Touch sensitive apparatus and method for improved visual feedback

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to touch sensitive apparatus and methods of operation. More particularly, the invention relates to improved touch screen interfaces with improved visual feedback to an operator.

[0004] 2. Description of Prior Art

[0005] Touch sensitive apparatus as described, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,332, issued Aug. 11, 1987, and assigned to the same assignee as that of the present invention, provide limited visual feedback to an operator in verifying actuation of a touch element(s) presented on a touch screen. Typically, when pressing touch points or elements on a touch screen, the user is given visual or auditory feedback (or both) confirming or verifying the touch operation. Auditory feedback is usually a “beep”; visual feedback is usually in the form of reverse video or color change. However, visual feedback may not be apparent to the user when pressing touch elements on a touch screen because the visual feedback may be hidden by an operator or user's finger.

[0006] There is a need in touch sensitive apparatus and its operation to improve visual feedback to an operator with respect to sight and perception of feel in confirming and/or verifying actuation of a touch point or element on a touch screen by the operator. Confirmation or verification of touch point actuation is particularly important where the touch point may be hidden by an operator's finger or hand while the point is actuated or in the case of touch pads confined to a small area of a touch screen.

[0007] Prior art related to verification of touch point actuation in touch sensitive apparatus includes the following:

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,758, issued Oct. 1, 1991, discloses a touchscreen control panel apparatus that highlights a control key to which an operator slide touches and actuates the associated control function upon touch release from the highlighted key. Highlighting is deleted from the key when the operator slides touches therefrom without releasing the touch.

[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,079, issued Jun. 2, 1992, discloses a touch sensitive user interface including control logic responsive to the touch sensitive user interface for determining the contact position of a probe, such as a finger. A system controller identifies a contact zone of a predetermined size with respect to the interface. The control logic actuates a feature within the system represented a displayed image in response to a user touch. The system controller enlarges the contact zone of the selected feature upon selection thereof to a size accommodating a finger without overlapping on adjacent areas. Upon completion of a selection, the controller returns the key element to a previously predetermined size.

[0010] U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,888, issued Oct. 15, 1996, discloses apparatus for improving visibility and selectibility of images or icons on a touch screen. The apparatus enhances the visibility of the images or icons and other types of menu items by increasing the size or skew or both of one or more icons or menu items in a generally inverse relation to, the proximity of a cursor image address to particular icons or menu items. Increasing the size of icons or menu items, enhances user recognition of an ordinarily small menu items or icons and simultaneously provides the effect of stabilizing the cursor position during selection without affecting the linearity of response to a graphic input device.

[0011] None of the prior art discloses a touch sensitive apparatus and methods of operation for improving an operator's visual verification (feedback) and visual perception of tactile input (the illusion of pushing a key element inward) of a touch point upon actuation on a touch screen.

[0012] An object of the invention is a touch sensitive apparatus and method of operation having improved touch feedback to an operator.

[0013] Another object is a touch sensitive apparatus and method for providing an operator with visual touch verification and visual perception of tactile input in touch screen operation.

[0014] Another object is a touch sensitive apparatus and method for altering visual feedback to an operator according to the operator's touch point location on a touch screen.

[0015] Another object is a touch key element having feedback which visually enlarges and visually detents or depresses within a keypad upon touch by an operator.

[0016] Another object is an improved method for touch key element operation in a touch sensitive apparatus in providing an operator with an improved visual feedback and a visual perception of tactile input of touch point selection in the touch screen.

[0017] These and other objects, features and advantages are achieved in a touch sensitive apparatus including a display having a touch overlay, a processor and stored program instructions in a memory in which a graphical image, such as a key element, is created and displayed on the display as an input device or key pad to the processor upon touching the touch overlay or touch screen by an operator. The key element image created appears graphical and in three dimensional form, that is, bevels surrounding key elements give it the appearance of a raised surface on the screen. When a key element in the displayed screen is touched by a probe, such as a finger, the screen area about the finger visually enlarges or “splats” confirming the selection of the particular key. Simultaneously, the key element visually detents or depresses within the key pad, the bevels decrease in size, and the key face changes color further verifying the key selection to the operator. The creation of a visual sense of key movement and visual perception of tactile input (illusion of pushing the key element inward) to the operator aids in the operation of the key pad. The simultaneous visual key enlargement, visual detenting, bevel changes and change in key color upon key selection in a touch sensitive apparatus overcomes the operator feedback problem described in the prior art.

[0018] The invention will be further understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a representation of a prior art touch sensitive apparatus incorporating the features of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram implementing the operation of the invention in the system of FIG. 1.

[0021] FIG. 3A is a representation of a key touch pad with key elements displayed in the touch system of FIG. 1 ready for key actuation by an operator.

[0022] FIG. 3B is a representation of FIG. 3A after actuation of a key element by an operator and showing key enlargement, detenting, bevel changes and key color change in the system of FIG. 1.

[0023] In FIG. 1, a prior art touch point sensitive apparatus, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,332, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and fully incorporated herein by reference, may be modified by stored program instructions described in the present invention to provide improved visual feedback and visual perception of tactile input to an operator using a key element in the system of FIG. 1. It should be noted that any touch sensitive apparatus, e.g resistive, infrared, capacitance and the like may be modified by the present invention to achieve the same improved visual feedback results to an operator as will be described for FIG. 1.

[0024] Briefly, the touch sensitive apparatus of FIG. 1 includes a touch overlay screen 20 mounted on a display (not shown) for receiving touch input signals. The overlay 20 includes vertical conductors X1-X112 connected through an X bus 80 to a wire select multiplexer 112 and horizontal Y conductors Y1-Y112 connected through a Y bus 90 to the wire selection multiplexer 112. The multiplexer 112 is connected through a mode multiplexer 116 to a capacitance measurement device 128 which is used for a capacitance finger touch detection. The output of the capacitance measurement device is connected through an analog digital convertor 130 to a processor address/databus 110. Control input 114 to the wire selection multiplexer 112 is connected to the bus 110 and a control input 118 to the mold multiplexer 116 is connected to the bus 110. The processor address/databus 110 interconnects the control processor 100 with a Read Only Memory (ROM) 104, a Random Access Memory (RAM) 102 and an I/O controller 106. The controller 106 has an I/O bus 108 which connects to a host processing system such as the I/O bus of an IBM personal computer.

[0025] The wire selection multiplexer 112 and the mode multiplexer 116 connect selected patterns of a plurality of the horizontal and vertical conductors of the overlay 20 to the capacitance measurement device 128 in response to control signals applied over the control input 114 and 118 from the bus 110 by the control processor 100. During finger touch operations, the capacitance measurement device 128 has its input coupled through the mode multiplexer and the wire selection multiplexer 112 to selected ones of the horizontal and vertical conductors in the overlay 20 in response to control signals from the control processor 100. The output of the capacitance measurement device 128 is converted to digital values by the converter 130 and is applied over the bus 110 to the control processor 100 which executes a sequence of stored program instructions to detect the horizontal array conductor pair and the vertical array conductor pair in the overlay 20 being touched by an operator's finger at a desired selection point in a graphical image, such as a key pad, appearing in a screen of the display in the touch system of FIG. 1. Software programs for implementing the present invention are also stored in the RAM 102 or ROM 104 for (i) creating a graphical image of touch points in the display, and (ii) providing improved visual feedback and visual perception of tactile input to an operator actuating a touch point through the overlay 20. The stored programs of the present invention will be described in conjunction with FIGS. 2, 3A and 3B.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a flow chart which describes the programming functions for creating a graphical image of touch key elements in the display and providing the improved visual feedback and visual perception of tactile input to an operator upon actuating a touch point through the overlay 20 or upon the touch screen.

[0027] The program is entered in a program start function 10 which initiates a create key element step 12 for display in the touch sensitive apparatus of FIG. 1. The graphical image formed in the function 12 may be in any form or shape and can be created by several commercially available software programs, for example, DELPHI published by Borland International Inc., 100 Borland Way, Scotts Valley, Calif. 95067 USA and Visual Basic published by Microsoft Press, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, Wash. 98052 USA. The foregoing and other like programs allow a programmer to select graphic elements from a tool palette, drag them into a interface page, and set properties such as size, color, bevel width, etc. The resulting applications access user input by object events and provide information such as touch coordinates.

[0028] For purposes of illustration, as shown in FIG. 3A, a three-dimensional (3D) keypad 30 may be created and displayed in a screen 32 of the display in the touch system of FIG. 1. The 3D key pad includes a series of numerical key elements 34, in one form 0-9, and functional keys 35, 36, 37, and 38, as indicated in FIG. 3A.

[0029] Returning to FIG. 2, the programs of the present invention stored in the RAM 102 or ROM 104 (see FIG. 1) are entered in the step 10 which starts or initializes the programs for use by an operator. A program step 12 creates the 3D graphical key elements, shown in FIG. 3A, using the following steps:

[0030] (a) Each key element 34 in the key pad 30 has a face 33 upon which an outer three dimensional graphical bevel 39 is formed leaving a flat surface 39′;

[0031] (b) The key element and indicia or text are in contrasting colors;

[0032] (c) A default key element size is established and the key elements are drawn within an enclosure to simulate a key pad for display on the touch system, such as that of FIG. 1.

[0033] A touch key element program step 14 is initiated upon an operator touching a key element in the keypad 30 displayed in the touch system, such as that of FIG. 1. In one form, the program step 14 initiates a test 16 or test 17 to determine whether an upper portion or lower portion of a key element 34 has been actuated by an operator using the key pad 30 displayed in the touch system, such as that of FIG. 1. A “yes condition” for test 16 initiates a step 18 in which the touch key element visually detents or depresses within the key pad, shown in FIG. 3B, according to the following steps:

[0034] (a) the key element face 39′ in the touched key element 33 changes color;

[0035] (b) the outer bevel 39 (See FIG. 3A) is removed and a smaller inner bevel 40, shown in FIG. 3B, is displayed around the key element face in reverse image to the outer bevel coloring;

[0036] (c) The disappearance of the outer bevel 39, the appearance of the inner bevel 40 and the changed key coloring verifies or confirms the selection of the key element.

[0037] These changes create an illusion of key movement which the operator may visually perceive as tactile input or an illusion of pushing a key element inward in connection with the actuated key element.

[0038] Concomitantly or simultaneously with the step 18, a visual enlargement or splatting about the key element takes place, as shown in FIG. 3B, according to the following steps:

[0039] (a) when the program step 14 receives a signal from the converter 130 (see FIG. 1) indicating the upper portion of the key element has been actuated, a first signal is sent to the operating system in the touch system of FIG. 1 to enlarge the selected key element displayed in the screen by a defined amount in the x and y coordinate directions;

[0040] (b) the selected key element visually expands or “splats”;

[0041] (c) optionally, the key element may be offset relative to the other key elements to further improve visual feedback of key actuation.

[0042] Upon release of key element by the operator, the key element returns to its original state (See FIG. 3A) in a step 22, according to the following steps:

[0043] (a) the outer bevel 39 is displayed and the inner bevel 40 is removed;

[0044] (b) the key element face 33 and indica or text coloring are returned to their original state, shown in FIG. 3A;

[0045] (c) The key element positions in the key pad 30 are reset (but only if the key element positions were optionally offset);

[0046] (d) The default key element size is reset to the original size.

[0047] Returning to FIG. 2, a “no” condition for the test 16 initiates a test 17 to determine if the lower portion of the key element 34 has been actuated. A “yes” condition initiates a step 19 to detent the selected key element in the manner described for the step 18. Concomitantly or simultaneously, a step 21 is performed to visually enlarge or splat the actuated key element, but to a lesser extent than in the case of the touching the upper portion of the key element, described in connection with the step 20. When the lower portion of the key element is actuated a second signal is sent by the converter 130 (See FIG. 1) to the program 14 which sends a second signal to the operating system of the processor 100 to expand the key element in coordinate sizes to a lesser amount than that of program step 20, previously described. Upon release of the key element by the operator, the key element returns to its original state in program step 22.

[0048] The larger visual splatting in the case of the step 20 solves the problem of a hand covering a larger portion of the key element when the upper portion of the key element is touched. The enlarged splatting area ensures that the operator receives visual feedback confirming the key element has been actuated. Visual feedback for touching the lower portion of a key element is impacted to a lesser extent by the hand covering the key element which lessens the size needed for visually splatting the actuated key element. Optionally, the program step 14 may be modified to provide numerous variations in amount of visual feedback depending where the key element is touched or actuated.

[0049] While the invention has been described in a preferred embodiment, various modifications may be made therein without the parting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims in which;