Optical Touch Device Using Beam Disturbance Templates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch-sensitive technologies face challenges in scaling to larger screen sizes and efficiently handling multitouch events, while also struggling to meet increasing resolution demands, leading to high costs and computational inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
An optical touch-sensitive device with multiple emitters and detectors that use multiplexed optical beams and touch event templates to determine actual touch events by comparing disturbed beam patterns, allowing for efficient processing and reduced complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If traditional touch-sensitive technologies are used for larger screen sizes, then the special processing must be scaled which increases cost and complexity, but these technologies do not scale well to larger screen sizes
Solution Approach 1:
The touch-sensitive surface is divided into multiple zones with emitters and detectors positioned at discrete locations around the perimeter. Each emitter-detector pair defines a beam that traverses a specific zone, allowing the large screen to be monitored through segmented optical paths rather than continuous processing across the entire surface.
Solution Approach 2:
Optical beams serve as intermediaries that traverse the touch-sensitive surface from emitters to detectors. These beams indirectly sense touch events by being disturbed when objects contact the surface, eliminating the need for direct electronic processing across the entire screen area.
2Adaptability or versatility
If traditional technologies are used to handle multitouch events, then ambiguities in raw detected signals must be resolved, but this requires speedy and computationally efficient processing
Solution Approach 1:
Templates for expected touch events are determined a priori (in advance). These templates encode the characteristic beam disturbance patterns for various touch scenarios, allowing the system to quickly match observed disturbances against pre-computed templates rather than performing complex real-time analysis of raw signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified representations (templates) of expected touch event patterns that capture the essential characteristics of beam disturbances. These template copies allow for rapid comparison and matching against actual detected patterns, reducing computational complexity while maintaining accuracy in multitouch resolution.
3Measurement precision
If technologies are used to meet increasing resolution demands, then the effective required resolution increases, but this drives up cost and computational intensity
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex electronic sensing mechanisms with optical beams that naturally provide precise spatial resolution. The optical approach inherently achieves high measurement precision through the physics of light propagation and disturbance detection, avoiding the need for densely packed electronic sensors that would increase complexity and cost.
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
The solution enables accurate detection of multiple simultaneous touch events on larger screens with reduced computational load and power consumption, improving scalability and resolution handling.
Implementation Method 1
Each emitter produces optical beams which are received by the detectors. Touch events disturb the optical beams.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3A~3E
AI summary
An optical touch-sensitive device is able to determine the locations of multiple simultaneous touch events. The optical touch-sensitive device includes multiple emitters and detectors. Each emitter produces optical beams which are received by the detectors. Touch events disturb the optical beams. Touch event templates are used to determine the actual touch events based on which optical beams have been disturbed.