Touch panel apparatus

• US 4,888,479 A
• Filed: 02/24/1989
• Issued: 12/19/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tamaru, Hideshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nelms, David C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shami, Khaled
• Application Number:
  US07/315,470
• Time in Patent Office: 298 Days
• Field of Search: 250/221, 250/222.1, 341/31
• US Class Current: 250/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen

Abstract

A touch panel apparatus having a display, a first beam generator for generating a first set of beams skewed to the right, arranged in parallel to each other and aligned from the upper left to the lower right relative to the display surface of the display, a first beam scanner coupled to the first beam generator for scanning the display surface by the first set of beams with a predetermined sequence, a second beam generator for generating a second set of beams skewed to the left, arranged in parallel to each other and aligned from the upper right to the lower left relative to the display surface of the display, a second beam scanner coupled to the second beam generator for scanning the display surface by the second set of beams with a predetermined sequence, a first calculator for determining a first address based on an interrupted beam first appearing in the alignment sequence of the first set of beams, and a second calculator for determining a second address based on an interrupted beam first appearing in the alignment sequence of the second set of beams.

Claims

1. A touch panel apparatus comprising:

a display having a display surface;

a first beam generating means for generating a first set of beams skewed in a first diagonal direction, arranged in parallel to each other and aligned from a first upper side of the display surface to the lower opposite side of the display surface of said display;

a first beam scanning means coupled to said first beam generating means for scanning said display surface by said first set of beams with a predetermined sequence;

a second beam generating means for generating a second set of beams skewed in a second diagonal direction, arranged in parallel to each other and aligned from a second upper side of the display surface to the lower opposite side of the display surface of said display;

a second beam scanning means coupled to said second beam generating means for scanning said display surface by said second set of beams with a predetermined sequence;

first detecting means for determining a first address based on an interrupted beam first appearing in the alignment sequence of said first set of beams; and

second detecting means for determining a second address based on an interrupted beam first appearing in the alignment sequence of said second set of beams.

2. A touch panel apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the first set of beams is directed from the upper left to the lower right of the display surface and the second set of beams is directed from the upper right to the lower left of the display surface.

3. A touch panel apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

address determining means coupled to said first and second detecting means for generating a final address by calculating a mean value of addresses of interrupted light beams in a row.

4. A touch panel apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein said address determining means determines final address by calculating a mean value of the first two addresses among addresses of interrupted light beams in a row.

5. A touch panel apparatus as cited in claim 1, wherein said first and second beam scanning means scan said display surface with every other beams of said first set of beams and second set of beams and then the rest of beams, respectively.