Multitouch parameter and gesture user interface employing an LED-array tactile sensor that can also operate as a display

摘要

A user interface employs a tactile sensor comprising an LED array, the user interface producing a rich flux of independently-adjustable interactive control parameters, rates of change, and symbols derived from these as well as tactile shapes, patterns, gestures, syntaxes, and phrases from each of one or more regions of contact or proximity. At least three independently-adjustable interactive real-time control parameters, plus rates and symbols, from the touch of a single finger tip. Running sums can be employed during scans so individual sensor measurements need not be stored. The tactile sensor array can be partitioned into sections or modules with separate scanning loops and/or processors. The LED array can serve as a visual display. To reject ambient light, the LED array can be configured to emit and respond to modulated light reflected from a user finger to LEDs configured, at least at a moment of measurement, to act as a photodiode.

主权项

1. A user interface system comprising:
a two-dimensional optical tactile proximity sensor array comprising a two-dimensional array of light emitting diodes (LEDs) wherein at least one of the LEDs is configured to emit modulated light; an arrangement for scanning the two-dimensional tactile sensor array, the scan producing a corresponding array of measurement values, wherein the array of measurement values is a two-dimensional data array; a processor for processing a plurality of measurement values obtained from the array of measurement values obtained from scanning the two-dimensional array of LEDs; a post-scan computation algorithm for deriving at least three independently-adjustable interactive control parameters responsive to at least displacements or angles of contact of a single area of threshold contact or threshold proximity; and an algorithmic element for handling of regions of threshold contact or threshold proximity having non-convex shapes, wherein the processing is responsive to the modulated light emitted from the at least one LED as reflected from a user finger and sensed by at least one other LED configured, at least at a moment of measurement, as a photodiode; wherein the system provides output control signals, the control signals responsive to the independently-adjustable interactive control parameters as measured by the two-dimensional array of LEDs; wherein each of the LEDs is configurable to be in a receiving mode to sense the modulated light and to be in a light emitting mode to transmit the modulated light; wherein each of the LEDs is configured to be sequentially selected to be set in the receiving mode with adjacent LEDs to the sequentially selected LED configured to be set in the light emitting mode, wherein the LEDs configured to be set in the light emitting mode are modulated by a waveform and the user interface responds to only modulated light signal components extracted from a received light signal modulated by the waveform.