User interfaces and associated apparatus and methods

• US 8,248,376 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2008
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Brown, Murray, Cox, Simon, Clay, Graham
• Primary Examiner(s): Pardo, Thuy
• Application Number:
  US12/274,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20100123677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,371 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 345/178, 345/161
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment

Abstract

Apparatus comprising one or more inputs configured to receive a configurable control signal from a configurable signal generator; and a non-calibrated touch input signal from a touch sensor. Said non-calibrated touch input signal generated by detecting both internal and external forces applied to the touch sensor. The apparatus also comprises a calibrator configured to process the non-calibrated touch input signal and the configurable control signal to remove the contribution of the internal forces from the non-calibrated signal to generate a calibrated signal, the calibrated signal for use in the detection of an external force applied to the touch sensor.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

one or more inputs configured to receive;

a configurable control signal from a configurable signal generator; and

a non-calibrated touch input signal from a touch sensor, said non-calibrated touch input signal generated by detecting internal forces or both the internal forces and an external force applied to the touch sensor; and

a calibrator configured to process the non-calibrated touch input signal and the configurable control signal to remove the contribution of the internal forces from the non-calibrated signal to generate a calibrated signal, the calibrated signal for use in the detection of the external force applied to the touch sensor, wherein the internal forces exist in the touch sensor before applying the external force, and the calibrator is configured to remove the contribution of the internal forces from the non-calibrated signal using the configurable control signal when the external force is applied or not applied to the touch sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the configurable control signal is an oscillating signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein characteristics of the configurable control signal are set such that the calibrated signal meets a threshold condition when no external force.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the characteristics can comprise one or more of:

mark-space ratio, frequency and amplitude.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the configurable control signal is a triangular waveform that has been generated by integrating a pulse width modulated signal over time.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the calibrated signal is integrated over time to generate an integrated output signal.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the calibrator comprises an operational amplifier.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the negative input of the operational amplifier is controlled by negative feedback from the output of the operational amplifier.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the calibrator comprises a comparator.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein characteristics of the configurable control signal are set at times when it is assumed that no external force is being applied to the touch sensor such that the calibrated signal satisfies a threshold condition when no external force is applied, and wherein characteristics of the calibrated signal is representative of an external force applied to the touch sensor.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the characteristics of the configurable control signal are set periodically such that the calibrated signal tends towards a threshold condition, and wherein the characteristics of the configurable control signal are representative of an external force applied to the touch sensor.

12. A capacitive touch screen comprising the apparatus of claim 1.

13. A portable electronic device comprising the apparatus according to claim 1.

14. A module for a device, the module comprising the apparatus of claim 1.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said contribution of the internal forces is a DC offset.

16. A method of generating a calibrated signal for use in the detection of an external force applied to a touch sensor, comprising:

receiving a non-calibrated touch input signal representative of internal forces or both the internal forces and the external force applied to the touch sensor;

receiving a configurable control signal from a configurable signal generator; and

processing the non-calibrated touch input signal and the configurable control signal to remove the contribution of the internal forces from the non-calibrated signal to generate a calibrated signal, the calibrated signal for use in the detection of the external force applied to the touch sensor, wherein the internal forces exist in the touch sensor before applying the external force, and during said processing the contribution of the internal forces is removed from the non-calibrated touch input signal using the configurable control signal when the external force is applied or not applied to the touch sensor.

17. A method of calibrating an apparatus comprising the method of claim 16, and further comprising adjusting one or more characteristics of the configurable control signal until the calibrated signal satisfies a threshold condition.

18. A method of calibrating an apparatus comprising performing the method of claim 16 if the calibrated signal falls below a pre-determined threshold condition.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein said contribution of the internal forces is a DC offset.

20. A computer program, recorded on a carrier, the computer program comprising computer code, which when run on a computer is configured to perform the method of:

receiving a non-calibrated touch input signal representative of internal forces or both the internal forces and an external force applied to the touch sensor applied to the touch sensor;

receiving a configurable control signal from a configurable signal generator; and

processing the non-calibrated touch input signal and the configurable control signal to remove the contribution of the internal forces from the non-calibrated signal to generate a calibrated signal, the calibrated signal for use in the detection of the external force applied to the touch sensor, wherein the internal forces exist in the touch sensor before applying the external force, and during said processing the contribution of the internal forces is removed from the non-calibrated touch input signal using the configurable control signal when the external force is applied or not applied to the touch sensor.

21. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a data structure comprising the computer program of claim 20.

22. A signal comprising the computer program of claim 20 recorded thereon.

23. The computer program of claim 20, wherein said contribution of the internal forces is a DC offset.

24. Apparatus comprising:

one or more input means configured to receive;

a configurable control signal from a means for generating a configurable signal; and

a non-calibrated touch input signal from a means for touch sensing, said non-calibrated touch input signal generated by detecting internal forces or both the internal forces and an external force applied to the touch sensor applied to the means for touch sensing; and

a means for calibrating configured to process the non-calibrated touch input signal and the configurable control signal to remove the contribution of the internal forces from the non-calibrated signal to generate a calibrated signal, the calibrated signal for use in the detection of the external force applied to the means for touch sensing, wherein the internal forces exist in the touch sensor before applying the external force, and the means for calibrating is configured to remove the contribution of the internal forces from the non-calibrated signal using the configurable control signal when the external force is applied or not applied to the touch sensor.