TOUCH SENSOR

• US 20120188201A1
• Filed: 08/06/2010
• Published: 07/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ronald Peter Binstead
• Original Assignee: Ronald Peter Binstead
• Inventors: Binstead, Ronald Peter
• Granted Patent: US 9,035,903 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 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 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

A touch sensor for sensing user input comprising one or more elements. At least a portion of one or more if the elements is configured to be desensitized, in order to determine the location of one or more user inputs.

Claims

1. A touch sensor comprising:

one or more elements;

wherein at least a portion of the one or more elements is configured to be desensitized in order to determine the location of one or more user inputs.

2. The touch screen of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the one or more elements is configured to be desensitized in order to distinguish between multiple user inputs.

3. The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor is one or more of a capacitive touch sensor, an inductive touch sensor and a resistive touch sensor.

4. The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the elements comprise one or more sensing elements, and wherein at least a portion of one or more of the sensing elements is configured to be coupled to ground to be desensitized.

5. The touch sensor of claim 4, wherein at least a portion of one or more of the sensing elements is configured to be coupled to an active backplane signal to be sensitized.

6. The touch sensor of claim 5, further comprising a switch configured to couple the sensing element to either ground or the active backplane.

7. The touch sensor of claim 4, wherein at least a portion of one or more of the sensing elements is configured to be coupled to an element that is electrically floating to be sensitized.

8. The touch sensor of claim 7, further comprising a switch configured to couple the sensing element to ground or to an element that is electrically floating.

9. The touch sensor of claim 4, further comprising one or more controllable elements, wherein a region of a controllable element is proximal to a region of a sensing element in order to provide a sensing region of the sensing element.

10. The touch sensor of claim 9, wherein the one or more sensing elements are aligned in a different direction to the controllable elements such that the sensing elements and controllable elements intersect in order to provide the sensing region.

11. The touch sensor of claim 9, wherein at least part of the one or more sensing elements are aligned in substantially the same direction as, and proximal to, at least part of one or more of the controllable elements in order to provide the sensing region.

12. The touch sensor of claim 10, wherein the direction of the one or more sensing elements is substantially perpendicular to the direction of the one or more controllable elements.

13. The touch sensor of claim 9, wherein the one or more controllable elements are configured to be controlled such that the sensing regions are either sensitized or desensitized.

14. The touch sensor of claim 13, wherein the touch sensor is configured to couple a controllable element to ground in order to desensitize the corresponding sensing regions.

15. The touch sensor of claim 13, wherein the touch sensor is configured to leave a controllable element electrically floating in order to sensitize the corresponding sensing regions.

16. The touch sensor of claim 15, further comprising a switch configured to couple a controllable element to ground in order to desensitize the corresponding sensing regions, or leave the controllable element electrically floating to sensitize the corresponding sensing regions.

17. The touch sensor of claim 13, wherein the touch sensor is configured to couple a controllable element to an active backplane signal in order to sensitize the corresponding sensing regions.

18. The touch sensor of claim 17, further comprising a switch configured to couple a controllable element to ground in order to desensitize the corresponding sensing regions, or couple the controllable element to the active backplane signal to sensitize the corresponding sensing regions.

19. The touch sensor of claim 16, comprising a switch for each controllable element.

20. The touch sensor of claim 16, wherein the switch, or switches, is/are electronic switches.

21. The touch sensor of claim 13, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller is configured to periodically control the controllable elements such that each controllable element in turn is configured to desensitize corresponding sensing regions.

22. The touch sensor of claim 13, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller is configured to periodically control the controllable elements such that each controllable element in turn is configured to sensitize corresponding sensing regions.

23. The touch sensor of claim 20, further comprising a controller, configured to operate the switch, or switches, in accordance with information received from one or more of the sensing elements.

24. The touch sensor of claim 23, wherein the controller is configured to determine which of the controllable elements should be controlled in order to distinguish between multiple user inputs represented by the signals returned from one or more of the sensing elements.

25. The touch sensor of claim 24, wherein the controller is configured to control a controllable element in order to desensitize a previously sensitized corresponding sensing region that corresponds to a location of one of multiple user inputs.

26. The touch sensor of claim 23, wherein the controller is configured to control the controllable elements in order to sensitize all of the sensing elements, and the controller is then configured to repeatedly:

receive information from the sensing elements; and

in response to the information received from the sensing elements, control the controllable elements in order to desensitize corresponding sensing regions;

until multiple user input is distinguishable.

27. The touch sensor of claim 9, wherein one or more of the sensing elements are configured as controllable elements and/or one or more of the controllable elements are configured as sensing elements.

28. The touch sensor of claim 27, wherein all of the sensing elements are also configured as controllable elements, and the controller is configured to control the controllable elements such that a single sensing region between two controllable elements is configured to be touch sensitive.

29. The touch sensor of claim 9, wherein the sensing elements and controllable elements are wire elements, wherein a portion of a sensing element follows a path that is substantially parallel to, and substantially adjacent to, a portion of a controllable element in a region of the touch sensor such that the portions of the sensing element and controllable element that correspond with each other provide sensing regions.

30. The touch sensor of claim 23, wherein the controller is configured to control the controllable elements such that all of the sensing elements are sensitized when no user input, or a single user input, is received.

31. The touch sensor of claim 23, wherein the controller is configured to implement a mode of operation in accordance with the information received from the one or more sensing elements.

32. The touch sensor of claim 1, wherein the elements are configured to determine user input using projected capacitance.

33. The touch sensor of claim 1, comprising a wire connected to one or more of the elements, and a shield provided in proximity to the wire such that the wire is not sensitive to touch.

34. The touch sensor of claim 33, wherein the shield is a grounded wire.

35. The touch sensor of claim 1, comprising a controller, and wherein the one or more elements comprise a first set of one or more elements and a second set of one or more elements, wherein both the first set and second set of elements are configured to be operable as both sensing and controlling elements, and

wherein the controller is configured to determine a preliminary location of one or more user inputs using the first set of elements as sensing elements and the second set of elements as controllable elements, and determine a secondary location of one or more user inputs using the first set of elements as controllable elements and the second set of elements as sensing elements, and

the controller is further configured to determine a composite location of the one or more user inputs in accordance with the preliminary location and the secondary location.

36. An electronic device comprising the touch sensor according to claim 1.

38. A computer program, which when run on a computer, causes the computer to configure the touch sensor of claim 1.

37. A method of operating a touch sensor, the touch sensor comprising one or more elements, the method comprising:

desensitizing at least a portion of the one or more elements in order to determine the location of one or more user inputs.