Patent Application
20210109612
Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
This invention relates to a composite touchscreen display, and more particularly, to an apparatus for projecting an image from a display onto a contoured surface while maintaining the original proportions of the image.
An optical fiber cable can generally be described as a cable that can carry light from one end to another. Optical fiber cables comprise one or more optical fibers, which are individually coated with a material that will internally reflect light. As such, the light will travel within the optical fibers and reflect inward until they reach their destination. Optical fiber cables are often used for data communications, where data can travel at extremely high speeds and over long distances without data loss.
A display can generally be described as a device for visually representing data. Displays are traditionally flat and comprise a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel is adapted to display a light, and wherein the plurality of pixels and lights form an image. The amount and orientation of the pixels is represented by a resolution, with higher resolutions corresponding to smaller and more densely-packed pixels within the display. Common displays include LCD displays, LED displays, plasma displays, and CRT displays.
While various displays exist in the prior art, they are traditionally limited to flat panel displays having limited curves and little to no contours. Furthermore, although display technology is advancing quickly, with folding screens becoming more prevalent, there are still limited options for curved screen technology, especially where a robust and durable contoured surface is used with touch. As such, there is a continued need for a composite touch screen display configured to project an image on a contoured surface without warping. The present invention satisfies these needs.
The present invention provides a composite touch screen display configured to project an image on a contoured surface without warping. This is accomplished through a display configured to produce an image, a fiber optic panel configured to project the image produced by the display, a touch screen, and a frame configured to retain all of the above components. These components work in conjunction to project the light of the image through a fiber optic panel onto a contoured surface, while maintaining the proportions of the image after projection.
These and other objectives of the present invention will become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. It is to be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. The following explanation provides specific details for a thorough understanding of and enabling description for these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list.
The composite touchscreen display comprises a display 20 configured to produce an image on a contoured surface, a fiber optic panel 30 configured to project the image produced by the display 20, a touch screen 40, and a frame 10 configured to retain all of the above components. These components work in conjunction to project an image from a display through a fiber optic panel having a contoured surface, while maintaining visibility of the image after projection.
The fiber optic panel 30 comprises a proximal surface 31 and a distal surface 32. The proximal surface 31 is flat and positioned adjacent to the display 20, while the distal surface 32 is positioned on the opposing side of the proximal surface 31. The distal surface 32 further comprises a contoured surface, where the contoured surface is different in shape than the proximal surface 31. The fiber optic panel 30 is configured to receive images from the display 20 at the proximal surface 31 and project the image to the distal surface 32. The properties of the fiber optic panel 30 can be customized depending on the needs of the user. Fiber optic panel 30 properties include contoured surface shape, fiber optic panel thickness, and desired viewing angle.
The fiber optic panel 30 further comprises a plurality of fiber optic channels 36 (
In an alternative embodiment, the fiber optic panel 30 comprises a plurality of fiber optic sections 35 positioned adjacent to one another such that, when combined, form a fiber optic panel 30 having the same properties as described above. More specifically, instead of having a single fiber optic panel 30, a plurality of fiber optic sections 35 are used such that, when they are combined, operate identically to the fiber optic panel 30. When the fiber optic panels 35 are positioned correctly, they create unified proximal and distal surfaces 31, 32. Fiber optic sections 35 may be used due lower construction costs, reduce repair costs, reduce installation costs, increase compatibility, or otherwise overcome practical limitations of the environment where the present invention will be implemented.
The display 20 is configured to produce an image. More specifically, the display 20 comprises a plurality of light sources which produce a plurality of lights that, when viewed together, form said image. In the preferred embodiment, the display 20 is flat and positioned adjacent to the proximal surface 31 of the fiber optic panel 30. The display 20 produces the image and the fiber optic channels 36, positioned adjacent to the display 20, receive the light of said image and project the light from the proximal surface 31 to the distal surface 32. When the image is projected from a flat, proximal surface 31 to a contoured, distal surface 32, the image may appear warped or otherwise disproportionate to the original image, depending on the shape of the contoured surface.
In an alternative embodiment, the display 20 further comprises a processor configured to distort the image to counteract the expansion and contraction that may be caused by projecting the image onto a contoured surface 32. More specifically, when the image is projected onto a contoured surface 32, it will appear warped and disproportionate. The processor will apply distortion to the image such that the original proportions of the image appear normal when viewed from the contoured surface 32. In a further alternative embodiment, the display 20 comprises a frame buffer holding all output images in sequence, wherein the processor will distort the image by applying an output filter to the frame buffer, wherein the output filter will apply the same distortion to every output image in the frame buffer, and consequently, every image produced by the display 20. An output filter will reduce the complexity of producing an accurate image on the distal surface 32, as the contoured surface has a fixed shape and any distortion will only need to counter the fixed shape of this contoured surface. In a further alternative embodiment, the display further comprises a dynamic output filter, where a plurality of filters are applied to said image depending on a desired viewing angle or to produce a desired visual effect on the contoured surface.
The distortion produced by the processor will vary depending on the shape of the contoured surface 32 used and the optimal viewing angle. For example, if the contoured surface 32 has a curve as shown in
The touch screen 40 comprises a device configured to receive touch input. Touch input comprises input from touch (fingers, stylus, gloves, etc.) and will accommodate single and multi-touch gestures. Common touch gestures include selecting objects, scrolling, highlighting text, pinching to zoom, and other gestures for navigating a user interface. The touch screen 40 is positioned adjacent to the fiber optic panel 30 at the distal end 32 and shares the shape of the contoured surface 32. In an alternative embodiment, the touch screen 40 is a capacitive touch screen.
The frame 10 comprises a structural element configured to retain all of the above-mentioned components. The frame 10 is illustrated in
While the above description contains specific details regarding certain elements, sizes, and other teachings, it is understood that embodiments of the invention or any combination of them may be practiced without these specific details. Specifically, although certain shapes are described and shown in the above embodiments and drawings, any suitable shape may be used. These details should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any embodiment, but merely as exemplifications of the presently preferred embodiments. In other instances, well known structures, elements, and techniques have not been shown to clearly explain the details of the invention.
The above detailed description of the embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above or to the particular field of usage mentioned in this disclosure. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Also, the teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.
Changes can be made to the invention in light of the above “Detailed Description.” While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Therefore, implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.
While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention.
