Touch input device with pathogen transmission mitigation

• US 10,042,466 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2016
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cohen, Guy, Kozloski, James R., Pickover, Clifford A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham Lu, Ngan T
• Application Number:
  US15/198,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20160303266A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: 345173
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/10 Ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/24 Apparatus using programmed or automatic operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2202/16 Mobile applications, e.g. portable devices, trailers, devices mounted on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

This disclosure provides methods and systems for mitigating pathogen transmission via a touch surface of a touch input device. Mitigation is accomplished through selective touch surface sterilization and through touchscreen user interface reorganization. The touch surface includes a pixel array for illuminating selected portions of the touch surface with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength based upon the received touch inputs. The selective illumination may occur while receiving a touch input or after an accumulation of touch inputs have been received. The user interface may also be reorganized based on received touch inputs in order to locate user interface icons to lesser touched locations of the touch surface.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a touch input at a touch location on a touch surface;

selecting, with a controller and based upon the touch location, a portion of the touch surface which is less than the entire touch surface for illumination with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from at least one pixel of an ultraviolet pixel array comprising a plurality of pixels that are individually selectable by a controller, the selected portion being selected to include the touch location;

selecting to activate the at least one pixel which is less than the plurality of pixels, and to deactivate the remaining pixels in the plurality of pixels conserving power of a device, to thereby generate with the activated at least one pixel ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength to illuminate the selected portion of the touch surface; and

illuminating, by the selected at least one pixel of the ultraviolet pixel array where each pixel of the array is configured to illuminate a portion of the touch surface, only the selected portion of the touch surface with an ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength, wherein the illuminating occurs after the end of the receiving of the touch input.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein

the receiving receives the touch input as a swipe gesture having a plurality of touch locations,

the selecting of a portion of the touch surface selects, based upon the plurality of touch locations, a plurality of portions of the touch surface that includes the plurality of touch locations and which is less than the entire touch surface;

and

the illuminating illuminates only the selected plurality of portions of the touch surface, wherein the illuminating occurs after the end of the receiving of the touch input.

3. A device comprising:

a touch surface for receiving a touch input at a touch location;

an ultraviolet pixel array comprising a plurality of pixels that are individually selectable by a controller, each pixel of the array configured to illuminate a portion of the touch surface with an ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength; and

a controller for selecting, based upon the touch location, a portion of the touch surface which is less than the entire touch surface for illumination with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from at least one pixel of the ultraviolet pixel array, the selected portion being selected to include the touch location, and for selecting to activate the at least one pixel of the plurality of pixels in the ultraviolet pixel array, and to deactivate the remaining pixels in the plurality of pixels conserving power of the device, for illuminating only the selected portion of the touch surface with the ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength, wherein the illuminating occurs after the end of the receiving of the touch input.

4. The device according to claim 3 wherein a plurality of touch inputs at a plurality of touch locations is received on the touch surface, the device further comprising:

an observer absence detector for determining an absence of an observer able to be exposed to the ultraviolet light, and further wherein

the controller for selecting, based upon the plurality of touch locations, a plurality of portions of the touch surface that includes the plurality of touch locations and which is less than the entire touch surface, and for selecting to activate at least one pixel of the a plurality of pixels of the ultraviolet pixel array, and to deactivate the remaining pixels in the plurality of pixels conserving power of the device, for illuminating only the selected plurality of portions of the touch surface based upon the plurality of touch locations, wherein the illuminating occurs after the end of the receiving of the plurality of touch inputs, and

the controller for activating the plurality of pixels based upon the observer absence detector determining the absence of an observer able to be exposed to the ultraviolet light.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein the device comprises at least one device selected from the following group:

a cell phone;

a tablet;

a personal computer with a touchscreen or touchpad;

a kiosk;

a point of sale system; and

a gaming system.

6. A computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

receiving an input signal indicative of a touch input at a touch location on a touch surface;

selecting, with a controller and based upon the touch location, a portion of the touch surface which is less than the entire touch surface for illumination with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength from at least one pixel of an ultraviolet pixel array comprising a plurality of pixels that are individually selectable by a controller for activation, the selected portion being selected to include the touch location;

selecting to activate the at least one pixel which is less than the plurality of pixels, and to deactivate the remaining pixels in the plurality of pixels conserving power of a device, to thereby generate with the activated at least one pixel ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength to illuminate the selected portion of the touch surface; and

generating an illumination signal for illuminating, by the selected at least one pixel of the ultraviolet pixel array where each pixel of the array is configured to illuminate a portion of the touch surface, only the selected portion of the touch surface with an ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength, wherein the illuminating occurs after the end of the receiving of the touch input.

7. The computer program product according to claim 6, wherein

the receiving receives the input signal as a swipe gesture having a plurality of touch locations;

the selecting of a portion of the touch surface selects, based upon the plurality of touch locations, a plurality of portions of the touch surface that includes the plurality of touch locations and which is less than the entire touch surface; and

the generating generates the illumination signal for modulating at least one of an illumination luminosity and an illumination duration of the ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength for illuminating only the selected plurality of portions of the touch surface, wherein the illuminating occurs after the end of the receiving of the touch input.