Methods are disclosed for dynamic assignment of possible channels in a touch sensitive device having rows and columns. In an embodiment, a method determines a first signal space in which to generate signals for use in the touch sensor. Signals are then generated in the first signal space on separate ones of the rows and a column signal is sensed on a column. The first signal space is replaced with a second signal space, and a second plurality of signals is generated for use in the touch sensor in the second frequency space. The second plurality of signals is sensed to identify a touch event in the touch sensitive device.

The present disclosure relates to a touch panel. The touch panel includes a substrate; one or more infrared light-emitting devices; an infrared total reflection coverplate that is deformable in response to a touch of a touching object; an infrared sensing layer including at least one sensing wire in a first direction and at least one sensing wire in a second direction. The sensing wires in the first direction and the sensing wires in the second direction are insulated from each other and are made of photoconductive material sensitive to the infrared light emitted from the infrared light-emitting device.

Provided is an image-display apparatus on which an object to be observed can be applied, the image-display apparatus comprising: a display screen; a plurality of light-emitting units arranged to emit light out of the screen from behind the screen; a plurality of light sensors arranged behind the screen to detect light including light emitted from at least one light-emitting unit and reflected from an object applied to the display screen, and to output at least first and second detection values; and a determination unit configured to determine, based on the detection values output by the plurality of sensors, a first region of the display screen corresponding to a region to which the object is applied to the display screen.

Pressure-sensing touch systems and methods are disclosed for sensing the occurrence of a touch event based on pressure applied at a touch location. The touch system includes a light-source system and a detector system operably adjacent respective input and output edges of a waveguide. Pressure at a touch location on the waveguide gives rise to a touch event causes the waveguide to bend or flex. The waveguide bending causes a change in the optical paths of light traveling by FTIR, causing the light distribution in the output light to change. The changes are detected and are used to determine whether a touch event occurred, as well as the time-evolution of the touch event. The changes in the output light can include polarization changes caused by birefringence induced in the waveguide by the applied pressure applied. Various detector configurations are disclosed for sensing the location and pressure of a touch event.

An input device includes an input surface, at least one first detector which detects a touch and/or an activation of the input surface, a second detector which includes a detection range which covers the input surface, and an evaluation unit. The second detector detects a no-touch of the input surface. The evaluation device assigns a switching or control function to the at least one of the touch and the activation of the input surface upon the detection of the at least one of the touch and the activation by the first detector. The evaluation unit excludes the assignment of the switching or control function upon detecting the no-touch by the second detector.

The present disclosure relates to a flat panel display embedding an optical imaging sensor such as a fingerprint image sensor. The present disclosure suggests a flat panel display embedding an image sensor comprising: a display panel including a display area and a non-display area; and a directional optical unit having a length and a width corresponding to the display panel and a thickness, and attached on a top surface of the display panel, wherein the directional optical unit provides a sensing light to the display area, and wherein the sensing light is collimated and directionized to a predetermined direction.

A stylus and touch sensitive device are disclosed. The stylus includes a stylus transmitter for transmitting a stylus signal. The touch sensitive device includes row conductors, each of which is associated with a row transmitter and a row receiver. The row transmitter is adapted to simultaneously transmit row signals, each on its associated row conductor, each of the row signals being orthogonal to each other of the plurality of row signals transmitted on each other of the row conductors. The row receiver is adapted to detect the stylus signal. Column conductors are provided, each associated with a column receiver that is adapted to detect the presence of each of the row signals transmitted by the row transmitter and the stylus signal.

A grating-coupled light guide includes a plate light guide and a grating coupler at an input to the plate light guide. The grating coupler is to receive light from a light source and to diffractively redirect the light into the plate light guide at a non-zero propagation angle as guided light. Characteristics of the grating coupler determine a spread angle of the diffractively redirected guided light.

A touch sensing apparatus is provided comprising: a light transmissive panel that defines a touch surface, a plurality of light emitters and detectors arranged along a perimeter of the light transmissive panel, a plurality of optical components arranged along the perimeter of the light transmissive panel, wherein the light emitters are arranged to emit a respective beam of emitted light and the optical components are configured to direct the emitted light to a path across the light transmissive panel. Optionally, optical components comprise a light guide arranged to receive light from the light emitters through a first surface and couple out light travelling in the light guide to the touch surface through a second surface. The second surface may be diffusively transmissive. The light guide may further comprise a reflective surface configured to internally reflect light travelling in the light guide from the first surface to the diffusive surface. The reflective surface may be diffusely reflective, partially diffusely reflective, or specularly reflective.

An optical touch-sensitive device detects touch events caused by instruments (e.g., pens, styluses) and distinguishes these events from touch events caused by fingers. In some embodiments, different instruments can also be distinguished. The optical touch-sensitive device includes multiple emitters and detectors. Each emitter produces optical beams which are received by the detectors. The optical beams preferably are multiplexed in a manner so that many optical beams can be received by a detector simultaneously. Touch events disturb the optical beams, for example due to frustrated total internal reflection. Information indicating which optical beams have been disturbed is analyzed to detect one or more touch events. The analysis also distinguishes instrument touch events from finger touch events.