Enhanced touch-screen display system

• US 7,158,121 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2001
• Issued: 01/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trane International Inc. (Trane Technologies plc)
• Original Assignee: American Standard Companies Incorporated (Ideal Standard International Topco SCA)
• Inventors: Krajewski, Thomas G., Degroot, Jeffrey J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala; Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kovalick; Vincent E.
• Application Number:
  US10/004,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20030076307A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,901 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/55, 345/80, 345/145, 345/76, 345/157, 178/18.01, 178/18.1, 178/19.03, 315/169.3, 340/825.79, 340/825.81
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/045 using resistive elements, e.g. a single continuous surface or two parallel surfaces put in contact

Abstract

An enhanced touch-screen display system is disclosed for generating pixel coordinate estimates corresponding to a location on a display screen touched by a user. The system is an analog resistive touch-screen display system having a processor and associated software algorithms to allow for the calibration and validation of pixel coordinate estimates as an integral part of the real-time generation of the pixel coordinate estimates. Multiple calibrated pixel coordinate estimates are generated and processed at a pre-defined sampling rate to determine a valid pixel position to minimize sampling delays due to settling times. The x-axis position is also validated before the system attempts to generate a y-axis position to avoid the wasted time for generating y-axis estimates when x-axis estimates are corrupted. Noisy estimates are inherently reduced in the touch-screen display system by providing shunts across certain drivers in the system that also allow for detection of a “no touch” state.

Claims

1. In a touch-screen display system for generating pixel coordinate estimates responsive to a user touching a display screen, an apparatus for calibrating said touch-screen display system comprising:

a processor responsive to digital signals from said touch-screen display system to generate calibrated pixel coordinate estimates as an integral part of real-time generation of said pixel coordinate estimates without needing said user to assist in the calibration effort by touching pre-determined locations on said display screen;

wherein said digital signals are derived from voltage levels sampled from bus bars of analog resistive screens within said touch-screen display system; and

wherein said touch-screen display system is configured to sample at least eight independent digital signals corresponding to at least eight independent voltage levels on said bus bars of said analog resistive screens and corresponding to various combinations of said analog resistive screens being powered on, powered off, touched, and not touched.

2. In a touch-screen display system for generating pixel coordinate estimates responsive to a user touching a display screen, an apparatus for calibrating said touch-screen display system comprising:

a processor responsive to digital signals from said touch-screen display system to generate calibrated pixel coordinate estimates as an integral part of real-time generation of said pixel coordinate estimates without needing said user to assist in the calibration effort by touching pre-determined locations on said display screen;

wherein said digital signals comprise a first digital signal and a second digital signal and a third digital signal; and

wherein said first digital signal corresponds to a voltage level sampled from a bus bar of a second analog resistive screen of said touch-screen display system that is not powered on and is touching a first analog resistive screen of said touch-screen display system that is powered on.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said second digital signal corresponds to a ground reference sampled from a first bus bar of said first analog resistive screen.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said third digital signal corresponds to a voltage reference level sampled from a second bus bar of said first analog resistive screen.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said processor is programmed to generate a numerator parameter value representing the difference between said first digital signal and said second digital signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said processor is responsive to said third digital signal and said second digital signal to generate a denominator parameter value representing the difference between said third digital signal and said second digital signal.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said processor is responsive to said numerator parameter value and said denominator parameter value to generate a ratio parameter value representing the ratio of said numerator parameter value and said denominator parameter value.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said processor is responsive to said ratio parameter value and a number of pixels that fully spans a corresponding axis of said touch-screen display system to generate a calibrated pixel coordinate estimate representing the product of said ratio parameter value and said number of pixels.

9. In a touch-screen display system for generating pixel coordinate estimates responsive to a user touching a display screen, an apparatus for calibrating said touch-screen display system comprising:

a processor responsive to digital signals from said touch-screen display system to generate calibrated pixel coordinate estimates as an integral part of real-time generation of said pixel coordinate estimates without needing said user to assist in the calibration effort by touching pre-determined locations on said display screen;

wherein said digital signals are derived from voltage levels sampled from bus bars of analog resistive screens within said touch-screen display system; and

wherein said processor is responsive to said calibrated pixel coordinate estimates to generate corrected calibrated pixel coordinate estimates due to any mismatch between spatial locations of said bus bars of said analog resistive screens and edges of active areas of said analog resistive screens.

10. In a touch-screen display system for generating pixel coordinate estimates responsive to a user touching a display screen, an apparatus for calibrating said touch-screen display system comprising:

a processor responsive to digital signals from said touch-screen display system to generate calibrated pixel coordinate estimates as an integral part of real-time generation of said pixel coordinate estimates without needing said user to assist in the calibration effort by touching pre-determined locations on said display screen;

wherein said digital signals are derived from voltage levels sampled from bus bars of analog resistive screens within said touch-screen display system; and

wherein said processor is responsive to said calibrated pixel coordinate estimates to generate corrected calibrated pixel coordinate estimates due to any mismatch between spatial locations of edges of active areas of said analog resistive screens and active areas of a display of said touch-screen display system.

11. In a touch-screen display system for generating pixel coordinate estimates responsive to a user touching a display screen, a method for calibrating axes of said touch-screen display system comprising:

generating calibrated pixel coordinate estimates in response to digital signals from said touch-screen display system as an integral part of real-time generation of said pixel coordinate estimates without needing said user to assist in the calibration effort by touching pre-determined locations on said display screen;

generating said digital signals from voltage levels sampled from reference points of said axes within said touch-screen display system; and

sampling at least eight independent digital signals corresponding to at least eight independent voltage levels on said reference points and corresponding to various combinations of said reference points of said axes being powered on and powered off, and said touch-screen display system being touched and not touched.

12. In a touch-screen display system for generating pixel coordinate estimates responsive to a user touching a display screen, a method for calibrating axes of said touch-screen display system comprising:

generating calibrated pixel coordinate estimates in response to digital signals from said touch-screen display system as an integral part of real-time generation of said pixel coordinate estimates without needing said user to assist in the calibration effort by touching pre-determined locations on said display screen;

wherein said digital signals comprise a first digital signal and a second digital signal and a third digital signal;

wherein said first digital signal corresponds to a voltage level sampled from a second reference point of a second axis of said touch-screen display system that is not powered on but is electrically touching a first axis of said touch-screen display system that is powered on.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said second digital signal corresponds to a ground reference sampled from a first reference pointof said first axis.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said third digital signal corresponds to a voltage reference level sampled from a second reference point of said first axis.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising generating a numerator parameter value representing the difference between said first digital signal and said second digital signal.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising generating a denominator parameter value representing the difference between said third digital signal and said second digital signal.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising generating a ratio parameter value representing the ratio of said numerator parameter value and said denominator parameter value.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising generating a calibrated pixel coordinate estimate representing the product of said ratio parameter value and a number of pixels that fully spans a corresponding axis of said touch-screen display system.

19. In a touch-screen display system for generating pixel coordinate estimates responsive to a user touching a display screen, a method for calibrating axes of said touch-screen display system comprising:

generating calibrated pixel coordinate estimates in response to digital signals from said touch-screen display system as an integral part of real-time generation of said pixel coordinate estimates without needing said user to assist in the calibration effort by touching pre-determined locations on said display screen;

generating said digital signals from voltage levels sampled from reference points of said axes within said touch-screen display system; and

generating corrected calibrated pixel coordinate estimates from said calibrated pixel coordinate estimates correcting for any mismatch between spatial locations of said reference points and edges of active areas of said touch-screen display system.

20. In a touch-screen display system for generating pixel coordinate estimates responsive to a user touching a display screen, a method for calibrating axes of said touch-screen display system comprising:

generating calibrated pixel coordinate estimates in response to digital signals from said touch-screen display system as an integral part of real-time generation of said pixel coordinate estimates without needing said user to assist in the calibration effort by touching pre-determined locations on said display screen;

generating said digital signals from voltage levels sampled from reference points of said axes within said touch-screen display system;

generating corrected calibrated pixel coordinate estimates from said calibrated pixel coordinate estimates correcting for any mismatch between various spatial locations of edges of active areas of said touch-screen display system.