Patent ID: 8378996

Claim:
A touch panel display apparatus comprising: a display unit; a first horizontal row of light-emitting elements arranged on a first horizontal side of the display unit; a second horizontal row of light-receiving elements arranged on a second horizontal side of the display unit, each light-receiving element in the second horizontal row configured to receive light from a corresponding light-emitting element in the first horizontal row; a first vertical row of light-emitting elements arranged on a first vertical side of the display unit; a second vertical row of light-receiving elements arranged on a second vertical side of the display unit, each light-receiving element in the second vertical row configured to receive light from a corresponding light-emitting element in the first vertical row; an image generation unit configured to generate an image signal and provide the image signal to the display unit, which displays a touch pattern for use in a touch operation based on the image signal; and a control unit configured to activate a first set of the light-emitting elements and the corresponding light-receiving elements when the touch pattern is disposed between the light-emitting elements and the corresponding light-receiving elements and inactivate a second set of the light-emitting elements and the corresponding light-receiving elements when the touch pattern is not disposed between the light-emitting elements and the corresponding light-receiving elements.