Patent Application
20140192006
People are increasingly utilizing computers and other electronic devices to access various types of content. For example, users are utilizing portable electronic devices such as electronic book (“e-book”) readers and tablet computers in order to read books, magazines, and view other content. Sometimes these types of devices do not include a backlight for illuminating content, for reasons such as to conserve power and reduce the weight of the devices, as well as to make the content more visible in the presence of bright sunlight. The lack of a backlight, however, might prevent users from being able to utilize these devices at night or in other low light environments, as users might not always be in a situation where it is acceptable or even possible to externally illuminate the device.
Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings, in which:
In the following description, various embodiments will be illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings. References to various embodiments in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same embodiment, and such references mean at least one. While specific implementations and other details are discussed, it is to be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the scope and spirit of the claimed subject matter.
Systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure may overcome one or more of the aforementioned and other deficiencies experienced in conventional approaches to providing user interface devices and/or illuminating information displayed on user interface devices. In particular, various approaches discussed herein provide a display screen assembly, or other such display element, that integrates both capacitive touch sensing and a light guide onto a single optically transparent substrate. The substrate can be integrated into a portable device, such as an electronic reader (e-reader) device having a reflective display, in order to both illuminate content displayed on the e-reader device and to provide touch sensing input to the device.
In accordance with an embodiment, the capacitive sensors are fabricated on one side of the optically transparent (e.g., clear) substrate, while the light guide (i.e., optical patterns used to guide the light) is fabricated on the opposite side of the substrate. The capacitive sensors are used to detect touch input from a user. The light guide (e.g., optical patterns) directs light produced by a light source (e.g., LED) onto the reflective display to illuminate the content being displayed on the reflective display. The light guide can be fabricated by applying a lacquer (e.g., ultraviolet lacquer) or other such material on one side of the substrate, such as by using a roll-to-roll or deposition process, and then embossing the light guide (e.g., optical pattern) onto the lacquer. Alternatively, the light guide can be embossed directly onto the substrate, formed into the substrate using a stamping or ablation process, or fabricated into the capacitive sensors, for example. As used herein, the term light guide refers to the optical patterns and other light extraction features that allow the light to be directed out of the substrate. The optical patterns may include printed dots, surface roughening, round shapes, lenses, trapezoidal shapes, ridges, curved surfaces, or any other surface shapes or patterns that cause light diffraction and allow the light to be directed in a desired direction. Such optical patterns may be formed as part of the substrate (molded/stamped), or the patterns can be part of a layer laid down on the substrate (e.g., lacquer, etc.)
On the other side of the substrate (e.g., opposite side from the light guide), the touch sensors can be fabricated to enable touch input for the device. In one embodiment, indium tin oxide (ITO) can be used to construct the touch screen by depositing the ITO onto the side of the substrate and etching the electrode sensors that will be used to detect touch. In another embodiment, the touch sensors may be fabricated out of graphene due to the electrical conductivity and optical transparency of graphene.
In one embodiment, the side containing the touch screen can be facing “up” (i.e. towards the user and away from the reflective display screen) and the side containing the light guide would be facing “down” (i.e. away from the user and towards the reflective display). The sides can also be reversed, such that the touch screen is facing down and the light guide is facing up. It should be understood that directions such as “up” and “down” are used for purposes of explanation and do not require specific orientations unless otherwise stated.
In another embodiment, both the light guide and the touch screen can be fabricated on the same side of the substrate. For example, the optical patterns to guide the light may be formed into the capacitive touch sensors (e.g., electrodes) that also serve to detect touch input. The optical patterns can be formed as part of the same process used to construct the capacitive touch sensor grid and out of the same optical conductive material used to construct the sensors. In one embodiment, the optical pattern can be deposited onto both transmitting sensors (e.g., transmitters) and receiving sensors (e.g., receivers). In other embodiments, the optical pattern can be generated only on the receivers or only on the transmitters.
In accordance with an embodiment, the substrate is optically transparent (e.g., clear) such that light can propagate through the substrate. For example, in certain embodiments, the substrate can have a refractive index of less than 1.45. In various embodiments, the substrate can be a cyclic olefin copolymer, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), glass, or other optically clear film substrate.
In accordance with an embodiment, one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) or other light sources are integrated into the electronic device for supplying ambient light to the reflective display. The LEDs can be positioned along the edge of the reflective display or in the corners of the display. The light guide embossed onto one side of the display directs the ambient light emitted by the LEDs onto the reflective display, thereby illuminating the content displayed on the reflective display.
Conventionally, devices such as e-readers have utilized reflective and/or electrophoretic displays to display content, such as the text of an electronic book. This has been advantageous in many aspects, such as allowing users to read under bright sunlight conditions, improving battery life, increasing the portability of the device and the like. For example, many e-readers utilize electronic paper technology which reflects light to display the content (as opposed to conventional backlit panel displays which emit light). Many of these technologies (e.g., gyricon, electrophoretic, electrowetting, electrofluidic, etc.) can hold static text and images indefinitely without using electricity, while allowing images to be changed later, when electricity is applied.
Such reflective displays typically require a certain amount of ambient light in order for the displayed content to be visible to an ordinary user. This means that a light source is needed in order to enable a user to read the device in the dark. In order to deal with this problem, some manufacturers have attempted to incorporate a light source into an e-reader device. For example, in the embodiment shown in
At the same time, there is some desire to provide a touch-based user interface for the e-reader, such as a capacitive based touch screen. A touch screen can utilize a number of different approaches to enabling touch input, including but not limited to resistive or capacitive touch based technology. A capacitive touch screen can be a self-capacitance or a mutual-capacitance screen, among other such options.
A self-capacitance screen can include a layer of capacitive material, where in some embodiments, capacitors or capacitive regions are arranged in the layer according to a coordinate system. For example, a plurality of sensor lines (e.g., electrodes) can be arranged in a grid formation having multiple rows and columns (or other formation), where each sensor line is treated as a conductor that has a certain amount of capacitance. When an object (e.g., human finger) comes in proximity or contact with the conductor, the object causes a change in capacitance of the sensor line(s). This capacitive change caused by the object can be measured in the various rows and columns using a current meter (or other such component), enabling the location of the touch to be determined (e.g., by determining the intersection of the affected sensor lines in the grid). For example, the sensor lines can be connected to a touch controller configured to detect the changes in capacitance of the sensors. The self-capacitance approach has relatively low power requirements and produces a relatively strong signal, but in some cases cannot accurately resolve multiple touch locations, especially when more than one or two objects are simultaneously making contact with the screen.
A mutual capacitance based touch screen can utilize the same set of sensor lines or a different set of sensor lines that are configured to act as transmitters and receivers. For example, each column of the sensor grid can be configured as a transmitter that transmits an electrical signal (e.g., produces an electric field) and each row of the sensor grid can be configured as a receiver that receives that electrical signal. When an object such as a finger comes into proximity with the screen, the object causes a change in the amount of signal that the receiver is receiving. For example, the finger touching the screen can reduce the amount of signal being received by the receiver. Based on this change in signal, the location of the touch can be determined. In addition, multiple touches (e.g., 3 or more simultaneous touches) can be accurately located on the touch screen by using mutual capacitance. Thus, while mutual capacitance tends to be more accurate than self-capacitance, mutual capacitance also typically uses more power than self-capacitance (e.g., for transmitting/receiving the electrical signal).
Conventionally, the touch-based screen user interface (e.g., either self-capacitance or mutual capacitance based touch screens) and the front light guide have been manufactured as two separate and independent components. In various embodiments described herein, both the touch screen and the light guide can be incorporated onto a single substrate.
In accordance with an embodiment, the substrate 302 can be manufactured in such a way that the front light guide is fabricated on one side 303 of the substrate, while the touch screen 305 is fabricated on the opposite side of the substrate. In another embodiment, both the light guide and the touch screen may be fabricated on the same side of the substrate, as described in other portions of this disclosure. The substrate can be any material that is optically clear, but in some embodiments, it may be advantageous that the substrate has a refractive index below a predetermined threshold (e.g., 1.45). For example, the substrate can be manufactured of PMMA, cyclic olefin copolymer or other clear plastic film.
In accordance with an embodiment, to fabricate a light guide on the first side 303 of the substrate, a lacquer (or other material) can be applied onto the substrate using a process such as a roll-to-roll process, and the light guide can be embossed or otherwise formed or deposited onto the lacquer. Alternatively, the light guide can be embossed directly onto the substrate, without applying any lacquer to it. In another embodiment, the light guide might be formed into the substrate using a stamping or ablation process. In another embodiment, the light guide may be formed onto the capacitive sensors that provide touch sensing. The light guide can include any of a number of patterns that are configured to channel any light 306 (e.g., emitted by an LED), directed into an edge or side of the light guide, in a desired direction, such as onto the reflective display 304, in order to illuminate the content displayed thereon. The pattern can be selected such that the light is directed in a substantially uniform fashion across the reflective display, in order to avoid variations in intensity of the light reflected from different areas of the display.
In accordance with an embodiment, to fabricate the touch sensors 307, ITO, graphene (or other conductive material) can be deposited on the other side 305 of the substrate. The touch sensors 307 can then be formed out of the ITO or graphene.
Graphene is a substance made of pure carbon, with atoms arranged in a regular hexagonal pattern. Usually, graphene is optically more transparent (e.g., has a lower refractive index) than ITO, but not as transparent as optical polymers or glass material. For example, in some cases, the refractive index of graphene has been measured to be between 2.0 and 1.1. In addition, graphene has high intrinsic mobility, high thermal conductivity and its sheet resistance varies over a wide range depending on production methods. Because graphene has a higher transparency and better conductivity than ITO, in some embodiments, graphene may be a good option for a material used to manufacture the capacitive touch sensors.
In various embodiments, the touch sensors can be fabricated onto the substrate by using a number of techniques including but not limited to micro-printing, silk printing masking with vapor deposition, fine inkjet printing, screen printing, photo-etching, dipping the substrate into carbon nano particles or any other methods known in the art.
In accordance with an embodiment, the light guide can be fabricated on the side of the substrate that is facing the reflective display screen 304 which will be used to render the content. The touch sensors, on the other hand, can be fabricated onto the opposite side of the substrate, i.e. the side that is facing the user. In some cases, this configuration can enable the light guide to channel the ambient light more optimally onto the display screen to better illuminate the content, while the touch screen is positioned closer to the user in order to improve the sensing of objects contacting the screen. In alternative embodiments, however, the sides of the substrate can be reversed such that the light guide is positioned to face the user and the touch screen is facing the reflective display, or both the touch sensors and light guide may be placed on the same side of the substrate, as previously described.
In the illustrated embodiment, the light emitted by the LEDs is directed 412 onto the side of the substrate 402 which contains the light guide fabricated thereon. The light guide channels the emitted light onto the reflective display screen, thereby illuminating any content displayed thereon. This can enable a user to read content in the dark or under low lighting conditions.
It should be noted that although some examples of this disclosure refer placements such as “underneath” or “on top of”, these terms are used only for purposes of explanation and do not require specific orientations unless otherwise stated.
In operation 1201, one or more capacitive sensors are fabricated on a first side of an optically transparent substrate. The one or more capacitive sensors can be configured to detect one or more touches. For example, the capacitive sensors may be implemented as a grid of electrode lines, where the rows of the grid act as transmitters and the columns of the grid are configured as receivers. In this configuration, an object touching the screen could be detected based on the intersection of the transmitter and receiver.
In operation 1202, at least one light guide is fabricated on a second side (e.g., opposite side) of the optically transparent substrate. In an alternative embodiment, both the light guide and the capacitive sensors are fabricated on the same side of the substrate, such as by forming the optical pattern of the light guide onto the capacitive sensors. The light guide is configured to direct ambient light to a reflective display screen capable of displaying content.
In operation 1203, one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) are configured to emit ambient light onto the light guide fabricated on the second side of the substrate. For example, the LEDs can be positioned along the edge of the substrate and can be controlled by a processor to activate/deactivate light based on various conditions.
In operation 1204, a reflective display screen is positioned adjacent to the optically transparent substrate such that the ambient light emitted by the one or more LEDs is used to illuminate the content displayed by the reflective display screen. For example, the light guide contains a pattern that causes the incoming light to be channeled and dispersed on the reflective display. This allows the content displayed on the reflective display to be more clearly visible to a user reading the content.
In this example, the portable computing device 1300 has a display screen 1302 (e.g., a reflective display screen) operable to display images or textual content to one or more users or viewers of the device. In at least some embodiments, the display screen provides for touch or swipe-based input using, for example, capacitive or resistive touch technology. Such a display element can be used to, for example, enable a user to provide input by pressing on an area of the display corresponding to an image of a button, such as a right or left mouse button, touch point, etc. The device can also have touch and/or pressure sensitive material 1310 on other areas of the device as well, such as on the sides or back of the device. While in at least some embodiments a user can provide input by touching or squeezing such a material, in other embodiments the material can be used to detect motion of the device through movement of a patterned surface with respect to the material.
The portable computing device can also include at least one microphone 1306 or other audio capture element capable of capturing audio data, such as may be used to determine changes in position or receive user input in certain embodiments. In some devices there may be only one microphone, while in other devices there might be at least one microphone on each side and/or corner of the device, or in other appropriate locations.
The example device 1300 also includes at least one communication mechanism 1314, such as may include at least one wired or wireless component operable to communicate with one or more portable computing devices. The device also includes a power system 1316, such as may include a battery operable to be recharged through conventional plug-in approaches, or through other approaches such as capacitive charging through proximity with a power mat or other such device. Various other elements and/or combinations are possible as well within the scope of various embodiments.
In order to provide functionality such as that described with respect to
The device typically will include some type of display element 1406, such as a touch screen, electronic ink (e-ink), organic light emitting diode (OLED) or liquid crystal display (LCD), although devices such as portable media players might convey information via other means, such as through audio speakers.
The device, in many embodiments, will include at least one audio element 710, such as one or more audio speakers and/or microphones. The microphones may be used to facilitate voice-enabled functions, such as voice recognition, digital recording, etc. The audio speakers may perform audio output. In some embodiments, the audio speaker(s) may reside separately from the device.
The device can include additional input devices that are able to receive conventional input from a user. This conventional input can include, for example, a push button, touch pad, touch screen, wheel, joystick, keyboard, mouse, trackball, keypad or any other such device or element whereby a user can input a command to the device. These I/O devices could even be connected by a wireless infrared or Bluetooth or other link as well in some embodiments. In some embodiments, however, such a device might not include any buttons at all and might be controlled only through a combination of visual and audio commands such that a user can control the device without having to be in contact with the device.
The example device also includes one or more wireless components 1414 operable to communicate with one or more portable computing devices within a communication range of the particular wireless channel. The wireless channel can be any appropriate channel used to enable devices to communicate wirelessly, such as Bluetooth, cellular, or Wi-Fi channels. It should be understood that the device can have one or more conventional wired communications connections as known in the art. The example device includes various power components 1416 known in the art for providing power to a portable computing device, which can include capacitive charging elements for use with a power pad or similar device as discussed elsewhere herein. The example device also can include at least one touch and/or pressure sensitive element, such as a touch sensitive material around a casing of the device, at least one region capable of providing squeeze-based input to the device, etc. In some embodiments this material can be used to determine motion, such as of the device or a user's finger, for example, while in other embodiments the material will be used to provide specific inputs or commands.
A computing device, in accordance with various embodiments, may include a light-detecting element that is able to determine whether the device is exposed to ambient light or is in relative or complete darkness. Such an element can be beneficial in a number of ways. For example, if the device is determined to be in complete darkness while a user is operating the device, the control circuitry that operates the light source of the device may be configured to turn on the light source in order to illuminate the content displayed on the device. The light-detecting element could also be used in conjunction with information from other elements to adjust the functionality of the device. For example, if the device is unable to detect a user's view location and a user is not holding the device but the device is exposed to ambient light, the device might determine that it has likely been set down by the user and might turn off the display element and disable certain functionality. If the device is unable to detect a user's view location, a user is not holding the device and the device is further not exposed to ambient light, the device might determine that the device has been placed in a bag or other compartment that is likely inaccessible to the user and thus might turn off or disable additional features that might otherwise have been available. In some embodiments, a user must either be looking at the device, holding the device or have the device out in the light in order to activate certain functionality of the device. In other embodiments, the device may include a display element that can operate in different modes, such as reflective (for bright situations) and emissive (for dark situations). Based on the detected light, the device may change modes.
As discussed, different approaches can be implemented in various environments in accordance with the described embodiments. For example,
The illustrative environment includes at least one application server 1508 and a data store 1510. It should be understood that there can be several application servers, layers or other elements, processes or components, which may be chained or otherwise configured, which can interact to perform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriate data store. As used herein, the term “data store” refers to any device or combination of devices capable of storing, accessing and retrieving data, which may include any combination and number of data servers, databases, data storage devices and data storage media, in any standard, distributed or clustered environment. The application server 1508 can include any appropriate hardware and software for integrating with the data store 1510 as needed to execute aspects of one or more applications for the client device and handling a majority of the data access and business logic for an application. The application server provides access control services in cooperation with the data store and is able to generate content such as text, graphics, audio and/or video to be transferred to the user, which may be served to the user by the Web server 1506 in the form of HTML, XML or another appropriate structured language in this example. The handling of all requests and responses, as well as the delivery of content between the client device 1502 and the application server 1508, can be handled by the Web server 1506. It should be understood that the Web and application servers are not required and are merely example components, as structured code discussed herein can be executed on any appropriate device or host machine as discussed elsewhere herein.
The data store 1510 can include several separate data tables, databases or other data storage mechanisms and media for storing data relating to a particular aspect. For example, the data store illustrated includes mechanisms for storing content (e.g., production data) 1512 and user information 1516, which can be used to serve content for the production side. The data store is also shown to include a mechanism for storing log or session data 1514. It should be understood that there can be many other aspects that may need to be stored in the data store, such as page image information and access rights information, which can be stored in any of the above listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additional mechanisms in the data store 1510. The data store 1510 is operable, through logic associated therewith, to receive instructions from the application server 1508 and obtain, update or otherwise process data in response thereto. In one example, a user might submit a search request for a certain type of item. In this case, the data store might access the user information to verify the identity of the user and can access the catalog detail information to obtain information about items of that type. The information can then be returned to the user, such as in a results listing on a Web page that the user is able to view via a browser on the user device 1502. Information for a particular item of interest can be viewed in a dedicated page or window of the browser.
Each server typically will include an operating system that provides executable program instructions for the general administration and operation of that server and typically will include computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of the server, allow the server to perform its intended functions. Suitable implementations for the operating system and general functionality of the servers are known or commercially available and are readily implemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art, particularly in light of the disclosure herein.
The environment in one embodiment is a distributed computing environment utilizing several computer systems and components that are interconnected via communication links, using one or more computer networks or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate equally well in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than are illustrated in
The various embodiments can be further implemented in a wide variety of operating environments, which in some cases can include one or more user computers or computing devices which can be used to operate any of a number of applications. User or client devices can include any of a number of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop or laptop computers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular, wireless and handheld devices running mobile software and capable of supporting a number of networking and messaging protocols. Such a system can also include a number of workstations running any of a variety of commercially-available operating systems and other known applications for purposes such as development and database management. These devices can also include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals, thin-clients, gaming systems and other devices capable of communicating via a network.
Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiar to those skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of a variety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP, OSI, FTP, UPnP, NFS, CIFS and AppleTalk. The network can be, for example, a local area network, a wide-area network, a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, a wireless network and any combination thereof.
In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of a variety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTP servers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers and business application servers. The server(s) may also be capable of executing programs or scripts in response requests from user devices, such as by executing one or more Web applications that may be implemented as one or more scripts or programs written in any programming language, such as Java®, C, C# or C++ or any scripting language, such as Pert, Python or TCL, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s) may also include database servers, including without limitation those commercially available from Oracle®, Microsoft®, Sybase® and IBM®.
The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memory and storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety of locations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) one or more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computers across the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the information may reside in a storage-area network (SAN) familiar to those skilled in the art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functions attributed to the computers, servers or other network devices may be stored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includes computerized devices, each such device can include hardware elements that may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, for example, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one input device (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch-sensitive display element or keypad) and at least one output device (e.g., a display device, printer or speaker). Such a system may also include one or more storage devices, such as disk drives, optical storage devices and solid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), as well as removable media devices, memory cards, flash cards, etc.
Such devices can also include a computer-readable storage media reader, a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infrared communication device) and working memory as described above. The computer-readable storage media reader can be connected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storage medium representing remote, local, fixed and/or removable storage devices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing, transmitting and retrieving computer-readable information. The system and various devices also typically will include a number of software applications, modules, services or other elements located within at least one working memory device, including an operating system and application programs such as a client application or Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments may have numerous variations from that described above. For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets) or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.
Storage media and computer readable media for containing code, or portions of code, can include any appropriate media known or used in the art, including storage media and communication media, such as but not limited to volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmission of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data, including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a system device. Based on the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement the various embodiments.
The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereunto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.
