Systems and methods for monitoring surface sanitation
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- a touch surface having a plurality of sensors to generate one or more signals in response to contact with the touch surface; and
a processing device, in signal communication with the plurality of sensors, to interpret a first contact indicated, at least in part, by a first signal generated by a first one of the sensors as an activation of a user-selected key on a keyboard, and to interpret a second contact as a wiping motion indicated, at least in part, by a second signal generated by the first one of the sensors as a cleaning action with respect to the touch surface, wherein the processing device is configured to suspend operation of the keyboard during the cleaning action.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An intelligent touch-sensitive surface that is easy to clean, that self-monitors when it has become contaminated, and can discern when it has been cleaned. The surface incorporates a plurality of sensors that detect events that contribute to contamination and/or cleaning, including, but not limited to, detecting users'"'"' touches, movement of the surface, when liquid is present on the surface, when there has been a change of users, time passage since the last cleaning, and how well the surface was wiped. The surface then reports its cleaning status to software residing on a host computer, which in turn can transfer the information to a host server. In this way, the cleaning status of each surface can be monitored remotely and/or logged.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a touch surface having a plurality of sensors to generate one or more signals in response to contact with the touch surface; and a processing device, in signal communication with the plurality of sensors, to interpret a first contact indicated, at least in part, by a first signal generated by a first one of the sensors as an activation of a user-selected key on a keyboard, and to interpret a second contact as a wiping motion indicated, at least in part, by a second signal generated by the first one of the sensors as a cleaning action with respect to the touch surface, wherein the processing device is configured to suspend operation of the keyboard during the cleaning action. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of operation within a computing device having a touch-sensitive surface populated by an array of sensors, the method comprising:
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generating first and second touch-indicative signals within a first sensor of the array in response to respective first and second user contacts with the touch-sensitive surface; interpreting the first user contact as a user input with respect to an image rendered on a display of the computing device and revising the image rendered on the display in response; interpreting the second user contact as a cleaning action with respect to the touch-sensitive surface based, at least in part, on the second touch-indicative signal and revising a value indicative of a contamination level of the touch-sensitive surface in response; and suspending operation of the keyboard during the cleaning action. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A computing device comprising:
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a touch-sensitive surface populated by an array of sensors; a display; means for generating first and second touch-indicative signals within a first sensor of the array in response to respective first and second user contacts with the touch-sensitive surface; means for interpreting the first user contact as a user input with respect to an image rendered on a display of the computing device and revising the image rendered on the display in response, and further for interpreting the second user contact as a wiping motion indicative of a cleaning action with respect to the touch-sensitive surface based, at least in part, on the second touch-indicative signal; and a means for suspending operation of the touch-sensitive surface during the cleaning action.
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Specification