TOUCH-SENSITIVE USER INPUT DEVICE FAILURE PREDICTION

• US 20120284573A1
• Filed: 05/05/2011
• Published: 11/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: McCallum, Jeffrey R., Hajas, Tiberiu M., Rodriguez, Esperanza Darlene, Gunatilaka, Harsha D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,612,808 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/008 Reliability or availability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Detection of degradation of a touch-based user input device may allow for notifying a user of an impending failure of the touch-sensitive user input device so that the device may be taken out of service or repaired. Systems for detecting degradation of a touch-based user input device may carry out one or more operations including, but not limited to: determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous; providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous.

Claims

1. A method for detecting degradation of a touch-based user input device comprising:

determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous;

providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprises:

detecting a signal indicative of a user touch associated with a region of a touch-based user input device;

detecting a signal indicative of a user touch associated with a second region of the touch-based user input device greater than a threshold distance from the region of the touch-based user input device within a threshold time period.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprises:

detecting a signal indicative of a user touch associated with a region of a touch-based user input device; and

detecting one or more signals indicative of one or more repeated user touches at least partially associated with the region of the touch-based user input device within a threshold time period.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprises:

detecting one or more signals indicative of a number of repeated user touches at least partially associated with the region of the touch-based user input device greater than a threshold value.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprises:

providing a user notification when a number of times a signal indicative of a user touch has been determined to be erroneous exceeds a threshold value.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprises:

providing at least one of a visual notification, an audible notification and an electronic messaging notification.

7. A system for detecting degradation of a touch-based user input device comprising:

means for determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous;

means for providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprise:

means for detecting a signal indicative of a user touch associated with a region of a touch-based user input device;

means for detecting a signal indicative of a user touch associated with a second region of the touch-based user input device greater than a threshold distance from the region of the touch-based user input device within a threshold time period.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprise:

means for detecting a signal indicative of a user touch associated with a region of a touch-based user input device; and

means for detecting one or more signals indicative of one or more repeated user touches at least partially associated with the region of the touch-based user input device within a threshold time period.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the means for detecting one or more signals indicative of one or more repeated user touches at least partially associated with the region of the touch-based user input device within a threshold time period comprise:

means for detecting one or more signals indicative of a number of repeated user touches at least partially associated with the region of the touch-based user input device greater than a threshold value.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprise:

providing a user notification when a number of times a signal indicative of a user touch has been determined to be erroneous exceeds a threshold value.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous comprise:

providing at least one of a visual notification, an audible notification and an electronic messaging notification.

13. A method for detecting degradation of a touch-based user input device comprising:

detecting a signal indicative of movement of a pointer of a graphical user interface associated with a touch-based user input device along a path to a boundary of the graphical user interface;

detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface;

providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface comprises:

computing the slope of two or more portions of the path traced by the pointer;

determining if the slope of the two or more portions of a path traced by the pointer are equal.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface comprises:

providing a user notification in response to determining that the slope of the two or more portions of a path traced by the pointer are equal.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface comprises:

providing at least one of a visual notification, an audible notification and an electronic messaging notification.

17. A method for detecting degradation of a touch-based user input device comprising:

detecting signals indicative of at least one dimension of two or more user touches associated with a touch-based user input device;

computing an average of the signals indicative of the at least one dimension;

detecting a signal indicative of at least one dimension of a user touch associated with the touch-based user input device;

computing a difference between a signal indicative of at least one dimension of the user touch associated with the touch-based user input device and the average of the signals indicative of the at least one dimension; and

providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device when the difference exceeds a threshold value.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device when the difference exceeds a threshold value comprises:

providing a user notification when a number of times the difference exceeds a threshold value exceeds a threshold value.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device when the difference exceeds a threshold value comprises:

providing at least one of a visual notification, an audible notification and an electronic messaging notification.