CPC G06F 3/0421 (2013.01) [A63F 9/24 (2013.01); A63F 13/21 (2014.09); A63F 13/213 (2014.09); A63F 13/26 (2014.09); A63F 13/31 (2014.09); A63F 13/355 (2014.09); A63F 13/92 (2014.09); G01J 1/0411 (2013.01); G01J 1/42 (2013.01); G01S 7/4811 (2013.01); G01S 7/4813 (2013.01); G01S 7/4815 (2013.01); G01S 17/04 (2020.01); G01S 17/48 (2013.01); G01S 17/88 (2013.01); G06F 1/169 (2013.01); G06F 3/017 (2013.01); G06F 3/021 (2013.01); G06F 3/0219 (2013.01); G06F 3/0304 (2013.01); G06F 3/03547 (2013.01); G06F 3/0428 (2013.01); G06F 3/0488 (2013.01); G06F 3/04883 (2013.01); A63F 13/211 (2014.09); A63F 13/33 (2014.09); A63F 13/428 (2014.09); A63F 2009/245 (2013.01); G06F 1/1616 (2013.01); G06F 2203/04809 (2013.01)] | 11 Claims |
1. A sensor for a control panel presenting a plurality of controls for user input, comprising:
a housing mounted along an edge of the panel;
a one-dimensional array of alternating light emitters and detectors mounted in said housing, comprising:
a plurality of light pulse emitters for projecting light out of said housing along an in-air detection plane over the panel; and
a plurality of light detectors for detecting reflections of the light projected by said emitters, reflected by an object in the detection plane;
a plurality of lenses mounted and oriented in said housing relative to said emitters and said detectors in such a manner that each light detector receives maximum light intensity when light enters a corresponding lens at a particular angle, whereby for each emitter-detector pair, when the object is located at a specific position in the detection plane, light emitted by the emitter of that pair passes through one of the lenses and is reflected by the object back through one of the lenses at the particular angle to the detector of that pair, the specific position being associated with that emitter-detector pair; and
a processor connected to said emitters and to said detectors, for synchronously co-activating emitter-detector pairs, and configured to determine locations on the panel, each location being mapped to a position in the detection plane that is associated with an emitter-detector pair, by a mapping of the panel to the detection plane.
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