INFORMATION INPUT DEVICE, INFORMATION INPUT METHOD, INFORMATION INPUT/OUTPUT DEVICE, COMPUTER READABLE NON-TRANSITORY RECORDING MEDIUM AND ELECTRONIC UNIT

• US 20110084934A1
• Filed: 10/06/2010
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Japan Display West Incorporated (Japan Display Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Harada, Tsutomu, Tsuzaki, Ryoichi
• Application Number:
  US12/898,948
• Publication Number:
  US 20110084934A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

An information input/output device allowed to detect both of a finger and a palm as a proximity object is provided. An information input device includes: an input panel obtaining a detection signal from a proximity object; and an object information detection section comparing the detection signal from the input panel with a first threshold value and a second threshold value, thereby detecting information of the proximity object, the first threshold value being provided for detecting the proximity object in proximity to a surface of the input panel, and the second threshold value being lower than the first threshold value.

Claims

1. An information input device comprising:

an input panel obtaining a detection signal from a proximity object; and

an object information detection section comparing the detection signal from the input panel with a first threshold value and a second threshold value, thereby detecting information of the proximity object, the first threshold value being provided for detecting the proximity object in proximity to a surface of the input panel, and the second threshold value being lower than the first threshold value.

2. The information input device according to claim 1, wherein

the object information detection section is configured so that the proximity object is detectable as a first type of detection object or a second type of detection object,

the first type of detection object is detected with respect to the first threshold value, and

the second type of detection object is detected with respect to the second threshold value or both of the first and the second threshold values.

3. The information input device according to claim 2, wherein

the input panel includes a plurality of detection elements, and

the object information detection section determines a ratio, in number, of detection elements each providing signal values larger than the second threshold value to all of the detection elements in the input panel through a comparison process with respect to the second threshold value, and determines, based on the ratio, whether or not the proximity object is the second type of detection object.

4. The information input device according to claim 3, wherein

the information input device is configured to selectively execute a predetermined processing operation based on information inputted with the proximity object, whereas, when the proximity object is judged to be the second type of detection object by the object information detection section, the processing operation is halted.

5. The information input device according to claim 3, wherein

the object information detection section concurrently performs a comparison process with respect to the first threshold value and the comparison process with respect to the second threshold value, and

the object information detection section binarizes the detection signal with respect to the first threshold value in the comparison process with respect to the first threshold value, thereby to generate a binarized image, and then obtains position information of the proximity object based on the binarized image.

6. The information input device according to claim 3, wherein

the object information detection section performs a comparison process with respect to the first threshold value, when the proximity object is judged to be other than the second type of detection object in the comparison process with respect to the second threshold value, and

the object information detection section binarizes the detection signal with respect to the first threshold value in the comparison process with respect to the first threshold value, thereby to generate a binarized image, and then obtains position information of the proximity object based on the binarized image.

7. The information input device according to claim 2, wherein

the object information detection section determines a ratio, in area, of a detection region providing a signal value larger than the second threshold value to an entire detection region in the input panel, and determines, based on the ratio, whether or not the proximity object is the second type of detection object.

8. The information input device according to claim 7, wherein

the information input device is configured to selectively execute a predetermined processing operation based on information inputted with the proximity object, whereas, when the proximity object is judged to be the second type of detection object by the object information detection section, the processing operation is halted.

9. The information input device according to claim 7, wherein

the object information detection section binarizes the detection signal with respect to the first threshold value in a comparison process with respect to the first threshold value, thereby to generate a first binarized image, and binarizes the detection signal with respect to the second threshold value in a comparison process with respect to the second threshold value, thereby to generate a second binarized image, and then obtains position information of the proximity object based on the first and second binarized images.

10. The information input device according to claim 9, wherein

the object information detection section determines, based on the first and second binarized images, whether each of a plurality of proximity objects is the first type of detection object or the second type of detection object.

11. The information input device according to claim 1 wherein

the detection signal is a photo-detection signal based on light reflected from the proximity object.

12. An information input method comprising steps of:

obtaining a detection signal from a proximity object with use of an input panel; and

comparing the detection signal obtained from the input panel with a first threshold value and a second threshold value, thereby detecting information of the proximity object, the first threshold value being provided for detecting the proximity object in proximity to a surface of the input panel, and the second threshold value being lower than the first threshold value.

13. An information input/output device comprising:

an input/output panel obtaining a detection signal from a proximity object and displaying an image; and

an object information detection section comparing the detection signal obtained by the input/output panel with a first threshold value and a second threshold value, thereby detecting information of the proximity object, the first threshold value being provided for detecting the proximity object in proximity to a surface of the input/output panel, and the second threshold value being lower than the first threshold value.

14. The information input/output device according to claim 13, wherein the input/output panel includes:

a plurality of display elements displaying an image based on image data, and

a plurality of photo-detection elements detecting light reflected from the proximity object.

15. A computer readable non-transitory recording medium on which an information input program is recorded, the information input program allowing a computer to execute steps of:

obtaining a detection signal from a proximity object with use of an input panel; and

comparing the detection signal obtained from the input panel with a first threshold value and a second threshold value, thereby detecting information of the proximity object, the first threshold value being provided for detecting the proximity object in proximity to a surface of the input panel, and the second threshold value being lower than the first threshold value.

16. An electronic unit having an information input device, the information input device comprising:

an input panel obtaining a detection signal from a proximity object; and

an object information detection section comparing the detection signal obtained by the input panel with a first threshold value and a second threshold value, thereby detecting information of the proximity object, the first threshold value being provided for detecting the proximity object in proximity to a surface of the input panel, and the second threshold value being lower than the first threshold value.