Touch Screen Apparatus for Recognizing a Touch Gesture

Abstract

A touch-based user interface system comprising an arrangement for scanning a tactile sensor array to produce a corresponding array of measurement values that are presented to a processor for computation. The computation produces a plurality of running sums created from selected measurement values or functions of selected measurement values. A post-scan computation algorithm derives at least three independently-adjustable interactive control parameters responsive to at least displacements or angles the contact of a single area of threshold contact or threshold proximity. The system provides output control signals responsive to the independently-adjustable interactive control parameters. In one aspect of the invention, n algorithmic element for handling of regions of threshold contact or threshold proximity having non-convex shapes. In another aspect of the invention, an algorithmic element calculates the rate of change of one or more of the independently-adjustable interactive control parameters. Other aspects of the invention include shape and gesture recognition.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . An apparatus comprising:
 a) a display screen;   b) a transparent sensor array positioned to detect touch-based interaction on the display screen, the transparent sensor array having a plurality of sensors, each sensor responding to contact with the apparatus; and   c) at least two separate processors that are configured to:
 i) acquire data from the plurality of sensors, 
 ii) use the acquired data to identify a sequence of postures forming a continuous grammar, each posture having a contiguous region of detected contact, 
 iii) identify a touch gesture by detecting specific dynamic variations in the sequence of postures, 
 iv) derive a control parameter for the touch gesture by performing calculations based on the data acquired from the plurality of sensors, and 
 v) assign the control parameter to a control signal; 
 wherein one of the at least two separate processors is configured to acquire data from the plurality of sensors, and 
 further wherein another of the at least two separate processors is an output processor configured to assign the control parameter to the control signal. 
   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the transparent sensor array is positioned over the display screen. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the output processor receives the control parameter from another processor. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the output processor dynamically assigns the control parameter to the control signal in a programmable manner under stored program control. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the output processor assigns the control parameter to the control signal using stored control signal assignment information. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the control parameter is assigned to the control signal using programming that dynamically selects between a first control assignment and a second control assignment. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the output processor assigns the control parameter to the control signal using stored control signal assignment information. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the control parameter is assigned to the control signal using programming that dynamically selects between a first control assignment and a second control assignment. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein each posture has a plurality of contiguous regions of detected contact. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein each contiguous region of detected contact comprises a sub-posture associated with a different portion of a human hand contacting the apparatus. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein each sub-posture is associated with a separate finger on the human hand. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the touch gesture is a finger flick. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the touch gesture is identified through dynamic positional changes in the sequence postures. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the touch gesture is identified through rotational movement detected in the sequence of postures. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the touch gesture corresponds to interactions with visual content displayed on the display screen. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the visual content comprises dynamically assigned labels. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the control parameter reflects a velocity associated with the dynamic changes in the sequence of postures. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the contiguous region of detected contact is identified through a run-time adjacency test. 
     
     
         20 . An apparatus comprising:
 a) a display screen;   b) a transparent sensor array positioned to detect touch-based interaction with the display screen, the sensor array having a plurality of sensors, each sensor producing data responsive to contact with the apparatus; and   c) at least two separate processors that are configured to:
 i) acquire the data from the plurality of sensors, 
 ii) use the acquired data to identify postures based upon a detected contact pattern found in the data, 
 iii) identify a touch gesture by detecting specific dynamic variations in the postures, 
 iv) derive a control parameter for the touch gesture, and 
 v) assign the control parameter to a control signal; 
 wherein one of the at least two separate processors is configured to acquire data from the plurality of sensors, and 
 further wherein another of the at least two separate processors is an output processor configured to assign the control parameter to the control signal. 
   
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the output processor receives the control parameter from outside the output processor before assigning the control parameter to the control signal. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the output processor assigns the control parameter to the control signal in a programmable manner under stored program control. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the output processor assigns the control parameter to the control signal using stored control signal assignment information. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the control parameter is assigned to the control signal using programming that dynamically selects between a first control assignment and second control assignment. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the touch gesture is a finger flick. 
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the touch gesture corresponds to interactions with visual content displayed on the display screen.