Patent Description:
Touch control technologies provide an efficient and convenient man-machine interaction method. Its fundamental principle is to capture a touch position of a touching object (such as a human finger) and movement information first, and then convert the obtained touch position and movement information to electric signals and perform identification and determination, thereby realizing control functions.

On the other hand, with the development of technologies, wearable devices such as smart watches and smart bracelet have become very hot topics in the electronic industry. All these wearable devices normally have touch control functions.

<CIT> discloses an electronics device having a projector module capable of performing desktop projection.

<CIT> provides an apparatus and method for providing bare-hand interaction having an integrated projector and camera.

<CIT> discloses a projection apparatus that forms a projection image by performing a scanning with a laser beam according to an image signal, and detects a position of an operation executor such as a finger in relation to the projection image.

<CIT> provides a data input apparatus that recognizes an image pattern formed by capturing an object's motion using a wearable data input apparatus and effectively enters data corresponding to the image pattern.

<CIT> proposes an apparatus and a method for generating a projected user interface. The user interface may be projected on an area of the user's body.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a touch control display system and a touch control interaction method, which can avoid touch operations by a user from blocking a display panel.

The object is achieved by the features of the respective independent claims. Further embodiments are defined in the corresponding dependent claims.

In order to clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiments of the invention, the drawings of the embodiments will be briefly described in the following; it is obvious that the described drawings are only related to some embodiments of the invention and thus are not limitative of the invention.

In order to make objects, technical details and advantages of the embodiments of the invention apparent, the technical solutions of the embodiments will be described in a clearly and fully understandable way in connection with the drawings related to the embodiments of the invention. Apparently, the described embodiments are just a part but not all of the embodiments of the invention. Based on the described embodiments herein, those skilled in the art can obtain other embodiment(s), without any inventive work, which should be within the scope of the invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure belongs. The terms "first," "second," etc., which are used in the description and the claims of the present disclosure, are not intended to indicate any sequence, amount or importance, but distinguish various components. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," "including," etc., are intended to specify that the elements or the objects stated before these terms encompass the elements or the objects and equivalents thereof listed after these terms, but do not preclude the other elements or objects. The phrases "connect", "connected", etc., are not intended to define a physical connection or mechanical connection, but may include an electrical connection, directly or indirectly. "On," "under," "right," "left" and the like are only used to indicate relative position relationship, and when the position of the object which is described is changed, the relative position relationship may be changed accordingly.

The inventor found during research that display screens of wearable electronic devices such as a smart watch or a smart bracelet are generally of a small area, which may be mostly or completely blocked if a finger operates thereon, thus making it inconvenient for a user to operate and thus harming user experience. As an example, <FIG> illustrates a touch control interaction method of a smart watch. As illustrated in <FIG>, when one arm of a user wears the smart watch and a finger of the other hand touches to operate, as the screen area of the smart watch is limited, the finger will block a part of the screen, thereby influencing the touch by the user and the user experience.

Embodiments of the invention provide a touch control system, a touch control display system, and a touch control interaction method. By transferring an area for touch operation to a preset area outside a display region of a display device to form a virtual touch area, the problem of the display panel being blocked during touch operation is solved.

In the following, the touch control system, the touch control display system and the touch control interaction method provided by the embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The embodiment provides a touch control system. <FIG> illustrates a touch control system <NUM>, which comprises a touch detection device <NUM>, a touch area positioning device <NUM> as well as a processing device <NUM> connected to the touch detection device <NUM> and the touch area positioning device <NUM> by way of a signal connection. The signal connection may be a wired or wireless connection, and the signal may be an electrical signal or an optical signal, which will not be defined here.

As an example, the touch control system <NUM> further comprises a support device <NUM> for supporting the touch detection device <NUM> and the touch area positioning device <NUM>. For example, the touch detection device <NUM> and the touch area positioning device <NUM> are arranged on an edge 101a of the support device <NUM>.

The touch detection device <NUM> is configured to detect occurrence of a touch event in a preset area <NUM>, that is, to detect whether a touch event occurs in the preset area <NUM>. The preset area <NUM> may be any area within an area range in which the touch detection device <NUM> may identify a touch event. Moreover, the touch detection device <NUM> is further configured to transmit information of an occurring position of the touch event to the processing device <NUM>.

The touch area positioning device <NUM> is configured to emit a first light beam <NUM> and a second light beam <NUM> to the preset area <NUM>, the first light beam <NUM> irradiates a first position in the preset area <NUM> to form a first pattern <NUM>, the second light beam <NUM> irradiates a second position in the preset area <NUM> to form a second pattern <NUM>.

The first pattern <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM> may be visible patterns, such that a user may estimate an area for touch operation by observing the positions of the two patterns, so as to perform effective touch operation. Of course, the touch area positioning device <NUM> may also be configured to emit more than two light beams to the preset area <NUM> so as to form more than two visible patterns in the preset area <NUM>, which will further facilitate the user to estimate a range of the area for touch operation by way of positions of the patterns.

As an example, the first pattern and the second pattern are light spots formed by the first and second light beams. As an example, the first pattern and the second pattern are of different colors or shapes, such that the user can distinguish between them easily.

The processing device <NUM> is configured to process the information on the occurring position of the touch event to obtain the occurring position of the touch event, and to obtain the first position and the second position. The first and second positions obtained by the processing device <NUM> may be information stored in the processing device <NUM> in advance, or obtained by using the processing device <NUM> to process the information transmitted from the touch area positioning device <NUM> thereto.

As an example, the processing device <NUM> may be implemented as a general calculation device (such as a CPU), a specific calculation device (such as a DSP) and the like.

In the touch control system provided by the embodiment of the invention, the touch area positioning device <NUM> forms the first pattern <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM> in the preset area <NUM>, such that the user may estimate the area for touch operation (i.e., the virtual touch area) according to the first and second patterns. In the virtual touch area, a touch from the user is detected by the touch detection device <NUM>, and the position touched by the user is calculated by the processing device <NUM>. When the touch control system is applied in an electronic device, the position touched by the user in the virtual touch area may correspond to a function for controlling the electronic device, so as to realize man-machine interaction. In this way, by configuring the preset area of the above touch control system outside the display region of the electronic device, the problem of the display panel being blocked during touch operation by the user is solved.

As an example, the touch control system <NUM> provided by the embodiment is used in wearable electronic devices such as a smart watch, a smart bracelet, a smart ring.

In some examples, the processing device <NUM> uses the touch area positioning device (for example by using the first and second positions irradiated by the light beams emitted by the touch area positioning device) to establish a coordinate system in the preset area and to calculate coordinates of the occurring position of the touch event in the coordinate system, so as to calculate a relative relationship between the occurring position of the touch event as well as the first and second position. The embodiment of the invention is not limited to the example.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, an orthogonal projection, on a plane having the preset area <NUM>, of a part of the touch area positioning device <NUM> emitting the first light beam <NUM> and the second light beam <NUM> may be taken as an origin (<NUM>,<NUM>), an arrangement direction of the touch detection device <NUM> and the touch area positioning device <NUM> may be taken as the y-axis, and a direction perpendicular to the y-axis is the x-axis, a coordinate system is established based on the above origin, x-axis, and y-axis. In this case, coordinates of the first position of the first pattern <NUM>, the second position of the second pattern <NUM>, and the occurring position T of the touch event are respectively (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2) and (Xt, Yt).

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, a coordinate system is established in a plane having the preset area by taking the first position of the first pattern <NUM> as an origin (<NUM>, <NUM>), a direction parallel to an arrangement direction of the touch detection device <NUM> and the touch area position device <NUM> as the y-axis, and a direction perpendicular to the y-axis as the x-axis. In this case, coordinates of the first position of the first pattern <NUM>, the second position of the second pattern <NUM>, and the occurring position T of the touch event are respectively (<NUM>, <NUM>), (x2, y2) and (xt, yt).

It can be contemplated that the coordinate system may be established in a way other than those shown in <FIG> and <FIG>.

In the following, a method for acquiring the coordinates (X1, Y1), (X2, Y2) and (Xt, Yt) of the first position, the second position and the occurring position of the touch event will be described in detail with reference to the coordinate system shown in <FIG>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the touch detection device <NUM> may emit a touch detection signal (as indicated by an arrow from left to right in <FIG>) to the preset area <NUM>. When an obstacle such as a finger or a stylus is present in the preset area <NUM>, i.e., when a touch even is happening, the touch detection signal will be reflected back by the obstacle. The touch detection device <NUM> receives a touch sense signal (as indicated by an arrow from right to left in <FIG>) returned from the preset area <NUM>.

As an example, the touch detection device <NUM> is a ranging sensor, such as a reflective infrared sensor, or an ultrasonic sensor and the like.

For the y coordinate Yt of the occurring position of the touch event, as illustrated in <FIG>, a distance from a position A of the touch detection signal emitted by the touch detection device <NUM> and corresponding to the position T to a position of the touch area positioning device <NUM> which emits the first and second light beams (i.e., the origin of the coordinate system) is used to determine the y coordinate Yt. Note that the distance may be set by the designer when designing the touch control system.

In <FIG>, the touch detection device <NUM> may be an array sensor. Alternatively, as illustrated in <FIG>, the touch detection device <NUM> may comprise multiple sub-sensors <NUM>. The multiple sub-sensors <NUM> are sequentially disposed along a direction from the touch detection device <NUM> to the touch area positioning device <NUM>. Multiple emitting points included in the array sensor or the multiple sub-sensors <NUM> included in the touch detection device <NUM> emit touch detection signals respectively to the preset area <NUM>. When a touch sense signal generated from the reflection of one of the touch detection signals by an obstacle <NUM> (as shown in <FIG>) is received by the touch detection device <NUM>, the y coordinate Yt of the occurring position of the touch event is determined according to a position of the emitting point or the sub-sensor which emits the touch detection signal.

For the x coordinate Xt of the occurring position of the touch event, as illustrated in <FIG>, a distance Lt and a distance Ht are measured and used by the processing device to calculate the x coordinate Xt, wherein the distance Lt is from the touch detection device <NUM> to the occurring position T of the touch event, and the distance Ht is from the touch detection device <NUM> to the plane having the preset area. Note that the distance Ht may be determined by the designer when designing the touch control system.

To measure the above distance Lt, for example, the touch detection device <NUM> employs the principle of time difference ranging. Referring to an example where the touch detection device <NUM> is an ultrasonic sensor, for example, the ultrasonic sensor emits ultrasonic waves to the preset area and starts timing at the same time. The ultrasonic waves propagate in the air and get reflected when hitting an obstacle. The ultrasonic sensor receives the reflected waves and stops timing at the same time. Then the ultrasonic sensor sends the emitting time T1 of the ultrasonic waves and the receiving time T2 to the processing device of the touch control system <NUM>. The processing device calculates the distance between the ultrasonic sensor and the obstacle according to the time of flight (T2-T1) of the ultrasonic waves and a propagation velocity v of the ultrasonic waves. Therefore, when the principle of time difference ranging is used, the information on the occurring position of the touch event transmitted by the above touch detection device includes the emitting time of the touch detection signal, the receiving time of the touch sense signal, and the propagation velocity of the touch detection signal.

To measure the above distance Lt, for example, the touch detection device <NUM> employs the principle of strength of a touch sense signal varying along a distance from the obstacle. As an example, the touch detection device <NUM> is a reflective infrared sensor. The further the reflective infrared sensor is from the obstacle, the smaller the strength of the touch sense signal reflected by the obstacle is. Therefore, the processing device of the touch control system can be used to analyze the strength variation of the infrared light received by the reflective infrared sensor, so as to calculate the distance from the touch detection device <NUM> to the occurring position of the touch event. In this case, the information on the occurring position of the touch event includes strengths of the touch detection signal and the touch sense signal.

It is noted that the above methods of detecting the touch event by the touch detection device <NUM> and of calculating the occurring position of the touch event are for exemplary purpose only, embodiments of the invention may include but is not limited to the above methods. Moreover, it may further determine whether a touch operation is a sliding operation by determining continuity of the received touch sense signals in different positions and amount of time difference between the received signals, which will not be elaborated here.

In the following, a method for acquiring the coordinates (X1, Y1) of the first position and the coordinates (X2, Y2) of the second position will be described with further reference to the coordinate system shown in <FIG> as well as <FIG>.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the touch area positioning device <NUM> comprises a first emission device <NUM> and a second emission device <NUM>. The first emission device <NUM> is configured to emit the first light beam <NUM>, and the second emission device <NUM> is configured to emit the second light beam <NUM>. <FIG> refers to an example where the first emission device <NUM> emits the first light beam along the horizontal direction and the second emission device <NUM> emits the second light beam along a tilted direction. It can be contemplated that both emission devices may emit light beams along tilted directions.

As an example, at least one of the first emission device <NUM> and the second device <NUM> comprises a laser emitting device. Alternatively, at least one of the first emission device <NUM> and the second device <NUM> comprises a visible light emitting device. Of course, the embodiment may also use other emission device to form two visible patterns.

In some examples, positions of the first/second pattern generated by using the first emission device <NUM>/second emission device <NUM> may be determined in advance by the designer. In this case, for example, the first position of the first pattern <NUM> and the second position of the second pattern <NUM> may be obtained according to position parameters of the first emission device <NUM> and the second emission device <NUM>.

Referring to an example where the first emission device <NUM> is a laser emitting device shown in <FIG>, as illustrated in <FIG>, the above position parameters may include a distance h from the laser emitting device to a plane having the preset area (that is, the plane having the first pattern <NUM>, the second pattern <NUM> and the touch position), and a rotation angle by the laser emitting device relative to the plane having the preset area (<NUM>°-θ). The processing device calculates the x coordinate X1 of the first position of the first pattern <NUM> according to the rotation angle (<NUM>°-θ) and the distance h. Alternatively, as illustrated in <FIG>, the above position parameters may comprise the distance h from the laser emitting device to the plane having the preset area and a distance L1 between the laser emitting device and the first pattern <NUM>. The processing device calculates the x coordinate X1 of the first position of the first pattern <NUM> according to h and L1. For example, the principle of time difference ranging is used, the laser emitting device sends the time when the first light beam <NUM> is emitted, the time when the reflection signal is received and the propagation velocity of the first light beam to the processing device to calculate L1.

For example, the above position parameters may include other rotation angles of the laser emitting device. Referring to an example where the second emission device <NUM> is a laser emitting device shown in <FIG>, as illustrated in <FIG>, the position parameters of the laser emitting device may include the distance between the laser emitting device and the plane having the preset area, and rotation angles β, η, θ of the laser emitting device. The three rotation angles β, η, θ are respectively inclination angles between the emitted light beam (see the second light beam <NUM>) and an x'-axis (in the same direction as the x-axis in <FIG>), between the emitted light beam and a y'-axis (in a direction opposite to the y-axis in <FIG>), and between the emitted light beam and a z-axis, when the emission point of the laser emitting device is taken as an origin to form a spatial coordinate system. The processing device calculates the x coordinate X2 of the second position of the second pattern <NUM> according to the distance h and the rogation angles β, η, θ.

As an example, the respective rotation angles of the laser emitting device may be determined by the designer in advance when designing the touch control system. As an example, the distance between the laser emitting device and the plane having the preset area may be determined in advance. The information determined in advance may be pre-stored into the processing device or a separate storage device.

The above describes the examples of obtaining the x coordinates X1, X2 of the first and second positions. The y coordinates of the first and second positions may be determined in a similar way, which will not be elaborated here.

When the coordinate system as shown in <FIG> or other coordinate systems are used, after calculating the coordinates of the occurring position T of the touch event as well as the first and second positions, coordinates of the positions in the used coordinate system may be obtained by translating the coordinate system using the processing device.

In some examples, positions of the first/second patterns formed by using the first emission device <NUM>/second emission device <NUM> are adjustable, such that a user may adjust a size of the touch operation area as needed or based on personal preference. In this case, the above first and second positions may be determined by configuring an image acquisition device in the touch area positioning device.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, in a touch control system provided by at least one example of the embodiment, the touch area positioning device <NUM> further comprises an image acquisition device <NUM>. The image acquisition device <NUM> may acquire an image of the preset area <NUM> including the first pattern <NUM> and the second patter <NUM> and transmit the image to the processing device <NUM>, such that the processing device <NUM> may obtain the first position of the first pattern <NUM> and the second position of the second pattern <NUM>.

As an example, the image acquisition device <NUM> is a Charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, an infrared image sensor or similar image capturing devices.

As an example, the processing device processes the obtained image, and calculates the coordinates of the first and second positions according to a distance between the image acquisition device <NUM> (such as a CCD image sensor) to the plane having the preset area <NUM>) and a rotation angle of the image acquisition device <NUM>. In this case, for example, the touch area positioning device transmits information relative to the first and second positions to the image acquisition device, such as the rotation angle of the image acquisition device and information of the obtained image. Embodiments of the invention include but are not limited to that.

It is noted that the example illustrate in <FIG> does not intend to limit the physical position of the image acquisition device <NUM>. For example, when the touch detection device <NUM> is further provided with an image capturing device such as the above CCD, the image capturing device functions as the above image acquisition device of the touch area positioning device.

In the above example, the touch area positioning device <NUM> comprises a first emission device and a second emission device. The touch area positioning device may of course include only one emission device. For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the touch area positioning device <NUM> comprises a light emitting device <NUM> and a light splitting device <NUM>, the light splitting device <NUM> is configured to split the light beam emitted by the light emitting device <NUM> into the first light beam <NUM> and the second light beam <NUM>, so as to form the first pattern <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM>.

As an example, the light emitting device <NUM> is a laser emitting device or a visible light emitting device. The embodiment of the invention includes but is not limited to these devices.

For the example shown in <FIG>, for example, the position parameters of the light emitting device <NUM> and the light splitting device <NUM> may be set when designing the touch control system. In this case, the first position and the second position may be calculated according to the position parameters and type of the light splitting device. Alternatively, the positions of the light emitting device <NUM> and the light splitting device <NUM> are adjustable. In this case, the first position and the second position may be obtained using the above image acquisition device, which will not be elaborated here, for more details please refer to the above description.

As described above, the processing device <NUM> may obtain the occurring position of the touch event, the first position of the first pattern and the second position of the second pattern, based on the arrangement of the touch detection device and the touch area positioning device. When the touch control system provided by the embodiment is used in an electronic device such as a smart watch, the processing device of the touch control system can transmit these signals about positions to the electronic device, and the electronic device can realize corresponding control functions based on the signals.

The embodiment provides a touch control display system <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, the touch control display system <NUM> comprises a display device <NUM> having a display region <NUM> and the touch control system <NUM> described in the embodiments of the invention (for example, all or part of implementations of Embodiment <NUM>). The touch control system <NUM> comprises the touch detection device <NUM>, the touch area positioning device <NUM> as well as the processing device <NUM> connected to both the touch detection device <NUM> and the touch area positioning device <NUM> by way of a signal connection. The processing device <NUM> of the touch control system <NUM> is further connected to the display device <NUM> by way of a signal connection and configured to output signals corresponding to the occurring position of the touch event, the first position and the second position obtained by the touch control system <NUM> to the display device <NUM>.

The above signal connection may be a wired or wireless connection using an electrical signal or an optical signal, which will not be defined here.

As an example, the display region is used to display a user interface (UI), which includes for example pictures, texts or signs. It may display other application interfaces, such as a video interface.

For position relationships, cooperation relationships and functions of the respective components of the touch control system <NUM> please refer to the description in Embodiment <NUM>, which will not be elaborated here.

The touch control display system <NUM> provided by the embodiment can transfer the area for touch operation to a preset area <NUM> outside the display region <NUM>, thereby solving the problem of the display panel being blocked during touch operation.

As an example, the processing device <NUM> or the display device <NUM> is further configured to form a virtual touch area <NUM> (i.e., the touch operation area of Embodiment <NUM>) in the preset area <NUM> according to the first pattern <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM> generated by the touch area positioning device <NUM> of the touch control system <NUM>, and to establish a correspondence relationship between the virtual touch area <NUM> and the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> according to information of the first position and the second position as well as information of the display region. That is, each position in the display region <NUM> has a corresponding position in the virtual touch area <NUM>, which means the display region <NUM> and the virtual touch area <NUM> have a mapping relationship.

It is noted that the processing device <NUM> of the touch control system <NUM> may be disposed inside the display device <NUM> (as illustrated in <FIG>) or outside the display device <NUM>. Moreover, the touch control system <NUM> and the display device <NUM> may share a processing device, or both the touch control system <NUM> and the display device <NUM> may be provided with their own processing devices and the two processing devices are connected by way of a signal connection.

In the following, the corresponding relationship between the virtual touch area <NUM> and the display region <NUM> will be described with reference to examples.

As an example, when the display device <NUM> has a square display region <NUM> shown in <FIG>, a circle is defined by taking the first position of the first pattern <NUM> as the center of the circle and a segment from the first pattern <NUM> to the second pattern <NUM> as a radius. An area covered by an inscribed square of the circle is considered as the virtual touch area <NUM>.

As another example, when the display device has a circular display region, a circular region may also be defined, by taking the first pattern <NUM> of <FIG> as the center of the circle and the a segment from the first pattern <NUM> to the second pattern <NUM> as a radius. The circular region is considered as the virtual touch area <NUM>.

When the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> and the virtual touch area <NUM> have a same outline (e.g., the above square or circle), a size of the formed virtual touch area <NUM> may be the same as that of the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM>. The size of the virtual touch area <NUM> may be of course scaled as needed, such that it is different from the size of the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM>.

Moreover, the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> and the virtual touch area <NUM> may have different outlines. For example, when the display device <NUM> has a rectangular display region, a circle may be defined by taking the first pattern <NUM> as the center of the circle and a segment from the first pattern <NUM> to the second pattern <NUM> as a radius to form the circle. An area covered by an inscribed square of the circle is considered as the virtual touch region <NUM>. In this case, for example, the long and the short sides of the rectangular display region corresponding to the square virtual touch region <NUM> may be scaled in a certain way to establish a correspondence relationship between the virtual touch region and the display region.

It is noted that the above method of defining the virtual touch region by using the first position of the first pattern <NUM> and the second position of the second pattern <NUM> are for exemplary purpose only. The embodiment does not intend to limit the relationship between the outlines or sizes of the virtual touch area and the display region, as long as individual positions in the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> have corresponding positions in the virtual touch area <NUM> (that is, the display region and the virtual touch area have a mapping relationship).

As an example, when the mapping relationship between the virtual touch area <NUM> and the display region <NUM> is established, a line from the center point O of the display region <NUM> to the first position of the first pattern <NUM> may be taken as the x-axis, and a line perpendicular to the above line and passing the second position of the second pattern <NUM> may be taken as the y-axis, as illustrated in <FIG>.

After establishing the mapping relationship between the virtual touch area <NUM> and the display region <NUM>, when the user performs a touch operation in the virtual touch region <NUM>, it is equivalent to touching a corresponding position in the display region of the display device of <FIG> for touch interaction purpose.

As an example, during the operation of the touch control system, the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> display a sign corresponding to the touch position. For example, the sign is a mouse or a cursor. By this means, information generated by the touch operation can be fed back to the user, which will facilitate further operation from the user. The embodiment of the invention includes but is not limited to the above example.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, at least one example of the embodiment provides a touch control system <NUM> which further comprises a projector <NUM>. The projector <NUM> is configured to project contents displayed in the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> to the preset area <NUM> of the touch control system. By projecting the content displayed in the display region <NUM>, the user can more accurately perform the touch operation. In some examples, when the virtual touch area formed in the preset area of the touch control system is adjustable, for example, a projection direction of the projector is adjusted accordingly, such that it can match the position and the size of the virtual touch area.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the touch control display system provided by the embodiment of the invention is used in a smart watch. The smart watch comprises a smart watch body <NUM> and a wristband <NUM> for securing the smart watch body <NUM> on the arm <NUM>. The embodiment of the invention includes but is not limited to the example. The touch control display system may be also used in other electronic devices, such as a smart bracelet, a smart finger ring, smart glasses and other wearable electronic devices.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the display device <NUM> and the preset area <NUM> of the touch control system are sequentially disposed along a direction parallel to the display region <NUM>. Such a configuration makes it easier for the user to perform touch operation on the touch control display system, and to a certain extent simplifies the structure of the touch control system. Referring to an example of using the touch control display system in the smart watch shown in <FIG>, a plane having the preset area <NUM> of the touch control system may be essentially in the same plane as a bottom surface of the electronic device (such as the bottom surface of the smart watch close to the user arm <NUM> of <FIG>). Therefore, a distance between the touch control positioning device <NUM> and the bottom surface of electronic device may be taken as the distance between the touch control positioning device (e.g., a laser emitting device, an image acquisition device and the like) and the plane having the preset area <NUM>, of Embodiment <NUM>, such that a separate ranging device may be omitted.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, in the direction parallel to the display region <NUM>, the touch detection device <NUM> and the touch area positioning device <NUM> are disposed between the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> and the preset area <NUM> of the display region <NUM>. For example, it is disposed on a part of the frame of the display device <NUM> which is close to the preset area <NUM> (e.g., the support device <NUM> of Embodiment <NUM> may function as the frame). In this way, the y coordinate of the occurring position of the touch event may be obtained according to physical positions of touch detection device <NUM> and the touch area positioning device <NUM> disposed on the frame, thereby simplifying the structure of the touch control display system.

The embodiment provides a touch control interaction method applicable to various touch control devices. As illustrated in <FIG>, the method comprises the following steps S301 to S305.

Step <NUM>: emitting a first light beam <NUM> and a second light beam <NUM> to a preset area <NUM>, allowing the first light beam <NUM> to irradiate a first position in the preset area <NUM> to form a first pattern <NUM>, the second light beam <NUM> to irradiate a second position in the preset area <NUM> to form a second pattern <NUM>.

As an example, a laser emitting device or a visible light emitting device is used to emit the first light beam <NUM> and the second light beam <NUM> to the preset area <NUM>. For example, when the laser emitting device is used, a lower power laser emitting device may be used, so as to avoid burning an irradiated surface (such as skin of a user).

In some examples, emission directions and angles of the first light beam <NUM> and the second light beam <NUM> are adjustable. In some other examples, the first pattern <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM> are distinguished by using different colors or patterns, making it easier for the user's identification. Of course, more than two light beams may be emitted to the preset area <NUM> to form more than two patterns in the preset area <NUM>.

Step <NUM>: determining the first position and the second position.

As an example, the first position and the second position are obtained by acquiring and processing an image, the image comprises the preset area <NUM> including the first pattern <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM>. For detailed methods please refer to <FIG> and the description thereof in Embodiment <NUM>.

As an example, when the laser emitting device is used to emit the first light beam <NUM> and the second light beam <NUM>, position parameters of the laser emitting device are used to obtain the first position and the second position. For detailed methods please refer to <FIG> and the description thereof in Embodiment <NUM>.

As an example, the above position parameters includes a distance from the laser emitting device to a plane having the preset area <NUM> and a rotation angle by the laser emitting device relative to the plane having the preset area. Alternatively, the above position parameters includes a distance from the laser emitting device to a plane having the preset area and a distance from the laser emitting device to the first pattern <NUM> or the second pattern <NUM>.

Step <NUM>: determining a virtual area <NUM> in the preset area <NUM> by using the first pattern <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM>.

As an example, the virtual touch area <NUM> is a square region defined by taking the first pattern <NUM> as the center of the virtual touch area <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM> as one corner of the virtual touch area <NUM>. As another example, the virtual touch area <NUM> is a circle defined by taking the first pattern <NUM> as the center of the circle and a distance between the first pattern <NUM> and the second pattern <NUM> as a radius. These examples are not limitative to the embodiment.

Step <NUM>: detecting whether a touch event occurs in the virtual touch area <NUM>, and determining an occurring position of the touch event if a touch event occurs in the virtual touch area <NUM>.

As an example, a touch detection signal is transmitted to the virtual touch area <NUM> and a touch sense signal fed back from the virtual touch area <NUM> is received therefrom, thereby determining whether the touch event occurs in the virtual touch area <NUM> or not.

As an example, a touch detection device such as a reflective infrared sensor or an ultrasonic sensor is used to detect the presence of touch event. If a touch event happens, the touch detection signal emitted by the touch detection device and transmitted to the virtual touch area <NUM> will be reflected by an obstacle such as a finger or a stylus, thereby determining whether a touch event occurs. For example, the occurring position of the touch event is calculated by using a time difference ranging method, a relationship between strength of the touch sense signal and the distance between the emission position of the touch detection signal and the obstacle, or other methods. For more detail please refer to the description in Embodiment <NUM>, which will not be elaborated here.

S305: transmitting the occurring position of the touch event, the first position and the second position to a preset electronic device.

For example, the preset electronic device can determine an instruction corresponding to a signal about the occurring position of the touch event, the first position and the second position, so as to realize a control function corresponding to the touch operation. The preset electronic device may be any electronic device capable of realizing necessary control functions.

The touch control interaction method provided by the embodiment of the invention can be applied on a wearable electronic device such as a smart watch, a smart bracelet and so on. By configuring the virtual touch area in the preset area, which is for example outside the display region, the problem of the display panel being blocked during touch operation is solved.

For example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the preset electronic device comprises a display device <NUM>, and the method further comprises: determining a correspondence relationship between the virtual touch area <NUM> and the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> according to the first position and the second position. That is, the mapping relationship between the virtual touch area <NUM> and the display region <NUM> is determined, such that a touch operation at a position in the virtual touch area <NUM> is converted to a touch to a corresponding position in the display region <NUM>.

As an example, the display device <NUM> and the preset area <NUM> are arranged sequentially along a direction parallel to the display region <NUM>. For more detail please refer to the description of Embodiment <NUM>, which will not be elaborated here.

As an example, the touch control interaction method provided by at least one example of the embodiment further comprises: displaying a sign corresponding to the touch position by the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM>. Thus, information about the touch operation can be fed back to the user, so as to facilitate further operation by the user.

As an example, the touch control interaction method provided by at least one example of the embodiment further comprises: projecting contents displayed in the display region <NUM> of the display device <NUM> to the virtual touch area <NUM>, which will facilitate touch operation by the user in the virtual touch area <NUM>.

For details of the method provided by the embodiment, please refer to relevant description of Embodiments <NUM> and <NUM>, which will not be elaborated here.

In summary, the touch control system, the touch control display system and the touch control interaction method provided by the embodiment of the invention provides a new virtual touch control interaction method, which can avoid touch operations from blocking a screen by making the touch control interaction to happen outside the screen of the electronic device.

Claim 1:
A touch control display system (<NUM>), comprising a display device (<NUM>) and a touch control system (<NUM>), wherein the display device (<NUM>) comprises a display region (<NUM>), and the touch control system (<NUM>) comprises a touch detection device (<NUM>), a touch area positioning device (<NUM>), and a processing device (<NUM>) which is connected to both the touch detection device (<NUM>) and the touch area positioning device (<NUM>) by way of a signal connection, wherein,
the touch detection device (<NUM>) is configured to detect occurrence of a touch event in a preset area (<NUM>) and to transmit information on an occurring position (T) of the touch event to the processing device (<NUM>);
the touch area positioning device (<NUM>) is configured to emit a first light beam (<NUM>) and a second light beam (<NUM>) to the preset area (<NUM>), the first light beam (<NUM>) irradiates a first position in the preset area (<NUM>) to form a first pattern (<NUM>), the second light beam (<NUM>) irradiates a second position in the preset area (<NUM>) to form a second pattern (<NUM>); and
the processing device (<NUM>) is configured to process the information on the occurring position (T) of the touch event to obtain the occurring position (T) of the touch event, and to obtain the first position and the second position, and the processing device (<NUM>) is connected to the display device (<NUM>) by way of a signal connection and configured to output signals corresponding to the occurring position (T) of the touch event, the first position and the second position obtained by the touch control system (<NUM>); and
the processing device (<NUM>) or the display device (<NUM>) is further configured to form a virtual touch area (<NUM>) in the preset area (<NUM>) according to the first pattern (<NUM>) and the second pattern (<NUM>); and
the touch detection device (<NUM>) is configured to calculate the occurring position (T) of the touch event; characterized in that
the processing device (<NUM>) is configured to establish a coordinate system in the preset area (<NUM>) by using the first position irradiated by the first light beam (<NUM>) and second position irradiated by the second light beam (<NUM>) and to calculate coordinates of the occurring position (T) of the touch event in the coordinate system, so as to calculate a relative relationship between the occurring position (T) of the touch event as well as the first position and the second position.