Touch-sensing device and touch-sensing method with unexpected-touch exclusion

• US 10,606,408 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2017
• Issued: 03/31/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Imagination Broadway Ltd., Salt International Corp.
• Original Assignee: Imagination Broadway Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Shang-Li, Liao, Zong-Bin, Ting, Ko-Hao
• Primary Examiner(s): Jansen, II, Michael J
• Application Number:
  US15/666,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20180039378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• 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: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A touch-sensing method with unexpected-touch exclusion includes detecting sensing area to obtain touch point; checking total number of detected points forming the touch point with first and second numbers; determining a touch of the touch point as normal touch when the total number is less than or equal to the first number; determining the touch of the touch point as invalid touch when the total number is greater than or equal to the second number; checking if the touch point belongs to an edge region or not when the total number is greater than the first number and less than the second number; determining the touch of the touch point as the invalid touch when the touch point does not belong to the edge region; and determining the touch of the touch point as an unknown touch when the touch point belongs to the edge region.

Claims

1. A touch-sensing method with unexpected-touch exclusion, comprising:

detecting a touch point within a sensing area, wherein the sensing area is formed by a plurality of detection points, the touch point is formed by a touched number of the detection points, and a predetermined peripheral range of the sensing area is defined as an edge region;

checking the touched number of the detection points of the touch point with a first number and a second number, wherein the second number is greater than the first number;

determining a touch operation of the touch point as a normal touch when the touched number is less than or equal to the first number;

determining the touch operation of the touch point as an invalid touch when the touched number is greater than or equal to the second number;

checking if the touch point belongs to the edge region or not when the touched number is greater than the first number and less than the second number;

determining the touch operation of the touch point as the invalid touch when the touch point does not belong to the edge region;

determining the touch operation of the touch point as an unknown touch when the touch point belongs to the edge region;

checking a determination record of a previous scan cycle of the touch point when the touch operation of the touch point is determined as the unknown touch; and

changing the touch operation of the touch point from the unknown touch to the normal touch when the determination record of the previous scan cycle of the touch point was the normal touch.

2. The touch-sensing method according to claim 1, wherein when the determination record of the previous scan cycle of the touch point is untouched, changing the touch operation of the touch point from the unknown touch to the invalid touch.

3. The touch-sensing method according to claim 1, further comprising

calculating a consecutive times for continuously determining the touch operation of the touch point as the normal touch when the touch operation of the touch point is determined as the normal touch;

and

outputting position information of the touch point according to a times threshold value and the consecutive times.

4. The touch-sensing method according to claim 3, wherein when the touch point is in a reporting state and when the touch operation of the touch point in a plurality of continuous scan cycles is determined as the invalid touch, the unknown touch, or undetected, stopping outputting the position information of the touch point.

5. The touch-sensing method according to claim 1, further comprising:

recording a determined result of the touch operation of the touch point of a current scan cycle;

checking the determined result of the touch operation of the touch point of a previous scan cycle; and

performing a point report for the touch point determined as the normal touch according to the determined result of the current scan cycle and the determined result of the previous scan cycle.

6. The touch-sensing method according to claim 1, wherein the sensing area is defined by a plurality of first electrode lines and a plurality of second electrode lines, the edge region is defined by several of the first electrode lines near a first side of the sensing area, and several of the first electrode lines near a second side of the sensing area, as well as several of the second electrode lines near a third side of the sensing area, and several of the second electrode lines near a fourth side of the sensing area.

7. The touch-sensing method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of first electrode lines and a plurality of second electrode lines define the plurality of detection points as an array, and the edge region comprises a predetermined number of the first electrode lines and the second electrode lines at outer edges of the array.

8. A touch-sensing device, comprising:

a plurality of first electrode lines;

a plurality of second electrode lines intersected with the first electrode lines, wherein the first electrode lines and the second electrode lines define a plurality of detection points configured as an array, and the detection points form a sensing area, a predetermined peripheral range of the sensing area is defined as an edge region; and

a sensing controller electrically connected to the first electrode lines and the second electrode lines, wherein the sensing controller executes;

detecting a touch point within the sensing area, wherein the touch point is formed by a touched number of the detection points;

checking the touched number of the detection points of the touch point with a first number and a second number, wherein the second number is greater than the second number;

determining a touch operation of the touch point as a normal touch when the touched number is less than or equal to the first number;

determining the touch operation of the touch point as an invalid touch when the touched number is greater than or equal to the second number;

checking if the touch point belongs to the edge region or not when the touched number is greater than the first number and less than the second number;

determining the touch operation of the touch point as an invalid touch when the touch point does not belong to the edge region;

determining the touch operation of the touch point as an unknown touch when the touch point belongs to the edge portion;

checking a determination record of a previous scan cycle of the touch point when the touch operation of the touch point is determined as the unknown touch; and

changing the touch operation of the touch point from the unknown touch to the normal touch when the determination record of the previous scan cycle of the touch point was the normal touch.

9. The touch-sensing device according to claim 8, wherein when the touch operation of the touch point is determined as the unknown touch and when a determination record of a previous scan cycle of the touch point is untouched, the sensing controller changes the touch operation of the touch point from the unknown touch to the invalid touch.

10. The touch-sensing device according to claim 8, wherein when the touch operation of the touch point is determined as the normal touch, the sensing controller calculates a consecutive times for continuously determining the touch operation of the touch point as the normal touch when the touch operation of the touch point is determined as the normal touch, and the sensing controller outputs position information of the touch point when the consecutive times achieves a times threshold value.

11. The touch-sensing device according to claim 10, wherein when the touch point is in a reporting state and the touch operation of the touch point in a plurality of continuous scan cycles is determined as the invalid touch, the unknown touch, or undetected, the sensing controller stops outputting the position information of the touch point.

12. The touch-sensing device according to claim 8, wherein when both determined results of the touch operation of the touch point of a current scan cycle and of a previous scan cycle are not the normal touch, the sensing controller does not output position information of the touch point.

13. The touch-sensing device according to claim 8, wherein the edge region is a partial sensing area comprising several of the first electrode lines near a first side of the sensing area, and several of the first electrode lines near a second side of the sensing area, as well as several of the second electrode lines near a third side of the sensing area, and several of the second electrode lines near a fourth side of the sensing area.

14. The touch-sensing device according to claim 8, wherein the edge region comprises a predetermined number of the first electrode lines and the second electrode lines near sides of the touch-sensing device.