PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9977537-B2
Application Number: US-201615091829-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Hybrid force sensitive touch devices

Abstract:
A hybrid touch-screen display that integrates force-based touch-screen technology with any one from among a group of projective capacitive, surface capacitive, resistive, digital resistive, SAW, IR, APR, DST, optical and electromagnetic touch-screen technologies to provide an ability to compensate for non-perfect force transfer. An alternate implementation is also disclosed that employs a single force sensor for relative force measurement in a system in which force is traditionally not measured, here a water dispenser unit. This allows compensation for varying static loads, run-time calibration, and filtering of extraneous loads through firmware.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus, comprising:
 a touch panel having one or more sensors adapted to determine coordinates of a received touch; 
 one or more force-based touch sensors coupled to the touch panel; and 
 a processor; wherein 
 the touch panel outputs the coordinates of the received touch to the processor and the one or more force-based touch sensor outputs sensors output a z-force coordinate to the processor; 
 the processor divides the touch panel into a plurality of zones, determines which of the plurality of zones received the touch, retrieves a predetermined compensation factor for a determined zone, and applies the predetermined compensation factor to the z-force coordinate; and 
 the predetermined compensation factor is based on a distance between the coordinates of the received touch and the one or more force-based touch sensors. 
 
     
     
       2. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a touch-screen display; wherein 
 the touch panel is part of the touch-screen display. 
 
     
     
       3. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the touch panel comprises a capacitive touch panel. 
     
     
       4. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the touch panel comprises a resistive touch panel. 
     
     
       5. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the touch panel comprises an ultrasonic touch panel. 
     
     
       6. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the touch panel comprises an optical touch panel. 
     
     
       7. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the touch panel comprises an electromagnetic touch panel. 
     
     
       8. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a force-based touch sensor of the one or more force-based touch sensors is coupled to the touch panel at a corner of the touch panel. 
     
     
       9. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising: a printed circuit board; wherein the one or more force-based touch sensors are mounted on the printed circuit board. 
     
     
       10. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more force-based touch sensors comprise a force sensing resistive sensor. 
     
     
       11. The hybrid touch and force sensing apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more force-based touch sensors comprise a force transducing rubber sensor. 
     
     
       12. A method for calculating an amount of force provided on a touch panel of an electronic device, the method comprising:
 determining, using one or more sensors, coordinates of a touch received on the touch panel; 
 determining a force component of the received touch using one or more force sensors; 
 dividing the touch panel into a plurality of zones; 
 determining which of the plurality of zones received the touch; 
 
       retrieving a predetermined compensation factor for a determined zone in the plurality of zones; and
 applying the predetermined compensation factor to the force component; 
 wherein the predetermined compensation factor is based on a distance between the coordinates of the touch and the one or more force sensors. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the predetermined compensation factor is different for each zone in the plurality of zones. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 12 , further comprising comparing the force component to a touch threshold to determine whether the received touch is an intended touch. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the touch panel is part of a touch-screen display. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more force sensors comprise a force sensing resistive sensor. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more force sensors comprise a force transducing rubber sensor.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/915,267, filed Jun. 11, 2013, which is a nonprovisional patent application of and claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/658,020, filed on Jun. 11, 2012. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/915,267 is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/425,846, filed Mar. 21, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,780,543, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/450,138, filed Sep. 11, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,144,453, which is a national phase entry of International Application No. PCT/US2008/003374, filed Mar. 14, 2008, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/918,275, filed Mar. 15, 2007, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to touch sensor controls including touch input systems (touch screens used in fixed or mobile devices, such as point of sales terminals, kiosks, laptops, monitors, POS, POI, PDAs, cell phones, UMPCs and the like). More particularly, the invention relates to touch sensor controls having both a touch-coordinate calculation ability as well as a force sensing ability. 
     (2) Description of Prior Art 
     The concept of using multiple force sensing sensors to register, measure and triangulate the touched position of a touch screen has been a known concept for more than twenty years, however, to produce a high quality touch screen solution has proven difficult. 
     Over the last few years the performance trade-offs of the available force sensing technologies has fragmented the market. There are approximately ten (10) different touch screen technologies. However, only one such technology has been adapted to measure both the touch coordinates as well as the absolute amount of touch force. This is “force-based touch screen technology” as described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/425,846; 12/450,138; PCT/US2008/003374; and F-Origin&#39;s zTouch™ at www.f-origin.com. The other known touch screen technologies include resistive touchscreens (a resistive contact layer allows the position of a pressure on the screen to be read); surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology (uses ultrasonic waves that pass over the touchscreen panel) to register the position of the touch event; capacitive (touching the surface changes capacitance); surface capacitance (change in the capacitance is measured from the four corners of the panel); optical or infrared sensors and LEDs mounted around a display (the sensors detecting a disruption in the pattern of LED beams); acoustic pulse recognition (tiny transducers attached to the edges of the touchscreen pick up the sound of the touch); Dispersive Signal Technology (DST, which consists of a chemically-strengthened glass substrate with piezos mounted on each corner to pinpoint the source of “bending waves” created by finger or stylus contact; and electromagnetic (change in magnetic flux is registered for the system to compute and define the coordinates of the touch event). 
     In measuring both the touch coordinates as well as the absolute amount of touch force, force-based touch screen technology such as F-Origin&#39;s zTouch™ has a great advantage in that software can ensure that the appropriate finger or stylus is touching the touch screen, and inadvertent pressures can be ignored. There have been a few attempts made to bridge this gap using other touch screen technologies. For example, Stantum™ is using a digital resistive solution that registers a larger touch area (multiple “interference points” in a coordinate grid). The software assumes that it is a finger that is touching the surface and the more touch points that are registering a touch, the larger the force is applied. Unfortunately, this logic fails if the user is using a finger nail or a stylus. Thus, for the time being, force-based touch screen technology retains its advantage. However, there are trade-offs. For example, force-based touch screen technology is only capable of discerning a single touch, and cannot differentiate two or more touches (“multi-touch”). 
     Indeed, all existing touch screen technologies come with a unique set of advantages and disadvantages, and so it is unlikely that any one will completely replace any other. 
     The most popular touch screen for mobile phones today is the Projective Capacitive (ProCap) touch screen. This technology supports multi-touch and will react to extremely light touches, however, it cannot measure force, nor can it recognize a touch from objects other than fingers or specialized styluses. The following table details the relative strengths and weaknesses of ProCap versus zTouch™ technologies. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Feature 
                 ProCap 
                 zTouch ™ 
                 Combined 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 Multi touch 
                 Yes 
                 No 
                 Yes 
               
               
                   
                 Force Sensing 
                 No 
                 Yes 
                 Yes 
               
               
                   
                 0-gram touch 
                 Yes 
                 No 
                 Yes 
               
               
                   
                 Settable touch 
                 No 
                 Yes 
                 Yes 
               
               
                   
                 thresholds 
               
               
                   
                 Any object touch 
                 No 
                 Yes 
                 Yes 
               
               
                   
                 Use with water 
                 Some 
                 Yes 
                 Yes 
               
               
                   
                 Use with conductive 
                 No 
                 Yes 
                 Yes 
               
               
                   
                 gels/liquids 
               
               
                   
                 Optical impact 
                 Some 
                 None 
                 Some 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Clearly, the ideal solution combines the benefits of both. It would be advantageous to provide a hybrid touch-screen display that integrates force-based touch-screen technology with any one from among a group of projective capacitive, surface capacitive, resistive, digital resistive, SAW, IR, APR, DST, optical and electromagnetic touch-screen technologies. The “Combined” column in the table illustrates the benefits of a combined zTouch and ProCap solution discussed later in this document. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and certain modifications thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a hybrid touch-screen display employing the foregoing principles. 
         FIG. 2  is a side cross-section of the touch screen system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective drawing illustrating an exemplary method of operation of the hybrid touch-screen display of  FIGS. 1-2  using one (1) force sensor. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective drawing illustrating an exemplary on-plane sensor  30  in the context of a mobile phone with sensor in an alternative location compared to  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective drawing illustrating an exemplary method for adding full force-sensing touch screen capabilities to a non-force sensing touch screen. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective drawing of an exemplary water dispenser unit, in which a user presses a glass or a cup against a touch lever  20 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention is a hybrid touch-screen display that integrates force-based touch-screen technology with any one from among a group of projective capacitive, surface capacitive, resistive, digital resistive, SAW, IR, APR, DST, optical and electromagnetic touch-screen technologies. 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a hybrid touch-screen display employing the foregoing principles, and  FIG. 2  is a side cross-section of the touch screen system of  FIG. 1 . With collective reference to  FIGS. 1-2 , the illustrated embodiment employs a Projective Capacitive (ProCap) touch display screen  55 , a support structure  57  for the display screen  55 , and one or more force sensors  30  (here four corner-mounted force sensors  30  shown). The force sensor(s)  30  may be affixed directly (surface-mounted) to the back of the support structure  57  or indirectly (by traces as shown) to a sensor printed circuit board (not shown) which is in turn attached to an opposing base substrate  20  (which may be the back of a device housing). 
     The touch display screen  55  may be ProCap or any of the other non-force-sensing technologies including any one from among a group of projective capacitive, surface capacitive, resistive, digital resistive, SAW, IR, APR, DST, optical and electromagnetic touch-screen technologies. 
     One skilled in the art will understand that the system of the present invention requires a control system including non-transitory computer memory, and at least one programmable controller programmed with control software comprising computer instructions stored on the non-transitory computer memory. The control system requires at least one programmable controller for running a first software module for interpreting touch display screen  55 , a second software module for interpreting sensors  30 , and a third software module for interfacing the first and second software modules and for reconciling the results. As described more fully below, these modules may reside on two or more separate controllers, for example, one for touch display screen  152 , one for FSR sensors  30 , and one for the reconciliation software module. 
     The edges of the touch display screen  55  may be protected by a front-mounted frame or bezel  50  as shown, although the touch surface of the touch display screen  55  remains exposed through frame  50 . Optional rubberized padding  53  may be placed as shown underlying the frame  50  and adhered thereto. The padding  53  may be a continuous rectangular gasket made of Poron™ for example, which helps to cushion the touch display screen  55  and imposes a spring-like preloading force to minimize the impact from shock and vibration. As an alternative to a continuous gasket, a continuous silicon membrane may be used for liquid/water proofing as well as providing pre-loading  53 . The pre-loading can however also be provided by added spring elements such as two flat spring arms (not shown). The maximum allowed movement, as allowed by the internal compression of the sensors  30  and the padding  53  is typically between 0.01-0.03 mm, but may be somewhat larger depending on sensor type, padding material and operational force range. Similarly, optional rubberized damping pads  56  may be placed as shown underlying the sensors  30  and adhered thereto. 
     The one or more force sensor(s)  30  may comprise any conventional force-sensing resistive (FSR) sensors, piezo resistive sensors, or FTR (force transducing rubber) sensor. FSR sensors are typically made up of two plans of conductive materials “connected” through FSR material. Different types of resistive materials may be used. The common characteristics of the FSR material are that it remains non-conductive until a force is applied. When a force is applied, the resistance in the material decreases as the applied force increases. Modular FSR sensors are commercially-available. In addition, for higher accuracy system, piezo resistive force sensors, such as the HFD-500 force sensor  30  available from HDK™ can be used. It comes in a small resin mold package with a 1/16 inch steel ball in contact with the silicon wafer (the piezo sensor). The HFD-500 Micro-Force Sensor can detect changes in applied force of one gram force or less. The single-axis device uses a piezo resistive sensor (crystal silicon sensor chip) that changes its resistance as a function of the pressure applied through the steel ball, creating a proportional output signal via internal bridge circuitry. Sensitivity for these types of sensors is typically in the 10 to 20 mV/N with a linearity of ±3% with a 3V supply current. 
     FTR is a polymer thick film (PTF) commonly used for keyboard applications. Any other suitable force sensor, such as for example, capacitive force sensors may also be used. 
     Given at least one centrally-mounted force sensor  30 , the sensor  30  is capable of registering absolute force F Z  along the z-axis orthogonal to the plane of the touch screen display  55 . Given a plurality (such as, for example, four) differentially corner-mounted force sensors  30 , each sensor  30  registers a different force as a function of the two-dimensional (x, y) coordinates along the plane of the frame  50 . By calculating the differential pressure at the corners the exact coordinate of the actual touch can be calculated. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective drawing illustrating an exemplary method of operation of the hybrid touch-screen display of  FIGS. 1-2  in the context of a mobile phone  2 , using a single centrally-mounted force sensor  30  implemented underneath the touch display screen  55  of the mobile phone  2  at point F. Note that for most mobile phones the LCD display and the touch display screen  55  are combined into a single module, most often together with additional layers, such as protective surface glass and anti-reflection coating, etc., and touch display screen  55  represents this module. As a user touches the touch display screen  55  surface at point  120 , the ProCap (or other) touch display screen  55  itself transmits the exact two-dimensional (x, y) touch coordinates along the plane of the touch display screen  55 . In addition, a component of the force of the touch is transferred through the touch display screen  55  to the force sensor  30  behind the screen  55 , and the absolute touch pressure can be computed as will be described. 
     The touch display screen  55  is preferably implemented to allow for a very small movement flexing along the z-axis, typically in the range of one or a few 1/100 mm. Thus, given the user touch at point  120  ( FIG. 3 ), the exact two-dimensional (x, y) touch coordinates known from the non-force-sensing (ProCap or other) touch display screen  55 , and the z-axis force component F c  known from the force sensor(s)  30  behind the module, then in accordance with the present method at block  150  the processor computes the absolute touch pressure Fz. In order to reach an optimal performance, at block  160  the sensor data is filtered based on the z-axis force component F c  from block  150 , to filter out unintentional or inadvertent touches (light pressures), or shock or vibration. 
     One skilled in the art should readily understand that it is also possible to place the sensor  30  on plane with the touch panel  55  by keeping it outside of the actual touch area. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective drawing illustrating an exemplary on-plane sensor  30  in the context of a mobile phone  2 , here using a single offset-mounted force sensor  30  implemented below the touch display screen  55  of the mobile phone  2  at point F. 
     It is virtually impossible to implement a touch system where the absolute touch pressure Fz from touch panel  55  transfers perfectly and without any frictional or bending forces directly to the force sensor  30 , especially as such mechanical provisions will consume space, which is very limited in a mobile phone  2  or most consumer electronics. Instead, the present system is pre-programmed to compensate for non-perfect force transfer. Thus, to compute the absolute touch pressure Fz at block  150  ( FIG. 3 or 4 ), the processor software may subdivide the touch area of touch panel  55  into different zones or “force rings”  122 ,  123 , etc. For example, when a user touches the touch area at point  120  with force Fz (near the sensor  30 ) it occurs within zone  122 . At this point  122  the sensor  30  will register a relatively higher force Fc than if the user had touched the touch panel  55  with exactly the same force Fz in the next zone further away  123 . This imperfect translation problem can however be compensated for based on the ProCap touch coordinates (x,y) and a predetermined coordinate force mapping. Specifically, a pre-determined compensation factor C may be used. For example, when a user touches the touch area at point  120  and sensor  30  reads force Fc (near the sensor  30 ) within zone  122 , the processor may attribute a compensation factor of 1.1 and multiply 1.1×Fc to attribute an absolute touch pressure Fz. The closer a touch is applied to the sensor  30  location, the higher the force Fc will be registered, and the smaller the compensation. Conversely, when a user touches the touch area within zone  123  and sensor  30  reads force Fc (further from the sensor  30 ), the processor may attribute a compensation factor of 1.3 and multiply 1.3×Fc to attribute an absolute touch pressure Fz. The entire touch surface of touch screen display  55  is mapped into zones in this manner. Depending on the nature of the mechanical implementation, this compensation can be added as a compensation matrix (look-up table) or pre-defined compensation equation (as function of touch coordinate). Once the absolute force Fz is calculated from compensated Fc, a three dimensional touch coordinate (x,y,Fz), or simply (x,y,z), can be exported to the operating system and/or overlaying applications. The (x,y,z) coordinate output can easily support gestures, such as a line drawing where the z-coordinate can add another dimension, such as line thickness as a function of applied force. In addition, a time stamp can be exported and combined with the (x,y,z) coordinates by the operating system. The absolute force component Fz is combined with coordinates (x,y) to yield (x,y,z) and all may be time-tagged (x t1 ,y t1 ,z t1 ) at block  150 , to ensure that the correct coordinates are used for force compensation of the correct force and later paired together in matching sequence. 
     It should be noted that the force compensation and calculation in block  150  is completed in real time in milliseconds or less. 
     Moreover, given (x,y,z) coordinate output it now becomes possible to filter out very light and unintentional touches at block  160 . If for example the user brushes the display accidently with a finger at a very low force, such as 5 grams, the force sensor  30  measures a force of 2.1 gram at a specific time, t1. The force compensation based on the touch zone ( 122 ,  123 , etc.) is added and the compensated force z t1  is estimated to 5 grams. 
     The result (x1, y1, 5 gram) t1  is checked against pre-programmed touch thresholds, such as for example a minimum threshold of 15 grams. In this case the touch coordinate (x1, y1, 5 gram) for t1 is not communicated up to the operating system. 
     One skilled in the art may recognize that adding full force-sensing touch screen capabilities as described above to a non-force sensing touch screen technology will require a software implementation that accommodate pre-existing dedicated software modules, working in conjunction with additional software. 
     For example,  FIG. 5  is a perspective drawing illustrating an exemplary method for adding full force-sensing touch screen capabilities to a non-force sensing touch screen in the context of a mobile phone, using four corner-mounted force sensors  30  implemented underneath the touch display screen  55  of the mobile phone  2  as in  FIG. 2 . This entails a reconciliation software module  200 . Essentially, a first software module  150  is used to calculate coordinates (x,y,) for the non-force-sensing (ProCap or other) touch display screen  55 , a second software module  190  obtains the z-axis force component F c  known from the force sensor  30  behind the module, and third reconciliation software module  200  performs force Fc compensation, calculation of three dimensional touch coordinates (x,y,z), and time tagging for export to the operating system, and/or overlaying applications. The system represented by  FIG. 5  presumes an existing ProCap touch panel  55  with its own dedicated controller  152 , plus a separate zTouch™-type FSR system with four sensors  30  having their own dedicated controller  192 , controllers  152  and  192  interfacing at reconciliation software module  200 . The software modules  150 ,  190  may be firmware and may reside on respective processors  152 ,  192 , and module  200  may be firmware resident on either processor  152 ,  192  or on a third master controller  202 , most likely, a main system processor. Both coordinate calculations are communicated to master controller  202 . The ProCap controller  152  runs the first software module  150  and is dedicated to calculating ProCap coordinates (x,y) for the non-force-sensing touch display screen  55 . For example, as seen in  FIG. 5 , the zTouch™ controller  192  runs the second software module to obtain zTouch™ coordinates plus the z-axis force component F c  known from the force sensor  30  behind the module (x,y,z). The main system processor  202  runs the third reconciliation software module  200  and performs force Fc compensation, comparison of the ProCap coordinates (x,y,) with zTouch™ coordinates (x,y,z), filtering of the two sets of touch coordinates (x,y,z), and time tagging for export to the operating system, and/or overlaying applications. In this case touch decisions made by master controller  202  may include the following:
         If the force component z in the zTouch™ coordinate calculation is less than F, do not export coordinates.   If the Procap(x,y) and zTouch™ (x,y,z) coordinates are both known, use the (x,y) coordinate from ProCap, combine with force component from zTouch™ coordinate (x,y,z,) and export the new (x,y,z) coordinate  210 .   If only the x,y coordinates from the zTouch™ coordinate calculation  190  are known (then is likely that the user is using a stylus), use only the zTouch™ coordinates (x,y) for the final coordinate (x,y,z).   If the Procap (x,y) coordinates match a pattern associated with interference from water or conductive liquid, disregard the ProCap coordinates  150  and use only the zTouch coordinates ( 190 ).       

     Note, if there is no applied force Fc, ignore coordinate input. 
     If multi touch, multiple (x,y) coordinates are recognized at the same time, only use the force loading of the zTouch™ coordinate calculation  190 . 
     As described above with regard to  FIGS. 3-4 , the four force sensors  30  in the multi-touch system of  FIG. 5  may be placed outside of the touch panel  55  display area, in-plane with the touch panel  55 , in the same way. 
     It should now be apparent how adding the force dimension z to the touch coordinates x,y improves the information sent to the operating system/overlying applications, and will allow for additional functionality. One skilled in the art may foresee additional features or feature enhancements attainable by adding force-sensing capability in parallel with a different touch screen system, such as a ProCap touch system, and such additional features or feature enhancements are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. 
     It should also be apparent that the above-described embodiments all involve a hybrid implementation of a zTouch force-sensing technology with a suitable non-force sensing touch screen technology. However, in its most basic implementation, the present invention may comprise one single force sensor and zTouch™ firmware running on a processor or microcontroller. 
     As an example,  FIG. 6  is a perspective drawing of an exemplary water dispenser unit, in which a user presses a glass or a cup against a touch lever  620 . Lever  620  is hinged to a main housing through a hinge mechanism  690 . The touch force from the glass is transferred via any suitable force transfer feature  680 , such as a spring-loaded detent, or other suitable mechanical feature allowing the force to be transferred to a sensor housing  670  at a single point. The force is transferred through the flexible wall/membrane of the sensor housing  670  directly onto a force sensor  630 . Prior art implementations use an on/off switch incapable of relative force measurement. Here, the increased touch force from the glass will result in an increased voltage output from the sensor  630  which preferably resides on a sensor PCB  640 . The analog signal from sensor  630  is amplified and sent into a micro controller  660  which may also reside on the PCB  640 . The microcontroller  660  will convert the analog (voltage) data to digital input data. The above-described firmware runs on the microcontroller  660  and interprets and filters the touch data. The added force-sensing ability of sensor  630  allows additional software features in the firmware that can always ensure that the system is auto-calibrated in between touches, and to determine if a touch is an actual touch or just a temporary static load by analyzing the force pattern. Permanent changes in static load, for example if the touch panel is removed and replaced with a new part which adds a slightly different static load, can be easily compensated. The delta load can be calibrated out and ignored through firmware calibration. 
     Once the firmware on the microcontroller  660  determines that the added force to the touch lever  620  is the result of a true touch of a glass, the result or command is communicated via any suitable data communication to a water flow controller or pump that will open up the water flow in the water line  610 . 
     The above-described implementation is but one example of a single force sensor control unit in a water dispenser unit, but other implementations are possible where the functional purpose may be completely different, mechanics may look different, and the zTouch™ firmware may reside in a shared processor running as an integrated part of the system code. Additional implementations or feature enhancements to existing implementations considered within the scope and spirit of the invention. 
     Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiment and certain modifications of the concept underlying the present invention, various other embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of the embodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with said underlying concept. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20160406
Publication Date: 20180522
Grant Date: 20180522
Priority Date: 20070315
Inventors: MOLNE, ANDERS L.
GRIFFITH, DAVID
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F2203/04105", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0414", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0418", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0416", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04106", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/046", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/045", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/043", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/042", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/045", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04142", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04186", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04142", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/044", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/043", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/042", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04106", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04106", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/04186", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04105", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/042", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/04105", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/045", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/043", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/046", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/046", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 49774035