Input device and display apparatus

• US 9,063,599 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2013
• Issued: 06/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: ALPS Electric Company Limited (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yanagi, Shuji, Umetsu, Eiji, Ishizone, Masahiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): BIBBEE, CHAYCE R
• Application Number:
  US13/868,914
• Publication Number:
  US 20130234968A1
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/18 using properties of piezo-resistive materials, i.e. materials of which the ohmic resistance varies according to changes in magnitude or direction of force applied to the material
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 1/205 using distributed sensing elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/016 Input arrangements with force or tactile feedback as computer generated output to the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0414 using force sensing means to determine a position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

There is provided an input device including: means for performing zero point correction on the sensor outputs of the load sensors when an absolute value of an amount of output change of each load sensor is not more than a predetermined threshold a during a certain period of measurement time; means for calculating position data and calculating a total load Z of the load sensors by using the sensor outputs; means for determining that the calculation data pieces are normal when the absolute value |dZ/dt| of the amount of change in the total load Z is not more than the threshold β; means for determining that an input is present in the calculation data pieces when the absolute value |Z| of the total load is not less than the threshold γ; and means for removing a predetermined number of first and last data pieces in the calculation data pieces.

Claims

1. An input device having a panel and a plurality of load sensors disposed under the panel at different positions, each of the load sensors outputting a sensor output according to a load applied thereto, the input device being configured to calculate, based on the sensor outputs, an input position of an operational object which operates a panel surface, the input device comprising:

a first processing section configured to perform zero point correction on the sensor outputs when an absolute value of an amount of change in the sensor output of each load sensor is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value α

during a certain period of measurement time;

a calculation section configured to calculate and obtain calculation data representing the input position and a total load Z of the load sensors using the sensor outputs on which the zero point correction has been performed;

a second processing section configured to remove high-frequency noises in the calculation data by comparing an absolute value |dZ/dt| of an amount of change in the total load Z with a predetermined threshold value β

, determining that the calculation data is normal if the absolute value |dZ/dt| is less than or equal to the threshold value β

, and determining that the calculation data is abnormal if the absolute value |dZ/dt| is greater than the threshold value β

;

a third processing section configured to remove low-load data in the calculation data by comparing an absolute value |Z| of the total load Z with a predetermined threshold value γ

, determining that the calculation data indicates an input performed by the operational object if the absolute value |Z| is greater than or equal to the threshold value γ

, and determining that the input by the operational object is absent if the absolute value |Z| is less than the threshold value γ

; and

a fourth processing section configured to remove a predetermined number of first and last data samples from a series of successive data samples of the calculation data obtained by the calculation section.

2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the first processing section obtains a predetermined number of updated data samples from each load sensor, and performs the zero point correction if the absolute value of the amount of change in all of the sensor outputs is less than or equal to the threshold value α

.

3. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the first processing section updates the zero point correction after an initial zero point correction is performed on the sensor outputs through an initial offset correction.

4. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the input device is further configured to obtain X and Y position coefficients of each load sensor as an initial setting using least squares of a plurality of measurements, the X and Y position coefficients being used in calculating the position data.

5. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising a fifth processing section configured to obtain a moving average of data samples of the calculation data,

wherein the fifth processing section performs the moving average before the fourth processing section removes the predetermined number of the data samples.

6. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the load sensors are disposed at four corners of the panel.

7. A display apparatus comprising:

the input device according to claim 1, the panel being transparent; and

a display disposed under the panel,

wherein a display screen is updated based on the position data which is obtained by the calculation section and the first through fourth processing sections of the input device.

8. A method for detecting an input position of an operational object operating a surface of a panel in an input device, the input device having the panel and a plurality of load sensors disposed under the panel at different positions, each of the load sensors outputting a sensor output according to a load applied thereto, the method calculating the input position based on the sensor outputs, the method comprising:

performing zero point correction on the sensor outputs when an absolute value of an amount of change in the sensor output of each load sensor is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value a during a certain period of measurement time;

calculating and obtaining calculation data representing the input position and a total load Z of the load sensors using the sensor outputs on which the zero point correction has been performed;

removing high-frequency noises in the calculation data by comparing an absolute value |dZ/dt| of an amount of change in the total load Z with a predetermined threshold value β

, determining that the calculation data is normal if the absolute value |dZ/dt| is less than or equal to the threshold value β

, and determining that the calculation data is abnormal if the absolute value |dZ/dt| is greater than the threshold value β

;

removing low-load data in the calculation data by comparing an absolute value |Z | of the total load Z with a predetermined threshold value γ

, determining that the calculation data indicates an input performed by the operational object if the absolute value |Z | is greater than or equal to the threshold value γ

, and determining that the input by the operational object is absent if the absolute value |Z | is less than the threshold value γ

; and

removing a predetermined number of first and last data samples from a series of successive data samples of the calculation data.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein in the performing the zero point correction, a predetermined number of updated data samples are obtained from each load sensor, and the zero point correction is performed if the absolute value of the amount of change in all of the sensor outputs is less than or equal to the threshold value α

.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the zero point correction is updated after an initial zero point correction is performed on the sensor outputs through an initial offset correction.

11. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

obtaining X and Y position coefficients of each load sensor as an initial setting using least squares of a plurality of measurements, the X and Y position coefficients being used in calculating the position data.

12. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

obtaining a moving average of data samples of the calculation data, before removing the predetermined number of the data samples.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the load sensors are disposed at four corners of the panel.