Patent Application
20100073563
The present invention relates generally to the field of remote controls for electrical devices and more specifically to the field of remotely controlling electrical devices using a touch-operable input device.
In a wide variety of applications, remote controls provide their users with remote access to the functions of various electrical devices, such as, for example, media players, televisions, medical devices, robots, or video game controllers.
Largely, conventional remote controls use an array of dedicated, mechanical push buttons to access these functions. Mechanical push buttons provide two desirable qualities: “absolute location functionality”—being fixed in function and fixed at an absolute location on the remote control—enabling the user to easily find a given function; and, “in-place selectability”—allowing the given function, once found at an absolute location, to be selected simply by pressing at that same absolute location. Unfortunately, owing to the size of mechanical push buttons, such conventional remote controls suffer from a relatively low functional density. As the number of electrical device functions grows, the size of these conventional remote controls grows to the point of becoming uncomfortable and unwieldy.
Replacing some or all of a conventional remote control's mechanical push buttons with a touchpad—a touch-operable input device as often incorporated in laptop computers—offers the promise of relatively higher functional density. Additionally, curving the touchpad surface packs more surface area into the same footprint to achieve even higher functional density. However, if the touchpad were to be operated in a conventional, relative motion mode, as is typically done in laptop computers, the desirable qualities of absolute location functionality and in-place selectability would be lost.
Fortunately, by operating the touch pad in an unconventional, absolute motion mode, absolute location functionality can be restored. Furthermore, by operably coupling the touchpad with a switch assembly, so that pressing the touchpad operates one or more selection switches, in-place selectability can also be restored.
Opportunities exist, therefore, to provide an improved remote control with the same desirable qualities as a conventional remote control, and with increased functional density, by incorporating a touchpad, operating in absolute mode, operably coupled to a switch assembly.
The opportunities described above are addressed, in one embodiment of the present invention, by an apparatus for controlling an electrical device, the apparatus comprising: a touch module for sensing user input and generating a touch signal and a press signal; at least one switch assembly for accepting the press signal and generating a selection signal; and a processing module for receiving the touch signal and the selection signal and for generating a processed signal for controlling the electrical device.
In one embodiment of the apparatus, the processed signal comprises at least one television control signal.
In another embodiment of the apparatus, the processed signal comprises absolute location data corresponding to spatial locations of the touch module.
In still another embodiment of the apparatus, the touch module comprises a concave touch surface disposed and configured for sensing the user input.
The present invention is also embodied by a method for controlling an electrical device, the method comprising the acts of: sensing user input using a touch module: generating a touch signal or a press signal from the user input; generating a selection signal from the press signal using at least one switch assembly; and generating a processed signal from the touch signal and the selection signal for controlling the electrical device.
In one embodiment of the method, the processed signal comprises at least one television control signal.
In another embodiment of the method, the processed signal comprises absolute location data corresponding to spatial locations of the touch module.
In still another embodiment of the method, the touch module comprises a concave touch surface disposed and configured for sensing the user input.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention,
Electrical device 110 refers to any electrically powered device, assembly, or combination thereof, operable by a user. Examples of electrical device 110 include, without limitation, media players, televisions, medical devices, robots, and video game controllers.
As used herein, the term “finger” refers to any of the five terminating members of the hand including the thumb. “User input” refers to two types of physical interaction with touch module 130 typically performed with one or more fingers: a “touch input,” referring to establishing a sufficiently close proximity to, or exerting a light pressure on touch module 130; and a “press input,” referring to exerting a heavier pressure on touch module 130.
Touch module 130 refers to any device, assembly, or combination thereof capable of sensing the user input, for example by optical, mechanical, or electrical means, and generating a touch signal in response to a touch input, and a press signal in response to a press input. The touch signal typically comprises coordinate information identifying a location on touch module 130 and is embodied in any manner compatible with processing module 140. In example embodiments of the invention, touch module 130 incorporates a capacitive touch sensor such as a TM3957 Touchpad manufactured by Cirque Corporation of Salt Lake City, Utah, which produces a touch signal having coordinate information suitable for use in the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand how to incorporate various other additional or alternative touch module devices after being taught by this example. The press signal is a binary signal, embodied in any manner compatible with switch assembly 120.
Switch assembly 120 refers to any device, assembly, or combination thereof, for example, mechanical, optical, or electrical, capable of receiving the press signal and generating the selection signal. The selection signal is a binary signal embodied in any manner compatible with processing module 140.
Processing module 140 refers to any device, assembly, or combination thereof capable of receiving the touch signal and the selection signal, however embodied, and generating processed signal 150, embodied in a form compatible with electrical device 110.
In typical embodiments, the touch signal and the selection signal are embodied as conducted electrical signals; the press signal as a mechanical signal, for example, a force or a displacement; and processed signal 150 as an electromagnetic wave signal, for example, a radio frequency wave or infrared wave.
In a more detailed embodiment in accordance with the embodiment of
Typical control signals of television control signal 160 include, without limitation, power on, power off, search, home, volume up, volume down, keypad mode, cursor mode, fast forward, play, pause, rewind, mute, text mode, numerical mode, and combinations thereof. The control signals “power on” and “power off” control the power to electrical device 110; “volume up,” “volume down,” and “mute,” control the intensity of the sound from electrical device 110; “fast forward,” “play,” “pause,” and “rewind” control playback or display of sequential media, such as, without limitation, films, albums, books on tape, and video games; “search” activates a search function on electrical device 110; “home” activates a function on electrical device 110 restoring a set of default values; “keypad mode,” “cursor mode,” “text mode,” and “numerical mode” are different modes for apparatus 100 to interact with electrical device 110.
In another more detailed embodiment in accordance with the embodiment of
In accordance with another more detailed embodiment of the embodiment of
Shaft 190 is a mechanical component, mechanically coupled to the concave touch surface 170 to generate a mechanical operating signal when a press signal is received. Shaft 190 is supported and guided by bearing 200.
Bearing 200 supports the structure of apparatus 100 when a press input is received anywhere on concave touch surface 170. Bearing 200 may be embodied, without limitation, as a magnetic bearing, air bearing, hydrostatic bearing, hydrodynamic bearing, cylindrical roller bearing, ball bearing, angular contact bearing, linear bearing or jewel bearing.
Bearing 200 is typically embodied as a linear bearing 280, specifically an anti-rotation circulating ball bearing 240.
In some embodiments, a guide shaft 250 guides the motion of touch module 130 when a press signal has been received. Guide shaft 250 refers to any mechanical component capable of performing the indicated function.
In a more detailed embodiment in accordance with the apparatus embodiment of
In an alternative embodiment to the embodiment of
Selection switch 210 is any switch capable of receiving the mechanical operating signal and generating a selection signal. For example, selection switch 210 may be embodied, without limitation, as a tactile switch, fiber optic switch, pressure switch, magnetic switch or a resistive switch. Selection signal is any signal compatible with processing module 140. The selection signal is typically embodied as a conducted electrical signal.
Having only one radius of curvature on lower surface 300 reduces manufacturing costs while having surprisingly little impact on the generation of touch from touch module 130 and selection signals from at least one switch assembly 120.
The top diagram of
Dedicated device button 310 refers to any device capable of sensing user input and generating a dedicated device button signal compatible with processing module 140. Dedicated device button 310 may be embodied, without limitation, as a pushbutton switch, dome switch, rocker switch, magnetic switch, optical switch, proximity switch, slide switch, or toggle switch. In a typical embodiment shown in
Pushbutton switch 320 refers to an embodiment of dedicated device button 310 wherein a press input generates a binary signal. Slide potentiometer 330 refers to an embodiment of dedicated device button 310 wherein a press input generates an analog signal.
Operating indicia 220 refers to markings explaining functionality of particular components or locations on apparatus 100. For example, a dedicated device button 310 may be labeled with operating indicia 220 indicating that a press input will toggle power to the device. Other typical operating indicia 220 include, without limitation, Power, Search, Home, Volume up, Volume down, Keypad/Cursor mode, Fast Forward, Play, Pause, Rewind, Mute, and Text/Numerical mode.
Operating indicia 220 further label dedicated areas of concave touch surface 170. In typical embodiments of concave touch surface 170, concave touch surface 170 is a polygon wherein the edges and corners are labeled with operating indicia 220 indicating special functionality in those locations. For example, operating indicia 220 may be used to indicate an area near an edge of concave touch surface 170 dedicated to a scrollbar selection function.
In a more detailed embodiment in accordance with the embodiment of
In some embodiments, as illustrated in
While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
This application claims the benefit of the filing date of the provisional application titled, “User Interface Device and Methodology”; Christopher Painter, inventor; attorney docket number 31811-373380 (GLTV-001-P); the entire contents and appendices of which are hereby included by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61096723 | Sep 2008 | US |
