CAPACITIVE SENSING DEVICE AND CAPACITIVE SENSING METHOD

• US 20160179246A1
• Filed: 05/04/2015
• Published: 06/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Imagination Broadway Ltd., Salt International Corp.
• Original Assignee: Imagination Broadway Ltd., Salt International Corp.
• Inventors: LEE, SHANG-LI
• Granted Patent: US 9,626,054 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092

Abstract

A capacitive sensing method includes detecting present measured values of plural reference points from plural sensing points; generating a present difference value according to the present measured values of the reference points and current reference measured values; comparing the present difference value with a threshold; detecting present measured values of the sensing points; generating plural position signals of the sensing points according to the present measured values of the sensing points and the current reference measured values; and controlling the output of the position signals according to a reference signal. When the present difference value is greater than the threshold, executing a procedure for refreshing background noise to refresh the current reference measured values. The sensing points are defined by intersected electrodes, configured to form an array, and correspond to the current reference measured values. The reference points are located at the periphery of the array.

Claims

1. A sensing method for a capacitive sensing device, comprising:

detecting present measured values of a plurality of reference points selected from a plurality of sensing points, wherein the sensing points are defined by electrodes intersected with one another and the sensing point are configured to form an array, wherein the sensing points correspond to a plurality of respective reference measured values which is currently used, and wherein the reference points are located at the periphery of the array;

generating a present difference value according to the present measured values of the reference points and the reference measured values which are currently used;

comparing the present difference value with a second threshold;

executing a procedure for refreshing background noise to refresh the reference measured values which are currently used based on the present difference value when the present difference value is greater than the second threshold;

detecting a plurality of present measured values of the sensing points;

generating a plurality of position signals of the sensing points according to the present measured values of the sensing points and the reference measured values which are currently used; and

controlling the output of the position signals according to a reference signal.

2. The sensing method for a capacitive sensing device according to claim 1, wherein the step of executing a procedure for refreshing background noise to refresh the reference measured values which are currently used with the present difference value when the present difference value is greater than the second threshold comprises:

reading out a set of reference measured values corresponding to the present difference value from a storage unit; and

refreshing the reference measured values which are currently used with the set of read-out reference measured values.

3. The sensing method for a capacitive sensing device according to claim 1, wherein the step of detecting present measured values of a plurality of reference points selected from a plurality of sensing points comprises:

driving at least one electrode located at a first side of the array and at least one electrode located at a second side of the array from the electrodes, wherein the first side is opposite to the second side; and

measuring at least one electrode located at a third side of the array and at least one electrode located at a fourth side of the array from the electrodes to obtain the present measured values of the reference points, wherein the third side is opposite to the fourth side.

4. The sensing method for a capacitive sensing device according to claim 1, wherein the step of detecting present measured values of a plurality of reference points selected from a plurality of sensing points comprises:

driving and measuring at least one electrode located at at least one side of the array from the electrodes to obtain the present measured values of the reference points.

5. The sensing method for a capacitive sensing device according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes comprise a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes intersected with the first electrodes, and wherein the step of detecting present measured values of a plurality of reference points selected from a plurality of sensing points further comprises:

driving at least one of the first electrodes located at a first side of the array and at least one of the first electrodes located at a second side of the array, wherein the first side is opposite to the second side; and

measuring a number of the second electrodes to obtain the present measured values of the reference points.

6. The capacitive sensing method according to claim 5, wherein any two of the measured second electrodes are spaced by at least one unmeasured second electrode.

7. The capacitive sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the electrodes comprise a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes intersected with the first electrodes, and wherein the step of detecting present measured values of a plurality of reference points selected from a plurality of sensing points further comprises:

driving at least one of the first electrodes located at a first side of the array and at least one of the first electrodes located at a second side of the array, wherein the first side is opposite to the second side;

measuring at least one of the second electrodes to obtain present measured values of some of the reference points;

driving at least one of the second electrodes located at a third side of the array and a least one of the second electrodes located at a fourth side, wherein the third side is opposite to the fourth side; and

measuring at least one of the first electrodes to obtain present measured values of the rest reference points.

8. The capacitive sensing method according to claim 7, wherein any two of the measured first electrodes is spaced by at least one unmeasured first electrode, and wherein any two of the measured second electrodes is spaced by at least one unmeasured second electrode.

9. The capacitive sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the array is divided into a sensing area and an invalid area located at the periphery of the sensing area, and the reference points are located in the invalid area.

10. The capacitive sensing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

comparing the present difference value with a first threshold;

increasing a detecting frequency of the present measured values of the reference points when the present difference value is greater than the first threshold.

11. The capacitive sensing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

comparing the present difference value with a first threshold;

increasing a detecting frequency of the present measured values of the reference points and reset a count value when the present difference value is greater than the first threshold;

accumulating the count value when the present difference value is not greater than the first threshold;

decreasing the detecting frequency of the present measured values of the reference points and reset the count value when the count value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value; and

retaining the same detecting frequency of the present measured values of the reference points when the count value is not reached to the predetermined value.

12. A capacitive sensing device, comprising:

a storage unit, storing a reference signal and a plurality of sets of reference measured values corresponding to respective present measured values, wherein one set of reference measured values is set to be used currently;

a signal sensor, comprising a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes, wherein the first electrodes are intersected with the second electrodes, and the first electrodes and the second electrodes define a plurality of sensing points configured as an array, and wherein a plurality of reference measured values selected from each set of reference measured values corresponds to the respective sensing points;

a driving/sensing unit, connected to the first electrodes and the second electrodes for detecting present measured values of the sensing points;

a position sensing unit, connected to the driving/sensing unit and the storage unit for generating a present difference value according to the reference measured values which are currently used and present measured values of a plurality of reference points selected from the sensing points, generating a plurality of position signals according to the present measured values of the sensing points and the set of reference measured values which are currently used, and controlling the output of the position signals according to the reference signal, wherein the reference points are located at the periphery of the array; and

a control unit, connected to the storage unit, the driving/sensing unit and the position sensing unit, for comparing the present difference value with a second threshold, wherein the control unit executes a procedure for refreshing background noise to refresh the set of reference measured values which are currently used based on the present difference value when the present difference value is greater than the second threshold.

13. The capacitive sensing device according to claim 12, wherein in the procedure for refreshing background noise, the control unit reads out the set of reference measured values corresponding to the present difference value from the storage unit and refreshes the reference measured values which are currently used with the read-out set of reference measured values.

14. The capacitive sensing device according to claim 12, wherein the reference points are located at a corner of the array.

15. The capacitive sensing device according to claim 12, wherein the array is divided into a sensing area and an invalid area located at the periphery of the sensing area, and the reference points are located in the invalid area.

16. The capacitive sensing device according to claim 12, wherein the control unit adjusts a detecting frequency of the driving/sensing unit applied to the present measured values of the reference points according to the present difference value and a first threshold.