Paint on micro chip touch screens

• US 10,404,306 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2017
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ashoori, Maryam, Briggs, Benjamin D., Canaperi, Justin A., Clevenger, Lawrence A., Clevenger, Leigh Anne H., Rizzolo, Michael, Skordas, Spyridon
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow, Wing H
• Application Number:
  US15/608,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20180351596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 826 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B01L 2300/168 Specific optical properties, e.g. reflective coatings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07775 the antenna being on-chip
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00182 operated with unidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3833 Hand-held transceivers

Abstract

A system for a touch screen interface that includes a coating including a plurality of a touch activated microchips; and a projector for projecting a light image onto the coating that is applied to a touch screen substrate. The system also includes an image calibrator that calibrates touch activated microchips in the coating to features of the light image projected onto the coating. The system further includes a receiver for receiving signal from the touch activated microchips when said feature of the light image is activated.

Claims

1. A method for forming a touch screen comprising:

applying a liquid coating including, suspended therein, a plurality of radio frequency (RF) sensitive microchips to a substrate for a touch screen, each of the microchips including an antenna structure and a memory containing a chip identification;

projecting an image for a touch screen interface on the substrate for the touch screen;

calibrating the radio frequency sensitive microchips to features of the image for the touch screen interface; and

activating the radio frequency sensitive microchips that are calibrated to the features of the image to activate said feature of an interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein applying said coating comprises spraying a liquid containing said plurality of radio frequency sensitive microchips.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the coating is a wall covering having the touch sensitive microchips present therein.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the radio frequency sensitive microchips comprise a coil for at least one of receiving and sending RF signals.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the radio frequency sensitive microchips further comprise a light sensor.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said calibrating the radio frequency sensitive microchips to features of the image for the touch screen interface comprises projecting a light image to the plurality of radio frequency sensitive microchips in the coating, wherein the light sensor of said radio frequency sensitive microchips senses alignment objects in the light image for said calibrating the location of the radio frequency sensitive microchips to the features of the image for the touch screen interface.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said activating the radio frequency sensitive microchips comprises contacting the feature of the image for the touch screen correlated to the radio frequency sensitive microchips with a pointer device including an RFID reader.

8. A system for a touch screen interface comprising:

a projector for projecting at least one light image onto a liquid coating that is applied to a touch screen substrate that includes, suspended therein, a plurality of touch activated microchips, each including an antenna and a memory containing a chip identification, wherein the at least one light image includes a touch screen image including activation fields for a function;

an image calibrator that calibrates touch activated microchips in the coating to said at least one light image projected;

a receiver for receiving signal from the touch activated microchips when said feature of the light image is activated;

an activated microchip to selected feature actuator to correlate a signal received by the receiver from a touch activated microchip that a user of the touch screen interface has selected the activation field for the function; and

a transmitter of an activated feature signal from the touch activated microchips that sends a signal to a computer interfacing with the touch screen interface instructing that said activation field for the function has been selected.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the touch activated microchips include an RF coil and are activated by a radio signal from an RFID reader on a pointer applied to a feature on the light image.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the touch activated microchips include a battery power source or the touch activated microchips are powered by an RF coil backing the coating including said plurality of touch activated microchips.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the coating comprises a paint liquid including at least one of a solvent, pigment, binder and said touch activated microchips.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the coating comprises a wall covering including said touch activated microchips.