Optical Touchless Interface Retrofit for Slot Machine Buttons
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touch-based interfaces in gaming machines and other public spaces are prone to indirect person-to-person contact, leading to potential disease transmission, and existing touchless solutions are either inaccurate or excessively complex and costly, making them impractical for widespread adoption.
Innovation Solution
A touchless user interface system utilizing a sensor with a light emitting diode and photodiode, coupled with a microcontroller, to detect object proximity and activate a switch without physical contact, featuring optical relays and visual feedback, allowing plug-and-play integration into existing systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If proximity sensing is used to register button presses, then touchless input is achieved, but accidental touching is likely to occur and the sensing distance must be very close
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the detection parameter from electrical field disruption (which requires very close proximity) to optical reflection detection. By using an LED to emit light and a photodiode to detect reflected light from objects, the system achieves touchless operation at a greater distance while reducing accidental activation, as optical detection can be tuned to specific reflection thresholds and distances.
2Ease of operation
If machine vision with camera and processing unit is used, then gesture-based input is achieved, but system complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential function needed for touchless operation - detecting object proximity through optical reflection - and implements it using simple, inexpensive components (LED and photodiode) rather than the full machine vision system with camera and complex processing unit. This extracts the core capability while eliminating unnecessary complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses inexpensive optical components (LED and photodiode) that can be easily manufactured and replaced if needed, rather than expensive camera systems. These simple components achieve the touchless detection function at a fraction of the cost of machine vision systems, making widespread adoption practical.
3Ease of operation
If eye tracking is used for touchless interface, then gaze-based interaction is achieved, but system complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical and computational systems (eye tracking cameras, image processing units) with a simple optical detection system using LED and photodiode. This substitution achieves touchless operation through basic optical principles rather than complex gaze tracking mechanics, dramatically reducing system complexity while maintaining the touchless interaction capability.
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
Provides accurate and durable touchless interaction, reducing disease transmission risks while being cost-effective and suitable for retrofitting existing interfaces, offering visual confirmation of button presses.
Implementation Method 1
a first sensor output signal is HIGH, begin the timer; (2) when a pre-specified amount of time has elapsed as indicated by the timer, set the switch to an ON configuration
Implementation Method 2
a first sensor, comprising a first light emitting diode and a first photodiode; a first sensor signal conditioning unit coupled to the first sensor and configured to raise a first sensor output signal HIGH when the first photodiode detects a light pulse of sufficient intensity emitted by the first light emitting diode and reflected off an object
Data Source
AI summary
This application is directed to touchless interfaces. Some embodiments disclosed are directed to plug and play replacements for casino gaming machine touch-based interfaces on, e.g., slot machines. Existing slot machine interfaces can be replaced with touchless interfaces of the inventive subject matter to enable touchless interaction with gaming machines. This allows people in casinos to minimize contact with gaming machines to stymy the spread of diseases like COVID-19.