Resilient light-based touch surface

• US 9,158,416 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2012
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Neonode, Inc.
• Inventors: Eriksson, Thomas, Elyan, Michael Lawrence
• Primary Examiner(s): Haley, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): ILUYOMADE, IFEDAYO B
• Application Number:
  US13/731,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20130187891A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,017 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2203/04806 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A light-based touch sensitive device, including a housing, a surface encased in the housing, a layer of elastic material above the surface, a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in the housing, that transmit light pulses through the layer, a plurality of light pulse receivers mounted in the housing, that receive the light pulses transmitted through the layer, and a calculating unit, mounted in the housing and connected to the receivers, that determines a location of a pointer that touches the layer and creates an impression in the layer, based on outputs of the receivers.

Claims

1. A light-based touch sensitive device, comprising:

a housing;

a surface encased in said housing;

a layer of elastic material above said surface;

a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in said housing, that transmit light pulses through said layer;

a plurality of light pulse receivers mounted in said housing, that receive the light pulses transmitted through said layer;

an air gap between said surface and said layer;

at least one light guide in said housing, that guides light pulses over and across said surface traveling within said layer, and that guides light pulses over and across said surface traveling within said air gap; and

a calculating unit, mounted in said housing and connected to said receivers, that determines a location of a pointer that touches said layer and creates an impression in said layer, based on outputs of said receivers.

2. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 1, further comprising a haptic driver, mounted in said housing and connected to said layer and to said calculating unit, that generates haptic vibrations in said layer when the pointer creates an impression in said layer.

3. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 1 wherein said layer comprises at least a portion of a flush outer surface of said housing.

4. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 1 further comprising at least one light guide in said housing, that guides the light pulses from said emitters into said layer, and from said layer into said receivers, wherein an upper surface of said layer is coplanar with an upper edge of said at least one light guide.

5. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 4 wherein said at least one light guide and said layer are formed together by an overmolding process.

6. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 1 further comprising at least one light guide in said housing, that guides light pulses over and across said surface through said layer, and that guides light pulses over and across said surface above said layer.

7. A light-based touch sensitive device comprising:

a housing;

a surface encased in said housing;

a layer of elastic material above said surface and forming an air gap between said surface and said layer, said layer being removable;

a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in said housing, that transmit light pulses over and across said surface traveling within the air gap;

a plurality of light pulse receivers mounted in said housing, that receive the light pulses; and

a calculating unit, mounted in said housing and connected to said receivers, that determines a location of a pointer that touches said layer and creates an impression in said layer, based on outputs of said receivers.

8. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 7 further comprising a haptic driver, mounted in said housing and connected to said layer and to said calculating unit, that generates haptic vibrations in said layer when the pointer creates an impression in said layer.

9. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 7 wherein said layer comprises at least a portion of a flush outer surface of said housing.

10. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 7 further comprising at least one light guide in said housing, that guides the light pulses from said emitters into the air gap, and from the air gap into said receivers, wherein an upper surface of said layer is coplanar with an upper edge of said at least one light guide.

11. The light-based touch sensitive system of claim 10 wherein said at least one light guide and said layer are formed together by an overmolding process.

12. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 7 wherein said layer is attached to a frame that is removably attached to said housing with a snap-on motion.

13. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 12 wherein said surface comprises a display, the device further comprising a non-volatile memory that stores program code providing instructions for rendering at least two user interfaces on said display;

namely, a low-resolution touch-based user interface for use when said layer is attached to said housing, and a high-resolution touch-based user interface for use when said layer is detached from said housing.

14. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 12 further comprising:

a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip connected to said layer; and

an RFID reader mounted in said housing, that detects attachment of said layer to said housing via said RFID chip,

wherein the program code provides instructions for presenting the low-resolution touch-based user interface when said RFID reader detects attachment of said layer to said housing.

15. A light-based touch sensitive device, comprising:

a housing;

a surface encased in said housing;

a layer of elastic material above said surface;

a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in said housing, that transmit light pulses traveling within said layer;

a plurality of light pulse receivers mounted in said housing, that receive the light pulses transmitted through said layer;

at least one light guide in said housing, that guides the light pulses from said emitters into said layer, and from said layer into said receivers, wherein an upper surface of said layer is coplanar with an upper edge of said at least one light guide, and wherein said at least one light guide and said layer are formed together by an overmolding process; and

a calculating unit, mounted in said housing and connected to said receivers, that determines a location of a pointer that touches said layer and creates an impression in said layer, based on outputs of said receivers.

16. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 15, further comprising a haptic driver, mounted in said housing and connected to said layer and to said calculating unit, that generates haptic vibrations in said layer when the pointer creates an impression in said layer.

17. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 15 wherein said layer comprises at least a portion of a flush outer surface of said housing.

18. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 15 further comprising at least one light guide in said housing, that guides light pulses over and across said surface through said layer, and that guides light pulses over and across said surface above said layer.

19. A light-based touch sensitive device comprising:

a housing;

a surface encased in said housing;

a layer of elastic material above said surface and forming an air gap between said surface and said layer;

a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in said housing, that transmit light pulses over and across said surface traveling within the air gap;

a plurality of light pulse receivers mounted in said housing, that receive the light pulses;

at least one light guide in said housing, that guides the light pulses from said emitters into the air gap, and from the air gap into said receivers, wherein an upper surface of said layer is coplanar with an upper edge of said at least one light guide, and wherein said at least one light guide and said layer are formed together by an overmolding process; and

a calculating unit, mounted in said housing and connected to said receivers, that determines a location of a pointer that touches said layer and creates an impression in said layer, based on outputs of said receivers.

20. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 19 further comprising a haptic driver, mounted in said housing and connected to said layer and to said calculating unit, that generates haptic vibrations in said layer when the pointer creates an impression in said layer.

21. The light-based touch sensitive device of claim 19 wherein said layer comprises at least a portion of a flush outer surface of said housing.