KR101446796B1 - Touch sensing device and method for deciding touch input key - Google Patents

Abstract

(a는 1이상 n이하의 임의의 정수)인 것을 특징으로 하는 터치 감지 장치가 제공된다.
본 발명에 의하면, 채널을 최대화하여 사용할 수 있게 되어, 터치 감지 장치의 제조 비용이 줄이고, 터치 IC의 사용을 줄여 터치 감지 장치를 구비한 제품의 크기도 줄일 수 있는 장점이 있다. 또한, 터치 감지 장치의 전력 소모도 줄어들며, 터치 IC 사이의 동기화가 용이하고, 터치 IC 상호간의 전자기파 간섭 등으로 인하여 노이즈를 크게 줄일 수 있는 장점이 있다.A touch sensing apparatus and a method for determining a touch input value using the same are disclosed. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a touch sensing device comprising: a touch sensing part having a touch and a touch sensing part having n channels (n is an integer of 2 or more) for receiving an electrical signal by touching from a touch part, The number of touch parts connected through the n channels for transmitting

(where a is an arbitrary integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than n).
According to the present invention, the channel can be maximized and used, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the touch sensing device, reducing the use of the touch IC, and reducing the size of the product having the touch sensing device. Further, power consumption of the touch sensing device is reduced, synchronization between touch ICs is easy, and noise can be greatly reduced due to electromagnetic wave interference between the touch ICs.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a touch sensing device and a method of determining a touch input value using the touch sensing device,

The present invention relates to a touch sensing device and a method of determining a touch input value using the touch sensing device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a touch sensing device that maximizes a channel for receiving an electrical signal generated by a touch, .

Recently, there has been developed a touch input device using a touch sensing device such as a touch sensing device as an input means for controlling the operation of many electric / electronic devices.

In principle, the touch sensing device is a device that recognizes the touch itself, and the touch input device is a device used as an input means by outputting a sensed touch as a signal by performing touch sensing, but is actually used without any distinction.

In order to recognize a touch in a touch sensing device, a resistive film or a capacitance type is mainly used.

The resistance film method is a method of recognizing a touch using a change in voltage or current generated by a user's touch.

On the other hand, the capacitance type is a method of recognizing a touch using a change in capacitance caused by a user's touch.

Especially, unlike resistive type, capacitive type touch sensing device has a relatively soft touch and it has a merit of being able to input according to the intensity of touch because capacitance changes according to the degree of touch. However, It is not possible to recognize the touch.

A connection structure between a touch and a channel of a conventional touch sensing unit in various types of touch sensing apparatuses will be described with reference to FIG.

1 is a view illustrating a connection between a channel of a conventional touch sensing unit and a touch unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, the touch sensing unit 100 receives an electrical signal by touch in a touch unit 120, which is conventionally touched by a human hand, and determines whether or not the touch is received.

The touch unit 120 is formed to include an electrode 130 having electrical conductivity. The touch sensing unit 100 is generally formed in the form of an IC (integrated circuit) chip. When the touch sensing unit 100 is implemented as an IC chip, , A touch IC chip, a touch chip, and the like.

A channel through which an electrical signal by touch is received by the touch sensing unit 100 is often referred to as a channel 110 and is called a 2-channel touch IC or a 4-channel touch IC depending on the number of the channels 110 .

Meanwhile, in the conventional connection between the channel 110 of the touch sensing unit 100 and the touch unit 120, one touch unit 120 is connected to each channel 110 and used.

That is, if the touch sensing device includes a 4-channel touch IC, it is possible to detect whether or not the touch sensing device is touchable in four places.

However, according to the connection of the conventional touch sensing unit to the touch unit, a plurality of touch ICs must be used in a touch sensing device having a plurality of touch units, which increases the manufacturing cost of the touch sensing device.

For example, in case of a computer keyboard, which is commonly used, it is generally composed of 108 keys. If it is implemented as a 4-channel touch IC, it is necessary to use 27 touch ICs in total of 108/4 = 27, So that it can be used.

The use of a plurality of touch ICs increases the size of a product having a touch sensing device as a whole and increases power consumption.

In addition, as the number of uses of the touch IC increases, the synchronization between the touch ICs becomes more difficult, and noise is greatly increased due to electromagnetic wave interference between the touch ICs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a touch sensing apparatus capable of maximizing a channel to use.

At the same time, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the manufacturing cost of the touch sensing device by reducing the use of the touch IC by making it possible to maximize the channel, thereby reducing the size and power consumption of the product having the touch sensing device .

In addition, the number of use of the touch IC can be reduced, so that the synchronization between the touch ICs is facilitated, and the noise caused by the electromagnetic wave interference between the touch ICs can be greatly reduced.

Other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a touch sensing apparatus is provided.

(a는 1이상 n이하의 임의의 정수)인 것을 특징으로 하는 터치 감지 장치가 제공된다.According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a touch sensing apparatus comprising: a touch unit in which a touch is performed; And a touch sensing unit having n (n is an integer equal to or greater than 2) channels for receiving an electrical signal by the touch from the touch unit, wherein a touch The number of wealth is

(where a is an arbitrary integer equal to or greater than 1 and equal to or less than n).

In the case where there are a plurality of channels of the touch sensing unit connected to the touch unit, the touch unit includes a plurality of electrodes connected to the channels of the touch sensing unit, and the number of the electrodes may be a maximum of a, Each of the plurality of electrodes included in the unit may be electrically isolated.

The touch sensing unit may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), and the connection between the touch sensing unit and the touch sensing unit may be implemented on a printed circuit board (PCB). In this case, The PCB may be implemented in a plurality of the number of channels of the touch sensing unit connected to the touch unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a touch sensing apparatus is provided.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a touch sensing device including a plurality of touch units to which a touch is performed, and a touch sensing unit having n touch sensing units each having n channels (n is an integer of 2 or more) A method of determining a touch input value in a sensing device, the method comprising: determining a touch input value by which a touch is made based on a number of electrical signals received on the channel and a channel on which the electrical signal is received; do.

(a는 1이상 n이하의 임의의 정수)일 수 있다.The number of touch parts connected through the n channels is

(a is an arbitrary integer of 1 or more and n or less).

As described above, according to the touch sensing device of the present invention, the channel can be maximized and used, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the touch sensing device, reducing the use of the touch IC, There is an advantage that it can be reduced.

Further, power consumption of the touch sensing device is reduced, synchronization between the touch ICs is facilitated, and noise caused by electromagnetic wave interference between touch ICs can be significantly reduced.

1 is a diagram illustrating a connection between a channel of a conventional touch sensing unit and a touch unit.
2 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a touch unit is connected to two channels according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view illustrating an example in which a touch portion is connected to three channels according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which a touch unit is connected to four channels according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram illustrating an example in which one electrode is included in a touch portion when the touch portion is connected to one channel.
6 is a view illustrating an example in which two electrodes are included in a touch portion when the touch portion is connected to two channels according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example in which a touch portion includes three electrodes when the touch portion is connected to three channels according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
8 is a view illustrating an example in which four electrodes are included in a touch portion when the touch portion is connected to four channels according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a diagram illustrating another example in which four electrodes are included in a touch portion when the touch portion is connected to four channels according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, .

On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention.

The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprises" or "having" and the like are used to specify that there is a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component or a combination thereof described in the specification, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art and are to be interpreted as either ideal or overly formal in the sense of the present application Do not.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout.

In the present invention, one touch unit 120 is connected to one channel 110 in the related art, and the touch unit 120 can be further connected thereto.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the connection between the touch unit 120 and the touch sensing unit 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described.

1 is a diagram illustrating a connection between a channel 110 and a touch unit 120 of a conventional touch sensing unit 100. In the present invention, (110) and the touch unit (120).

However, it is possible to additionally provide a connection between the channel 110 and the touch unit 120 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, thereby enabling the connection with the touch unit 120 more than the number of channels.

1 to 4 illustrate only four channels 110 of the touch sensing unit 100. The touch sensing unit according to the present invention is applicable to a case where a plurality of channels of the touch sensing unit are applied It is obvious that it can be done.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating that the touch unit 120 is connected to two channels 110 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

1, one touch unit 120 includes two electrodes 130, and each of the electrodes 130 is connected to the channel 110 in a one-to-one correspondence.

1 to 4, a channel 110a is referred to as a channel 1, a channel 110b is referred to as a channel 2, a channel 110c is referred to as a channel 3, a channel 120d is referred to as a channel 4, a touch part 120a, a touch part 120b, c, ....

In FIG. 1, when a is touched, a signal is input to channel 1, so that a is recognized as being touched.

However, in the case of FIGS. 2 to 4, if the touch unit 120 is touched, a signal is received through a plurality of channels 110 instead of only a single channel 110.

For example, if e is touched in FIG. 2, a signal is received in both channel 1 and channel 2, thereby recognizing that e is touched.

In this way, when k is touched in FIG. 3, signals are received through channel 1, channel 2 and channel 3, so that it is recognized that k is touched.

In FIG. 4, when n is touched, signals are received through channel 1 and channel 2, and channel 3 and channel 4, so that it is recognized that n is touched.

If the above-described cases of FIGS. 1 to 4 are all implemented at once, it is possible to connect more to the touch portion than the number of channels.

In the case where the touch unit 120 transmits a signal to the plurality of channels 110, unlike the conventional case, the number of channels 110 for transmitting signals through the touch unit 120 Electrodes 130 are preferably included, and each electrode is preferably electrically insulated.

In particular, in the case of implementing all the cases of FIGS. 1 to 4 on a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) on a single plane, the number of the electrodes 130 corresponding to the number of the channels 110, And each of the electrodes 130 is preferably electrically insulated.

However, in the case of implementing all of the cases of FIGS. 1 to 4 through a plurality of PCBs other than the single-plane PCB, that is, in a case of implementing the three-dimensional implementation through the method of stacking the PCB, It is possible to configure only one electrode 130 as in the prior art.

According to the present invention, the number of the channels 110 and the number of the channels 110 to which the electrical signals are input can be recognized as taps in different parts, The touch unit 120 and the touch sensing unit 100 can be connected.

4 + 6 + 4 + 1 = 15, it is possible to connect up to 15 touch units 120 in the 4-channel touch IC.

That is, in the conventional four-channel touch IC, only four touch units 120 are connected and input of four touches is possible. However, according to the touch sensing apparatus of the present invention, It is possible to connect to the touch units 120, and 15 touch input values can be input.

Accordingly, even if a touch IC having a minimum channel 110 is used in this configuration, it is possible to connect a larger number of touch units 120.

For example, in a conventional four-channel touch IC, if a touch keyboard having 108 keys is to be implemented, a minimum of 27 touch ICs are required.

However, in the present invention, only a maximum of eight touch ICs are required in consideration of the maximum connectable touch unit 120.

The number of connectable touch units 120 according to the number of the channels 110 may be expressed by the following equation.

[Equation 1]

Here, n is an integer equal to or greater than 2 as the number of channels 110 of the touch IC, and a is the number of the maximum channels 110 to which the touch portion 120 is connected.

A is a number of the maximum number of electrodes 130 included in the touch unit 120 when a single PCB is implemented, and the number of the touch electrodes 120 is determined based on mutual interference between the electrodes 130, Since the number is a number that can be arbitrarily set by the manufacturer of the apparatus, a is an arbitrary integer equal to or larger than 1 and equal to or smaller than n.

That is, in the example of FIGS. 1 to 4, when the touch unit 120 is connected to a maximum of two channels at the connection of the touch unit 120 and the touch sensing unit 100 for implementing the touch sensing apparatus, n = 4 and a becomes 2.

That is, the touch sensing apparatus is implemented by applying only the case of FIG. 1 and FIG.

로서 4C1(4 Combination 1)+ 4C2(4 Combination 2) 즉 4+6으로 10개가 되게 된다.Therefore, the number of connectable touch portions is

(4 Combination 1) + 4C2 (4 Combination 2), that is, 4 + 6.

The number n of the channels 110 and the number of the maximum channels 110 connected to the touch unit 120 included in the touch unit 120 The number of the maximum electrodes 130) a) can be expressed as a table as shown in the following [Table 1].

[Table 1]

As can be seen from Table 1, if the 6-channel touch IC is used, it is theoretically possible to connect to 63 touch units 120. Therefore, if it is desired to implement the 108 key, only two 6-channel touch ICs All 108 keys can be implemented, but there are additional keys that can be added.

It is also possible to implement a plurality of electrodes 130 in one touch unit 120 or to implement a PCB in which a circuit for connecting the touch unit 120 and the touch sensing unit 100 is implemented, The number of the maximum electrodes 130 included in the touch unit 120 can be controlled according to the number of the touch units 120 and the number of the touch units 120 and the touch sensing unit 100 can be increased.

For example, suppose that an 8-channel touch IC is used and the number of channels 110 in which an electrical signal is received at a time is limited to three.

The reason why the number of the channels 110 in which electrical signals are received at one time is limited to three is that it is difficult to stack PCBs in a three-dimensional connection of the PCB, for example, And it is difficult to realize a large number of electrodes 130 in the key.

In the case of using 8-channel touch IC and simultaneously limiting the number of channels 110 in which electrical signals are received to 3, referring to Table 1, n = 8 and a = 3, so 8 + 28 + 56 = 92, all 92 key values can be expressed.

That is, by adjusting the number of the channels 110 of the touch sensing unit 100 and the number of the channels 110 receiving the electrical signal at a time, a smaller number of touch ICs can be used and a larger number of touch units 120 ) Can be implemented.

As a result, a large number of touch units 120 can be implemented. This means that more touch input values can be received and judged. Therefore, the number of channels 110 of the touch sensing unit 100 is not affected It is possible to freely configure the touch sensing device itself.

When the touch sensing unit according to the present invention is implemented by including a plurality of electrodes 130 in one touch unit 120, the maximum number of electrodes 130 included in one touch unit 120 may be electrically Is determined by the number of channels 110 on which the signal is received.

5 to 9 illustrate the configuration of the touch unit 120 in this case.

5 illustrates an example in which only one electrode 130 is included in the touch unit 120 by being connected to one touch unit 120 in one channel.

Unlike the case where one touch unit 120 is connected to each channel 110 as in the conventional connection between the touch sensing unit 100 and the touch unit 120, An electric signal is transmitted to the plurality of channels 110 in the touch unit 120 to include a plurality of electrodes 130 in the touch unit 120. [

In the case where the plurality of electrodes 130 are included in the touch unit 120, the touch must be performed on all of the plurality of electrodes 130.

Therefore, for example, if the touch unit 120 is a specific key, it is required that an electrical signal by touch is transmitted to all of the electrodes 130 when a human finger touches the corresponding key.

For this purpose, if two electrodes 130 are included in the touch unit 120 as shown in FIG. 6, the two electrodes should be equally positioned.

That is, in the example of FIG. 6, since the electrodes 130a and 130b must be able to transmit electrical signals to the connected channel 110, the electrodes 130a and 130b must be uniform in size and position, 130 are all touched.

Also, it is preferable that the insulating part 140 is not provided between the electrodes 130 so that the electric signal from the electrode 130a is not transmitted to the electrode 130b.

If the number of the electrodes 130 is four, the electrodes 130 are divided equally according to the shape of the touch part as shown in FIG. 8 or 9, and are disposed inside the touch part 120. Between the electrodes 130, It is preferable to include the insulating portion 140.

In the case where a plurality of electrodes 130 are included in one touch unit 120, when the touch sensing apparatus according to the present invention is implemented on one PCB, When transmitting the electrical signals to the respective channels 110 through the same channel, they pass through the same path to simplify the structure of the circuit.

That is, in order to simplify the circuit configuration of the circuit, it is preferable to include a plurality of electrodes 130 in the touch portion 120. In order to simplify the configuration of the touch portion 120, Or it is preferable to use a plurality of PCBs.

A method of determining an input value by a touch in the touch sensing apparatus using the touch unit 120 and the touch sensing unit 100 having the above configuration is as described above by using the channel 110 of the touch sensing unit 100 The number of received electrical signals and electrical signals are made according to the division of the received channel 110.

1 to 4, the channel 110a is 1, the channel 110b is 2, the channel 110c is 3, and the channel 120d is 4 in the examples of FIGS. 1 to 4. In the example of FIGS. 1 to 4, A is denoted by a, a touch portion 120b is denoted by b, and a touch portion 120c is denoted by c.

First, whether or not a has been touched can be determined by touching a through the channel 1 when the signal is input.

In the example of FIG. 2, whether or not the e is touched can be seen by touching e through the channel 1 and the channel 2 when the signal is inputted.

On the other hand, when a signal is input through channel 1 and channel 3, it can be seen that f is touched.

In the example of FIG. 3, whether or not k is touched can be seen by touching k through the channel 1, channel 2 and channel 3 when a signal is input through the channel 1, channel 2 and channel 3.

If a signal is input through channel 1, channel 2, and channel 4, it can be seen that the user has touched l.

In the example of FIG. 4, whether or not n is touched can be found by touching k through the channel 1, the channel 2, and the channel 3 and the channel 4, respectively, when an electrical signal is input.

Conventionally, whether or not a has been touched simply by dividing a channel, that is, if an electrical signal is inputted to the channel 1, this is a touch of a, but in the present invention, not only the division of a channel on which an electrical signal is received, That is, whether the electrical signal is received through several channels.

When a touch value is determined according to the number of electrical signals received through such a channel and the channel in which an electrical signal is received, a greater number of touch values can be determined even with a touch sensing device having a smaller number of channels.

Accordingly, the channel can be maximized and used, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of the touch sensing device, reducing the use of the touch IC, and reducing the size of the product having the touch sensing device.

In addition, the number of uses of the touch IC is reduced, and the power consumption of the touch sensing device is also reduced.

In addition, when a plurality of touch ICs are used, the synchronization between the touch ICs is required, and synchronization is facilitated since the number of touch ICs is reduced.

As compared with the case of using a plurality of touch ICs because the number of touch ICs is reduced, noise can be greatly reduced due to mutual electromagnetic wave interference or the like.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant art that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The appended claims are to be considered as falling within the scope of the following claims.

100: touch sensing unit 110: channel 120:
130: electrode 140:

Claims (7)

A touch sensing device comprising:
A touch part for touching; And
And a touch sensing unit having n (n is an integer of 2 or more) channels for receiving the touch-based electrical signal from the touch unit,
The number of touch parts connected through the n channels for transmitting an electrical signal to the channel is

(a is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more and n or less)
Wherein when the plurality of channels of the touch sensing unit are connected to the touch unit, the touch unit includes a plurality of electrodes connected to the channels of the touch sensing unit, and the number of electrodes is a maximum. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the plurality of electrodes included in the touch sensing unit are electrically isolated from each other. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the touch sensing unit is implemented in the form of an integrated circuit (IC), and the connection between the touch unit and the touch sensing unit is implemented on a printed circuit board (PCB). 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein when the plurality of channels of the touch sensing unit are connected to the touch unit, the PCB is implemented in a plurality of channels corresponding to the number of channels of the touch sensing unit connected to the touch unit. A touch sensing unit having a plurality of touch units for touching and a touch sensing unit having n (n is an integer of 2 or more) channels for receiving electrical signals by the touch from the touch unit, In the method,
Determines a touch unit having the touch according to the number of electrical signals received on the channel and the channel on which the electrical signal is received,
The number of touch parts connected through the n channels is

(where a is an arbitrary integer equal to or greater than 2 and equal to or less than n). delete

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