Software Technology for Methods and systems for improving touch screen sensitivity and selectivity.

Apple Inc. (Cupertino, CA)

In certain instances devices, they can identify patches of touch data gathered by a touch screen as indicative of user inputs or not being related to inputs made by the user. In some cases the device could have an LCD screen for touch in one part of its housing and a drive electrode in a different. In some examples the drive electrode located on the second part of the housing of the device can transmit a signal to body of the user. In addition, the device can classify areas of touch data, including the characteristics of this signal that correspond to the intentional touches that are provided by the user. The device can respond to touch inputs from the user and will forgo operations in the event that the data generated by the touch does not match the user’s intention.

There are numerous input devices that could be used to execute tasks in the computer system. This includes trackballs and joysticks, trackballs, joysticks tracks, joysticks, and touch sensors. Particularly the popularity of touch screens is due to their simplicity and user-friendly, in addition to their lower cost. Touch screens can include a touch sensor panel, which can be transparent equipped with a touch-sensitive area and a display device such as a liquid crystal display(LCD) as well as a light emitting diode (LED) display, or organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. The display can be positioned completely or partially behind the panel so that the touch-sensitive area is able to cover at most a portion of the viewable surface of the display device. Touch screens can allow users to perform various functions by touching the sensor using a finger, stylus or any other object placed at a location often dictated by the user interface (UI) that is presented by the display device. The majority of touchscreens detect a touch as well as the location of the touch to the panel with a touch sensor, and the computing system will interpret the touch in accordance with the display that is displayed at the time of the touch, and thereafter can execute one or more actions based on the touch. Some touch sensing systems don’t require a touch to be detected by the display. For instance, in capacitive-type touch sensing devices, the electrical fields that are used to detect touch can extendbeyond the display’s surface, and objects approaching near the surface may be detected close to the surface without touching the display.

A array of semitransparent, transparent or non-transparent conductive plate can be used to make capacitive touch sensor panels. The plates that conduct electricity can be constructed from graphene, metal mesh or polymers with conductive properties. Certain capacitive touch panel panels can be placed on a display to form an interactive screen. This is due to their transparent. Certain touch screens are formed by at least partially connecting touch sensing circuitry to a display pixel stackup (i.e. the layers of material that are stacked together to form the display pixels).

Embodiments described herein relate generally to electronic devices that include touchscreens and, more specifically to electronic devices equipped with drive electrodes that apply signals to the user for the purpose of classifying touchesas being generated by the user, or caused by the user. In certain examples, a touch screen can detect objects proximate to or touching the area of the screen such as the body (e.g., a finger) of the user, input devices and other objects that are not intentionally brought into contact with or close to the touch screen (e.g., drops of water). It is possible in certain instances to categorize areas of touch data as corresponding to an intentional touch by the user or an accidental touch (e.g., drops of water). The device’s electronic sensors can react to patches that match touch inputs by the user and can skip actions for patches that don’t correspond to user-initiated touches.

In certain instances, an electronic device can have a touch screen along with additional drive electrodes that are separate from the screen. The additional drive electrodes can send a signal to body of the user’s in some examples and this signal can be detected in the data that is gathered by the touch screen. A wearable device could include an LCD that is visible to the user, or attached to him using a strap, and an additional drive electrode which could be in contact with body of the user. In certain instances the device’s electronic sensors can classify the data from touch patches, including characteristics of the signal applied to the drive electrode as gestures made by the user, thereby enhancing classification of touches as intentional or not intentional.

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