Optical touch-control system

• US 8,558,817 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2011
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Genius Electronic Optical Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Genius Electronic Optical Company Limited
• Inventors: Chang, Kuo-Wen, Lee, Min-Wei
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US13/233,306
• Publication Number:
  US 20120249478A1
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-179, 178 1801- 1809
• US Class Current: 345/175
• 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-control includes: four light-guide modules cooperating to define a touch-control zone, each of the light-guide modules including a light-guide strip that has a light-entry surface oriented toward a respective one of first and second ones of corners defined by the light-guide modules, and a light-exit surface that is oriented toward the touch-control zone; two light-emitting modules disposed in the first one of the corners and two light-emitting modules disposed in the second one of the corners, each of the light-emitting modules being oriented toward the light-entry surface of a corresponding one of the light-guide modules, light that enters each of the light-guide modules via the light-entry surface thereof exiting from the light-guide module via the light-exit surface thereof; and three image acquisition modules disposed respectively in the first and second ones of the corners and a remaining one of the corners, and oriented toward the touch-control zone.

Claims

1. An optical touch-control system comprising:

a light-guide unit including four light-guide modules that cooperate to define a touch-control zone and four corners, each of said light-guide modules including a light-guide strip having opposite first and second ends, a light-entry surface that is disposed at said first end, and a light-exit surface that extends between said first and second ends and that is oriented toward the touch-control zone, wherein for each of two of said light-guide modules that define a first one of the corners, said light-entry surface of said light-guide strip of said light-guide module is oriented toward the first one of the corners, and wherein for each of remaining two of said light-guide modules that define a second one of the corners diagonally opposite to the first one of the corners, said light-entry surface of said light-guide strip of said light-guide module is oriented toward the second one of the corners;

a light-emitting unit including four light-emitting modules, two of which are disposed in the first one of the corners, and remaining two of which are disposed in the second one of the corners, each of said light-emitting modules being oriented toward said light-entry surface of said light-guide strip of a corresponding one of said light-guide modules disposed in the same one of the corners, light that enters each of said light-guide modules via said light-entry surface thereof exiting from said light-guide module via said light-exit surface thereof; and

a sensor unit including first, second, and third image acquisition modules disposed respectively in the first and second ones of the corners and a remaining one of the corners, each of said first, second, and third image acquisition modules being oriented toward the touch-control zone.

2. The optical touch-control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each image captured by each of said image acquisition modules when said light-emitting unit is activated and no pointer is disposed in the touch-control zone has a bright band portion that satisfies:

E_max−

E_mean<

0.5E_mean

E_mean−

E_min<

0.5E_mean

where E_max, E_mean, and E_min represent a maximum relative brightness value, an average relative brightness value, and a minimum relative brightness value of the bright band portion.

3. The optical touch-control system as claimed in claim 2, wherein, for each pair of images captured respectively by each adjacent pair of said image acquisition modules, the bright band portions of the pair of images satisfy:

E_1,mean≠

E_2,mean

where E_1,mean and E_2,mean are average relative brightness values of the bright band portions of the pair of images, respectively.

4. The optical touch-control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said first and second image acquisition modules has two lateral sides, said two of said light-emitting modules that are disposed in the first one of the corners being disposed respectively at said two lateral sides of said first image acquisition module, said two of said light-emitting modules that are disposed in the second one of the corners being disposed respectively at said two lateral sides of said second image acquisition module.

5. The optical touch-control system as claimed in claim 1, wherein, for each of said light-guide modules, said light-guide strip further has first and second working surfaces disposed parallel to each other and extending between said first and second ends of said light-guide strip, one of said first and second working surfaces defining a light-scatter zone and including a plurality of micro-scatter structures that are disposed within said light-scatter zone and that configure said light-scatter zone with a light-scattering ability that varies in a direction from said first end to said second end;

wherein each of said light-guide modules further includes a reflecting element disposed to reflect light that exits from said light-guide strip of said light-guide module via said first and second working surfaces back into said light-guide strip via said first and second working surfaces, respectively.

6. The optical touch-control system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said one of said first and second working surfaces has a length-width ratio not smaller than 50.

7. The optical touch-control system as claimed in claim 5, wherein each of said light-guide modules further includes a housing for receiving said light-guide strip and said reflecting element of said light-guide module, and a diffuser disposed corresponding to said light-exit surface and serving to scatter light that exits from said light-guide strip of said light-guide module via said light-exit surface.

8. The optical touch-control system as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of said light-guide modules further includes a light-extinguishing element disposed in said housing of said light-guide module at said second end of said light-guide strip of said light-guide module.