IDENTIFYING ACTUAL TOUCH POINTS USING SPATIAL DIMENSION INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM LIGHT TRANSCEIVERS

• US 20100079407A1
• Filed: 09/26/2008
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Suggs, Bradley N.
• Granted Patent: US 9,317,159 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04109 FTIR in optical digitiser, i.e. touch detection by frustrating the total internal reflection within an optical waveguide due to changes of optical properties or deformation at the touch location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen

Abstract

A system comprises a touch-screen having multiple light transceivers configured to emit and detect light. The system also comprises processing logic coupled to the light transceivers, where the processing logic is configured to obtain spatial dimension information of multiple possible touch points on the touch-screen using the detected light. The processing logic uses the spatial information to predict which of the multiple possible touch points comprise actual touch points and which of the multiple possible touch points comprise phantom touch points.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a touch-screen having multiple light transceivers configured to emit and detect light; and

processing logic coupled to the light transceivers, the processing logic configured to obtain spatial dimension information of multiple possible touch points on said touch-screen using said detected light;

wherein the processing logic uses the spatial information to predict which of the multiple possible touch points comprise actual touch points and which of the multiple possible touch points comprise phantom touch points.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the spatial information includes position, size, shape and orientation information.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the processing logic determines shapes of the possible touch points by determining long axis and short axis dimensions associated with said touch points.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the processing logic compares the size of one pair of said multiple possible touch points to an average size of all of said multiple possible touch points, and, if said size of the one pair of said multiple possible touch points is more similar to the average size than are sizes of the other pair of possible touch points, the processing logic selects said one pair of said multiple possible touch points as actual touch points.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the actual touch points cause light to be obstructed from reaching the light transceivers, and wherein the processing logic uses obstruction angles and position information associated with said actual touch points to determine said spatial information.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processing logic uses said obstruction angles to determine position, size, shape and orientation information associated with said possible touch points.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the processing logic determines obstruction areas of said multiple possible touch points using triangulation techniques, and wherein the processing logic compares obstruction areas of one pair of said multiple possible touch points to an average obstruction area of all of said multiple possible touch points, and, if said obstruction area of the one pair of said multiple possible touch points is more similar to the average obstruction area than are obstruction areas of the other possible touch pair, the processing logic selects said one pair of said multiple possible touch points as actual touch points.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing logic determines an eccentricity of said touch points.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a system selected from the group consisting of a display, a television, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a portable music player, a mobile communication device and a personal digital assistant.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing logic determines at least some of said spatial information by measuring changes in signals received from the light transceivers.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein, after the processing logic detects a single, actual touch point, the processing logic delays for a predetermined length of time prior to confirming said actual touch point as a touch event to allow for additional touches on the touch-screen.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing logic aborts said delay as a result of said actual touch point being lifted.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing logic aborts said delay as a result of the actual touch point being moved outside of a predetermined distance from an original location of the actual touch point.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing logic aborts said delay as a result of the processing logic detecting another actual touch point.

15. A method, comprising:

emitting and detecting light;

using said detected light, obtaining spatial dimension information of multiple possible touch points on said touch-screen; and

using said spatial dimension information, determining which of the multiple possible touch points comprise actual touch points and which of the multiple possible touch points comprise phantom touch points.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein obtaining spatial dimension information comprises obtaining information selected from the group consisting of position, shape, size and orientation information.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein obtaining spatial information comprises using location information associated with at least one of said possible touch points and obstruction angle information associated with the at least one of said possible touch points to determine an orientation of the at least one of said possible touch points.

18. A system, comprising:

means for emitting and detecting light; and

means for obtaining spatial dimension information of multiple possible touch points on said touch-screen using said detected light;

wherein said means for obtaining is also for using the spatial dimension information for determining which of the multiple possible touch points comprise actual touch points and which of the multiple possible touch points comprise phantom touch points.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the means for obtaining spatial dimension information obtains information selected from the group consisting of position, shape, size and orientation information.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein, if said means for determining identifies one of said multiple possible touch points as either an actual touch point or a phantom touch point, then, as a result, the means for determining identifies each of the remaining possible touch points as either actual touch points or phantom touch points by assuming that the multiple possible touch points comprise a pattern that alternates between actual touch points and phantom touch points.