SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVED TOUCH SCREEN RESPONSE

• US 20110291944A1
• Filed: 05/26/2010
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Neodrón Limited (Atlantic IP Services Limited)
• Original Assignee: Atmel Corporation (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Inventors: Pedzisz, Maciej Sebastian, SIMMONS, Martin John
• Granted Patent: US 8,797,280 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation

Abstract

This document discloses examples of systems, methods, and articles of manufacture that may provide one or more advantages relating to determining which touch on a touch screen is intended and which touch or touches are inadvertent.

Claims

1. A method of touch sensing, comprising steps of:

sensing touch detections at a touch screen;

processing the touch detections into at least one detected object;

calculating the size of each detected object;

comparing the size of each detected object to a size threshold;

reporting the touch detections from each detected object that is less than the size threshold; and

suppressing a response to each detected object greater than the size threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of determining that more than one physical object touched the touch screen.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining whether more than one physical objects touched the touch screen comprises determining whether touch detections occurred at adjacent nodes within the touch screen.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of calculating the size of each detected object comprises determining the number of adjacent nodes within a touch detection area of the touch screen.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of calculating the distance between each of the detected objects and determining which two detected objects are the furthest from each other.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of comparing the size of each detected object to a threshold comprises determining whether the larger of the two detected objects that are further from each other exceeds the threshold.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising steps of:

calculating a distance between two detected objects;

comparing the distance between the two detected objects to a distance threshold; and

determining that the two detected objects are part of the same detected object when the distance between the two detected objects is less than the distance threshold.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the step of sensing one or more touch detections comprises detecting a change in capacitance at a node exceeds either of a first detection threshold and second detection threshold,

the step of calculating the size of a detected object comprises determining the number of touch detections that exceed each of the first detection threshold and the second detection threshold,

the step of comparing the size of the each detected object to a threshold comprises comparing the number of touch detections that exceed the first detection threshold and the number of touch detections that exceed the second detection threshold to a respective size threshold, and

the step of suppressing the response from each detected object greater than the threshold comprises suppressing the response from the detected object when the number of touch detections that exceed the first detection threshold and the number of touch detections that exceed the second detection threshold exceeds either respective size threshold.

9. A touch panel, comprising:

a control unit having storage device, a drive unit, a sense, unit and a processor;

a storage device storing executable instructions for the processor; and

a touch screen having a plurality of sense nodes arranged in a pattern, wherein the sense channels sense a physical object touching the node;

wherein, the instructions configure the processor so that the control unit performs functions, including functions to;

sense touch detections at a touch screen;

process the touch detections into at least one detected object;

calculate the size of each detected object;

compare the size of each detected object to a size threshold;

report the touch detections from each detected object that is less than the size threshold; and

suppress a response to each detected object greater than the size threshold.

10. The touch panel of claim 9, wherein the function to calculate the size of each detected object comprises a function to determine the number of adjacent nodes within a touch detection area of the panel.

11. The touch panel of claim 9, further comprising a function to calculate the distance between each of the detected objects and determining which two detected objects are the furthest from each other.

12. The touch panel of claim 11, wherein the function to compare the size of each detected object to a threshold comprises the function to determine whether the larger of the two detected objects that are further from each other exceeds the threshold.

13. The touch panel of claim 11 further comprising a function to determine whether two detected objects that are near each other are part of the same detected object.

14. A touch sensitive computing device comprising:

a processing unit;

a touch panel, the touch panel having a control unit configured to control the touch panel and report a touch to the processing unit, the control unit having a processor that executes instruction that cause the control unit to suppress one or more touch detections associated with a detected object, the instructions causing the processor to;

sense touch detections at a touch screen;

process the touch detections into at least one detected object;

calculate the size of each detected object;

compare the size of each detected object to a size threshold;

report the touch detections from each detected object that is less than the size threshold; and

suppress a response to each detected object greater than the size threshold.

15. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 14, wherein the instruction to calculate the size of each detected object comprises instructions to determine the number of adjacent nodes within a touch detection area of the panel

16. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 14, further comprising instructions to calculate the distance between each of the detected objects and determining which two detected objects are the furthest from each other.

17. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 16, wherein the instructions to compare the size of each detected object to a threshold comprises instructions to determine whether the larger of the two detected objects that are further from each other exceeds the threshold.

18. The touch sensitive computing device of claim 16, further comprising instructions to determine whether two detected objects that are near each other are part of the same detected object

19. A article of manufacture comprising:

a machine readable storage medium; and

executable program instructions embodied in the machine readable storage medium that when executed by a processor of a programmable computing device configures the programmable computing device having a touch panel to perform functions, including functions to;

sense touch detections at a touch screen of the touch panel;

process the touch detections into at least one detected object;

calculate the size of each detected object;

compare the size of each detected object to a size threshold;

report the touch detections from each detected object that is less than the size threshold; and

suppress a response to each detected object greater than the threshold.

20. The article of claim 19, wherein the function to calculate the size of each detected object comprises a function to determine the number of adjacent nodes within a touch detection area of the panel.

21. The article of claim 19, further comprising a function to calculate the distance between each of the detected objects and determining which two detected objects are the furthest from each other.

22. The article of claim 21, wherein the function to compare the size of each detected object to a size threshold comprises the function to determine whether the larger of the two detected objects that are further from each other exceeds the size threshold.

23. The article of claim 21 further comprising a function to determine whether two detected objects that are near each other are part of the same detected object.