The present invention relates a finger cap for a touch screen, applicable in the field of mobile devices equipped with touch screens, in particular for operating tablets and smartphones.

In situations where there is an increased risk of disease due to pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses or some fungi, maintaining increased hygiene, especially of the hands, becomes crucial for inhibiting the emergence and development of an epidemic. Such situations usually occur during the so-called influenza periods when influenza viruses attain favourable conditions for incubation, survival on various surfaces and consequently transmission to other people. Hands are the most common carrier of microorganisms found on surfaces touched in public places, such as handles, door handles, handrails, or electrical switches or control boards of passenger lifts. The pathogenic microorganisms captured in this way can then be transmitted on the screens of phones and smartphones where some types thereof can survive for up to several dozen hours, causing an increased risk of spreading.

The first measure to reduce the risk of transmission of pathogenic microorganisms in populations is therefore to maintain adequate hand hygiene. For this purpose, a number of solutions have been developed that enable to dispense sanitary fluids, such as a soap or disinfectant fluids, which solutions are actuated either using proximity sensors or are equipped with mechanical triggers actuated with the elbow or forearm. The sanitary fluids used have bactericidal and virucidal properties, which enables hands to be cleaned from pathogenic microorganisms after contact with the surfaces in public spaces and has a direct influence on the reduced risk of disease. However, bactericidal and virucidal agents often contain components which can be harmful to the skin, hence their use involves the existence of a certain danger.

It is also worth mentioning that the users of devices with touch screens most often operate them using two fingers of one hand, namely the thumb and index finger of the leading hand. A number of finger caps have been developed in the prior art that enable to operate touch screens, especially capacitive screens, and at the same time effectively protect against the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms on the user's fingers.

International patent document W02017023091A1 discloses a display apparatus and a control method thereof. The cited patent description discloses a display apparatus which is a touch screen operated with a finger cap. The finger cap includes a housing formed in the shape of a finger and accommodating the user's finger. A resonant coil is arranged in the tip portion to act as an element cooperating with the touch screen, and the finger cap itself is provided with a space for electronic circuits. A switch is further arranged on the cap to switch on and switch off the electronic circuit included in the cap.

U. S. patent document US2015185880A1 discloses a device for interacting with a touch panel, mounted on the user's finger. Said device for interacting with a touch panel includes a sleeve-shaped body from the outer surface of which extends at least one protrusion for contact with the touch panel. In one embodiment, there are five protrusions arranged in a cross structure on the surface of the body. The device shown also includes a vibration device, a battery, an indicatorfor indicating the battery status, and a wireless communication unit for receiving feedback signals from the touch panel to actuate the vibrator.

U. S. patent document US2013025016A1 discloses a finger cap which protects against direct contact between the user's finger and a surface, e.g., the surface of a touch screen. The finger cap includes a substrate which may be made from a hard plastic or a metal, and an electrically conductive material (on the fingertip) which may be a metallic mesh, thread or foil embedded in or disposed on the substrate. Importantly, the finger cap shown does not surround the entire finger in the manner of a sleeve, but only covers the tip part of the finger.

German patent document DE102010018489A1 discloses a device in the form of a finger cap, for operating touch screens. The device includes a body which surrounds the finger and may be made from an elastomeric plastic. The tip portion, which is in contact with the touch screen, is provided with a conductive part. The contact surface may be made from a textile material.

Dutch patent document NL2007302C2 discloses a finger cap used for operating touch screens. In one embodiment, the finger cap includes a body which takes the form of a sleeve and which is manufactured from a flexible plastic. An opening for the tip part of the finger is formed in the distal part of the body. An electrically conductive material, in the form of a fabric with a mesh providing response from the touch screen, is arranged at the location of the opening. The proximal part of the finger cap is provided with a hard plastic ring which facilitates the installation of the finger cap.

U. S. patent document US2004256456A1 discloses an identification tag ensuring the safe use of a computer system. A computer, e.g., in the form of a tablet with a touch screen, includes a device for registering a signal from an identification tag, e.g., an RFID tag, and, when the tag is identified, provides access to the computer system. In one implementation example of the invention, the tag device takes the form of a finger cap. The finger cap has a body which may be made from a plastic, a metal, wood, i.e., a rigid material. A fastening portion, which takes the form of a strap surrounding the finger and fastening the body to the finger, is attached to the body. The body is in the form of a triangle, the vertex of which is a kind of stylus for operating touch screens. The body is provided with an identification tag module, e.g., an RFID tag along with associated electronics, e.g., a memory, a power supply. This element may be embedded in or attached to the body.

The technical problem of the present invention is to propose a finger cap that will be envisaged to cooperate with a touch screen, will ensure facilitated installation and removal of the cap from the finger, and at the same time will protect against direct contact of the finger with the surface of the touch screen, which will translate into safety of use, especially in terms of contact with pathogenic microorganisms. It is further desirable to provide a finger cap that will be equipped with functional electronic modules, including modules for communication with a device equipped with a touch screen, while ensuring a more reliable communication of the electronic module with said device. Moreover, it is desirable that the finger cap provides clearer tactile sensations when interacting with the touch screen, especially within the tip part of the finger.

The present invention relates to a finger cap for a touch screen, comprising a rigid body and a tip portion, characterized in that the rigid body includes a retaining ring extending over at least a major part of the circumference of the proximal side of the finger cap and defining an access opening for the finger, and a nail portion extending from the top part of the retaining ring to the distal end of the finger cap, wherein the tip portion extends from the bottom part of the retaining ring to the distal end of the finger cap and connects with the nail portion, wherein a cavity receiving an electronic module, extending to a depth smaller than the thickness of the retaining ring, is formed in the bottom part of the retaining ring.

Preferably, the retaining ring has side parts extended in the proximal direction of the finger cap, a top part exhibiting an arcuate cut-out, and a bottom part exhibiting an arcuate cut-out.

Further preferably, the arcuate cut-out of the top part of the retaining ring is larger than the arcuate cut-out of the bottom part of the retaining ring. Yet further preferably, the tip portion is formed from a flexible material providing interaction with the touch screen.

Preferably, the tip portion is formed from an electroconductive fabric, an electrostatic film, a thin elastomeric material, a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), or a combination of these materials.

Further preferably, at least one switch is arranged on the outer surface of the retaining ring.

Yet further preferably, the switch is located on the side part of the retaining ring.

Preferably, the switch is a toggle switch.

Further preferably, the body is made from a rigid polymer, a rigid resin, a plastic, wood or products thereof, a metal or alloys thereof, or a combination of these materials.

Yet further preferably, the finger cap additionally includes an electronic module placed in the cavity.

Preferably, the electronic module is connected to the switch.

Further preferably, the electronic module emits radio waves.

The finger cap for a touch screen according to the present invention provides cooperation with touch screens, especially resistive and capacitive touch screens used in mobile devices. Owing to the rigid design of the retaining ring, the finger cap ensures facilitated installation and removal from the finger. The overall layout of the finger cap protects against direct contact of the finger with the surface of the touch screen, which translates into safety of use, especially in terms of contact with pathogenic microorganisms. Furthermore, the finger cap includes a cavity arranged in the bottom part of the retaining ring, at a short distance from the outer surface of the retaining ring, which enables a functional electronic module to be placed in the cavity thereof, providing additional properties to the finger cap. Importantly, the short distance of the electronic module placed in the cavity from the outer surface of the finger cap reduces the attenuation of the radio waves emitted by the electronic module, which ensures increased reliability of communication between the electronic module arranged in the finger cap and the operated mobile device with a touch screen. Owing to the use of a flexible material for the tip portion, the finger cap provides clearer tactile sensations when interacting with the touch screen. Furthermore, providing, on the outer surface of the retaining ring, the switch connected to the electronic module arranged in the cavity ensures the possibility of inputting signals for controlling the electronic module, which increases the functionality of the finger cap according to the present invention itself.

The solution according to the present invention has been shown in the embodiment below and illustrated in the drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of the finger cap according to one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the finger cap of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a rear view of the finger cap of Fig. 1, while Fig. 4 is an axonometric view of the finger cap of Fig. 1.

Example

An embodiment of the finger cap according to the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 1-4. The finger cap set forth in the present embodiment is intended to interact with touch screens of electronic devices, including those of mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, and is used as an indicating device. In the present embodiment, the finger cap is dedicated to the index finger, but this is not a limitation to the scope of the invention, and in alternative embodiments, the finger cap may be dedicated (through appropriate geometric dimensioning) to the other fingers of both hands, including the thumb, middle finger, ring finger or little finger. Nor is the present invention limited by the size of fingers for which the finger cap is designed, and without limiting the scope of the present invention, the finger cap may be intended for the fingers of male, female and children's hands. In general, the finger cap of the present invention includes a body 1 and a tip portion 2. The body 1 is made from a rigid material which undergoes little deformation under pressure. In the present embodiment, the body 1 is formed from a rigid polymer and made by 3D printing. The type of material for the body 1 of the finger cap of the present invention is not limited to a rigid polymer, and in alternative embodiments, it is possible to use another rigid material suitable for contact with the user's skin, such as a rigid resin, a plastic, such as ABS, wood and products thereof, a metal and alloys thereof, etc. Similarly, the method of manufacturing the body 1 is also not limited to 3D printing, and in alternative embodiments, it is possible to use mould casting technology, injection moulding technology (also of the multi-component type), as well as extrusion technology or mechanical processing, such as CNC machining.

At the proximal side of the finger cap of the present invention, the body 1 is equipped with a retaining ring 3 which extends over at least a major part of the circumference of the proximal side of the finger cap, defining an access opening 4 for the finger. In the present embodiment, the retaining ring 3 takes an irregular shape with side parts extended in the proximal direction of the finger cap, as best illustrated in the plan view of Fig. 2, and with a top part exhibiting a larger arcuate cut-out (in plan view) compared to the arcuate cut-out located on the underside of the body 1. As a result, the retaining ring 3 formed ensures easier insertion of the finger through the access opening 4 of the finger cap of the present invention.

From the top part of the retaining ring 3 extends a nail portion 5 of the body 1 of the finger cap which comprises approximately half the height of the finger cap, as best illustrated in Fig. 1. The nail portion 5 extends to the distal end of the finger cap of the present invention, forming a kind of cover for the user's finger, to cover, in use, a substantial part of the nail of the finger inserted in the inner space of the finger cap. The nail portion 5 is formed from the same material as the retaining ring 3 and together with the retaining ring 3 forms the rigid body 1 of the finger cap. In alternative embodiments, the nail portion 5 may be formed from another material provided that the desired rigidity of the entire body 1 is ensured.

From the bottom part of the retaining ring 3 extends a tip portion 2 which acts as a complement to the body 1 to form the finger cap of the present invention. The tip portion 2 extends to the distal end of the finger cap of the present invention to cover, in use, a substantial part of the tip of the finger inserted in the inner space of the finger cap. The tip portion 2 together with the retaining ring 3 and the nail portion 5 form the inner space receiving the user's finger.

The tip portion 2 is formed from a flexible material providing interaction with the touch screen. In the case of devices with a capacitive touch screen, the tip portion 2 is made from a material which provides changes in the electrostatic field on the surface of the screen. In the case of devices with a resistive touch screen, the tip portion 2 is made from a material exhibiting potentiostatic properties. In the present embodiment, the tip portion 2 is made from an electroconductive fabric. It is worth emphasizing that the type of material from which the tip portion 2 is made is not limited to the electroconductive fabric, and in alternative embodiments, it is possible to use other materials provided that the properties enabling interaction with touch screens of a given technology are ensured, while maintaining the flexible nature of the material itself. In alternative embodiments, the tip portion 2 may be made from, for example, an electrostatic film, a thin elastomeric material, or a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE).

Importantly, the flexible nature of the tip portion 2 enables to adjust the size of the finger cap to the shape of the finger and ensures that the finger cap does not fall off the fingers, and provides enhanced tactile sensations to the finger touching the touch screen, which enables to operate the touch screen more precisely.

The finger cap according to the present embodiment is further equipped with a cavity 6 receiving an electronic module. The cavity 6 is located in the bottom part of the retaining ring 3 adjacent to the tip portion 2. Importantly, the cavity 6 is formed from the inner side of the retaining ring 3 and extends to a depth smaller than the thickness of the retaining ring 3. The size and geometry of cavity 6 are adapted to the size and geometry of the electronic module placed therein. In this way, the electronic module placed in the cavity 6 is at a short distance from the outer surface of the body 1 in the area of the bottom part of the retaining ring 3, which ensures a reduced attenuation (by the material of the body 1) of the radio waves emitted by the electronic module.

The electronic module placed in the cavity 6 can take the form of any electronic component providing an additional functionality through near field radio technologies like RFID, NFC, Bluetooth technology, a biometric sensor, etc. The electronic module provides the finger cap with functionalities including, but not limited to, transferring recognisable characters by an application to a mobile device (e.g., a business card, a short message, network links, ciphers, passwords, etc.), identifying the finger cap and/or the user, storing data in a built-in memory. Those skilled in the art will be aware that the term electronic module encompasses a number of components necessary to implement a given functionality, including a power supply, a processor, a memory, communication interfaces, etc.

In addition, switches 7 are located on the retaining ring 3 in the area of both side parts (i.e., those adjacent to the junction of the tip portion 2 and the nail portion 5). In the present embodiment, the switches 7 take the form of toggle switches and are in communication with the electronic module, thereby enabling it to be operated through inputting control signals, for example switch on/switch off, which enables to reduce energy consumption by the electronic module through switching it off in the case that a given functionality is not being employed. It should be emphasized that the technology of the switches 7 is not limited to toggle switches, and in alternative embodiments, it is possible to use any switches providing control signals for the electronic module. In alternative embodiments, the finger cap of the present invention may have less or more than two switches

7.

List of reference numerals 1 - body

2 - tip portion

3 - retaining ring

4 - access opening

5 - nail portion 6 - cavity

7 - switch