Touch screen display with quick response and a method for controlling an object in case the display is unable to display a screen

• US 5,717,433 A
• Filed: 04/17/1995
• Issued: 02/10/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Doba, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CHANH DUY
• Application Number:
  US08/424,599
• Time in Patent Office: 1,030 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/156, 345/169, 345/180, 345/182, 345/901, 345/902, 345/119, 345/120, 345/195, 345/904, 178/18, 178/19, 355/200, 355/204, 355/209, 355/59, 340/525, 101/DIG. 47, 364/188, 364/181, 364/189, 364/474.26, 364/476, 72/7, 72/31, 72/35, 399/11, 399/81
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/904 Display with fail/safe testing feature

Abstract

A touch screen display having a display surface composed of a touch screen, on which screens can be selectively displayed by touching the touch screen in an interactive manner. The touch screen display does not take time in executing a program and ensures high display response performance. A location specified by a touch on the display surface of a plasma display is detected in a touch detecting circuit by detecting a mesh number which is allocated to each of mesh regions into which the whole display surface is divided by a virtual mesh. By a switch filter, when the detected mesh number corresponds to other locations than those of control instruction indicia each displayed in the form of an operation button on the screen displayed on the display surface, the mesh number is invalidated. On the other hand, when the mesh number corresponds to the location of any one of the control instruction indicia, the mesh number is validated. The control instruction indicium selected by a touch is identified by the switch filter for assigning a switch number corresponding to the selected control instruction indicium to the mesh number, whereby a desired screen switching process can be accomplished.

Claims

1. A touch screen display comprising:

(a) displaying means comprising a display surface selectively displaying screens and having a touch screen divided into mesh regions defined by a virtual mesh,

each of said selectively displayed screens having at least one control instruction indicium by which a screen currently displayed is switched to another specified screen,

said control instruction indicium being so arranged to correspond to the mesh regions defined by the virtual mesh on the display surface;

(b) a first memory means for storing display screen data for each of the screens to be selectively displayed on the display surface of the displaying means;

(c) touched location detecting means for detecting a touched location specified by a touch on the touch screen of the display surface of the displaying means, and for indicating a mesh identification mark allocated to the mesh region corresponding to the touched location;

(d) second memory means for storing filter data for each of the selectable screens to be displayed on the display surface of the displaying means;

(e) third memory means for storing display control algorithms each corresponding to each process identification mark that is to be assigned in accordance with the filter data for each screen and is stored in the second memory means;

(f) process identification mark assigning means for assigning a process identification mark to the validated mesh identification mark which has been detected by the touched location detecting means as a function of the filter data corresponding to a screen currently displayed on the display surface of the displaying means and stored in the second memory means;

said process means using said filter data for invalidating and eliminating the processing of the mesh identification mark detected by the touched location detecting means when it corresponds to a location other than the location of the control instruction indicium respectively displayed on each selectable screen on the display surface of the displaying means, or said process means using said filter data for validating and processing the mesh identification mark when it corresponds to the location of the control instruction indicium, said process means using said filter data to assign a process identification mark of the corresponding control instruction indicium to the validated mesh identification mark;

(g) screen command generating means for generating a screen command for instructing displaying of a specified screen, by processing the display control algorithm that corresponds to the process identification mark assigned by the process identification mark assigning means and is stored in the third memory means; and

(h) display control means for displaying a specified screen on the display surface of the displaying means according to the display screen data corresponding to the specified screen and stored in the first memory means, in response to the screen command generated by the screen command generating means whereby the response time of the touch screen display is shortened because the filter data eliminates processing by the process means of invalid mesh identification marks which are detected by the touched location detecting means.

2. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display means, the first memory means, the touched location detecting means and the display control means are located at a display section, wherein the second memory means, the third memory means, the process identification mark assigning means and the screen command generating means are located at a control section, and wherein the mesh identification marks and the screen commands are transmitted between the display section and the control section whereby the response time of the touch screen display is shortened because the amount of information transmitted between the display section and the control section is reduced.

3. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the displaying means, the first memory means, the touched location detecting means, the second memory means, the process identification mark assigning means and the display control means are located at a display section, wherein the third memory means and the screen command generating means are located at a control section, and wherein the process identification marks and the screen commands are transmitted between the display section and the control section whereby the response time of the touch screen display is shortened because the amount of information transmitted between the display section and the control section is reduced.

4. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the screen is a base screen or a window screen comprising at least one window overlapped on the base screen.

5. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the mesh identification mark is a mesh number allocated to each of the mesh regions defined by the virtual mesh on the entire display surface.

6. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 5, wherein the virtual mesh for dividing the entire display surface is n×

m and the mesh numbers range from 1 to n×

m, where n and m are integers.

7. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 5, wherein the process identification mark is a switch number allocated to each of the control instruction indicia which take the form of operation buttons.

8. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 7, wherein the filter data for each screen comprises a switch development flag block and a switch number block.

9. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 8, wherein a switch development flag in the switch development flag block is basically set to "0" for invalidating its corresponding mesh number when the mesh number corresponds to an other location than the location of the control instruction indicium and to "1" for validating its mesh number when the mesh number corresponds to the location of the control instruction indicium.

10. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the display control algorithms are prepared by an external device and stored in the third memory means.

11. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 1 wherein the displaying means comprises a plasma display, an LCD display or CRT display.

12. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the displaying means comprises a plasma display, an LCD display or CRT display, and the screen is a base screen or a window screen comprising at least one window overlapped on the base screen.

13. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first memory means comprises a ROM cases including an IC card.

14. The touch screen display as claimed in 1 that is adapted to a press for use.

15. A touch screen display for operating a controlled object, said display comprising:

(a) displaying means comprising a display surface composed of a touch screen on which screens can be selectively displayed, wherein in a normal operating mode switching from one screen to another specified screen is executed by touching the touch screen of the display surface and wherein said displaying means may have an abnormal condition so that a screen cannot be displayed on the display surface;

(b) at least one control instruction switching means disposed on a side of the display surface of the displaying means, to which a new control instructing function is given each time one screen is switched to another, in accordance with the controlled object displayed on the new screen on the display surface;

(c) emergency operation mode switching means responsive to the displaying means for switching from the normal operation mode to an emergency operation mode at least when the displaying means is in the abnormal condition such that a screen cannot be displayed on the display surface; and

(d) controlled object selector switching means responsive to the emergency operation mode switching means for assigning a particular control instructing function to the control instruction switching means in the event that the mode switching means switches from the normal operation mode to the emergency operation mode as a result of the display means being in the abnormal condition, the particular control instructing function corresponding to one of the control instructions for the controlled object which are set when the mode operating switch switches from the normal operating mode to the emergency operating mode.

16. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 15, further comprising informing means for informing the progress of control operation being performed on a controlled object visually and/or by means of sound when switching to the emergency operation mode has taken place and the control operation is started by the control instruction switching means at least in a case where the displaying means is in said abnormal condition.

17. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 15, wherein two control instruction switching means are employed and opposite control instructing functions for a specified controlled object are given to the two control instruction switching means.

18. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 17, wherein said opposite control instructing functions for a specified controlled object are lifting/lowering control instructing functions or clamping/unclamping control instructing functions.

19. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 17, wherein the two control instruction switching means are two manual operation buttons that are disposed in lateral alignment on a side of the display surface of the displaying means.

20. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 19, wherein according to the opposite control instructing functions for a specified controlled object given to the two manual operation buttons, opposite control instructions are displayed, in corresponding locations to the manual operation buttons, on a screen displayed on the display surface of the displaying means.

21. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 15, wherein switching from the normal operation mode to the emergency operation mode by the emergency operation mode switching means is executed by inserting an emergency operation card in the touch screen display.

22. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 21, wherein the emergency operation card stores control instructions for controlled objects, which are to be set in the selector switching means.

23. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 22, wherein a plurality of kinds of emergency operation cards are used for setting different control instructions for controlled objects in the selector switching means.

24. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 22, wherein the emergency operation card is a ROM card including an IC card.

25. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 15, wherein the selector switching means is capable of selecting various driving modes when the touch screen display is in the normal operation mode.

26. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 15, wherein the selector switching means is a selector.

27. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 25, wherein the selector switching means is a driving mode selector when the touch screen display is in the normal operation mode.

28. The touch screen display as claimed in claim 15 wherein the touch screen display is adapted to control a press.