INPUT DEVICE, INPUT PROCESSING PROGRAM, AND INPUT CONTROL METHOD

• US 20110074731A1
• Filed: 09/29/2010
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: INOUE, Kinya, Fujita, Hiroshi, Nikawa, Susumu
• Application Number:
  US12/893,475
• Publication Number:
  US 20110074731A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

An input device and input control method including: a capacitance measurement unit to measure capacitances of a plurality of electrodes arranged on a touch panel; a deflection determination unit to determine a presence or absence of a deflection occurring in the touch panel based on a distribution of results of the capacitances of the electrodes; and a coordinate output unit to output coordinate data of an operation input on the touch panel based on the distribution of results.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

a capacitance measurement unit configured to measure capacitances from a plurality of electrodes arranged on a touch panel;

a deflection determination unit configured to determine a presence or absence of a deflection occurring in the touch panel based on a distribution of results of the capacitances; and

a coordinate output unit configured to output coordinate data of an operation input on the touch panel based on the distribution of results when it is determined that the deflection is absent.

2. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising a continuity determination unit configured to determine a presence or absence of continuity of the operation input on the touch panel.

3. The input device according to claim 2,

wherein the capacitance measurement unit repeatedly measures the capacitances of the plurality of electrodes and the continuity determination unit determines that the continuity is present when at least one capacitance output value is larger than a measurement threshold value a predetermined number times.

4. The input device according to claim 2, wherein the deflection determination unit determines the presence or absence of the deflection when the continuity determination unit determines that the continuity is absent.

5. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising a continuity determination unit configured to determine a presence or absence of continuity of the operation input on the touch panel.

6. The input device according to claim 5, wherein the coordinate output unit stops outputting the coordinate data when the continuity determination determines that the continuity is absent and the deflection determination unit determines that the deflection is present.

7. The input device according to claim 1,

wherein the deflection determination unit compares a plurality of capacitance outputs measured from the electrodes with a deflection threshold value and determines that the deflection is present when a number of the plurality of capacitance outputs with value larger than the deflection threshold value is equivalent to and/or larger than a given number.

8. The input device according to claim 7,

wherein when any of the capacitance outputs exceeds a measurement threshold value larger than the deflection threshold value, the coordinate output unit outputs data of a barycenter of distribution of the capacitance outputs as the coordinate data.

9. The input device according to claim 1,

wherein the touch panel is provided over a display device and separated from the display device by a predetermined distance.

10. The input device according to claim 1,

wherein the coordinate output unit stops outputting the coordinate data when the deflection determination unit determines that the deflection is present.

11. A computer readable storage medium having program code stored in a memory that, when executed by a processor, controls an input, the computer readable storage medium comprising:

program code to measure capacitances of a plurality of electrodes arranged on a touch panel;

program code to determine a presence or absence of a deflection occurring in the touch panel based on a distribution of results of the capacitances; and

program code to output coordinate data of an operation input on the touch panel based on the distribution of results when it is determined that the deflection is absent.

12. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 11, further comprising program code for determining a presence or absence of continuity of operation inputs for the touch panel.

13. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 11, further comprising program code to stop outputting the coordinate data when the program code to determine a presence or absence of a deflection determines that the deflection is present.

14. An input control method comprising:

measuring capacitances of a plurality of electrodes arranged on a touch panel;

determining a presence or absence of a deflection occurring in the touch panel based on a distribution of results of the capacitances; and

outputting coordinate data of the operation input on the touch panel based on the distribution of results when it is determined that the deflection is absent.

15. The input control method according to claim 14, further comprising determining a presence or absence of continuity of an operation input on the touch panel.

16. The input control method according to claim 14, further comprising stopping output of the coordinate data when a determination is made that the deflection is present.