Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090189878 | LIGHT-BASED TOUCH SCREEN - A light-based touch screen, including a housing for a display screen, a plurality of infra-red light emitting diodes (LEDs), fastened on the housing, for generating light beams, at least one LED selector, fastened on the housing and connected with the plurality of LEDs, for controllably selecting and deselecting one or more of the plurality of LEDs, a plurality of photodiode (PD) receivers, fastened on the housing, for measuring light intensity, at least one PD selector, fastened on the housing and connected with the plurality of PD receivers, for controllably selecting and deselecting one or more of the plurality of PD receivers, an optical assembly, fastened on the housing, for projecting light beams emitted by the plurality of LEDs in substantially parallel planes over the housing, and a controller, fastened on the housing and coupled with the plurality of PD receivers, (i) for controlling the at least one LED selector, (ii) for controlling the at least one PD selector, and (iii) for determining therefrom position and velocity of an object crossing at least one of the substantially parallel planes, based on output currents of the plurality of PD receivers. | 07-30-2009 |
20100238138 | OPTICAL TOUCH SCREEN SYSTEMS USING REFLECTED LIGHT - A touch screen system, including a near-infrared transparent screen including a plurality of reflective elements embedded therein, a circuit board including circuitry for controlled selective activation of electronic components connected thereto, at least one light source connected to the circuit board, for emitting light, and at least one light detector connected to the circuit board, for detecting light emitted by the at least one light source and reflected by the reflective elements. | 09-23-2010 |
20100238139 | OPTICAL TOUCH SCREEN SYSTEMS USING WIDE LIGHT BEAMS - A touch screen system, including a screen, a plurality of light sources coupled with the screen, for emitting light, a plurality of photo diodes coupled with the screen, for detecting the light emitted by the light sources, and for identifying the location of a touch on the screen when an absence of the emitted light is detected, and a plurality of lenses coupled respectively with the plurality of light sources to generate wide beams of light over a portion of the screen wherein substantially connected areas of the screen are covered by neighboring wide beams. | 09-23-2010 |
20110163998 | LIGHT-BASED TOUCH SCREEN WITH SHIFT-ALIGNED EMITTER AND RECEIVER LENSES - A touch screen including a housing, a display mounted in the housing, a plurality of collimating lenses mounted in the housing along two opposite edges of the display and arranged along the two edges so as to be shift-aligned relative to one another, a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in the housing that are spaced apart from and transmit light pulses through the collimating lenses of one of the two edges over the display, a plurality of light pulse receivers mounted in the housing that are spaced apart from and receive the light pulses through the collimating lenses of the opposite of the two edges, and a calculating unit, mounted in the housing and connected to the receivers, that determines a location of a pointer on the display that partially blocks the light pulses transmitted by the emitters, based on outputs of the receivers. | 07-07-2011 |
20110167628 | COMPONENT BONDING USING A CAPILLARY EFFECT - A method of attaching a component to a substrate, including providing a component guide attached to a substrate, the component guide having a cavity substantially conforming to contours of a portion of a component, attaching a first solder pad to the component, inserting the component into the guide cavity, providing a second solder pad, offset from the first solder pad and near the cavity, and inserting the component, the component guide and the substrate into an oven heating the solder pads, wherein the component is drawn further into the guide cavity by a capillary effect of the heated solder pads. | 07-14-2011 |
20110169780 | METHODS FOR DETERMINING A TOUCH LOCATION ON A TOUCH SCREEN - A method of determining a touch coordinate on a touch screen, including providing a display, a plurality of collimating lenses along two opposite edges of the display, the collimating lenses being arranged along the two edges so as to be shift-aligned relative to one another, a plurality of light pulse emitters that transmit light pulses through the collimating lenses of a first of the two edges over the display, and a plurality of light pulse receivers that receive the light pulses through the collimating lenses of the opposite of the two edges, and that output values representing the received light pulses, wherein light pulses emitted by each emitter are detected by at least two of the receivers, wherein each receiver detects light pulses emitted by at least two emitters, and wherein each receiver has expected values for emitter-receiver pairs when light pulses are not blocked, selecting receiver output values for emitter-receiver pairs that deviate significantly from corresponding receiver expected values, wherein the selected values indicate at least that light pulses transmitted by two emitters are blocked from reaching one receiver, or that light pulses transmitted by one emitter are blocked from reaching two receivers, associating a screen coordinate along a first screen axis with each selected receiver output, and calculating a touch coordinate by interpolating the associated screen coordinates according to the respective deviations between the selected receivers' output values and corresponding expected values. | 07-14-2011 |
20110169781 | TOUCH SCREEN CALIBRATION AND UPDATE METHODS - A method of calibrating optical components in a light-based touch screen, including providing (i) a display, (ii) a row of light pulse emitters that sequentially transmit light pulses over the display according to calibrated pulse current and pulse duration controls, and (iii) a row of light pulse receivers that receive the light pulses and that output values representing the received light pulses, each receiver having expected values for emitter-receiver pairs when the light pulses are not blocked, determining if each receiver output value for a receiver-emitter pair is within a respective designated range from the corresponding receiver expected value, and when a receiver output value for a receiver-emitter pair is outside the designated range, recalibrating the emitter, including adjusting at least one of the emitter pulse current and pulse duration such that subsequent receiver output values are within the designated range, and updating the receiver expected value for the receiver-emitter pair based on subsequent output values of the receiver. | 07-14-2011 |
20110175852 | LIGHT-BASED TOUCH SCREEN USING ELLIPTICAL AND PARABOLIC REFLECTORS - A touch screen system, including a housing, a display mounted in the housing, a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in the housing below the display, a plurality of light pulse receivers mounted in the housing below the display, a first light guide, mounted in the housing along a first edge of the display, including a first substantially parabolic reflective surface for reflecting light pulses transmitted by the emitters, and a first substantially elliptical refractive surface, positioned substantially above the first substantially parabolic reflective surface, for refracting the reflected light pulses over the display, a second light guide, mounted in the housing along an opposite edge of the display, including a second substantially elliptical refractive surface for further refracting the light pulse refracted by the first substantially elliptical refractive surface, and a second substantially parabolic reflective surface, positioned substantially below the second substantially elliptical refractive surface, for reflecting the further refracted light pulses to the receivers, and a calculating unit, mounted in the housing and connected to the receivers, to determine a location of a pointer on the display that partially blocks the light pulses refracted by the first light guide, based on outputs of the receivers corresponding to light pulses refracted by the second light guide. | 07-21-2011 |
20110181552 | PRESSURE-SENSITIVE TOUCH SCREEN - A pressure-sensitive touch screen including a housing, at least one light receiver rigidly mounted in the housing, a display flexibly mounted in the housing substantially above the at least one receiver, which depresses in response to pressure of a touch, and a calculating unit connected to the at least one light receiver for receiving outputs indicating amounts of received light by the at least one receiver, and for determining that the display is being depressed based on an increase in an output of the at least one receiver. | 07-28-2011 |
20110210946 | LIGHT-BASED TOUCH SCREEN USING ELONGATED LIGHT GUIDES - A touch screen including a housing, a display mounted in the housing, a plurality of collimating lenses mounted in the housing and arranged along a first edge of the display, a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in the housing that are spaced apart from and serially transmit light pulses through the collimating lenses over the display, a light guide mounted in the housing along the edge of the display opposite the first edge, for receiving the light pulses, the light guide including a reflective strip that reflects light pulses to one end of the light guide, a light pulse receiver mounted in the housing near the one end of the light guide, for receiving the reflected light pulses, and a calculating unit, mounted in the housing and connected to the receiver, for determining a location of a pointer on the display that partially blocks light pulses transmitted by the emitters, based on outputs of the receiver. | 09-01-2011 |
20120176343 | OPTICAL ELEMENTS WITH ALTERNATING REFLECTIVE LENS FACETS - An optical element for a light based touch surface including a concatenated plurality of segments, wherein each segment is paired with a respective light emitter, each segment including an undulating series of pairs of reflective or refractive facets, wherein a first facet in each pair is oriented so as to collimate light emitted from a first light emitter associated with the segment and a second facet in each pair is oriented so as to collimate light emitted from a second light emitter associated with the segment, and wherein the first light emitter associated with the segment is the light emitter paired with the segment and the second light emitter associated with the segment is the light emitter paired with a neighboring segment. | 07-12-2012 |
20120188205 | ASIC CONTROLLER FOR LIGHT-BASED TOUCH SCREEN - A controller including a chip package coupled with a light-based touch screen, emitter driver circuitry inside the chip package for selectively activating photoemitters that are outside of the chip package, detector driver circuitry inside the chip package for selectively activating photo detectors that are outside of the chip package, detector signal processing circuitry for generating detection signals representing amounts of light detected on the photo detectors, signal conducting pins for connecting the photoemitters to the emitter driver circuitry, signal conducting pins for connecting the photo detectors to the detector driver circuitry and to the detector signal processing circuitry, controller circuitry inside the chip package for controlling the emitter driver circuitry and the detector driver circuitry, and at least one input/output pin for outputting the detection signals to a host processor, for the host processor to identify one or more locations on the touch screen that are being touched. | 07-26-2012 |
20120188206 | OPTICAL TOUCH SCREEN WITH TRI-DIRECTIONAL MICRO-LENSES - A lens for refracting light in three directions, including a lens surface having a repetitive pattern of recessed cavities formed by a repetitive pattern of three substantially planar facets. | 07-26-2012 |
20120326987 | LIGHT ACTUATOR FOR MOVABLE BUTTONS ON A KEYPAD - A keypad for use in conjunction with a touch-sensitive panel, the keypad including a frame surrounding a touch-sensitive panel, including a plurality of buttons suspended by the frame above the touch-sensitive panel, each of the buttons including a rigid member that is lowered through the frame when pressure is applied from above, and a resilient body attached to the rigid member and to the frame for raising the rigid member when the pressure from above is released, wherein the rigid members are exposed below the frame. | 12-27-2012 |
20130076697 | LIGHT-BASED TOUCH SCREEN - A light-based touch screen, including a housing for a display screen, a plurality of infra-red light emitting diodes (LEDs), fastened on the housing, for generating light beams, at least one LED selector, fastened on the housing and connected with the plurality of LEDs, for controllably selecting and deselecting one or more of the plurality of LEDs, a plurality of photodiode (PD) receivers, fastened on the housing, for measuring light intensity, at least one PD selector, fastened on the housing and connected with the plurality of PD receivers, for controllably selecting and deselecting one or more of the plurality of PD receivers, an optical assembly, fastened on the housing, for projecting light beams emitted by the plurality of LEDs in substantially parallel planes over the housing, and a controller, fastened on the housing and coupled with the plurality of PD receivers, (i) for controlling the at least one LED selector, (ii) for controlling the at least one PD selector, and (iii) for determining therefrom position and velocity of an object crossing at least one of the substantially parallel planes, based on output currents of the plurality of PD receivers. | 03-28-2013 |
20130093727 | LIGHT-BASED FINGER GESTURE USER INTERFACE - A light-based finger gesture user interface for an electronic device including a housing for an electronic device, a display mounted in the housing, a cavity, separated from the display, penetrating two opposite sides of the housing, a detector mounted in the housing operative to detect an object inserted in the cavity, and a processor connected to the detector and to the display for causing the display to render a visual representation in response to output from the detector. | 04-18-2013 |
20130127765 | USER INTERFACE FOR A TOUCH SCREEN - A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor of an electronic device that includes a touch sensitive and pressure sensitive display, cause the processor to enable a user interface of the electronic device, by which a glide gesture along the display and an amount of pressure applied to the display both generate the same user interface command. | 05-23-2013 |
20130141395 | LIGHT-BASED TOUCH SURFACE WITH CURVED BORDERS AND SLOPING BEZEL - A light-based touch-sensitive surface, including a housing, a surface attached to the housing for receiving touch input, a plurality of light sources in the housing for emitting light that crosses the surface, a plurality of light receivers in the housing for detecting the light emitted by the light sources, a curved lens adjacent to the surface through which the light emitted by the light sources passes, including two substantially similarly curved exterior panels, one of which forms a curved rim for the surface, and a calculating unit in said housing, connected to the light receivers, for calculating a touch location based on an absence of light expected to be received by the receivers. | 06-06-2013 |
20130155027 | OPTICAL TOUCH SCREEN SYSTEMS USING TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION - A touch screen, including a layer of light-transmissive material having an upper surface that is exposed for touch by one or more objects, a plurality of light emitters underneath the upper surface, a first lens assembly for directing light beams emitted by the light emitters into the layer at an angle such that the light beams, when entering the layer, remain confined to the layer by total internal reflection when the light beams are not absorbed by any of the objects touching the upper surface, a plurality of light detectors for detecting light beams and for generating outputs indicating the amounts of light detected, a second lens assembly for directing light beams at a surface of the layer towards the light detectors, and a calculating unit for determining respective one or more locations of the one or more objects touching the upper surface, based on outputs of the light detectors. | 06-20-2013 |
20130187891 | RESILIENT LIGHT-BASED TOUCH SURFACE - A light-based touch sensitive device, including a housing, a surface encased in the housing, a layer of elastic material above the surface, a plurality of light pulse emitters mounted in the housing, that transmit light pulses through the layer, a plurality of light pulse receivers mounted in the housing, that receive the light pulses transmitted through the layer, and a calculating unit, mounted in the housing and connected to the receivers, that determines a location of a pointer that touches the layer and creates an impression in the layer, based on outputs of the receivers. | 07-25-2013 |
20130229373 | LIGHT-BASED FINGER GESTURE USER INTERFACE - A light-based finger gesture user interface for an electronic device including a housing for an electronic device, a display mounted in the housing, a cavity, separated from the display, penetrating two opposite sides of the housing, a detector mounted in the housing operative to detect an object inserted in the cavity, and a processor connected to the detector and to the display for causing the display to render a visual representation in response to output from the detector. | 09-05-2013 |
20130241886 | SIDE-LIGHT DISPLAY ILLUMINATOR - A light guide for illuminating a display screen, including a vertical cone-shaped entrance surface including an aperture for admitting light beams emitted by an LED, a folding mirror for reflecting the admitted light beams at an angle of approximately 90°, and for horizontally collimating the admitted light beams, a horizontal guide for guiding the reflected light beams to an exit surface, and an exit surface positioned above a perimeter of a display screen for directing the guided light towards a portion of the display screen, the exit surface being tilted vertically from the horizontal at a slight angle to direct the guided light beams towards the display, and being shaped horizontally as a concave lens to spread the guided light beams horizontally over an angular expanse of the display screen. | 09-19-2013 |
20140104160 | REMOVABLE PROTECTIVE COVER WITH EMBEDDED PROXIMITY SENSORS - A removable cover for a handheld electronic device, including a protective cover that at least partially covers rear and side surfaces of a handheld electronic device, a plurality of proximity sensors mounted in the cover for detecting user gestures performed outside of the electronic device, a battery, wireless communication circuitry, and a processor configured to operate the proximity sensors, and to operate the wireless communication circuitry to transmit commands to the electronic device based on gestures detected by the proximity sensors. | 04-17-2014 |