CN107861598B

CN107861598B - Pin sharing circuit, pin sharing method, electronic device and electronic connecting line

Info

Publication number: CN107861598B
Application number: CN201610841007.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈昱翰; 陈建安; 廖祈杰
Original assignee: Pixart Imaging Inc
Current assignee: Pixart Imaging Inc
Priority date: 2016-09-22
Filing date: 2016-09-22
Publication date: 2021-06-04
Anticipated expiration: 2036-09-22
Also published as: CN107861598A

Abstract

The invention provides a pin sharing circuit, a pin sharing method, an electronic device and an electronic connecting line. The pin sharing circuit can enable at least one pin on the integrated circuit to be shared by the keyboard device and the touch panel, and avoid mutual interference of signals between the keyboard device and the touch panel by additionally arranging an impedance component of a connecting wire of the pin, and enable the pin to output or receive a stimulation signal and a sensing signal which simultaneously contain an alternating current component and a direct current component, so that the use efficiency of the whole system is improved, and the stimulation signal and the sensing signal are prevented from generating conflict between the keyboard device and the touch panel.

Description

Pin sharing circuit, pin sharing method, electronic device and electronic connecting line

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a pin sharing circuit, a pin sharing method, an electronic device using the same, and an electronic connection line, and more particularly, to a pin sharing circuit, a pin sharing method, an electronic device, and an electronic connection line used between a keyboard device (keyboard device) and a touch panel (touch panel).

Background

With the evolution of semiconductor processing technology, the development of Integrated Circuits (ICs) has been moving toward higher precision, and the goal of higher functionality is to control even some ICs directly to control multiple peripheral devices. For example, a keyboard device usually operated in various electronic products is controlled by an integrated circuit, and receives a stimulation signal from a pin on the integrated circuit to determine whether a certain key on the keyboard device is pressed. Similarly, the touch panel is controlled by the ic, and receives another stimulation signal from the pins of the ic to determine whether a block on the touch panel is touched.

Thus, when the keyboard device and the touch panel are both commonly connected to the same integrated circuit, the number of pins on the integrated circuit must be increased by a multiple. As the number of pins on an integrated circuit is increased, the difficulty of packaging the chip is increased, the cost is also increased, and the yield of the chip package is also affected. Therefore, some pins on the integrated circuit can be designed to be shared by the keyboard device and the touch panel.

However, the keyboard device and the touch panel must contain different types of power components, such as Alternating Current (AC) component and Direct Current (DC) component, and they cannot be replaced with each other because the stimulation signals received from the pins on the ic by the keyboard device and the touch panel must contain different types of power components. Therefore, how to make some pins on the integrated circuit be shared by the keyboard device and the touch panel and avoid the conflict between the keyboard device and the touch panel caused by the stimulation signals transmitted from the shared pins is a problem to be solved in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a pin sharing circuit, a pin sharing method, an electronic device and an electronic connection line, and more particularly, to a pin sharing circuit and a pin sharing method used between a keyboard device and a touch panel, and an electronic device and an electronic connection line using the same.

The embodiment of the invention provides a pin sharing circuit which is used between a keyboard device and a touch panel. The pin sharing circuit comprises an integrated circuit containing at least one first sharing pin and a first group of wiring. The first shared pin is used for outputting a stimulation signal containing an alternating current component and a direct current component. The first group of wires is used for enabling a first shared pin on the integrated circuit to be respectively coupled to the keyboard device and the input end of the touch panel. The first group of wires comprises a first impedance component which is coupled between the input end of the keyboard device and the first shared pin and is used for filtering the stimulation signal so as to filter out the alternating current component in the stimulation signal.

Preferably, the first impedance element may be composed of at least one passive component and/or at least one diode.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a pin sharing method which is used between the keyboard device and the touch panel. The steps of the pin sharing method are as follows. The stimulation signal containing AC component and DC component is output by at least one first shared pin on the IC. The first group of wires are used for enabling the first shared pin on the integrated circuit to be respectively coupled to the keyboard device and the input end of the touch panel. The first group of wires comprises a first impedance component which is coupled between the input end of the keyboard device and the first shared pin. The first impedance component is used to filter the stimulation signal, so as to filter out the AC component in the stimulation signal.

Preferably, the first impedance element may be composed of at least one passive element and/or at least one diode.

The embodiment of the invention also provides an electronic device. The electronic device comprises a keyboard device, a touch panel and a pin sharing circuit. The pin sharing circuit comprises an integrated circuit containing at least one first sharing pin and a first group of wirings. The first shared pin is used for outputting a stimulation signal containing an alternating current component and a direct current component. The first group of wires is used for enabling a first shared pin on the integrated circuit to be respectively coupled to the keyboard device and the input end of the touch panel. The first group of wires comprises a first impedance component which is coupled between the input end of the keyboard device and the first shared pin and is used for filtering the stimulation signal so as to filter out the alternating current component in the stimulation signal.

The embodiment of the invention also provides an electronic connecting line which is applied to an integrated circuit sharing at least one output pin. The electronic connecting wire comprises a first connecting end, a second connecting end, a third connecting end and a Y-shaped connecting structure. The first connection end is coupled to the output pin and receives a stimulation signal containing an alternating current component and a direct current component provided by the output pin. The second connection terminal is coupled to an input terminal of the first electronic device and provides the stimulation signal containing the DC component to the first electronic device. The third connection terminal is coupled to an input terminal of the second electronic device and provides the stimulation signal containing the alternating current component to the second electronic device. The Y-shaped connecting structure is connected with the first connecting end, the second connecting end and the third connecting end and provides electrical connection and conduction among the first connecting end, the second connecting end and the third connecting end. The Y-shaped connection structure comprises an impedance component which is coupled between the second connection end and the first connection end and is used for filtering the stimulation signal so as to filter out alternating current components in the stimulation signal.

Preferably, the impedance element may be composed of at least one passive element and/or at least one diode.

Preferably, the first electronic device is different from the second electronic device, and the first electronic device has a sensing effect on the second electronic device associated with a capacitance.

The embodiment of the invention also provides an electronic connecting line which is applied to an integrated circuit sharing at least one input pin. The electronic connecting wire comprises a first connecting end, a second connecting end, a third connecting end and a Y-shaped connecting structure. The first connection terminal is coupled to the input pin and receives a first sensing signal provided from an output terminal of the first electronic device and a second sensing signal provided from an output terminal of the second electronic device. The second connection end is coupled to the output end of the first electronic device. The third connecting end is coupled to the output end of the second electronic device. The Y-shaped connecting structure is connected with the first connecting end, the second connecting end and the third connecting end and provides electrical connection and conduction among the first connecting end, the second connecting end and the third connecting end. The Y-shaped connection structure comprises an impedance component which is coupled between the second connection end and the first connection end and is used for filtering the first sensing signal so as to filter out alternating current components in the first sensing signal.

In summary, the pin sharing circuit, the pin sharing method, the electronic device and the electronic connection line provided in the embodiments of the present invention may enable at least one pin on the integrated circuit to be shared by the keyboard device and the touch panel, and avoid mutual interference between signals between the keyboard device and the touch panel by the impedance component additionally added to the connection line of the pin, and enable the pin to output or receive the stimulation signal and the sensing signal both containing the ac component and the dc component, thereby facilitating to improve the utilization efficiency of the whole system and avoiding the stimulation signal and the sensing signal from generating collision between the keyboard device and the touch panel.

For a better understanding of the nature and technical content of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are set forth to illustrate, but are not to be construed to limit the scope of the invention.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2A is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2C is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 2D is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a pin sharing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a pin sharing method according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by illustrating various embodiments of the present invention through the accompanying drawings. The inventive concept may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals may be used to designate similar components.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to an embodiment of the invention. The pin sharing circuit 10 is mainly applied between the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14, but the invention is not limited thereto. On the other hand, the present invention is not limited to the specific implementation of the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14, and therefore, those skilled in the art should be able to design the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14 according to actual needs or applications.

For example, taking one of the key blocks 124 of the keyboard device 12 as an example, the keyboard device 12 receives a stimulation signal containing a Direct Current (DC) component and outputs a sensing signal containing the DC component. Thus, when the key block 124 is pressed, the dc level of the sensing signal is changed accordingly, thereby indicating that the key block 124 is pressed. On the contrary, for example, one of the touch blocks 144 of the touch panel 14, the touch panel 14 receives a stimulation signal containing an Alternating Current (AC) component and outputs a sensing signal containing the AC component. Thus, when the touch block 144 senses a conductor (e.g., a finger) approaching, the capacitance of the touch block 144 will change accordingly, thereby changing the characteristics (e.g., voltage, current, etc.) of the output sensing signal, thereby indicating that the touch block 144 is touched. It should be noted that, since the sensing principles of the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14 are conventional technologies, the above description is only for illustrative purposes, and will not be described in more detail below.

However, since the characteristics of the stimulation signals and the sensing signals received and output by the keyboard apparatus 12 and the touch panel 14 are not identical (e.g., dc component or ac component), the pin sharing circuit 10 can add an impedance component to the conduction path connecting the keyboard apparatus 12 to eliminate the signal interference therebetween when the input terminal or the output terminal of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the touch panel 14 share a certain pin on the ic 16.

In detail, if the keyboard apparatus 12 and the

input terminals

120 and 140 of the touch panel 14 are shared by an output pin on the integrated circuit 16, the pin sharing circuit 10 includes the integrated circuit 16 having at least a first sharing pin T1 and a first set of wires 18. The first common pin T1 is used for outputting a stimulation signal S1 containing an ac component and a dc component. The first set of wires 18 is used to couple the first common pin T1 on the integrated circuit 16 to the input 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the input 140 of the touch panel 14, respectively.

However, since the key block 124 of the keyboard device 12 forms an equalizing capacitor for the input point 120, the AC component in the stimulation signal S1 outputted from the first common pin T1 is attracted to the keyboard device 12 and affects the sensing of the touch panel 14, and when the key block 124 is pressed, the capacitance of the equalizing capacitor of the key block 124 is greatly changed, so that the attraction ratio of the AC component in the stimulation signal S1 is changed.

Therefore, the first set of wires 18 further includes an impedance element Z1 coupled between the input terminal 120 of the keyboard device 12 and the first common pin T1, and the impedance element Z1 is used for filtering the stimulus signal S1, so as to filter out the AC component in the stimulus signal S1 and suppress the sensing effect of the equal correction capacitor formed by the keyboard device 12 on the touch panel 14. In addition to filtering the AC component in the transmission path, the filtering operation further blocks the conduction of the AC component signal, so that the keyboard apparatus 12 does not generate an equal correction capacitance for the first common pin T1 due to the filtering of the AC component, and the AC component in the stimulation signal S1 does not flow through the keyboard apparatus 12 and is provided to the touch panel 14 as much as possible.

It should be noted that, for the convenience of the following description, the first sharing pin T1 of the present embodiment is only described by taking the number of 1 as an example, but it is not intended to limit the invention. On the other hand, according to the above teachings, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the pin sharing circuit 10 may further include at least one first input pin R1 and at least one second input pin R2, both of which are also located on the integrated circuit 16. The first input pin R1 is used for receiving a first sensing signal M1 outputted from the output terminal 122 of the keyboard apparatus 12, and the integrated circuit 16 determines whether the key block 124 located between the input terminal 120 and the output terminal 122 of the keyboard apparatus 12 is pressed.

It should be noted that the principle of the key block 124 being pressed can also be regarded as an equivalent circuit when a Switch (Switch) is turned on, as shown in fig. 1. Therefore, according to the above teachings, it can be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a resistor Rx can be further included in the first input pin R1. For example, a first terminal of the resistor Rx is coupled to a first input pin R1 of the integrated circuit 16, and a second terminal of the resistor Rx is coupled to a ground voltage GND. Therefore, when the switch is turned on under the condition that the stimulation signal S1 is outputted at a high level, the resistor Rx is used to generate a voltage change from a low level to a high level, so that the integrated circuit 16 can determine that the key block 124 has been pressed.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned manner of determining whether the key block 124 is pressed by the voltage change from the low level to the high level is only an example, and is not intended to limit the present invention. In other embodiments, the resistor Rx may be designed to generate a voltage change from a high level to a low level, so that the integrated circuit 16 can determine whether the key block 124 is pressed. In summary, the present invention is not limited to the specific implementation of the resistor Rx, and those skilled in the art should be able to design the resistor Rx according to the actual requirement or application.

In addition, the second input pin R2 is used for receiving the second sensing signal M2 outputted from the output end 142 of the touch panel 14, and the integrated circuit 16 determines whether the touch block 144 located between the input end 140 and the output end 142 of the touch panel 14 is touched. However, since the sensing principles of the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14 are summarized as above, the details thereof are not repeated herein.

It should be understood that the impedance component Z1 may be composed of at least one passive element and/or at least one diode. That is, the impedance component Z1 can be not only a resistor, a capacitor, or an inductor, etc., but the impedance component Z1 can also be a diode, or even any combination of the above passive components (i.e., resistors, capacitors, and inductors) and/or the diode. For example, when the impedance element Z1 is an inductor, it may block the conduction of the AC component signal due to the characteristics of the inductor, and when the impedance element Z1 is a resistor, the resistor may form a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit with the equivalent capacitor of the keyboard apparatus 12 to block the conduction of the AC component signal, and when the impedance element Z1 is a fixed capacitor, the component of the AC component signal flowing through the keyboard apparatus 12 is fixed by connecting the capacitor of the impedance element Z1 to a pair of ground potentials, which serve as a capacitance to ground, and thus does not affect the determination of the touch panel 14. In summary, the present invention is not limited to the specific implementation of the impedance component Z1. However, for convenience of the following description, the present embodiment will be described by first adopting the case that the impedance device Z1 is an inductor L (that is, the impedance device Z1 is composed of a single inductor L), but the present invention is not limited thereto.

More specifically, a first terminal of the inductor L is coupled to the input terminal 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12, and a second terminal of the inductor L is coupled to the node a between the first common pin T1 and the input terminal 140 of the touch panel 14. Therefore, when the stimulus signal S1 having both AC and DC components is output at the first common pin T1, the inductor L (i.e., the impedance component Z1) filters the AC component and the input 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 receives only the DC component of the stimulus signal S1. Meanwhile, since the touch panel 14 is a touch sensor (touch sensor) based on the capacitive coupling principle, the touch panel 14 considers the DC component as an invalid value and is not affected by the DC component. Furthermore, since the impedance device Z1 is disposed on the conduction path between the touch panel 14 and the keyboard apparatus 12, the present invention can further suppress the AC component in the stimulation signal S1 from being directed to the keyboard apparatus 12 as much as possible.

Based on the above teachings, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that one of the main spirit of the present invention is to make at least one output pin (i.e. the first shared pin T1) on the integrated circuit 16 be shared by the keyboard apparatus 12 and the touch panel 14, and further filter the AC component of the stimulation signal S1 transmitted to the keyboard apparatus 12 by the impedance component Z1 additionally added to the connection line of the output pin, so that the integrated circuit 16 can output the stimulation signal S1 containing both AC component and DC component at the same time by using the first shared pin T1, thereby improving the efficiency of the overall system and avoiding the stimulation signal S1 from conflicting with the keyboard apparatus 12 and the touch panel 14.

It should be noted that the implementation of the impedance component Z1 is only an example, and is not intended to limit the invention. For example, in other embodiments, when the impedance element Z1 is instead formed by a single resistor Ry (not shown), a first terminal of the resistor Ry is coupled to the input terminal 120 of the keyboard device 12, and a second terminal of the resistor Ry is coupled to the node a between the first common pin T1 and the input terminal 140 of the touch panel 14. Since the keyboard apparatus 12 forms an equal correction capacitor for the node A, it is obvious that when the stimulation signal S1 having both AC component and DC component is outputted at the first common pin T1, the resistor Ry and the equal correction capacitor of the keyboard apparatus 12 will filter the AC component similarly, and the input terminal 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 will receive only the DC component of the stimulation signal S1.

It should be noted that, if the first input pin R1 of the ic 16 already contains the resistor Rx, the resistor Ry should preferably be greater than 1K ohm and the resistor Rx should preferably be greater than the resistor Ry (for example, the resistor Rx is 100K ohm) when the impedance device Z1 is instead composed of the resistor Ry. In summary, the present invention is not limited to the specific implementation of the impedance component Z1, and the design of the impedance component Z1 can be performed by those skilled in the art according to actual needs or applications.

On the other hand, in other embodiments, the integrated circuit 16 may output the stimulation signal S1 containing the AC component or the DC component at different times through the first common pin T1. That is, the timing of the stimulus signal S1 containing the AC component and the timing of the stimulus signal S1 containing the DC component may be shifted from each other. Thus, when the stimulus signal S1 having only an AC component is output at the first common pin T1, the impedance component Z1 (e.g., the inductor L in FIG. 1) still filters the AC component, and the input 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 only receives the DC component of the stimulus signal S1. Similarly, when the stimulation signal S1 having only DC component is outputted at the first common pin T1, the DC component is still considered as an invalid value by the touch panel 14 and is not affected by the invalid value.

Accordingly, when it is considered that the timing when the stimulus signal S1 contains the AC component and the timing when the stimulus signal S1 contains the DC component may be shifted from each other, the present invention further provides another embodiment. Referring to fig. 2A, fig. 2A is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to another embodiment of the invention. In fig. 2A, components that are the same as those in fig. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and thus, further description is omitted here.

In detail, compared to the pin sharing circuit 10 of fig. 1, the pin sharing circuit 10' of fig. 2A further includes at least a second sharing pin R3 also located on the integrated circuit 16 and a second set of wires 20. The second common pin R3 is used for receiving a first sensing signal M1 output from the output 122 of the keyboard device 12 and a second sensing signal M2 output from the output 142 of the touch panel 14.

In addition, the second set of wires 20 is used to couple the second sharing pin R3 on the integrated circuit 16 to the output terminal 122 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the output terminal 142 of the touch panel 14, respectively. The second set of wires 20 further includes another impedance element Z2 coupled between the output terminal 122 of the keyboard device 12 and the second common pin R3, and the impedance element Z2 is used to re-filter the first sensing signal M1, so as to filter out the AC component in the first sensing signal M1 and suppress the sensing effect of the equalizing capacitance formed by the keyboard device 12 on the touch panel 14.

It should be noted that, for the convenience of the following description, the second sharing pin R3 of the present embodiment is also described by using only the example of the number 1, but it is not intended to limit the invention. In addition, the impedance element Z2 may be designed as the same as the impedance element Z1 or as different from the impedance element Z1, but the invention is not limited thereto. In summary, the present invention is not limited to the specific implementation of the impedance component Z2. That is, the impedance component Z2 may also be composed of at least one passive element and/or at least one diode.

Based on the above teachings, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that when the first sensing signal M1 is outputted at the output 122 of the keyboard apparatus 12, the impedance component Z2 still filters the AC component, and the second common pin R3 only receives the DC component of the first sensing signal M1. Similarly, when the second sensing signal M2 is outputted at the output terminal 142 of the touch panel 14, the integrated circuit 16 still considers the DC component of the first sensing signal M1 as an invalid value and is not affected by the invalid value.

That is, the pin sharing circuit 10' of the present embodiment utilizes the difference in the output of the first sharing pin T1 in the time-sharing operation to separate the sensing results received from the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14, so that the integrated circuit 16 can also receive the first and second sensing signals M1 and M2 obtained from the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14 respectively by using the same input pin (i.e., the second sharing pin R3), thereby achieving the technical effect of reducing the pin count of the integrated circuit 16 again, and contributing to reducing the cost of circuit design and improving the yield of chip packaging.

On the other hand, the invention further provides another embodiment. Referring to fig. 2B, fig. 2B is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to another embodiment of the invention. Components in fig. 2B that are the same as those in fig. 2A are denoted by the same reference numerals, and therefore, further description is omitted here.

In detail, compared to the pin sharing circuit 10' of fig. 2A, the pin sharing circuit 10 ″ of fig. 2B does not include the first sharing pin T1 on the integrated circuit 16 and the first set of wires 18. In contrast, the pin sharing circuit 10 ″ includes at least one first output pin T2 and at least one second output pin T3 also located on the integrated circuit 16. The first output pin T2 is used for outputting a stimulation signal S2 containing a DC component, and the second output pin T3 is used for outputting a stimulation signal S3 containing an AC component.

That is, the pin sharing circuit 10 ″ of the present embodiment may also output the stimulation signal S2 containing the DC component and the stimulation signal S3 containing the AC component through the first and second output pins T2 and T3, respectively. Thus, the pin sharing circuit 10 ″ of fig. 2B can be represented by only taking the case where the

output terminals

122, 142 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the touch panel 14 are both shared with one input pin (i.e., the second sharing pin R3 in fig. 2B) on the integrated circuit 16 as an example. Further, the integrated circuit 16 may further include a sensing element 160. The sensing element 160 is coupled to a node B between the second common pin R3 and the resistor Rx, and the sensing element 160 is used to help distinguish the first and second sensing signals M1, M2 received, so that the integrated circuit 16 can also output the stimulus signal S2 containing a DC component and the stimulus signal S3 containing an AC component at the same time through the first and second output pins T2, T3, respectively. It is noted that fig. 2B also illustrates one specific implementation of the sensing element 160, but the invention is not limited thereto. In addition, in the implementation, since the operation principles of the operational amplifiers OP1 and OP2, the reference voltages Vth, Vref, the capacitors C1 and C2 and the resistor Rz are well known to those skilled in the art, the details of the sensing element 160 will not be described herein.

On the other hand, considering that the touch panel 14 may also be a self-capacitance (self-capacitance) touch sensor, another embodiment of the invention is provided. Referring to fig. 2C, fig. 2C is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to another embodiment of the invention. Components in fig. 2C that are the same as those in fig. 1 to 2B are denoted by the same reference numerals, and thus, redundant description is omitted here.

In detail, compared to the touch panel 14 of fig. 1 to 2B, the touch panel 14' of fig. 2C is a self-contained touch sensor. Therefore, taking one of the touch blocks 144 'of the touch panel 14' as an example, the touch block 144 'only utilizes the same end (e.g., the first end 146) of the touch panel 14' to receive and output the stimulation signal and the sensing signal. It should be noted that, since the sensing principle of the self-contained touch sensor is the prior art, details thereof are not repeated herein.

In addition, the pin sharing circuit 30 of fig. 2C mainly includes an integrated circuit 16' including the first output pin T2 and at least one composite pin TR1, and a third set of wires 32. The third set of wires 32 is used to make the combined type pins TR1 on the integrated circuit 16 'respectively coupled to the output terminal 122 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and a first terminal 146 of the touch panel 14'.

It should be understood that the third set of wires 32 may also include another impedance element Z3 coupled between the output terminal 122 of the keyboard device 12 and the composite pin TR1, and the impedance element Z3 is used to filter the first sensing signal M1, so as to filter out the AC component in the first sensing signal M1 and suppress the sensing effect of the equal correction capacitor formed by the keyboard device 12 on the touch panel 14'.

It should be noted that, for the convenience of the following description, the composite lead TR1 of the present embodiment is also described by using only the example with the number of 1, but it is not intended to limit the invention. In addition, the impedance element Z3 may be designed as the same as the impedance element Z2 or as different from the impedance element Z2, but the invention is not limited thereto. In summary, the present invention is not limited to the specific implementation of the impedance component Z3.

Based on the above teachings, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that when the sensing principle of one of the key blocks 124 of the keyboard apparatus 12 is performed, the first output pin T2 is used to output the stimulation signal S2 containing DC component to the input terminal 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12, and the impedance component Z3 still filters the AC component, so that the composite pin TR1 only receives the DC component of the first sensing signal M1 to determine whether the key block 124 is pressed or not. In other words, for the above case, the composite pin TR1 is regarded as an input pin on the ic 16', as shown in fig. 2C (a).

In contrast, when the sensing principle of one of the touch blocks 144 ' of the touch panel 14 ' is modified, the combined pin TR1 is used to output the stimulation signal S3 containing AC components to the first end 146 of the touch panel 14 ', and the combined pin TR1 also receives the second sensing signal M2 from the first end 146 of the touch panel 14 ', and thereby determines whether the touch block 144 ' is touched. In other words, for the above case, the composite pin TR1 will be considered as an output and input pin on the integrated circuit 16', as shown in fig. 2C (b).

That is, the pin sharing circuit 30 of the present embodiment reuses the self-contained touch sensing characteristic, so that the same pin (i.e., the combined pin TR1) on the integrated circuit 16 'can also be used as a combination of the output and input pin functions, thereby achieving the technical effect of reducing the pin count of the integrated circuit 16' again and contributing to reducing the cost of circuit design.

It should be noted that, if the touch block 144 ' is still used for sensing, for example, in the case that the composite pin TR1 is combined as the input and output pins, the integrated circuit 16 ' preferably includes a switch SW, and the switch SW turns off the composite pin TR1 and turns on the resistor Rx, so that the touch panel 14 ' can operate normally for its sensing function. In summary, the present invention is not limited to the specific implementation of the switch SW, and those skilled in the art should be able to design the switch SW according to actual requirements or applications.

On the other hand, the invention further provides another embodiment. Referring to fig. 2D, fig. 2D is a schematic diagram of a pin sharing circuit according to another embodiment of the invention. Components in fig. 2D that are the same as those in fig. 2C are denoted by the same reference numerals, and thus, further description is omitted here.

In detail, compared to the pin sharing circuit 30 of fig. 2C, the pin sharing circuit 30' of fig. 2D mainly includes the integrated circuit 16 ″ including the first input pin R1 and at least one compound pin TR2, and the fourth set of wires 34. The fourth set of wires 34 is used to make the combined pins TR2 on the integrated circuit 16 ″ respectively coupled to the input terminal 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the second terminal 148 of the touch panel 14'.

It should be understood that the fourth connection line 34 may also include another impedance device Z4 coupled between the input terminal 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the composite pin TR2, and the impedance device Z4 is used for filtering the stimulation signals S2 and S3, so as to filter out the AC component in the stimulation signals S2 and S3 and suppress the sensing effect of the equal correction capacitor formed by the keyboard apparatus 12 on the touch panel 14'.

It should be noted that, for the convenience of the following description, the composite lead TR2 of the present embodiment is also described by using only the example with the number of 1, but it is not intended to limit the invention. In addition, the impedance element Z4 may be designed as the same as the impedance element Z1 or as different from the impedance element Z1, but the invention is not limited thereto. In summary, the present invention is not limited to the specific implementation of the impedance component Z4.

Based on the above teachings, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that when the sensing principle of one of the key blocks 124 of the keyboard apparatus 12 is performed, the composite pin TR2 is used to output the stimulation signal S2 having a DC component, and the impedance component Z4 is still used to filter the AC component, so that the input 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 only receives the DC component of the stimulation signal S2. Then, the first input pin R1 receives only the first sensing signal M1 from the output 122 of the keyboard device 12, and determines whether the key block 124 has been pressed. In other words, for the above case, the combined type pin TR2 is regarded as an output pin on the integrated circuit 16 ", as shown in fig. 2D (a).

In contrast, when the sensing principle of one of the touch blocks 144 ' of the touch panel 14 ' is modified, the combined pin TR2 is used to output the stimulation signal S3 containing AC components to the second end 148 of the touch panel 14 ', and the combined pin TR2 also receives the second sensing signal M2 from the second end 148 of the touch panel 14 ', and thereby determines whether the touch block 144 ' is touched. In other words, for the above case, the composite pin TR2 will be considered as both an output pin and an input pin on the ic 16 ", as shown in fig. 2D (b).

That is, the pin sharing circuit 30' of the present embodiment also reuses the self-contained touch sensing feature, so that the same pin (i.e., the combined pin TR2) on the integrated circuit 16 ″ can be used as the output and input pins for combination, thereby achieving the technical effect of reducing the pin count of the integrated circuit 16 ″ again and contributing to reducing the cost of circuit design.

However, it should be understood that the above embodiments are only some of the many applications of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above applications. In other words, the inventive concept may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Furthermore, to further illustrate the operation flow of the pin sharing circuit 10, the present invention further provides an embodiment of a pin sharing method thereof. Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a pin sharing method according to an embodiment of the invention. The method described in this example can be implemented in the pin sharing circuit 10 shown in fig. 1, and therefore please refer to fig. 1 for understanding. In addition, the detailed step flows are as described in the foregoing embodiments, and therefore, only the outline is provided herein and redundant description is omitted.

First, in step S301, a stimulation signal S1 having an AC component and a DC component is outputted through at least one first common pin T1 of the integrated circuit 16. Next, in step S303, the first common pin T1 on the integrated circuit 16 is coupled to the input terminal 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the input terminal 140 of the touch panel 14 respectively by using the first set of wires 18. The first set of wires 18 includes an impedance element Z1 coupled between the input 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the first common pin T1. Next, in step S305, the impedance device Z1 is used to filter the stimulus signal S1, so as to filter out the AC component in the stimulus signal S1 and suppress the sensing effect of the equivalent capacitance formed by the keyboard apparatus 12 on the touch panel 14.

As described above, the impedance component Z1 may be composed of at least one passive element and/or at least one diode. In addition, the integrated circuit 16 can output the stimulation signal S1 containing both AC component and DC component at the same time by using the first common pin T1, thereby improving the utilization efficiency of the whole system and avoiding the stimulation signal S1 from colliding between the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14.

Therefore, it should be understood that steps S307 and S309 may be further included in the method of fig. 3. In step S307, the first sensing signal M1 outputted from the output 122 of the keyboard device 12 is received by at least one first input pin R1 of the integrated circuit 16, and the integrated circuit 16 determines whether the key block 124 located between the input 120 and the output 122 of the keyboard device 12 is pressed. Similarly, in step S309, at least one second input pin R2 of the integrated circuit 16 is utilized to receive the second sensing signal M2 outputted from the output terminal 142 of the touch panel 14, so that the integrated circuit 16 can determine whether the touch block 144 located between the input terminal 140 and the output terminal 142 of the touch panel 14 is touched. Based on the above teachings, one skilled in the art should understand that steps S307 and S309 should be executed in parallel without conflict.

On the other hand, in order to consider that the timing when the stimulus signal S1 contains the AC component and the timing when the stimulus signal S1 contains the DC component may be shifted from each other, the present invention further provides an embodiment of the pin sharing method. Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart illustrating a pin sharing method according to another embodiment of the invention. The method described in this example can be implemented in the pin sharing circuit 10' shown in fig. 2, and therefore please refer to fig. 2 for understanding. In fig. 4, the steps that are the same as or similar to those in fig. 3 are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and thus, further description is omitted here. In addition, the detailed step flows are as described in the foregoing embodiments, and therefore, only the outline is provided herein and redundant description is omitted.

Compared with the pin sharing method of fig. 3, the pin sharing method of fig. 4 includes steps S301', S303 to S305, and S401 to S403. First, in step S301', at least a first common pin T1 of the integrated circuit 16 is used to output a stimulus signal S1 containing AC component and DC component, wherein the time of the stimulus signal S1 containing AC component is staggered with the time of the stimulus signal S1 containing DC component. Next, in step S303, the first common pin T1 on the integrated circuit 16 is coupled to the input terminal 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the input terminal 140 of the touch panel 14 respectively by using the first set of wires 18. The first set of wires 18 includes an impedance element Z1 coupled between the input terminal 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the first common pin T1. Next, in step S305, the impedance device Z1 is used to filter the stimulus signal S1, so as to filter out the AC component in the stimulus signal S1 and suppress the sensing effect of the equivalent capacitance formed by the keyboard apparatus 12 on the touch panel 14.

Furthermore, in step S401, the second set of wires 20 is used to couple at least one second sharing pin R3 on the integrated circuit 16 to the output terminal 122 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the output terminal 142 of the touch panel 14, respectively. Finally, in step S403, the second common pin R3 is utilized to receive the first sensing signal M1 outputted from the output terminal 122 of the keyboard device 12 and the second sensing signal M2 outputted from the output terminal 142 of the touch panel 14. In addition, the second set of wires 20 further includes an impedance element Z2 coupled between the output terminal 122 of the keyboard device 12 and the second common pin R3, and the impedance element Z2 is used to re-filter the first sensing signal M1, so as to filter out the AC component in the first sensing signal M1 and suppress the sensing effect of the equalizing capacitance formed by the keyboard device 12 on the touch panel 14.

Therefore, the integrated circuit 16 can further utilize the difference in the output of the time-sharing operation of the first common pin T1 to separate the sensing results received from the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14, so that the integrated circuit 16 can also utilize the same input pin (i.e., the second common pin R3) to receive the first and second sensing signals M1 and M2 from the keyboard device 12 and the touch panel 14, respectively, to achieve the technical effect of reducing the pin count of the integrated circuit 16 again, and contribute to reducing the cost of circuit design and improving the yield of chip packaging.

Furthermore, the embodiment of the invention also provides an electronic device using the same. Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a schematic view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the invention. The electronic device 5 includes a pin sharing circuit 50, a keyboard device 12 and a touch panel 14. The pin sharing circuit 50 of the present embodiment can be regarded as the pin sharing circuit 10 of the previous embodiment. Therefore, please refer to fig. 1 together for understanding. In addition, the details are as described in the foregoing embodiments, and therefore, only the outline thereof is provided and not redundant description is omitted.

The pin sharing circuit 50 includes an integrated circuit 16 having at least a first sharing pin T1, and a first set of connections 18. The first common pin T1 is used for outputting a stimulation signal S1 containing an AC component and a DC component. The first set of wires 18 is used to make the first common pin T1 on the integrated circuit 16 respectively coupled to the input 120 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the input 140 of the touch panel 14. In addition, the first set of wires 18 further includes an impedance element Z1 coupled between the input terminal 120 of the keyboard device 12 and the first common pin T1, and the impedance element Z1 is used for filtering the stimulus signal S1, so as to filter out the AC component in the stimulus signal S1 and suppress the sensing effect of the equal calibration capacitance formed by the keyboard device 12 on the touch panel 14.

On the other hand, if the timing when the stimulus signal S1 contains the AC component and the timing when the stimulus signal S1 contains the DC component are considered to be different from each other, the pin sharing circuit 50 of the present embodiment can be regarded as the pin sharing circuit 10' of the previous embodiment. Therefore, please refer to fig. 2 together for understanding. The pin sharing circuit 50 further includes at least a second sharing pin R3 on the integrated circuit 16, and a second set of connections 20. The second common pin R3 is used for receiving a first sensing signal M1 output from the output 122 of the keyboard device 12 and a second sensing signal M2 output from the output 142 of the touch panel 14. In addition, the second set of wires 20 is used to couple the second sharing pin R3 on the integrated circuit 16 to the output terminal 122 of the keyboard apparatus 12 and the output terminal 142 of the touch panel 14, respectively. The second set of wires 20 further includes an impedance element Z2 coupled between the output terminal 122 of the keyboard device 12 and the second common pin R3, and the impedance element Z2 is used to re-filter the first sensing signal M1, so as to filter out the AC component in the first sensing signal M1 and suppress the sensing effect of the equalizing capacitor formed by the keyboard device 12 on the touch panel 14. It should be clearly understood that the inventive concept may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the electronic device 5 set forth in this embodiment.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention also provide several electrical connection lines, and the embodiments of the electrical connection lines can be implemented in the pin sharing circuits 10 and 10' shown in fig. 1 or fig. 2, so please refer to fig. 1 and fig. 2 together for understanding. In addition, the details are as described in the foregoing embodiments, and therefore, redundant description is not provided herein. Furthermore, because a certain conduction path of the electronic connecting line is provided with the impedance component, the invention can eliminate signal interference between electronic devices connected with the electronic connecting line.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the features of the present invention are not limited thereto, and those skilled in the art can easily conceive of changes and modifications within the scope of the present invention, and all such changes and modifications can be covered by the claims.

Claims

1. A pin sharing circuit for use between a keyboard device and a touch panel, the pin sharing circuit comprising:

the integrated circuit is provided with at least one first sharing pin, wherein the first sharing pin is used for outputting a stimulation signal containing an alternating current component and a direct current component; and

a first set of connection lines, for coupling the first common pin on the integrated circuit to the keyboard device and an input terminal of the touch panel, respectively, wherein the first set of connection lines includes a first impedance element, which is coupled between the input terminal of the keyboard device and the first common pin and is configured to filter the stimulation signal, so as to filter out the ac component in the stimulation signal, thereby preventing the ac component flowing through the keyboard device from affecting the touch panel.

2. The pin sharing circuit according to claim 1, wherein the first impedance element is comprised of at least one passive component and/or at least one diode.

3. The pin sharing circuit according to claim 2, wherein the pin sharing circuit further comprises:

at least one first input pin located on the integrated circuit and used for receiving a first sensing signal output from an output end of the keyboard device; and

at least one second input pin is located on the integrated circuit and used for receiving a second sensing signal output from an output end of the touch panel.

4. The pin sharing circuit according to claim 2, wherein when the timing of the ac component included in the stimulus signal and the timing of the dc component included in the stimulus signal are staggered from each other, the pin sharing circuit further comprises:

at least one second sharing pin, located on the integrated circuit, for receiving a first sensing signal output from an output terminal of the keyboard device and a second sensing signal output from an output terminal of the touch panel; and

a second set of connection lines, which enable the second common pin on the integrated circuit to be coupled to the output terminal of the keyboard device and the output terminal of the touch panel, respectively, wherein the second set of connection lines includes a second impedance element coupled between the output terminal of the keyboard device and the second common pin, and configured to re-filter the first sensing signal, so as to filter the ac component in the first sensing signal.

5. A pin sharing method is used between a keyboard device and a touch panel, and is characterized in that the pin sharing method comprises the following steps:

outputting a stimulation signal containing an alternating current component and a direct current component by utilizing at least one first sharing pin on an integrated circuit;

utilizing a first set of connection lines to couple the first common pin on the integrated circuit to the keyboard device and an input terminal of the touch panel, respectively, wherein the first set of connection lines includes a first impedance element coupled between the input terminal of the keyboard device and the first common pin; and

the first impedance component is used for filtering the stimulation signal so as to filter out the alternating current component in the stimulation signal, so that the alternating current component flowing through the keyboard device does not influence the touch panel.

6. The pin sharing method according to claim 5, wherein the first impedance element is composed of at least one passive component and/or at least one diode.

7. The pin sharing method of claim 6, wherein the pin sharing method further comprises:

receiving a first sensing signal output from an output terminal of the keyboard device by using at least one first input pin on the integrated circuit; and

and receiving a second sensing signal output from an output end of the touch panel by using at least one second input pin on the integrated circuit.

8. The pin sharing method according to claim 6, wherein when the timing at which the alternating current component is included in the stimulus signal and the timing at which the direct current component is included in the stimulus signal are staggered from each other, the pin sharing method further comprises:

using a second set of wires to couple at least one second sharing pin on the integrated circuit to an output terminal of the keyboard device and the touch panel respectively; and

receiving, by using the second sharing pin, a first sensing signal output from the output terminal of the keyboard device and a second sensing signal output from the output terminal of the touch panel;

the second set of wires includes a second impedance element coupled between the output terminal of the keyboard device and the second common pin for filtering the first sensing signal again to thereby filter out the alternating current component of the first sensing signal.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

a keyboard device;

a touch panel; and

a pin sharing circuit, comprising:

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the first impedance element is comprised of at least one passive component and/or at least one diode.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the pin sharing circuit further comprises:

12. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein when the timing of the ac component included in the stimulus signal and the timing of the dc component included in the stimulus signal are staggered from each other, the pin sharing circuit further comprises:

13. An electrical connection for an integrated circuit sharing at least one output pin, the electrical connection comprising:

a first connection terminal coupled to the output pin and receiving a stimulation signal containing an alternating current component and a direct current component provided by the output pin;

a second connection terminal coupled to an input terminal of a first electronic device and providing the stimulation signal containing the DC component to the first electronic device;

a third connection terminal coupled to an input terminal of a second electronic device and providing the stimulation signal containing the AC component to the second electronic device; and

a Y-shaped connection structure connecting the first connection end, the second connection end and the third connection end and providing electrical connection therebetween, wherein the Y-shaped connection structure includes an impedance element coupled between the second connection end and the first connection end and configured to filter the stimulus signal, so as to filter the ac component in the stimulus signal, thereby preventing the ac component flowing through the keyboard apparatus from affecting the touch panel.

14. The electrical connection of claim 13, wherein said impedance element is comprised of at least one passive component and/or at least one diode.

15. The electrical connection of claim 13, wherein the first electrical device is different from the second electrical device, and the first electrical device contributes to the second electrical device to create a sensing effect associated with a capacitance.

16. An electrical interconnect for an integrated circuit sharing at least one input pin, the electrical interconnect comprising:

a first connection end coupled to the input pin and receiving a first sensing signal provided from an output end of a first electronic device and a second sensing signal provided from an output end of a second electronic device;

a second connection terminal coupled to the output terminal of the first electronic device;

a third connection terminal coupled to the output terminal of the second electronic device; and

and a Y-shaped connection structure connecting the first connection end, the second connection end and the third connection end and providing electrical connection and conduction therebetween, wherein the Y-shaped connection structure includes an impedance element coupled between the second connection end and the first connection end and configured to filter the first sensing signal, so as to filter an alternating current component in the first sensing signal, thereby preventing the alternating current component flowing through the keyboard device from affecting the touch panel.

17. The electrical connection of claim 16, wherein said impedance element is comprised of at least one passive component and/or at least one diode.

18. The electrical connection of claim 16, wherein the first electrical device is different from the second electrical device and the first electrical device contributes to the sensing effect associated with a capacitance with respect to the second electrical device.