Touch input device with pathogen transmission mitigation

• US 9,910,538 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2016
• Issued: 03/06/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cohen, Guy, Kozloski, James R., Pickover, Clifford A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Nicholas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham Lu, Ngan T
• Application Number:
  US15/198,218
• Publication Number:
  US 20160306495A1
• Time in Patent Office: 614 Days
• Field of Search: 345173
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/10 Ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2/24 Apparatus using programmed or automatic operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61L 2202/16 Mobile applications, e.g. portable devices, trailers, devices mounted on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0421 by interrupting or reflecting a light beam, e.g. optical touch-screen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 999/99 dummy group

Abstract

This disclosure provides methods and systems for mitigating pathogen transmission via a touch surface of a touch input device. Mitigation is accomplished through selective touch surface sterilization and through touchscreen user interface reorganization. The touch surface includes a pixel array for illuminating selected portions of the touch surface with ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength based upon the received touch inputs. The selective illumination may occur while receiving a touch input or after an accumulation of touch inputs have been received. The user interface may also be reorganized based on received touch inputs in order to locate user interface icons to lesser touched locations of the touch surface.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a touch surface for receiving a touch input at a touch location;

an ultraviolet pixel array, each pixel of the array configured to illuminate a portion of the touch surface with an ultraviolet light of a sterilization wavelength; and

a controller for selecting an at least one pixel of the pixel array for illuminating a selected portion of the touch surface based upon the touch location, wherein a plurality of touch inputs having a plurality of touch locations are received on the touch surface, the device further comprising;

an accumulator for accumulating the plurality of touch locations; and

an observer absence detector for determining an absence of an observer able to be exposed to the ultraviolet light, and further wherein

the controller selects a plurality of pixels of the array for illuminating a plurality of portions of the touch surface based upon the plurality of touch locations, and

the controller activates the plurality of pixels based upon the observer absence detector determining the absence of an observer able to be exposed to the ultraviolet light.

2. A method comprising:

accumulating touch inputs and corresponding touch locations received on a touchscreen;

analyzing the accumulation to determine an at least one lesser touched location on the touchscreen; and

rendering a user interface icon at a location on the touchscreen based upon the analysis.

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising:

receiving a sterilization signal indicative of a sterilization of the touchscreen; and

initializing the accumulation based upon the receiving.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein

the touch inputs include finger inputs and stylus inputs,

the accumulating separately accumulates finger inputs and corresponding finger input locations and stylus inputs and corresponding stylus input locations,

the analyzing determines the at least one lesser touched location based upon the accumulation of finger inputs and stylus inputs;

and

the initializing initializes the accumulation of finger inputs and corresponding finger input locations and maintains the accumulation of stylus inputs and corresponding stylus input locations.

5. The method according to claim 2 wherein

the analyzing determines a plurality of lesser touched locations on the touchscreen and the method further comprises:

organizing a user interface having a plurality of icons, including the user interface icon, for rendering at first locations on the touchscreen and a plurality of information fields for rendering at a second locations on the touchscreen; and

reorganizing the user interface based upon the analyzing, and further wherein

the rendering renders the reorganized user interface on the touchscreen.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the reorganized user interface locates at least one of the plurality of icons at one of the second locations and at least one of the plurality of information fields at one of the first locations.

7. The method according to claim 5 further comprising:

determining an absence of an operator providing touch inputs on the touchscreen, wherein

the rendering renders the reorganized user interface based upon the determined absence.

8. The method according to claim 5 wherein the user interface includes a plurality of screens, each screen display including at least one of the plurality icons, wherein

the reorganizing reorganizes the plurality of icons on the plurality of screens of the user interface, and

the rendering renders one of the reorganized plurality of screens and renders another of the reorganized plurality of screens in response a touch input received on the touchscreen.

9. A device comprising:

a touchscreen for receiving touch inputs and corresponding touch locations;

an accumulator for accumulating touch inputs and corresponding touch locations;

a user interface reorganizing module for

analyzing the accumulated touch inputs and corresponding touch locations,

determining, based on the analyzing, an at least one lesser touched location on the touchscreen, and

locating a user interface icon based upon the at least one lesser touched location; and

a controller for rendering the user interface icon on the touchscreen based upon the locating.

10. The device according to claim 9 further wherein the touch inputs include finger inputs and stylus inputs, the device further comprises:

a receiver for receiving a sterilization signal indicative of touchscreen sterilization; and

a stylus for entering a second plurality of touch inputs and correspond touch location on the touchscreen, and

the accumulator includes;

a finger input accumulator for accumulating finger inputs and corresponding finger input locations; and

a stylus input accumulator for accumulating stylus inputs and corresponding stylus input locations, and wherein

the user interface reorganizing module analyzes both the finger input accumulator and the stylus input accumulator, and

the controller initializes the finger input accumulator and maintains the stylus input accumulator based upon the sterilization signal.

11. A computer program product comprising:

a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

accumulating signals indicative of touch inputs and corresponding touch locations received on a touchscreen;

analyzing the accumulation to determine an at least one lesser touched location on the touchscreen; and

generating a rendering signal rendering a user interface icon at a location on the touchscreen based upon the analysis.