Acoustic Touch Interface Bump Design for Direction Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Acoustic-based touch screens face challenges in accurately recognizing touch and rubbing direction due to limited sound wave differentiation, requiring complex designs and structural variations, and struggle to provide a sense of physical touch without relying on surface illumination changes.
Innovation Solution
An acoustic user interface apparatus featuring a first and second substrate with bumps of varying area, material, density, or shape, generating distinct sound waves upon collision, analyzed by a microphone to improve recognition accuracy and simplify algorithms, allowing robust position and direction recognition with one microphone.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If acoustic-based touch screen uses simple surface structure, then manufacturing is easier, but touch recognition accuracy is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating bumps with different physical properties (area, material, density, shape) at different locations on the touch screen surface. Each bump is locally optimized to generate distinct sound wave characteristics when touched, enabling accurate position and direction recognition without requiring complex overall surface structures.
2Measurement precision
If acoustic-based touch screen uses complicated surface roughness to distinguish rubbing direction, then direction recognition accuracy improves, but implementation becomes very difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes physical parameters of the bumps (area, material, density, shape) to create distinct sound wave signatures for different rubbing directions. This approach is much easier to manufacture than varying surface roughness, as these parameters can be controlled during standard bump fabrication processes while still achieving high direction recognition accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If acoustic-based touch screen uses multiple microphones to improve sound wave analysis, then recognition accuracy improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the need for multiple microphones with a single microphone by using mechanically structured bumps that generate inherently distinct sound waves. The bumps' different physical properties create unique acoustic signatures that can be differentiated by one microphone, eliminating the complexity of microphone arrays while maintaining high recognition accuracy.
4Ease of operation
If acoustic-based touch screen relies on surface illumination changes to recognize touch, then touch detection is possible, but sense of physical touch and direction recognition are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses mechanical vibration in the form of sound waves generated by bump collisions to provide both tactile feedback and directional information. When a user touches the screen, the bump collision produces audible sound and tactile vibration, giving a sense of physical touch while the sound wave characteristics enable precise direction recognition.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances touch recognition accuracy and provides a sense of physical touch with improved direction recognition and intensity feedback, eliminating the need for humidity compensation and accommodating various input methods, including gloved hands or tools, while simplifying hardware and software production.
Implementation Method 1
a bump which is formed on each of the touch cells to be apart from the first substrate by a predetermined distance, respectively... When the bump is collided with the first substrate, the sound wave is generated
Implementation Method 2
a sound wave detector configured to generate an electric signal for a sound wave generated from a portion of which the bump is collided by touch
Implementation Method 3
a processor configured to convert a signal of the sound wave detector to a digital signal and generate position data corresponding to a position of the touched bump
Implementation Method 4
touch cells which are pressable by a touch and restorable by an elastic force
Data Source
AI summary
An acoustic user interface apparatus and method can detect physical touch contacting a sensing surface and improve the accuracy of direction recognition of a touch or rubbing without any complicated algorithm. The user interface apparatus and method use one microphone to detect and analyze sound waves which are generated by collisions between bumps formed in a top plate or bottom plate of the interface apparatus and the opposing bottom plate or top plate when a user is touching or rubbing the sensing surface.