Touch Screen Input Filtering for Medical Devices

Solution Overview

Problem

Touch screens in medical devices often experience input errors due to the movement of the fingertip contact area during data entry, leading to incorrect selections and potential safety issues.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a method to filter touch screen inputs by detecting the position of initial and subsequent touches and validating them within a defined area or trigger zone, ensuring that only stable and intended touch events are sent to the processor.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If touch screen inputs are used for data entry in medical devices, then ease of operation is improved, but input accuracy deteriorates due to fingertip movement during contact

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of operationVSAvoidinput accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary validation by detecting multiple touch positions and determining a validation area before finalizing the input. The controller detects a first touch position, establishes a validation area around it, then checks subsequent touch positions within that area to confirm the intended target before executing the input action.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback by continuously monitoring touch positions and comparing them against the validation area. The controller detects multiple touch positions, validates whether they fall within the predetermined validation area, and only confirms the input when the touch sequence is validated, thereby correcting for fingertip movement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Ease of manufacture

If touch screen inputs are used in medical devices, then ease of cleaning is improved, but input reliability deteriorates due to erroneous selections

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of cleaningVSAvoidinput reliability

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary validation by detecting multiple touch positions and determining a validation area before finalizing the input. The controller detects a first touch position, establishes a validation area around it, then checks subsequent touch positions within that area to confirm the intended target before executing the input action.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback by continuously monitoring touch positions and comparing them against the validation area. The controller detects multiple touch positions, validates whether they fall within the predetermined validation area, and only confirms the input when the touch sequence is validated, thereby correcting for fingertip movement.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If touch position validation is implemented to reduce input errors, then input accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinput accuracyVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The validation process is segmented into distinct steps: detecting a first touch position, establishing a validation area around that position, detecting subsequent touch positions, and validating whether those positions fall within the validation area. This segmentation allows the complex validation logic to be implemented as a series of simple, manageable operations in the touch screen controller.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS9389714B2System and method for filtering touch screen inputs

Publication Date: 2016.07.12 CAREFUSION 303 INC

AI summary

A method of filtering a touch screen input is disclosed that includes the steps of detecting a position of a first touch on a touch screen, determining a validation area that includes the position of the first touch, detecting a position for each of one or more second touches on the touch screen, and providing a touch event signal if the positions of all of the second touches are within the validation area.