Light-based touch surface with curved borders

• US 8,989,536 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2014
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Inventors: Holmgren, Stefan, Sparf, Lars, Karlsson, John, Jansson, Anders, Eriksson, Thomas, Shain, Joseph, Kvist, Niklas, Pettersson, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Connelly, Michelle R
• Application Number:
  US14/465,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20140362053A1
• Time in Patent Office: 214 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 385/33
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0001 specially adapted for lighting devices or systems lighting or signalling on vehicles using light guides B60Q1/00; lighting devices for vehicle dashboards B60Q3/10; lighting devices for vehicle interior using light guides B60Q3/62; lighting devices mounted on the vehicle rear part using light guides F21S43/235; measuring arrangements having light conducting pointers G01D13/265; illumination of liquid crystal displays G02F1/1336; illuminated signs G09F13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0008 the light being emitted at the end of the fibre
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/32 having lens focusing means positioned between opposed fibre ends with lens being an integral part of the single fibre end G02B6/262
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1643 the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• 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 2203/04806 Zoom, i.e. interaction techniques or interactors for controlling the zooming operation
• 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 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A user input device, including a user input area, light emitters arranged along a first edge of the input area so as to be evenly spaced, light receivers arranged along a second edge of the input area, a curved lens arranged in front of the emitters, such that light emitted by each of the emitters is refracted as it enters the curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits the curved lens, resulting in unevenly spaced collimated light exiting the curved lens and crossing the input area, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the first edge, the offset being a characteristic of the arrangement of that emitter vis-à-vis the curved lens, and a calculating unit for determining location of an object inserted into the input area from outputs of the receivers, based on the characteristic offsets of the emitters.

Claims

1. A light-based user input device, comprising:

a user input area;

a printed circuit board;

a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area so as to be evenly spaced;

a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light;

a curved lens arranged in front of said light emitters along the first edge, such that light emitted by each of said light emitters is refracted as it enters said curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits said curved lens, resulting in unevenly spaced collimated light exiting said curved lens and crossing said user input area to the second edge, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the first edge, the offset being a characteristic of the arrangement of that light emitter vis-à

-vis the curved lens; and

a calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers, based on the values of the characteristic offsets of said light emitters.

2. The user input device of claim 1 wherein said curved lens is arranged relative to said emitters so that light emitted by each of said emitters exits said curved lens at the same angle of incidence at which the light enters said curved lens.

3. The user input device of claim 1 wherein said light emitters are shift-aligned relative to said light receivers, such that each emitter along the first edge is positioned opposite a space between two receivers along the second edge.

4. A light-based user input device, comprising:

a user input area;

a printed circuit board;

a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area;

a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light;

a curved lens arranged in front of said light emitters such that light emitted by each of said light emitters is refracted as it enters said curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits said curved lens, resulting in collimated light exiting said curved lens and crossing said user input area to the second edge, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the first edge; and

a calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers,

wherein said light emitters are unevenly spaced to compensate for the offsets, such that light emitted by neighboring emitters is evenly spaced as it exits said curved lens and passes over said user input area.

5. The user input device of claim 4 wherein said curved lens is arranged relative to said emitters so that light emitted by each of said emitters exits said curved lens at the same angle of incidence at which the light enters said curved lens.

6. The user input device of claim 4 wherein said light emitters are shift-aligned relative to said light receivers, such that each emitter along the first edge is positioned opposite a space between two receivers along the second edge.

7. A light-based user input device, comprising:

a user input area;

a printed circuit board;

a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area;

a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area so as to be evenly spaced, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light;

a curved lens arranged in front of said light receivers along the second edge, such that light received by each of said light receivers crossed said user input area and was refracted as it entered said curved lens, and was again refracted as it exited said curved lens, resulting in collimated light being received by that receiver, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the second edge, the offset being a characteristic of the arrangement of that light receiver vis-à

-vis the curved lens; and

a calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers, based on the values of the characteristic offsets of said light receivers.

8. The light-based user input device of claim 7 wherein said curved lens is arranged relative to said emitters so that light emitted by each of said emitters exits said curved lens at the same angle of incidence at which the light enters said curved lens.

9. The light-based user input device of claim 7 wherein said light emitters are shift-aligned relative to said light receivers, such that each emitter along the first edge is positioned opposite a space between two receivers along the second edge.

10. A light-based user input device, comprising:

a user input area;

a printed circuit board;

a plurality of light emitters mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a first edge of said user input area;

a plurality of light receivers mounted on said printed circuit board and arranged along a second edge of said user input area, for receiving the light emitted by said light emitters and for generating outputs based on the amounts of received light;

a curved lens arranged in front of said light receivers along the second edge, such that light emitted by each of said light emitters crosses said user input area and is refracted as it enters said curved lens, and is again refracted as it exits said curved lens, resulting in collimated light exiting said curved lens and being received by said light receivers, the collimated light being shifted laterally by a non-zero offset along a direction parallel to the second edge; and

a calculating unit connected to said printed circuit board for controlling said light emitters and said light receivers, and for determining location of an object inserted into said user input area from outputs of said light receivers,

wherein said light emitters are unevenly spaced to compensate for the offsets, such that light emitted by neighboring emitters is evenly spaced as it exits said curved lens and is received by said light receivers.

11. The user input device of claim 10 wherein said curved lens is arranged relative to said emitters so that light emitted by each of said emitters exits said curved lens at the same angle of incidence at which the light enters said curved lens.

12. The user input device of claim 10 wherein said light emitters are shift-aligned relative to said light receivers, such that each emitter along the first edge is positioned opposite a space between two receivers along the second edge.