Apple Multipoint Touchscreen

New Hardware Patent for Apple.
Title: MULTIPOINT TOUCHSCREEN
Patent Application Number: WO2005114369
Inventors: Steve Hotelling, Joshua Strickon and Brian Huppi.
(check out this prior art- it looks amazing but is using different techniques for sensing touches- a go example of what is possible and working now)

European Filing of new Apple Hardware Patent Application for a Multipoint Touchscreen- Apple has designed the hardware which would allow touch screens that can recognise up to 15 simulantous touches of the screen- this would enable the ‘gestures’ user interface described in resent patents.

The invention relates, in another embodiment, to a display arrangement. The display arrangement includes a display having a screen for displaying a graphical user interface. The display arrangement further includes a transparent touch panel allowing the screen to be viewed therethrough and capable of recognizing multiple touch events that occur at different locations on the touch sensitive surface of the touch screen at the same time and to output this information to a host device.

The touch screen is configured to track multiple objects, which rest on, tap on or move across the touch screen at the same time. The touch screen includes a capacitive sensing device that is divided into several independent and spatially distinct sensing points that are positioned throughout the plane of the touch screen.

Last week, we saw a number of Apple patent applications released. These patents dealt with the software and conceptualising of gesture-based interactions with a tablet-like computer through a touchscreen. What was lacking was the touchscreen! Current touchscreens don’t allow the multipoint interactions required for this sort of gesturing to work- Well, here is the final piece of the jigsaw- Apple’s patent application for a ‘Multipoint Touchscreen’- for unexplained reasons it has only been released (and only partially at that) on the European Patent office site.

Click to see all photos in full

The patent is quite detailed and, in parts, much more technical that I can pretend to understand. Basically, Apple stresses the drawbacks of the current touchscreen technology (only single clicks allowed), give examples of why multipoint touch screens would be great and have lots of great applications (like enabling better interaction with the computer by the gestures described in the previous patents) and then the patent dives headlong into a discussion of how they would implement a multipoint touchscreen- a couple of mechanisms are put forward… they even have some time for humour?

The number of recognizable touches may be about 15. 15 touch points allows for all 10 fingers, two palms and 3 others.

3 Others! Presumably one has to take off one’s shoes or undress for that!

Apple suggests putting multipoint touch screens in:
• desktop, laptop or tablet computers
• PDAs
• media players such as music players
• peripheral devices such as cameras, printers and/or the like

The People Behind the Patent

I think the inventors for this patent app say quite a bit about the project and hint that it might actually get made…

Steve Hotelling
The man behind the so called Chameleon Patent. Not a lot on the web but some web pages describe him as an ‘Apple heavy hitter’.

Joshua Strickon
The boy wonder- recent graduate from a PhD from the MIT Media Lab as well as a ‘double degree in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science and Media Arts and Sciences. He has a background in programming as well as in piano performance.’ He also produced quite an ugly website (lets hope he had nothing to do with iWeb). He has done some interesting work examining new ways to interact with computer graphics and music (sounds perfect for this project). His thesis was entitled “Smoke and Mirrors to Modern Computers: Rethinking the Design and Implementation of Interactive, Location-Based Entertainment Experiences” and makes a lot of use of Apple software like Core Audio. Virtual sea anemonies only seem mildly relevant- “If you stick your hand in, it startles,”…

Brian Huppi
A true genius! He is the man responsible for the cool ‘breathing’ Apple sleep light (quote from the patent app: ‘A new and improved status LED indicator provides a pleasing visual appeal’) and the not produced (as yet) weird mouse with jog dial-type thing. He is also responsible for the Powerbooks (and MacBook) self-illuminating keyboard (1st inventor) and was the Electrical System Integrator (’jam the electronics in’-man) for the coloured iBooks. All this is to say he is a technical man who might have the know-how to actually make the multipoint touchscreen.

Technical Mumbo-Jumbo: Why hasn’t this been done before?

Problems with the traditional methods for touchscreens (surface acoustic wave, infrared and conductive layer) is that they can not discern multiple touches (indeed they will give aberrant results). This can be a problem- cue a swipe at current Tablet PCs…

These problems are particularly problematic in tablet PCs where one hand is used to hold the tablet and the other is used to generate touch events. For example, as shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, holding a tablet 2 causes the thumb 3 to overlap the edge of the touch sensitive surface 4 of the touch screen 5.

The technical talk in the application focuses on different ways to recognise multiple touches- via single units or in a comparative co-operative manner and also the distribution of sensors- Less electrodes in the centre of the display (presumably there is less user interaction with the centre of a display). Thus, where interaction is most likely to occur- the tops and sides of the screen- there is the highest density of sensors, thereby reducing the likelihood of interfering with the quality of display.

Selected quotes from patent

The display arrangement includes a display having a screen for displaying a graphical user interface and further includes a transparent touch panel allowing the screen to be viewed there through and capable of recognizing multiple touch events that occur at different locations on the touch sensitive surface of the touch screen at the same time and to output this information to a host device.
…
Recognizing multiple touch events is generally accomplished with a multipoint sensing arrangement. The multipoint sensing arrangement is capable of simultaneously detecting and monitoring touches and the magnitude of those touches at distinct points across the touch sensitive surface of the touch screen.
…
For example, the user may select an onscreen button with one finger, while moving a cursor with another finger. In addition, a user may move a scroll bar with one finger while selecting an item from a menu with another finger. Furthermore, a first object may be dragged with one finger while a second object may be dragged with another finger. Moreover, gesturing may be performed with more than one finger.
…
The sensor ICs may for example be capcitance sensing ICs such as those manufactured by Synaptics of San Jose, CA, Fingerworks of Newark, DE or Alps of San Jose, CA.
…
The computer system may also correspond to public computer systems such as information kiosks, automated teller machines (ATM), point of sale machines (POS), industrial machines, gaming machines, arcade machines, vending machines, airlinee-ticket terminals, restaurant reservation terminals, customer service stations, library terminals, learning devices, and the like.

Exciting prospects- I hope they actually make this- i don’t care if it’s profitable or useful because it is just cool.

Apple Tablet gestures blog story

Click here to see Hrmpf.com’s story of Apple’s Gestures