Touch location determination involving multiple touch location processes

• US 9,823,769 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2014
• Issued: 11/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Geaghan, Bernard O.
• Primary Examiner(s): FARAGALLA, MICHAEL A
• Application Number:
  US14/219,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20140204059A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,343 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0436 in which generating transducers and detecting transducers are attached to a single acoustic waves transmission substrate
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

Touch location determination approaches involving a plurality of touch location techniques are described. Each touch location technique is capable of independently determining a location of a touch within a touch area of the touch sensitive device. The touch location determination made by at least one touch location technique is enhanced using touch location information associated with the touch acquired from one or more other touch location techniques. One touch location technique may use a different type of sensor, signal, and/or algorithm from the one or more other touch location techniques.

Claims

1. A method of locating a stylus relative to a display having a matrix of addressable pixels, comprising:

determining a first location of the stylus relative to the display using a first stylus location measurement technique;

determining a second location of the stylus relative to the display using a second stylus location measurement technique that is disparate from the first stylus location measurement technique, wherein the first location measurement technique is a coarse location measurement technique, and the second location measurement technique is a fine location measurement technique determined after the coarse location has been determined.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the coarse location or the fine location is determined based on a location measurement technique selected from the group consisting of:

resistive, mutual capacitive, matrix capacitive-to-ground, E-M, image sensing display, IR-based sensing, optical beam location, laser angle detection, acoustic ranging, surface acoustic wave, bending wave, and fixed patterns of indicia.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first stylus measurement technique is additionally utilized to wake the stylus from a sleep mode.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising switching between the first stylus location technique to the second stylus location technique.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the switching is based upon the speed of the stylus relative to the display.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein both the first and second stylus location measurement techniques are independently capable of determining the stylus location relative to the display.

7. A digitizer system comprising:

a stylus;

a sensor; and

a controller communicatively coupled to the stylus and the digitizer, wherein the controller interacts with the stylus and the sensor to determine a first location of the stylus using a first stylus location measurement technique, and to determine a second location of the stylus using a second stylus location measurement technique, wherein the first location measurement technique is a coarse location measurement technique, and the second location measurement technique is a fine location measurement technique determined after the coarse location has been determined.

8. The digitizer system of claim 7, wherein the first or the second location measurement technique is determined based on a location measurement technique selected from the group consisting of:

resistive, mutual capacitive, matrix capacitive-to-ground, E-M, image sensing display, IR-based sensing, optical beam location, laser angle detection, acoustic ranging, surface acoustic wave, bending wave, and fixed patterns of indicia.

9. The digitizer system of claim 7, additionally comprising:

a display having a plurality of electronically addressable pixels, and wherein the sensor is essentially transparent and disposed proximate to the display, and wherein the controller is additionally communicatively coupled to electronics that control the display.

10. The digitizer system of claim 7, wherein the first location measurement technique additionally includes a proximity to sensor measurement.

11. The digitizer system of claim 10, wherein the proximity to sensor measurement is provided to the controller and is used by the controller to determine whether to wake the stylus from a sleep mode.