METHOD FOR DETERMINING VALID TOUCH SCREEN INPUTS

• US 20130100043A1
• Filed: 10/24/2011
• Published: 04/25/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Kolbe, Dashiell Matthews
• Application Number:
  US13/279,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20130100043A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 43/00 Arrangements or adaptations of instruments arrangements of cameras B64D47/08; aeronautical measuring instruments per se G01C
• 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

A method of operating an aircraft, which has a cockpit with a flight deck having at least one touch screen display includes sensing an object touching on the at least one touch screen display to define an input touch and determining whether the input touch on the at least one touch screen display is invalid.

Claims

1. A method of operating an aircraft having a cockpit with a flight deck having at least one touch screen display, the method comprising:

detecting movement indicative of turbulence;

sensing an object touching on the at least one touch screen display to define an input touch;

determining at least one characteristic of the input touch;

comparing the at least one characteristic of the input touch to a reference characteristic; and

determining whether the input touch is invalid based on the detected turbulence and the comparison.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one characteristic of the input touch is an area of the input touch.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the reference characteristic is a standard area of a human fingertip.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the input touch is determined invalid when the comparison indicates that the area of the input touch is greater than 1.5 times the standard area of a human fingertip.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the standard area is selected based on a subset of human fingertips.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the subset is based on geographic origin.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the subset is based on at least one pilot profile.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one characteristic of the input touch is a dwell time.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the reference characteristic is a dwell time indicative of at least one of a portion of a palm and a portion of a wrist resting on the touch screen.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least one characteristic of the input touch is indicative of a human physiological attribute.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the human physiological attribute comprises at least one of fingertip size and pulse strength.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a location of the input touch on the touch screen and determining an invalid touch based on the comparison and the location of the input touch.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising reducing options available on the touch screen display when turbulence is detected.

14. A method of operating an aircraft having a cockpit with a flight deck having at least one touch screen display, the method comprising:

sensing an object touching on the at least one touch screen display to define an input touch;

determining a human bio-mechanical signature of the input touch;

comparing the human bio-mechanical signature of the input touch to a reference characteristic; and

determining whether the input touch is invalid based on the comparison.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the human bio-mechanical signature is a pulse strength.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the input touch is determined invalid when the comparison indicates that the pulse strength is not indicative of the pulse in a human fingertip.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the input touch is determined invalid when the pulse strength is indicative of a pulse strength of a human palm.