TRANSPARENT TOUCH CONTROLLED INTERFACE WITH INTERREACTIVELY RELATED DISPLAY

• US 3,757,322 A
• Filed: 02/03/1971
• Issued: 09/04/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Edward Barkan, Harold Barkan, Jerome Swartz
• Original Assignee: Edward Barkan, Harold Barkan, Jerome Swartz
• Inventors: Barkan, Harold, Barkan, Edward D., Swartz, Jerome
• Primary Examiner(s): Trafton, David L.
• Application Number:
  US05/112,148
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 340/337,365C,258C,253C,166EL 317/146R 324/17 35/6,9A,9B 117/211,212 178/18,19,20
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1068 being specially adapted to detect the point of contact of the player on a surface, e.g. floor mat, touch pad
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/98 having a plurality of control members, e.g. keyboard

Abstract

A transparent touch actuated interface with an interactively related display, in which the display is substantially fully covered by a solid state overlay, e.g., a keyboard, composed of one or more to-be-touched contact areas of electrically conductive transparent material electrically isolated from one another by transparent means and having leads extending from the contact areas to terminals connected by circuitry to a corresponding number of switches of which the areas constitute the activating elements. The switches control utilization mechanisms. The overlay and switches jointly constitute the interface. Each contact area is coextensive with a corresponding associated underlying area of the display so that the overlay and display are interreactively related and thus facilitate decision making. The leads preferably are transparent so that the entire overlay is effectively transparent and the display can be seen through it. The contact areas conjointly constitute a predominant portion of the overlay whereby to all intents and purposes each different area of the display has a different associated contact area. The nature of the display preferably is variable and may be static or kinetic, e.g., printed material or material presented on the face of a cathode ray tube or rear projection from a moving picture or slide projector or other graphic generating means. The contact areas may be transparent electrically conductive self-supporting plaques one surface of each of which is adapted to be touched, the plaques being separated by reaches of an insulating lattice. In a preferred form of the invention the contact areas are discrete thin films supported on the electrically non-conductive transparent substrate. The leads may be on either face of the substrate or embedded therein and preferably extend to the periphery of the substrate. Alternatively, the thin film areas may be mutually spaced and the leads located between the areas and covered by a preformed or an in situ formed lattice of transparent electrically non-conductive sheet material. Furthermore, the exposed surface of the overlay may be covered by a very thin electrically non-conductive film as a guard against humidity, chemical attack, physical damage and soiling. The contact areas are adapted to be touched by a person'"'"''"'"'s fingers, although they also may be touched by a hand held implement, particularly, if it is desired to increase the contact density. The implement may include a visible indicating means. The interface is adapted to be connected to a utilization mechanism including a broad range of electrical devices such as computers, teaching machines, read-outs, illuminating means to light up a selected portion or portions of the display, audio/visual apparatuses and playboard means. The configurations of the contact areas and of the overlay may be of various standard shapes and sizEs or can be custom tailored to special installations, but, in general, a single overlay with a standard grid consisting, for instance, of rows and columns of contact areas is designed to be used interchangeably with different display.

Claims

1. In combination, a transparent touch actuated interface and a static display means, said interface comprising plural transparent electrically conductive stationary area touch activatable elements each of which is electrically and functionally independent of and discrete from all the other elements, an electrically non-conductive clear transparent substrate, all of said elements being supported by said substrate, each element being disposed in spaced immediate adjacency with adjoining elements, said elements being mutually located so as to extend in different directions with respect to one another in the plane of said substrate so as jointly to present an effectively unitary conductive transparent area, solid state switches of which said areal elements are the actuating elements, transparent electrically non-conductive means separating said elements, and leads supported by said substrate for connecting said areal elements to said switches, said switches being so constructed that when an areal element is touched by a human finger a signal input is fed over a lead associated with said areal element to a switch associated with said areal element to actuate the same, the plural transparent electrically conductive stationary areal touch activatable elements constituting an overlay covering and immediately above the display means and substantially coextensive with the display means, each areal element being disposed above and being substantially coextensive with a corresponding area of the display means.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein an extremely thin electrically non-conductive transparent film covers the broad surfaces of said overlay remote from the display means, the leads and the transparent electrically non-conductive means separating said elements.

3. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the transparent conductive stationary areal elements are thick enough to be self-form-maintaining.

4. A combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein the transparent electrically non-conductive means constitutes a lattice with through openings in which the areal elements are disposed and fill.

5. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the areal elements are of sectorial configuration and are arranged around a common center with the apices of the elements adjacent the center.

6. A combination as set forth in claim 5 wherein the elements conjointly define a circle.

7. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the areal elements and leads are supported on the electrically non-conductive transparent substrate, and wherein the leads constitute conductors embedded in the substrate.

8. A combination including an interface as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electrically conductive transparent film elements and their supporting substrate are functionally separate from the display means.

9. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein certain of the areal elements adjoin the perimeter of the interface and others of the areal elements are spaced from the perimeter of the interface and wherein the leads from the said other elements extend between the perimetral areal elements.

10. A combination as set forth in claim 9 wherein the leads from the said other elements are located on the same surface of the substrate as said elements.

11. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein certain of the areal elements adjoin the perimeter of the interface and others of the areal elements are spaced from the perimeter of the interface and wherein the leads from said other elements extend partially through the substrate and in part are supported upon the surface of the substrate remote from the films.

12. A combination as set forth in claim 1 in which the solid switches are of the touch type, each including a control electrode, and which combination further includes a hand-held electrically conductive touching element, said conductive touching element including an electrically conductive portion adapted to be touched to the areal elements, an electrically energizeable source of illumination and a hand engageable electrically conductive member, said portion, said source of illumination and said member being connected in series whereby each time said portion touches a different areal element said source of illumination is energized, and said source of illumination is deactivated when said member is out of contact with an areal element.

13. A combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein the source of illumination is energizeable by power in the order of microwatts.

14. A combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein said member is a hollow sleeve having a source of illumination at an end remote from the interface and wherein the portion is at the other end of the sleeve being insulated and protuding therefrom.

15. A combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein the source of illumination is a neon glow tube. 16 A combination as set forth in claim 1 in which each solid state switch constitutes an SCR power handling device including a control gate and power terminals, and a three-element transistor including a pair of input and output terminals connected respectively to the control gate and a power terminal of the SCR and a control gate connected to the lead.

17. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the elements are relatively disposed in orthogonal relationship.

18. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the area of the space between said elements is less than the order of about 1/10 percent of the area covered by said elements.