SENSING DEVICE, DISPLAY DEVICE, ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, AND SENSING METHOD

• US 20090207154A1
• Filed: 02/10/2009
• Published: 08/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display West Incorporated (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: CHINO, Taketo
• Granted Patent: US 8,390,578 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means

Abstract

A sensing device includes: a plurality of sensors that are arrayed on a screen and that generate first detection signals each having a level corresponding to a touch state of an object on the screen or a distance between the object and the screen; a read unit that reads the first detection signals from the plurality of sensors at predetermined periods; a binarization unit that compares a level of each of the first detection signals read by the read unit with a threshold value and generates a second detection signal that is binarized; a determination unit that determines whether or not the object touches the screen on the basis of each second detection signal; a detection unit that detects a touch position of the object on the screen on the basis of each second detection signal; and a control unit that controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes a first period when the determination unit determines that there is no touch and that controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes a second period shorter than the first period when the determination unit determines that there is a touch.

Claims

1. A sensing device comprising:

a plurality of sensors that are arrayed on a screen and that generate first detection signals each having a level corresponding to a touch state of an object on the screen or a distance between the object and the screen;

a read unit that reads the first detection signals from the plurality of sensors at predetermined periods;

a binarization unit that compares a level of each of the first detection signals read by the read unit with a threshold value and generates a second detection signal that is binarized;

a determination unit that determines whether or not the object touches the screen on the basis of each second detection signal;

a detection unit that detects a touch position of the object on the screen on the basis of each second detection signal; and

a control unit that controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes a first period when the determination unit determines that there is no touch and that controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes a second period shorter than the first period when the determination unit determines that there is a touch.

2. The sensing device according to claim 1,

wherein the control unit controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes the first period when the determination unit determines that there is no touch and when the determination unit determines that there is a touch but the touch does not continue for a predetermined time or more and controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes the second period shorter than the first period when the determination unit determines that the touch continues for the predetermined time or more.

3. The sensing device according to claim 1 further comprising:

a change unit that changes the threshold value when the control unit controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes the first period and when the control unit controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes the second period.

4. The sensing device according to claim 3,

wherein the change unit set a first threshold value corresponding to the first period as the threshold value when the control unit controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes the first period and sets a second threshold value corresponding to the second period as the threshold value when the control unit controls the read unit such that the predetermined period becomes the second period.

5. The sensing device according to claim 1,

wherein the determination unit counts the number of second detection signals, which satisfy a condition set by the threshold value, among all of the second detection signals and determines whether or not the object touches the screen on the basis of the count result.

14. A display device comprising:

the sensing device according to claim 1, and

a display unit that displays an image.

15. The display device according to claim 14, further comprising:

a display control unit that generates an image showing the locus of the position detected by the detection unit and displays the image on the display unit.

16. An electronic apparatus comprising the display device according to claim 14.

6. A sensing device that detects a touch position of an object on a screen, comprising:

a plurality of sensors that are arrayed on the screen and that generate first detection signals each having a level corresponding to an amount of incident light,

a read unit that is operable in a normal mode, in which the first detection signals are read from the plurality of sensors at first periods, and a low consumption mode, in which the first detection signals are read from the plurality of sensors at second periods longer than the first period;

a binarization unit that compares a level of each of the first detection signals read by the read unit with a threshold value and generates a second detection signal that is binarized;

a sensing unit that senses that the object does not touch the screen on the basis of each second detection signal,

a detection unit that detects the touch position of the object on the screen on the basis of each second detection signal; and

a control unit that controls switching between the normal mode and the low consumption mode, controls the read unit to switch to the low consumption mode when the sensing unit senses that there is no touch continuously for a predetermined time in the normal mode, and controls the read unit to switch from the low consumption mode to the normal mode in a predetermined case.

7. The sensing device according to claim 6,

wherein the plurality of sensors are ‘

m×

n’

sensors arrayed on the screen corresponding to intersections between ‘

m’

(integer of 2 or more) scanning lines and ‘

n’

(integer of 2 or more) read lines, and

the read unit is operable in a normal mode, in which the first detection signals are read from the ‘

m×

n’

sensors at the first periods, and a low consumption mode, in which the first detection signals are read at the second periods from the ‘

M×

N’

(smaller than ‘

m×

n’

) sensors corresponding to the ‘

M’

(integer of 2 or more and ‘

m’

or less) scanning lines continuously arrayed and the ‘

N’

(integer of 2 or more and ‘

n’

or less) read lines continuously arrayed.

8. The sensing device according to claim 7, further comprising:

a backlight that includes a plurality of light sources capable of adjusting an amount of emitted light and that is provided on a back surface of the screen; and

an adjustment unit that calculates an illuminance of ambient light on the basis of the plurality of first detection signals read by the read unit and increases the amount of emitted light of the light source, which corresponds to an area where the ‘

M×

N’

sensors are arrayed, to be larger than those of the other light sources when the calculated illuminance is less than a predetermined value in the low consumption mode.

9. The sensing device according to claim 6,

wherein the plurality of sensors are arrayed on the screen corresponding to intersections between a plurality of scanning lines and a plurality of read lines, and

the read unit includes a selection unit, which sequentially selects the plurality of scanning lines in the normal mode and sequentially selects the plurality of scanning lines at the rate of one every ‘

L’

(integer of 2 or more) scanning lines in the low consumption mode, and reads the first detection signals through the plurality of read lines from the sensors corresponding to the scanning lines selected by the selection unit.

13. The sensing device according to claim 6,

wherein the sensing unit counts the number of second detection signals, which satisfy a condition set by the threshold value, among all of the second detection signals and senses that the object does not touch the screen on the basis of the count result.

10. A sensing device that detects a touch position of an object on a screen, comprising:

‘

m×

n’

sensors that are arrayed on the screen corresponding to intersections between ‘

m’

(integer of 2 or more) scanning lines and ‘

n’

(integer of 2 or more) read lines and that generate first detection signals each having a level corresponding to an amount of incident light;

a read unit that is operable in a normal read mode, in which the first detection signals are read from the ‘

m×

n’

sensors, and a partial read mode, in which the first detection signals are read from the ‘

M×

N’

(smaller than ‘

m×

n’

) sensors corresponding to the ‘

M’

(integer of 2 or more and ‘

m’

or less) scanning lines continuously arrayed and the ‘

N’

(integer of 2 or more and ‘

n’

or less) read lines continuously arrayed;

a binarization unit that compares a level of each of the first detection signals read by the read unit with a threshold value and generates a second detection signal that is binarized;

a sensing unit that senses that the object does not touch the screen on the basis of each second detection signal;

a detection unit that detects the touch position of the object on the screen on the basis of each second detection signal; and

a control unit that controls switching between the normal read mode and the partial read mode, controls the read unit to switch to the partial read mode when the sensing unit senses that there is no touch continuously for a predetermined time in the normal read mode, and controls the read unit to switch from the partial read mode to the normal read mode in a predetermined case.

11. The sensing device according to claim 10,

wherein the read unit includes a selection unit, which sequentially selects the ‘

m’

scanning lines in the normal read mode and sequentially selects the ‘

M’

scanning lines at the rate of one every ‘

L’

(integer of 2 or more and ‘

M’

or less) scanning lines in the partial read mode, and reads the first detection signals from the ‘

m×

n’

sensors in the normal read mode and reads the first detection signals from the ‘

(M×

N)/L’

sensors in the partial read mode.

12. The sensing device according to claim 10, further comprising:

a backlight that includes a plurality of light sources capable of adjusting an amount of emitted light and that is provided on a back surface of the screen; and

an adjustment unit that calculates an illuminance of ambient light on the basis of the plurality of first detection signals read by the read unit and increases the amount of emitted light of the light source, which corresponds to an area where the ‘

M×

N’

sensors are arrayed, to be larger than those of the other light sources when the calculated illuminance is less than a predetermined value in the partial read mode.