INTEGRATED LIGHT GUIDE AND TOUCH SCREEN FRAME

摘要

A touch screen assembly including a display, infra-red light emitters, photo diodes, a transparent frame including an exposed upper edge along its perimeter, and internally reflective facets for directing light emitted by the emitters along light paths that travel upward through one side of the frame, over the display screen, downward through the opposite side of the frame, and onto the photo diodes, and a processor operative to identify a location of an object touching the display, based on amounts of light detected by photo diodes when light emitted by light emitters is blocked along its light path by the object, and to recognize the object touching an outer wall of the frame, based on amounts of light detected by activated photo diodes when light emitted by activated emitters is absorbed along its light path by the object at the outer wall, thereby providing touch sensitivity to the frame itself.

主权项

1. A touch screen assembly comprising:
a display screen; a plurality of infra-red light emitters operative to emit light when activated; a plurality of photo diodes operative to detect amounts of light received when activated; a transparent plastic frame comprising:
an exposed upper edge along the entire frame perimeter;vertically straight inner walls, extending from below said display screen to said exposed upper edge of the frame, along the entire frame perimeter; andinternally reflective facets for directing light, emitted by said infra-red light emitters, along light paths that travel upward through one side of the frame along the height of said inner walls, over said display screen, downward through the opposite side of the frame along the height of said inner walls, and onto said photo diodes; and a processor coupled with said infra-red light emitters and said photo diodes, operative to selectively activate said infra-red light emitters and said photo diodes, to identify a location of an object touching said display screen from above, based on amounts of light detected by activated photo diodes when light emitted by activated infra-red light emitters is blocked along its light path by the object, and to recognize the object touching an outer wall of said frame facing away from said display screen, based on amounts of light detected by activated photo diodes when light emitted by activated infra-red light emitters is absorbed along its light path by the object at the outer wall, thereby providing touch sensitivity to said frame itself.