Unintentional touch rejection

• US 9,261,964 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2013
• Issued: 02/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Townsend, Reed L., Kolmykov-Zotov, Alexander J., Dodge, Steven P., Scott, Bryan D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jr., Kenneth B
• Application Number:
  US14/145,204
• Publication Number:
  US 20140111462A1
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• 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 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A method for rejecting an unintentional palm touch is disclosed. In at least some embodiments, a touch is detected by a touch-sensitive surface associated with a display. Characteristics of the touch may be used to generate a set of parameters related to the touch. In an embodiment, firmware is used to determine a reliability value for the touch. The reliability value and the location of the touch is provided to a software module. The software module uses the reliability value and an activity context to determine a confidence level of the touch. In an embodiment, the confidence level may include an evaluation of changes in the reliability value over time. If the confidence level for the touch is too low, it may be rejected.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

at least one processing unit; and

at least one memory storing computer readable instructions that when executed cause the computing device to perform a method of evaluating touch received on a touch-sensitive display, the method comprising;

receiving a first touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining a first value for at least one parameter associated with the first touch;

comparing the first value with a first threshold for the at least one parameter;

in response to determining that the first value does not meet or exceed the first threshold, comparing the first value to a second threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the first value meets or exceeds the second threshold, providing a visual feedback on a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with the computing device.

2. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the first value for the at least one parameter comprises one of:

a location of the first touch within the bounded area;

an area of the first touch;

an area bounded by the first touch;

a shape of the first touch;

a pressure of the first touch;

a number of points of contact of the first touch;

a velocity of the first touch; and

a period of time over which the first touch is received.

3. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining a second value for at least one parameter associated with the second touch;

comparing the second value with a first threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the second value meets or exceeds the first threshold, determining that the second touch is intentional.

4. The computing device of claim 3, wherein the second value for the at least one parameter comprises one of:

a location of the second touch within the bounded area;

an area of the second touch;

an area bounded by the second touch;

a shape of the second touch;

a pressure of the second touch;

a number of points of contact of the second touch;

a velocity of the second touch; and

a period of time over which the second touch is received.

5. The computing device of claim 3, wherein the second value is associated with a different parameter than the first value.

6. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining at least a second value for at least one parameter associated with the second touch;

comparing the second value with a first threshold and a second threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the second value does not exceed the first threshold or the second threshold, determining that the second touch is unintentional.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the visual feedback includes moving a GUI indicator to a location where the first touch is located.

8. The computing device of claim 6, wherein the GUI indicator is a cursor or a widget.

9. The computing device of claim 3, further comprising accepting the second touch as input based on the determination that the second touch is intentional.

10. The computing device of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a reliability of the first touch based at least in part on a rate of change of the at least one parameter.

11. A computer storage device storing computer readable instructions that when executed by a processing unit cause a computing device to perform a method of evaluating a touch received on a touch-sensitive display, the method comprising:

receiving a first touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining at least a first value for at least one parameter associated with the first touch;

comparing the first value with a first threshold for the at least one parameter;

in response to determining that the first value does not meet or exceed the first threshold, comparing the first value to a second threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the first value meets or exceeds the second threshold, providing a visual feedback on a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with the computing device.

12. The computer storage device of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a second touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining at least a second value for at least one parameter associated with the second touch;

comparing the second value with a first threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the second value meets or exceeds the first threshold, determining that the second touch is intentional.

13. The computer storage device of claim 12, wherein the second value is associated with a different parameter than the first value.

14. The computer storage device of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a second touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining at least a second value for at least one parameter associated with the second touch;

comparing the second value with a first threshold and a second threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the second value does not exceed the first threshold or the second threshold, determining that the second touch is unintentional.

15. The computer storage device of claim 12, further comprising accepting the second touch as input based on the determination that the second touch is intentional.

16. The computer storage device of claim 12, further comprising:

determining a reliability of the first touch based at least in part on a rate of change of the at least one parameter.

17. A hand-held computing device communicatively coupled to a system memory storing computer readable instructions that when executed by a processing unit cause the mobile device to perform a method of evaluating a touch received on a touch-sensitive display, the method comprising:

receiving a first touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining at least a first value for at least one parameter associated with the first touch;

comparing the first value with a first threshold for the at least one parameter;

in response to determining that the first value does not meet or exceed the first threshold, comparing the first value to a second threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the first value meets or exceeds the second threshold, providing a visual feedback on a graphical user interface (GUI) associated with the computing device.

18. The hand-held computing device of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving a second touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining at least a second value for at least one parameter associated with the second touch;

comparing the second value with a first threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the second value meets or exceeds the first threshold, determining that the second touch is intentional.

19. The hand-held computing device of claim 18, wherein the second value is associated with a different parameter than the first value.

20. The hand-held computing device of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving a second touch on the touch-sensitive display;

determining at least a second value for at least one parameter associated with the second touch;

comparing the second value with a first threshold and a second threshold for the at least one parameter; and

in response to determining that the second value does not exceed the first threshold or the second threshold, determining that the second touch is unintentional.