NRI’s Lensless Light Field Imaging technologies that include integrated display and imaging capabilities (for example US 8,754,842, US 8,830,375, and US 15/647,230, as well as related patent assets listed therein), when implemented with LED, micro-LED, or OLED arrays, can be adapted to implement a number of self-illuminating contact-sensing, contact imaging, and simultaneous image display/image sensing functions. These can be used to implement (WITHOUT any need for RF capacitive matrix or front-facing cameras) integrated combinations of finger-operated touch screen, touch gesture sensor, color image display, hand-image gesture sensor, document scanner, secure optical data exchange, and fingerprint processing capabilities for smartphones, tablets, laptops, gaming devices, and other systems and information appliances. With adequate LED, micro-LED, or OLED array resolution, touch sensing capabilities can support implementations of NRI’s 6D TouchTM (roll/pitch/yaw finger-angle) technologies (see Touch, Gesture, and HDTP). (It is also noted that NRI’s Lensless Light Field Imaging technologies can implement software-controllable stereoscopic 3D video capture, providing entirely new capabilities for future “3D phone” concepts.)
As an important opportunity for GPU (“Graphics Processing Unit”) manufacturers provided by NRI’s technology is that (array-based) front-facing imaging formation calculations, touch gesture sensing calculations, and touch gesture recognition calculations can be naturally handled within the GPU idle cycles rather than with external processor chips or the main processor chip. Among many other implications, this permits:
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- Shifting the entire world of gesture recognition and processing from general processors to GPU manufacturers (!)
- Tight integration of high-speed gestures (including next-generation sophisticated gestures such as NRI’s 6D TouchTM) and high-speed graphics rendering for use in high-performance gaming, 3D, and map applications.
- Individual LED, micro-LED, or OLED elements in an LED, micro-LED, or OLED array can be used for light sensing as well as light emission functions, either spatially-interleaved or time-multiplexed mode-changes:
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- In one implementation a single OLED array is used as the only
optoelectronic user interface element in the system. - In another implementation two OLED arrays are used, each performing and/or
optimized for different functions. In another implementation, an LCD and an OLED array are
used in various configurations.
- In one implementation a single OLED array is used as the only
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- A software algorithm can produce touch measurement information responsive to light
reflected by a finger proximate to the LED, micro-LED, or OLED array.
- A software algorithm can produce touch measurement information responsive to light
- To remove effects of ambient light, the emitted light can be appropriated
modulated and the system configured to be responsive to received reflected
modulated light, generating measurement signals responsive to the only reflected
modulated light.
Issued Patents
| Title | Patent Number | Application Number | Priority Dates | Text Only | Related Patents | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use of LED or OLED array to implement integrated combinations of touch screen tactile, touch gesture sensor, color image display, hand-image gesture sensor, document scanner, secure optical data exchange, and fingerprint processing capabilities | 9,632,344 | 13/961,611 | 07/09/2010 07/11/2011 | Text | Integrated Lensless Camera, Touch, and Display |
|
| LED/OLED array approach to integrated display, lensless-camera, and touch-screen user interface devices and associated processors | 9,626,023 | 13/180,345 | 07/09/2010 | Text | Integrated Lensless Camera, Touch, and Display |
Pending Published Applications
| Title | Publication Number | Application Number | Priority Dates | Publish Date | Text Only | Related Patents | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Use of Transparent Photosensor Array to Implement Integrated Combinations of Touch Screen Tactile, Touch Gesture Sensor, Color Image Display, Hand-Image Gesture Sensor, Document Scanner, Secure Optical Data Exchange, and Fingerprint Processing Capabilities | 2017/0220145 | 15/492,681 | 07/09/2010 08/07/2013 | Text | Integrated Lensless Camera, Touch, and Display | ||
| LED/OLED array approach to integrated display, focusing lensless light-field camera, and touch-screen user interface devices and associated processors | 2017/0220201 | 15/488,295 | 07/09/2010 | Text | Integrated Lensless Camera, Touch, and Display | ||
| Use of Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Displays as a High-Resolution Optical Tactile Sensor For High Dimensional Touchpad (HDTP) User Interfaces | 2012/0274596 | 13/547,024 | 07/11/2011 | 11/01/12 | Text | Integrated Lensless Camera, Touch, and Display |
Pending Unpublished Applications
| Title | Application Number | Priority Dates | Related Patents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Layered Optoelectronic Array Approach to Integrated Display, Lensless Light-Field Camera, Touch-Screens, Hand-Gesture User Interface Devices, and Associated Features | 16/733,209 | 01/02/2020 | Integrated Lensless Camera, Touch, and Display |