Touch panel and interactive input system incorporating the same

• US 8,400,407 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2007
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smart Technologies ULC (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Smart Technologies ULC (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Oleskevich, Tanya, Robertson, Don, Martin, Nicole
• Primary Examiner(s): Lao, Lun-Yi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah, Priyank
• Application Number:
  US11/779,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20090020342A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,071 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345/173, 345/903, 345/1.1, 178/18.03, 178/18.01, 178/18.09, 178/18.11, 361/728, 361/729, 361/732, 361/748, 361/784, 349 73- 74
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/58 collapsible, e.g. foldable; of variable area
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0393 Accessories for touch pads or touch screens, e.g. mechanical guides added to touch screens for drawing straight lines, hard keys overlaying touch screens or touch pads
• 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

A touch panel comprises a substrate having a forward major surface and formed of a plurality of assembled substrate segments. Cover material overlies the forward major surface to reduce the visibility of seams between adjacent substrate segments.

Claims

1. A touch panel comprising a rigid substrate having a forward major surface and being formed of a plurality of assembled, interconnected non-active substrate segments and a continuous sheet of flexible material directly overlying substantially the entirety of said forward major surface and covering seams between adjacent substrate segments;

and a plurality of camera devices, said camera devices having fields of view looking generally across said sheet of flexible material from different viewpoints, wherein said sheet covers and obscures the covered seams from view by said camera devices.

2. A touch panel according to claim 1 wherein said sheet is formed of a dry-erase, low-gloss material.

3. A touch panel according to claim 1 wherein said sheet is adhered to said substrate.

4. A touch panel according to claim 3 said sheet is adhered to said substrate at selected locations to enable the substrate segments to be moved from an assembled side-by-side arrangement to a stacked arrangement whereby said substrate segments are disposed one on top of the other.

5. A touch panel according to claim 1 wherein said substrate segments are interlocking.

6. A touch panel according to claim 5 wherein abutting sides of adjacent substrate segments carry mating formations.

7. A touch panel according to claim 1 wherein each of said substrate segments is generally rectangular in plan.

8. A touch panel according to claim 7 wherein said sheet is formed of a dry-erase, low-gloss material.

9. A touch panel according to claim 7 wherein said sheet is adhered to said substrate.

10. A touch panel according to claim 9 wherein said sheet is adhered to said substrate at selected locations to enable the substrate segments to be moved from an assembled side-by-side arrangement to a stacked arrangement whereby said substrate segments are disposed one on top of the other.

11. A kit for a touch panel comprising a plurality of non-active, rigid substrate panels, said panels being assembleable in seriatum to form a substrate having a major forward surface;

a continuous sheet of flexible material positionable to overlie substantially the entirety of said forward major surface and cover seams between adjacent substrate panels when said substrate panels are assembled and interconnected to form said substrate; and

a valance securable to one side of said substrate when said substrate panels are assembled and interconnected, said valance accommodating a camera device adjacent each end thereof, wherein said sheet obscures the covered seams from view by each camera device when positioned to overlie directly said forward major surface.

12. A kit according to claim 11 wherein said sheet is formed of a dry-erase, low-gloss material.

13. A kit according to claim 11 wherein said sheet comprises an adhesive layer on one surface thereof and a release layer disposed on said adhesive layer.

14. A kit according to claim 11 wherein said substrate panels are interlocking.

15. A kit according to claim 14 wherein said substrate panels carry mating formations.

16. A kit according to claim 11 wherein each of said substrate panels is generally rectangular in plan.

17. A touch panel comprising:

a plurality of side-by-side non-active substrate panels defining a rigid substrate having a major forward surface, adjacent substrate panels being releasably interconnected;

a flexible cover sheet overlying substantially the entirety of said major forward surface and being secured directly to said substrate panels at selected locations, said substrate panels being disconnectable and rearrangeable to assume a stacked orientation whereby said substrate panels are disposed one on top of the other without unsecuring said cover sheet from said substrate panels; and

a plurality of camera devices, each camera device being positioned adjacent a respective corner of said substrate and having a field of view looking generally across said flexible cover sheet, wherein said cover sheet obscures covered seams between adjacent substrate panels from view by said camera devices.

18. A touch panel according to claim 17 wherein said cover sheet is adhered to said substrate panels at said selected locations.

19. A touch panel according to claim 18 wherein said sheet is formed of a dry-erase, low-gloss material.

20. A touch panel according to claim 18 wherein said substrate panels are interlocking.

21. A touch panel according to claim 18 wherein abutting sides of adjacent substrate panels carry mating formations.

22. An interactive input system comprising:

a touch panel comprising a rigid substrate formed of a plurality of non-active assembled substrate panels and defining a major forward surface and a continuous sheet of flexible material directly overlying substantially the entirety of said forward major surface and covering seams between adjacent assembled substrate panels; and

a detection arrangement detecting pointer contacts on the sheet, wherein said detection arrangement comprises imaging devices with each imaging device being positioned adjacent a different corner of said touch panel and having a field of view looking generally across said sheet, wherein said sheet obscures the covered seams from view by the imaging devices.

23. An interactive input system according to claim 22, further comprising at least one display unit generating an image that is visible when looking at the sheet.

24. An interactive input system according to claim 23, further comprising processing structure communicating with said imaging devices, said processing structure processing image data captured by said imaging devices to detect pointer contacts on said sheet.

25. An interactive input system according to claim 24, wherein said processing structure updates data conveyed to said display unit in accordance with detected pointer contacts.

26. An interactive input system according to claim 22, wherein said sheet is formed of a dry-erase, low-gloss material.

27. An interactive input system according to claim 22, wherein said sheet is adhered to said substrate.

28. An interactive input system according to claim 22, wherein said substrate panels are interlocking.

29. An interactive input system according to claim 28, wherein adjacent substrate panels carry mating formations.

30. An interactive input system according to claim 22, wherein each of said substrate panels is generally rectangular in plan.