U.S. patent number RE38,419 [Application Number 09/808,917] was granted by the patent office on 2004-02-10 for computer interface device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to NCR Corporation. Invention is credited to Carol M. Auer, Daniel L. Castagno, Allen W. Haley, Jr., Harry J. Moore, IV, Sean E. O'Leary, Steven J. Paley, Thomas E. Rutt.
United States Patent |
RE38,419 |
Auer , et al. |
February 10, 2004 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Computer interface device
Abstract
A computer terminal device includes a flat screen display
element and a touch-sensitive element. Simulated keyboards can be
displayed on the display element and, in response to the touching
of the simulated keys, generate appropriate control signals. The
same flat screen display can also be used to display computer
output, either the result of calculations or the result of
information retrieval requests. The slim silhouette of this
terminal makes it ideal for hostile environments such as the
factory floor or the hospital room.
Inventors: |
Auer; Carol M. (Middletown,
NJ), Castagno; Daniel L. (Pickerington, OH), Haley, Jr.;
Allen W. (Columbus, OH), Moore, IV; Harry J. (Lincroft,
NJ), O'Leary; Sean E. (Eatontown, NJ), Paley; Steven
J. (Aberdeen, NJ), Rutt; Thomas E. (Asbury Park,
NJ) |
Assignee: |
NCR Corporation (Dayton,
OH)
|
Family
ID: |
30773174 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/808,917 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
862629 |
May 13, 1986 |
04725694 |
Feb 16, 1988 |
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
345/173; 715/811;
715/820 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
1/1626 (20130101); G06F 1/1656 (20130101); G06F
3/033 (20130101); G06F 3/04886 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
1/16 (20060101); G06F 3/033 (20060101); G09G
005/00 (); G08C 021/00 (); G02F 001/13 () |
Field of
Search: |
;345/173,104,76,810-813,817-820 ;178/18.01,18.1 |
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|
Primary Examiner: Chang; Kent
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Jenkens & Gilchrist
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A terminal comprising: a touch-sensitive electroluminescent
display surface for simultaneously displaying information and for
accepting input information through a touch-responsive area in said
display surface, and means for coupling said surface to a digital
computer for controlling said displaying and for storing and
processing said input information, and including means for defining
in said touch responsive area an essentially arbitrary pattern
.[.A.]. of primary information subareas of said touch-responsive
area for providing information, with each defined subarea
developing a preselected signal for said computer when touched, a
.Iadd.first .Iaddend.subarea .[.B.]. for recalling a previously
displayed pattern of primary information subareas, and .Iadd.second
.Iaddend.subareas .[.C.]. for calling up for display preselected
other patterns of primary information subareas.
2. The terminal of claim 1 wherein said .Iadd.first
.Iaddend.subarea .[.B.]. and .Iadd.said second .Iaddend.subareas
.[.C.]. direct said computer to carry out the respective functions
when touched.
3. A method of simulating a typewriting keyboard on a
touch-sensitive display surface comprising the steps of: (a)
displaying a typewriter keyboard arrangement on said display
surface, (b) responding to the touching of any of the key areas of
said keyboard display by generating the electric code corresponding
to the character assigned to the touched key area, and (c) altering
the labels on the key areas in response to the touching of a
special key area corresponding to a shift or control key to assign
different electric codes to these key areas corresponding to the
altered labels.
4. A terminal comprising: a touch-sensitive plasma display surface
for simultaneously displaying information and for accepting input
information through a touch-responsive area in said display
surface, and means for coupling said surface to a digital computer
for controlling said displaying and for storing and processing said
input information, and including means for defining in said touch
responsive area (a) an essentially arbitrary pattern of primary
information subareas of said touch-responsive area for providing
information, with each defined subarea developing a preselected
signal for said computer when touched, (b) a subarea for recalling
a previously displayed pattern of primary information subareas, and
(c) subareas for calling up for display preselected other patterns
of primary information subareas. .Iadd.
5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of displaying includes
correlating of the key areas of the display corresponding to
specific keyboard labels with electric signals generated by said
areas..Iaddend..Iadd.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein said specific keyboard labels
include alphabetic labels..Iaddend..Iadd.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprises the following steps:
responsive to the touching of a first special key area, deleting
said alphabetic keyboard on said display surface; and responsive to
the touching of a second special key area, displaying a numeric
keyboard on said display surface..Iaddend..Iadd.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein at least one label is the same on
each of said numeric and alphabetic keyboards..Iaddend..Iadd.
9. The method of claim 6 further comprises the following steps:
responsive to the touching of a first special key area, deleting
said alphabetic keyboard on said display surface; and responsive to
the touching of a second special key area, displaying a telephone
keypad on said display surface..Iaddend..Iadd.
10. The method of claim 5 wherein the specific keyboard labels
comprise capital letters..Iaddend..Iadd.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein said electric signals comprise
ASCII codes..Iaddend..Iadd.
12. The method of claim 11 wherein said ASCII codes are transmitted
to a computer..Iaddend..Iadd.
13. The method of claim 5 wherein the specific keyboard labels
comprise lower case letters..Iaddend..Iadd.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein said electric signals comprise
ASCII codes..Iaddend..Iadd.
15. The method of claim 14 wherein said ASCII codes are transmitted
to a computer..Iaddend..Iadd.
16. The method of claim 5 wherein said electric signals comprise
ASCII codes..Iaddend..Iadd.
17. The method of claim 3 wherein the typewriter keyboard
arrangement is a standard "q-w-e-r-t-y" typewriter
keyboard..Iaddend..Iadd.
18. The method of claim 3 wherein the altering step includes
erasing current labels on the keys and replacing the current labels
corresponding to the altered labels of said
keys..Iaddend..Iadd.
19. The method of claim 18 wherein the current labels are lower
case letters and altered labels are capital
letters..Iaddend..Iadd.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the altering step is effected in
response to the touching of the special key area corresponding to a
shift key..Iaddend..Iadd.
21. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of displaying is
carried out on said display surface comprising a flat display and a
touch-sensitive screen..Iaddend..Iadd.
22. The method of claim 21 wherein an output is produced in
response to the touching of the touch-sensitive screen, wherein the
key areas of said keyboard including the special key area have
associated x-y coordinates, and wherein the responding step
includes: translating the output from the touch-sensitive screen
into touched x-y coordinates; comparing the touched x-y coordinates
to the x-y coordinates associated with the special key area;
producing an electric code associated with the special key if the
touched x-y coordinates match the x-y coordinates of the special
key area; and delivering said electric code to a central
processor..Iaddend..Iadd.
23. The method of claim 22 wherein the delivering step is carried
out inside a hand-held terminal..Iaddend..Iadd.
24. The method of claim 22 wherein the delivering step is carried
out using a cord..Iaddend..Iadd.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the cord is flexible and
retractible..Iaddend..Iadd.
26. The method of claim 22 wherein the delivering step is carried
out using wireless technology..Iaddend..Iadd.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein the delivering step is carried
out using sonic communications links..Iaddend..Iadd.
28. The method of claim 26 wherein the delivering step is carried
out using radio communication links..Iaddend..Iadd.
29. The method of claim 26 wherein the delivering step is carried
out using infrared communication links..Iaddend..Iadd.
30. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of responding includes:
determining whether the touched key area is a special key area or
an alphanumeric key area..Iaddend.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to computers and computer terminals, and
more particularly, to small, compact and light-weight terminal
devices for computers and computer systems.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Flat display electroluminescent and plasma display devices are
well-known and have long been incorporated into computer terminal
devices, particularly for portable terminals and for portable
computers. Such portable computers are sometimes called "smart"
terminals or personal computers or work stations. While such flat
screen devices substantially reduce the size of computer terminals,
the standard keyboard, key pads, "mice," and other input devices
have required that even "portable" terminals be relatively bulky
despite the thin screen display.
It is also well-known to provide a touch-sensitive display screen
for computer terminals. By touching the screen at or near indicia
displayed on the screen, the user can select actions or graphic
display portions for further consideration or action. Thus, in
response to a touch, a command can be selected from a menu for
execution, a graphical element can be selected for enlargement,
movement or replication, or a data file can be selected for
processing. Such touch-responsive selections have the disadvantage,
however, of being totally dependent on the specific application for
which they were designed. General purpose input devices, such as
typewriter-type keyboards, were therefore also necessary for
generalized inputting.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present
invention, a light, portable, compact computer terminal is provided
by combining a flat screen display device with a touch-sensitive
overlayer. All or a portion of the display surface is used to
simulate a standard input device such as a standard "q-.[.u.].
.Iadd.w.Iaddend.-e-r-t-y" typewriter keyboard or a touch-tone
numerical telephone keypad. Simultaneously with the display of the
simulated input device, the areas of the display corresponding to
specific signals (alphanumerics, for example) are correlated with
the generation of the corresponding signals, ASCII codes, for
example.
It can be seen that a touch-sensitive screen in accordance with the
present invention can serve all of the input and output needs of a
computer terminal. A programmed microprocessor associated with the
terminal can be used to provide the screen displays and generate
the appropriate signals in response to touching the corresponding
selected portions of the screen. Such a device can be considerably
more compact than heretofore available computer terminals. True
portability of a computer terminal in accordance with the present
invention, particularly in a busy, and sometimes hostile, work
environment, permits such a terminal to be used as an electronic
clipboard, but with all of the processing power of a large
computer.
In accordance with one feature of the present invention, the
electronic clipboard terminal can be connected, by wires or by
standard wireless technology, to minicomputers or large main frame
computers to obtain the advantages of complex computing capability
and access to large data bases.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the
portable terminal can be used to simulate a standard keyboard, a
standard telephone key pad, a standard numerical key pad, a
stenographic machine, or any other standard finger-operated data
input device. Moreover, the same screen which is used as a
simulated input device can also be used as a standard output or
display device, either at different times or at different locations
("windows") on the display surface. Finally, such versatility is
entirely under the control of software in a digital computer and
hence can be called upon automatically in response to
computer-derived signals. In this way, a standard simulated
keyboard is displayed only at those times when alphabetic input is
appropriate, a numerical key pad is displayed only when numeric
input is appropriate, a telephone key pad is displayed only when a
telephone number must be supplied, and so forth.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a computer terminal in accordance with the
present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the computer terminal of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the terminal of the
present invention showing the construction of the multilayer
screen;
FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of a standard typewriter
keyboard display for use with the terminal of the present
invention;
FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of a telephone key pad display
for use with the terminal of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a graphical representation of a display for a special
application of the terminal of the present invention in the
hospital environment;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing one application of the terminal of
the present invention for the generation of standard typewriter
alphanumeric ASCII codes to control a computer;
FIG. 8 is a detailed block diagram of the electrical circuits of
the terminal of FIGS. 1 through 6; and
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of one application of a computer system
in which the terminal of FIGS. 1 through 6 might be a part.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 are plan
and elevation views, respectively, of a portable computer terminal
in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present
invention. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the terminal 10 has two planar
surfaces 11 and 13 at an angle to each other. Planar surface 11
includes an opening 12 which provides visual access to a flat
screen display .[.divice.]. .Iadd.device .Iaddend.inside of
terminal .[.1.]. .Iadd.10.Iaddend.. As can best be seen in FIG. 2,
the planar surfaces 11 and 13 define an angle of approximately 140
degrees therebetween. A retractile cord 14 may be attached to
terminal 10 as means for connecting terminal 10 to computing
facilities outside of terminal 10, should that be necessary or
.[.desireable.]. .Iadd.desirable.Iaddend.. Alternatively, terminal
10 can be electrically coupled to such external computing
facilities by well-known wireless technology using ultrasonic sound
waves, radio waves, infra-red waves or other wireless media.
In FIG. 3, there is shown an exploded view of portions of the
terminal 10 to illustrate the construction of the display screen
elements which fit into opening 12 of surface 11. This display area
comprises a flat electroluminescent or plasma display screen 15, a
touch-sensitive layer 16, and a transparent protective layer 17.
These three layers are sandwiched together and are visible through
the opening 12 on surface 11. Flat screen display devices are
well-known in the art and will not be further described here. Not
shown in FIG. 3 are the electrical wires and connections required
to operate flat display screen 15.
Similarly, touch-sensitive layer 16 is also well-known in the art
and will not be further described here. Not shown in FIG. 3 are the
electrical wires and connectors required to operate the touch
sensitive layer 16. It is sufficient for the present invention that
touch-sensitive layer 16 be capable of discriminating between
adjacent touched areas of a size commensurate with the size of the
human fingertip.
It will be noted that the terminal device 10 is designed to be
relatively thin and small for ease in portability. Moreover, the
sandwich construction of the display screen assists in the
terminal's thin profile and thus makes it possible for the terminal
device of the present invention to be used as an electronic
clipboard in relatively hostile environments such as the factory
floor or the hospital patient's room. The transparent protective
layer 17, for example, may be so constructed and so sealed to the
surface 11 as to protect components inside of terminal 10 from
corrosive or damaging elements in the environment in which terminal
10 is used.
In accordance with the present invention, the terminal 10 operates
as both an input and an output device for a computer which may
comprise a microprocessor included inside of the case of terminal
10 or which may comprise a .[.separator.]. .Iadd.separate
.Iaddend.computer to which terminal 10 is connected. The connection
between terminal 10 and such a computer can be had by way of
retractor cord 14 (to permit relative mobility of terminal 10) or
by a wireless connection such as is commonly found in home
entertainment units using wireless remote control devices. In any
event, and in accordance with the present invention, the terminal
10 includes a display surface 20 on which there can be displayed a
plurality of diverse keyboard simulations. The touch-sensitive
layer 16 is then used to identify the various key areas of such
displayed keyboards and to generate appropriate electrical signals
in response to the touch of each of the graphically defined key
areas. This capability permits the terminal 10 to operate as if it
included a plurality of different mechanical keyboards. Indeed, and
in further accordance with the present invention, different
varieties of simulated keyboards can be displayed on surface 20,
depending on the particular needs of the user.
On example of such a simulated keyboard is shown in FIG. 4, where
there is shown a display of a standard typewriter keyboard which
can be used as an input device for standard alpha-numeric
characters for inputting standard text. The keyboard display of
FIG. 4 may also be used for standard text processing chores such as
editing. In the alternative, and as shown in FIG. 5, the display
surface 20 may be used to display a standard telephone key pad
which can be used to establish telephone connections with remote
computers or remote data bases when desired by the user of terminal
10. Finally, and as illustrated in FIG. 6, the terminal 10 may have
displayed in display area 20 keys which are totally dependent on
the particular application for which the terminal 10 is used.
In FIG. 6, for example, there is shown a display suitable for a
terminal 10 used in a hospital room environment where it is
necessary to collect and record the vital signs for a particular
patient. Across the top of the display of FIG. 6 appears
identifying information concerning the particular patient. Also
included in FIG. 6 are a plurality of key areas which the user may
touch in order to indicate the particular type of data being
submitted. Following the touching of one of these keys, a standard
numerical keyboard can be displayed for inputting numerical data or
a standard typewriter keyboard as shown in FIG. 4 may be displayed
for inputting text. Thus, the application-dependent display of FIG.
6 can provide a mechanism for obtaining the use of
application-independent input devices (FIGS. 4 and 5) for the
collection of specific types of information. Each of the displays
shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 include a key 31 labelled "continue." Key
31 is used to return the display to whatever display was present
before the current display. Thus, if, during the display of FIG. 6,
the user wishes to input text for the "REASON" field near the top
of the display of FIG. 6, the keyboard of FIG. 4 will be displayed
for text input. Following the text input, the "continue" key 31 of
FIG. 4 will be touched, thereby restoring the display of FIG.
6.
In order to better understand the operation of the terminal 10 of
the present invention, the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 will now be
discussed. In FIG. 7, there is shown a flow chart of a typical
touch-screen keyboard operation. For illustrative purposes, a
flowchart of the operation of the typewriter keyboard of FIG. 4
will be described, although the operation of other types of general
purpose or application-dependent keying systems will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art from this description.
Turning then to FIG. 7, the keyboard operation starts at start box
30. In box 31, the current display which appears on the screen 20
is stored for later retrieval and restoral after the use of the
typewriter keyboard is completed. In box 32, and under software
control, the touchscreen areas which are to represent key areas are
defined in x and y coordinates, and the visual appearances of the
keys are drawn on the flat display screen 15 of FIG. 3. In box 33,
the displayed key boxes are .[.labelled.]. .Iadd.labeled
.Iaddend.with labels appropriate to the particular use of the
simulated keyboard. For a typewriter keyboard, the labels shown in
FIG. 4 would be appropriate. Of course, for other keyboards, i.e.,
the telephone key pad of FIG. 5, other .[.labelling.].
.Iadd.labeling .Iaddend.arrangements would be used. At box 34, the
circuits of terminal 10 simply wait until the touch-sensitive
screen 16 of terminal 10 detects the fact that the surface of the
screen has been touched. When the screen is touched, box 34
translates the touch-responsive signals from layer 16 into x-y
coordinates on the display surface. In decision box 35, the x-y
coordinates of the touched point are compared to the predefined x-y
coordinates associated with the displayed keys. If the touched
point lies outside of all of such predefined key areas, then box 34
is reentered to await another touch-responsive signal.
If the coordinates of the touched point on the screen correspond to
a predefined key area, then box 36 is entered to determine the
particular character or numeral which that key is intended to
generate. In decision box 37, it is determined whether that
character corresponds to one of the shift keys on the typewriter
display. If so, box 38 is entered to erase the current labels on
the keys (as shown in FIG. 4) and replace these labels with labels
corresponding to the shifted values of these keys, e.g. capital
letter rather than lower case letters. Thus, unlike standard
keyboards, it is possible to relabel the keys in a transient manner
as key stroking takes place.
Once keys are relabeled in box 38, box 34 is re-entered to await
the next touch on the screen surface. If the key touched is not a
shift key, then decision box 39 is entered to determine whether or
not the continue key 31, shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, was touched.
This continue key is utilized in all keyboard displays to permit a
return to the immediately .[.preceeding.]. .Iadd.preceding
.Iaddend.display. Thus, if the continue key was touched, box 40 is
entered which deletes the typewriter display and restores the
previous display which was saved in box 31. If the continue key was
not touched, then box 41 is entered, and the ASCII value of the key
that was touched is transmitted to the connected computer or
transmission link. Thereafter, box 34 is again re-entered to await
the next touch on the touch-sensitive screen.
Referring more particularly to FIG. 8, there is shown a block
diagram of the internal circuitry of the terminal 10. The internal
circuitry of terminal 10 comprises, among other things, the flat
display 15 and the touch-sensitive screen 16. A decoder circuit 50
is responsive to the touch screen 16 and translates the output from
touch-sensitive screen 16 (which may well be analog electrical
signals) into x-y coordinates. The touch screen decoder circuit, in
turn, communicates with the video controller 51 which maintains the
keyboard display on display device 15 and compares the x-y
coordinates of the touched point to the predefined x-y coordinates
of the displayed screen. In response to matches, controller 51
produces ASCII characters which are delivered to a central
processor in computer 52.
Video controller 51 and computer 52 may, as illustrated in FIG. 8,
be part of the hand-held terminal 10. In the alternative,
controller 51 and computer 52 may be remotely located, and a
flexible and retractile cord used to connect the portable elements
15, 16 and 50 to the balance of the circuitry. In the alternative,
this connection can be had using wireless technology such as sonic,
radio or infrared communication links. Indeed, computer 52 might
well comprise an entry point to a vast computer network including
large amounts of extremely complex computation capability or access
to large databases, the contents of which may prove useful in the
particular application in which terminal 10 is being used. Thus,
terminal 10, although small and simple in itself, can be used as an
access mechanism to much larger and much more complex data
processing or data retrieval capabilities.
One particular application of terminal 10 is shown in FIG. 9. In
FIG. 9, the terminal 10 is used as a bedside terminal in a hospital
patient's room. Thus, a terminal similar to terminal 10 is
available for each patient's bed in the hospital and is used much
like the clipboard currently maintained manually for each patient's
records. The bedside terminals 10 for each of the wards 70 are
connected to medium-sized computers, each one servicing one of the
wards in the hospital. These mini-computers, in turn, are
connected, via communication path 74, to larger computers 71 and 72
which include financial and medical records for each of the
patients (in computer 71) or hospital inventory and diagnostic
tools available in another computer 72. A plurality of clinics 73
also associated with the hospital are likewise connected to
backbone communication path 74, and communicate with standard
computer terminals 75 to enter outpatient data into mini-computers
servicing each of the clinics 73. Standard computer terminals 76
serve as input and output devices for computer 71 to permit patient
registration, billing and other financial and administrative
functions. Other hospital sub-systems, such as laboratories,
pharmaceutical dispensories, visitors desks, and so forth, may be
connected to the same computer system. The bedside terminals 10
therefore have access to all of the data generated and stored in
these other sub-systems, as well as the computing power of the
large mainframe computers 71 and 72.
The system illustrated in FIG. 9 might well also comprise a factory
in which terminals 10 are used at the various workstations while
the other sub-systems encompass functions such as inventory, new
orders for output, purchasing, and so forth. The small size and
rugged design of terminals 10 would serve extremely well in such an
environment as well as the hospital room.
* * * * *
References