JP7193903B2 - touch panel device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a touch panel device, and can be suitably used for an information processing device with a touch input function using a touch sensor panel.

A touch panel device, which detects a touch by an indicator such as a finger and specifies the position coordinates, is installed on a display device and attracts attention as one of the excellent user interface means that replaces the mechanical keyboard and mouse of the information processing device. Various types of touch panel devices, such as a resistive film type and a capacitive type, have been commercialized.

For example, in the projected capacitive method, which is one of the capacitive methods, even if the front side of a touch sensor panel that incorporates multiple sensors is covered with a protective glass with a thickness of several millimeters, the touch of the indicator can be reduced. It is possible to detect , and its advantages such as excellent robustness are recognized, and it is used for various touch input devices such as the input unit of mobile communication equipment, ATMs in financial institutions, and car navigation devices (Patent Document 1) .

However, in the capacitive touch panel device, when a conductor such as a water droplet adheres, a change in capacitance occurs, which may result in erroneous detection as a touch operation. In order to avoid this, Patent Document 2 discloses a method in which a pressure sensor is provided in addition to the capacitance detection function, and the touch coordinates obtained when a certain amount of pressure is applied are validated. Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-100000, the threshold of pressure is set large in a no-touch state and small after receiving a touch so as not to interrupt the touch operation even if the pressure becomes weak in the middle of the touch operation. There is disclosed a method of returning to a large threshold value when the pressing state below the small threshold value continues for a certain period of time (time threshold value) or more.

JP 2008-134836 A JP 2015-035206 A JP 2015-207034 A

Since the conventional touch panel device is configured as described above, it is difficult to prevent erroneous detection and allow a light touch. For example, in the case of the method known in Patent Document 3, if the time threshold is lengthened, erroneous detection is more likely to occur, but if it is shortened, it becomes difficult to input with a light touch, making it difficult to optimally set the time threshold.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and switches the usage conditions of the pressure data of the pressure sensor according to the touch detection state between the touch sensor panel and the pointer to prevent erroneous detection and lighten the load. The purpose is to make touch input compatible.

A touch panel device according to the present invention includes a touch sensor panel composed of a plurality of sensors, connected to the touch sensor panel, and measuring capacitance to detect presence or absence of touch by an indicator on the touch sensor panel and touch coordinates. Further, touch detection means for outputting information on a touch state between the pointer and the touch sensor panel, pressure detection means for detecting pressure applied to the touch sensor panel by the touch by the pointer, and the touch detection means. and setting a plurality of determination modes having a function of determining a valid touch from the information output from the press detection means, and selecting one of the plurality of determination modes according to a transition condition of the output information touch determination mode switching means for controlling switching to the touch determination mode switching means; and based on the determination mode set by the touch determination mode switching means, the touch status information output by the touch detection means and the touch status information output by the pressure detection means valid touch determination means for determining whether the touch coordinates output by the touch detection means are valid or invalid based on pressure information; and touch information for outputting to the outside the touch coordinates determined to be valid by the valid touch determination means. and an output means,
The touch status information includes a value of a touch area between the pointer and the touch sensor panel and information on a change in capacitance between the pointer and the touch sensor panel, and setting of the plurality of determination modes. The plurality of determination modes having a function of determining the effective touch based on the value of the touch area output from the touch detection means and the pressure information output from the pressure detection means among the output information. and the plurality of determination modes are a first determination mode for determining the effective touch from the touch area value and the pressure information, and a second determination mode for determining the effective touch from the touch area value. wherein the value of the touch area is less than a first threshold, and the pressure information, which is the pressure information, is considered to be the effective touch when it is equal to or greater than a second threshold, and the second determination is performed The mode considers the effective touch when the value of the touch area is less than the first threshold, the transition condition includes a first transition condition and a second transition condition, and the first transition condition is The first determination mode is set, the value of the touch area is less than the first threshold value, the valid touch determination means repeatedly determines that the touch coordinates are valid, and the second determination mode is set. The transition condition is that the second determination mode is set and the state in which the change in capacitance is less than the third threshold continues for a certain period of time or more, or the second determination mode is set and the touch area value is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, and the touch determination mode switching means switches from the first determination mode to the second determination mode when the first transition condition is satisfied. , when any one of the second transition conditions is satisfied, the second determination mode is switched to the first determination mode .

According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both erroneous detection prevention and light touch input in a touch panel device.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a touch panel device according to Embodiments 1 to 3 of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the structure of a touch panel according to Embodiments 1 to 3 of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a touch panel according to Embodiments 1 to 3 of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the touch panel device according to Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention; It is an example which shows the time change of a press, a capacitance change, and a touch area. 2 is a mode transition diagram of touch determination modes illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a mode transition diagram of touch determination modes according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention; It is a flowchart which shows operation|movement of the touch-panel apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. FIG. 10 is a mode transition diagram of touch determination modes according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

Embodiment 1.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

It should be noted that the drawings are shown schematically, and for the convenience of explanation, the configuration may be omitted or simplified as appropriate. In addition, the mutual relationship of sizes and positions of configurations shown in different drawings is not necessarily described accurately and can be changed as appropriate.

In addition, in the description given below, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their names and functions are also the same. Therefore, a detailed description thereof may be omitted to avoid duplication.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a touch panel device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the touch panel includes a touch sensor panel 1 and a touch panel controller 2 and is connected to a host device 901 .

The touch sensor panel 1 includes a projected capacitive touch sensor 102 and a capacitive press sensor 107 . The touch sensor 102 is a capacitance detection sensor that forms capacitance with an indicator such as a finger and can detect changes in the capacitance. The pressure sensor 107 is a sensor that can detect pressure on the touch surface of the touch sensor panel 1, for example, pressure from a pointer to the touch surface, as a change in capacitance. In the following description, the touch surface of the touch sensor panel 1 is simply referred to as "touch surface".

In FIG. 1 , the touch sensor panel 1 is configured to include the pressure sensor 107 . In other words, although the pressure sensor 107 is composed only of the components of the touch sensor panel 1, the pressure sensor 107 according to the first embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the pressure sensor 107 may not be included in the touch sensor panel 1, or may be configured across components other than the touch sensor panel 1 as described below.

The touch panel controller 2 detects (calculates) touch coordinates indicating the position where the pointer touches the touch surface based on the change in capacitance detected by the touch sensor 102 , and detects the electrostatic capacitance detected by the pressure sensor 107 . The pressing pressure of the pointer is detected based on the change in capacitance. Then, the touch panel controller 2 controls to generate the information including the detection result and the presence/absence of the touch as touch information related to the touch of the pointer on the touch surface, and controls to output the generated touch information. Control for generating touch information includes generating touch information and stopping generation of touch information, and control for outputting touch information includes outputting touch information and stopping output of touch information. Including stopping.

The touch panel controller 2 is connected to the host device 901 via a connection element 902 such as a connector or cable, and can output generated touch information or the like to the host device 901 . For communication between the touch panel controller 2 and the host device 901, for example, USB (Universal Serial Bus), I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit), UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter), etc. are used.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the configuration of the touch panel according to the first embodiment as seen from the touch surface, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the configuration. 2 and 3 show not only the touch sensor panel 1 and the touch panel controller 2, but also a flexible substrate 5 (hereinafter referred to as "FPC 5") that electrically connects the touch sensor panel 1 and the touch panel controller 2. is shown. FIG. 3 also shows a liquid crystal module 8 included in a liquid crystal display (LCD), which is a display device integrated with the touch sensor panel 1 attached to the display surface side.

The touch panel of FIGS. 2 and 3 includes, in addition to the touch sensor panel 1 and the touch panel controller 2, an FPC 5, a shield layer 105, an insulating layer 106, and pressure sensor electrodes 107a. The touch sensor panel 1 includes a transparent substrate 101 , multiple X sensors 102 a and multiple Y sensors 102 b , and an insulating layer 104 . The touch panel controller 2 includes capacitance detection means 201 .

Among these components, the plurality of X sensors 102a and the plurality of Y sensors 102b constitute the touch sensor 102 in FIG. As will be described later, the pressure sensor electrode 107a and the metal frame 801 of the liquid crystal module 8 constitute the pressure sensor 107 of FIG.

The touch sensor panel 1 incorporates a plurality of X sensors 102a and a plurality of Y sensors 102b as matrix sensors. The touch sensor panel 1 of FIG. 2 includes, as sensors for detecting a touch on the touch surface, a plurality of X sensors 102a extending in the vertical direction and arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, and It has a plurality of Y sensors 102b arranged side by side. That is, the plurality of X sensors 102a and the plurality of Y sensors 102b are arranged as wirings orthogonal to each other.

2 and 3, the numbers of the plurality of X sensors 102a and the plurality of Y sensors 102b are reduced for the sake of simplification, and the four X sensors 102a denoted by X0 to X3 and Y0 Four Y sensors 102b labeled .about.Y3 are shown. Hereinafter, when the X sensor 102a and the Y sensor 102b are not distinguished from each other, they are described as "sensor 102a" and "sensor 102b".

As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of sensors 102a and 102b are arranged on the touch surface side of the transparent substrate 101 such as film or glass while being covered with an insulating layer 104, respectively. A self-capacitance Cg, which is a parasitic capacitance, is formed between each of the plurality of sensors 102a and 102b and the counter electrode in the liquid crystal module 8, and a mutual capacitance Cm is formed between the X sensor 102a and the Y sensor 102b. is formed.

In the plan view of FIG. 2, an area of the touch surface that can be detected by the touch sensor 102 including the plurality of sensors 102a and 102b is referred to as a "detectable area 102c" and will be described below. A pressure sensor electrode 107a indicated by a two-dot chain line and a shield layer 105 and an insulating layer 106 indicated by a one-dot chain line are provided in an outer peripheral area surrounding the detectable area 102c.

In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, the shield layer 105 is arranged on the surface of the transparent substrate 101 opposite to the touch surface. The insulating layer 106 is arranged on the shield layer 105 and the pressure sensor electrode 107a is arranged on the insulating layer 106 when viewed from the surface opposite to the touch surface.

The shield layer 105 is, for example, a shield electrode containing a conductive material. The shield layer 105 is disposed between the touch surface and the pressure sensor 107 so as to overlap at least a portion of the pressure sensor 107 when viewed from the touch surface. 2 and 3, the area of the shield layer 105 is larger than the area of the pressure sensor electrode 107a forming the pressure sensor 107 and smaller than the metal frame 801 forming the pressure sensor 107. In the example shown in FIGS. Therefore, the shield layer 105 overlaps a part of the pressure sensor 107 . When the pressure sensor 107 is composed of a component having an area smaller than that of the shield layer 105 instead of the metal frame 801, the shield layer 105 is arranged so as to overlap all of the pressure sensors 107. be.

Now, as will be described later, the shield layer 105 is provided by the electrostatic capacitance detection means 201 of the touch panel controller 2 to output a GND (ground potential), a DC power supply, or an AC signal that is in phase with the excitation signal for capacitance detection. It is connected to a power supply and made low impedance. The shield layer 105 configured in this way prevents the lines of electric force and parasitic capacitance (electrostatic capacitance) formed between the pressure sensor 107 and dielectrics outside the touch panel, such as indicators and high-dielectric materials, for example. It can be suppressed or blocked.

The FPC 5 electrically connects the plurality of sensors 102a and 102b, the shield layer 105, and the pressure sensor electrode 107a on the touch sensor panel 1 side and the capacitance detection means 201 on the touch panel controller 2 side. For example, the FPC 5 is pressure-bonded to the components on the touch sensor panel 1 side using an anisotropic conductive film (ACF), and connected to the components on the touch panel controller 2 side using a connector or the like. be. Wirings 501, 502 and 503 are formed by this connection.

The capacitance detection means 201 is connected to the plurality of sensors 102a and 102b via wiring 501, is connected to the shield layer 105 via wiring 502, and is connected to the pressure sensor electrode 107a via wiring 503. FIG.

A liquid crystal module 8 for displaying an image is arranged on the side opposite to the touch surface of the touch sensor panel 1 . The liquid crystal module 8 is composed of a liquid crystal panel 802, a backlight 803 composed of an LED (Light Emitting Diode), a light guide plate, an optical film, and the like, and a metal frame 801 covering them.

The liquid crystal module 8 is attached to the touch sensor panel 1 with double-sided tape 6 . This double-sided tape 6 has a relatively high cushioning property, and can be elastically deformed to such an extent that the gap between the pressure sensor electrode 107a and the metal frame 801 can be sufficiently changed by pressure on the touch surface. It has become.

The touch panel controller 2 shown in FIG. 1 also includes capacitance detection means 201 for detecting the capacitance value of the touch sensor 102 including a plurality of sensors 102a and 102b. It consists of a generator circuit, an integration amplifier, a sample & hold circuit, an A/D converter, and so on. Further, the touch panel controller 2 includes a control calculation means 108 that inputs the capacitance values of the touch sensor 102 and the pressure sensor 107 output from the capacitance detection means 201 and calculates the touch coordinates etc. that are output to the host device 901 . have. This control calculation means 108 comprises touch detection means 20 , pressure detection means 30 , touch determination mode switching means 40 , effective touch determination means 50 , and further includes touch information output means 60 for outputting touch coordinates to host device 901 . .

The touch detection by the touch detection means 20 may use, for example, a well-known method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-191778, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

Next, capacitance detection by the pressure sensor 107 will be described. The capacitance to be measured by the electrostatic capacitance detection means 201 as the capacitance related to the pressure sensor 107 is the coupling capacitance composed of the pressure sensor electrode 107 a and the metal frame 801 .

In this embodiment, as a method for detecting the coupling capacitance of the pressure sensor 107, a charging resistance and a coupling capacitance (press sensor capacitance) are connected in series, and the time constant is measured. The metal frame 801 is at the ground potential, and the pressure sensor electrode 107a is connected to the capacitance detection means 201 via the wiring 503. As shown in FIG. In addition, the shield layer 105 is also connected to the capacitance detection means 201 via the wiring 502, and when measuring the coupling capacitance of the pressure sensor 107, an excitation signal for measurement is applied to the shield layer 105 as well as the pressure sensor electrode 107a. is applied, the influence of the drive signal for the liquid crystal panel 802 on the measurement of the coupling capacitance can be reduced.

Next, the configuration of the control calculation means 108 in the touch panel controller 2 shown in FIG. 1 will be described in detail. As described above, the control calculation means 108 receives the capacitance measurement result of the capacitance detection means 201, detects the presence or absence of a touch by the pointer and touch coordinates, and also detects changes in capacitance, touch area data, and the like. Effective from the touch detection means 20 that outputs the touch status, the pressure detection means 30 that detects the pressure of the pressure sensor 107, the touch detection result of the touch detection means 20 and the capacitance value output of the pressure sensor of the capacitance detection means 201 A touch determination mode switching unit 40 for switching a determination mode regarded as a touch, and a touch detected by the touch detection unit 20 based on the capacitance value of the pressure sensor output by the capacitance detection unit 201 and the determination mode of the touch determination mode switching unit 40 It includes valid touch determination means 50 for determining whether or not the coordinates are valid, and touch information output means 60 for outputting the touch coordinates determined as valid by the valid touch determination means 50 to the external host device.

Next, operations of the touch panel device 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the touch panel device 100, and the touch panel device 100 repeatedly performs the processing shown in this drawing. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing temporal changes in pressure, capacitance change (the value of the largest capacitance change among the sensors), and touch area (the value of the detected touch having the largest area). is.

Here, the operation of the touch panel device 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. In (a) of FIG. 5, the symbol THp is a threshold for pressure, and when the threshold is equal to or greater than the threshold THp, it is considered that there is a touch (hereinafter, the threshold THp is simply referred to as "THp"). Further, in FIG. 5B, symbol THc is a threshold for capacitance change, and when the threshold is equal to or greater than threshold THc, it is considered that there is a touch (hereinafter, threshold THc is simply referred to as "THc"). Further, in FIG. 5(c), symbol THa is a threshold for the touch area, and since the area of a finger or touch pen as an indicator is usually less than a certain value, it is regarded as an abnormal touch situation when the threshold is greater than THa (hereinafter , the threshold THa is simply described as "THa"). When no touch is detected, the touch area is set to 0 for convenience. Symbols t1 to t6 indicate the time at which any value of pressure, capacitance change, or touch area crosses the threshold, and the smaller the numerical value of the subscript after time t, the past time. In this embodiment, the numerical value after the "+" after the subscript after time t represents the number of repetitions of the processing in FIG. 4. For example, after executing the processing in FIG. , the time becomes time t2+1, and the process of FIG. 4 is executed again. Hereinafter, the operation of the touch panel device 100 will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 1 and 4).

In FIG. 1, first, the electrostatic capacitance detection means 201 performs capacitance measurement (step SA1), and detects a touch by obtaining a capacitance change from the capacitance value and the capacitance value in the state in which no pointer is held. (Step SA2), touch information is obtained. The touch information is the result of determining whether or not there is a touch, touch coordinates calculated when it is determined that there is a touch, and includes an ID number for specifying a touch point. Note that the above steps SA1 and SA2 indicate the processing steps in FIG. The same applies to steps SA3 to SA7.

In the present embodiment, the touch information also includes the touch area as the touch status as described above. For touch detection, for example, a well-known method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-191778 is used. As a method for measuring the area of a touch, a relatively easy method is to count the number of sensors positioned near the touch coordinates that exhibit a capacitance change greater than a certain level, and use the number as the touch area. Conceivable. Then, the pressure detection means 30 shown in FIG. 1 detects the pressure of the pressure sensor 107 (step SA3). This detection is performed, for example, by the well-known methods described in JP-A-2010-217967, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3 above.

Thereafter, the touch determination mode switching means 40 switches the valid touch determination mode based on the touch information and the pressure information (selects determination mode 1 or 2) (step SA4). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, there are two valid touch determination modes, determination mode 1 and determination mode 2, below. Among these two conditions, determination mode 1 is a strict condition that suppresses false detection, and determination mode 2 is a loose condition that allows light touch input. The conditions under which a touch is valid in the state of determination mode 1 or determination mode 2 are shown below.
Judgment mode 1: pressure is THp or more and touch area is less than THa Judgment mode 2: touch area is less than THa

The touch determination mode switching means 40 sets the determination mode 1 immediately after the power is turned on, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. Switch the judgment mode with .
Transition condition 1: If the determination mode 1 is in use, the touch area is less than THa, and the valid touch is determined in the previous step SA5 of the repetition, the mode is switched to the determination mode 2.
Transition condition 2: If determination mode 2 is in use and the state in which the capacitance change is less than THc continues for a certain period of time (this certain period of time is defined as the time threshold THt) or longer, or if the touch area is THa or larger , switch to determination mode 1.

Here, the condition of "touch area is THa or more" in transition condition 2 indicates a clearly abnormal touch situation (occurrence of capacitance change that is not an appropriate touch operation with a finger or the like), and captures a state where false detection is likely to occur. It is set for As a result, regardless of the value of the time threshold THt, if there is a high possibility of an erroneous detection occurring, the loose judgment mode (judgment mode 2) is immediately switched to a strict judgment mode (judgment mode 1) to prevent erroneous detection. can be prevented. Conversely, it is also possible to set the time threshold THt to a large value while suppressing erroneous detection. (Hereinafter, the time threshold THt is simply referred to as "THt".)

After that, the valid touch determination means 50 selects the determination mode switched by the touch determination mode switching means 40 from determination mode 1 or determination mode 2, or if no switching is performed, the valid touch determination means 50 selects the determination mode used in the previous repeated step SA5. Using the same determination mode as the one described above, it is determined whether or not the touch coordinates output by the touch detection means 20 are valid (step SA5). Then, when it is determined that the touch coordinates are valid (step SA6), the touch information output means 60 outputs the touch coordinates (step SA7).

An example in which the temporal change shown in FIG. 5 occurs will be described below. FIG. 5 shows a case where water is splashed immediately after the touch operation. As shown in (b) of FIG. 5, there are two peaks of capacitance change. In the touch operation of , the slow one (second half) was caused by water splashing. Therefore, the pressure in the latter half is significantly smaller than that in the first half (see FIG. 5(a)). Assume that the judgment mode is judgment mode 1 at first. Also, THt>(time t5−time t4).

As shown in (a) of FIG. 5, it is at time t2 that the pressure reaches or exceeds THp for the first time. At this time, since the touch area is less than THa (see (c) of FIG. 5), determination mode 1 is established, and it is determined as a valid touch at step SA5, and coordinates are output at step SA7. Then, at step SA4 at time t2+1 shown in FIG. 5(a), since transition condition 1 is satisfied, touch determination mode switching means 40 switches from determination mode 1 to determination mode 2, and thereafter input with a light touch. becomes possible.

Judgment mode 2 is continuously used until just before the time t5 when water is splashed. At time t5 shown in (c) of FIG. Therefore, the touch determination mode switching means 40 switches from the determination mode 2 to the determination mode 1 in step SA4. At this time, since the pressure is less than THp, it is not determined as a valid touch in step SA5, and touch coordinates are not output. Since the determination mode 1 is not established after the time t5, the touch coordinates are not output even after the time t6 when the touch area becomes less than THa and the determination mode 2 is established. False detection does not occur.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the touch determination mode switching means 40 grasps a state in which erroneous detection is likely to occur, and tightens the determination mode for determining whether or not to output coordinates (from determination mode 2 to determination mode 2). By switching to mode 1), it is possible to prevent erroneous detection while allowing light touch input.

<Modification 1>
In the above-described Embodiment 1, the determination mode 2 is set to "the touch area is less than _THa " _. )” may be included in the condition. i.e.
Judgment mode 1: pressure is THp or more and touch area is less than THa Judgment mode 2: pressure is THp _d or more and touch area is less than THa (THp _d <THp)
is.

<Modification 2>
Also, transition condition 2 includes a time threshold condition, but this may be replaced by a touch area only condition without a time threshold. Furthermore, instead of the touch area, another index value indicating an abnormal touch situation may be used.

<Modification 3>
Also, the touch area is the value of the maximum area among the detected touches, but it may be the area value of the maximum area among the areas having the capacitive change of the touch level. The area of the touch cannot be obtained in a state where a capacitance change of _THc or more does not occur, and the valid touch determination mode cannot be switched _. By setting the area as "an area having a capacitance change of the touch level" and switching the valid touch determination mode based on the area, it is possible to switch the determination mode more quickly and further prevent erroneous detection.

Embodiment 2.
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described with reference to the drawings. The schematic configuration diagram is FIG. 1 as in Embodiment 1, and detailed description is omitted here.

Next, the operation will be explained. A flowchart showing the operation of the touch panel device 100 of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. 4, as in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, an example in which the determination mode is switched according to the touch area will be described.

First, in the same procedure as in the first embodiment, the capacitance detection means 201 performs capacitance measurement (step SA1), the touch detection means 20 performs touch detection (step SA2), and at the same time the pressure detection means 30 detects a pressure sensor. 107 is detected (step SA3). Thereafter, the touch determination mode switching means 40 switches the valid touch determination mode (step SA4). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the same two valid touch determination modes as in the first embodiment (determination mode 1 and determination mode 2) are used.

The touch determination mode switching means 40 sets the determination mode 1 immediately after the power is turned on, and switches the determination mode according to the following determination mode transition conditions A1 and A2 as shown in FIG. Here, THa>THa _d and THt<THt _d .
Transition condition A1: If judgment mode 1 is in use, the touch area is less than THa, and it is judged to be a valid touch in the previous repeated step SA5, then switching to judgment mode 2 is made.
Transition condition A2: If determination mode 2 is in use and any one of the following conditions (1) to (3) is satisfied, the mode is switched to determination mode 1.
(1) The state where the touch area is less than THa _d and the capacitance change is less than THc continues for THt _d or more (2) The state where the touch area is between THa _d and less than THa and the capacitance change is less than THc continues for THt or more ( 3) Touch area is THa or more

Due to this determination mode transition condition, the time threshold for switching from determination mode 2 to determination mode 1 becomes smaller as the touch area increases. This is because it is preferable to switch to the judgment mode 1 which is high and strict as soon as possible.

After that, the process is the same as in the first embodiment, and the valid touch determination means 50 determines validity (step SA5), and when the touch coordinates are determined to be valid (step SA6), the touch information output means 6 outputs the touch coordinates. (step SA7).

As described above, according to the second embodiment, by switching the time threshold according to the touch area, it is possible to further suppress the occurrence of erroneous detection.

Embodiment 3.
Next, Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to the drawings. The schematic configuration diagram is FIG. 1 as in Embodiment 1, and detailed description is omitted here.

Next, the operation will be explained. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the touch panel device 100 of this embodiment. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the presence or absence of an adhering matter on the touch sensor panel 1 is determined (water droplet determination), and the determination mode is switched according to the result.

First, the touch detection means 2 performs capacitance measurement (step SB1) and touch detection (step SB2) in the same procedure as steps SA1 and SA2 in the first embodiment. Then, the touch detection means 20 determines whether or not water droplets adhere to the touch sensor panel 1, for example, using a well-known method such as Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-88899 (step SB3). Thereafter, the pressure detection means 30 detects the capacitance value of the pressure sensor 107 (step SB4), and the touch determination mode switching means 40 switches the effective touch determination mode (step SB5). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, there are two effective touch determination modes (determination mode 1 and determination mode 2) as in the first embodiment. Immediately after the power is turned on, determination mode 1 is set, and the determination mode is switched according to the following determination mode transition conditions B1 and B2.
Transition condition B1: Judgment mode 1 is in use, the touch area is less than THa, it is judged to be a valid touch in the previous step SA5 of the repetition, and it is judged that there is no water drop in step SB3. Switch to 2.
Transition condition B2: If determination mode 2 is in use and any one of the following conditions (1) to (3) is satisfied, the mode is switched to determination mode 1.
(1) The state in which the capacitance change is less than THc continues for a certain period of time or longer (2) The touch area is greater than or equal to THa (3) It is determined at step SB3 that water droplets are present

Under this determination mode transition condition, in a state in which erroneous detection is likely to occur due to the presence of water droplets, strict determination mode 1 is used, and erroneous detection of water droplets can be suppressed.

After that, steps SA5 to SA7 of Embodiment 1 are the same, and the valid touch determination means 5 performs a validity determination (step SB6), and if the touch coordinates are determined to be valid (step SB7), the touch information output means 6 outputs touch coordinates (step SB8).

<Modification 4 >
Note that, especially when specializing in water resistance, the following determination mode transition conditions C1 and C2 may be used instead of the determination mode transition conditions B1 and B2.
Transition condition C1: If judgment mode 1 is in use, it is judged to be a valid touch in step SA5 of the previous iteration, and it is judged that there is no water droplet in step SB3, then switch to judgment mode 2.
Transition condition C2: If determination mode 2 is in use and the following condition (1) or (2) is satisfied, the mode is switched to determination mode 1.
(1) The state in which the change in capacity is less than THc continues for a certain period of time or longer. (2) It is determined in step SB3 that water droplets are present.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of erroneous detection due to adhesion of water by switching the determination mode according to the result of water droplet determination.

In the above-described third embodiment, determination of water droplets is used to determine deposits on the touch sensor panel. can be

Further, in the first to third embodiments described above, a variable-capacity pressure sensor whose capacitance varies according to the pressure applied by the pointer is used as the pressure sensor, but the type of pressure sensor is limited to this. It is not necessary, and for example, a variable resistance pressure sensor whose resistance value varies according to pressure may be employed.

1 touch sensor panel 2 touch panel controller 20 touch detection means 30 pressure detection means 40 touch determination mode switching means 50 valid touch determination means 60 touch information output means 100 touch panel device 102 touch sensor 107 pressure sensor 108 control operation means 201 capacitance detection means

Claims (3)

a touch sensor panel composed of a plurality of sensors;
connected to the touch sensor panel, performs capacitive measurement, detects presence/absence of a touch by an indicator on the touch sensor panel and touch coordinates, and outputs information on a touch status between the indicator and the touch sensor panel; touch detection means;
a pressure detection means for detecting a pressure applied to the touch sensor panel by a touch by the pointer;
A plurality of determination modes having a function of determining a valid touch from the information output from the touch detection means and the pressure detection means are set, and one of the plurality of determination modes is determined according to a transition condition of the output information. touch determination mode switching means for controlling switching to the determination mode;
Based on the determination mode set by the touch determination mode switching means, the touch detection means outputs from the touch status information output by the touch detection means and the pressure information output by the pressure detection means. valid touch determination means for determining whether the touch coordinates are valid or invalid;
a touch information output means for outputting to the outside the touch coordinates determined to be valid by the valid touch determination means;
the touch status information includes a value of a touch area between the pointer and the touch sensor panel, and information on a change in capacitance between the pointer and the touch sensor panel ;
The setting of the plurality of determination modes includes the function of determining the effective touch based on the value of the touch area output from the touch detection means and the information on the pressure output from the pressure detection means among the output information. setting the plurality of determination modes having
The plurality of determination modes include a first determination mode for determining the effective touch from the touch area value and the pressure information, and a second determination mode for determining the effective touch from the touch area value,
In the first determination mode, the value of the touch area is less than a first threshold, and the pressing, which is the pressure information, is considered to be a valid touch when it is equal to or greater than a second threshold,
In the second determination mode, the value of the touch area is less than the first threshold value and the valid touch is considered;
The transition condition has a first transition condition and a second transition condition,
The first transition condition is that the first determination mode is set, the value of the touch area is less than the first threshold value, and the valid touch determination means repeatedly determines that the touch coordinates are valid. is to be
The second transition condition is that the second determination mode is set, and the state in which the change in capacitance is less than a third threshold continues for a certain period of time or longer, or the second determination mode is is set, the value of the touch area is equal to or greater than the first threshold,
The touch determination mode switching means switches from the first determination mode to the second determination mode if the first transition condition is satisfied, and switches from the first determination mode to the second determination mode if any one of the second transition conditions is satisfied. , switching from the second determination mode to the first determination mode
A touch panel device characterized by: The touch determination mode switching means includes the value of the touch area in the first transition condition and the second transition condition , and switches the determination mode according to the value of the touch area;
The second transition condition is
The second determination mode is set, the value of the touch area is less than a fourth threshold that is smaller than the first threshold, and the change in capacitance is less than the third threshold for a certain period of time or more. to continue, or
the second determination mode is set, the value of the touch area is equal to or greater than the fourth threshold value and less than the first threshold value, and the change in the capacitance is less than the third threshold value for a certain time or more; to continue, or
2. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein the second determination mode is set and the value of the touch area is equal to or greater than the first threshold . The touch detection means performs adherence determination and outputs the result of the adherence determination to the touch determination mode switching means as information of the touch status,
The touch determination mode switching means includes the deposit determination result in the transition condition, and switches the determination mode based on the deposit determination result ,
The first transition condition is that the first determination mode is set, the value of the touch area is less than the first threshold value, and the valid touch determination means repeatedly determines that the touch coordinates are valid. Further, it is determined that there is no deposit in the deposit determination result,
The second transition condition is
The second determination mode is set, and the state in which the change in the capacitance is less than the third threshold continues for a certain period of time or longer, or
the second determination mode is set and the value of the touch area is equal to or greater than the first threshold, or
2. The touch panel device according to claim 1, wherein it is determined that there is an adhering matter in the adhering matter determination result .

Images