OPTICAL TOUCH PANEL SYSTEM, OPTICAL SENSING MODULE, AND OPERATION METHOD THEREOF

• US 20140085264A1
• Filed: 09/21/2012
• Published: 03/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pixart Imaging Incorporation ROC
• Original Assignee: PixArt Imaging Incorporated
• Inventors: Su, Tzung-Min, Lin, Chih-Hsin, Cheng, Han-Ping, Kao, Ming-Tsan, Ko, Yi-Hsien
• Granted Patent: US 9,489,077 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

The present invention discloses an optical touch panel system, an optical sensing module, and an operation method using for the same system. The system recognizes a track of an object moving on or above a touch control surface to determine a corresponding gesture function; it includes a touch control surface, at least one image sensor, and a processor. The touch control surface includes at least two touch control areas. The image sensor captures a plurality of continuous pictures including the images of the objects. The processer determines which touch control area the object is moving on or above according to a starting position or a path of the track, and executes a gesture function corresponding to the track and the touch control area.

Claims

1. An optical touch panel system for recognizing a track of an object to determine a corresponding gesture function, comprising:

a touch control surface for the object to move on or above to form the track, the touch control surface including at least two touch control areas;

at least one image sensor for capturing a plurality of continuous pictures including images of the object; and

a processor for determining which touch control area is active according to the track of the object in the pictures, and recognizing the track to execute a corresponding gesture function which is pre-defined in association with the active touch control area.

2. The optical touch panel system of claim 1, wherein the processor determines a touch control area to be active when a starting point of the track is in this touch control area.

3. The optical touch panel system of claim 1, wherein the processor determines a touch control area to be active according to a location of the image of the object in a first one of the pictures in an image-sensing window of the image sensor.

4. The optical touch panel system of claim 1, wherein the processor determines a touch control area to be active according to whether the track has a higher ratio existing in this touch control area than existing in another touch control area.

5. The optical touch panel system of claim 1, wherein the processor determines a touch control area to be active according to whether the track has a higher ratio existing in a corresponding region of an image-sensing window of the image sensor than existing in another region of an image-sensing window of the image sensor.

6. The optical touch panel system of claim 1, wherein at least one gesture function which is pre-defined in association with the one touch control area is different from at least one gesture which is pre-defined in association with another inactive touch control area.

7. The optical touch panel system of claim 1, wherein the number of the image sensors is two, and the two image sensors are disposed at two ends of one side of the touch control surface.

8. The optical touch panel system of claim 7, further comprising a reflective element and at least one light emitting device disposed on two other sides of the touch control surface respectively.

9. The optical touch panel system of claim 1, wherein the image sensor captures the image of the object and a mirror image formed by the reflective element, and the processor analyzes a sensing path through the image of the object and a sensing path through the mirror image to calculate the coordinates of the object.

10. An operation method of an optical touch panel system for recognizing a track of an object to determine a corresponding gesture function, comprising:

providing a touch control surface for the object to move on or above to form the track, the touch control surface including at least two touch control areas;

capturing a plurality of continuous pictures including images of the object;

determining which touch control area is active according to the track; and

recognizing the track to execute a corresponding gesture function which is pre-defined in association with the active touch control area.

11. The operation method of an optical touch panel system of claim 10, wherein the step of determining which touch control area is active according to the track includes:

calculating a starting point of the track; and

determining a touch control area to be active when a starting point of the track is in this touch control area.

12. The operation method of an optical touch panel system of claim 10, wherein the step of determining which touch control area is active according to the track includes:

determining a touch control area to be active according to a location of the image of the object in a first one of the pictures in an image-sensing window of the image sensor.

13. The operation method of an optical touch panel system of claim 10, wherein the step of determining which touch control area is active according to the track includes:

determining a touch control area to be active according to whether the track has a higher ratio existing in this touch control area than existing in another touch control area.

14. The operation method of an optical touch panel system of claim 10, wherein the step of determining which touch control area is active according to the track includes:

determining a touch control area to be active according to whether the track has a higher ratio existing in a corresponding region of an image-sensing window of the image sensor than existing in another region of an image-sensing window of the image sensor.

15. The operation method of an optical touch panel system of claim 10, wherein at least one gesture function which is pre-defined in association with the one touch control area is different from at least one gesture which is pre-defined in association with another inactive touch control area.

16. The operation method of an optical touch panel system of claim 10, wherein the track has a plurality of sampling points and a plurality of sequential vectors for determining to which active touch control area the track belongs.

17. An optical touch panel system for recognizing a track of an object to determine a corresponding gesture function, comprising:

a touch control surface for the object to move on or above to form the track;

at least one image sensor for capturing a plurality of continuous pictures including images of the object; and

a processor for recognizing the track according to the images of the object in the pictures, and determining a corresponding gesture function according to a starting point of the track or a path of the track.

18. The optical touch panel system of claim 17, wherein the processor determines that the starting point of the track or the path of the track exists in a predetermined touch control area of the touch control surface and executes a corresponding gesture function which is pre-defined in association with the touch control area.

19. The optical touch panel system of claim 18, wherein the processor determines whether the track belongs to the touch control area by calculating a proportion of the path of the track in the touch control area.

20. The optical touch panel system of claim 18, wherein the processor determines whether the track belongs to the touch control area according to proportions of the track in regions of an image-sensing window of the image sensor.

21. The optical touch panel system of claim 18, wherein the touch control surface us divided to at least two touch control areas, and wherein at least one gesture function which is pre-defined in association with the one touch control area is different from at least one gesture which is pre-defined in association with another inactive touch control area.

22. The optical touch panel system of claim 18, wherein the number of the image sensors is two, and the two image sensors are disposed at two ends of one side of the touch control surface;

the system further comprising a reflective element and at least one light emitting device disposed on two other sides of the touch control surface respectively.

23. The optical touch panel system of claim 17, wherein the image sensor captures the image of the object and a mirror image formed by the reflective element, and the processor analyzes a sensing path through the image of the object and a sensing path through the mirror image to calculate the coordinates of the object.

24. An optical sensing module for use in an optical touch panel system for identifying a track of an object, comprising:

at least one image sensor for capturing a plurality of continuous pictures including images of the object; and

a processor recognizing the track according to the images of the object in the pictures, and generating an output signal according to a starting point and a path of the track.

25. The optical touch panel module of claim 24, wherein the processor determines that the starting point or the path of the track is located in a predetermined touch control area of the touch control surface of the optical touch panel system, and the output signal of the processor includes information related to the touch control area.

26. The optical touch panel module of claim 25, wherein the processor determines whether the track belongs to the touch control area by calculating a proportion of the path of the track in the touch control area.

27. The optical touch panel module of claim 25, wherein the processor determines that the track belongs to the touch control area according to proportions of the track in regions of an image-sensing window of the image sensor.