Cleaning touch screens

Method for cleaning the touch screen

Technical field

The present invention relates to touch screen devices, and more particularly to a method for cleaning a touch screen device.

State of the art

On touch screen devices, touching the touch screen activates functions and / or enters data. The touch screen has a visual display of buttons or other target areas that tells the user where to touch the touch screen to activate certain features of the touch screen device or to enter certain data.

Repeated touching of the touch screen leads to the accumulation of oil and dirt on the surface of the touch screen. It is therefore necessary to periodically clean the touch screen. However, cleaning requires touching the touch screen, so cleaning the touch screen causes the touch screen device to activate. Accordingly, cleaning the touch screen will result in inadvertent activation of the functions of the touch screen device or unwanted entry of data.

In the past, touch screens have been cleaned by turning off touch screens. US-A-5,526,422 (hereinafter 'the' 422 patent) describes a system and method for cleaning a touch screen device in a handset with a touch screen device. In the '422 patent, the touch screen device enters a & quot; screen cleaning & quot; mode in which the touch screen is deactivated, but information is kept on the touch screen to inform users of the status. This is not desirable, as it is difficult to see where the touch screen has oil or dirt, making cleaning of the touch screen even more difficult. In addition, the touch screen device exits the "screen clean" mode when the touch screen is not touched for a predetermined period of time, or when the handset is "off hook" to "off hook" mode. This is not desirable as the user may want to wait for a predetermined time to activate the touch screen or wait for the handset to switch from "hands-free" to "hands-free".

Summary of the Preferred Embodiment

The present invention relates to a touch screen device, the feature of which is that the user can deactivate the touch screen without inadvertently activating the functions for cleaning the touch screen or entering unwanted data by touching the touch screen. The touch screen is deactivated when you enter the touch screen cleaning mode by activating a button on the touch screen. When the touch screen device is in touch screen cleaning mode, the touch screen does not register any touch on the touch screen except for simultaneous touches in opposite corners of the touch screen. Thus, the user can clean the touch screen unintentionally without activating functions or entering unwanted data.

When the touch screen device is in the touch screen cleaning mode, the touch screen will light up, illuminating any oil or dirt on the touch screen. This allows the touch screen to be cleaned more easily as the user sees where the oil and dirt is and can clean it accordingly.

The user can then exit the touch screen cleaning mode and reactivate the touch screen by any of the three methods. The user can touch any key on the keypad connected to the touch screen device to reactivate the touch screen. Alternatively, the user can simultaneously tap any of the diagonally facing corners of the touch screen to reactivate the touch screen. Finally, the user can wait a predetermined time for the touch screen cleaning mode to end and the touch screen to reactivate. Because the user has several options to reactivate the touch screen, the user can conveniently reactivate the touch screen and continue to activate the touch screen device functions or input data via the touch screen.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of a touch screen device of a touch screen device.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a touch screen device.

Figure 3 is a flowchart of a preferred embodiment of a touch screen cleaning system.

Figure 4 is a view of a touch screen showing opposite angles which can be simultaneously touched to reactivate the touch screen.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

Figure 1 illustrates a touch screen 12. When the touch screen 12 is in normal mode, it has a visual display having buttons 14 and / or other targets 16 from which the user can touch the touch screen 12 to activate functions or enter data. Such buttons 14 and / or other target areas 16 and activation of functions or data entry in response to touching the touch screen 12 are known in the art. One of the buttons displayed on the touch screen 12 is the touch screen cleaning button 18. When the touch screen cleaning button 18 is activated, the touch screen 12 exits normal mode and enters the touch screen cleaning mode. When the touch screen 12 is in the touch screen cleaning mode, the touch screen 12 does not register any single touch of the touch screen 12. Thus, the touch screen 12 can be cleaned without touching the touch screen 12 inadvertently activating functions or entering unwanted data.

When the touch screen 12 enters the touch screen cleaning mode, the touch screen 12 becomes blank, monochrome, preferably light white. By becoming light white, the oil and dirt on the touch screen 12 are illuminated so that the touch screen 12 is easier to clean.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of a touch screen device 20. In the touch screen device 20, the touch screen 12 is connected to the processor 22. The processor 22 receives an input signal when the areas of the touch screen 12 are touched. The processor 22 also controls the representation of the touch screen 12, including the location of the buttons 14 and / or other target areas 16 on the touch screen 12. The keypad 24 is also connected to the processor 22. The processor also receives a key input from the keypad 24.

Figure 3 is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Typically, the touch screen device 20 is in normal mode, where buttons 14 and / or target areas 16 (as shown in Figure 1) can be touched to activate functions or enter data. In step 32, the touch screen device 20 determines whether the user touches the touch screen cleaning button 18. When the user touches the touch screen cleaning button 18, the touch screen goes into touch screen cleaning mode 34. When the touch screen 12 is in touch screen cleaning mode 34, the touch screen 12 becomes monochrome, preferably bright white. The user can then clean the touch screen 12, preferably by wiping the cloth touch screen 12.

The touch screen device 20 remains in touch screen cleaning mode 34 as long as the user enters, or a predetermined period of time has elapsed. In a preferred embodiment, user input may be by pressing a key on the keypad 24 or touching two different locations on the touch screen simultaneously by the user so that they are not touched simultaneously while cleaning the touch screen 12, such as two diagonal opposite corners of the touch screen 12.

In step 36, touch screen device 20 determines whether the user presses any key on the keypad 24. When the user presses any key on the keypad 24, the touch screen device 20 exits touch screen cleaning mode 34 and returns to normal mode 30. If the user does not press any key on the keypad 24, the display device 20 proceeds to the next step 38. In step 38, the touch screen device 20 determines whether the opposite corners of the touch screen 12 are simultaneously touched. When the user simultaneously touches the opposite corners of the touch screen 12, the touch screen device 20 exits the touch screen cleaning mode 34 and returns to normal mode 30. If the user does not simultaneously touch the opposite corners of the touch screen 12, the touch screen device 20 proceeds to the next step 39.

In a preferred embodiment, the touch screen clean-up duration control time is included. In step 39, if the user does not perform one of the steps described above to exit the touch screen cleaning mode, the touch screen device 20 determines whether or not the touch screen cleaning mode 34 has entered a predetermined period of time. When the predetermined period of time has elapsed, the touch screen device 20 automatically exits the touch screen cleaning mode 34. When the predetermined period of time has elapsed, the touch screen device 20 returns to touch screen cleaning mode 34 and resumes the cycle.

When the touch screen 12 exits the touch screen cleaning mode 34, the touch screen device 20 performs step 40 whereby a "return to normal mode" message is displayed on the touch screen 12 to inform the user that the touch screen 12 is exiting the touch screen cleaning mode 34. This prevents accidental touching of the touch screen 12 after reactivation of the touch screen 12.

Figure 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a touch screen 12. It has diagonal regions at opposite corners 42, 44, 46 and 48 that can be simultaneously touched to reactivate touch screen 12 when touch screen 12 is in touch screen cleaning mode 34. When a user simultaneously touches corners 42 and 44 or corners 46 and 48 , exits the touch screen cleaning mode 34 and re-activates the touch screen 12.

It will be appreciated that many modifications and variations of the embodiments described above will be apparent and appreciated by those skilled in the art. Thus, the foregoing detailed description is intended to be illustrative, not limiting, and it is to be understood that the following claim is one which includes all equivalents and defines the spirit and scope of the invention.