Electronic induction type sensor panel and method for reducing indication error

• US 9,671,918 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2014
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Kawakita, Koji, Tsuchihashi, Moriyuki, Zheng, Yi, Fujii, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Mengistu, Amare
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nadkarni, Sarvesh J
• Application Number:
  US14/515,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20150102806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

To reduce an indication error at a peripheral part of an electromagnetic induction type coordinate detection device, sensor coils having a coil width of 21 pitches are arranged at a central part at intervals of 4 pitches. At a peripheral part, the coil width is shortened from sensor coil #5 to coil #1 sequentially so that the coil width of a sensor coil is shorter than a coil width of an inwardly adjacent sensor coil by 2 pitches. This enables the coil side pitch that is 1 all over the coil group 222, and an area enabling three-point supplementing can be enlarged from the conventional one. The sensor coils at the peripheral part have a coil pitch of 3, and so an indication error there can be reduced compared with the conventional case of coil pitch of 4 for two-point supplementing as well. Dummy wires required at the peripheral part conventionally can be eliminated.

Claims

1. A sensor panel capable of being mounted at a coordinate detection device configured to output coordinates of a position indicator based on

electromagnetic induction, the sensor panel including a coil array having a plurality of loop-like sensor coils, comprising:

a first sensor coil group including a plurality of sensor coils having a same coil width, the first sensor coil group being disposed at a central part of the coil antsy to have a predetermined coil side pitch; and

a second sensor coil group including a plurality of sensor coils having a coil width narrower than the coil width of the first sensor coil group, the second sensor coil group being disposed at a peripheral part of the coil array;

wherein a predetermined group of sensor coils of the second sensor coil group arranged from the central part to the peripheral part of the coil array comprise coil widths that are gradually shortened.

2. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the second sensor coil group defines a coil side pitch equal to the predetermined coil side pitch.

3. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein, in a sensor coil making up the first sensor coil group, an outside coil side and an inside coil side of another sensor coil are alternately disposed, and in a sensor coil on an outermost side making up the second sensor coil group, an outside coil side of another sensor coil is disposed.

4. The sensor panel of claim 3, wherein let that the sensor coils have the number of turns n and the predetermined coil side pitch is 1, the sensor coils making up the second sensor group have coil widths that are shortened from an inside to an outside of the coil array so that a coil width of a sensor coil is shorter than a coil width of an inwardly adjacent sensor coil by n pitch.

5. The sensor panel of claim 4, wherein when the number of sets of coil sides of another sensor coil to be inserted in a sensor coil making up the first sensor coil group is m, a coil width is shortened from a sensor coil located at the m/2th from the outside of the coil array.

6. The sensor panel claim 4, wherein the sensor coils making up the second sensor coil group has a coil pitch smaller than a coil pitch of the sensor coils making up the first sensor coil group by n/2 pitch.

7. The sensor panel of claim 1, wherein let that the number of turns n of each sensor coil is 2 or more, a set of coil sides of each sensor coil has a coil side pitch equal to the predetermined coil side pitch.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a sensor panel including a first sensor coil group arranged with a same coil pitch at a central part of a coil array, and a second sensor coil group arranged with a narrower coil pitch at a peripheral part of the coil array, wherein a predetermined group of sensor coils of the second sensor coil group arranged from the central part to the peripheral part of the coil array comprise coil widths that are gradually shortened; and

a controller configured to output coordinates data based on magnetic flux generated by a position indicator and inductive voltage induced by each sensor coil linking with magnetic flux generated by a position indicator, wherein

the controller extracts top three sensor coils in the descending order of signal intensity from the first sensor coil group for three-point supplementing, and extracts two sensor coils including a sensor coil located on an outermost side of the second sensor coil group and an inwardly adjacent sensor coil for two-point supplementing, thus creating coordinates data.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second sensor coil group defines a coil side pitch equal to a predetermined coil side pitch.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, in a sensor coil making up the first sensor coil group, an outside coil side and an inside coil side of another sensor coil are alternately disposed, and in a sensor coil on an outermost side making up the second sensor coil group, an outside coil side of another sensor coil is disposed.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein let that the sensor coils have comprise then number of turns n and, the predetermined coil side pitch is 1, and the sensor coils making up the second sensor group have coil widths that are shortened from an inside to an outside of the coil array so that a coil width of a sensor coil is shorter than a coil width of an inwardly adjacent sensor coil by n pitch.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein when the number of sets of coil sides of another sensor coil to be inserted in a sensor coil making up the first sensor coil group is m, a coil width is shortened from a sensor coil located at the m/2th from the outside of the coil array.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the sensor coils making up the second sensor coil group has a coil pitch smaller than a coil pitch of the sensor coils making up the first sensor coil group by n/2 pitch.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein let that the number of turns n of each sensor coil is 2 or more, a set of coil sides of each sensor coil has a coil side pitch equal to a predetermined coil side pitch.

15. A method for reducing an indication error at a peripheral part of an electromagnetic induction type coordinate detection device, comprising:

providing a first sensor coil group including a plurality of sensor coils having a same coil width, the first sensor coil group being disposed at a central part of the coil array to have a predetermined coil side pitch; and

providing a second sensor coil group including a plurality of sensor coils having a coil width narrower than the coil width of the first sensor coil group, the second sensor coil group being disposed at a peripheral part of the coil array, wherein the coil widths of a predetermined group of sensor coils of the second sensor coil group arranged from the central part to the peripheral part of the coil array are gradually shortened;

arranging a plurality of sensor coils at a predetermined coil pitch on a coordinate axis;

shortening a coil width of a sensor coil positioned close to the peripheral part to be arranged on an outside of the selected sensor coil compared with a coil width of an inwardly adjacent sensor coil, thus making a coil pitch narrower than the predetermined coil pitch; and

detecting coordinates of a position indicator by a two-point supplementing method based on a signal that a sensor coil arranged on an outermost side of the sensor coils with shortened coil width detects and a signal that a sensor coil arranged inwardly adjacent to the sensor coil detects.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second sensor coil group defines a coil side pitch equal to the predetermined coil side pitch.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein, in a sensor coil making up the first sensor coil group, an outside coil side and an inside coil side of another sensor coil are alternately disposed, and in a sensor coil on an outermost side making up the second sensor coil group, an outside coil side of another sensor coil is disposed.