TOUCH SENSOR

• US 20090101417A1
• Filed: 10/10/2008
• Published: 04/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saturn Licensing LLC (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: NOMURA, Toshifumi, SUZUKI, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,421,757 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 178/18.60
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/06 using capacity coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960705 Safety of capacitive touch and proximity switches, e.g. increasing reliability, fail-safe

Abstract

A touch sensor includes: a first touch sensor section; a second touch sensor section disposed close to the first touch sensor; and a sensor detection section detecting whether a valid touch has been given to the first touch sensor section on the basis of an output of the second touch sensor section.

Claims

1. A touch sensor comprising:

a first touch sensor section;

a second touch sensor section disposed close to the first touch sensor; and

a sensor detection section detecting whether a valid touch has been given to the first touch sensor section on the basis of an output of the second touch sensor section.

2. The touch sensor according to claim 1,

wherein when the sensor detection section detects a touch on the first touch sensor section, the sensor detection section validates the touch detection on the condition that the second touch sensor does not detect a valid touch, and when the sensor detection section detects a valid touch on the second touch sensor section, the sensor detection section invalidates the touch detection on the first touch sensor section.

3. The touch sensor according to claim 2,

wherein the sensor detection section is capable of detecting a touch level indicating a degree of touch on each of the first touch sensor section and the second touch sensor section,

when a first touch level on the first touch sensor section and a second touch level on the second touch sensor section are both within a range regarded as valid, if the first touch level is out of the range and the second touch level is within the range, or if both the first touch level and the second touch level are out of the range, the sensor detection section invalidates the touch detection on the first touch sensor section, and

if the first touch level is within the range and the second touch level is out of the range, the sensor detection section validates the touch detection on the first touch sensor section.

4. The touch sensor according to claim 1,

wherein the first touch sensor section and the second touch sensor section are capacitive touch sensors changing capacitance by an approach or a touch of a human body or an object.

5. The touch sensor according to claim 3,

wherein the first touch sensor section and the second touch sensor section are capacitive touch sensors changing capacitance by an approach or a touch of a human body or an object, and

in accordance with an amount of change in capacitance of the first touch sensor section and an amount of change in capacitance of the second touch sensor section, the sensor detection section determines whether each of the two amounts of change in capacitance is within the range or out of the range.

6. The touch sensor according to claim 1,

wherein an operation section of the second touch sensor section is disposed closed to the periphery of an operation section of the first touch sensor section.

7. The touch sensor according to claim 6,

wherein the first touch sensor section and the second touch sensor section are capacitive touch sensors changing capacitance by an approach or a touch of a human body or an object, and

a second electrode corresponding to the operation section of the second touch sensor section is disposed closed to the periphery of a first electrode corresponding to the operation section of the first touch sensor section.