Optical touch screen arrangement

• US 7,355,594 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Barkan, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh; Duc Q
• Application Number:
  US10/956,694
• Publication Number:
  US 20060066584A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-182
• US Class Current: 345/173
• 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

Abstract

An optical touch screen arrangement includes two optical cameras arranged so that their planar fields of view intersect each other in a touch area situated adjacent a display screen operative for displaying visual prompts to solicit action from a user. The user'"'"'s finger, or a pen, entering the touch area is detected, as is the user'"'"'s signature.

Claims

1. An optical touch screen arrangement, comprising:

a) a housing;

b) a display screen mounted on the housing and operative for displaying visual prompts to solicit action from a user;

c) a pair of linear optical imagers on the housing and having respective, generally planar fields of view adjacent the display screen and intersecting each other to bound a touch area occupying a major fraction of area overlying the display screen, a minor fraction of the area overlying the display screen being located in the field of view of only one of the imagers, the imagers having respective rows of light sensors for detecting an entry into the touch area and for generating electrical position signals, one of the prompts being a contact area in which only one touch is optically captured by the one imager; and

d) a signal processor for processing the position signals to determine a location of the entry in the touch area.

2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein each imager is one of a charge coupled device and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor device.

3. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein the display screen has a plurality of corners, and wherein the imagers are mounted at two of the corners.

4. The arrangement of claim 3, wherein each field of view measures less than 90°

and defines the touch area at a central region of the display screen.

5. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein another of the prompts is a signature area in which a handwritten signature is optically captured by the imagers.

6. The arrangement of claim 1, and an illuminator for illuminating the fields of view of the imagers.

7. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein the illuminator includes a plurality of infrared light emitting diodes mounted on the housing for illuminating the fields of view with infrared light.

8. The arrangement of claim 6, wherein the illuminator includes a light source mounted in a tip of a pen for touching the display screen.

9. The arrangement of claim 6, and a pen for touching the display screen, the pen having a reflective tip for reflecting light from the illuminator.

10. The arrangement of claim 1, and a card reader on the housing.

11. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein another of the prompts is a numeric keypad.

12. The arrangement of claim 1, and a scratch resistant window overlying the display screen.