Touch panel display

• US 5,194,863 A
• Filed: 11/06/1991
• Issued: 03/16/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Barker, John H., LeFranc, Ernesto, Williams, Donald D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yusko, Donald J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Application Number:
  US07/789,384
• Time in Patent Office: 496 Days
• Field of Search: 341/31, 340/711, 340/712, 250/221, 250/222.1
• US Class Current: 341/31
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen

Abstract

A system which can control a plurality of opto-matrix input devices. Each opto-matrix device uses multiplexed scanning of emitter/detector pairs under control of a separate computer. The output of the opto-matrix input device is analog data which is provided to the computer for conversion to digital by the computer. The computer then determines if a stylus is located in the opto-matrix field, and if so, determines the stylus location by analysis of the received data.

Claims

1. An opto-matrix input device with a reduced number of driver components for detecting and communicating to a computer the position of an opaque point within a predetermined field, the apparatus comprising:

a frame, the frame having a first vertical side, a second vertical side, a first horizontal side and a second horizontal side;

a plurality of Y emitter drivers for activating preselected groups of emitters;

a plurality of X emitter drivers for activating preselected groups of emitters;

a plurality of emitters, each requiring input from an active Y emitter driver and an active X emitter driver to emit energy, the emitters attached to the first horizontal side and the first vertical side such that energy beams from the emitters form a matrix;

a plurality of detectors, each of the detectors corresponding to and paired with one of the plurality of emitters, the detectors attached to the second horizontal side and the second vertical side such that an energy beam from each of the corresponding emitters is detected by the detector which is paired with the corresponding emitter;

emitter multiplexing means, the emitter multiplexing means having means to receive emitter selection control signals input to the emitter multiplexing means by the computer, the emitter multiplexing means electrically interconnected to the Y emitter drivers and X emitter drivers for selective activation of energy emission from the emitters under control of the emitter selection control signals, the emitter multiplexing means further including Y emitter multiplexor means and X emitter multiplexing means for selecting Y emitter drivers and X emitter drivers interconnected to the emitters such that each emitter in the group selected by the Y emitter driver has a different X emitter driver associated with it;

detector multiplexing means, the detector multiplexing means having means to receive detector selection control signals input to the detector multiplexing means by the computer, the detector multiplexing means electrically interconnected to the detectors for selective activation of energy detection under control of the detector selection control signals; and

the detector multiplexing means further having means to output analog signals produced by the selected detectors to the computer;

whereby a reduced number of drivers can control the activation of a larger number of emitters in an opto-matrix input device.

2. An opto-matrix input device, as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the detector multiplexing means is further comprised of a Y detector multiplexor to select a group of detectors corresponding to the group of detectors corresponding to the group of emitters selected by the Y emitter multiplexor means and an X detector multiplexor to select an individual detector from the group of detectors selected by the Y detector multiplexor and corresponding to the emitter selected by the X emitter multiplexor.

3. A system for detecting the position of an opaque point in an opto-matrix input device, comprising:

a computer;

at least one opto-matrix input device with a reduced number of driver components, the opto-matrix input device further comprising;

a frame, the frame having a first vertical side, a second vertical side, a first horizontal side, and a second horizontal side;

a plurality of Y emitter drivers for activating preselected groups of emitters;

a plurality of X emitter drivers for activating preselected groups of emitters;

a plurality of emitters, each requiring input from an active Y emitter driver and an active X emitter driver to emit energy, the emitters attached to the first horizontal side and the first vertical side such that energy beams from the emitters form a matrix;

a plurality of detectors, each of the detectors corresponding to one of the plurality of emitters, the detectors attached to the second horizontal side and the second vertical side such that an energy beam from each of the corresponding emitters is detected by the detector which is paired with the corresponding emitter;

emitter multiplexing means, the emitter multiplexing means having means to receive emitter selection control signals input to the emitter multiplexing means by the computer, the emitter multiplexing means electrically interconnected to the Y emitter drivers and X emitter drivers for selective activation of energy emission from the emitters under control of the emitter selection control signals, the emitter multiplexing means further including Y emitter multiplexor means and X emitter multiplexing means for selecting Y emitter drivers and X emitter drivers interconnected to the emitters such that each emitter in a group selected by the Y emitter driver has a different X emitter driver associated with it; and

detector multiplexing means, the detector multiplexing means having means to receive detector selection control signals input to the detector multiplexing means by the computer, the detector multiplexing means electrically interconnected to the detectors for selective activation of energy detection under control of the detector selection control signals; and

the detector multiplexing means further having means to output analog signals produced by the selected detectors to the computer;

whereby a reduced number of drivers can control the activation of a larger number of emitters in an opto-matrix input device.

4. A system, as recited in claim 3, wherein;

said detector multiplexing means is further comprised of Y detector multiplexor to select a group of detectors and an X detector multiplexor to select an individual detector form group of detectors selected by the Y detector multiplexor.

5. A system, as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

storage means for storing an ambient reference value for a selected one of the detectors paired with the emitters, the ambient reference value generated by activating the selected detector and deactivating its corresponding emitter;

comparison means, for comparing the ambient reference value with a measured signal generated immediately after the ambient reference is generated by activating the selected detector and activating its corresponding emitter;

whereby the computer can detect the presence of the opaque point by calculating the difference between the ambient reference value and the measured signal.

6. A method of detecting the position of an opaque point in a predetermined field of at least one opto-matrix input device under control of a separate computer, including the steps of:

emitting energy from a first horizontal side and a first vertical side with a plurality of emitters, each requiring input form an active X emitter driver and an active Y emitter driver to emit energy, such that energy beams from the emitters form a matrix;

detecting energy in the matrix with a plurality of detectors, each of the detectors corresponding to and paired with one of the plurality of emitters, the detectors being attached to the second horizontal side and the second vertical side such that an energy beam from each of the corresponding emitters is detected by the detector which is paired with the corresponding emitter;

multiplexing the emitters under control of selection control signals input to an emitter multiplexor by the computer, multiplexing further including multiplexing the Y emitter drivers with a Y emitter multiplexor to select a group of the emitters under control of the control signals and multiplexing the X emitter drivers with an X emitter multiplexor such that each emitter in the group of emitters selected by the Y emitter driver has a different X emitter driver associated with it;

multiplexing the detectors under control of selection control signals input to a detector multiplexor by the computer;

outputting signals produced by the detectors to the computer;

computing the location of the opaque point by detecting the absence of energy at selected detectors on the second horizontal side and the second vertical side when energy is emitted from the emitters paired with the selected detectors.

7. A method, as recited in claim 6, further including the steps of:

converting signals output by the selected detectors in each of the opto-matrix input devices to digital values with a computer having an analog to digital converter.

8. A method, as recited in claim 7, further including the steps of:

storing an ambient reference value generated by activating a selected one of the selected detectors and deactivating its corresponding emitter;

comparing the ambient reference value with a measured signal generated immediately after the ambient reference is generated by activating the selected detector and activating its corresponding emitter;

detecting the presence of the opaque point by calculating the difference between the ambient reference value and the measured signal.