Touchscreen Cleaning Mode Without Workflow Interruption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing touchscreen devices in mobile information terminals require users to abruptly switch from operational mode to cleaning mode, forcing users to abort ongoing tasks, as the image disappears during cleaning, making it inconvenient to determine when to initiate cleaning and potentially leaving the screen unclean.
Innovation Solution
The device implements a control section that records integrated running time and user activity, displaying a pattern on the screen to indicate the transition to cleaning mode without interrupting ongoing tasks, allowing users to clean the screen while still viewing the image, and varying transparency based on touch frequency to indicate cleanliness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the touchscreen panel is cleaned regularly to maintain hygiene and visibility, then the display section becomes cleaner and more hygienic, but the user must switch from normal operation mode to cleaning mode which forces abortion of ongoing work
Solution Approach 1:
A transparent pattern overlay is introduced as an intermediary element that indicates cleaning needs without interrupting the user's workflow. The pattern is superimposed on the displayed image, allowing users to see both the cleaning indication and the underlying content simultaneously, thus mediating between cleaning requirements and operational continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses color and transparency changes in the pattern overlay to indicate cleaning status. The pattern's transparency varies based on touch frequency, with frequently touched areas showing higher transparency to indicate greater cleaning need. This visual feedback mechanism allows users to understand cleaning requirements without mode switching.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If the entire screen is painted in a single color or image disappears during cleaning mode, then the cleaning status becomes visible, but the user loses access to the application and must abort work entirely
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent pattern serves as an intermediary layer that provides cleaning status information without blocking the underlying application content. Users can simultaneously see the pattern indicating cleaning needs and the application content beneath it, eliminating the need to abort work for cleaning monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The pattern is implemented as a thin, transparent visual overlay that does not physically block the display. This allows the cleaning indication to be visible while maintaining full visibility and access to the underlying application content, preventing information loss during cleaning mode.
3Weight of moving object
If the touchscreen panel is made transparent to reduce size and weight, then the device becomes more compact and portable, but dirt and fingerprints become difficult to detect
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs color and transparency variations in the pattern overlay to indicate dirt and fingerprint presence on the transparent touchscreen. The pattern's visual properties change based on touch frequency and location, making invisible contaminants visible without requiring physical changes to the transparent display itself.
Solution Approach 2:
A visual pattern overlay is introduced as an intermediary indicator system that makes dirt and fingerprints detectable on the transparent screen. The pattern provides visual feedback about cleaning needs without obscuring the display's transparency or requiring physical modifications to the lightweight touchscreen structure.
4Reliability
If the cleaning mode is activated automatically after a predetermined number of touches, then the screen is cleaned at appropriate intervals, but the user experience is interrupted by mode switching
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent pattern overlay acts as an intermediary that provides continuous cleaning status feedback without requiring mode transitions. Users can monitor cleaning needs and complete cleaning actions while remaining in the normal application environment, maintaining productivity while ensuring timely cleaning based on touch frequency monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention maintains continuous operation in the normal application mode while providing cleaning indications through the transparent pattern. Users can clean the screen at any time based on pattern feedback without interrupting their workflow, ensuring continuous productive action while maintaining cleaning hygiene.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention provides a device that will not force, if the situation permits, the user to abort his or her work entirely when the modes of operation are changed from cleaning into non-cleaning, or vice versa. An information display device includes: a display section; a touchscreen panel, which forms an integral part of the display section and which has an input area that is associated with the display area of the display section; an area locating section for determining, in response to a user's action on the input area, what partial area of the input area has been operated on as a result of the user's action, thereby generating a signal specifying that partial area; and a control section for instructing the display section to display a non-opaque pattern with some degree of transparency. In a cleaning mode for cleaning the input area, the display section displays the pattern on the display area, and the control section increases the degree of transparency of that pattern on the partial area in accordance with the signal specifying the partial area.