METHOD FOR DETECTING TOUCH INPUT AND TOUCH INPUT DEVICE THEREFOR

• US 20180329475A1
• Filed: 05/10/2018
• Published: 11/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ALPS Electric Korea Co., Ltd. (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.), Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd., Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Korea Co., Ltd. (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.), Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd., Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Inventors: Jung, Byung Eon, Lee, Sang Kyu, Cho, Seong Hwan, Lee, Sang Min, Han, Yong Hee, Oh, Da Ye
• Granted Patent: US 10,452,121 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3231 Monitoring the presence, absence or movement of users
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/94026 Automatic threshold calibration; e.g. threshold automatically adapts to ambient conditions or follows variation of input
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960705 Safety of capacitive touch and proximity switches, e.g. increasing reliability, fail-safe

Abstract

A method for detecting a touch input can include: scanning at least one function touch button of the touch input device and at least one comparison touch button of the touch input device; determining whether an expected touch input corresponds to an intention of a user or to a first environmental change causing the change in capacitance generated by the at least one function touch button; comparing the change in capacitance generated by the at least one function touch button with the change in capacitance generated by the at least one comparison touch button; and determining whether the expected touch input is a determined touch input corresponding to the intention of the user or a touch input corresponding to a second environmental change based on the comparison.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a touch input at a touch input device, the method comprising:

after a wake-up of the touch input device, scanning at least one function touch button of the touch input device and at least one comparison touch button of the touch input device;

detecting a change in capacitance generated by the at least one function touch button and a change in capacitance generated by the at least one comparison touch button as a result of the scanning of the at least one function touch button and the at least one comparison touch button;

determining whether an expected touch input corresponds to an intention of a user or to a first environmental change causing the change in capacitance generated by the at least one function touch button;

comparing the change in capacitance generated by the at least one function touch button with the change in capacitance generated by the at least one comparison touch button; and

determining whether the expected touch input is a determined touch input corresponding to the intention of the user or a touch input corresponding to a second environmental change based on the comparison of the change in capacitance generated by the at least one function touch button with the change in capacitance generated by the at least one comparison touch button.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the wake-up is implemented by a tact switch which causes a change in capacitance based on a pressing state of a touch pad in which there is an air gap.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanning of the at least one function touch button and the at least one comparison touch button comprises:

simultaneously scanning the at least one function touch button and the at least one comparison touch button.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether the expected touch input corresponds to an intention of the user or to the first environmental change comprises:

when each capacitance value generated by the at least one function touch button is greater than a mean capacitance value of each capacitance value generated by the at least one function touch button, determining that the expected touch input corresponds to an intention of the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determining of whether the expected touch input corresponds to an intention of the user or to the first environmental change further comprises:

when each capacitance value generated by the at least one function touch button is less than or equal to the mean capacitance value of each capacitance value generated by the at least one function touch button, determining that the expected touch input corresponds to the first environmental change.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of whether the expected touch input is the determined touch input corresponding to the intention of the user or the touch input corresponding to the second environmental change comprises:

when a capacitance value generated by the at least one comparison touch button is greater than each mean deviation of capacitances generated by the at least one function touch button in which the expected touch input occurs, determining that the expected touch input is the determined touch input corresponding to the intention of the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining of whether the expected touch input is the determined touch input corresponding to the intention of the user or the touch input corresponding to the second environmental change further comprises:

when the capacitance value generated by the at least one comparison touch button is less than or equal to each mean deviation of the capacitances generated by the at least one function touch button in which the expected touch input occurs, determining that the expected touch input is the touch input corresponding to the second environmental change.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

when the expected touch input corresponds to the first environmental change or the second environmental change, operating the touch input device in a sleep mode.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the operating of the touch input device in the sleep mode comprises:

when each capacitance value generated by the at least one comparison touch button or the at least one function touch button is less than a threshold preset or when a relative deviation of an amount of variation in all capacitances generated by the at least one comparison touch button or the at least one function touch button is within a specific range, updating the capacitance value to a current capacitance value during a predetermined time without entering the touch input device into a sleep control mode, and entering the touch input device into the sleep control mode.

10. A touch input device, comprising:

at least one function touch button disposed above a printed circuit board (PCB);

at least one touch electrode disposed between the PCB and the at least one function touch button, the at least one touch electrode corresponding to the at least one function touch button;

a tact switch disposed between the at least one touch electrode, the tact switch configured to detect a change in capacitance by bottom compression of at least one air gap disposed between the at least one touch electrode and the at least one function touch button and to generate a wake-up signal;

at least one comparison touch button spaced apart from the at least one function touch button; and

a microcontroller unit (MCU) disposed in the PCB, the MCU configured to compare a capacitance generated by the at least one function touch button with a capacitance generated by the at least one comparison touch button and to determine whether a touch input corresponds to an intention of a user or to an environmental change based on the comparison of the capacitance generated by the at least one function touch button with the capacitance generated by the at least one comparison touch button.

11. The touch input device of claim 10, further comprising:

a plurality of adhesives, each of which is disposed adjacent to the at least one touch electrode;

a touch pad disposed on the plurality of adhesives;

a sheet member disposed on at least one of the plurality of adhesives disposed under the touch pad and on the at least one touch electrode; and

a molding resin disposed at a portion of a side of the PCB and covering a lower portion of the PCB.

12. The touch input device of claim 11, wherein:

the tact switch is disposed on the PCB and disposed in the plurality of adhesives disposed adjacent to the at least one touch electrode, and

the at least one function touch button corresponds one-to-one to the at least one touch electrode and is disposed in the touch pad.

13. The touch input device of claim 11, wherein, when the sheet member is compressed by the bottom compression of the air gap, the tact switch generates the wake-up signal.

14. A touch input device for detecting a touch input, the touch input device comprising:

a wake-up detector configured to detect a wake-up signal generated by an operation of a tact switch;

a first comparison and determination device configured to determine that a touch input corresponds to an intention of a user when each capacitance value generated by at least one function touch button is greater than a mean capacitance value of each capacitance value generated by the at least one function touch button according to the detected wake-up signal; and

a second comparison and determination device configured to determine that the touch input corresponds to the intention of the user when a capacitance value generated by a comparison touch button is greater than each mean deviation of capacitances generated by the at least one function touch button in which the touch input determined as corresponding to the intention of the user occurs.

15. The touch input device of claim 14, wherein the wake-up signal is generated based on a change in capacitance generated according to a pressing state of an air gap.

16. The touch input device of claim 14, wherein, when each of the capacitance values generated by the at least one function touch button is less than or equal to the mean capacitance value of the capacitance values generated by the at least one function touch button, the first comparison and determination device determines that the touch input corresponds to a first environmental change.

17. The touch input device of claim 14, wherein, when the capacitance value generated by the comparison touch button is less than or equal to each mean deviation of the capacitances generated by the at least one function touch button in which the touch input determined as corresponding to the intention of the user occurs, the second comparison and determination device determines that the touch input corresponds to a second environmental change.

18. The touch input device of claim 14, further comprising:

a sleep mode device configured to enter a sleep control mode when the touch input is determined as corresponding to a first touch input or a second touch input.

19. The touch input device of claim 18, wherein, when each capacitance value generated by the comparison touch button or the at least one function touch button is less than a threshold preset or when a relative deviation of an amount of variation in all capacitances generated by the comparison touch button or the at least one function touch button is within a specific range, the sleep mode device updates the capacitance value to a current capacitance value during a predetermined time without entering the sleep control mode and enters the sleep control mode.