JP5964458B2 - User interface for touch screen - Google Patents

Description

[Cross-reference to related applications]
This application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety RemoBehdash, Richard Henriksson, Thomas Eriksson, Joseph Shain, Anders Jansson, Niklas Kvist, Robert Kerst, Robert Peters No. 61 / 591,921 entitled “User Interface for Light-Based Touchscreen”, filed on 29th, claims the benefit of priority.

  The field of the invention is pressure sensitive touch screens.

  Many consumer electronic devices currently incorporate touch sensitive screens for use with finger or stylus touch user input. These devices range from small screen devices such as mobile phones and in-car entertainment systems to medium screen devices such as notebook computers, and large screen devices such as airport boarding stations. However, touch screens are generally limited to user input in the form of finger or stylus taps and sweep actions. A pressure sensitive display that allows detection of the amount of pressure applied to the screen provides additional possibilities for the user interface.

US patent application Ser. No. 12 / 486,033

  Aspects of the invention relate to a user interface for a touch screen that detects both the touch location and the amount of pressure applied to the screen.

  Yet another aspect of the invention relates to a touch screen that implements these user interfaces, and in one embodiment, a touch screen that implements both a touch sensor and a pressure sensor using an array of light emitters and light receivers. .

  That is, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an optical-based touch screen that discriminates between hard touch and soft touch is provided. In one embodiment, the rigidly mounted screen is surrounded by the emitter and receiver. A hard touch is distinguished from a soft touch by the increase in light detected by multiple receivers resulting from bending of the rigidly attached screen caused by the hard touch. In another embodiment, the screen is flexibly mounted in a housing surrounded by a rigidly mounted emitter and receiver. The pressure of the touch causes the screen to drop into the housing, resulting in an increase in light detected by multiple receivers. Different amounts of pressure correspond to differences in the detected increase in light.

  In addition, according to embodiments of the present invention, a housing, a display mounted on the housing, and a touch sensor mounted on the housing and connected to the display for identifying an object that glides along the top surface of the display, On the display in response to a pressure sensor attached to the housing and connected to the display to determine that pressure is being applied to the display, and a touch sensor that identifies objects gliding along the top surface of the display Attached to the housing to apply a first scroll command to the rendered image and to apply a second scroll command to the image in response to a pressure sensor that determines that pressure is applied to the display Connected to the touch and pressure sensor and to the display. To provide a touch screen that contains the door.

  Further, according to embodiments of the present invention, when executed by a processor of an electronic device including a touch sensitive and pressure sensitive display, the processor enables the user interface of the electronic device, thereby causing glide movement along the display and A persistent computer readable medium is provided that stores instructions that both generate an amount of the same user interface command applied to the display.

  Further, according to embodiments of the present invention, when executed by a processor of an electronic device that includes a touch-sensitive and pressure-sensitive display, the processor enables the device user interface so that the rendered image on the display is displayed. Persisting to store instructions that are zoomed in response to the pressure being applied to the display, thereby causing the zooming to be performed so that the location in the image where pressure is initially applied is the center of the zoomed image A computer readable medium is provided.

  The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

  In the figure, the elements numbered 100 are generally related to the light beam, the elements numbered 200 are generally related to the light source, and the elements numbered 300 are generally light. For receivers, 500 numbered elements are generally related to the light guide, 700 numbered elements are generally related to circuit elements, and 800 numbered elements are typically In relation to electronic devices, the elements numbered 900 are generally related to user interfaces. The elements numbered 1000 are the operation of the flow diagram.

  Similar numbered elements represent the same type of element, but they need not be the same element.

FIG. 6 illustrates a touch screen having 16 emitters and 16 receivers according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating a method for activating a zoom function on a pressure sensitive touch screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of activation of a zoom function on a pressure-sensitive touch screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating a method for activating a scrolling function on a pressure sensitive touch screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the touch screen which detects generation | occurrence | production of a hard press by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the touch screen which detects generation | occurrence | production of a hard press by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the touch screen which detects generation | occurrence | production of a hard press by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the touch screen which detects generation | occurrence | production of a hard press by embodiment of this invention. 6 is a bar graph illustrating an increase in light detected when pressure is applied to a rigidly mounted 7 inch LCD screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a bar graph illustrating an increase in light detected when pressure is applied to a rigidly mounted 7 inch LCD screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Aspects of the invention relate to pressure sensitive touch screens and touch surfaces.

  For clarity of explanation, the term “touch screen” is used throughout this specification as a general term to refer to a touch-sensitive surface that may or may not include an electronic display. Thus, the term “touch screen” as used herein specifically includes the mouse touchpad and handheld electronic device covers that are included in many laptop computers. The term “optical touch screen” is used as a general term to specifically refer to a light-based touch screen that includes a screen that detects touch based on the difference between expected and detected light intensity. The intensity of the emitted light may be stronger or weaker than the expected light intensity. The term “screen glass” is used as a general term to refer to a transparent screen surface. The screen can be manufactured, in particular, from glass or, in particular, from materials other than glass, including crystal, acrylic, and plastic. In some embodiments of the invention, the screen transmits near infrared light but is otherwise opaque.

  For clarity of explanation, the term “emitter” is used throughout this specification to refer specifically to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and the output of an optical fiber or tubular light guide that outputs light to a lens or reflector that directs the light to the display surface. Used as a general term to refer to a light emitting element including an edge. The term “receiver” specifically receives a light beam across a photodiode (PD) and display surface and makes it a photodetecting element or in particular a charge coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. Is used as a general term to refer to a light-detecting element that includes an input end of an optical fiber or tubular light guide that points to an image sensor.

  The present invention has multiple embodiments that use various touch screen technologies including, among others, resistive, capacitive, projected capacitive, and light-based touch sensors. Similarly, many different pressure sensing techniques are used in various embodiments of the present invention. For purposes of explanation, this specification describes light-based touch sensors and pressure sensors, but other types of sensors are also within the scope of the present invention.

  In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a light-based touch screen is disposed along one or more emitters, particularly including infrared or near infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs), and a perimeter surrounding the touch screen or touch surface. In particular, it includes a plurality of receivers including photodiodes (PD). The emitter projects light substantially parallel to the screen surface and this light is detected by the receiver. A pointer such as a finger or stylus placed on a portion of the screen blocks a portion of the light beam, and in response, a portion of the receiver does not detect the light intensity. The shape of the receiver position and the intensity of light detected by the receiver are sufficient to determine the screen coordinates of the pointer. The emitter and receiver are controlled for selective activation and deactivation by the controller. In general, each emitter and receiver has an I / O connector, and a signal is transmitted to specify the emitter and receiver to be activated.

  In an embodiment of the invention, a plurality of emitters are arranged along two adjacent sides of a rectangular screen and a plurality of receivers are arranged along the other two adjacent sides. In this regard, referring to FIG. 1, a diagram of a touch screen 800 having sixteen emitters 200 and sixteen receivers 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The emitters 200 emit an infrared or near-infrared light beam across the top of the touch screen and are detected by a corresponding receiver 300 directly opposite each emitter 200. When the pointer touches the touch screen 800, the pointer blocks light from reaching a part of the receiver 300. By identifying from the receiver output which light beam is blocked by the pointer, the location of the pointer can be determined.

  Embodiments of the present invention detect the amount of pressure applied to the touch sensitive surface during touch actuation. Pressure detection is useful for a user interface that allows discrimination between light touch and hard press and associates another action with touch and press. For example, the user can select a button or icon by touching it, and can activate a function associated with the button or icon by pressing it. Such a user interface is described in Applicant's current patent-pending US patent application Ser. No. 12 / 486,033, entitled “User Interface for Mobile Computer Units”.

  Touch sensor and pressure sensor inputs to the central processing unit allow the processing unit to distinguish between non-pressure touch operations and touch operations that apply pressure. This means that the processing unit provides a standard set of tap and sweep operations for non-pressure touch and an additional set of user input when some downward pressure is applied to the screen surface. to enable.

  In some embodiments of the invention, the pressure action is used to initiate a zoom command, i.e., the user presses the image displayed on the screen to enlarge the image. The zoom command is generally a smooth zoom in which the zoom ratio gradually increases with time while the screen is pressed. In one embodiment of the present invention, the pressure sensor determines multiple levels of applied pressure, and the rate at which the zoom ratio increases corresponds to the amount of pressure detected, and thus a larger pressure is more Corresponds to fast increasing speed.

  Referring to FIG. 2, a simplified flow diagram of a method for activating a zoom function on a pressure sensitive touch screen according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In act 1011, a determination is made whether a touch has been detected on the touch screen. If not detected, the method ends. If so, at act 1012, a further determination is made whether pressure is being applied to the touch screen. If not, the method returns to operation 1011. If so, the current level of pressure applied to the screen is detected and compared to the level of pressure previously applied to the screen. If act 1013 determines that the current pressure level is higher than the previous pressure level, act 1015 increases the zooming speed and the method returns to act 1012. Rather, if act 1014 determines that the current pressure level is lower than the previous pressure level, act 1016 reduces the speed of zooming and the method returns to act 1012. Otherwise, the current pressure and the previous pressure level are the same, and in operation 1017 the zooming speed is maintained and the method returns to operation 1012.

  Conventional zoom commands, such as commands triggered by a pinch or spread operation, zoom in on the center of the displayed image portion. In order to zoom in on a different part of the image, the user must pan the image to bring its center to the desired location and then execute a zoom command.

In contrast, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the center of zooming is the location touched on the display. Referring to FIG. 3 , a schematic diagram of activation of a zoom function on a pressure sensitive touch screen according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. FIG. 3 shows two images of the pressure sensitive touch screen 800 before and after the zoom operation is performed. In the upper image showing the touch screen 800 before the zoom operation is performed, the touch screen 800 displays an airplane in the upper right corner of the screen. Finger 900 is shown as applying downward pressure on touch screen 800 at the position of the airplane to activate the zoom function. Touch screen 800 detects the location of finger 900 and places the center of the zoomed image at that location. Thus, in the lower image showing the touch screen 800 after the zoom operation has been performed, the airplane is at the center of the touch screen 800. Finger 900 remains in its original location through zooming.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the pressure sensor controls the parameter of the scroll command. When the display of the document or other object expands beyond the limits of the touch screen 800, a portion of the document or object is displayed and the user can follow the vertical direction of the screen to scroll the document or object up or down. Swipe your finger. In one embodiment, even when the user's finger reaches the upper or lower edge of the screen, scrolling continues as long as contact with the screen is maintained. In this embodiment, the scrolling speed is determined based on the amount of pressure applied by the finger to the touch screen 800, and thus a larger on-screen pressure corresponds to a faster scrolling speed.

  In many cases, it is useful for a user scrolling through a large document or object to dynamically change the scrolling speed. For example, a user may desire to scroll quickly to move to a desired area in a document and then continue to scroll slowly within the desired area. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the user controls the scrolling speed by adjusting the amount of pressure applied by the finger to the touch screen 800. In one embodiment, the user slows down the scrolling speed by applying more pressure to the screen. Thus, navigating the document is intuitive, i.e., the user starts scrolling by maintaining contact with the touch screen 800 after a vertical scrolling motion, and then applying pressure to the screen. Reduce scrolling speed. In many cases, it is easier for the user to increase the pressure than to reduce the pressure.

  Referring to FIG. 4, a schematic flow diagram of a method for activating a scroll function on a pressure sensitive touch screen according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. In act 1021, the user scrolls the document or other object by sweeping his finger vertically along the touch screen. In act 1022, a determination is made whether the finger has reached the edge of the touch screen. If so, at act 1023, a determination is made whether the touch is still maintained. If not, the method ends. Otherwise, the current level of pressure applied to the screen is detected and compared to the level of pressure previously applied to the screen. If act 1024 determines that the current pressure level is higher than the previous pressure level, act 1025 reduces the scroll speed and the method returns to act 1023. Otherwise, at operation 1025, the scroll speed is maintained, scrolling continues at the same speed, and the method returns to operation 1023.

  In some embodiments of the invention, the touch-enabled device hangs a base plane such as a PCB, a light guide frame secured to the base plane, and a touch screen not secured inside the light guide frame or Includes an elastic member attached to the base plane to “float”. The press on the touch screen distorts the touch screen floating along the z-axis and exposes much of the light guide frame. As described above, the light guide frame reflector that directs light onto the screen is formed such that more light can traverse the screen upon exposure. Thus, many of the receivers detect a sudden increase in detected light when a hard press on the screen occurs. Furthermore, hard press detection can be conditioned according to touches detected at the same time, thus preventing false detection of the hard press due to a sudden increase in ambient light. When the downward pressure is released, the elastic member returns the screen to its original position in the light guide frame.

  Referring to FIGS. 5-8, a touch screen 800 for detecting the occurrence of a hard press according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. FIG. 5 shows the touch screen 800 in a stationary position, which is supported by resilient support members 841 and 842 that are mounted on the printed circuit board 700 to create a flexible gap 843. FIG. 5 shows two light guides 518 and 519, one on either side of screen 800 to direct light 100 from emitter 200 on screen 800 to receiver 300. Only the small upper portion of each light guide 518 and 519 extends above the screen 800. The receiver 300 communicates the detected light intensity to the calculation unit 770.

  FIG. 6 shows a finger 900 pushing down on the screen that causes members 841 and 842 to compress and narrow the flexible gap 843. As a result, a larger portion of the light guides 518 and 519 is exposed above the screen 800, so that (a) much light 100 from the emitter 200 traverses the screen 800 and is detected by the receiver 300. And (b) more ambient light 101 can reach the receiver 300. In various embodiments, either or both of these increases in detected light are used to indicate a hard press. In other embodiments, the amount of applied downward pressure is determined based on the amount of additional detected light, thus allowing discrimination between hard and non-hard touches.

  In some embodiments, the light guide frame extends above the edge of the screen 800 to balance the forces above the elastic members 841 and 842 when no downward pressure is applied to the screen 800. 7 and protruding lips 520 and 521 shown in FIG. The elastic members 841 and 842 can include, inter alia, flexible mounting materials, torsion springs, elastic polymer bodies, or hydraulic suspension systems. FIG. 8 shows the emitter 200 disposed on a single PCB 700, the receiver 300 coupled to the calculation unit 770, and elastic members 841 and 842.

  In other embodiments, the touch screen cannot move relative to the frame. However, the screen can be stretched or bent somewhat depending on the hard press. The screen bend causes a sudden increase in the much detected light of the receiver, indicating a hard press on the screen. As described above, hard press detection can be conditioned in response to simultaneously detected touches, thus preventing false detection of the hard press in response to impact on the device.

  Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, there is shown a bar graph illustrating the increase in detected light when pressure is applied to a fixed 7 inch LCD screen according to an embodiment of the present invention. The bar graph shows the amount of light detected from each emitter along one edge of the screen when a soft touch occurs (FIG. 9) and when a hard touch occurs (FIG. 10). The light emitter and light receiver are shift aligned so that light from each emitter is detected by the two receivers. Thus, two bars are shown for each emitter, indicating the light detected by each of the two receivers. Both bars indicate that a touch was detected at the receiver opposite the LED 4 if no light was detected. The bar graph shows that more light is detected from adjacent emitters in the case of a hard touch than in the case of a soft touch.

  The present invention has various applications for electronic devices with touch sensitive screens including small, medium and large screens. Such devices include, among others, computers, home entertainment systems, in-car entertainment systems, security systems, PDAs, mobile phones, electronic games and toys, digital photo frames, digital musical instruments, electronic book readers, TVs, and GPS navigators. .

  In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will be apparent, however, that various modifications and variations can be made to the specific exemplary embodiments without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. . Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

100 light 200 emitter 300 receiver 800 touch screen 843 flexible gap

Claims (7)

A housing;
A display mounted on the housing;
A touch sensor which is connected to the display is mounted to identify objects that glide, before Symbol housing along the upper surface of the display,
A pressure sensor the pressure is determined to have been applied to the display, is mounted before Symbol housing connected to said display,
Applying a first scroll command to an image rendered on the display in response to the touch sensor identifying the glide motion including the object that glides along the top surface of the display , and the glide motion includes the glide motion In response to the combination of the touch sensor determining that the edge of the display has been reached and the pressure sensor determining that an increase in pressure is applied to the display, the image is different from the first scroll command . and applying a second scroll command, it is mounted in the housing connected to the display and to the touch and pressure sensor processor,
A touch screen comprising: The display is flexibly mounted on the housing;
The pressure sensor is
At least one optical receiver rigidly attached to the housing under the display;
To receive an output indicative of the amount of light received by the at least one light receiver and to determine that pressure is being applied to the display based on an increase in output from the at least one light receiver A computing unit coupled to the at least one optical receiver and to the processor;
including,
The touch screen according to claim 1. The display includes a flexible material that flexes flexibly in response to an applied pressure;
The pressure sensor is
At least one optical receiver rigidly attached to the housing under the display;
To receive an output indicative of the amount of light received from the at least one light receiver, and to determine that pressure is applied to the display based on an increase in the output from the at least one light receiver A computing unit connected to the at least one optical receiver and to the processor;
including,
The touch screen according to claim 1. The pressure sensor determines a plurality of levels of pressure being applied to the display by the object , and the second scroll command is at a speed corresponding to the level of pressure determined by the pressure sensor. to scroll through the rendered the image above,
The touch screen according to claim 1. The touch according to claim 1, wherein the processor determines that pressure is applied to the display based on an output of the pressure sensor only when the touch sensor detects a touch on the display. screen. The touch sensor and the pressure sensor are
A plurality of shared light emitters under the display in the housing for emitting a light beam across the display;
A plurality of shared light receivers under the display in the housing for receiving the emitted light beam;
(I) the location of the touch based on light reception that is less than the amount of light expected at the first of the optical receivers; and (ii) the amount of light expected at the second of the receivers. A shared computing unit connected to the receiver to determine the pressure of the touch based on more received light;
including,
The touch screen according to claim 1. The touch screen according to claim 1 , wherein the second scroll command is applied only when it is preceded by the first scroll command.

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