Touch-sensitive user input device failure prediction

• US 8,612,808 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2011
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: McCallum, Jeffrey R., Hajas, Tiberiu M., Rodriguez, Esperanza Darlene, Gunatilaka, Harsha D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Yolanda L
• Application Number:
  US13/101,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20120284573A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• Field of Search: 714/57, 714/47.1, 345/173, 345/174
• US Class Current: 714/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/008 Reliability or availability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

Detection of degradation of a touch-based user input device may allow for notifying a user of an impending failure of the touch-sensitive user input device so that the device may be taken out of service or repaired. Systems for detecting degradation of a touch-based user input device may carry out one or more operations including, but not limited to: determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous; providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to determining that a signal indicative of a user touch is erroneous.

Claims

1. A method for detecting degradation of a touch-based user input device comprising:

detecting a signal indicative of movement of a pointer of a graphical user interface associated with a touch-based user input device along a path to a boundary of the graphical user interface;

detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface;

providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface comprises:

computing the slope of two or more portions of the path traced by the pointer;

determining if the slope of the two or more portions of a path traced by the pointer are equal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface comprises:

providing a user notification in response to determining that the slope of the two or more portions of a path traced by the pointer are equal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing a user notification indicative of a degradation of the touch-based user input device in response to detecting a signal indicative of a continued movement of the pointer in a direction substantially parallel to the path after the pointer has reached the boundary of the graphical user interface comprises:

providing at least one of a visual notification, an audible notification and an electronic messaging notification.