US 12,277,292 B2
Multi-virtual button finger-touch input systems and methods of detecting a finger-touch event at one of a plurality of virtual buttons
Michael Chen, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Zhongxuan Tu, Shanghai (CN); Sina Akhbari, San Jose, CA (US); and Hao-Yen Tang, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to UltraSense Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by UltraSense Systems, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Oct. 30, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/497,759.
Application 18/497,759 is a continuation of application No. 17/521,606, filed on Nov. 8, 2021, granted, now 11,803,274.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/111,314, filed on Nov. 9, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2024/0061531 A1, Feb. 22, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G06F 3/041 (2006.01); G06F 3/043 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/04186 (2019.05) [G06F 3/043 (2013.01); G06F 2203/04105 (2013.01)] 26 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A multi-virtual button finger-touch input system, comprising:
a cover layer having an outer surface which can be touched by a finger and an inner surface opposite the outer surface;
a plurality of force-measuring and touch-sensing integrated circuits (FMTSICs), each of the FMTSICs coupled to the inner surface at a respective position, each of the FMTSICs corresponding to one of a plurality of virtual buttons, each of the virtual buttons corresponding to a respective region of the cover layer, each of the FMTSICs being adhered to or attached to the inner surface by an adhesive, the adhesive comprising double-sided tape, pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), epoxy adhesive, or acrylic adhesive;
digital bus wiring to which the FMTSICs are coupled; and
a host controller, in communication with each of the FMTSICs via the digital bus wiring;
wherein each of the FMTSICs comprises:
a semiconductor substrate;
signal processing circuitry on the semiconductor substrate;
at least one piezoelectric micromechanical force-measuring element (PMFE);
at least one piezoelectric micromechanical ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) configured as a transmitter (PMUT transmitter); and
at least one PMUT configured as a receiver (PMUT receiver);
wherein the PMUT transmitters of each of the FMTSICs are configured to transmit ultrasound signals towards the cover layer;
the PMUT receivers of each of the FMTSICs are configured to output voltage signals (PMUT voltage signals) in response to reflected ultrasound signals arriving from the cover layer, the PMUT voltage signals being converted to PMUT digital data at the signal processing circuitry of the respective FMTSIC;
the PMFEs of each of the FMTSICs are configured to output voltage signals (PMFE voltage signals) in accordance with a time-varying strain at each of the respective PMFEs resulting from a low-frequency mechanical deformation, the PMFE voltage signals being converted to PMFE digital data at the signal processing circuitry of the respective FMTSIC; and
the host controller is configured to: (1) obtain force-localization features and ultrasound-localization features of the FMTSICs and (2) determine whether an event is a finger-touch event or a false-trigger event and if the event is determined to be finger-touch event, identify one of the virtual buttons as a touched virtual button, using at least in part a model that has the force-localization features and the ultrasound-localization features as inputs;
the force-localization features of the FMTSICs are derived from the PMFE digital data of the FMTSICs; and
the ultrasound-localization features of the FMTSICs are derived from the PMUT digital data of the FMTSICs.