CN101876868B - Optical touch device and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an optical touch device which comprises at least one light sensing module and a processing module. The optical sensing module is arranged on a first side of the surface of the optical touch device and used for receiving at least one ray and generating a sensing result according to the receiving condition of the ray. The sensing result is related to whether the at least one light ray is blocked by at least one object above the surface and a comparison between the at least one object and a reference region. The reference region is disposed on a second side of the surface opposite to the first side. The processing module determines at least one touch point position corresponding to the at least one object on the surface according to the sensing result.

Description

Optical touch device and operating method thereof

technical field

The present invention relates to a touch control device, in particular to an optical touch control device capable of effectively eliminating sensing dead angles to achieve full-area sensing and greatly simplifying calculations to improve touch point sensing efficiency and its operation method.

Background technique

In recent years, with the continuous development of technology related to image display, various new types of display devices appearing on the market gradually replace traditional cathode ray tube displays. Among them, the touch-type liquid crystal display device not only saves power and does not take up space, but also has the advantage of being able to input directly through contact, so it is widely loved by ordinary consumers and has become the mainstream in the display market, and is widely used. Used in various electronic products, such as automatic teller machines, point-of-sale terminals, visitor guidance systems or industrial control systems, etc.

Generally speaking, currently common touch devices include resistive touch devices, capacitive touch devices, and optical touch devices, which detect single or multiple touch points through different detection principles and methods. Among the various types of touch devices mentioned above, optical touch devices have become another alternative to traditional resistive touch devices and capacitive touch devices due to their good light transmission properties. Common techniques. However, traditional optical touch devices must be equipped with many light source emitters and light receivers around the panel for detection of touch points, which will cause additional space requirements for the entire panel device, making it impossible to further reduce its volume. Its production cost is considerable, and high-resolution touch detection cannot be achieved. Recently, some people have applied the triangulation measurement method to the optical touch technology to detect touch points. Although this method improves the resolution of touch input and reduces the number of light source transmitters and light receivers, it still cannot solve the problem of additional space requirements, and instead brings complicated calculations and the need for frame reflection strips. precise positioning etc.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1 , a conventional optical touch device 3 includes a panel 30, an optical receiver 32, and a processing module 34. The optical receiver 32 is arranged in the frame area of the panel 30, and receives an optical signal through the optical receiver 32. The extension direction of the viewing angle can be used to deduce the detectable area of the panel 30 covered by the light receiver 32 . Obviously, the sensing range of the light receiver 32 cannot cover all areas of the panel 30 , so there is still a sensing dead zone.

Therefore, the present invention proposes an optical touch device and its operating method to solve the above problems.

Contents of the invention

The present invention proposes an optical touch device and an operation method thereof that can effectively eliminate sensing dead angles to achieve full-area sensing and greatly simplify the calculation amount of a processing module to improve touch point sensing efficiency.

The first specific embodiment according to the present invention is an optical touch device. In this embodiment, the optical touch device includes at least one light sensing module and a processing module. Wherein, at least one light sensing module is disposed on a first side of the surface of the optical touch device; a reference area is disposed on a second side of the surface opposite to the first side; the light sensing module is connected to the processing module. The sensing range of the at least one light sensing module covers the entire area of the surface.

The at least one light sensing module is used to receive at least one ray of light and generate a sensing result according to the receiving situation of the at least one ray of light, wherein the sensing result is related to whether the at least one ray of light is blocked by at least one object above the surface live and the result of the comparison between the at least one object and the reference area. Next, the processing module determines the position of at least one touch point corresponding to the at least one object on the surface according to the sensing result.

According to the optical touch device of the present invention, the sensing range of the at least one light sensing module covers the entire area of the surface.

According to the optical touch device of the present invention, wherein the at least one light sensing module includes a large-angle light receiver, thereby eliminating possible sensing dead angles, so that the sensing range of the at least one light sensing module can be increased to Covers the entire area of the surface.

According to the optical touch device of the present invention, the at least one light sensing module is rotatable to eliminate possible sensing dead angles, so as to achieve the effect that its sensing range covers the entire area of the surface.

According to the optical touch device of the present invention, wherein the at least one light sensing module can move along the first side to eliminate possible sensing dead angles, so as to achieve the effect that its sensing range covers the entire area of the surface .

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second side of the surface of the optical touch device is further provided with another photo-sensing module, thereby eliminating possible sensing dead angles, so that the sensing range can be increased to cover the entire area of the surface.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second side of the surface of the optical touch device is further provided with at least one reflective module, which is used to eliminate possible sensing dead angles by means of reflection, so that the sensing range can be Grows to cover the entire area of the surface.

The optical touch device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes:

Auxiliary light source emitting modules are arranged around the surface to emit

The auxiliary light source enables the at least one light sensing module to operate normally in a low-light environment.

According to the optical touch device of the present invention, wherein the reference area includes at least one reference pattern, the at least one reference pattern is used to compare with the at least one object to generate the comparison result, and the comparison result is blocked by the at least one object The shaded area formed by the at least one ray is related to the proportion of the reference area.

According to the optical touch device of the present invention, the at least one reference pattern is presented in a way of alternating light and dark, so as to provide an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler.

The second specific embodiment according to the present invention is an operation method of an optical touch device. In this embodiment, the optical touch device includes at least one photo-sensing module and a processing module, the at least one photo-sensing module is disposed on the first side of the surface of the optical touch device, opposite to the The second side of the first side is provided with a reference area. The sensing range of the at least one light sensing module covers the entire area of the surface. The method includes the following steps: (a) the at least one light sensing module receives at least one ray and generates a sensing result according to its receiving situation of the at least one ray, wherein the sensing result is related to whether the at least one ray is on the surface The above is blocked by at least one object and the comparison result between the at least one object and the reference area is related; (b) the processing module determines at least one touch point corresponding to the at least one object on the surface according to the sensing result Location.

According to the method of the present invention, the sensing range of the at least one light sensing module covers the entire area of the surface.

According to the method of the present invention, wherein the at least one light-sensing module includes a large-angle light receiver, thereby eliminating possible sensing dead angles, so that the sensing range of the at least one light-sensing module can be increased to cover the surface all areas.

According to the method of the present invention, the at least one light sensing module is rotatable to eliminate possible sensing dead angles, so as to achieve the effect that its sensing range covers the entire area of the surface.

According to the method of the present invention, the at least one light sensing module can move along the first side to eliminate possible sensing dead angles, so as to achieve the effect that its sensing range covers the entire area of the surface.

According to the method of the present invention, another light sensing module is further provided on the second side of the surface, thereby eliminating possible sensing dead angles, so that the sensing range can be increased to cover the entire area of the surface.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, the second side of the surface is further provided with at least one reflective module, which is used to eliminate possible sensing dead angles by means of reflection, so that the sensing range can be increased to cover the entire area of the surface.

In a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention, wherein the optical touch device further includes an auxiliary light source emitting module, the auxiliary light source emitting module is arranged around the surface to emit an auxiliary light source so that the at least A light sensing module is able to operate normally in low light environment.

According to the method of the present invention, wherein the reference area includes at least one reference pattern, the at least one reference pattern is used to compare with the at least one object to generate the comparison result, the comparison result is related to the at least one object blocking the at least one ray The ratio of the formed masked area to the reference area is related.

According to the method of the present invention, the at least one reference pattern is presented in a way of alternating light and dark, so as to provide an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler.

The advantages and spirit of the present invention can be further understood through the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a photoreceiver of a conventional optical touch device having a sensing dead angle.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of an optical touch device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B) are schematic diagrams of the light sensing module judging the positions of different touch points in its sensing area.

FIG. 4(A) and FIG. 4(B) are schematic diagrams of the light sensing module judging the position of another touch point after moving according to the known reference distance from the reference touch point to the first side.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of an optical touch device achieving full-area sensing through a large-angle light receiver.

FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B) show schematic diagrams of the optical touch device achieving full-area sensing by rotating the light sensing module.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of the optical touch device achieving full-area sensing by translating the light sensing module.

FIG. 8(A) shows a schematic diagram of an optical touch device having another photo-sensing module disposed on the second side opposite to the first side to provide full-area sensing.

FIG. 8(B) shows a schematic diagram of an optical touch device with two reflective modules disposed on the second side opposite to the first side to provide full-area sensing.

FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of an optical touch device provided with a reference area on the second side opposite to the first side.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of the operation method of the optical touch device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The first specific embodiment according to the present invention is an optical touch device. In this embodiment, the optical touch device can be applied to a liquid crystal display device or other display devices, and has functions of displaying images and touch input at the same time. Please refer to FIG. 2 , which respectively shows a functional block diagram of the optical touch device.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the optical touch device 1 includes a light emitting module 12 , a light sensing module 14 , a processing module 16 and a display module 18 . Wherein, the light-sensing module 14 is arranged on the first side of the surface of the display module 18, and a reference area is set on the second side of the surface relative to the first side; the light-sensing module 14 is connected to the processing module 16; the processing module 16 is connected to the display module 18; the light emitting module 12 can be arranged around the display module 18 to simultaneously or sequentially emit multiple rays of light. issued by the optical unit, there is no certain limit.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the number of light sensing modules 14 may be one or more, and the sensing range of the light sensing modules 14 may cover the entire area of the surface. In addition, the light sensing module 14 can be any type of photoelectric sensor (such as a charge coupled device (Charge Coupled Device, CCD) sensor, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor, CMOS) sensor, etc.), a light pressure sensor , photo-optic sensor, photo-thermal sensor, photo-acoustic sensor, photo-magnetic sensor, as long as the photo-sensing module 14 can receive the light signal and convert the light signal into a signal format that the processing module 16 can interpret, it can be applied to the optical formula of the present invention. Touch device 1.

Firstly, how the light sensing module 14 determines the position of the touch point within its sensing area will be described. Please refer to FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B). FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B) show how the light sensing module 14 judges the different touch points P1 and P2 in its sensing area. A schematic diagram of the location. As shown in FIG. 3(A) and FIG. 3(B), assuming that the distances between the position of the object forming touch points P1 and P2 and the first side where the light sensing module 14 is disposed are X1 and X2 respectively, since the object The sizes of the shielding areas formed on the second side opposite to the first side to prevent the light from entering the photo-sensing module 14 are D1 and D2 respectively. The processing module 16 can deduce X1 and X2 according to the above information provided by the light sensing module 14 , thereby obtaining the coordinate positions of the touch points P1 and P2 .

In addition, considering that the size of the objects forming the touch point may be different, the size of the touch point formed by it may also be different, which may lead to misjudgment of the touch point. Therefore, as shown in Figure 4(A) As shown, an object can be placed at a reference point to form a reference touch point Pr, and the reference distance Xr from the reference touch point Pr to the first side is known, and the object blocks light from entering the light sensing module 14 The size of the shielded area formed on the second side opposite to the first side is Dr. As shown in FIG. 4(B), when the object moves backward to the position of the touch point Pf, the object blocks the light from entering the photo-sensing module 14 and the size of the shielded area formed on the second side is Df, At this time, the processing module 16 can estimate the distance Xf from the moved touch point Pf to the first side according to Dr, Df and the known reference distance Xr, thereby obtaining the coordinate position of the moved touch point Pf.

In practical applications, in order to avoid the phenomenon that there are still some sensing dead angles in the sensing range of the light receiver 32 of the traditional optical touch device 3 as shown in FIG. 1 , the present invention proposes the following methods to help The sensing range of the light sensing module 14 of the optical touch device 1 can cover all areas of the surface of the display module 18 , that is to achieve the effect of full area sensing.

First, please refer to FIG. 5 , which shows a schematic diagram of the optical touch device 1 achieving full-area sensing through the large-angle light receiver 14 a. As shown in FIG. 5 , since the angle of light received by the large-angle light receiver 14a is wider than that of a general light receiver, the optical touch device 1 can therefore increase the size of its sensing range, so that all areas of the surface are It is the sensing area without any sensing dead angle.

Next, please refer to FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B). FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B) show that the optical touch device 1 achieves full-area sensing by rotating the light sensing module 14. schematic diagram. As shown in Fig. 6 (A) and Fig. 6 (B), the light sensing module 14 can be arranged on the rotating base 13, and utilize the up and down rotation of the rotating base 13, so that the sensing range of the light sensing module 14 can be Covers all areas of the surface without any sensing dead zone.

Next, please refer to FIG. 7 , which shows a schematic diagram of the optical touch device 1 achieving full-area sensing by translating the light sensing module 14 . As shown in FIG. 7 , the sensing range of the light sensing module 14 can cover all areas of the surface by moving up and down on the first side without any sensing dead angle.

In addition to the above three methods, the optical touch device 1 can also achieve the effect of eliminating the dead angle of sensing through the proper arrangement of a plurality of optical elements. As shown in FIG. 8(A), the optical touch device 1 is not only provided with a photo-sensing module 14 on the first side, but also further provided with another photo-sensing module on the second side opposite to the first side. 14' to provide full-area sensing. It is worth noting that the number and location of the light sensing modules 14 ′ are not limited, except for the location shown in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8(B), the optical touch device 1 can also be provided with reflective modules 15a and 15b on the second side opposite to the first side, and use the reflective modules 15a and 15b to reflect light to eliminate the original possible formation. A dead zone is sensed so that its sensing range can be increased to cover the entire area of the surface.

After the optical touch device 1 achieves the full-area sensing effect by using the above method, in order to effectively reduce the huge amount of data calculation that the processing module 16 originally needs to bear when performing touch point judgment, so as to improve the sense of touch point As shown in FIG. 9, the optical touch device 1 uses a large-angle light receiver 14a to achieve the effect of full-area sensing, and a reference area is provided on the second side opposite to the large-angle light receiver 14a. 17. In this embodiment, the reference area 17 includes at least one reference pattern, and the at least one reference pattern is presented in a way of alternating light and dark (for example, light-transmitting, opaque or reflective, non-reflective), so as to provide an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler, And it is used to compare with the object forming the touch point to generate a comparison result.

In fact, the comparison result is related to the ratio of the length d1 of the shaded area 17a formed by the object blocking the light to the length d of the reference area 17 (eg d1:d=1:3). In addition, the relative relationship between the positions y1, y2 at both ends of the shielding area 17a and the positions y0, y3 at both ends of the reference area 17 (for example, assuming y0=0 and y3=20, then y1=7 and y2=13), can also be used as The reference basis for judging the position of the touch point. In this embodiment, the reference pattern of the reference area 17 can be a barcode, an optical ruler, a grating or other similar patterns, thereby providing an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler, so as to reduce the processing module 16. operation. It is worth noting that the design of the above reference area 17 only needs to provide a specific and identifiable patterned area, and there are no restrictions on regularity, symmetry, color, pattern and other conditions.

In addition, considering that the optical touch device 1 may be used in a low-light environment (such as a conference using a projection film), an auxiliary light source emitting module 19 can be arranged around the display module 18 (such as the upper and lower frames) to use An auxiliary light source is emitted to assist the wide-angle light receiver 14a to operate normally in a low-light environment. In practical applications, the type of the auxiliary light source emitted by the auxiliary light source emitting module 19 is not limited, and may be a light source such as a light emitting diode, fluorescent light, or cold light.

The second specific embodiment according to the present invention is an operation method of an optical touch device. In this embodiment, the optical touch device includes at least one light sensing module and a processing module. Wherein, the at least one light sensing module is connected to the processing module, and the at least one light sensing module is disposed on the first side of the surface of the optical touch device. It should be noted that a reference area is set on the second side of the surface opposite to the first side; the sensing range of the at least one light sensing module covers the entire area of the surface.

Please refer to FIG. 10 , which shows a flow chart of the operation method of the optical touch device. As shown in FIG. 10, first, in step S10, the at least one light sensing module receives at least one light and generates a sensing result according to the receiving situation of the at least one light, wherein the sensing result is the same as the at least one light. Whether light is blocked by at least one object above the surface is related to a comparison between the at least one object and the reference area. Next, in step S12, the processing module determines the position of at least one touch point corresponding to the at least one object on the surface according to the sensing result.

In practical applications, in order to assist the sensing range of the light-sensing module of the optical touch device to cover all areas of the surface, the present invention proposes a large-angle light receiver, a rotating light-sensing module, a translational light-sensing module and Appropriately setting a plurality of optical elements and other methods can eliminate the possible sensing dead angle, so as to achieve the effect of full-area sensing.

In addition, the reference area is set on the surface opposite to the first side in order to effectively reduce the huge amount of data calculation that the processing module originally needs to bear when performing touch point interpretation, so as to improve the sensing efficiency of the touch point. two sides. In fact, the reference area may include at least one reference pattern, and the at least one reference pattern is presented in a way of alternating light and dark (for example, light-transmitting, opaque or reflective, non-reflective), so as to provide an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler, and used to is compared with the object forming the touch point to generate a comparison result. The reference pattern in the reference area can be a barcode, an optical ruler, a grating or other similar patterns, thereby providing an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler, and reducing a large number of calculations when the processing module originally interprets the touch points.

Compared with the prior art, the optical touch device and its operation method according to the present invention can utilize methods such as arranging a large-angle optical receiver, rotating an optical sensing module, translating an optical sensing module, and appropriately arranging a plurality of optical elements. Effectively eliminate the sensing dead angle to achieve the effect of full-area sensing, and can also use the setting of the reference area to provide an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler for comparison with the object forming the touch point, so the amount of calculation can be greatly simplified to improve touch control Point sensing efficiency, even the objects that form the touch points do not necessarily have to actually touch the panel surface, and then the effect of detecting the position of the three-dimensional touch points can be achieved.

Through the above detailed description of the preferred specific embodiments, it is hoped that the features and spirit of the present invention can be described more clearly, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited by the preferred specific embodiments disclosed above. On the contrary, the intention is to cover various modifications and equivalents within the scope of the claims to be protected by the present invention.

Description of main component symbols

S10～S12: process steps

1, 3: Optical touch device 12: Light source emission module

14, 14': Light sensing module 16, 34: Processing module

18: Display module 30: Panel

32: Optical receiver P1～P2, Pf: Touch point

Pr: Reference touch point 19: Auxiliary light emitting module

15a, 15b: reflection module 14a: large-angle light receiver

17: Reference area 17a: Covered area

d: the length of the reference area d1: the length of the masked area

13: Rotating base Xr: Reference distance

D1, D2, Dr, Df: the size of the masked area

y1, y2: the positions of both ends of the masked area

y0, y3: the positions at both ends of the reference area

X1: the distance from the touch point P1 to the first side

X2: the distance from the touch point P2 to the first side

Xf: the distance from the touch point Pf to the first side.

Claims (18)

1. An optical touch device, comprising: At least one photo-sensing module is disposed on the first side of the surface of the optical touch device, and is used to receive at least one ray of light and generate a sensing result according to the receiving situation of the at least one ray of light, wherein the sensing The measured result is related to whether the at least one ray is blocked by at least one object above the surface and the comparison result between the at least one object and a reference area, the reference area is arranged on the surface relative to the the second side of the first side; and A processing module, connected to the at least one light sensing module, for determining the position of at least one touch point corresponding to the at least one object on the surface according to the sensing result; Wherein the reference area includes at least one reference pattern, the at least one reference pattern is used to compare with the at least one object to generate the comparison result, and the comparison result and the at least one object block the at least one ray The ratio of the formed masked area to the reference area is related. 2. The optical touch device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing range of the at least one light sensing module covers the entire area of the surface. 3. The optical touch device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one photo-sensing module comprises a large-angle photoreceiver, thereby eliminating possible sensing dead angles, so that the at least one photo-sensing module The sensing range can be increased to cover the entire area of the surface. 4. The optical touch device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one light sensing module uses a rotatable angle to eliminate possible sensing dead angles, so that its sensing range covers the entire area of the surface Effect. 5. The optical touch device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one light sensing module is movable along the first side to eliminate possible sensing dead angles, so as to realize its sensing range covering effect on the entire area of the surface. 6. The optical touch device according to claim 2, wherein the second side of the surface is further provided with another photo-sensing module, thereby eliminating possible sensing dead angles, so that the sensing range can be Grow to cover the entire area of the surface. 7. The optical touch device according to claim 2, wherein the second side of the surface is further provided with at least one reflective module, which is used to eliminate possible sensing dead angles by means of reflection, so that it senses The range can be increased to cover the entire area of the surface. 8. The optical touch device according to claim 1, further comprising: The auxiliary light emitting module is arranged around the surface and is used to emit auxiliary light so that the at least one light sensing module can operate normally in a low-light environment. 9 . The optical touch device according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one reference pattern is presented in an alternating light and dark manner, so as to provide an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler. 10. A method for operating an optical touch device, the optical touch device comprising at least one light sensing module and a processing module, the at least one light sensing module being disposed on the surface of the optical touch device A first side of the surface, a second side of the surface opposite to the first side is provided with a reference area, the method comprising the following steps: The at least one light sensing module receives at least one ray of light and generates a sensing result according to the receiving situation of the at least one ray of light, wherein the sensing result and whether the at least one ray of light is detected by at least one light above the surface object occlusion and a comparison result between said at least one object and said reference area; and The processing module determines the position of at least one touch point corresponding to the at least one object on the surface according to the sensing result; Wherein the reference area includes at least one reference pattern, the at least one reference pattern is used to compare with the at least one object to generate the comparison result, and the comparison result and the at least one object block the at least one ray The ratio of the formed masked area to the reference area is related. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the sensing range of the at least one light sensing module covers the entire area of the surface. 12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein the at least one light-sensing module comprises a large-angle light receiver, thereby eliminating possible sensing dead angles so that the sensing range of the at least one light-sensing module can be Grow to cover the entire area of the surface. 13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one light-sensing module eliminates a possible dead angle of sensing by means of a rotatable angle, so as to achieve the effect that its sensing range covers the entire area of the surface. 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the at least one light-sensing module is movable along the first side to eliminate possible sensing dead angles, so as to achieve a sensing range covering the surface. The effect of the whole area. 15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the second side of the surface is further provided with another photo-sensing module, thereby eliminating possible sensing dead angles, so that its sensing range can be increased to cover the entire area of the surface. 16. The method according to claim 11, wherein the second side of the surface is further provided with at least one reflective module, which is used to eliminate possible sensing dead angles by means of reflection, so that the sensing range can be increased to cover the entire area of the surface. 17. The method according to claim 10, wherein the optical touch device further comprises an auxiliary light source emitting module, the auxiliary light source emitting module is disposed around the surface to emit auxiliary light sources so that the At least one light-sensing module can work normally in low-light environment. 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one reference pattern is presented in a light and dark pattern to provide an effect similar to positioning an optical ruler.

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