Electromagnetic-type touch panel, method for driving and detecting electromagnetic-type touch panel, and coordinate input device

• US 9,576,548 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2015
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Shanghai Tianma Micro-Electronics Company Limited (Tianma Microelectronics Company Limited), Tianma Microelectronics Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Shanghai Tianma Micro-Electronics Company Limited (Tianma Microelectronics Company Limited), Tianma Microelectronics Company Limited
• Inventors: Yao, Qijun, Lu, Feng, Zhang, Xianxiang
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lu, William
• Application Number:
  US14/602,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20160026271A1
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/00 Control arrangements or circuits for visual indicators common to cathode-ray tube indicators and other visual indicators image data processing or generation, in general G06T

Abstract

A touch panel is disclosed. The touch panel is detects a position of a stylus, which includes first and second resonance circuits. The touch panel includes first and second coils respectively extending in first and second directions. Each of the first coils emits a first signal having a first frequency and receives a second signal having a second frequency, where emitting the first signal and receiving the second signal are successively and respectively performed by the plurality of second coils. In addition, each of second coils emits a second signal having the second frequency and receives a first signal having the first frequency, where emitting the second signal and receiving the first signal are successively performed. The first resonance circuit of the stylus generates the first signal after receiving the first signal, and the second resonance circuit of the electromagnetic stylus generates the second signal after receiving the second signal.

Claims

1. An electromagnetic-type touch panel, configured to detect a touch position of an electromagnetic stylus, the electromagnetic stylus comprising:

a first resonance circuit and a second resonance circuit; and

the electromagnetic-type touch panel comprising;

a plurality of first coils extending in a first direction and a plurality of second coils extending in a second direction,

wherein each of the plurality of first coils is configured to emit a first electromagnetic signal having a first frequency,

wherein each of the plurality of second coils is configured to emit a second electromagnetic signal having a second frequency different from the first frequency,

wherein the first resonance circuit of the electromagnetic stylus is configured to receive the first electromagnetic signal and reflect a first reflected signal having the first frequency,

wherein the second resonance circuit of the electromagnetic stylus is configured to receive the second electromagnetic signal and reflect a second reflected signal having the second frequency, and

wherein the plurality of first coils are configured to receive the second reflected signal, and the plurality of second coils are configured to receive the first reflected signal.

2. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 1, wherein

each of the first coils emits the first electromagnetic signal and receives the second reflected signal simultaneously;

and

each of the second coils emits the second electromagnetic signal and receives the first reflected signal simultaneously.

3. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 1, wherein

each of the first coils emits the first electromagnetic signal and receives the second reflected signal according to a time-division method;

and

each of the second coils emits the second electromagnetic signal and receives the first reflected signal according to a time-division method.

4. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of first coils emit first electromagnetic signal and receive the second reflected signal M times, the plurality of second coils emit the second electromagnetic signal and receive the first reflected signal N times, where each of M and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

5. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 1, wherein the number of the first coils is same as the number of the second coils, and the first coils emitting the first electromagnetic signal or receiving the second reflected signal is synchronous with the second coils emitting the second electromagnetic signal or receiving the first reflected signal.

6. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first direction driving and detecting circuit, configured to provide a first driving signal to and detect first induced signals from the plurality of first coils, successively; and

a second direction driving and detecting circuit, configured to provide a second driving signal to and detect second induced signals from the plurality of second coils, successively.

7. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 6, wherein the first direction driving and detecting circuit performs a first quadratic function fitting on the first induced signals, and a second direction coordinate value corresponding to a peak of a quadratic function obtained through the first quadratic function fitting is taken as a second direction coordinate value of the touch position of the electromagnetic stylus;

and

the second direction driving and detecting circuit performs a second quadratic function fitting on the second induced signals, and a first direction coordinate value corresponding to a peak of a quadratic function obtained through the second quadratic function fitting is taken as a first direction coordinate value of the touch position of the electromagnetic stylus.

8. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 6, wherein the first direction driving and detecting circuit is configured to select a second direction coordinate value corresponding to a maximum of the first induced signals as a second direction coordinate value of the touch position of the electromagnetic stylus;

and

the second direction driving and detecting circuit is configured to select a first direction coordinate value corresponding to a maximum of the second induced signals as a first direction coordinate value of the touch position of the electromagnetic stylus.

9. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 6, further comprising:

a first filtering circuit, configured to remove induced signals having the first frequency from the first induced signals; and

a second filtering circuit, configured to remove induced signals having the second frequency from the second induced signals.

10. The electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 6, further comprising:

a first storage unit, configured to, in the case that the electromagnetic-type touch panel is not touched, store induced signals inductively generated with the first coils as a consequence of electromagnetic signal having the second frequency emitted by the second coils; and

a second storage unit, configured to, in the case that the electromagnetic-type touch panel is not touched, store induced signals inductively generated with the second coils as a consequence of electromagnetic signal having the first frequency emitted by the first coils.

11. A coordinate input device, comprising:

an electromagnetic-type touch panel including a plurality of first coils extending in a first direction and a plurality of second coils extending in a second direction; and

an electromagnetic stylus including a first resonance circuit and a second resonance circuit,

wherein the electromagnetic-type touch panel is configured to detect a touch position of the electromagnetic stylus,

wherein each of the plurality of first coils is configured to emit a first electromagnetic signal having a first frequency,

wherein each of the plurality of second coils is configured to emit a second electromagnetic signal having a second frequency different from the first frequency,

wherein the first resonance circuit of the electromagnetic stylus is configured to receive the first electromagnetic signal and reflect a first reflected signal having the first frequency,

wherein the second resonance circuit of the electromagnetic stylus is configured to receive the second electromagnetic signal and reflect a second reflected signal having the second frequency, and

wherein the plurality of first coils are configured to receive the second reflected signal, and the plurality of second coils are configured to receive the first reflected signal.

12. A method of driving and detecting an electromagnetic-type touch panel, configured to detect a touch position of an electromagnetic stylus, wherein the method comprises:

successively applying a first driving signal to and detecting first induced signals from a plurality of first coils extending in a first direction in the electromagnetic-type touch panel; and

successively applying a second driving signal to and detecting second induced signals from a plurality of second coils extending in a second direction in the electromagnetic-type touch panel,

wherein each of the first coils is configured to emit a first electromagnetic signal having a first frequency,

wherein each of the plurality of second coils is configured to emit a second electromagnetic signal having a second frequency different from the first frequency,

wherein the first resonance circuit of the electromagnetic stylus is configured to receive the first electromagnetic signal and reflect a first reflected signal having the first frequency,

wherein the second resonance circuit of the electromagnetic stylus is configured to receive the second electromagnetic signal and reflect a second reflected signal having the second frequency, and

wherein the plurality of first coils are configured to receive the reflected second signal, and the plurality of second coils are configured to receive the reflected first signal.

13. The method of driving and detecting the electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 12, wherein:

each of the first coils is configured to emit the first electromagnetic signal and to receive the second reflected signal simultaneously; and

each of the second coils is configured to emit the second electromagnetic signal and to receive the first reflected signal simultaneously.

14. The method of driving and detecting the electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 12, wherein:

each of the first coils is configured to emit the first electromagnetic signal and to receive the second reflected signal according to a time-division method; and

each of the second coils is configured to emit the second electromagnetic signal and to receive the first reflected signal according to a time-division method.

15. The method of driving and detecting the electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 12, wherein while emitting the first electromagnetic signal and receiving the second reflected signal M times, the second coils emit the second electromagnetic signal and receive the first reflected signal N times, where each of M and N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

16. The method of driving and detecting the electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 12, wherein the number of the first coils is same as the number of the second coils, and the emitting of the first electromagnetic signal or receiving the second reflected signal is synchronous with the emitting of the second electromagnetic signal or receiving the first reflected signal.

17. The method of driving and detecting the electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 12, further comprising:

performing a quadratic function fitting on the first induced signals, and taking a second direction coordinate value corresponding to a peak of a quadratic function obtained through the quadratic function fitting as a second direction coordinate value of the touch position of the electromagnetic stylus; and

performing a quadratic function fitting on the first induced signals, and taking a first direction coordinate value corresponding to a peak of a quadratic function obtained through the quadratic function fitting as a first direction coordinate value of the touch position of the electromagnetic stylus.

18. The method of driving and detecting the electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 12, further comprising:

selecting a second direction coordinate value corresponding to a maximum of the first induced signals as a second direction coordinate value of the touch position of the electromagnetic stylus; and

selecting a first direction coordinate value corresponding to a maximum of the second induced signals as a first direction coordinate value of the touch position of the electromagnetic stylus.

19. The method of driving and detecting the electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 12, further comprising:

removing signals having the first frequency from the first induced signals; and

removing signals having the second frequency from the second induced signals.

20. The method of driving and detecting the electromagnetic-type touch panel according to claim 12, further comprising:

when the electromagnetic-type touch panel is not touched,

removing an inductively generated signal having the second frequency from the first coils; and

removing an inductively generated signal having the first frequency from the second coils.