OPTICAL DETECTING DEVICE, DISPLAY DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

• US 20120002215A1
• Filed: 06/17/2011
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Columbia Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: TAKAHASHI, Masaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,582,118 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/614
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0428 by sensing at the edges of the touch surface the interruption of optical paths, e.g. an illumination plane, parallel to the touch surface which may be virtual sensing beam interruptions in a planar beam grid of an optical touch-screen G06F3/0421

Abstract

An optical detecting device including: an emission unit that emits emitting light; a light-receiving unit that receives the emitting light reflected off an object; an amplifying unit that amplifies a received-light detection signal of the light-receiving unit; a detecting unit that detects position identifying information of the object based on a signal output from the amplifying unit; a determining unit that determines a position of the object based on the position identifying information; and a coupling capacitor provided between an output node of the amplifying unit and an input node of the detecting unit.

Claims

1. An optical detecting device comprising:

an emission unit that emits emitting light;

a light-receiving unit that receives the emitting light reflected off an object;

an amplifying unit that amplifies a received-light detection signal of the light-receiving unit;

a detecting unit that outputs position identifying information of the object based on an amplified signal output from the amplifying unit;

a determining unit that determines a position of the object based on the position identifying information; and

a coupling capacitor provided between an output node of the amplifying unit and an input node of the detecting unit.

2. The optical detecting device according to claim 1, wherein

the detecting unit includes a circuit for applying a reverse bias voltage and for setting the reverse bias voltage for the input node.

3. The optical detecting device according to claim 2, wherein

the light-receiving unit includes a photodiode, and

the reverse bias voltage is a bias voltage which applies a reverse voltage to the photodiode after the light-receiving unit is connected to the input node.

4. The optical detecting device according to claim 1, wherein

the detecting unit outputs light-emitting current control information as the position identifying information, and

a capacitance value of the coupling capacitor is set in such a way that a fluctuation range of the light-emitting current control information becomes a predetermined fluctuation range.

5. The optical detecting device according to claim 4, wherein

the predetermined fluctuation range is a fluctuation range in which a detection accuracy with which the object is detected becomes an intended detection accuracy.

6. The optical detecting device according to claim 1, wherein

the determining unit determines the position of the object based on first-period light-emitting current control information which is the light-emitting current control information in a first period in which the object is not present in a detection region, which is a region in which the object is detected, and based on second-period light-emitting current control information which is the light-emitting current control information in a second period in which the object is present in the detection region.

7. The optical detecting device according to claim 6, wherein

the capacitance value of the coupling capacitor is set in such a way that a value of the first-period light-emitting current control information becomes a predetermined value.

8. The optical detecting device according to claim 7, wherein

the predetermined value is an intermediate value of a fluctuation range of the second-period light-emitting current control information.

9. The optical detecting device according to claim 6, wherein

the capacitance value of the coupling capacitor is set in such a way that a fluctuation range of the second-period light-emitting current control information becomes a predetermined fluctuation range.

10. The optical detecting device according to claim 9, wherein

the predetermined fluctuation range is a fluctuation range in which detection accuracy with which the object is detected becomes intended detection accuracy.

11. The optical detecting device according to claim 1, wherein

the amplifying unit includes:

a current-voltage conversion circuit converting a current flowing through the light-receiving unit into a voltage; and

an amplifying circuit amplifying an output signal of the current-voltage conversion circuit around a predetermined bias voltage and outputting the amplified signal to the output node.

12. A display device comprising:

the optical detecting device according to claim 1.

13. Electronic equipment comprising:

the optical detecting device according to claim 1.