WO1984000427A1 - Dispositif d'introduction de donnees - Google Patents

Dispositif d'introduction de donnees Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO1984000427A1
WO1984000427A1 PCT/GB1983/000170 GB8300170W WO8400427A1 WO 1984000427 A1 WO1984000427 A1 WO 1984000427A1 GB 8300170 W GB8300170 W GB 8300170W WO 8400427 A1 WO8400427 A1 WO 8400427A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
sheet
impact
signal
acoustic
stylus
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB1983/000170
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
John Scott Strachan
Damir Miroslav Josip Skrgatic
Original Assignee
Syrinx Precision Instr
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Syrinx Precision Instr filed Critical Syrinx Precision Instr
Publication of WO1984000427A1 publication Critical patent/WO1984000427A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
    • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
    • G06F3/03—Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
    • G06F3/041—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
    • G06F3/043—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means using propagating acoustic waves
    • G06F3/0436—Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means using propagating acoustic waves in which generating transducers and detecting transducers are attached to a single acoustic waves transmission substrate

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a data input device for the manual input of data to such apparatus as digital computers.
  • the commonest form of input is alphanumeric by means of a keyboard.
  • Conventional keyboards are relatively complex mechanically and in electronics, and consequently suffer from high initial cost and low reliability.
  • One object of the present invention is to provide a cheaper and more reliable keyboard.
  • the invention also seeks to provide a keyboard-type input device and an input device which digitises analog information.
  • the invention resides in a data input device comprising: a sheet of material having known acoustic transmission properties and having two edges at an angle to each other (preferably a right angle) ; first and second acoustic transducers each arranged on one of said edges and responsive to the receipt of an acoustic pulse at the respective edge to provide a corresponding electrical signal; and reference signal means associated with said sheet and operative to provide a reference signal in response to an acoustic event at any point on the sheet.
  • the input device as thus defined to operate in conjunction with a computer simply by use of suitable software, as will be discussed below. More commonly, however, the device would include circuitry to provide a digital alphanumeric or graphic output to a computer or other user device.
  • the device preferably further includes: first and second signal processing means each connected to receive said reference signal and the output signal of a respective one of the transducers and operative to produce a digital output signal which is representative of the time difference between the reference and received input signals; whereby said digital output signals define x and y coordinates of the point of impact on the sheet.
  • positions of the sheet identify alphanumeric characters, and the manual input of a character is made by causing an impact at the appropriate position. This may be done simply by tapping the sheet with the finger, but preferably some form of mechani'sm is provided for better accuracy and uniformity.
  • Such mechanism may comprise typewriter- style keys, or 'a bubble film.
  • the sheet is preferably glass, but other materials of low acoustic absorption and good mechanical stability may be used.
  • the reference signal means may suitably comprise a continuous conductive coating on one side of the sheet, and means carried by the keys or the like for closing an electrical circuit at the same time as causing an impact on the sheet. A metal of suitable acoustic properties may be used, in which case no conductive coating will be required.
  • Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of one device embodying the invention
  • Fig. 2 is a scrap sectional view, to an enlarged scale, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 3 is a block diagram of circuitry which may be used with the device of Fig. 1;
  • Fig. 4 is a scrap sectional view of a second embodimen ; and Fig. 5 is a similar view of a further embodiment.
  • the device comprises a rectangular sheet of glass 10 which has an. electrically conductive metallised layer 12 (Fig. 2) on its upper surface.
  • the sheet 10 is overlaid by thin metal sheet 14, suitably of beryllium, formed with rows and columns of bubbles or dimples 16 which act as keys.
  • the metal sheet 14 is connected to a low voltage source indicated at 18. Attached to adjacent edges of the glass sheet 10 are two 2 MHz ultrasonic transducers 20 and 22.
  • the bubbles 16 are labelled in any convenient manner to indicate alphanumeric characters.
  • the transducers 20,22 preferably extend along the whole of their respective edges, and suitably comprise strips' of a polymeric piezoelectric film such as the polar forms of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) .
  • PVDF polyvinylidene fluoride
  • One suitable form is sold as KYNAR (Trade Mark) film by Pennwald Corporation, King of Prussia, PA 19406, USA.
  • a chosen bubble 16 When a chosen bubble 16 is pressed, it clicks into the reverse position shown in dotted form in Fig. 2. This has two effects. First, it makes an electrical contact between the metal sheet 14 and the layer 12, giving an output signal on line 24 which is used as a timing reference signal. Secondly, the bubble 16 makes an impact on the glass sheet 10 which causes an acoustic wave to radiate from that point at sonic velocity. Receipt of the shock wave at the transducers 20 and 22 causes outputs on lines 26 and 28 respectively. The time intervals between the signal on line 24 and the signals on lines 26,28 are proportional to the x,y coordinates of the point of impact, and thus define the position of the bubble 16 operated. The electronic circuit of Fig. 3 can be used to process this information into a digital form. Referring to Fig. 3 the voltage change on line 24
  • OMPI / starts two timers 30,32. Each timer is connected to a respective crystal 20,22. When the pulse is received by a crystal it passes through a detection network 34,36 and sets a trigger 38,40 which stops the timer 30,32 and closes an electronic gate 42,44 for the period of time taken for mechanical bounce to die out, thus protecting the circuitry from multiple bounce on the keys.
  • the gates 42,44 open again the counters are reset to zero to await the next key instruction.
  • the output from the counters can be in directly usable binary coded form representing the chosen character.
  • the embodiment described thus provides a very simple and inexpensive means of entering data while being similar, from the point of view of the user, to a conventional keyboard.
  • the timing reference signal could be generated acoustically rather than electrically, by forming an acoustic transducer over the whole of the undersurface of
  • Fig. 4 illustrates an embodiment in which similar principles to those used in Figs. 1 to 3 are applied to a graphical input. Parts which are similar to those of the previous embodiment have like reference numerals.
  • the glass sheet . 10 in this embodiment is provided with a matrix of fine grooves 46 in both x and _ directions on its upper surface.
  • the user "draws" on the surface with a metal stylus 48; as this crosses each groove it causes an impact whose x,y_ location is identified as previously described.
  • the path traced by the stylus is thus defined 5 as a series of , coordinates.
  • FIG. 5 A further embodiment is illustrated in Fig. 5 where again like reference numerals denote like parts.
  • the glass sheet 10 is in this instance overlaid with a sheet 50 of PVDF secured to it with adhesive (not shown) ,
  • a signal generator 52 applies tone bursts of an oscillatory electric signal to the PVDF sheet 50, which because of its piezoelectric nature vibrates at the same frequency.
  • a key diagrammatically shown at 54
  • the PVDF sheet 50 is mechanically compressed onto the glass sheet 10 causing ultrasonic energy to be coupled into the glass at that point.
  • the x, ⁇ _ coordinates of this point are then determined as before.
  • the sheet vibrates freely and dissipates energy to the air. Timing may be initiated electrically as before, via a metallised top layer 56 adhered to the PVDF sheet 50, or may be initiated directly from the signal generator 52.
  • the PVDF sheet is locally compressed by a hand-held stylus, timing being initiated directly from the signal generator.
  • the tone bursts may be applied to the PVDF sheet, or alternatively may be applied via the stylus itself.
  • the signal generator produces bursts of a given frequency.
  • the frequency may be around 2 MHz for a low resolution application, e.g. a simple keyboard. Much higher frequencies may be used, for example up to 30 MHz which would give a positional resolution of 0.1 mm. A frequency much below 2 MHz would be likely to introduce inaccuracies due to "whipping" movement of the glass sheet.
  • the PVDF sheet should have such a thickness that its resonant frequency is matched to the signal generator frequency.
  • the acoustic receivers should be tuned to the same frequency, or pass their outputs via filters which remove lower frequencies, for maximum resolution.

Abstract

Une feuille (10) ayant des propriétés acoustiques connues, par exemple du verre, présente des transducteurs ultrasonores (20, 22) disposés le long de bords adjacents. Le fait d'appuyer sur une touche déterminée (16) provoque un impact sur la feuille (10). Le temps de transit mis par l'onde acoustique pour atteindre les transducteurs (20, 22) permet d'établir les coordonnées x, y, respectivement, du point d'impact, ces coordonnées pouvant être utilisées pour définir un caractère alphanumérique par l'intermédiaire d'une table de consultation. Une version graphique utilisant un style est également décrite.
PCT/GB1983/000170 1982-07-10 1983-07-08 Dispositif d'introduction de donnees WO1984000427A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8220137 1982-07-10

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1984000427A1 true WO1984000427A1 (fr) 1984-02-02

Family

ID=10531613

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB1983/000170 WO1984000427A1 (fr) 1982-07-10 1983-07-08 Dispositif d'introduction de donnees

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0112889A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO1984000427A1 (fr)

Cited By (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2002082249A2 (fr) * 2001-04-03 2002-10-17 Canesta Inc. Procede et appareil permettant d'estimer une position source d'un evenement provoquant un son
US6876775B2 (en) 2001-02-16 2005-04-05 Canesta, Inc. Technique for removing blurring from a captured image
US6922642B2 (en) 2001-07-04 2005-07-26 New Transducers Limited Contact sensitive device
US7006236B2 (en) 2002-05-22 2006-02-28 Canesta, Inc. Method and apparatus for approximating depth of an object's placement onto a monitored region with applications to virtual interface devices
US7050177B2 (en) 2002-05-22 2006-05-23 Canesta, Inc. Method and apparatus for approximating depth of an object's placement onto a monitored region with applications to virtual interface devices
FR2885427A1 (fr) * 2005-05-09 2006-11-10 Peugeot Citroen Automobiles Sa Dispositif de controle et/ou de commande d'elements d'equipements d'un vehicule automobile a boutons-poussoirs et dalle tactile
US7151530B2 (en) 2002-08-20 2006-12-19 Canesta, Inc. System and method for determining an input selected by a user through a virtual interface
US7157649B2 (en) 1999-12-23 2007-01-02 New Transducers Limited Contact sensitive device
US7173230B2 (en) 2001-09-05 2007-02-06 Canesta, Inc. Electromagnetic wave detection arrangement with capacitive feedback
US7184898B2 (en) 2002-12-06 2007-02-27 New Transducers Limited Contact sensitive device
US7340077B2 (en) 2002-02-15 2008-03-04 Canesta, Inc. Gesture recognition system using depth perceptive sensors
GB2449809A (en) * 2004-04-14 2008-12-03 Tyco Electronics Corp Acoustic touch sensor
US7545365B2 (en) 2004-04-14 2009-06-09 Tyco Electronics Corporation Acoustic touch sensor
US9165368B2 (en) 2005-02-08 2015-10-20 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Method and system to segment depth images and to detect shapes in three-dimensionally acquired data
US10242255B2 (en) 2002-02-15 2019-03-26 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Gesture recognition system using depth perceptive sensors

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3808364A (en) * 1971-03-30 1974-04-30 Siemens Ag Device for the electronic recording of the instantaneous location of a sensing probe on the surface of a plate
US3857022A (en) * 1973-11-15 1974-12-24 Integrated Sciences Corp Graphic input device

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3808364A (en) * 1971-03-30 1974-04-30 Siemens Ag Device for the electronic recording of the instantaneous location of a sensing probe on the surface of a plate
US3857022A (en) * 1973-11-15 1974-12-24 Integrated Sciences Corp Graphic input device

Non-Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 12, No. 11, April 1970 (New York, US) S.F. KANBIC et al.: "Multistylus Keyboard for Manual Stylus Interactive Interface", pages 1863-1865, see figure 3; page 1864, line 34 - page 1865, line 8 *
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 18, No. 4, September 1975 (New York, US) L.E. AMBRICO et al.: "Cordless Stylus for Ultrasonic Tablet", pages 1078-1079, see the entire article *
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 20, No. 7, December 1977 (New York, US) J. FAJANS: "A Coustical Touch Panel", page 2925, see the entire article *

Cited By (25)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7157649B2 (en) 1999-12-23 2007-01-02 New Transducers Limited Contact sensitive device
US8830211B2 (en) 1999-12-23 2014-09-09 Nvf Tech Ltd. Contact sensitive device
US6876775B2 (en) 2001-02-16 2005-04-05 Canesta, Inc. Technique for removing blurring from a captured image
WO2002082249A3 (fr) * 2001-04-03 2003-03-20 Canesta Inc Procede et appareil permettant d'estimer une position source d'un evenement provoquant un son
US6690618B2 (en) 2001-04-03 2004-02-10 Canesta, Inc. Method and apparatus for approximating a source position of a sound-causing event for determining an input used in operating an electronic device
WO2002082249A2 (fr) * 2001-04-03 2002-10-17 Canesta Inc. Procede et appareil permettant d'estimer une position source d'un evenement provoquant un son
US6922642B2 (en) 2001-07-04 2005-07-26 New Transducers Limited Contact sensitive device
US8274480B2 (en) 2001-07-04 2012-09-25 New Transducers Limited Contact sensitive device
US7173230B2 (en) 2001-09-05 2007-02-06 Canesta, Inc. Electromagnetic wave detection arrangement with capacitive feedback
US7340077B2 (en) 2002-02-15 2008-03-04 Canesta, Inc. Gesture recognition system using depth perceptive sensors
US10242255B2 (en) 2002-02-15 2019-03-26 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Gesture recognition system using depth perceptive sensors
US7050177B2 (en) 2002-05-22 2006-05-23 Canesta, Inc. Method and apparatus for approximating depth of an object's placement onto a monitored region with applications to virtual interface devices
US7006236B2 (en) 2002-05-22 2006-02-28 Canesta, Inc. Method and apparatus for approximating depth of an object's placement onto a monitored region with applications to virtual interface devices
US7151530B2 (en) 2002-08-20 2006-12-19 Canesta, Inc. System and method for determining an input selected by a user through a virtual interface
US7376523B2 (en) 2002-12-06 2008-05-20 New Transducers Limited Contact sensitive device
US7184898B2 (en) 2002-12-06 2007-02-27 New Transducers Limited Contact sensitive device
US7545365B2 (en) 2004-04-14 2009-06-09 Tyco Electronics Corporation Acoustic touch sensor
GB2449809A (en) * 2004-04-14 2008-12-03 Tyco Electronics Corp Acoustic touch sensor
US8325159B2 (en) 2004-04-14 2012-12-04 Elo Touch Solutions, Inc. Acoustic touch sensor
US8854339B2 (en) 2004-04-14 2014-10-07 Elo Touch Solutions, Inc. Acoustic touch sensor
US8941624B2 (en) 2004-04-14 2015-01-27 Touch Panel Systems, K.K. Acoustic touch sensor utilizing edge waves
US9310939B2 (en) 2004-04-14 2016-04-12 Elo Touch Solutions, Inc. Acoustic touch sensor
US9165368B2 (en) 2005-02-08 2015-10-20 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Method and system to segment depth images and to detect shapes in three-dimensionally acquired data
US9311715B2 (en) 2005-02-08 2016-04-12 Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc Method and system to segment depth images and to detect shapes in three-dimensionally acquired data
FR2885427A1 (fr) * 2005-05-09 2006-11-10 Peugeot Citroen Automobiles Sa Dispositif de controle et/ou de commande d'elements d'equipements d'un vehicule automobile a boutons-poussoirs et dalle tactile

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0112889A1 (fr) 1984-07-11

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
WO1984000427A1 (fr) Dispositif d'introduction de donnees
JPH0561592A (ja) タツチ入力装置
US4334280A (en) System and method for providing an audible sound and a tactile feedback in an electronic data processing system
US9001060B2 (en) Touch sensitive device
JP2535626B2 (ja) 座標入力装置
US3692936A (en) Acoustic coordinate data determination system
CN102246127A (zh) 输入设备
US3653031A (en) Touch-sensitive position encoder
EP0526879A1 (fr) Appareil d'entrée de coordonnées
JPH0862068A (ja) 圧電型面圧入力パネル
US3684828A (en) Graphic communication system
US4897510A (en) Coordinate inputting device including an electrode to reduce noise components
EP0235251A1 (fr) Systeme generateur de sons pour claviers.
US4305067A (en) Electromechanical transducer for relief display panel
JPS63257020A (ja) 画像処理装置
JPS6133525A (ja) 弾性波を利用した位置標定装置
JP2000222968A (ja) 入力装置
GB2179152A (en) Coordinate reading apparatus
US4494110A (en) Keyboard modules for use in data terminals
CN101231566A (zh) 接触传感装置及方法
JPS59103233A (ja) 透明形タツチ入力装置
JPS63245711A (ja) 座標入力装置
JPS63262714A (ja) 情報入出力装置
JPS61281324A (ja) 超音波応用タブレツト
JPH07200149A (ja) 情報処理装置

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Designated state(s): JP US

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Designated state(s): AT BE CH DE FR GB LU NL SE

WWE Wipo information: entry into national phase

Ref document number: 1983902276

Country of ref document: EP

WWP Wipo information: published in national office

Ref document number: 1983902276

Country of ref document: EP

WWW Wipo information: withdrawn in national office

Ref document number: 1983902276

Country of ref document: EP