Fault-tolerant method, apparatus, and medium for touch sensor

• US 7,982,719 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2007
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Cho, Seong-il, Kim, Yeun-bae, Chang, Wook, Park, Joon-ah, Soh, Byung-seok
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel; Nitin
• Application Number:
  US11/802,410
• Publication Number:
  US 20070279397A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,519 Days
• Field of Search: 345156-173
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• 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

Abstract

A fault-tolerant method, apparatus, and medium for a touch sensor is disclosed. The fault-tolerant apparatus for a touch sensor includes a plurality of sensor pads composed of outer sensor pads and an inner sensor pad to receive an input of operation signals, a clustering unit detecting signals by clustering the sensor pads according to the input signals, and an operation mode judgment unit judging an operation mode through the detected signals and removing a signal noise and an inter-signal interference.

Claims

1. A fault-tolerant apparatus for a touch sensor, comprising:

a plurality of sensor pads including outer sensor pads and an inner sensor pad to receive an input of operation signals, wherein the inner sensor pad is in parallel with the outer sensor pads;

a clustering unit which detects signals by clustering the sensor pads according to the input signals; and

an operation mode judgment unit which judges operation modes through the detected signals and which removes a signal noise and an inter-signal interference.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outer sensor pads are arranged at a predetermined interval to receive the time differential operation signals in a horizontal direction.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner sensor pad is arranged at a predetermined interval from the outer sensor pads to receive the time differential operation signals in a vertical direction.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operation mode judgment unit judges whether the detected signal is in a predetermined signal region.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operation mode is any one of a scroll mode, a drag mode, and a long-touch drag mode.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the operation mode judgment unit detects the scroll mode by detecting movement of a weight center of the clustered sensor pads being touched.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the operation mode judgment unit removes a signal noise and an inter-signal interference of the scroll mode on the basis of a reference range of the movement of the weight center having predetermined maximum and minimum values.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the operation mode judgment unit detects the drag mode by detecting a difference in touch time between the outer sensor pad and the inner sensor pad.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operation mode judgment unit removes a signal noise and an inter-signal interference of the drag mode on the basis of a reference range of a size of the clustered sensor pad having predetermined maximum and minimum values.

10. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the operation mode judgment unit detects the long-touch drag mode by detecting an on-state of the output sensor pad and the inner sensor pad.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the operation mode judgment unit detects a signal noise and an inter-signal interference of the long-touch drag mode on the basis of a reference range of an on-state time having a predetermined minimum value.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the operation mode judgment unit detects the operation mode by compensating for the inter-signal interference even if an abnormal signal, which does not belong to the operation mode, is detected.

13. A fault-tolerant method for a touch sensor, comprising:

(a) receiving input signals from a plurality of sensor pads including outer sensor pads and an inner sensor pad, wherein the inner sensor pad is in parallel with the outer sensor pads;

(b) detecting signals by clustering the sensor pads according to the input signals; and

(c) judging operation modes through the detected signals and removing a signal noise and an inter-signal interference.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein judging operation modes comprises discriminating among a scroll mode, a drag mode, a drag mode and a long-touch drag mode.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein judging operation modes detects the scroll mode by detecting movement of a weight center of the clustered sensor pads being touched.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein judging operation modes removes a signal noise and an inter-signal interference of the scroll mode on the basis of a reference range of the movement of the weight center having predetermined maximum and minimum values.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein judging operation modes detects the drag mode by detecting a difference in touch time between the outer sensor pad and the inner sensor pad.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein judging operation modes removes a signal noise and an inter-signal interference of the drag mode on the basis of a reference range of a size of the clustered sensor pad having predetermined maximum and minimum values.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein judging operation modes detects the long-touch drag mode by detecting an on-state of the output sensor pad and the inner sensor pad.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein judging operation modes detects a signal noise and an inter-signal interference of the long-touch drag mode on the basis of a reference range of an on-state time having a predetermined minimum value.

21. The method of claim 13, wherein judging operation modes detects the operation mode by compensating for the inter-signal interference even if an abnormal signal, which does not belong to the operation mode, is detected.

22. At least one nontransitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions that control at least one processor to implement the method of claim 13.

23. A fault-tolerant apparatus for a touch sensor, comprising:

a clustering unit which detects signals by clustering the sensor pads according to time differential operation signals input through sensor pads; and

an operation mode judgment unit which judges operation modes through the detected signals and which removes a signal noise and an inter-signal interference from the detected signals,

wherein the sensor pads include outer sensor pads and an inner sensor pad, wherein the inner sensor pad is in parallel with the outer sensor pads.

24. A fault-tolerant method for a touch sensor, comprising:

detecting signals by clustering the sensor pads according to time differential operation signals input through sensor pads; and

judging operation modes through the detected signals and removing a signal noise and an inter-signal interference from the detected signals,

wherein the sensor pads include outer sensor pads and an inner sensor pad, wherein the inner sensor pad is in parallel with the outer sensor pads.

25. At least one nontransitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions that control at least one processor to implement the method of claim 24.