shapes marking out controls.

11. A control equipment providing a man-machine interface function integrating a device for control interface according to claim 1.

12. A multiscale gestural interface integrating a device for control interface according to claim 1, characterised in that it further comprises optical imaging means.

13. A multiscale gestural interface integrating a device for control interface according to claim 1, characterised in that it further comprises vocal recognition means.

14. A multiscale gestural interface integrating a device for control interface according to claim 1, characterised in that it further comprises optical imaging means and vocal recognition means.

15. A method for control interface sensitive to a movement of a body or of an object, implementing a device according to claim 1, comprising:

exciting one or more measurement electrodes within at least one capacitive sensor, said measurement electrodes (i) including an active surface facing a detection surface, or substantially coinciding with said detection surface, and (ii) being provided with a guard of electrically conducting material disposed in proximity to the measurement electrodes at least along their face substantially opposite to the active surface,

exciting said guard to an alternating (AC) electrical potential substantially identical to that of the measurement electrodes,

processing signals emanating from said capacitive sensors, so as to provide distance information between the active surface of the electrodes and said object, and the measurement electrodes have independent active surfaces and are interrogated independently of one another.

16. The method according to claim 15, comprising measuring at least one distance between an object and a detection surface,

processing said distance measurements to provide approach information, characterised in that it further comprises:

measuring the contact between the object and the detection surface, and

processing said contact measurements to provide touch information.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterised in that

processing the distance measurements comprises detecting the position of the object in space obtained at least from distance measurements and knowledge about the disposition of the capacitive sensors, and in that

processing the contact measurements comprises identifying the capacitive sensors which have detected a contact between the object and the detection surface.

18. The method according to claim 16, characterised in that it further comprises:

measuring the displacement of the detection surface due to the object,

processing said displacement measurements to provide support information.

19. The method according to claim 16, characterised in that it further comprises a step of determining controls, which controls are conditioned at least by at least any of the approach, touch and supporting information.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterised in that at least one control determined by any of the touch and supporting information is conditioned by the approach information.

21. The method according to claim 19, characterised in that at least one control is conditioned by the time variation of at least any of the approach, touch and supporting information.

22. The method according to claim 16, implementing a multiscale gestural interface having optical imaging means, characterised in that it further comprises:

a step of detecting the object through optical imaging, providing image information, and

a step of processing this image information to determine one or more controls.

23. The method according to claim 16, implementing a gestural interface, having vocal recognition means characterised in that it further comprises:

a step of vocal recognition, and

a step of processing this image information to determine one or several controls.

24. The method according to claim 16, implementing a gestural interface having optical imaging means and vocal recognition means, characterised in that it further comprises:

a step of detecting the objet through optical imaging, providing image information,

a step of processing this image information to determine one or several controls,

a step of vocal recognition, and

a step of processing this speech information to determine one or more controls.