Adaptive touchscreen system

• US 9,323,389 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2015
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Garmin International, Inc. (Garmin Limited)
• Original Assignee: Garmin International, Inc. (Garmin Limited)
• Inventors: Mabie, Ted D., Dixon, David M., Vondrasek, Clayton C., Komer, Joseph L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): Figueroa-Gibson, Gloryvid
• Application Number:
  US14/951,248
• Publication Number:
  US 20160085376A1
• Time in Patent Office: 154 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-184, 178/18.09, 715/709
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A touchscreen system for adapting a user interface broadly comprises a controller and a display screen, the display screen comprising a touchscreen. The display screen is operable to present the user interface. The controller may be configured to detect a defect in an area of the touchscreen, determine a location on the display screen related to the defect, and adapting the user interface on the display screen to compensate for the defect.

Claims

1. A method of adapting a user interface for a touchscreen system associated with a display screen, the method comprising the steps of:

a) detecting, using a processing element, a defect in an area of the touchscreen system;

b) determining, using the processing element, a location on the display screen related to the defect, the display screen presenting the user interface including one or more functional components selectable with a touch input over the viewable area of the display screen;

c) adapting, using the processing element, the user interface on the display screen based on a priority of each functional component to compensate for the defect; and

d) identifying, using the processing element, a touch input in an area of the touchscreen system associated with a selectable functional component of the adapted user interface as a selection of the functional component.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a priority associated with each functional component to identify high-priority functional components.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the priority associated with each functional component is stored in a memory.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the priority associated with each functional component is determined based on an importance or type of each functional component.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein high-priority functional components are included in the adapted user interface.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the high-priority functional components are presented in an area of the user interface that is not associated with the defect.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the area of the user interface that is not associated with the defect presented functional components having lower-priority than the high-priority functional components prior to step c).

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a priority associated with each functional component to identify functional components having a lower-priority than the high-priority functional components, wherein the lower-priority functional components are not included in the adapted user interface.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the adapted user interface includes a sub-menu providing access to lower-priority functional components that are not included in the adapted user interface.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the adapted user interface has remapped the functional components based on the priority of each functional component.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising presenting an indicator on the display screen that the touchscreen system is inoperable in the area of the defect prior to step c).

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising restoring the user interface to a default configuration, if the defect is corrected.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein step a) further comprises the steps of:

transmitting a plurality of beams from a plurality of transmitters to a plurality of receivers,

generating a receive signal from one or more of the receivers that detects at least one of the beams, and

analyzing a status of the receive signals to detect the defect.

14. An adaptive touchscreen system comprising:

a memory to store a priority associated with functional components;

a display screen for presenting a user interface including one or more functional components selectable with a touch input over a viewable area of the display screen, the display screen comprising a touchscreen; and

a controller configured to

detect a defect in an area of the touchscreen,

determine a location on the display screen related to the defect,

determine the priority associated with each functional component to identify high-priority functional components,

adapt the user interface based on the priority of each selectable functional component to present high-priority functional components of the user interface on the display screen in areas other than in the location of the defect, and

identify a touch input in an area of the touchscreen system associated with a selectable functional component of the adapted user interface as a selection of the functional component.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the controller is further configured to identifying functional components having a lower-priority than the high-priority functional components, wherein the lower-priority functional components are not included in the adapted user interface.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the adapted user interface includes a sub-menu providing access to lower-priority functional components that are not included in the adapted user interface.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein at least one functional component presented on the adapted user interface provides access to the sub-menu.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the adapted user interface has remapped the functional components based on the priority of each functional component.

19. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

a plurality of transmitters for transmitting beams across the display screen, and

a plurality of receivers for detecting the beams from the transmitters and generating receive signals,

wherein the controller is in communication with the transmitters and the receivers and configured to analyze a status of the receive signals to detect the defect.

20. An adaptive touchscreen system comprising:

a memory to store a priority associated with functional components;

a display screen for presenting a user interface including one or more functional components selectable with a touch input over the viewable area of the display screen, the display screen comprising a touchscreen;

a plurality of transmitters for transmitting beams across the display screen;

a plurality of receivers for detecting the beams from the transmitters and generating receive signals;

a controller configured to;

analyze a status of the receive signals,

detect a defect in an area of the touchscreen,

determine a location on the display screen related to the defect,

determine the priority associated with each functional component to identify high-priority functional components,

adapt the user interface based on the priority of each selectable functional component to present high-priority functional components of the user interface on the display screen in areas other than in the location of the defect, and

identify a touch input in an area of the touchscreen system associated with a selectable functional component of the adapted user interface as a selection of the functional component.