Electronic apparatus and method of controlling the same

• US 9,823,776 B2
• Filed: 01/04/2017
• Issued: 11/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Inventors: Kida, Yoshitoshi, Yamada, Jouji, Nakagawa, Hirofumi, Yamamoto, Michio, Azumi, Kohei, Hayashi, Makoto, Mizuhashi, Hiroshi, Ikeno, Kozo
• Primary Examiner(s): Pervan, Michael
• Application Number:
  US15/398,179
• Publication Number:
  US 20170115815A1
• Time in Patent Office: 321 Days
• Field of Search: 178 1801- 1907, 345173-178
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092

Abstract

According to one embodiment, an electronic apparatus, includes a sensor-equipped display device includes a display device and a sensor configured to detect a contact or proximate position, a display driver configured to output an image display signal to the display device and to output a drive signal to the sensor, a detecting circuit configured to generate, based on the information from the sensor, raw data (Raw data) including three-dimensional information of coordinates of a position on the display device and a physical quantity at the coordinates, and an application processor configured to discriminate whether a part of the region in the display area should be further sensed or not, based on the raw data, and if the part of the region is further sensed, to output the range of the display device to be further sensed and the timing of driving the sensor to the display driver.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus comprising:

a sensor configured to output data corresponding to detection of a contact or proximate position, the sensor including a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of detection electrodes;

a driver configured to perform a first scan by driving a first number of drive lines in total;

a detecting circuit configured to perform the first scan by receiving data from a second number of detection electrodes; and

a determining circuit configured to determine a region including data whose value is greater than a first threshold based on the data from the first scan, and determine whether a size of the region is not greater than a second threshold, wherein

the driver is further configured to perform a second scan in the region by driving a third number of drive lines in total when the size of the region is not greater than the second threshold, the first number being, greater than the third number, and

the detecting circuit is further configured to perform the second scan by receiving data from a fourth number of detection electrodes, the second number being greater than the fourth number.

2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the detecting circuit is configured to perform the first scan by receiving data from each of the detection electrodes, and

the determining circuit is configured to determine that the size of the region is not greater than the second threshold when a number of detection electrodes whose data has values greater than the first threshold is less than or equal to a predetermined number.

3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data is three-dimensional data including coordinates of a position and a physical quantity at that position.

4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a circuit for attaching a label which is configured to enable at least one of an attribute and a type of the three-dimensional data to be identified based on the three-dimensional data.

5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driver is configured to:

perform the first scan by driving a fifth number of drive lines at a timer; and

perform the second scan by driving a sixth number of drive lines at a time,

the fifth number being greater than the sixth number.

6. A method of controlling an electronic apparatus comprising a sensor, a driver, a detecting circuit, and a determining circuit, the method comprising:

outputting, by the sensor, data corresponding to detection of a contact or proximate position, the sensor including a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of detection electrodes;

performing a first scan, including

driving, by the driver, a first number of drive lines in total, and

receiving, by the detecting circuit, data from a second number of detection electrodes;

determining, by the determining circuit, a region including data whose value is greater than a first threshold based on the data from the first scan, and whether a size of the region is not greater than a second threshold; and

performing a second scan in the region when the size of the region is not greater than the second threshold, the second scan including

driving, by the driver, a third number of drive lines in total, the first number being greater than the third number, and

receiving, by the detecting circuit, data from a fourth number of detection electrodes, the second number being greater than the fourth number.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein

performing the first scan further comprises receiving, by the detecting circuit, data from each of the detection electrodes, and

determining whether the size of the region is not greater than the second threshold comprises determining, by the determining circuit, that the size of the region is not greater than the second threshold when a number of detection electrodes whose data has values greater than the first threshold is less than or equal to a predetermined number.

8. The method, according to claim 6, wherein the data is three-dimensional data including coordinates of a position and a physical quantity at that position.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising attaching a label which enables at least one of an attribute and a type of the three-dimensional data to be identified based on the three-dimensional data.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein

performing the first scan includes driving a fifth number of drive lines at a time,

performing the second scan includes driving a sixth number of drive lines at a time, and

the fifth number is greater than the sixth number.

11. An electronic apparatus comprising:

a display device;

a sensor configured to output data corresponding to detection of a contact or proximate position on the display device, the sensor including a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of detection electrodes;

a driver configured to

output an image display signal to the display device, and

perform a first scan by driving a first number of drive lines in total;

a detecting circuit configured to perform the first scan by receiving data from a second number of detection electrodes; and

a determining circuit configured to determine a region including data whose value is greater than a first threshold based on the data from the first scan, and determine whether a size of the region is not greater than a second threshold, wherein

the driver is further configured to perform a second scan in the region by driving a third number of drive lines in total when the size of the region is not greater than the second threshold, the first number being greater than the third number, and

the detecting circuit is further configured to perform the second scan by receiving data from a fourth number of detection electrodes, the second number being greater than the fourth number.

12. The electronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

the detecting circuit is configured to perform the first scan by receiving data from each of the detection electrodes, and

the determining circuit is configured to determine that the size of the region is not greater than the second threshold when a number of detection electrodes whose data has values greater than the first threshold is less than or equal to a predetermined number.

13. The electronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

the display device comprises a plurality of display electrodes for displaying an image on the display device, and

a part of the plurality of display electrodes is configured to function as a part of the plurality of detection electrodes.

14. The electronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein an operation of outputting the image display signal to the display device and an operation of driving the first number of drive lines or driving the third number of drive lines are performed by time-sharing.

15. The electronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the data is three-dimensional data including coordinates of a position and a physical quantity at that position.

16. The electronic apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising a circuit for attaching a label which is configured to enable at least one of an attribute and a type of the three-dimensional data to be identified based on the three-dimensional data.

17. The electronic apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the driver is configured to:

perform the first scan by driving a fifth number of drive lines at a time; and

perform the second scan by driving a sixth number of drive lines at a time,

the fifth number being greater than the sixth number.