Patent Application
20070176903
Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of capacitive touch sensors and more specifically, but not exclusively, to capacitive touch sensor button activation.
Accidental key press is a concern when implementing a capacitive touch sensor in a keypad. A traditional search-and-press technique involves the user finding the desired key (usually visually), and then pressing the desired button to activate the button. Accidental key press is especially a problem when trying to physically locate the correct key to be selected. For example, when trying to dial a number on a phone keypad with the traditional search-and-press technique using only one hand, a person will typically place their thumb on the keypad, move their thumb to the correct key, and then press. With capacitive touch sensor keypads, moving the thumb over various keys results in multiple unwanted key presses.
Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that embodiments of the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring understanding of this description.
Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.
Embodiments of the invention include capacitive touch sensor button activation techniques to avoid accidental key presses. Such techniques include a search-and-tap technique and a search-and-lift-technique. These techniques enable a user to find and activate buttons without visual reference to the capacitive touch sensor.
Turning to
In one embodiment, capacitive touch sensor 100 is logically divided into keys 101-112. In one embodiment, keys 101-112 may correspond to traditional phone keys, however, embodiments herein are not limited to phone keys.
A touch, such as by a finger, on capacitive touch sensor 100 is detected by embedded sensors and indicates where the user has touched sensor 100. An X-Y position on sensor 100 where the touch is sensed is translated to a particular key.
In alternative embodiments, two or more capacitive touch sensors may be combined to form keys 101-112. For example, keys 101-106 may be associated with one capacitive touch sensor and keys 107-112 may be associated with another sensor. Button activation logic 140 translates the X-Y positioning of a touch on one of the sensors to a particular key.
Sensor 100 may include an overlay (not shown) that includes physical keys associated with capacitive touch sensor keys 101-112. In one embodiment, such physical keys may be printed with symbols to indicate to a user the positions of the keys. In another embodiment, the overlay may include physical locating elements, such as embossed keys or key outlines, to help the user locate the desired key without looking at the keypad. In another embodiment, a single key may have an associated physical locating element, such as a raised bump, to allow the user to know where their thumb/finger is on the keypad and dial the phone without looking at the keypad.
It will be understood that the term “touch” as used herein includes direct physical contact with sensor 100 and indirect physical contact with sensor 100. In an example of indirect physical contact, one or more layers of material, such as a plastic key layer, may be placed on top of sensor 100 such that a user's finger makes direct physical contact with the plastic key layer and not directly with sensor 100. However, in this case, a touch may still be detected by sensor 100.
In one embodiment, capacitive touch sensor 100 includes CapSense™ technology as promulgated by the Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. CapSense™ may be used with Cypress's family of Programmable System-on-Chip™ (PSoC™) devices. PSoC devices include configurable mixed signal arrays.
Embodiments of the invention include a search-and-tap capacitive touch sensor button activation technique. These techniques may be implemented in a button activation logic 140 coupled to capacitive touch sensor 100. Button activation logic 140 may include hardware, software, or any combination thereof.
In search-and-tap, the device user may put a finger in contact with the capacitive touch sensor and move their finger around the keypad to search for the desired key. Then, when the user wants to select the desired key, rather than pressing the key, the user lifts their finger and returns it to the same key. The key is “pressed” by lifting the finger and returning it to the same key instead of only pressing the finger down.
The touch sensor button activation logic 140 may allow the user to move their finger around to different keys without causing a key press to be registered. For example, moving from key A to key B to Key C, etc., would not result in any key being selected. However, a transition from key A to no key (i.e., a lift) and back to key A would result in key A being selected.
An example of search-and-tap is shown in
Turning to
Starting in a block 202, a first touch is sensed by a capacitive touch sensor at a first button on the sensor. Proceeding to a block 204, a lift is sensed at a second button on the sensor. A lift may include a sensed touch that ceases being detected. Continuing to a block 206, a second touch is sensed at the second button. A drag may be sensed from the first button to the second button without activating any buttons on the capacitive touch sensor.
In one embodiment, the first and second buttons may be associated with the same button. For example, in
The logic then proceeds to decision block 208 to determine if the time between the first and second touches has exceeded a timeout threshold. If the timeout threshold has not been exceeded, then the logic proceeds to a block 210 to activate the second button in response to the second touch.
If the timeout threshold has been exceeded, then the logic proceeds to a block 212 to disregard the second touch as a button activation. In this instance, the user's finger has been off of the sensor for too long between the first and second touches. This second touch may be interpreted as a first touch, as shown in block 214. After block 214, the logic returns to block to block 204 when a lift is sensed.
Turning to
An example of search-and-lift is shown in
Turning to
Starting in a block 402, a touch is sensed at a first button on a capacitive touch sensor. Proceeding to a block 404, a lift is sensed at a second button on the sensor. Continuing to a block 406, the second button is activated in response to the lift. A drag may be sensed from the first button to the second button without activating any buttons on the capacitive touch sensor.
In one embodiment, the first and second buttons may be the same button. For example, the user may place their finger on key 101 and lift their finger from key 101 resulting in the activation of key 101.
From the user's perspective, the search-and-lift technique has the feel of traditional search-and-press. However, the user may also drag their finger around the keypad without activating any keys until their finger is lifted. This enables a user to “feel around” the keypad for the desired key without looking at the keypad as well as preventing any unwanted key presses. The user may identify the location of their finger on the keypad without looking at the keypad by using physical locating elements as discussed above.
Turning to
Embodiments of the invention provide for use of a capacitive touch sensor without having to visually reference the buttons of the sensor. Embodiments herein allow a user to avoid accidental key presses, such as when dialing a mobile phone with one hand. Button activation techniques described herein may be applied to a variety of capacitive touch sensor applications, such as keypads, scroll wheels, and slider controls.
In one embodiment, mobile device 600 includes processor 602 coupled to memory 604 and NVS 606. Processor 602 may execute instructions loaded into memory 604 from NVS 606. In one embodiment, button activation instructions 607 for one or more button activation techniques as described herein are stored in NVS 606 for use with capacitive touch sensor 618. In one embodiment, mobile device 600 may include menu options for the user to select the desired button activation technique including search-and-tap and search-and-lift.
Memory 604 may include, but is not limited to, Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Synchronized Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), or the like. In one embodiment, memory 604 may include one or more memory units that do not have to be refreshed.
Components of mobile device 600 may be connected by various interconnects, such as bus 608. In one embodiment, an interconnect may be point-to-point between two components, while in other embodiments, an interconnect may connect more than two components.
Mobile device 600 may interface to external systems through network interface 614 using a wired connection, a wireless connection, or any combination thereof. Network interface 614 may include, but is not limited to, a modem, a Network Interface Card (NIC), or the like. Network interface 614 may include a wireless communication module. The wireless communication module may employ a Wireless Application Protocol to establish a wireless communication channel. The wireless communication module may implement a wireless networking standard.
A carrier wave signal 622 may be received/transmitted by network interface 614. In the embodiment illustrated in
Mobile device 600 may include non-volatile storage 606 on which firmware may be stored. Non-volatile storage devices include, but are not limited to, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Flash memory, Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM), or the like.
Mass storage 612 includes, but is not limited to, a magnetic disk drive, such as a hard disk drive, an optical disk drive, or the like. It is appreciated that instructions executable by processor 602 may reside in mass storage 612, memory 604, non-volatile storage 606, or may be transmitted or received via network interface 614.
In one embodiment, mobile device 600 may execute an Operating System (OS). Embodiments of an OS include a Microsoft Windows® operating system, an Apple® operating system, or the like. In one embodiment, instructions for executing an OS may be stored on mass storage 612.
For the purposes of the specification, a machine-readable medium includes any mechanism that provides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a form readable or accessible by a machine (e.g., a computer, network device, personal digital assistant, manufacturing tool, any device with a set of one or more processors, etc.). For example, a machine-readable medium includes, but is not limited to, recordable/non-recordable media (e.g., Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, a flash memory device, etc.). In addition, a machine-readable medium may include propagated signals such as electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.).
Various operations of embodiments of the present invention are described herein. These operations may be implemented using hardware, software, or any combination thereof. These operations may be implemented by a machine using a processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like. In one embodiment, one or more of the operations described may constitute instructions stored on a machine-readable medium, that if executed by a machine, will cause the machine to perform the operations described. The order in which some or all of the operations are described should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated by one skilled in the art having the benefit of this description. Further, it will be understood that not all operations are necessarily present in each embodiment of the invention.
The above description of illustrated embodiments of the invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. These modifications can be made to embodiments of the invention in light of the above detailed description. The terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification. Rather, the following claims are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.
