Patent Application
20060209041
This invention relates generally to touch monitors, and more particularly, to automatic registration and calibration of a touch monitor with an application to facilitate installation and initialization with an application and within a system.
Touch monitors are provided for an increasing number of applications. Point of sale (POS), for processing transactions within a department store, and point of information (POI), such as an electronic directory are common. For example, applications include airport passenger and baggage check-in, and kiosks located within a store which provide information about products and services. The kiosks also may be used to place an order and/or complete a purchase without the assistance of a sales person. There are often many touch monitors installed within a single system.
A touch monitor has a monitor with a display for displaying data to a user. A touchscreen is installed in front of the display, and the user selects and/or inputs data by touching the touchscreen. In order for the user's touch on the touchscreen to successfully interact with the display, the coordinates of the display and the touchscreen are calibrated with respect to each other.
When installing touch monitors in a system, each of the touch monitors are calibrated one at a time. The calibration requires user interaction, is time consuming, and prone to confusion and error. For example, if the user does not touch the touchscreen in the correct position during the calibration routine, the touchscreen and display will not be calibrated correctly with respect to each other. As a result, a touch on the touchscreen will not correspond to and select the correct option on the display. Also, if an incorrect touchscreen is touched during the calibration process, the calibration routine will associate an incorrect monitor and touchscreen together.
In addition, users may order components for repair and assembly of touch monitors, potentially installing a touchscreen from one manufacturer on a monitor from a different manufacturer. When either the touchscreen or monitor is replaced, the calibration procedure is repeated, and the potential problems above may occur. Also, installing replacement components may be cumbersome and difficult for a user and may lead to problems such as the touchscreen being installed in a rotated position.
Therefore, a need exists for a touch monitor which addresses the problems noted above. Certain embodiments of the present invention are intended to meet these needs and other objectives that will become apparent from the description and drawings set forth below.
In an embodiment of the present invention, a method for associating components within a touch monitor comprises storing a first data value in a memory which is interconnected with a monitor. A second data value is stored in the memory which is interconnected with a touchscreen. The touchscreen and the monitor are interconnected with one another to form a touch monitor. The first and second data values identify a unique relationship between the monitor and the touchscreen.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for registering a touch monitor with an application comprises connecting the touch monitor to a system computer running an application. The touch monitor includes a touchscreen and a monitor. A first data value which uniquely identifies the touchscreen is read from a controller module. A second data value which uniquely identifies the monitor is read from the controller module. The first and second data values are compared, and it is determined whether the touchscreen and the monitor are associated with one another based on the first and second data values.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a touch sensitive apparatus for displaying data and accepting touch inputs comprises a monitor having a display for displaying information. A touchscreen senses touch events and is positioned proximate the display. A first memory is associated with the monitor and stores identification data. A second memory is associated with the touchscreen and stores the identification data. The identification data is used to establish an association between the monitor and the touchscreen.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of certain embodiments of the present invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings.
The touch monitor 100 comprises a touchscreen 102 and a monitor housing 104. The touchscreen 102 is installed over a display (not shown). The display and a monitor (not shown) may be within a monitor housing 104.
A monitor 154 comprises components for displaying data on a display 156. The display 156 may be an LCD, CRT, Plasma, Photographic image and the like. A touchscreen 158 is installed proximate the display 156. The touchscreen 158 receives input from a user via a finger touch, a stylus, and the like. It should be understood that it is not necessary for the touchscreen 158 to be mounted over or in front of the display 156. By way of example only, if the display 156 is physically compliant, such as an LCD, the touchscreen 158 or other touch sensing element may be behind the display 156. The touchscreen 158 then senses a touch force transmitted through the display 156. Optionally, force sensors or touch pressure sensors (not shown) may be attached to the back of the display 156 to sense relative touch forces.
A monitor cable 160 connects the monitor 154 with a monitor controller 162. The monitor controller 162 receives video information from the computer 152 over video cable 164. The video information is received and processed by the monitor controller 162, then transferred to the monitor 154 over the monitor cable 160 for display on the display 156. It should be understood that the monitor 154 and the monitor controller 162 may be hardwired together or interconnected such that the monitor cable 160 is not required. The monitor controller 162 comprises components such as a CPU 166 and a memory 168.
A touchscreen cable 170 interconnects the touchscreen 158 with a touchscreen controller 172. The touchscreen controller 172 sends and receives information to and from the computer 152 over touch data cable 174. Touch information is received by the touchscreen 158, transferred over the touchscreen cable 170 to the touchscreen controller 172, and then sent over the touch data cable 174 to the computer 152. The touchscreen controller 172 comprises components such as a CPU 178 and memory 180.
A monitor housing 176 may enclose the monitor 154, the monitor and touchscreen cables 160 and 170, and the monitor and touchscreen controllers 162 and 172. The monitor housing 176 may enclose an outer edge portion of the touchscreen 158, securing the touchscreen 158 and/or covering fasteners which secure the touchscreen 158 to the monitor 154. By way of example only, the monitor housing 176 may be for a stand alone monitor. Optionally, the monitor housing 176 may be omitted if the touch monitor 150 is installed within a kiosk or other enclosure. The video and touch data cables 164 and 174 may be separate cables or packaged together. The video and touch data cables 164 and 174 extend from the monitor housing 176 to the location of the computer 152.
The memories 168 and 180 store data including Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) data. EDID data may include information about the monitor 154 and touchscreen 158 such as a vender or manufacturer identification number, maximum image size, color characteristics, pre-set timings, and frequency range limits. Each manufacturer within the industry is assigned a unique identification number. In addition, one or more character strings may be stored to identify a serial number, name, date, and the like. Thus, the EDID data may store subsets of data providing identification of characteristics of one or more touch monitor components. Optionally, memories 168 and 180 may be combined and provided with one of monitor and touchscreen controllers 162 and 172, to form a single common memory module which stores the EDID for both of the monitor 154 and touchscreen 158. Optionally, the touchscreen and monitor controllers 172 and 162 may be combined to form a single common controller for the touch monitor 150.
In step 200, the serial number of the touchscreen 158 and the serial number of the monitor 154 are identified. In step 202, the touch monitor 150 is assembled. The monitor 154 and the touchscreen 158 are installed together, with the touchscreen 158 proximate the display 156 as discussed previously. Alternatively, a single touchscreen, such as the touchscreen 158, may be installed over multiple monitors 154, 188 and 190 as illustrated in
In step 204, the computer 152 requests the monitor controller 162 to send a copy of a set of data values stored in the memory 168. For the touch monitor 186 of
In step 206, the computer 152 starts a calibration application program. In step 208, the calibration application program communicates to the monitor controller 162 via the video cable 164 to draw a graphic, such as a target or cross hairs, on the display 156.
Returning to
In this example, the monitor 154 has been designated as the primary monitor. As in
In step 214, the calibration application program determines if another graphic is to be displayed on the display 156. If yes, the method returns to step 208. In step 208, a second graphic 254 is displayed on the display 156 in a location different with respect to the location of the previous graphic 250. For example, the second graphic 254 may be displayed on the upper right side of the display 156.
In step 210, the user touches the second graphic 254 and in step 212 the computer 152 receives the touch data via the touch data cable 174. In step 214, the calibration application program determines if another graphic (third graphic 256) should be displayed. Often, three graphics will be drawn on the display 156, each at a different location. It should be understood that additional graphics, such as three additional graphics for each of the displays associated with the monitors 154, 188 and 190 may be displayed and corresponding touch data received during the calibration process.
Once the graphics 250, 254 and 256 have been displayed and the associated touch data received by the computer 152, in step 216 the computer 152 processes the coordinate data to determine calibration data relating the coordinate sets spatially. For example, the computer 152 has received three sets of (x, y) coordinates from the touchscreen 158, each set of which is associated with a set of (x, y) coordinates from one of the three displayed graphics. Because the computer 152 drew the graphics 250, 254 and 256, the computer 152 knows the corresponding graphic coordinates for the display 156. Therefore, the computer 152 determines calibration data that describes a spatial relationship between the received touch coordinates and the graphic coordinates so that the locations where the user touches the touchscreen 158 and the location where the graphics 250, 254 and 256 are displayed on the display 156 correspond with each other. The calibration takes into account both the (x, y) adjustment of the coordinates of the touch data and any possible rotation of the touchscreen 158 with respect to the display 156. If touchscreen technologies producing a non-linear response are used, a linearization process is performed on the raw touch data prior to calibrating the coordinates and possible rotation.
Continuing the example above, the first graphic coordinates may be (125,125), the second graphic coordinates may be (875, 125) and the third graphic coordinates may be (875, 875). The first touch coordinates may be (500, 500), the second touch coordinates may be (3500, 500), and the third touch coordinates may be (3500, 3500). The calibration application program may then determine that the display 156 is 1000×1000 units while the touchscreen 158 is 4000×4000 units. Therefore, the touch coordinates may be divided by 4 to be adjusted to, or to correspond with, the graphic coordinates.
The following example takes into account a 90 degree clockwise rotation of the touchscreen 158 with respect to the monitor 154. The graphic coordinates remain the same as above, wherein the first graphic coordinates are (125, 125), the second graphic coordinates are (875, 125) and the third graphic coordinates are (875, 875). The first touch coordinates are (500, 3500), corresponding with the bottom left corner of the touchscreen 158. The second touch coordinates are (500, 500), and the third touch coordinates are (3500, 500). In this example, the touch coordinates are divided by 4 and translated by negative 90 degrees to correspond with the graphic coordinates.
In step 218, the computer 152 determines whether another monitor is to be calibrated. For example, for the touch monitor 186, the calibration application program calibrates each of the monitors 154, 188 and 190. If another monitor, such as monitor 188 and 190, is to be calibrated, flow returns to step 208. If all monitors have been calibrated, flow passes to step 220.
In step 220, the computer 152 stores the calibration data in the EDID data of the touchscreen controller 172, such as in memory 180. The calibration data may also be defined as a relationship data value. It should be understood that the calibration data may be stored in the monitor controller 162 in place of, or in addition to, the touchscreen controller 172. Returning to
In step 222, the computer 152 stores the serial number of the monitor 154 in the EDID data of the touchscreen controller 172. If more than one monitor is installed within a touch monitor, such as the touch monitor 186, the serial numbers of each monitor 154, 188 and 190 are stored in the EDID data of the touchscreen controller 172. This step associates the touchscreen 158 and the monitor 154 (or monitors 154, 188 and 190) to one another. Therefore, when the EDID data of the touchscreen controller 172 is read by a customer's system, the system will know that the monitor 154 (or monitors 154, 188 and 190) is associated with the touchscreen 158 and will have the correct calibration for the touch monitors 150 and 186. Thus, when a customer installs the touch monitor 150 and 186, there is no need for the customer to associate the components or perform a calibration procedure.
The touch monitors 360-364 each comprise a monitor 302, 304 and 306 and a touchscreen 308, 310 and 312, respectively. Each of the monitors 302-306 comprise a display 366, 368 and 370, as previously discussed in
The computer 314 comprises a display 344 for displaying data, a memory 340 for storing data information, and a user interface 358, such as a keyboard and/or a mouse. Alternatively, the display 344 may be a touchscreen which accepts touch data input from a user.
In step 400, the system 300 may be either turned on or rebooted. In step 402, the computer 314 searches for and identifies the monitors 302-306 interconnected with the computer 314. The computer 314 may individually poll each of the monitors 302-306 and request the monitor controllers 328-332 to send any stored identification data values, such as the EDID data, stored within the memories 372-376. The computer 314 registers the manufacturer, serial number, and other information such as resolution of each of the monitors 302-306. The computer 314 may then display a box or other representation on the display 344 indicating each of the monitors 302-306. For example, boxes 346-356 are displayed on the display 344 indicating that six monitors are interconnected with the computer 314. The boxes 346, 348 and 350 may indicate monitors 302-306, respectively, while boxes 352, 354 and 356 indicate three additional monitors not shown in
In step 404, the computer 314 searches for and identifies the touchscreens 308-312 interconnected with the computer 314. For example, the computer 314 may load a touchscreen driver program which initiates the searching and identification process. As in step 402, the computer 314 may individually poll each of the touchscreens 308-312 and request the touchscreen controllers 334-338 to send any stored identification data values, such as the EDID data stored within the memories 378-382.
In step 406, the computer 314 stores the EDID data and/or identification data values from each of the monitor controllers 328-332 and the touchscreen controllers 334-338 in the memory 340. In step 408, the computer 314 identifies whether any of the monitors 302-306 is associated with any of the touchscreens 308-312. The computer 314 compares the serial number stored in the EDID data from each of the monitors 302-306 to the monitor serial number stored in the EDID data from each of the touchscreens 308-312. The computer 314 associates a monitor 302-306 with a touchscreen 308-312 when it determines that the same monitor serial number is stored in both. It should be understood that although the monitor serial number is used in the aforementioned example, a different unique identification number or string of characters may be used, such as the touchscreen serial number, a randomly generated number, and the like. However, it is important that an identification number or serial number be used only once within the system 300 to avoid conflict when identifying associations between components.
In step 410, the computer 314 determines, for each of the touchscreens 308-312 associated with a monitor 302-306, whether calibration data is also stored within the EDID data. The calibration information for the monitors 302-306 and associated touchscreens 308-312 is stored in the memory 340 of the computer 314. There is no need for the user to calibrate a touch monitor 360-364 that already has calibration values determined.
In step 412, the computer 314 determines whether any monitor 302-306 needs to be calibrated. For example, if one or more monitors 302-306, such as monitor 306, are not associated with a touchscreen 308-312 in step 408, the monitor 306 would need to be calibrated. Also, if the computer 314 found that a touchscreen 308-312, such as touchscreen 312, has the serial number of the monitor 306 stored in the EDID data, but does not have calibration data stored in the EDID data, the monitor 306 would need to be calibrated. If all of the monitors 302-306 have been calibrated, flow passes to step 414 and the method is complete. If any monitor 302-306, such as monitor 306, needs to be calibrated, flow passes to step 416 to calibrate the monitor 306. A calibration method such as the method of
After an identified monitor, such as monitor 306, has been calibrated, flow returns to step 412 to determine whether any other monitor 302-306 within the system 300 needs to be calibrated. Steps 412 and 416 are repeated until all monitors 302-306 are calibrated.
Alternatively, in step 418 the user may select an update button 342. The update button 342 may be a physical button, such as a key on a keyboard, or a software selection displayed on the display 344. Therefore, the system 300 can recognize newly installed or replaced monitors 302-306 without having to shut down and/or reboot the system 300. For example, if a new monitor 302-306 is installed, the update button 342 may be pressed. Flow passes to step 402 and the computer 314 starts the method of identifying the monitors 302-306 and touchscreens 308-312 interconnected with the computer 314.
Previously, when monitors, touchscreens, and/or touch monitors were installed in a customer's system, the customer's system did not know which components should be associated together. By installing a touchscreen and monitor(s) together as a touch monitor and calibrating the components with respect to each other prior to installation within a user's system, the touch monitor is easily, quickly, and successfully integrated into the user's system. Storing the monitor serial number or other identification number along with calibration data in the touchscreen controller allows the user's system to automatically identify associated components and their calibration information without user interaction, which is time consuming and prone to error.
While the invention has been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the claims.
