TOUCH SENSITIVE PANEL SUPPORTING STYLUS INPUT

Abstract

Operating a user input device by scanning touch sensitive elements of a touch pad to measure touch sensitive element values. The touch sensitive element values are compared to a stylus input threshold pattern. Upon a favorable comparison, a stylus input condition is determined, stylus input touch pad processing settings are enacted, and a position of the stylus upon the touch pad is detected. Detection of the stylus position upon the touch pad is based upon the touch sensitive element values and the stylus input touch pad processing settings. The touch sensitive element values are compared to a touching finger threshold pattern. Upon a favorable comparison, a touching finger condition is determined, touching finger touch pad processing settings are enacted, and the touching finger's position upon the touch pad is detected based upon the touch sensitive element values.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIORITY APPLICATION

The present U.S. Utility Patent Application claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/261,702, entitled “TOUCH PAD USER IDENTIFICATION, GAMING INPUT, AND PREFERENCE INPUT,” (Attorney Docket No. BP20924), filed Nov. 16, 2009, pending, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utility Patent Application for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly to electronic devices having touch pads/panels.

2. Description of the Related Art

User gaming devices are fairly well known. These devices include game consoles with communicatively coupled controllers such as Nintendo game consoles, Sony game consoles, Microsoft game consoles, and various other game console devices. These game consoles couple to a television, may couple to an audio system, and support user game playing. Some of these game consoles support wireless communications with handheld game controllers and/or other game controllers. For example, the Nintendo Wii includes handheld controllers that detect their orientation to some degree, acceleration to some degree, and receive standard button inputs from a user. This information is wirelessly relayed to the game controller to control operation of corresponding game elements within the gaming environment. Other game controllers may include simulated game pieces such as musical instruments, baseball bats, golf clubs, and various other types of simulated devices. Further, other types of gaming systems are contained in a single unit such as the Nintendo GameBoy and the Sony PlayStation Portable, among other units.

With the continued advancement of technology, the complexities and capabilities of game consoles have become advanced. The game controllers support sophisticated gaming inputs received via numerous input sources, e.g., buttons, accelerometers, IR orientation detectors, positional detectors, and various other gaming inputs. The gaming environment in which these gaming inputs are received is very complex, providing a fairly realistic experience for a user of the gaming device/console. While some games supported by a game console may support only a few gaming inputs, other games require a large number of gaming inputs.

Most game consoles support many differing games, which are software controlled via respective software programming. Sometimes game controllers are specific to the particular game being supported, e.g., guitar hero, rock star, and various other particular types of games. In such a case, these various types of inputs must be supported by differing unique game controllers. The expense and complexity of the multiple game controllers can be overwhelming for some users from a cost standpoint.

Many gaming systems are contained within one unit such as the Nintendo Game Boy and its successors and the Sony Play Station and its successors, for example. These gaming systems include processing resources and a user interface contained within a single unit. With these units, various buttons receive user input while a display and speakers provide user output. Because of the limited battery life available for these units, their functionality has been limited in some regard.

Audio/video entertainment systems that include cable boxes, satellite boxes, and audio visual components typically include one or more remote control devices. These remote control devices allow users to remotely control system operation. Such technology is very old and has been prevalent for a number of years. However, one problem with these devices is that the operation generally of the set-top box is generic to all users and must be uniquely programmed if desired for a particular user. However, this particular programming in other settings is typically applied across the board to all potential users of the device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operation that are further described in the following Brief Description of the Drawings, the Detailed Description, and the claims. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating a video game system constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an audio/video entertainment system constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a game console constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a first perspective view of a game controller constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4B is a second perspective view of the game controller of FIG. 3A that is constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a game controller and coupled secondary game controller, both of which are constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a game controller constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an entertainment system remote control constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a touch pad and touch pad circuitry constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic side view illustrating both a user's finger and a stylus touching a touch pad constructed and operating according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a touch pad and the manner in which a touching finger and a touching stylus may be detected via differing capacitance levels according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a user input device (video game controller, video game console, remote control, automobile data input device, keypad replacement device, etc.) according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating particular operations of the user input device of FIG. 11 when enacting stylus input touch pad settings and touching finger touch pad settings according to one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a touch pad that operates according to one or more embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a touch pad that operates according to one or more embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a system diagram illustrating a video game system constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The gaming system 100 of FIG. 1 includes a game console 102 and a plurality of game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C. The game console 102 couples to an audio/visual system 104 that includes a video monitor and an audio system. The game console 102 also couples to an infrared (IR) detector 106.

The game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C communicate with the game console 102 via one or more of a wired and/or wireless communication link. The wired communication link may be a tethered controller including conductors that support wired communications. Wireless communications may be in various Radio Frequency (RF) bands and/or in the infrared range. Thus, each of the game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C includes communication circuitry that allow the game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C to communicate with the game console 102.

According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, each of game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C includes one or more touch pads/touch panels/touch sensitive pads (referred to herein interchangeably) 110A, 110B, and 110C, respectively. According to some aspects of the present invention, the touch pads 110A, 110B, and 110C of the game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C are used to identify users of the game controllers, to provide gaming input, to determine whether a user is active, and/or to provide other information to the game console 102 for subsequent action. Data captured by the touch pads 110A, 110B, and 110C may be solely processed by a host game controller, e.g., 108A, may be partially processed and transmitted to the game console 102 for further processing, or may be transferred in an unprocessed format from the game controller 108A to the game console 102. Based upon one or more embodiments of the present invention, touch pads are coupled to touch pad circuitry that measures capacitance (inductance or RF propagation) characteristics observed by a plurality of touch sensitive elements of the touch pads.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, each of the game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C includes touch pads 110A, 110B, and 110C that support both finger and stylus inputs. With the finger input operations of the touch pads 110A, 110B, and 110C, the touch pads enact touching finger touch pad processing settings that are tailored for receiving input via a finger of the user. In another operation, each of the touch pads 110A, 110B, and 110C enact stylus input touch pad processing settings that are tailored for receipt of input by a stylus. Distinguishing touching finger input from stylus input allows a user to more finely control or to provide greater resolution in inputs when using a stylus. It is generally known that styluses used in conjunction with touch pads have a magnetic or metallic end portion that has a relatively small diameter. When this end portion or tip of the stylus touches a touch pad, it has a much smaller cross section than a finger touching a touch pad. In this case, the use of a stylus as an input to touch pads 110A, 110B, and 110C provides greater resolution for input to a game service by game console 102 and game controllers 108A, 108B, or 108C. The game console 102 may include one or more touch pads that support both stylus input and touching finger input.

The inventive concepts described herein may also be applied to/embodied by a single package video game, i.e., a video game system that is contained in a single housing, a single package telephone, a single package remote control, a single package computer, a computer touch pad display, or other single package device. Such single package system includes a display, a user input, which includes one or more touch pads, processing components, memory components, and powering components, such as a battery and power circuitry. Thus, the teachings of the present invention further apply to all forms of touch sensitive systems including touch sensitive panel computers, touch sensitive panel monitors, touch sensitive panel laptop computers, smart phones, etc.

FIG. 2 is a system diagram illustrating an audio/video entertainment system constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The audio/video entertainment system 200 includes a multimedia system 202 that couples to monitor 204 and related multimedia system components such as speakers, audio components such as CD Players, DVD Players, tape deck, and/or various other multimedia system components. In some embodiments, the multimedia system 202, the monitor 204, and the IR detector 206 may be contained in single housing, e.g., stand-alone television, television with stereo, television with CD/DVD/tape deck, etc.

The multimedia system 202 also couples to an IR detector 206 or has such an IR detector built-in. The audio/video entertainment system 200 of FIG. 2 further includes at least one remote control 208A, 208B, and/or 208C. Each of these remote controls 208A, 208B, and 208C includes respective touch pads 210A, 210B, and 210C.

Each of remote controls 208A, 208B, and 208C includes touch pads 210A, 210B, and 210C that support both stylus input and touching finger input. As was previously described with reference to FIG. 1, the stylus input and touching finger input are supported via different processing settings. The processing settings for processing input from the touch pads 210A, 210B, and 210C differ for stylus input touch pad operations and touching finger touch pad operations.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a game console constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The game console 302 of FIG. 3 includes a wireless interface(s) 304, an infrared interface 306, an IR Transmit/Receive element 307, processing circuitry 308, one or more wired interfaces 310, and memory 312. The game console 302 typically also includes a user interface 314, a video interface 316, an audio interface 318, and may include a video camera/video camera interface 320. The wireless interface(s) 304 support wireless communications with at least the game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C described with reference to FIG. 1. This wireless interface may be a Bluetooth interface, a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, or another type of wireless communication interface that supports communications between the game console 302 and one or more game controllers. Further, the wireless interface 304 may support communications with a WLAN router or access point, a cellular infrastructure, a satellite communications network, or another type of wireless communications systems.

The IR interface 306 couples to the IR transmit/receive element 307 and supports IR communications with game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C as shown in FIG. 1. The IR communications between the game console 302 and the game controllers 108A, 108B, and 108C may support an industry standard or proprietary communications protocol. The processing circuitry 308 may include one or more of a system processor, a digital signal processor, a processing module, dedicated hardware, application specific integrated circuit, or other circuitry that is capable of executing software instructions and for processing data. The processing circuitry 308 may perform some processing to detect a hovering finger and determine a position of the hovering finger, and then use that input as gaming input or non-gaming input. The memory 312 may be RAM, ROM, FLASH RAM, FLASH ROM, an optical memory, magnetic memory, or other types of memory that is capable of storing data and/or instructions in allowing processing circuitry to access same. The wired interface(s) 310 may include a USB interface, a fire wire interface, a serial interface, a parallel interface, an optical interface, or another type of interface supported by a media that is copper, metal, or optical.

The user interface 314 may include a keypad, a video display, cursor control, a touch pad, or other type of interface that allows a user to interface with the game console 302. The video interface 316 couples the game console 302 to one or more video monitors to provide display for the gaming environment supported by game console 302. The communications link between the video interface 316 on the video monitor(s) may be an HDMI interface, a composite video interface, component video interface, an S-video interface, or another type of video interface supported by both the video monitor and the game console 302. The audio interface 318 couples the game console 312 to speakers and/or microphones for audio content delivery and receipt. The video camera/video camera interface 302 may include an onboard video camera or may couple the game console 302 to an external video camera. The external video camera may be used to provide gaming input or other types of information that the game console 302 uses within its operation to produce a gaming environment.

The game console 302 may receive touch pad input from one or more coupled game controllers. This touch pad input may be input caused by the use of a stylus or the finger (or other body part) of a user. According to one aspect of the present invention, the game console 302 may operate in conjunction with one or more game controllers to initiate stylus input touch pad processing settings and touching finger touch pad processing settings. For each of the particular cases, the input received from the touch pad indicative of a touch of a stylus or a finger of locations corresponding to a plurality of touch sensitive elements will cause different user inputs to be produced based upon which processing settings are enacted.

The game console 302 may direct one or more game controllers to enact one or more of the stylus input touch pad processing settings and the touching finger touch pad processing settings based upon a particular gaming operation, based upon input from the touch pad, or based upon other operational conditions. For example, in some cases, the game console 302 may support a video game that has a portion or segment that is designed to receive stylus input. In such case, the game console 302 may enact stylus input touch pad processing settings for the particular portion of the game. Likewise, other portions of the supported game of the game console 302 may require touching finger touch pad processing settings to receive user finger input for those portions. In this case, the game console 302 therefore initiates the stylus input touch pad processing settings and the touching finger touch pad processing settings at different points in the operation of the game.

FIG. 4A is a first perspective view of a game controller constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4A, a game controller 402 includes a cursor control 404, mechanical buttons 410 and 406, and may include a touch pad 408. The cursor control 404 may be a touch pad. When 404 and 408 are both touch pads, they receive inputs and may be used for user identification, gaming input, or other operations supported by the gaming system and includes game controller 402. The touch pad 408 of the gaming controller 402 of FIG. 4A may support both stylus input and touching finger input.

FIG. 4B is a second perspective view of the game controller 402 of FIG. 4A that is constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4B, a reverse portion of the game controller 402 may include a touch pad 452. The touch pad 452 may wrap around a back portion of the game controller 402. Alternatively, the touch pad 452 may reside on a battery cover of the game controller 402. As will be described further herein, the touch pad 452 includes a plurality of touch pad locations/touch sensitive elements that receive input that may be further used for user ID, gaming input, and/or other purposes. The touch pad 452 of FIG. 4B supports both stylus input touch pad processing settings and touching finger touch pad processing settings according to one or more operations of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a game controller and coupled secondary game controller, both of which are constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, primary game controller 502 includes a display 506, a circular input device 508, and input devices 510, 512, 514, 516, 518, and 520. Any of these input devices 508, 510, 512, 514, 516, 518, and 520 of primary game controller 502 may be touch pads, as is further described herein. These touch pads receive gaming input in a manner that is consistent with mechanical counterparts that were previously implemented according to prior devices.

The primary game controller 502 couples to secondary game controller 504 via either a wired or a wireless interface. The secondary game controller 504 includes input components 521, 522, and 524. These input components 521, 522, and 524 of the secondary game controller 504 may be embodied by either mechanical input devices or touch pads. The manners in which touch pads are implemented are described further herein. Data collected from these input components 521, 522, and 524 are relayed to game controller 502, which may process the inputs. Alternately, the input received from input components 521, 522, and/or 524 may be relayed to a servicing game console. The primary game controller 502 and the secondary game controller 504 may both be hand-held devices. Alternately, one or the other of these game controllers may be placed on the floor, inserted into a simulated gaming piece, e.g., guitar, drums, simulated golf club, simulated baseball bat, etc. Each of these game controllers 502 and 504 may capture touch pad input as is further described herein with reference to the FIGs. The touch pad input captured by game controllers 502 and 504 may be processed to produce combined gaming input or transmitted separately to a game console 202. The combined or separate touch pad input may be used as gaming input, may be processed to identify a user, or may be processed to otherwise provide input to a supported video game.

Still referring to FIG. 5, the input devices 521, 522, 524, 508, 510, 512, 514, 516, 518, and 520 may be touch pads that support both stylus input touch pad processing settings and touching finger touch pad processing settings according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. In some operations, the stylus input touch pad processing settings are enacted based upon detection of a touch of a stylus. In other operations, the stylus input processing settings are enacted based upon a direction received from game console as was just described with reference to FIG. 3. In either case, when the stylus input touch pad processing settings are enacted, the touch pads of the game controllers 502, and 504 will be tailored to receive input via a touch pad based upon the expected stylus characteristics. The game controller 504 may produce user input based upon the stylus input and relay the user input to a game console.

Likewise, each of the touch pads 522, 524, 514, 516, 518, and 520 may also be configured to enact touching finger touch pad processing settings. The touching finger touch pad processing settings are tailored for receipt of user input via a user's finger, as contrasted to the use of a stylus by a user. In such case, the user input received by the touching finger may be used to produce user input that is relayed from game controller 502 to a game console.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a game controller constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The game controller 602 includes one or more wireless interfaces 604, an IR interface 606 that includes an IR transmit/receive element 608, processing circuitry 610, wired interface(s) 612, memory 614, and user interface(s) 616. These particular components of the game controller 602 may be similar to the like named components of the game console 302 illustrated in FIG. 3 and described with reference thereto. However, in other embodiments, these like named components may have differing construct/functionality, e.g., smaller memory, less processing capability, lower power wireless interfaces, etc. Thus, commonly named components will not be described further herein as they have been previously described with reference to FIG. 3.

The game controller 602 includes one or more touch pad(s) 618, motion/position detector 620, orientation detector 622, display 624, speaker/microphone 626, and a video camera 628. The game controller may also include other components such as one or more environmental conditions detectors 630 that are used to sense environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and other environmental conditions. The structure and operations of the touch pads 618 will be described further herein with reference to subsequent FIGs. The motion/position detector 620 detects motion/acceleration of the game controller 602. Detection of such motion/acceleration may be performed in conjunction with the game controller, using a GPS system, using an accelerometer or gyrator of the game controller 602 and/or using external components to determine motion/acceleration position of the game controller. The motion/position detector 620 may also determine position of the game controller. The manner in which the motion/position detector 620 determines the position of the game controller 602 is not described further herein. However, the position detector 620 may use external reference devices in order to determine position of the game controller within a gaming environment. Motion, acceleration, and position of the game controller 602 may be provided to a servicing game console as a gaming input. The game controller 602 supports detection of a hovering finger and determines a position of the hovering finger, as described herein.

The orientation detector 622 determines an orientation and/or direction in which the game controller is pointed. Such orientation detection provided by orientation detector 622 may be accomplished in conjunction with the IR interface 606 of the game controller 602. Such orientation detection may be performed in conjunction with the IR detector 106 of the gaming system 100 of FIG. 1.

The display 624 of the game controller 602 may have a relatively small size or relatively large size that presents information to a user and that allows the user to respond accordingly. The speaker/microphone 626 may receive audio input and provide audio output to a user of the game controller 602. Audio input captured by the microphone may be used in conjunction with touch pad 618 input for user identification and/or for gaming input. Video camera 628 of the game controller may be used to determine a location of the game controller and/or may be used to provide additional gaming input for gaming environments supported by the game controller 602.

According to one particular aspect of the gaming system of FIG. 1, the touch pad(s) 618 of the game controller 602 (and/or game console) may be capacitive, inductive, or RF based. With regard to inputs received via the touch pad of the game controller, the raw data received by the touch pad of the game controller may be fully communicated to the game console of the gaming system. Alternatively, information captured via the touch pad(s) 618 of the game controller may be processed by the processing circuitry 610 of the game controller 602 (or other processing circuitry such as the touch pad processing circuitry shown in FIG. 6, which may be different or the same as the processing circuitry 610) prior to communicating such information to the game console 102 of FIG. 1. Such processing may be full or partial to determine whether and what data to upload to the game console.

Referring again to FIG. 5, the touch pad input received by game controller may be received at both primary 502 and secondary 504 game controllers of FIG. 5. The input received from multiple touch pads of the primary and secondary game controllers 502 and 504 may be received and at least partially processed by processing circuitry of the game controller(s) prior to uploading the data to a game console. The basis for touch pad input processing may be based upon a current usage of the game controllers. For example, the primary game controller 502 may be relevant to a first portion of a user's body while the secondary game controller 504 may be relevant to a second portion of a user's body.

Referring again to FIG. 6, the game controller includes touch pads 618. These touch pads 618 support both stylus input and touching finger input. According to some operations of the present invention, the processing circuitry 610 enacts stylus touch pad processing settings based upon a direction received from a game console or by meeting a stylus input condition. The stylus input condition is met when the game controller 602 detects that a stylus is being used to provide input to the touch pads 618. Likewise, the processing circuitry 610 implements touching finger touch pad processing settings for touch pads 618 upon detection of a touching finger or based upon direction received from the game controller via wireless interface 604 or infrared interface 606, or wired interface 612. In such case, the further operations of the touch pads 618 to receive user input are based upon the enacted settings.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the structure 602 of FIG. 6 is a single unit video game with the entirety of a video game supported thereby. With this embodiment, both stylus input and touch pad input are supported by the touch pad(s) 618.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an entertainment system remote control constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The remote control 702 may be used as one of the remote controls 208A, 208B, or 208C in conjunction with the multimedia system 202 of the system 200 of FIG. 2. The remote control includes one or more wireless interfaces 704, IR interface 706 that includes an IR T/R element 708, processing circuitry 710 and one or more wired interfaces 712. The remote control 702 further includes memory 714, one or more user interfaces 716, one or more touch pads 718, and/or one or more displays 720. The remote control 702 of FIG. 7 may include components that are of same/similar construct as those components previously described with reference to the game controller 602 of FIG. 6. However, as is illustrated in FIG. 7, the remote control 702 may have fewer components than those typically included with a game controller. The functions of each of the components of the remote control 702 of FIG. 7 may have similar input characteristics to those of game controller 602 of FIG. 6. The touch pads 718 and supporting circuitry 710 may be configured to enact one or both of the stylus input touch pad processing settings and touching finger touch pad processing settings.

As will be further described with reference to subsequent FIGs herein (and also for any of the game console, game controller or remote control), the stylus input processing settings may be enacted for a portion of the touch pad 718 and the touching finger touch pad processing settings may be enacted for a second portion of the touch pad 718. In either case, when the touch pad 718 is configured for particular types of input, the processing circuitry 710 will process touch sensitive element values based upon the settings to produce user input. Such user input may be relayed to the multimedia system 202 of FIG. 2 via wireless interface 704, infrared interface 706, or wired interface 712.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a touch sensitive pad and touch pad circuitry constructed according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. A touch pad 802 includes a plurality of touch sensitive elements 804 each of which corresponds to a particular location of the touch pad 802. With the embodiment of FIG. 8, the touch pad includes an array of touch sensitive elements 804, each of which may be a particular capacitively coupled location, inductively coupled location, or a radio frequency (RF) touch sensitive element. Touch pad circuitry 806 couples via a grid structure to the plurality of touch sensitive elements 804 to sense the particular capacitance, inductive, or RF characteristics at each of the touch sensitive elements.

Touch pad circuitry 806 scans the plurality of touch sensitive elements 804 via access of particular row-column combinations at particular times. The frequency or voltage at which the touch pad circuitry 806 scans the plurality of touch sensitive elements 804 may be altered over time. Choosing the scanning frequency or scanning voltage may be based upon a particular operational use of the touch pad. For example, at some points in time the manner in which the touch pad is scanned will change based upon a particular point in a game of a gaming system with which the touch pad functions as a gaming input device. Further, a first scanning frequency/scanning voltage may be employed for user identification while a second scanning frequency/scanning voltage may be employed for gaming input functions.

The scanning done by the touch pad circuitry 806 of the plurality of touch sensitive elements 804 may be made using a spread spectrum frequency scanning technique. Such technique may be employed to more efficiently capture information from the touch pad 802 at the various touch sensitive elements 804 or to determine which particular scanning frequencies are more successful than others in capturing input information.

Further, the scanning of each row and column corresponding to a particular touch sensitive element 804 may be altered based upon a detected capacitance (inductance/RF propagation) at the location. For example, one particular touch sensitive element 804 may have a fixed capacitance that does not vary over time. Such fixed capacitance may indicate that the particular touch sensitive element 804 is inoperable or that it receives no discernable input. In such case, by not scanning the particular touch sensitive element, other touch sensitive elements may be more frequently scanned or energy may be saved by not scanning all touch sensitive elements.

According to another aspect of the present invention, some portions of the touch pad may be disabled while others are enabled at differing points in time. Enablement of some touch sensitive elements and not others may be based upon a custom configuration of the touch pad for a particular input function provided.

The touch pad 802 may also be calibrated by the touch pad circuitry 806 based upon the environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and surrounding noise from the capacitance, inductance, or RF perspective. Calibration of the touch pad 802 allows the touch pad 802 to have more efficient and effective touch pad input for user identification and/or for other input purposes.

The touch pad 802 may also be calibrated by the touch pad circuitry 806 based upon the environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and surrounding noise as detected by measured capacitance, inductance, or RF propagation characteristics. Calibration of the touch pad 802 allows the touch pad 802 to be more efficient and more effectively receive touch pad input for user identification and/or for other input purposes. The calibration of the touch pad 802 by the touch pad circuitry 806 may be initiated at particular points in time. The touch pad circuitry 806 may simply initiate calibration of the touch pad 802 upon the expiration of a timer such that the touch pad is calibrated at a particular regular time interval. Alternatively, the touch pad 802 may be calibrated after a period of inactivity, i.e., the touch pad circuitry 806 performs calibration when it determines that no input is present on the touch pad 802. With other operations or embodiments, the touch pad 802 may be calibrated by the touch pad circuitry 806 using other input criteria as well.

Still referring to FIG. 8, the touch pad circuitry 806 may enact stylus input touch pad processing settings and/or touching finger touch pad processing settings for processing of input received via the plurality of touch sensitive elements 804. As will be further described herein, the touch pad circuitry 806 may enact the stylus input touch pad processing settings upon detection of a stylus touching the touch pad 802 or upon a direction received locally or from a remote device Likewise, the touch pad circuitry 806 may enact the touching finger touch pad processing settings upon detection of a finger touching the touch pad 802 or upon a direction received locally or from a remote device. Once the particular processing settings are enacted, the touch pad circuitry 806 processes the plurality of touch sensitive element values according to such processing settings to produce user input.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic side view illustrating both a user's finger and a stylus touching a touch pad constructed and operating according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the touch pad 902 includes a plurality of touch pad elements 904 that are disposed in two dimensions, as was shown in FIG. 8, across the touch pad 902. Each of the touch pad elements 904 is coupled to touch pad circuitry 912 and scanned by the touch pad circuitry 912 to determine a corresponding plurality of touch sensitive element values. Each touch sensitive element value corresponds to a particular touch sensitive element. As was previously described, each of the touch sensitive element values may be one or more of touch sensitive element measured capacitance, touch sensitive element measured inductance, or touch sensitive element measured Radio Frequency (RF) impedance.

Processing circuitry 916 couples to touch pad circuitry 912. The touch pad 902 may include/be constructed in conjunction with a touch pad display that includes a plurality of touch pad display elements 910 controlled by touch pad display circuitry 914, which also couples to processing circuitry 916. The touch pad display circuitry 914 controls the touch pad display elements 910 to create visible icons that may be viewed by a user of the touch pad 902. The manner in which icons are created and displayed is described further herein with reference to FIG. 14.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the touch pad 902 supports both stylus 908 input and touching finger 906 input. As is shown, the stylus 908 has a much smaller diameter at its tip than does the finger 906 at its tip. The stylus 908 includes a tip that is constructed of a material that causes the touch pad elements 904 to alter their measurable characteristics (touch sensitive element values) that are measurable by the touch pad circuitry 912. A cross section of the touch pad 902 whose touch sensitive element values are affected by the stylus 908 is correspondingly smaller than a cross section of the touch pad 902 whose touch sensitive element values are affected by the touching finger 906. Further, the extent to which a touching finger alters touch sensitive element values may differ from a touching stylus.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a touch pad and the manner in which a touching finger and a touching stylus may be detected via differing capacitance levels according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Referring to both FIGS. 9 and 10, the touch sensitive element values are measured by touch pad circuitry 912 for a plurality of touch sensitive elements 904. For a location at which a finger touches the touch pad 902, the touch sensitive element values are depicted as touching finger pattern 1004. Likewise a location upon the touch pad 902 that the stylus 908 touches is depicted as a touching stylus pattern 1002. As is shown, the touching finger 906 creates a much different touch pad element value pattern 1004 than does the touch sensitive element value pattern 1002 created by the stylus 908 touching the touch pad 902. The different characteristics of the touching finger 906 and the touching stylus 908 as measured by the touch pad circuitry 912 enables the touch pad 902 to differentiate between a touching finger 906 and a touching stylus 908. Generally, the pattern of the touch sensitive element values are compared to both a touching finger threshold pattern and a stylus input threshold pattern. Based upon this comparison, processing circuitry may enact one or both of the stylus input touch pad processing settings and the stylus input touch pad processing settings, as described further herein. The manner in which the touch pad 902 may be operated to distinguish these varying operational characteristics and to enact processing settings based thereon is described further with reference to FIGS. 11-13.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating operations of a user input device (video game controller, video game console, remote control, automobile data input device, keypad replacement device, etc.) according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The operations 1100 commence with touch pad circuitry or other circuitry scanning a plurality of touch sensitive elements of a touch pad (step 1102). Based upon the scanning, the touch pad circuitry in cooperation with the touch pad may determine a stylus input condition (step 1104), determine a touching finger input condition (step 1106), or enter touch pad calibration operations (step 1108).

The touch pad circuitry determines that a stylus input condition is met at step 1104 by comparing a plurality of touch sensitive element values measured at step 1102 to a stylus input threshold pattern. The determination made at step 1104 is made based upon a favorable comparison of the plurality of touch sensitive element values to the stylus input threshold pattern. Likewise, the touch pad circuitry or other processing circuitry operating upon the touch pad input determines that a touching finger input condition is met at step 1106 based upon comparing the plurality of touch sensitive element values to a touching finger threshold pattern.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the stylus input threshold pattern has substantially uniform touch sensitive element thresholds for a first proximate group of touch sensitive elements. Further, the touching finger threshold pattern has a substantially uniform touch sensitive element thresholds for a second group of touch sensitive elements, the second group of touch sensitive elements corresponding to the touching finger threshold pattern being is greater in number than the first proximate group of touch sensitive elements. Such patterns therefore favor an indication that a touching finger has a greater surface area in contact with the touch pad than does a stylus.

Referring again to FIG. 10, the stylus input threshold pattern may correspond to the touching stylus pattern 1002, while the touching finger threshold pattern may correspond to the touch sensitive element values indicated at the touching finger pattern 1004. As shown in FIG. 10, the touching finger threshold pattern 1004 has a greater number of affected touch sensitive elements than does the touching stylus pattern 1002. Further, as may be the case based upon the characteristics of the stylus, the affect, e.g., capacitance, inductance, change in RF propagation, on the touch sensitive elements of the touching stylus pattern 1002 may be greater than the effect on the touch sensitive elements at the touching finger pattern 1004. Such would be the case if the stylus tip has a strong magnetic or metallic structure.

Referring again to FIG. 11, upon a determination of the stylus input condition at step 1104, the touch pad circuitry or other circuitry controlling operation of the touch pad enacts stylus input touch pad processing settings (step 1110). The touch pad circuitry then processes the touch sensitive element values using the stylus input touch pad processing settings to produce user input (step 1112). The processing circuitry or another component of a device, e.g. game controller or remote control, vehicle data input device, or key pad replacement device, etc., may transmit user input to a remote device (step 1114). The user input is produced by the processing circuitry using the stylus input touch pad processing settings and the touch sensitive element values of the plurality of touch sensitive elements of the user input device. Further, as will be described with reference to FIG. 14, the touch pad display may be operated to indicate a button depression (step 1116). From step 1116, operation returns to step 1102.

From step 1106, upon determining a touching finger input condition, the touch pad circuitry or other processing circuitry enacts the touching finger touch pad processing settings (step 1118). With the touching finger touch pad processing settings determined, the user input device processes the touch sensitive element values of the touch pad using the touching finger touch pad processing settings to produce user input (step 1120). The device may then transmit the user input to a remote device (step 1122). The remote device may be a game console and the user input device may be a game controller. Alternately, the user input device may be a remote control and the remote device may be an entertainment system. Further, the user input device may be a keyboard with a touch pad built therein and the remote device may be a computer. The user input device may alternately be a touch pad located within an automobile and the remote device may be an automobile computer system. Further, after step 1122, the user input device may indicate a button depression (step 1124).

The operations 1100 may further include calibrating the touch pad (step 1108). The touch pad may be calibrated for stylus input at step 1126 by directing a user to touch the touch pad at various locations with a stylus. Then, based upon the touch sensitive element values received at step 1126, the user input device determines the stylus input threshold pattern at step 1128, which is subsequently used for detection of a stylus input condition. At step 1130, the user input device calibrates the touch pad for touching finger operations. The calibration operations of step 1130 may include directing a user to touch various locations of the touch pad with his or her finger and measuring touch sensitive element values upon such input condition. Then, at step 1132, the user input device determines the touching finger threshold pattern based upon the data captured at step 1130. Operations from step 1124 and step 1132 also return to step 1102.

According to other operations 1100 of FIG. 11, the stylus input condition and touching finger condition may be enacted based upon direction received from another device or from a user. As was previously described with reference to the gaming system, different points in the game may require stylus input or touching finger input. In such case, the direction to configure the touch pad and related circuitry for either the stylus input or touching finger input may be done in such a fashion. Upon enacting the stylus input touch pad processing settings, the touch pad may have a greater sensitivity, greater scanning rate, or a reduced detected touch area. These modifications of the operation of the touch pad may also be enacted based upon a function of the touch pad, e.g. key pad replacement device, gaming input device, remote control settings input, etc.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating particular operations of the user input device of FIG. 11 when enacting stylus input touch pad processing settings and touching finger touch pad processing settings according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The operations 1200 of FIG. 12 commence with enacting stylus input touch pad processing settings for a first portion of a touch pad (step 1202). Operation continues with enacting touching finger touch pad processing settings for a second portion of the touch pad (step 1204). Once the stylus input touch pad processing settings and the touching finger touch pad processing settings have been enacted for different portions of the touch pad, the touch pad circuitry or other processing circuitry may ignore touch sensitive element values for the second portion of the touch pad and process touch sensitive element values for the first portion of the touch pad (step 1206).

Alternatively, the user input device may differently process touch sensitive element values received via the first portion of the touch pad display and/or the second portion of the touch pad display (step 1208). For example, with the operations 1200 of FIG. 12, one portion of the screen may be set in a stylus input touch pad processing mode of operation with the other portion of the screen being set as a touching finger touch pad processing mode of operation. The operations 1200 of FIG. 12 may be enacted when the processing circuitry or touch pad circuitry detects a finger resting on the touch pad. In such case, when the user input device detects that the finger is resting on the display, it accepts the stylus input as primary screen input. Further, the touch pad circuitry may detect that the stylus is resting on the display and receives touching finger input as primary touch pad input.

According to other operations of FIG. 12, multi-touch operations of the touch pad may initiated or ceased with the touch pad processing settings enacted. For example, with touching finger touch pad processing settings, multiple fingers may be detected upon the touch pad. In such case, the multiple touches may be used to determine touch pad input. Further, when in the stylus input touch pad processing settings mode, a first touch of the stylus may be received and stored and, after a delay period, the touch pad detects a second stylus touch at a different location on the touch pad and treats the first and second touches as multi-touches for multi-touch operations of the touch pad. Further, multi-touch operations may be employed wherein the touching finger provides one of the multi-touches and the stylus provides a second of the multi-touches on the touch pad.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a touch pad that operates according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. Different processing settings may be enacted for differing portions 1312 and 1314 of the touch pad and touch sensitive element values for the differing portions 1312 and 1314 may be processed differently. With the example of FIG. 13, touching fingers are detected at locations 1308 and 1306. Likewise, a stylus touch in detected at location 1310. Based upon these detected events, stylus input touch pad processing settings are enacted for a first portion 1314 of the touch pad 1302 while touching finger touch pad processing settings are enacted for a second portion 1312 of the touch pad 1302. With these respective processing settings enacted for the first 1314 and second 1312 portions of the touch pad 1302, the touch pad circuitry may ignore touch sensitive element values for the first portion 1314 of the touch pad 1302 and use touch sensitive element values for the first portion 1312 of the touch pad 1302 are used to produce touch pad input. Alternatively, touch sensitive element values of the first portion 1312 of the touch pad 1302 may be ignored and touch sensitive element values of the second portion 1314 of the touch pad 1302 are used to determine touch pad input.

With the example of FIG. 13, the touch sensitive element values for the first portion 1312 of the touch pad 1302 may be processed using the touching finger touch pad processing settings to determine first touch pad input and touch sensitive element values for the first portion 1314 of the touch pad may be processed using the stylus input touch pad processing settings to determine second touch pad input. The touch pad 1302 may be divided into differing portions in other operations.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a touch pad that operates according to one or more embodiments of the present invention. The touch pad 1402 of FIG. 14 includes a plurality of touch sensitive elements 1404. The structure of the touch pad 1402 of FIG. 14 corresponds to the structure described with reference to FIG. 9 and includes a touch pad display and touch pad display circuitry. Based upon control of the touch pad display circuitry, which controls the touch pad display elements, button icons 1406, 1408, 1410, 1412, 1414, 1416, 1418, 1420, 1422, 1424, 1426, and 1428 are displayed to a user. With the example of FIG. 14, each of these elements is a simulated button with each of the buttons corresponding to a plurality of touch sensitive elements. The processing circuitry is operable to cause the touch pad display to indicate depression of a simulated button based upon the touch pad input that is received via touch sensitive elements 1404.

The structure and operation of FIG. 14 may be employed when the touch pad/touch pad circuitry is configured to receive user input at particular locations; each input location serving as a particular button function in some embodiments. For example, when the user input device is a remote control, a plurality of simulated buttons 1406, 1408, 1410, 1412, 1414, 1416, 1418, 1420, 1422, 1424, 1426, and 1428 corresponds to functionality of the audio/visual system. User input (finger input, stylus input, etc) is received by a user touching the touch pad at location(s) corresponding to the simulated buttons. Of course, the touch pad display can be configured to display a limitless number of differing icons and icon combinations. Thus, the touch pad may be customized to receive user input in many different manners.

The terms “circuit” and “circuitry” as used herein may refer to an independent circuit or to a portion of a multifunctional circuit that performs multiple underlying functions. For example, depending on the embodiment, processing circuitry may be implemented as a single chip processor or as a plurality of processing chips. Likewise, a first circuit and a second circuit may be combined in one embodiment into a single circuit or, in another embodiment, operate independently perhaps in separate chips. The term “chip,” as used herein, refers to an integrated circuit. Circuits and circuitry may comprise general or specific purpose hardware, or may comprise such hardware and associated software such as firmware or object code.

The present invention has also been described above with the aid of method steps illustrating the performance of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functional building blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined herein for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships are appropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

The present invention has been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the performance of certain significant functions. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries could be defined as long as the certain significant functions are appropriately performed. Similarly, flow diagram blocks may also have been arbitrarily defined herein to illustrate certain significant functionality. To the extent used, the flow diagram block boundaries and sequence could have been defined otherwise and still perform the certain significant functionality. Such alternate definitions of both functional building blocks and flow diagram blocks and sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention. One of average skill in the art will also recognize that the functional building blocks, and other illustrative blocks, modules and components herein, can be implemented as illustrated or by discrete components, application specific integrated circuits, processors executing appropriate software and the like or any combination thereof.

As may be used herein, the terms “substantially” and “approximately” provides an industry-accepted tolerance for its corresponding term and/or relativity between items. Such an industry-accepted tolerance ranges from less than one percent to fifty percent and corresponds to, but is not limited to, component values, integrated circuit process variations, temperature variations, rise and fall times, and/or thermal noise. Such relativity between items ranges from a difference of a few percent to magnitude differences. As may also be used herein, the term(s) “coupled to” and/or “coupling” and/or includes direct coupling between items and/or indirect coupling between items via an intervening item (e.g., an item includes, but is not limited to, a component, an element, a circuit, and/or a module) where, for indirect coupling, the intervening item does not modify the information of a signal but may adjust its current level, voltage level, and/or power level. As may further be used herein, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled to another element by inference) includes direct and indirect coupling between two items in the same manner as “coupled to.” As may even further be used herein, the term “operable to” indicates that an item includes one or more of power connections, input(s), output(s), etc., to perform one or more its corresponding functions and may further include inferred coupling to one or more other items. As may still further be used herein, the term “associated with,” includes direct and/or indirect coupling of separate items and/or one item being embedded within another item. As may be used herein, the term “compares favorably,” indicates that a comparison between two or more items, signals, etc., provides a desired relationship. For example, when the desired relationship is that signal 1 has a greater magnitude than signal 2, a favorable comparison may be achieved when the magnitude of signal 1 is greater than that of signal 2 or when the magnitude of signal 2 is less than that of signal 1.

The present invention has also been described above with the aid of method steps illustrating the performance of specified functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functional building blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined herein for convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences can be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships are appropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences are thus within the scope and spirit of the claimed invention.

Moreover, although described in detail for purposes of clarity and understanding by way of the aforementioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. It will be obvious to one of average skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be practiced within the spirit and scope of the invention, as limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for operating a user input device comprising:

scanning a plurality of touch sensitive elements of a touch pad to measure a plurality of touch sensitive element values;

comparing the plurality of touch sensitive element values to a stylus input threshold pattern and, upon a favorable comparison: determining a stylus input condition; enacting stylus input touch pad processing settings; and detecting a position of the stylus upon the touch pad based upon the plurality of touch sensitive element values and the stylus input touch pad processing settings; and

comparing the plurality of touch sensitive element values to a touching finger threshold pattern and, upon a favorable comparison: determining a touching finger condition; enacting touching finger touch pad processing settings; and detecting a position of the touching finger upon the touch pad based upon the plurality of touch sensitive element values.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the touch sensitive element values are selected from the group consisting of:

touch sensitive element measured capacitance;

touch sensitive element measured inductance; and

touch sensitive element measured Radio Frequency (RF) impedance.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising processing the plurality of touch sensitive element values to produce one of:

video game controller input;

remote control input;

vehicle data input device input;

cellular telephone input;

portable electronic device input;

computer input; and

keypad replacement device input.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the stylus input threshold pattern comprises substantially uniform touch sensitive element thresholds for a first proximate group of touch sensitive elements; and

the touching finger threshold pattern comprises substantially uniform touch sensitive element thresholds for a second proximate group of touch sensitive elements, the second proximate group of touch sensitive elements greater in number than the first proximate group of touch sensitive elements.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the stylus input touch pad processing settings have finer resolution than do the touching finger touch pad processing settings.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the stylus input touch pad processing settings are enacted for a first portion of the touch pad; and

the touching finger touch pad processing settings are enacted for a second portion of the touch pad.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

ignoring touch sensitive element values for the second portion of the touch pad; and

processing the touch sensitive element values for the first portion of the touch pad to determine touch pad input.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

processing the touch sensitive element values for the first portion of the touch pad using the stylus input touch pad processing settings to determine first touch pad input; and

processing the touch sensitive element values for the second portion of the touch pad using the touching finger touch pad processing settings to determine second touch pad input.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the stylus input touch pad processing settings support single touch input; and

the touching finger touch pad processing settings support multiple touch input.

10. A method for operating a user input device comprising:

scanning a plurality of touch sensitive elements of a touch pad to measure a plurality of touch sensitive element values;

comparing the plurality of touch sensitive element values to a stylus input threshold pattern and, upon a favorable comparison: determining a stylus input condition; and enacting stylus input touch pad processing settings;

comparing the plurality of touch sensitive element values to a touching finger threshold pattern and, upon a favorable comparison: determining a touching finger condition; and enacting touching finger touch pad processing settings;

processing the plurality of touch sensitive element values based upon an enacted one of the stylus input touch pad processing settings and the touching finger touch pad processing settings to produce touch pad input.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting the touch pad input to a remote device via a communications interface of the user input device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein:

the stylus input threshold pattern comprises substantially uniform touch sensitive element thresholds for a first proximate group of touch sensitive elements; and

the touching finger threshold pattern comprises substantially uniform touch sensitive element thresholds for a second proximate group of touch sensitive elements, the second proximate group of touch sensitive elements greater in number than the first proximate group of touch sensitive elements.

13. A user input device comprising:

a communications interface;

a touch pad having a plurality of touch sensitive elements; and

processing circuitry coupled to the communications interface and to the touch pad, the processing circuitry operable to: scan the plurality of touch sensitive elements to measure a plurality of touch sensitive element values; compare the plurality of touch sensitive element values to a stylus input threshold pattern and, upon a favorable comparison: determine a stylus input condition; and enact stylus input touch pad processing settings; compare the plurality of touch sensitive element values to a touching finger threshold pattern and, upon a favorable comparison: determine a touching finger condition; and enact touching finger touch pad processing settings; process the plurality of touch sensitive element values based upon an enacted one of the stylus input touch pad processing settings and the touching finger touch pad processing settings to produce touch pad input.

14. The user input device of claim 13, wherein touch sensitive element values are selected from the group consisting of:

touch sensitive element measured capacitance;

touch sensitive element measured inductance; and

touch sensitive element measured Radio Frequency (RF) impedance.

15. The user input device of claim 13, wherein the user input device comprises one of:

a video game controller;

a remote control;

a vehicle data input device;

a cellular telephone;

a portable electronic device;

a computer; and

a keypad replacement device.

16. The user input device of claim 13, wherein:

the stylus input threshold pattern comprises substantially uniform touch sensitive element thresholds for a first proximate group of touch sensitive elements; and

the touching finger threshold pattern comprises substantially uniform touch sensitive element thresholds for a second proximate group of touch sensitive elements, the second proximate group of touch sensitive elements greater in number than the first proximate group of touch sensitive elements.

17. The user input device of claim 13:

further comprising a touch pad display coupled to the processing circuitry and corresponding to the touch pad, the touch pad display having a plurality of display elements configured to display at least one simulated button, each simulated button corresponding to a plurality of touch sensitive elements; and

wherein upon the processing circuitry is operable to cause the touch pad display to indicate depression of a simulated button based upon the touch pad input.

18. The user input device of claim 13, wherein the stylus input touch pad processing settings have finer resolution than do the touching finger touch pad processing settings.

19. The user input device of claim 13, wherein:

the processing circuitry enacts the stylus input touch pad processing settings for a first portion of the touch pad; and

the processing circuitry enacts the touching finger touch pad processing settings for a second portion of the touch pad.

20. The user input device of claim 19, wherein:

the processing circuitry ignores touch sensitive element values for the second portion of the touch pad; and

the processing circuitry processes touch sensitive element values for the first portion of the touch pad to determine the touch pad input.

21. The user input device of claim 19, wherein:

the processing circuitry supports single touch input for the stylus input touch pad processing settings; and

the processing circuitry supports multiple touch input for the touching finger touch pad processing settings.