GHOST RESOLUTION FOR A CAPACITIVE TOUCH PANEL

• US 20100188364A1
• Filed: 12/30/2009
• Published: 07/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
• Inventors: KUO, PO-HAO, TAO, YI-HSIN, TSAI, HSIN-SHIEH, LIN, CHIA-HSING, LIN, MIN-JHIH
• Granted Patent: US 8,619,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment

Abstract

Ghost resolution sensing methods are provided for capacitive touch panels. When ghost is detected involving two points on a capacitive touch panel, for each of the two points, the intersected traces at that one are concurrently charged to sense the capacitance value from either one of the intersected traces, and according thereto, a real point and a ghost point can be distinguished from each other. Alternatively, the intersected traces are crisscross driven by two synchronous and in phase signals or synchronous but out of phase signals, to sense the capacitance values at the two points. Preferably, intersectional calibration is performed in conjunction therewith, to recognize the real points.

Claims

1. A ghost resolution sensing method for a capacitive touch panel suffering a ghost phenomenon involving two points on the capacitive touch panel corresponding to a same coordinate in a first direction, the ghost resolution method comprising:

(A) concurrently charging a trace in the first direction and a trace in a second direction at the first point;

(B) sensing a first capacitance value from the charged trace in the first direction or the charged trace in the second direction at the first point;

(C) concurrently charging a trace in the first direction and a trace in the second direction at the second point;

(D) sensing a second capacitance value from the charged trace in the first direction or the charged trace in the second direction at the second point; and

(E) recognizing a real point from the two points according to the first and second capacitance values.

2. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 1, wherein the step E comprises:

comparing the first capacitance value with the second capacitance value;

selecting the first point as the real point if the first capacitance value is greater than the second capacitance value; and

selecting the second point as the real point if the first capacitance value is less than the second capacitance value.

3. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 2, further comprising adding the two points into a ghost candidate list.

4. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 3, further comprising removing each identified point from the ghost candidate list after the step E.

5. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 4, further comprising removing each point having the same coordinate in the first direction or the same coordinate in the second direction as the real point from the ghost candidate list after the step E.

6. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 1, wherein the step E comprises:

comparing the first capacitance value with the second capacitance value;

selecting the first point as the real point if the first capacitance value is greater than the second capacitance value;

selecting the second point as the real point if the first capacitance value is less than the second capacitance value; and

determining the two points both as ghost points if the first capacitance value is equal to the second capacitance value.

7. A ghost resolution sensing method for a capacitive touch panel suffering a ghost phenomenon involving two points on the capacitive touch panel corresponding to a same coordinate in a first direction, the ghost resolution method comprising:

(A) concurrently charging a trace in the first direction and a trace in a second direction at the first point;

(B) sensing a first capacitance value from the charged trace in the first direction and a second capacitance value from the charged trace in the second direction at the first point;

(C) summing up the first and second capacitance values to obtain a first summed-up capacitance value;

(D) concurrently charging a trace in the first direction and a trace in the second direction at the second point;

(E) sensing a third capacitance value from the charged trace in the first direction and a fourth capacitance value from the charged trace in the second direction at the second point;

(F) summing up the third and fourth capacitance values to obtain a second summed-up capacitance value; and

(G) recognizing a real point from the two points according to the first and second summed-up capacitance values.

8. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 7, wherein the step G comprises:

comparing the first summed-up capacitance value with the second summed-up capacitance value;

selecting the first point as the real point if the first summed-up capacitance value is greater than the second summed-up capacitance value; and

selecting the second point as the real point if the first summed-up capacitance value is less than the second summed-up capacitance value.

9. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 8, further comprising adding the two points into a ghost candidate list.

10. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 9, further comprising removing each identified point from the ghost candidate list after the step G.

11. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 10, further comprising removing each point having the same coordinate in the first direction or the same coordinate in the second direction as the real point from the ghost candidate list after the step G.

12. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 7, wherein the step G comprises:

comparing the first summed-up capacitance value with the second summed-up capacitance value;

selecting the first point as the real point if the first summed-up capacitance value is greater than the second summed-up capacitance value;

selecting the second point as the real point if the first summed-up capacitance value is less than the second summed-up capacitance value; and

determining the two points both as ghost points if the first summed-up capacitance value is equal to the second summed-up capacitance value.

13. A ghost resolution sensing method for a capacitive touch panel suffering a ghost phenomenon involving two points on the capacitive touch panel corresponding to a same coordinate in a first direction, the ghost resolution method comprising:

(A) concurrently charging a trace in the first direction and a trace in a second direction at the first point for the trace in the first direction at the first point to be sensed a first capacitance value therefrom;

(B) charging the trace in the first direction at the first point while grounding the trace in the second direction at the first point for the trace in the first direction at the first point to be sensed a second capacitance value therefrom;

(C) extracting a first differential capacitance value between the first and second capacitance values;

(D) concurrently charging a trace in the first direction and a trace in a second direction at the second point for the trace in the first direction at the second point to be sensed a third capacitance value therefrom;

(E) charging the trace in the first direction at the second point while grounding the trace in the second direction at the second point for the trace in the first direction at the second point to be sensed a fourth capacitance value therefrom;

(F) extracting a second differential capacitance value between the third and fourth capacitance values; and

(G) recognizing a real point from the two points according to the first and second differential capacitance values.

14. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 13, wherein the step G comprises:

comparing the first differential capacitance value with the second differential capacitance value;

selecting the first point as the real point and the second point as a ghost point if the first differential capacitance value is less than the second differential capacitance value; and

selecting the second point as the real point and the first point as a ghost point if the first differential capacitance value is greater than the second differential capacitance value.

15. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 14, further comprising adding the two points into a ghost candidate list.

16. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 15, further comprising removing each identified point from the ghost candidate list after the step G.

17. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 16, further comprising removing each point having the same coordinate in the first direction or the same coordinate in the second direction as the real point from the ghost candidate list after the step G.

18. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 13, wherein the step G comprises:

comparing the first differential capacitance value with the second differential capacitance value;

selecting the first point as the real point and the second point as a ghost point if the first differential capacitance value is less than the second differential capacitance value;

selecting the second point as the real point and the first point as a ghost point if the first differential capacitance value is greater than the second differential capacitance value; and

determining the two points both as ghost points if the first differential capacitance value is equal to the second differential capacitance value.

19. A ghost resolution sensing method for a capacitive touch panel suffering a ghost phenomenon involving two points on the capacitive touch panel corresponding to a same coordinate in a first direction, the ghost resolution method comprising:

(A) concurrently driving a trace in the first direction at the first point with a first signal and a trace in a second direction at the first point with a second signal synchronous to the first signal;

(B) sensing a first capacitance value from the driven trace in the first direction or the driven trace in the second direction at the first point;

(C) concurrently driving a trace in the first direction at the second point with the first signal, and a trace in the second direction at the second point with the second signal;

(D) sensing a second capacitance value from the driven trace in the first direction or the driven trace in the second direction at the second point; and

(E) recognizing a real point from the two points according to the first and second capacitance values.

20. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 19, wherein the second signal is in phase with the first signal.

21. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 19, wherein the second signal is out of phase with the first signal.

22. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 19, wherein the step E comprises:

comparing the first capacitance value with the second capacitance value;

selecting the first point as the real point if the first capacitance value is greater than the second capacitance value; and

selecting the second point as the real point if the first capacitance value is less than the second capacitance value.

23. The ghost resolution sensing method of claim 19, further comprising:

driving any trace in the second direction of the capacitive touch panel with the second signal;

scanning all traces in the first direction of the capacitive touch panel by driving them one by one with the first signal; and

from each trace in the first direction, sensing a capacitance value to calibrate a base capacitance value therefor.