Electronic apparatus and information processing system

• US 9,727,190 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2014
• Issued: 08/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sugita, Yasuhiro, Kimura, Tomohiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, Tony
• Application Number:
  US14/769,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20150378478A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,272 Days
• Field of Search: 345170-177
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

A receiving device (1a) includes a position/angle determining section (505) for determining a position of a transmitting device (1b) in relation to the receiving device (1a) by judging which of a plurality of sense lines (SL) provided in a touch panel (14) of the receiving device has received at least one of pulse signals transmitted from a touch panel (14) included in the transmitting device (1b).

Claims

1. An electronic device serving as a receiving device, comprising:

a receiving-end capacitive touch panel that detects contact of a target object or approach thereof, the receiving-end capacitive touch panel including receiving-end sense lines each capable of receiving at least one pulse signal applied to respective transmitting-end drive lines, the receiving-end sense lines being provided in a transmitting-end capacitive touch panel of a transmitting device having contacted or approached the electronic device;

a central processing unit (CPU) that determines a position of the transmitting device in relation to the electronic device by judging which of the receiving-end sense lines has received the at least one pulse signal transmitted from the respective transmitting-end drive lines; and

a receiving-end casing into which the receiving-end capacitive touch panel is incorporated, wherein

a minimum distance between the receiving-end capacitive touch panel and an outside surface of the receiving-end casing is no longer than a detectable distance within which the receiving-end capacitive touch panel is capable of detecting the contact of the target object with the outside surface or the approach thereof to the outside surface, and

the receiving-end capacitive touch panel receives the at least one pulse signal from the transmitting-end capacitive touch panel of the transmitting device when the transmitting-end touch panel has contacted or approached an end surface of the receiving-end casing.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the CPU performs the judging by detecting a change in capacitance value which change occurs in at least one of the receiving-end sense lines due to a coupling capacitance that has occurred between the at least one of the receiving-end sense lines and at least one of the transmitting-end drive lines.

3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the CPU determines a positional relation of the at least one of the transmitting-end drive lines to the at least one of the receiving-end sense lines, by generating distribution of capacitance values which have occurred at the at least one of the receiving-end sense lines due to the coupling capacitance, the distribution showing a relationship between (i) the capacitance values and (ii) a position of at least one of the receiving-end capacitive touch panel and the transmitting-end capacitive touch panel, at which touch panel the capacitance values have occurred.

4. The electronic device according to claims 2, wherein:

the at least one pulse signal is applied to the respective transmitting-end drive lines in accordance with a predetermined application pattern indicative of a combination of values of voltages which are simultaneously applied, per period, to the respective transmitting-end drive lines and which are equal in number to the transmitting-end drive lines;

the application pattern is defined such that a pattern of capacitance values which are obtained when coupling capacitances occur in accordance with the predetermined application pattern and which are equal in number to the transmitting-end drive lines, matches one of a predetermined number of particular patterns indicative of respective combinations of the capacitance values, the particular patterns being associated in advance with a respective predetermined number of positional relations of the at least one of the transmitting-end drive lines to the at least one of the receiving-end sense lines;

the CPU determines the positional relation of the at least one of the transmitting-end drive lines to the at least one of the receiving-end sense lines by determining which of the particular patterns matches the pattern of the capacitance values obtained at the occurrence of the coupling capacitances at the at least one of the receiving-end sense lines.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein out of a plurality of receiving-end detection electrodes included in each of the receiving-end sense lines, a receiving-end detection electrode provided along an outer edge of the receiving-end capacitive touch panel receives the at least one pulse signal.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the CPU determines an angle, in an operation screen of the receiving-end capacitive touch panel, between (i) a reference line set within an operation screen of the transmitting-end touch panel and (ii) a reference line set within the operation screen of the receiving-end capacitive touch panel.

7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the CPU further:

controls an application of pulse signals to detect the contact of the target object or the approach thereof to respective receiving-end drive lines provided in the receiving-end capacitive touch panel, and

stops the application of the pulse signals to the respective receiving-end drive lines, in a case where the CPU determines the position of the transmitting device.

8. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving-end capacitive touch panel overlaps a receiving-end display screen.

9. An electronic device serving as a transmitting device, comprising:

a transmitting-end capacitive touch panel that detects a contact of a target object or approach thereof, the transmitting-end capacitive touch panel including transmitting-end drive lines; and

a transmitting-end casing into which the transmitting-end capacitive touch panel is incorporated, wherein

a minimum distance between the transmitting-end capacitive touch panel and an end surface of the transmitting-end casing is no longer than a detectable distance within which the transmitting-end capacitive touch panel is capable of detecting the contact of the target object with the end surface or the approach thereof to the end surface,

at least one pulse signal to detect the contact of the target object or the approach thereof, the at least one pulse signal having been applied to the respective transmitting-end drive lines, is received by a receiving-end capacitive touch panel, in a receiving device capable of receiving the at least one pulse signal, when the receiving device has contacted or approached the end surface of the transmitting-end casing, in order that the receiving device is allowed to determine a position of the electronic device.

10. The electronic device according to claim 9, further comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU) that

carries out drive control with respect to transmitting-end sense lines in order that a change in capacitance between at least one of the transmitting-end drive lines and at least one of the transmitting-end sense lines is detected, and

applies the at least one pulse signal to the respective transmitting-end drive lines in accordance with a predetermined application pattern indicative of a combination of values of voltages which are simultaneously applied, per period, to the respective transmitting-end drive lines and which are equal in number to the transmitting-end drive lines.

11. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the CPU stops the drive control carried out with respect to the transmitting-end sense lines, in a case where the position of the electronic device is determined by the receiving device.

12. The electronic device according to claim 9, wherein the transmitting-end capacitive touch panel is provided so as to overlap a transmitting-end display screen.

13. An information processing system comprising:

an electronic device serving as a receiving device, the electronic device including;

a receiving-end capacitive touch panel that detects contact of a target object or approach thereof, the receiving-end capacitive touch panel including receiving-end sense lines each capable of receiving at least one pulse signal applied to respective transmitting-end drive lines which are provided in a transmitting-end capacitive touch panel of a transmitting device having contacted or approached the electronic device; and

a central processing unit (CPU) that determines a position of the transmitting device in relation to the electronic device by judging which of the receiving-end sense lines has received the at least one of the pulse signals transmitted from the respective transmitting-end drive lines; and

an electronic device, recited in claim 9, which transmits the at least one pulse signal.

14. An electronic device serving as a receiving device, comprising:

a receiving-end capacitive touch panel that detects contact of a target object or approach thereof, the receiving-end capacitive touch panel including receiving-end sense lines and receiving-end drive lines, the receiving-end sense lines being each capable of receiving at least one of pulse signals applied to respective transmitting-end drive lines which are provided in a transmitting-end capacitive touch panel of a transmitting device having contacted or approached the electronic device;

a central processing unit (CPU) that changes a timing with which pulse signals are applied to the respective receiving-end drive lines, in accordance with a correlation value between (i) at least one of the pulse signals applied to the respective transmitting-end drive lines, which one is received by at least one of the receiving-end sense lines, and (ii) a predetermined pattern signal corresponding to the at least one of the pulse signals applied to the respective receiving-end drive lines of the receiving-end capacitive touch panel; and

.

a receiving-end casing into which the receiving-end capacitive touch panel is incorporated, wherein

a minimum distance between the receiving-end capacitive touch panel and an end surface of the receiving-end casing is no longer than a detectable distance within which the receiving-end capacitive touch panel is capable of detecting the contact of the target object with the end surface or the approach thereof to the end surface, and

the receiving-end capacitive touch panel receives the at least one of the pulse signals from the transmitting-end capacitive touch panel of the transmitting device when the transmitting-end touch panel has contacted or approached the end surface of the receiving-end casing.

15. The electronic device according to claim 14, wherein:

in a case where it is determined that the correlation value is a value around 0 (zero), the CPU determines that the at least one of the pulse signals which one is received by the at least one of the receiving-end sense lines is not synchronized with the at least one of the pulse signals applied to the respective receiving-end drive lines, and

in a case where it is determined that the correlation value is a maximum value, the CPU determines that the at least one of the pulse signals which one is received by the at least one of the receiving-end sense lines is synchronized with the at least one of the pulse signals applied to the respective receiving-end drive lines.