Optical touch system having integrated optical touch apparatus and panel apparatus and operating method thereof

• US 8,466,901 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2010
• Issued: 06/18/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raydium Semiconductor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Raydium Semiconductor Corporation
• Inventors: Yen, Meng-Shin, Wang, William, Chou, Chung-Cheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Snyder, Adam J
• Application Number:
  US12/813,611
• Publication Number:
  US 20100321344A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• Field of Search: 345/175, 178/18.09
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• 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 system is disclosed. The optical touch system comprises a panel apparatus and an optical touch apparatus. The panel apparatus includes a first position and a second position. The optical touch apparatus includes a light emitting module, a light path adjusting module, a light sensing module, and a processing module. The light emitting module and the light sensing module are set on the first position and the second position respectively. The light emitting module emits a sensing light, and the sensing light is reflected by the light path adjusting module to form a reflected light. The light sensing module receives the reflected light and generates a sensing result according to whether the light sensing module receives the reflected light. The processing module determines the touch point position formed on the panel apparatus according to the sensing result.

Claims

1. An optical touch system, comprising:

a panel apparatus comprising a first position and a second position different from the first position; and

an optical touch apparatus, comprising;

a light emitting module, set on the first position, for emitting a sensing light;

a light path adjusting module, for reflecting the sensing light to form a reflected light;

a light sensing module, set on the second position, for receiving the reflected light and generating a sensing result according to whether the light sensing module receives the reflected light; and

a processing module, coupled to the light sensing module, for determining the touch point position formed on the panel apparatus according to the sensing result;

wherein the light path adjusting module comprises a first light path adjusting unit and a second light path adjusting unit, the first light path adjusting unit and the second light path adjusting unit are set above a first side of a first surface of the panel apparatus and above a second side of the first surface respectively,

wherein the light emitting module is a back-light source of the panel apparatus, the back-light source is disposed outside a second surface opposite to the first surface or outside a side surface different from the first surface and the second surface,

wherein the light path adjusting module further comprises at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit, the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects an incident light emitted from the back-light source to form a first auxiliary reflected light emitted to the first light path adjusting unit, and

wherein the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit is rotational, when the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit rotates to a first angle, the incident light emitted from the back light source emits to the panel apparatus to be the back-light source without being reflected by the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit, when the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit rotates to a second angle, the incident light emitted from the back light source is reflected by the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit to form the first auxiliary reflected light.

2. The optical touch system of claim 1, wherein the first position and the second position are disposed at the first side and the second side respectively, and the first position and the second position correspond the first light path adjusting unit and the second light path adjusting module respectively.

3. The optical touch system of claim 2, wherein the sensing light emitted from the light emitting module will be reflected by the corresponding first light path adjusting unit to form a first reflected light.

4. The optical touch system of claim 3, wherein if the first reflected light is transmitted to the second light path adjusting unit above the first surface, the first reflected light will be reflected by the second light path adjusting unit to form the reflected light.

5. The optical touch system of claim 1, wherein the first position and the second position are disposed in a first concave part of the first side and a second concave part of the second side respectively, and the first position and the second position correspond to the first light path adjusting unit and the second light path adjusting unit respectively.

6. The optical touch system of claim 1, wherein the first position and the second position are disposed at one side of the first surface and another side of a second surface opposite to the first surface, the light path adjusting module further comprises an auxiliary light path adjusting unit disposed above the another side of the second surface and corresponding to the second position, the auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects the reflected light to form an auxiliary reflected light emitted to the light sensing module.

7. The optical touch system of claim 1, wherein the second position and the first position are disposed at one side of the first surface and another side of a second surface opposite to the first surface respectively, the light path adjusting module further comprises an auxiliary light path adjusting unit disposed above the another side of the second surface and corresponding to the first position, the auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects the sensing light emitted from the light emitting module to form an auxiliary reflected light emitted to the first light path adjusting unit.

8. The optical touch system of claim 1, wherein the first position and the second position are disposed at a first side and a second side of a second surface opposite to the first surface respectively, the light path adjusting module further comprises a first auxiliary light path adjusting unit and a second auxiliary light path adjusting unit, the first auxiliary light path adjusting unit is disposed above the first side of the second surface and corresponding to the first position, the first auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects the sensing light emitted from the light emitting module to form a first auxiliary reflected light emitted to the first light path adjusting unit, the second auxiliary light path adjusting unit is disposed above the second side of the second surface and corresponding to the second position, the second auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects the reflected light to form a second auxiliary reflected light emitted to the light sensing module.

9. The optical touch system of claim 1, wherein the panel apparatus comprises at least one liquid crystal unit, the at least one liquid crystal unit is rotational, when a parallel light is emitted to the panel apparatus, when the parallel light passes the at least one liquid crystal unit, the at least one liquid crystal unit controls the strength of an emitting out light by adjusting a deflection angle of the at least one liquid crystal unit.

10. The optical touch system of claim 9, wherein the emitting out light is emitted out of the panel apparatus, the emitting out light can be also reflected by the first light path adjusting unit or the second light path adjusting unit to form a light distributing region above the first surface.

11. The optical touch system of claim 1, wherein a light path adjusting unit is set on the panel apparatus, the light path adjusting unit is a liquid crystal device, an electro-wetting device, or an electro-chromic device to provide a scanning switching function.

12. A method of operating an optical touch system, the optical touch system comprising a panel apparatus and an optical touch apparatus, the panel apparatus comprising a first position and a second position different from the first position, the optical touch apparatus comprising a light emitting module, a light path adjusting module, a light sensing module, and a processing module, the light emitting module and the light sensing module are set at the first position and the second position respectively, the method comprising the steps of:

the light emitting module emitting a sensing light;

the light path adjusting module reflecting the sensing light to form a reflected light;

the light sensing module receiving the reflected light and generating a sensing result according to whether the light sensing module receives the reflected light; and

the processing module determining the touch point position formed on the panel apparatus according to the sensing result;

wherein the light path adjusting module comprises a first light path adjusting unit and a second light path adjusting unit, the first light path adjusting unit and the second light path adjusting unit are set above a first side of a first surface of the panel apparatus and above a second side of the first surface respectively,

wherein the light emitting module is a back-light source of the panel apparatus, the back-light source is disposed outside a second surface opposite to the first surface or outside a side surface different from the first surface and the second surface,

wherein the light path adjusting module further comprises at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit, the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects an incident light emitted from the back-light source to form a first auxiliary reflected light emitted to the first light path adjusting unit, and

wherein the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit is rotational, when the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit rotates to a first angle, the incident light emitted from the back light source emits to the panel apparatus to be the back-light source without being reflected by the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit, when the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit rotates to a second angle, the incident light emitted from the back light source is reflected by the at least one auxiliary light path adjusting unit to form the first auxiliary reflected light.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first position and the second position are disposed at the first side and the second side respectively, and the first position and the second position correspond the first light path adjusting unit and the second light path adjusting module respectively, the sensing light emitted from the light emitting module will be reflected by the corresponding first light path adjusting unit to form a first reflected light.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the first position and the second position are disposed at one side of the first surface and another side of a second surface opposite to the first surface, the light path adjusting module further comprises an auxiliary light path adjusting unit disposed above the another side of the second surface and corresponding to the second position, the auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects the reflected light to form an auxiliary reflected light emitted to the light sensing module.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the second position and the first position are disposed at one side of the first surface and another side of a second surface opposite to the first surface respectively, the light path adjusting module further comprises an auxiliary light path adjusting unit disposed above the another side of the second surface and corresponding to the first position, the auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects the sensing light emitted from the light emitting module to form an auxiliary reflected light emitted to the first light path adjusting unit.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the first position and the second position are disposed at a first side and a second side of a second surface opposite to the first surface respectively, the light path adjusting module further comprises a first auxiliary light path adjusting unit and a second auxiliary light path adjusting unit, the first auxiliary light path adjusting unit is disposed above the first side of the second surface and corresponding to the first position, the first auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects the sensing light emitted from the light emitting module to form a first auxiliary reflected light emitted to the first light path adjusting unit, the second auxiliary light path adjusting unit is disposed above the second side of the second surface and corresponding to the second position, the second auxiliary light path adjusting unit reflects the reflected light to form a second auxiliary reflected light emitted to the light sensing module.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein a light path adjusting unit is set on the panel apparatus, the light path adjusting unit is a liquid crystal device, an electro-wetting device, or an electro-chromic device to provide a scanning switching function.