Touch Panel Operator Identification via Infrared Approach Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies struggle to accurately identify which user is touching a touch panel when there are users on both sides, especially when users touch the panel with their fingers approximately perpendicular to the surface.
Innovation Solution
A touching operator identification system that includes an approach detection device with light sources and optical detectors to calculate a reference left-right position based on reflected light beams, and a user identification part that determines the user's side by comparing the touch position and the reference position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the optical position detection device uses light beams perpendicular to the touch panel, then the position detection is simple, but the user identification fails when finger is perpendicular to the touch surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from detecting only the touch position (2D coordinates on the panel) to detecting the 3D spatial position of the user's finger and arm by using light sources and detectors positioned around the display. This adds a depth dimension and spatial context, enabling the system to determine which user is touching the panel even when the finger is perpendicular to the surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces light beams as an intermediary to detect the position of the user's finger and arm. By measuring the reflected light from the user's body parts, the system can infer the user's spatial position and identify which user is operating the touch panel, rather than relying solely on the touch coordinates.
2Area of stationary object
If the touch panel is placed close to the display surface, then the integration is compact, but the optical detection accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the light sources and optical detectors within the display structure itself, nesting the optical detection system inside the display housing. This allows the system to maintain a compact form factor while still providing sufficient detection accuracy by positioning the optical components at optimal locations within the available space.
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
Enables accurate identification of the user touching the touch panel, regardless of the touch manner, by effectively distinguishing between users on the left and right sides based on the positional relationship and intensity distribution of reflected light beams.
Implementation Method 1
an optical detector configured to detect reflected light beams of the non-visible light beams emitted from the plurality of light sources
Data Source
AI summary
Multiple infrared-light LEDs are aligned in the left-right direction, below the display surface of a display, and the approach position Gx of an object approaching the display surface is calculated from the distribution of the respective intensities of infrared light beams emitted from the LEDs in a front, oblique direction. Based on the horizontal coordinate Tx of a touch position on the touch panel and the approach position Gx, a user in a driver's seat, positioned right of the display, is identified as the touching operator of the touch panel if the approach position Gx is located Th1 or more apart to the right from the coordinate Tx, and a user in a passenger's seat, positioned left of the display, is identified as the touching operator if the approach position Gx is located Th1 or more apart to the left from the coordinate Tx.