CN101369198A - Flexible multi-touch point panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a flexible touch panel, at least comprising: a flexible board; one or more sensors can detect a plurality of synchronous touch positions and generate corresponding signals. A method of a flexible display, comprising: driving one or more sensors; on the flexible touch panel, a plurality of synchronous touch positions are detected. The invention also provides a flexible multi-touch screen device, at least comprising: a display as a user interface; a flexible multi-touch panel is combined with the display to detect a plurality of synchronous touch positions.

Description

Soft multi-touch panel

technical field

The invention relates to a touch panel, in particular to a flexible multi-touch panel.

Background technique

Nowadays, electronic devices provide more and more functions with smaller size and weight. Reduce costs and increase reliability by continuously integrating more functions. Usually, touch panels are combined with common displays such as cathode ray tube displays (CRTs), liquid crystal displays (LCD), plasma displays, and electroluminescent displays to provide an easy-to-control touch display. Instruments made of touch surfaces commonly used today can only be used to sense the position of a touch.

Today, many computer input devices. It usually works by using a moving cursor and/or making selections directly on the screen. For example, input devices include buttons or keys, a mouse, a trackball, a touch pad, a joystick, a touch panel, and the like. However, touch panels are becoming more and more popular because of their ease of operation and flexibility, as well as their falling prices. The touch panel allows the user to use a finger or a stylus to directly or indirectly use a cursor to make a selection on the touch panel. Generally speaking, the touch panel confirms the touch and position, and then the computer system processes the touch data, and then provides a corresponding action according to the touch data.

There are several common touch panel technologies on the market, including resistive, capacitive, infrared, surface acoustic wave, electromagnetic, and near-field imaging. Each touch technology has its design or configuration advantages and disadvantages. Resistive technology is to coat a thin layer of metal on the touch panel to conduct electricity, and use the resistance to cause current changes to identify touch events and send them to the controller for processing. In capacitive technology, both sides of the panel are coated with conductive material, and the outside is covered with a scratch-resistant coating. Electrodes around the glass plate create a uniform low-voltage electric field on the outer conductive layer; the inner conductive layer provides electromagnetic shielding and reduces noise. Whenever a finger touches the screen, it will generate capacitive coupling with the electric field on the outer conductive layer, and absorb a small current. Each electrode is responsible for measuring the current from each corner, and then the coordinates of the finger are determined by the controller.

The glass plate of the wave touch screen does not have any coating film. The converters at the four corners of the screen convert the signal from the controller into ultrasonic waves on the glass plate, and the reflectors at the four sides are responsible for generating standing wave patterns. Once the finger touches the screen, part of the standing wave is absorbed. At this point the converter detects the relative attenuation, and the controller can determine the coordinates of the finger.

Strain gage technology is to install strain gauges on the four corners of the screen to determine the deflection of the screen when it is touched. This technology also measures the Z axis.

Dispersive signal technology (DST) has been developed since 2002. When we touch the touch panel, a certain shock wave will be formed in the panel, and then the complex shock wave will be converted to calculate the actual position, which is similar to the general surface wave The difference is that DST is a technology that detects waves in the medium. Therefore, any surface water droplets, dirt, or oil will not affect the detection of touch and cause any interference. DST has no size limit.

Acoustic Pulse Recognition Touch Technology (APR) uses a simple and elegant way of sound recognition to measure the position of the touched point on the glass. The key is that every point of contact on the glass produces a unique sound. Four tiny transceivers attached to the glass at the edge of the touchscreen pick up the sound of the contact, which is digitized by the controller and compared to a previously recorded list of sounds for each position on the glass, and the cursor position is immediately updated to the touch position . The APR is designed to ignore extraneous and ambient noise as they do not coincide with pre-recorded audio recordings.

The above technologies, such as capacitance, can be used for multi-touch detection. The multi-touch panel is a new trend of the touch panel. But these multi-touch panel devices are solid, and their rigid substrates or materials will impair the mobility of these devices, such as those used in notebook computers, palmtop computers, mobile phones, and the like. The weight and impact resistance of touch panels are important factors for mobile devices to consider whether to use touch panels. Mobile devices also require more flexibility than general fixed devices. Rigid, brittle, and heavy are not the components needed for today's light, resilient devices. Similar considerations apply to the requirements for large displays mounted in cars and walls. Hard, brittle substrates or materials also increase the thickness of the product, reducing the commercial advantage of a product.

Touch sensing also requires sensors mounted on glass substrates. These sensors further add to the weight, cost and complexity of the instrument. Flat touch panels also do not meet the needs of non-flat or curved displays. Additionally, expensive tooling is required to manufacture curved, rigid substrates. Also in terms of glass, it has to be cut from glass substrates to fit the requirements, which makes manufacturing very expensive and time consuming. All these weaknesses can be improved in the soft multi-touch panel.

Contents of the invention

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a touch panel which is thin, light, easy to manufacture, low in cost and capable of detecting multi-point simultaneous touch.

The present invention is a flexible (flexible) touch panel, which at least includes: a flexible board; one or more sensors, which can detect several synchronous touch positions and generate corresponding signals. A method for a flexible display at least includes: driving one or more sensors; and detecting several synchronous touch positions on a flexible touch panel.

The present invention also provides a flexible (flexible) multi-touch screen device, at least comprising: a display as a user interface; a flexible multi-touch panel combined with the above-mentioned display, capable of detecting several synchronous touch positions .

The efficacy of the invention lies in that it significantly improves the problems of the conventional touch panel, and makes the touch panel thinner, lighter, easier to manufacture, lower in cost and capable of detecting multi-point simultaneous touch. The invention makes the touch panel more reliable, cheaper, lighter, more flexible, more transparent, more durable, easier to control, improve performance, lower cost, easier to manufacture, and can increase plasticity, light transmission, impact resistance , and allows multi-point simultaneous contact, making the touch panel operation easier and more humanized.

The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, but not as a limitation of the present invention.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 presents one of the specific embodiments of the flexible multi-touch panel display according to the present invention;

Figure 2 shows the present invention showing a multi-party touch panel plus most components;

Figure 3 shows a transparent flexible multi-touch panel, which is one of the specific embodiments of the present invention;

Fig. 4 illustrates a transparent flexible multi-touch panel, which is one of the specific embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flexible multi-touch panel device, which is one of the specific embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The present invention is generally applicable to soft touch systems, since it is a multi-touch soft panel for one or more users. The present invention is particularly suitable for simultaneous occurrence of several touches or overlapping of partial touches. A specific embodiment of the present invention is that one or more users search for a location on the same electronic map at the same time, and the users can synchronously touch the input to make the map respond. The synchronous touch input can be overlapping touch, double touch or synchronous touch. After the map is used, it can be rolled up for storage to reduce the occupied space.

On the touch panel, the touch location is determined by measuring and comparing independent signals generated by the user's touch panel to calculate the touch location. Whereas position-related data is associated with certain actions or commands, for example, current, voltage, electromagnetism, light energy, energy waves, bending motion, acceleration, pressure per unit area, and related methods to measure signals. Assuming an accurate touch panel, the calculated position should be close to the actual position, so that the user's input command can be executed reliably. The resolution determines that the error between the actual touch position and the detected position should be within an acceptable range. A detection within the margin of error is considered a valid detection.

Generally speaking, the touch control of the touch panel should include three steps: touch down, continuous contact, and pull out. The signal measurement calculation is to compare the signal at the touch position with the background signal, and the background signal is the residual signal when no touch occurs. When a touch occurs, the signal changes from its background value to a new value, called a persistent value, which is easily distinguished from the background value. The change from the background value to the continuous value is a signal of touch down. The touch occurs and lasts for a limited period of time, which is called the duration, which is continuous contact. Under ideal conditions, its signal will not be interrupted, or its fluctuation range is continuously greater than the background value. As long as the time is long enough, the touch position should be measured smoothly. When the touch ends, the signal value returns to the background signal value, which is called pull-off.

Generally, there are restrictions on the use of touch panels. In some cases, simultaneous touch or overlapping touch by more than two people is not allowed. For example, a touch-sensitive electronic map, the user will give instructions to the map at the same time. Even if each user uses different places on the electronic map, overlapping touch time cannot be avoided.

The invention provides synchronous position detection of multiple touch points for a flexible multi-touch panel. Technologies available for touch panels include, for example, Dispersive signal technology (DST), resistance technology, capacitance technology, electromagnetic induction technology, surface wave technology, acoustic pulse wave recognition touch technology, strain gauge technology, optical technology or other suitable touch panel technology.

A specific embodiment of a device includes a soft touch panel connected to a controller. The flexible touch panel is a kind of transparent panel, which is placed in front of the flexible display, behind the flexible display, beside the flexible elastic display or between the displays. The flexible touch panel can be combined with a flexible display, or can be formed separately. The substrate of the flexible touch panel can be shared with the display or can be owned independently. The flexible touch panel transmits information to the controller after the touch panel receives user input. In most cases, the soft touch panel confirms the position of the touch and the magnitude of its force. The soft touch panel transmits information to the controller, and the controller performs operations according to the program.

According to one embodiment, the soft touch panel can track multiple targets, including being stationary, tapping or sliding on the surface of the soft touch panel at the same time. For example, multi-objects can be made by fingers, palms, pens or any tools. Since the soft touch panel can track multiple targets, users can touch different targets at the same time. For example, when a user selects an item from a menu with one finger, another finger can move a cursor. In addition, the user can also operate the buttons on one screen while scrolling the scroll bar with another finger. Furthermore, one finger is dragging an object while another finger can be dragging another object at the same time. Of course, all actions can be operations of more than one touch point.

A flexible touch panel generally includes sensors designed to sense the proximity and/or touch of an object. The sensor can be diverse. In a specific embodiment, the sensor is divided into several independent and isolated detection points, nodes or areas on the entire soft touch panel. The sensors are usually hidden and distributed on the soft touch panel, and each sensor represents an area on the panel. The sensor can be placed on a grid or a pixel array, and sends out a signal when a touch is detected. In the simplest case, a sensor generates a signal immediately whenever it detects a touch. When an object is detected by multiple sensors simultaneously, multiple signals are generated simultaneously. In order to have soft properties, the sensor can be made of soft materials.

The combination of sensors can vary widely. The number of sensors depends on the desired sensitivity, softness and transparency of the desired touch panel. In general, increasing the sensitivity and softness of a sensor decreases its transparency at the same time (and vice versa). As for the sensor, a coordinate system is generally formed on the touch panel, and the coordinate system used may be a Cartesian coordinate system, a polar coordinate system or other coordinate systems. When using a Cartesian coordinate system, usually the sensor will be expressed in X and Y coordinates. When using a polar coordinate system, it is common to use radial coordinates (r) and angular coordinates (θ).

The flexible touch panel may include a sensing controller to receive information from the sensing device (sensor) and transmit the information to the processor. The other is that the sensor controller does not process the data but directly processes it to the processor. A specific embodiment is that the sensing controller directly transmits the raw data to the processor, and the processor processes the data. For example, the processor receives signal data from the sensor controller and then decides how to use the data. The data may include coordinate data where each sensor is located and pressure detected by each sensor. Another specific example is that the sensor itself processes the raw data. The sensor controller receives the signal from the sensor and converts the signal into data that the processor can understand. A sensing controller may perform filtering and/or conversion processes. Filtering procedures are usually implemented to reduce data congestion so that processors are not overloaded or receive useless data. The conversion process is to adjust the original data, and then send them to the processor. The conversion process may include determining the center position of each touch area.

The sensing controller can include a storage component to store the program of the touch panel, and the program can control various aspects of the soft touch panel. For example a touch panel program may contain output values (eg coordinates) based on sensors. In fact, the communication between the sensing controller and the touch panel can use a predetermined communication protocol. Since the general communication protocol is a set of rules and procedures between data exchange devices. Usually in the data communication protocol, the data to be transmitted is transmitted in a packet, which contains the required destination data, and corrects the wrong data along the way.

A sensing controller usually consists of one or more microcontrollers, each monitoring one or more sensors. A microcontroller may correspond to an integrated circuit in which and firmware monitors the sensing device and processes the signals, reporting the signals back to the processor.

In one embodiment, the sensing means are based on capacitive technology. Whenever two conductors are in close proximity without actually touching, this is the electric field that interacts to form capacitance. Such as a conductive sensor and another conductive object such as a finger. Due to the proximity of the object to the touch panel surface, a small amount of capacitance develops between the sensor and the object. By detecting the change in capacitance of the sensor at each location, the sensing controller can identify multiple objects and determine their position, pressure, direction, velocity and acceleration. For example, the sensing controller can sense when, where and how much force one or more fingers and palms are applied to the touch panel at the same time.

Purely capacitive sensing devices allow for great flexibility in design and construction. For example, sensing means can be based on self capacitance or mutual capacitance. In self-capacitance, each sensor provides a separate electrode, and when objects approach the touch panel surface, these objects draw some of the current away from the electrodes. The sensing controller detects the current drawn by the object in the electrode to determine the touch position of different objects. In mutual capacitance, the sensing device includes a double layer of separated wire mesh, and the double layer of separated wire mesh can also form a capacitor due to static electrodes. In the simplest case, the upper layer contains the courses of lines and the lower layer the columns of lines. The intersection of the upper and lower lines becomes a sensor. During operation, when the upper-layer horizontal line is close to or in contact with the lower-layer vertical line, one of them will attract the current from the other, and the controller can determine the touch of different objects as long as it detects the change. The position of the panel.

According to another particular embodiment, the sensing means are based on resistive technology. The resistive touch panel consists of a soft upper layer and a soft lower layer, wherein insulating materials, such as insulating points, are used as supports to separate the two layers and connect with the sensing controller. A transparent metal oxide or other suitable conductive paint is coated on the inner surface of the two layers as a sensor to facilitate the generation of a gradient when the voltage passes through each layer. When there is pressure on the soft upper layer, until the upper and lower layers are in contact, a closed circuit is generated. While the voltage changes between the two layers, the X and Y coordinates generated by the voltage are sent back to the sensing controller. The data from the sensing controller will be sent to the processor for calculation. By detecting the change in resistance of the sensors at each location, the sensing controller can identify multiple objects and determine their position, pressure, direction, velocity and acceleration. For example, the sensing controller can sense when, where and how much force one or more fingers and palms are applied to the touch panel at the same time.

Purely resistive sensing devices allow for great flexibility in design and construction. For example, sensing means can be based on self-resistance or mutual resistance. In self-resistance, each sensor provides a separate metal oxide-coated bottom layer. When the panel surface is pressed by an external object, the upper layer is connected to the metal oxide-coated bottom layer to create a closed circuit. The sensing controller will detect the change of current in different areas between the upper and lower layers to determine the touch position of different objects. In mutual resistance, the sensing device consists of a double layer separated metal oxide wire network. In the simplest case, the upper layer contains the courses of lines and the lower layer the columns of lines. The intersection of the upper and lower lines becomes a sensor. In the process of operation, when the upper-layer horizontal line and the lower-layer vertical line are in contact, one of them will attract the current of the other to form a closed circuit, and the controller only needs to detect the change to determine the contact between different objects. Control the position of the touch panel.

According to FIG. 3 , the flexible multi-touch panel can detect the positions and strengths of multiple objects being touched at the same time. The touch panel is based on multiple transparent sensors 30 to represent different positions on the touch panel. The sensor is used to sense touch input from one or more nearby objects. The sensor is connected 33 to the sensing controller by means of a thin flexible conductive wire in the void. The sensors must be independent of each other, and the gap between the sensors must be as small as possible to maximize the detection area and minimize the visual difference between the gap and the sensor.

The light, thin and soft conductive wire 32 is in contact with the sensor to transmit electrical signals and connect the sensor with the sensing controller. The sensing controller 31 includes one or more sensor chips to measure the information of each sensor and report a signal to the main controller. For example, the sensor chip can convert the analog signal and transmit the digital data to the main controller through the bus. Any number of sensor chips can be utilized. For example, a single chip can be used for all sensors or multiple chips can be used for a single or group of sensors.

Sensors, sensing controllers, and wires are generally made of materials that transmit light. In most cases, it is composed of light-transmitting soft materials such as thin glass or plastic. The preferred material is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), but other suitable soft materials such as polycarbonate polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyether sulfone, polyimide polyether imide, cellulose acetate, polyethylene naphthalene, etc. While sensors, wires and conductive layers can use indium tin oxide (ITO) or conductive ink, the most suitable material is silver paste conductive ink, which can be applied by printing. In addition, the sensor chip of the sensing controller can be connected to the wires using any suitable technique.

The distribution of sensors can be wide and varied. For example, the sensor can be placed anywhere on the touch panel. The sensors can be placed randomly or arranged in a certain way. The location of a sensor may depend on the location of its coordinates. Furthermore, the sensor can be composed of any shape, even simple (eg, square, circular, elliptical, triangular, rectangular, polygonal, etc.) or complex (eg, random shapes). Furthermore, the sensors may be of the same shape or of different shapes. The shape is generally chosen to maximize the detection area and minimize the visual difference between the gap and the sensor.

According to FIG. 4 , another specific embodiment of the invention is different from the above touch panel, the sensing device includes a double-layer separated metal oxide wire network. In most cases, the lines 40 of each layer are parallel to each other. In addition, for different layers of circuit configurations, the intersection of the upper layer and the lower layer of the circuit becomes a sensor 41 , and each sensor represents a different coordinate of the touch panel. The sensor is used to sense touch input from one or more nearby objects. The upper layer provides the conductive wires, while the bottom layer provides the sensing wires (and vice versa). The conductive wires are connected to a voltage source, and respective drive currents are passed through the conductive wires. That is, only where the contact occurs is triggered, and all other lines are grounded. They work like driving raster scans. The sensing wires are connected to the sensing controller, and the sensing controller is constantly monitoring the sensing wires. Each sensing wire uses a soft material such as conductive ink.

When the currents of the conductive wires intersect at the node, each sensing controller detects the change of the current of the parallel sensing wires. Thereafter, the currents on another conductive line intersect at another node so that each sensing controller detects a change in the current of another parallel sensing line. This happens sequentially until all lines have been driven and sensed. Once all lines have been driven, the drivers reorder (repeat). In most cases, the conductive wires are driven sequentially from one end to the other.

The sensing controller 42 includes one or more sensor chips to respectively measure the signals of different sensing lines, and report the results to the main controller. For example, the sensor chip can convert the analog signal and transmit the digital data to the main controller through the bus. Any number of sensor chips can be utilized. For example, a single chip can be used for all sense lines or multiple chips can be used for a single or group of sense lines.

The sensing wires and conductive wires are generally made of materials that transmit light. In most cases, it is composed of light-transmitting soft materials such as thin glass or plastic. The preferred material is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), but other suitable soft materials such as polycarbonate polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyether sulfone, polyimide polyether imide, cellulose acetate, polyethylene naphthalene, etc. While the sensing line, conductive line and conductive layer can be made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or conductive ink, the most suitable material is silver paste conductive ink, which can be applied by printing. In addition, the sensor chip of the sensing controller can be connected to the wires using any suitable technique.

The distribution of sensing lines and conductive lines can be wide and varied. For example, sensing lines and conductive lines can be placed anywhere on the touch panel. The sensing lines and conductive lines can be placed randomly or arranged in a certain way. The positions of the sensing lines and conductive lines may depend on the position of their coordinates. In addition, any number of sensing lines and conductive lines can be formed, depending on the desired degree of interpretation. In addition, the numbers of sensing wires and conductive wires can be the same or different. The selection of the quantity is generally determined by the surface area and shape of the panel and the width of the sensing line and the conductive line.

The above is just an example of the technology used in the preliminary flexible multi-touch panel. In addition to the above examples, there are many different technologies that can be used in the flexible multi-touch panel, such as Dispersivesignal technology ( DST), electromagnetic induction technology, surface wave technology, acoustic pulse wave recognition touch technology, strain gauge technology, optical technology or other suitable touch panel technology, etc. All flexible touch panel technologies capable of detecting simultaneous multi-point touch are suitable for the implementation of the present invention.

The flexible multi-touch panel device in FIG. 1 is a specific embodiment of a flexible multi-touch panel. In this specific embodiment, both the display 11 and the touch surface 10 board are flexible. The flexible display can be a small molecule light emitting display (OLED), polymer light emitting display (PLED), active matrix liquid crystal display, passive matrix liquid crystal display, electrophoretic display, cholesteric liquid crystal display, polymer dispersed liquid crystal display, nematic liquid crystal Displays, rotating ball image displays or any display with flexible features, can be transparent or non-transparent, three-dimensional or two-dimensional display. Accordingly, its construction may comprise any suitable flexible substrate 12, such as plastic, thin metal, thin glass, or any flexible material, one material that may be used for the substrate is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) . In addition to polyethylene terephthalate, other suitable materials for flexible board substrates, such as polycarbonate polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polyethersulfone, polyimide polyetherimide, acetate element, polyethylene naphthalene, etc.

In FIG. 2, the graphics display control program in the display controller 22 is used to generate graphics on the display according to the image numbers. And this procedure also includes displaying the characteristics of the user's output on the flexible display. The coordinate sensing process is to detect the touch input made by the user on the panel in response to the demand of the soft touch panel. The detection includes a user simultaneously touching two points on the same panel, and the two coordinate positions are detected and analyzed by the multi-touch panel controller 23 .

A specific composition embodiment of a multi-touch panel display device is a flexible touch panel 21 covering a flexible display 20 .

The positional relationship calculation program is a calculation program for calculating the positional relationship between points for users who operate the touch panel synchronously. Alternatively, it can be a program to calculate the states of two touch points of a user. According to this procedure, at least one distance between two points and an angle connecting the two points can be calculated. Here, the angle connecting two points is the angle formed between the line between the two points and a reference line such as a horizontal line. In addition, because the direction of the angle also needs to be considered, such as a left angle, it is a counterclockwise direction, which can be regarded as a positive direction. The angle of a connecting line can be simply referred to as the angle between two points. When two coordinate points (X1, Y1) and (Y1, Y2) are detected, the distance L between the two points and the angle [θ] can be calculated by the Pythagorean theorem. In addition, in this embodiment, the center point (central coordinate) between two points can also be calculated according to this procedure. These distances, angles, intermediate coordinates, etc., can trigger a program to detect and calculate at intervals.

The motion sensing program is used to detect moving touches. Mobile computing is a set of calculations controlling the characteristics of the user's touch movement, and the characteristics of the user's touch movement are determined by the mobile calculation. Movement calculations include multiple movement parameters. In this particular embodiment, movement speed, steering angle, acceleration, direction, etc. are parameters for movement calculations. For another example, the movement calculation is based on at least one distance between two points and their online angle. Specifically, in mobile computing, moving speed is a set of calculations based on the distance between two points, and steering angle is a set of calculations based on the online angle between two points. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the display of the characteristic position of the mobile user is based on the intermediate point between two points.

The motion-based calculation is calculated by the motion detection program. Therefore, the user can use the touch of two fingers to control the speed, steering angle, acceleration, direction, etc. of the user's features.

In addition, when the motion detection program is executed, when the positional relationship between the distance and angle between the two touch points changes during the calculation process, all related calculations need to be changed accordingly. Specifically, if the moving speed of the user feature changes between two points, its moving acceleration should also change accordingly. For another example, if the number of distance changes, the speed, acceleration or deceleration will all change accordingly. In addition, the user's steering angle will change as the angle between the two points changes. In addition, the position display of the user feature is changed according to the calculation of the current center point.

The motion control program is calculated based on the motion detection program. Therefore, the user can change the distance or angle between the two touch points to change the speed and steering angle.

The movement control program controls the movement of user features. The movement of user characteristics is based on movement calculations. More specifically, the movement of the user feature is controlled by computing the velocity detected by the motion detection program. In addition, the rotation, rotation or change of direction of the user feature is controlled by calculating the steering angle detected by the motion detection program. In addition, the position display of the user's feature is controlled by calculating the central point detected by the motion detection program.

In addition, the touch area calculation program is used to calculate the area of the user's touch point during the synchronous operation. According to this procedure, at least one area touched by the user is calculated. Here, the touch area is formed by connecting multiple touch points together. Furthermore, by scouting connected touch points, it is not difficult to calculate the shape and size of the touch area.

The above is just an example of the preliminary procedure and control to detect and calculate the touch position. In addition to the above examples, there are many different techniques for detecting and calculating the touch position that can be applied to the present invention.

In one embodiment, the flexible multi-touch panel device may include a processor 25 for executing instructions and operating components. For example, by using instructions to retrieve and access memory, the processor can also control the input and output of data to the components in the device. The processor can be a single-chip microcomputer, or it can be composed of multiple components.

A specific embodiment is a flexible multi-touch panel device that uses the communication module 26 to communicate with other devices. In general, the communication module provides a communication network to support general communication software and protocol stacks, and supports wired or wireless networks, and the module can be detachable or non-detachable. The communication technology used can be Ethernet network, PSTN telephone network, ISDN network, asymmetric digital subscriber loop, TCP/IP protocol technology, 802.11b, 802.11n, 2G (GSM, GPRS, CDMA, etc.), 3G (WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc. ), 4G (OFDM, etc.) 5G, WiFi, WiMAX, Wireless LAN, WiBro, MobileFi (IEEE802.20), infrared, ultra-wideband, ultrasonic, microwave, VSAT, ACTS, digital video broadcasting (BVD-S, BVD-S2 , BVD-C, BVD-T, BVD-H), MediaFLO, wireless Bluetooth communication or other network technologies. Including a communication module, the device can be a mobile phone, a palmtop computer, a portable electronic device, a menu, a monitor, a remote controller, a keyboard, a questionnaire, a notebook computer or other devices that need to communicate.

A specific embodiment is a flexible multi-touch panel device capable of storing data. In general, the storage medium 28 or storage memory 24 will provide data storage of traditional software and related hardware, and the storage medium or storage memory can be detachable or non-detachable. The communication technology used can be hard disk, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, DVD, flash memory, RAM memory or any other storage media or memory. Including storage media, the device can be a movie player, computer, music player, electronic book, electronic file, electronic art file, electronic photo, electronic painting, artwork, window, car window, business card, label, controller, Game consoles, cameras, calculators, video cameras, advertising billboards, electronic bulletin boards, vending machines, service machines, watches, clocks, clothes, glasses, keyboards, signs, teaching boards, database storage devices, or other storage media or memory required installation.

A specific embodiment is a positionable flexible multi-touch panel device. In general, the positioning module 27 will provide positioning functions of traditional software and related hardware, and the positioning module can be detachable or non-detachable. The positioning technology used may be Global Positioning System (GPS), A-GPS, E-OTD, TDOA, AFLT or other positioning technologies. A positioning module is included, and the device can be an electronic map, a global positioning system device, an electronic positioning device or other positioning devices. If a transparent display is used, it can be installed on the windshield of the vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a specific embodiment of a soft touch point panel device 50 and a display 51 within the device. If not in use, it can be rolled up for storage.

The above descriptions are only preliminary examples of multi-touch point panel devices. Apart from the above examples, there are many devices in different forms that are applicable to the present invention.

Certainly, the present invention also can have other multiple embodiments, without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make various corresponding changes and deformations according to the present invention, but these corresponding Changes and deformations should belong to the scope of protection of the appended claims of the present invention.

Claims (19)

1. a soft contact panel is characterized in that, comprises at least:

A) a soft panel;

B) one or with upper sensor, can detect several synchronous position of touch on the panel.

2. soft contact panel according to claim 1 is characterized in that contact panel more comprises the multi-touch control point panel controller, as the usefulness of several synchronous position of touch of identification.

3. soft contact panel according to claim 1 is characterized in that, more comprises the usefulness of sensor as the single position of touch of detecting.

4. soft contact panel according to claim 1 is characterized in that, sensor comprises and has soft characteristic.

5. soft contact panel according to claim 1 is characterized in that flexible base plate comprises: several sensor and call wires soft and mutual isolation; Each sensor is located on the diverse location of soft contact panel, and is connected with watch-dog by call wire separately.

6. soft contact panel according to claim 1 is characterized in that contact panel comprises:

One flexible base plate, it comprises several call wires soft and that isolate mutually;

One second soft board of separating with above-mentioned flexible base plate, it comprises call wire soft and that isolate mutually;

The call wire of above-mentioned two soft boards is staggered to form sensor at the diverse location of soft contact panel, and call wire all is connected with watch-dog.

7. the How It Works of a soft contact panel is characterized in that, comprises at least:

A) drive one or with upper sensor;

B) on soft contact panel, detect several synchronous position of touch.

8. the How It Works of soft contact panel according to claim 7 is characterized in that, more comprises the detecting of several touch-control areas.

9. the How It Works of soft contact panel according to claim 7 is characterized in that, the moving direction, translational speed, direction that more comprises several touch-controls change or add/and the detecting of retarded velocity.

10. a flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus is characterized in that, comprises at least:

A) display is as user's interface;

B) flexible multi-touch control point panel combines with aforementioned display device, can detect several synchronous position of touch.

11. multi-touch screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that, contact panel can be placed on before the display, afterwards, between or the next door.

12. flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that, comprises that more a communication module makes the usefulness of communication.

13. flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that display more comprises soft characteristic.

14. flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that, more comprises the usefulness of controller do control demonstration.

15. flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that display more comprises three dimensional display capabilities.

16. flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that, comprises that more a processor makes the usefulness of computing.

17. flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that, more comprises the usefulness of storing media do storage.

18. flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that, more comprises a soft substrate.

19. flexible multi-touch control point screen apparatus according to claim 10 is characterized in that, comprises that more one locatees the usefulness that module is done the device location.

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