Abstract: An optical assembly including a reflectance-based sensor emitting light into a detection plane and detecting reflections of the emitted light, reflected by an object located in the detection plane, a light redirector positioned away from the sensor redirecting light emitted by the sensor into one or more spatial planes parallel to the detection plane and, when the object is located in the one or more spatial planes, redirecting light reflected by the object into the detection plane, and a processor controlling light emitted by the sensor and receiving outputs from the sensor, and configured such that when an object passes through one or more of the spatial planes, the processor identifies both the spatial planes through which the object passes, and the location of the object within the spatial planes through which it passes, based on the received outputs and the position of the light redirector relative to the sensor.

Abstract: An optical assembly including a reflectance-based sensor emitting light into a detection plane and detecting reflections of the emitted light, reflected by an object located in the detection plane, a light redirector positioned away from the sensor redirecting light emitted by the sensor into one or more spatial planes parallel to the detection plane and, when the object is located in the one or more spatial planes, redirecting light reflected by the object into the detection plane, and a processor controlling light emitted by the sensor and receiving outputs from the sensor, and configured such that when an object passes through one or more of the spatial planes, the processor identifies both the spatial planes through which the object passes, and the location of the object within the spatial planes through which it passes, based on the received outputs and the position of the light redirector relative to the sensor.

Abstract: An interactive mid-air display including a display that presents a graphical user interface (GUI), optics projecting and rotating the GUI above the display such that the GUI is visible in-air in a plane rotated away from the display, a sensor including light emitters projecting beams towards the projected GUI, light detectors detecting reflections of the beams by objects interacting with the projected GUI, and a lens structure maximizing detection at each detector for light entering the lens structure at a respective location at a specific angle ?, whereby for each emitter-detector pair, maximum detection of light corresponds to the object being at a specific location in the projected GUI, in accordance with the locations of the emitter and detector and the angle ?, and a processor mapping detections of light for emitter-detector pairs to corresponding locations in the projected GUI, and translating the mapped locations to coordinates on the display.

Abstract: A sensor including optics configured in accordance with a display that presents a GUI, the optics projecting the GUI above the display such that the GUI is visible in-air, a reflectance sensor including light emitters projecting light beams towards the projected GUI, light detectors detecting reflections of the beams by objects interacting with the projected GUI, and a lens maximizing detection of light at each detector for light entering the lens at a respective location along the lens at a specific angle ?, whereby for each emitter-detector pair, maximum detection of light projected by the emitter of the pair, reflected by an object and detected by the detector of the pair, corresponds to the object being at a specific 2D location in the projected GUI, and a processor mapping detections of light for emitter-detector pairs to their corresponding 2D locations, and translating the mapped locations to display coordinates.

Abstract: A touch system with a curved touch surface, including light emitters projecting light beams over and across the curved surface, such that at least some of the light beams are incident upon and reflected by the curved surface, light detectors detecting reflections, by a reflective object touching the curved surface, lenses mounted such that (i) there is a particular angle of entry at which each light detector receives a maximal light intensity, and (ii) there are target positions, associated with emitter-detector pairs, on the curved surface, whereby light beams emitted by the light emitter of that pair are reflected by the object into the lens corresponding to the light detector of that pair at the particular angle of entry, and a processor calculating a location of the object touching the curved surface by determining an emitter-detector pair that detects a maximal amount of light, and identifying the associated target position.

Abstract: A proximity sensor, including a housing, an array of lenses mounted in the housing, an array of alternating light emitters and light detectors mounted in the housing, each detector being positioned along the image plane of a respective one of the lenses so as to receive maximum light intensity when light enters the lens at a particular angle, an activating unit mounted in the housing and connected to the emitters and detectors, synchronously co-activating each emitter with at least one of the detectors, each activated emitter projecting light out of the housing along a detection plane, and a processor receiving outputs from the detectors corresponding to amounts of projected light reflected by an object in the detection plane to the detectors, and calculating a two-dimensional location of the object in the detection plane based on the detector outputs and the particular angle.

Abstract: A system including two handheld electronic devices, each device including a housing, a communicator mounted in the housing continuously receiving images from an internet server, a display mounted in the housing, and a sensor mounted in the housing and connected to the communicator, configured to detect sizes of objects in an adjacent detection zone, and including an analyzer recognizing the other handheld electronic device when the sensor detects that an object in the adjacent detection zone is as long as an edge of the housing, wherein the server receives outputs from the analyzer and partitions each of the images into two half-images, and continuously transmits one of each half-image to the handheld electronic device and the other of each half-image to the other handheld device, such that each full image spans the two device displays.

Abstract: A proximity sensor including a housing, light emitters mounted in the housing for projecting light out of the housing along a detection plane, light detectors mounted in the housing for detecting amounts of light entering the housing along the detection plane, whereby for each emitter-detector pair (E, D), when an object is located at a target position p(E, D) in the detection plane, corresponding to the pair (E, D), then the light emitted by emitter E is scattered by the object and is expected to be maximally detected by detector D, and a processor to synchronously activate emitter-detector pairs, to read the detected amounts of light from the detectors, and to calculate a location of the object in the detection plane from the detected amounts of light, in accordance with a detection-location relationship that relates detections from emitter-detector pairs to object locations between neighboring target positions in the detection plane.

Abstract: A state machine for controlling a sensor including a chip package coupled with photo-emitters and photo-detectors mounted in a device, and with a host processor, including an emitter driver, a detector driver, a signal processor for generating signals representing amounts of light detected by the detectors, and a scan controller for controlling the emitter and detector drivers to activate an automated sequence of emitter-detector pairs, the scan controller including registers for storing parameters designating emitter-detector pairs that are to be activated during the automated sequence, and for storing the signals generated by the signal processor for the emitter-detector pair activations, and at least one input/output pin for receiving parameters from the host processor to be loaded into the registers, and for outputting the stored signals in the registers to the host processor, for the host processor to identify therefrom location coordinates of an object near or touching the device.

Abstract: A flexible touch surface, emitters projecting light beams across the surface such that the beams are incident upon and reflected by the surface when crossing the surface, detectors detecting reflections, by an object on the surface, of projected beams, lenses oriented such that there is a particular angle of entry at which each detector receives a maximal light intensity when beams enter a lens corresponding to the detector at the angle of entry, and such that there are target positions on the surface whereby for each emitter-detector pair, when the object is located at a target position associated with the pair, then light beams emitted by the emitter of the pair are reflected by the object into the lens corresponding to the detector of the pair at the angle of entry, and a processor synchronously co-activating emitter-detector pairs and calculating a location of the object on the surface.

Abstract: Activating a plurality of light emitters and light detectors around a screen, each emitter-detector pair corresponding to a light path crossing the screen, wherein some of the light paths are blocked when one or more objects touch the screen, providing a look-up table, listing, for each cell from a plurality of cells, those light paths that traverse that cell when no object is touching the screen, wherein the cells partition the screen, for each cell: accessing the look-up table to identify those light paths that traverse that cell, determining whether the thus-identified light paths are blocked during the activating and, if affirmative, recognizing that cell as being a touched cell, and combining adjacent touched cells into a common touch location, thereby calculating one or more touch locations wherein each touch location is a combination of one or more constituent touched cells.

Abstract: A touch screen assembly including a display, infra-red light emitters, photo diodes, a transparent frame including an exposed upper edge along its perimeter, and internally reflective facets for directing light emitted by the emitters along light paths that travel upward through one side of the frame, over the display screen, downward through the opposite side of the frame, and onto the photo diodes, and a processor operative to identify a location of an object touching the display, based on amounts of light detected by photo diodes when light emitted by light emitters is blocked along its light path by the object, and to recognize the object touching an outer wall of the frame, based on amounts of light detected by activated photo diodes when light emitted by activated emitters is absorbed along its light path by the object at the outer wall, thereby providing touch sensitivity to the frame itself.

Abstract: A proximity sensor including a housing including a printed circuit board, the housing configured to be repeatedly attached to and detached from an electronic device, a linear array including interleaved light emitters and photodiode detectors mounted on the printed circuit board, lenses mounted in the housing directing light beams emitted by the light emitters towards an airspace outside the housing, and directing light beams reflected by one or more objects in the airspace towards the photodiode detectors, and a processor generating information regarding a plurality of different gestures performed by the one or more objects in the airspace, based on reflected light detected by the photodiode detectors, and communicating the information to the electronic device as input to the electronic device, when the housing is attached to the electronic device.

Abstract: A cover for a handheld electronic device, including a cover piece that fits over a side surface of a handheld electronic device, a plurality of proximity sensors mounted in the cover piece, and directed outward from the side surface, for detecting user gestures performed outside the side surface, wireless communication circuitry, and a processor configured to operate the proximity sensors, and to cause the wireless communication circuitry to transmit commands to the electronic device in response to gestures detected by the proximity sensors.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A method for use by a touch screen in which light transmitted inside the screen is scattered by an object touching the screen from outside the screen, the method including activating emitter-receiver pairs for a plurality of emitters and receivers while an object is touching a screen from outside the screen, wherein light emitted by each emitter is transmitted inside the screen, wherein each emitter is associated with a limited number of receivers that detect significant light from such emitter while no object is touching the screen, and wherein the activated emitter-receiver pairs include pairs for which the receiver is not associated with the emitter in the pair, determining that receivers not associated with emitters detect significant light due to the object scattering the light emitted by the emitters, and deriving the location where the object is touching the screen from the determining.

Abstract: 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.