Touch Screen Finger Orientation Detection via Axis Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current finger-sensing technologies in touch screens struggle to accurately detect the position, orientation, and angle of a finger both in 2D and 3D dimensions, especially when a finger is hovering close to the screen, which is essential for various applications but not adequately addressed.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that processes raw touch data to determine 2D finger shape orientation, fingertip pointing direction, and 3D angle by analyzing touch map values, extracting main axes, computing center of mass and geometrical center positions, and using eccentricity and area measurements to produce output data sets for each frame of input, enabling detection of finger position and orientation with reduced computational complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If complex algorithms are used to detect finger position and orientation, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detection process is segmented into distinct computational stages: raw touch data acquisition, touch map generation, main axis extraction, center of mass calculation, and orientation determination. Each stage processes only necessary data for its specific function, reducing overall computational complexity while maintaining detection precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the essential features from raw touch data - specifically the main axes of the finger contact shape and the center of mass position. By taking out only these critical parameters rather than processing all raw data points, the system achieves accurate finger orientation detection with reduced computational overhead.
2Device complexity
If simple algorithms are used to reduce computational complexity, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The touch data itself provides all necessary information for detection - the capacitive touch screen naturally generates touch maps that contain finger shape, position, and orientation information. By using self-service principles, the system extracts orientation data directly from the touch patterns without requiring additional sensors or complex external processing systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the detection problem by changing parameters from analyzing individual touch data points to analyzing derived parameters such as main axis lengths, slopes, and center of mass coordinates. This parameter transformation simplifies computation while preserving the essential orientation information needed for accurate detection.
3Ease of operation
If traditional touch detection methods are used, then ease of operation is maintained, but adaptability to 3D finger orientation detection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The touch screen system maintains its universal usability for basic touch operations while simultaneously providing advanced 3D finger orientation detection capabilities. The same touch data processing infrastructure serves both traditional 2D touch detection and the new 3D orientation detection functions, allowing the system to be adaptable without compromising ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extends traditional 2D touch detection by adding a third dimension of finger orientation detection. By analyzing the shape and orientation of finger contact areas in the touch map, the system extracts 3D spatial information (finger tilt and rotation angles) from 2D touch data, enabling multi-dimensional detection without requiring additional physical sensors.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment of a method for processing finger-detection data produced by a touch screen includes: computing the area of the finger-data map and extracting the main axes from the finger-data map, computing the lengths and orientations of the main axes, determining from the main axes a major axis having a major-axis orientation, computing a geometrical center and a center of mass of the finger-data map, computing an eccentricity of the finger-data map as a function of the lengths of the main axes outputting the major-axis orientation as indicative of the finger-orientation direction in the plane of the screen, outputting the mutual position of the geometrical center and the center of mass of the finger-data map as indicative of finger-pointing direction along the finger-orientation direction in the plane of the screen, and outputting a combination of the eccentricity and the area of the finger data map as indicative of finger orientation with respect to the plane of the screen.