TOUCH-PANEL DEVICE

• US 20100259504A1
• Filed: 04/13/2010
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Japan Display Incorporated
• Inventors: Hayakawa, Koji, Kumagai, Toshiyuki, DOI, Koji, Nagata, Koji, Mamba, Norio
• Granted Patent: US 9,024,886 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• 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

Provided is a touch-panel device capable of detecting a touched position with high accuracy even when a touched area extends off an electrode area. According to the present invention, the touched area is assumed to be, for example, a circular in shape. A width in an X direction (overlap width (X46)) and a width in a Y direction (overlap width (Y47)) of an area where the touched area in a circular shape and an electrode area (6) overlap each other may be determined based on sensor measured values. When the overlap width (X46) and the overlap width (Y47) are different from each other, it is judged that the touched area extends off the electrode area, and a position of a center of the touched area in the circular shape is calculated as the touched position.

Claims

1. A touch-panel device for detecting a touched position based on sensor measured values determined by a plurality of sensors, the touch-panel device being configured to:

determine, based on the sensor measured values for detecting a touched position in an X direction and a touched position in a Y direction, a width in the X direction and a width in the Y direction of an area where a touched area and an electrode area overlap each other;

determine, based on the width in the X direction and the width in the Y direction, a position of a center of the touched area; and

calculate the position of the center as the touched position.

2. The touch-panel device according to claim 1, wherein the touched area is assumed to be in a shape which has a constant ratio of a width thereof in the X direction to a width thereof in the Y direction.

3. The touch-panel device according to claim 1, wherein the touched area is assumed to be one of circular and oval in shape.

4. The touch-panel device according to claim 1, wherein:

the width in the X direction of the area where the touched area and the electrode area overlap each other is determined by multiplying a largest value of the sensor measured values on a Y axis by a preset value; and

the width in the Y direction of the area where the touched area and the electrode area overlap each other is determined by multiplying a largest value of the sensor measured values on an X axis by a preset value.

5. The touch-panel device according to claim 1, wherein a touched position in a first direction is determined by subtracting, from a width in the first direction of the area where the touched area and the electrode area overlap each other, a one-second of a width in a second direction of the area where the touched area and the electrode area overlap each other.

6. A touch-panel device for detecting a touched position based on sensor measured values determined by a plurality of sensors and on positions of the plurality of sensors,

the touch-panel device being configured to perform a coordinate calculation process by using parameter values for the positions of the plurality of sensors, the parameter values employed in a case where a periphery of a touch panel is touched being different from parameter values employed when a center of the touch panel is touched.

7. The touch-panel device according to claim 6, wherein the parameter values for the positions of the plurality of sensors employed in the coordinate calculation process in the case where the periphery of the touch panel is touched are defined by coordinate values of both outer edges of two electrodes provided at an edge of the touch panel.

8. The touch-panel device according to claim 6, wherein, in the coordinate calculation process performed in the case where the periphery of the touch panel is touched, the sensor measured values to be referred to are each assigned a predetermined weight.

9. The touch-panel device according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined weight is varied in accordance with a touch size.