Method and keyboard for product selection

Abstract

The method for product selection comprises the steps of selecting a product among a plurality of options of different products, said selection being carried out by remotely signaling a label that represents the selected product; checking that no other selection has been detected; checking that the detected selection lasts longer than a predetermined period of time or more than a predetermined electromagnetic field strength; and dispensing the selected product if it has been verified that no other selection has been detected and if it has been verified that the selection lasts longer than said predetermined period of time and less than the predetermined electromagnetic field strength, or canceling the selection of the product if another selection has been detected or the detected selection lasts less than said predetermined period of time or is greater than the predetermined electromagnetic field strength.

Claims

1. Method for product selection, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: selecting a product among a plurality of options of different products, said selection being made by positioning an object in close proximity to, but not touching, a label that represents the selected product; checking that no other selection has been detected; detecting a period of time and an electromagnetic field strength during said selection, wherein the electromagnetic field strength is the strength of an electromagnetic field induced when the object is in close proximity to the label; checking that the selection lasts longer than a predetermined period of time and that the detected electromagnetic field strength is greater than or smaller than a predetermined electromagnetic field strength; and dispensing the selected product if no other selection has been detected and if it has been verified that the selection lasts longer than that the predetermined period of time and that the detected electromagnetic field strength is smaller than the predetermined electromagnetic field strength, or canceling the product selection if another selection has been detected or the detected selection lasts less than said predetermined period of time or that the detected electromagnetic field strength is greater than the predetermined electromagnetic field strength.

2. Method for product selection according to claim 1, wherein, if more than one selection is detected substantially simultaneously, a recalibration step is carried out.

3. Method for product selection according to claim 1, wherein the product selection is performed by detecting the proximity of an object to one of a plurality of capacitive sensors (4).

4. Method for product selection according to claim 3, wherein said detection of the proximity of an object is carried out sequentially for said plurality of capacitive sensors (4).

5. Method for product selection according to claim 3, which also comprises the step of performing a reading scan of each individual sensor (4) in each operating cycle.

6. Product selection keyboard, comprising a plurality of labels (2), each of which identifies a product, each label (2) being associated with a capacitive sensor (4), characterized in that it comprises electronic control means for performing the method for product selection according to claim 1.

7. Product selection keyboard according to claim 6, wherein said capacitive sensors (4) are mounted on the same plane on a printed circuit board (1).

8. Product selection keyboard according to claim 6, wherein said capacitive sensors (4) are mounted in the form of a matrix.

9. Product selection keyboard according to claim 7, wherein the printed circuit board (1) comprises a protection layer (3).

10. Method for product selection according to claim 1, wherein the object is a hand of a user.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) For a better understanding of what has been stated, some drawings are enclosed in which, schematically and only as a non-limiting example, a practical case of embodiment is represented.

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the product selection keyboard in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

(3) As shown in FIG. 1, the product selection keyboard according to the present invention comprises the following components.

(4) The keyboard comprises a printed circuit board 1 comprising circuits necessary to control capacitive sensors 4, which are located below some labels 2. In the FIG., one of the labels has been removed to show a capacitive sensor 4 placed underneath it.

(5) Each label 2 represents a product to be selected by a user, each label 2 being associated with a single product and a single capacitive sensor 4.

(6) A label can include one or more numbers, one or more letters, letters and numbers, images, or a combination thereof.

(7) Capacitive sensors 4 are conductive surfaces that, following the principles of a capacitor, capture variations in the electromagnetic field of the environment. In this way, when an object, for example, a finger, approaches a label 2, its associated capacitive sensor 4 detects said variation of the electromagnetic field and determines the selection of the product that the label 2 represents without contact.

(8) Furthermore, the printed circuit board 1 also comprises a transparent protective layer 3, normally made of glass or transparent plastic. The function of this protection layer is to protect the keyboard from the outside. This is the surface that the user must indicate.

(9) The keyboard according to the present invention also comprises control means, such as a processor, which performs the method for product selection as described below.

(10) The method for product selection according to the present invention is as follows:

(11) For the user, the method consists simply of selecting a product among a plurality of options of different products, said selection being made by remotely signaling a label that represents the selected product, that is, by bringing a finger to the label 2 that represents the desired product.

(12) To avoid errors and optimize the use of the keyboard in accordance with the present invention, the steps of checking that no other selection has been detected and checking that the detected selection lasts longer than a predetermined period of time or more than one predetermined electromagnetic field strength, are performed.

(13) In this way, the selected product is dispensed if it has been verified that no other selection has been detected and if it has been verified that the selection lasts longer than said predetermined time period and less than the predetermined electromagnetic field strength, or the product selection is canceled if another selection has been detected or the detected selection lasts less than said predetermined period of time or is greater than the predetermined electromagnetic field strength.

(14) The electromagnetic field strength is determined to avoid external noises, for example, produced by the user's electronic devices, such as his mobile phone.

(15) Furthermore, to avoid errors, if more than one selection is detected substantially simultaneously, a recalibration step is performed.

(16) In the method according to the present invention, the detection of the proximity of an object, for example, a finger of a user is performed sequentially for said plurality of capacitive sensors 4 and a reading scan of each individual sensor 4 is also performed in each operating cycle.

(17) In this way, the interferences between said sensors 4 are reduced and a detection having greater sensitivity is achieved.

(18) Although reference has been made to a specific embodiment of the invention, it is clear to a person skilled in the art that the described method and keyboard are susceptible to numerous variations and modifications, and that all the mentioned details can be substituted by others being technically equivalent, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the appended claims.