Inductive Touch Input

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018180450-A1
Application number	US-201715854744-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 26, 2017
Priority date	Dec 26, 2016
Publication date	Jun 28, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A touch-scroll apparatus can provide touch-scroll input/functionality, such as for a mobile communication device (as an example application). The touch-scroll apparatus includes a multi-coil sensor assembly including multiple sense inductor coils (for example, three). A sensor slot is formed in a portion of the device case (such as a device side-wall), defining a touch-scrolling surface/area at the exterior of the device. The sidewall slot is dimensioned to receive and position the touch-scrolling multi-coil sensor assembly relative to the touch-scrolling surface/area. Inductive sensor electronics is coupled to the multiple touch-scroll sense inductor coils to detect scrolling movement and direction based on signal output from the sensor inductor coil signals (such as changes in coil inductance), including for each a peak signal corresponding to maximum deflection of the touch-scrolling surface/area opposite the sense inductor coil. The touch-scrolling sensor assembly can be secured within the sensor slot with elastomeric pads.

First claim

1 . A touch scrolling apparatus for a device, comprising:
a multi-coil sensor assembly including multiple sense inductor coils; a sensor slot formed in a portion of the device case, defining a touch-scrolling surface/area at the exterior of the device; the sensor slot dimensioned to receive and position the multi-coil sensor assembly relative to the touch-scrolling surface/area; sensor electronics coupled to the multiple sense inductor coils to detect scrolling movement and direction based on signal output from the sensor inductor coils, including for each a peak signal corresponding to maximum deflection of the touch-scrolling surface/area opposite the sense inductor coil.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the device is a mobile communication device.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the sensor slot is formed in a side-wall of the device.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the multi-coil sensor assembly is secured within the sensor slot with elastomeric pads.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sensor electronics is operable to detect sense coil inductance, including changes in inductance based on touch-scrolling deflection of the touch-scrolling surface in the direction of the sense inductor coil.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the multi-coil sensor assembly includes three sense inductor coils.

Assignees

• Texas Instruments Inc

Inventors

• Liu Dongtai

Classifications

• G06F1/1626

  with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs] · CPC title

• G06F3/041

  Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means · CPC title

• G06F1/169

  the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes (G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033) · CPC title

• G06F1/1671

  Special purpose buttons or auxiliary keyboards, e.g. retractable mini keypads, keypads or buttons that remain accessible at closed laptop (G06F1/1666 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F3/0485 Primary

  Scrolling or panning · CPC title