Touch Panel Gesture Control for Ophthalmic Apparatus Alignment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing ophthalmic apparatuses that use touch panels for alignment are more difficult to operate than those with joysticks, causing a burden on examiners and potentially leading to inaccuracies in eye examination.

Innovation Solution

An ophthalmic apparatus with a touch panel that allows multi-touch operations, such as pinch and rotate gestures, to control the optometry part's movement along the optical axis, enabling precise alignment by detecting changes in relative distance and rotating amounts of designated points on the touch panel, thereby simplifying the alignment process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If a touch panel is used for alignment operation instead of a joystick, then the apparatus can provide a more modern interface, but the operation becomes more difficult and causes a burden on the examiner

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinterface modernityVSAvoidalignment operation difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical joystick system with a touch panel interface that detects finger movements and converts them into drive signals. This substitution allows the system to maintain modern interface capabilities while simplifying operation through direct touch interaction on the display screen, eliminating the need for separate mechanical control devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a detection unit that acts as an intermediary between the touch panel and the drive unit. This intermediary detects the position and movement of fingers on the touch panel and converts these inputs into appropriate drive signals, bridging the gap between the modern touch interface and the mechanical drive system, thereby maintaining ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If a touch panel requires precise multi-point gesture detection, then three-dimensional movement control can be achieved, but the detection complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvethree-dimensional movement controlVSAvoidmulti-point gesture detection complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the touch panel detection into distinct functional components: a first detection unit for detecting single-point movements and a second detection unit for detecting multi-point gestures. This segmentation allows the system to handle different types of movements (lateral and longitudinal) through specialized detection mechanisms, reducing the overall detection complexity while enabling three-dimensional control.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements partial detection functionality by having the first detection unit handle basic lateral movements and the second detection unit handle longitudinal movements through multi-point gestures. This partial action approach allows the system to achieve three-dimensional control without requiring full complex gesture recognition for all movements, thereby reducing detection complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3001943B1Ophtalmic apparatus and ophtalmic apparatus control program
Publication Date: 2017.11.08 NIDEK CO LTD
  • EP3001943B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3001943B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3001943B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An ophthalmic apparatus (1) is provided with an optometry part (3) including an observation optical system (60) for observation of an anterior segment of an examinee's eye (E) and an examination optical system (30, 200, 300) for obtaining examination information of the examinee's eye, a drive part (6, 49, 124a) for driving the optometry party, a drive control part (70) for controlling driving of the drive part, an image output part (70) for outputting an anterior-segment image to a display part (75), a first detection part (70, 75b) for detecting a moving direction and a moving amount when a designated point designated on a touch panel (75b) allowing designation of any position on a screen of the display part, and a second detection part (70, 75b) for detecting a change in relative distance between and a rotating amount of two designated points designated on the touch panel. The drive control part performs first drive control to drive the optometry part in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis of the optometry part when the first detection part detects movement of the designated point and second drive control to drive the optometry part in a direction of the optical axis when the second detection part detects relative movement of the two designated points.