Abstract: A touch sensor including a housing, a light guide mounted in the housing the light guide featuring an aperture through which light exits and enters the light guide, and an inner surface facing the interior of the housing, the sensor further includes two light emitters mounted in the housing for emitting light beams into the light guide that exit the aperture at diverging angles and a light receiver mounted in the housing for receiving reflected light beams entering the aperture at an angle of incidence different than the diverging angles.

Abstract: A system for use in a vehicle, including a steering element situated opposite a driver seat in a vehicle, the steering element including a plurality of proximity sensors encased in the periphery of the steering element operable to detect hand gestures along the outer periphery of the steering element, an interactive deck housed in the vehicle, for providing at least one of radio broadcast, video broadcast, audio entertainment, video entertainment and navigational assistance in the vehicle, and a processor housed in the vehicle, coupled with the proximity sensors and the deck, operable to identify the hand gestures detected by the proximity sensors, and to control the deck in response to thus-identified hand gestures.

Abstract: A removable cover for a handheld electronic device, including a protective cover that at least partially covers rear and side surfaces of a handheld electronic device, a plurality of proximity sensors mounted in the cover for detecting user gestures performed outside of the electronic device, a battery, wireless communication circuitry, and a processor configured to operate the proximity sensors, and to operate the wireless communication circuitry to transmit commands to the electronic device based on gestures detected by the proximity sensors.

Abstract: A method of determining a touch coordinate on a touch screen, including providing a display, a plurality of collimating lenses along two opposite edges of the display, the collimating lenses being arranged along the two edges so as to be shift-aligned relative to one another, a plurality of light pulse emitters that transmit light pulses through the collimating lenses of a first of the two edges over the display, and a plurality of light pulse receivers that receive the light pulses through the collimating lenses of the opposite of the two edges, and that output values representing the received light pulses, wherein light pulses emitted by each emitter are detected by at least two of the receivers, wherein each receiver detects light pulses emitted by at least two emitters, and wherein each receiver has expected values for emitter-receiver pairs when light pulses are not blocked, selecting receiver output values for emitter-receiver pairs that deviate significantly from corresponding receiver expected values,

Abstract: A pressure-sensitive touch screen including a housing, at least one light receiver rigidly mounted in the housing, a display flexibly mounted in the housing substantially above the at least one receiver, which depresses in response to pressure of a touch, and a calculating unit connected to the at least one light receiver for receiving outputs indicating amounts of received light by the at least one receiver, and for determining that the display is being depressed based on an increase in an output of the at least one receiver.

Abstract: A finger gesture user interface for an electronic device, including a housing for an electronic device including a front opening in a front outer surface of the housing, a rear opening in a rear outer surface of the housing, and inner sidewalls extending from the front opening to the rear opening to form a cavity, a display, mounted in the housing along a plane transverse to the front and rear openings, for rendering a 3D realm, a detector mounted in the inner sidewalls, operable to detect translation of a finger inserted in the cavity along a dimension of the cavity transverse to the display plane, and a processor connected to the detector and to the display for interpreting the detected finger translation as a user interface input command to move within the 3D realm along the dimension transverse to the display.

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 finger gesture user interface for an electronic device including a housing for an electronic device including a front opening in a front outer surface of the housing, a rear opening in a rear outer surface of the housing, and inner sidewalls extending from the front opening to the rear opening to form a cavity, a display mounted in the housing, wherein the whole cavity is disposed along a side of the display, separate from the display, a detector mounted in the inner sidewalls, operable to detect a translation gesture of a finger inserted in the cavity, and a processor connected to the detector and to the display for interpreting the detected gesture as a user interface input command to modify a graphic rendered on the display.

Abstract: A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer program code which, when executed by a mobile handheld device that has a touch sensitive display, instructs the device (i) to display a notification of an incoming phone call, and (ii) to accept the call in response to a mufti-step operation comprising an object touching the touch sensitive display, and the object gliding along the touch sensitive display in a specific direction.

Abstract: Touch screen apparatus, including a display unit including a touch surface, a number of light pulse emitting units for emitting light pulses over and across the touch surface, a number of light pulse receiving units for measuring amounts of light received from the light pulse emitting units, circuitry for selectively activating the light pulse emitting units and the light pulse receiving units, and a calculating unit to control the circuitry to provide a low-frequency idle mode and a high-frequency active mode, wherein only one of the light pulse emitting units and one of the light pulse receiving units are activated in the idle mode, and to determine that a light pulse in the idle mode is broken, based on the measured amounts of light received at the one receiving unit.

Abstract: A touch sensor including a housing, a light guide mounted in the housing the light guide featuring an aperture through which light exits and enters the light guide, and an inner surface facing the interior of the housing, the sensor further includes two light emitters mounted in the housing for emitting light beams into the light guide that exit the aperture at diverging angles and a light receiver mounted in the housing for receiving reflected light beams entering the aperture at an angle of incidence different than the diverging angles.

Abstract: A controller for a light-based touch screen including a chip package coupled with a light-based touch screen, emitter driver circuitry inside the chip package for selectively activating a plurality of photoemitters that are outside of the chip package, detector driver circuitry inside the chip package for selectively activating a plurality of photo detectors that are outside of the chip package, detector signal processing circuitry for generating detection signals representing measured amounts of light detected on the plurality of photo detectors, a first plurality of signal conducting pins for connecting the plurality of photoemitters outside the chip package to the emitter driver circuitry inside the chip package, a second plurality of signal conducting pins for connecting the plurality of photo detectors outside the chip package to the detector driver circuitry and to the detector signal processing circuitry inside the chip package, controller circuitry inside the chip package for controlling the emitter d

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 rectangular light-based touch-sensitive surface for an electronic device comprising a plurality of light emitters arranged along one and only one side of a surface, each emitter being activatable to emit light rays at a plurality of different angles across the surface, a plurality of light detectors arranged along the three remaining sides of the surface, each detector being activatable to register detection values of emitted light beams, wherein light emitted from each emitter is registered by two or more of the detectors, and a processor connected to the emitters and to the detectors operable to coordinate activations of the emitters and detectors, and to receive the registered detection values.

Abstract: A removable cover for a handheld electronic device, including a protective cover that at least partially covers rear and side surfaces of a handheld electronic device, a plurality of proximity sensors mounted in the cover for detecting user gestures performed outside of the electronic device, a battery, wireless communication circuitry, and a processor configured to operate the proximity sensors, and to operate the wireless communication circuitry to transmit commands to the electronic device based on gestures detected by the proximity sensors.

Abstract: A light-based proximity sensor, including light emitters mounted in a housing alongside one side of the housing, oriented to emit light beams in a direction outside of the housing, light receivers mounted alongside the same one side oriented to receive light beams entering from inside the housing, the receivers being farther away from the one side than the emitters so as not to receive light beams emitted by the emitters that are not reflected, at least one reflective surface mounted farther away from the one side than the receivers, for redirecting light beams entering from outside the housing so as to enter the receivers, and a processor for controlling the emitters and the receivers, and for calculating a location of a nearby object outside of the housing that reflects light beams exiting the housing back into the housing, based on the reflected light beams received by the receivers.

Abstract: A graphics tablet system including a housing, a touch screen in the housing for receiving touch input, and for displaying graphics corresponding to the received touch input, a plurality of styli for performing touch input, each stylus including an RFID chip storing one or more graphic attributes, and a visible indicator of the one or more graphic attributes, an RFID reader in the housing for reading the stored one or more graphic attributes from a stylus touching the touch screen, and a processor in the housing, connected to the touch screen and to the RFID reader, for rendering a drawing on the touch screen according to the motion of the stylus on the touch screen and according to one or more graphic attributes read by the RFID reader from the stylus, wherein the plurality of styli store different one or more graphic attributes.

Abstract: A controller including a chip package coupled with a light-based touch screen, emitter driver circuitry inside the chip package for selectively activating photoemitters that are outside of the chip package, detector driver circuitry inside the chip package for selectively activating photo detectors that are outside of the chip package, detector signal processing circuitry for generating detection signals representing amounts of light detected on the photo detectors, signal conducting pins for connecting the photoemitters to the emitter driver circuitry, signal conducting pins for connecting the photo detectors to the detector driver circuitry and to the detector signal processing circuitry, controller circuitry inside the chip package for controlling the emitter driver circuitry and the detector driver circuitry, and at least one input/output pin for outputting the detection signals to a host processor, for the host processor to identify one or more locations on the touch screen that are being touched.