Touch Screen Proximity Sensing with Motion Sensor Grip Suppression

Solution Overview

Problem

Touch screen devices face challenges in distinguishing between signals from approaching fingers and proximity objects, such as a head, leading to false finger reports during phone calls, especially when sensitivity is adjusted to avoid confusing an ear with a finger touch.

Innovation Solution

Implementing finger grip suppression using motion sensors like gyroscopes or accelerometers to adjust the suppression zone on the touch screen, enabling or disabling it based on device movement towards or away from the user's face, and employing touch screen proximity sensing or infrared proximity sensing to transition between proximity mode and normal touch mode via predefined gestures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If sensitivity is increased to detect approaching fingers, then finger detection capability is improved, but false proximity detection occurs when an ear approaches during phone calls

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefinger detection capabilityVSAvoidproximity detection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The touch screen is divided into multiple zones with different sensitivity levels. A first zone (ear contact zone) has reduced sensitivity to prevent false proximity detection, while a second zone (finger interaction zone) maintains high sensitivity for normal finger detection. This spatial segmentation allows the system to simultaneously achieve both goals.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the touch screen are assigned different quality characteristics in terms of sensitivity. The upper portion (ear zone) has desensitized properties to filter out ear contact signals, while the lower portion (finger zone) maintains normal sensitivity for finger interactions. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between detecting fingers and avoiding ear false positives.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If sensitivity is decreased to avoid false proximity detection, then proximity detection reliability is improved, but finger detection capability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproximity detection accuracyVSAvoidfinger detection capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The touch screen is divided into multiple zones with different sensitivity levels. A first zone (ear contact zone) has reduced sensitivity to prevent false proximity detection, while a second zone (finger interaction zone) maintains high sensitivity for normal finger detection. This spatial segmentation allows the system to simultaneously achieve both goals.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the touch screen are assigned different quality characteristics in terms of sensitivity. The upper portion (ear zone) has desensitized properties to filter out ear contact signals, while the lower portion (finger zone) maintains normal sensitivity for finger interactions. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between detecting fingers and avoiding ear false positives.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If a suppression zone is added to prevent false ear touch, then false finger reports are suppressed, but normal touch screen operation is restricted

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvefalse finger report suppressionVSAvoidtouch screen operation flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The touch screen is divided into multiple zones with different sensitivity levels. A first zone (ear contact zone) has reduced sensitivity to prevent false proximity detection, while a second zone (finger interaction zone) maintains high sensitivity for normal finger detection. This spatial segmentation allows the system to simultaneously achieve both goals.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different regions of the touch screen are assigned different quality characteristics in terms of sensitivity. The upper portion (ear zone) has desensitized properties to filter out ear contact signals, while the lower portion (finger zone) maintains normal sensitivity for finger interactions. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between detecting fingers and avoiding ear false positives.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

Effectively suppresses false finger reports caused by ear touches during phone calls, maintaining high proximity detection distance while enabling normal finger detection capabilities, by intelligently managing touch screen operation based on sensor data and user interactions.

Implementation Method 1

finger grip suppression is enabled in an area of the touch screen likely to be contacted by an ear (e.g., an upper side of a touch panel) when a user is on a phone call in response to signals from one or motion sensors, such as a gyroscope or accelerometers, indicating that the device is moving towards a user's face

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectGyroscope: Gyroscope

Implementation Method 2

finger grip suppression is enabled in an area of the touch screen likely to be contacted by an ear (e.g., an upper side of a touch panel) when a user is on a phone call in response to signals from one or motion sensors, such as a gyroscope or accelerometers, indicating that the device is moving towards a user's face

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectAccelerometer: Accelerometer

Implementation Method 3

A capacitance sensing system may include a touch screen, touch-sensor pad, a touch-sensor slider, or touch-sensor buttons, and may include an array of one or more capacitive sensor elements (also referred to as sensor electrodes). Capacitive sensing typically involves measuring, through sensor signals (e.g., increases or decreases in electrode responses), a change in capacitance associated with the capacitive sensor elements to determine a presence/proximity of a conductive object

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectCapacitance sensing: Capacitance

Data Source

PatentUS10254879B1Touch screen proximity sensing with accelerometer/gyroscope and finger grip suppression to prevent false ear touch

Publication Date: 2019.04.09 PARADE TECHNOLOGIES LTD

AI summary

The various implementations described herein include systems, methods and/or devices used to enable touch screen proximity sensing with suppression of false ear touches. An example method is performed at a touch sensitive device and includes enabling or disabling grip suppression to prevent false touches from a user's ear during a phone call based on signals from motion sensors, such as gyroscopes and/or accelerometers, that indicate a direction of the touch sensitive device with respect to a user's face. Another method is performed at a touch sensitive device and includes allowing a user to input on the touch screen a predefined gesture to enable normal touch operation of a touch screen of a touch sensitive device when the device is in a proximity sensing mode.