Touch sensitive control panel

• US 7,969,330 B2
• Filed: 11/04/2005
• Issued: 06/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Atmel Corporation (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Atmel Corporation (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Inventors: Philipp, Harald
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg; George A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yacob; Sisay
• Application Number:
  US11/163,944
• Publication Number:
  US 20060038793A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,062 Days
• Field of Search: 341/20, 341/21, 341/33, 341/26, 341/22, 345172-175, 219/445.1, 219/446.1, 219/447.1, 219/448.11, 219/448.13, 219/483, 219/506, 219/518, 126/90.A, 126/92.A, 126/217, 715/864, 702/150, 702/127, 200/512, 178/18.03, 178/18.06
• US Class Current: 341/33
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/083 on tops, hot plates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

An apparatus for controlling functions of an appliance is described having a touch-sensitive control panel resistant to accidental activation. The touch-sensitive panel has a plurality of proximity sensor areas which may be selected by a user wishing to activate associated functions of the appliance. Driver circuitry coupled to the sensor areas is operable to output detection signals to a controller in response to a user selecting ones of the sensor areas. The controller is configured to activate functions of the appliance in response to these detection signals. For one or more functions of the appliance, for example a switching on function, the controller is configured to only activate the function when a user makes a pre-determined combination of at least two selections from the plurality of sensor areas. This reduces the chances of potentially dangerous functions being activated inadvertently and can further help a designer to provide an intuitive and uncluttered appearance to the control panel.

Claims

1. A touch-sensitive control panel for controlling an appliance comprising:

a single position sensitive proximity slider sensor area that includes a sensing strip having first and second end terminals;

driver circuitry that includes a first measurement circuit, a second measurement circuit, a first switching circuit, a second switching circuit and a switching control circuit, the first measurement circuit operating to create a first output detection signal that is indicative of touch locations relative to a first portion of the single position sensitive proximity slider sensor area and the second measurement circuit operating to create a second output detection signal that is indicative of touch locations relative to a second portion of the single position sensitive proximity slider sensor area, wherein the first switching circuit includes first, second and third switching elements coupled to a first sampling capacitor and the second switching circuit includes first, second and third switching elements coupled to a second sampling capacitor; and

a controller operable to receive the first and second detection signals from the driver circuitry and to activate different functions of the appliance in response thereto, wherein the controller is operable to activate at least one function of the appliance responsive to receipt of a pre-determined combination of the first and second detection signals.

2. The touch-sensitive control panel of claim 1 wherein the position sensitive proximity sensor area is a resistive strip.

3. The touch-sensitive control panel of claim 2 wherein the first portion of the position sensitive proximity sensor area is one end of the resistive strip and the second portion of the position sensitive proximity sensor area is an opposing end of the resistive strip.

4. An apparatus comprising:

a touch-sensitive control panel that includes a discrete position sensitive proximity sensing single conductor;

a first measurement circuit that includes a first sampling capacitor which creates a first output detection signal indicative of touch positions relative to a first portion of the sensing single conductor;

a second measurement circuit that includes a second sampling capacitor which creates a second output detection signal indicative of touch positions relative to a second portion of the sensing single conductor; and

a controller that receives the first and second detection signals from the first and second measurement circuits, the controller activating different functions of the apparatus in response to a pre-determined combination of detection signals, wherein the detection signals are indicative of different touch positions within the first portion of the sensing single conductor and the second portion of the sensing single conductor.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the pre-determined combination of detection signals corresponds to a user selecting different touch positions within the first portion of the sensing single conductor and the second portion of the sensor area at different times.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the pre-determined combination of detection signals corresponds to a user selecting the different touch positions within a specified time period.

7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the sensing single conductor is a linear position sensitive sensing single conductor.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein sensing single conductor is a rotary position sensitive sensing single conductor.

9. A method comprising:

using a first measurement circuit that is coupled to a first sampling capacitor to detect a first touch position relative to a first portion of a discrete position sensitive proximity sensing single conductor;

generating a first output detection signal that is indicative of the first touch position relative to the first portion of the sensing single conductor;

using a second measurement circuit that is coupled to a second sampling capacitor to detect a second touch position relative to a second portion of the discrete position sensitive proximity sensing single conductor;

generating a second output detection signal that is indicative of the second touch position relative to the second portion of the sensing single conductor;

sending the first and second output detection signals to a controller; and

activating a function of an apparatus with the controller based on a pre-determined combination of the first and second output detection signals that are received by the controller and are associated with the function.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein activating a function of the apparatus with the controller based on a pre-determined combination of the first and second output detection signals that are received by the controller includes selecting the first and second touch positions within the sensing single conductor at different times.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting the first and second touch positions within the sensor area at different times includes sliding an object from the first portion of the sensing single conductor to the second portion of the sensing single conductor.

12. The method of claim 11, sliding an object from the first portion of the sensing single conductor to the second portion of the sensor area includes sliding a finger from the first portion of the sensing single conductor to the second portion of the sensing single conductor.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting the first and second touch positions within the sensing single conductor at different times includes selecting the first and second touch positions within a specified time period.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein activating a function of the apparatus includes turning on the apparatus.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a first measurement circuit coupled to a first sampling capacitor, the first measurement circuit being connected to a first end of a discrete slider sensing single conductor to create a first output detection signal that is indicative of a first touch position relative to a first portion of the slider sensing single conductor;

a second measurement circuit coupled to a second sampling capacitor, the second measurement circuit being connected to a second end of the discrete slider sensing single conductor to create a second output detection signal that is indicative of a second touch position relative to a second portion of the slider sensing single conductor; and

a controller to receive the first and second output detection signals from the first and second measurement circuits and activate different functions of the apparatus in response to receiving a predetermined sequence of first and second output detection signals within a predetermined period of time.

16. The touch-sensitive control panel of claim 15 wherein the slider sensing single conductor is a resistive strip.

17. The touch-sensitive control panel of claim 16 wherein the first portion of the slider sensing single conductor is one end of the resistive strip and the second portion of the position sensitive proximity sensing single conductor is an opposing end of the resistive strip.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the resistive strip is a linear resistive strip.