Acoustic touch sensitive testing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9785281-B2
Application number	US-201113293060-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 9, 2011
Priority date	Nov 9, 2011
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

Acoustic touch sensitive testing techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a touch-sensitive surface of a touch-sensitive device is tested by detecting contact made with the touch sensitive surface using an acoustic sensor and comparing data describing the contact that is received from the acoustic sensor with data describing the contact that is received from the touch-sensitive device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
testing a touch-sensitive surface of a touchscreen device by:
receiving at the touch-sensitive surface a contact;
detecting the contact by both a first sensor part of the touch-sensitive surface and a second sensor of a test apparatus, the second sensor being an acoustic sensor, the first sensor being a type other than acoustic, the touch-sensitive surface not containing an acoustic sensor usable to detect the contact, and the second sensor being separate and distinct from the touchscreen device and not used by the touchscreen device to detect the contact;

sending first data from the touchscreen device to the test apparatus, the first data describing the contact as detected by the first sensor; and
determining an ability of the touchscreen surface to accurately detect the contact by comparing the first data to second data, the second data describing the contact as detected by the second sensor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the testing is configured to determine a latency associated with detection of the contact.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the contact by both further comprises:
receiving signals from the second sensor continuously for a prescribed duration;
analyzing the received signals for a first time point at which at least one signal exceeds a threshold; and
utilizing the first time point as the first data.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the threshold is based on a maximum magnitude associated with background noise.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the touchscreen device is a mobile computing device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the touch-sensitive surface is operable as a display for a mobile communications device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data is based on a time associated with the contact as detected by the first sensor, and wherein the second data is based on a time associated with the contact as detected by the second sensor.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the contact by both further comprises:
receiving signals from a plurality of additional acoustic sensors of the test apparatus;
using the signals from the plurality of additional acoustic sensors to determine a position of the contact; and
determining a latency of the touch-sensitive surface based on the determined position of the contact.

9. A test apparatus comprising:
an acoustic sensor configured for placement proximal to a touch-sensitive surface of a touchscreen device, the acoustic sensor separate and distinct from the touchscreen device and not used by the touchscreen device to detect a contact made to the touch-sensitive surface; and
at least one module that detects the contact by both the acoustic sensor and a first sensor part of the touch-sensitive surface, the at least one module configured to:
receive first data from the touchscreen device describing the contact as detected by the first sensor, the first sensor being a type other than acoustic; and
determine an ability of the touch-sensitive surface to accurately detect the contact by comparing the first data to second data, the second data describing the contact as detected by the acoustic sensor.

10. The test apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the comparison of the first data to the second data is used to determine latency associated with detection of the contact.

11. The test apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the first data is based on a time associated with the contact as detected by the first sensor, and wherein the second data is based on a time associated with the contact as detected by the second sensor.

12. The test apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the touchscreen device is a mobile computing device.

13. The test apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the contact is associated with a non-user contact.

14. The test apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the first sensor is a capacitive sensor.

15. The test apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the at least one module is implemented as one or more of software, firmware, or hardware.

16. A system comprising:
a first sensor part of a touch-sensitive surface of a touchscreen device, the first sensor being other than an acoustic sensor, the touch-sensitive surface not containing an acoustic sensor usable to detect a contact with the touch-sensitive surface;
a second sensor, the second sensor being an acoustic sensor, the second sensor being separate and distinct from the touch-sensitive surface and not used to detect the contact;
at least one processor and a memory;
the memory including at least one module including executable instructions that when executed on the at least one processor is configured to detect the contact by both the first sensor and the second sensor by:
receive first data associated with the touch-sensitive surface describing the contact as detected by the first sensor; and
determine an ability of the touch-sensitive surface to accurately detect the contact by comparing the first data to second data, the second data associated with the second sensor describing the contact detected by the second sensor.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the comparison determines a latency associated with detection of the contact.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the touchscreen device is a mobile electronic device.

19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the first data is based on a time point associated with the contact as detected by the first sensor, and wherein the second data is based on a time point associated with the contact as detected by the second sensor.

20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the second sensor is associated with a test apparatus.

Assignees

• Uzelac Aleksandar
• Batchvarov Andrey B
• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Uzelac Aleksandar
• Batchvarov Andrey B

Classifications

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F3/0418 Primary

  for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment · CPC title

• G06F3/041

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

• G06F11/2221

  to test input/output devices or peripheral units · CPC title

• G06F3/043

  using propagating acoustic waves · CPC title