KR20100133644A - Method for reducing power consumption and apparatus for thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method for reducing power consumption and an apparatus thereof are provided to accurately recognizes a touch while reducing power consumption. CONSTITUTION: A frequency oscillator(110) launches the waveform which is created by charging and discharging signal from the capacitance value of a touch sensitive apparatus. A frequency count unit(120) counts the oscillated frequency. If the counted frequency value has no change during a fixed time, the frequency oscillator increases the cycle. A comparison unit(130) compares the counted value with a predetermined value to determine a touch.

Description

Method for reducing power consumption of an apparatus for touch sensing and apparatus therefor

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing power consumption of a device for touch sensing, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for enabling reduction of power consumption used in a device for capacitive touch sensing.

Recently, a touch input device using a device for sensing a touch, such as a touch sensor, exists and has been developed 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 performs a touch sensing and outputs a sensed touch as a signal, which is used as an input means, but is actually used without any significant distinction.

On the other hand, there are various methods of using touch sensing, but when electrodes are installed in a sensing unit where touch is actually made and touched with a finger, the sensing unit detects a change in capacitance and transmits the signal as a signal to a microprocessor or a microcomputer. Used.

In addition, even when not in direct contact, a minute current may be detected and used when close, but in the following description, for convenience of description, the term “touch” or “contact” is used.

This conventional touch sensing method has an advantage that there is no concern of mechanical wear because it is easy to input and does not include mechanical operation as compared to the input method by pressing a conventional mechanical button.

In particular, in the capacitive touch sensing device, a method of determining whether a touch is performed by oscillating a capacitance value at a frequency and determining a change in capacitance through a change of a counter value of the oscillated frequency is used to determine whether the touch is performed. .

Such a capacitive touch sensing device has a problem in that power consumption is increased because the capacitance must be oscillated at a frequency even when no touch is made.

On the other hand, in order to reduce the power consumption, a method of increasing the oscillation period of the frequency that oscillates the capacitance value in frequency is possible.

However, in this case, there is a problem in that the touch may not be accurately determined in the case of a touch made during the period of oscillating the capacitance value at a frequency.

Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that can accurately determine whether a touch is made while reducing power consumption of the device for touch sensing.

In order to solve the conventional problems as described above, the present invention proposes a method and a device for reducing power consumption of the device of touch sensing.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a method and an apparatus capable of accurately determining whether or not a touch, while reducing power consumption of an apparatus for touch sensing.

Still other objects of the present invention will be readily understood through the following description of the embodiments.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for reducing power consumption of a device of touch sensing.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in the method of reducing power consumption of a capacitive touch sensing device, generating a charge and discharge signal based on a capacitance value of the touch sensing device as a waveform at a predetermined period. (a); And (b) increasing the predetermined predetermined period when there is no change in the waveform for a preset time.

In the step (b), determining whether there is no change in the waveform for a predetermined time, the step of oscillating the waveform generated by the charge and discharge signal by the capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a frequency; Counting the oscillated frequency; And comparing the counted values.

And oscillating the waveform generated by the charge / discharge signal by the capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a frequency, counting the oscillated frequency, and comparing the counted values with respect to at least two frequencies. Can be.

In addition, the at least two frequencies may be time-divided frequencies.

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

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the capacitive touch sensing device, a frequency oscillator for oscillating the waveform generated by the charge and discharge signal by the capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a predetermined period at a frequency ; And a frequency counting unit counting the frequency oscillated by the frequency oscillator, wherein the frequency oscillator increases the predetermined period when there is no change in the frequency value counted by the frequency counter for a preset time. A capacitive touch sensing device is provided.

The touch sensing apparatus may further include a comparator configured to determine whether a touch is performed by comparing a value counted by the frequency counter unit with a preset value.

The comparison unit may compare the change of the frequency value counted by the frequency counter unit during the preset time.

The frequency oscillator may oscillate at least two frequencies, and the frequency counter may perform the frequency count on the oscillated at least two frequencies.

The at least two frequencies may be time-divided frequencies.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a recording medium recording a program for implementing a method of reducing power consumption of the device of touch sensing.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in a recording medium recording a program for implementing a method for reducing power consumption of a capacitive touch sensing device, charging by the capacitive value of the touch sensing device at a predetermined period (A) generating a discharge signal into a waveform; And (b) increasing the predetermined predetermined period when there is no change in the waveform for a preset time. Recorded recording medium is provided.

In the step (b), determining whether there is no change in the waveform for a predetermined time, the step of oscillating the waveform generated by the charge and discharge signal by the capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a frequency; Counting the oscillated frequency; And comparing the counted values.

And oscillating the waveform generated by the charge / discharge signal by the capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a frequency, counting the oscillated frequency, and comparing the counted values with respect to at least two frequencies. Can be.

In addition, the at least two frequencies may be time-divided frequencies.

As described above, the method and the device for reducing power consumption of the device for touch sensing according to the present invention have the advantage of reducing the power consumption of the touch sensing device.

In addition, there is an advantage that can accurately determine whether the touch while reducing the power consumption of the touch sensing device.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Like reference numerals are used for like elements in describing each drawing. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Terms such as first and second 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 the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component.

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

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it may be directly connected to or connected to that other component, but it may be understood that other components may be present in between. Should be.

On the other hand, when a component is said to be "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it should be understood that there is no other component in between.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination 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.

Terms such as those defined in the commonly used dictionaries should be construed as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and are not construed in ideal or excessively formal meanings unless expressly defined in this application. Do not.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the same or corresponding components will be denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

First, a configuration of a touch sensing apparatus to which a method for reducing power consumption according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be applied will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a touch sensing apparatus to which a method for reducing power consumption according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, a touch sensing apparatus to which a method for reducing power consumption according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be applied includes a capacitance detector 100, a frequency oscillator 110, a frequency counter 120, and a comparator. 130 may be included.

The capacitance detecting unit 100 detects a change in capacitance changed by a human touch or the like.

The capacitance value detected by the capacitance detector 100 is input to the frequency oscillator 110.

The frequency oscillator 110 oscillates at a frequency by generating a waveform of a charge and discharge signal (hereinafter, referred to as a 'charge / discharge signal') of a capacitance according to a change in the amount of current according to a change in capacitance.

Although generating the charge / discharge signal as a waveform in the frequency oscillator 110 is not shown in FIG. 1, the charge / discharge signal is periodically generated as a waveform including an oscillator.

The oscillator may be configured of a plurality of oscillators such as a system oscillator for controlling the operation of the touch sensing device itself and a sensing oscillator for touch sensing in the touch sensing device.

Meanwhile, when the oscillator is configured with a plurality of oscillators, the sensing oscillator may be operated to determine whether the touch is changed when a system clock for generating a charge / discharge signal as a waveform is generated by the system oscillator.

In addition, the frequency oscillator 110 may oscillate at least two frequencies divided for one touch to determine whether it is touched.

In this case, the counting unit 120 and the comparing unit 130 may perform a comparison with the counted frequency and a predetermined reference value for at least two oscillated frequencies.

The frequency counter unit 120 counts the oscillated frequency, and the comparison unit 130 compares the value counted by the counter unit 120 with a reference value, which is a preset value, and is equal to or greater than a threshold determined by the comparison unit 130. Or, in the following case, it is determined as a touch.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the comparison unit 130 is greater than or less than the threshold value, the touch unit may further include an output unit for outputting a touch signal.

The frequency oscillator 110, the frequency counter 120, and the comparator 130 among the components of the touch sensing device may be implemented in the form of one integrated circuit (IC) chip.

On the other hand, relatively high power consumption is required for the operation of the oscillator included in the frequency oscillator 110 oscillating a frequency in such a touch sensing device.

In the present invention, power consumption may be reduced by effectively adjusting a clock for generating a waveform in the oscillator included in the frequency oscillator 110.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with an example of a system clock generated in the touch sensing device when a touch is made in the touch sensing device.

2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a system clock when a touch is made in a capacitive touch sensing device, and FIG. 3 is an example illustrating a system clock when a touch is not made in a capacitive touch sensing device. It is also.

In FIG. 2, S1 and S2 are changes in the system clock when no touch is made, and S3 is a change in system clock when the touch is made.

As shown in FIG. 2, the oscillator included in the frequency oscillator 110 generates waveforms of charge and discharge signals according to capacitance values at regular intervals when touch is not made, as in S1 and S2. There is no change.

However, when the touch is made as in S3, a change in the system clock occurs. When such a change in the system clock occurs, it is determined that the touch is made, and thus a clock such as C1, which is a clock for determining whether or not the touch is generated, is generated in the touch sensing device. .

2 illustrates a case where a touch is made, but assuming that the touch is not continuously made, the oscillator included in the frequency oscillator 110 as shown in FIG. 3 converts a charge / discharge signal according to the capacitance value into a waveform at a predetermined period. Since it must be generated, the power consumption increases.

A certain period in which the oscillator included in the frequency oscillator 110 generates a charge / discharge signal according to a capacitance value as a waveform is also called a clock cycle, and the oscillator continuously operates according to the clock cycle. In the case of the electrical / electronic device that does not use frequently will be relatively increased power consumption.

However, in the present invention, when the touch is not made continuously, that is, when there is no change in the system clock for a predetermined time, the period of the system clock is delayed.

That is, when there is no change in the system clock for a predetermined time, the oscillator included in the frequency oscillator 110 may be operated relatively less by increasing the period of the system clock by a predetermined time.

A change in the system clock when no touch is made in the touch sensing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a system clock when a touch is not made in a touch sensing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the touch is not made by the touch sensing device, for example, when there is no change in the system clock for three periods of S1, S2, and S3, it is determined to be a sleep mode and the period of the system clock is set for a predetermined time. That is, it is relatively late compared to the three cycles of S1, S2, and S3.

In this case, the oscillator included in the frequency oscillator 110 may reduce the generation of the charge / discharge signal according to the capacitance value in a waveform at regular intervals, thereby reducing the overall power consumption.

On the other hand, to determine whether the system clock changes in order to determine the sleep mode, the frequency counter unit 120 counters the frequency with respect to the frequency oscillated by the frequency oscillator 110 is counted in the previous period in the comparator 130 It can be determined whether or not the frequency changes by comparing with the frequency.

Meanwhile, as described above, the oscillator may be configured of a plurality of oscillators such as a system oscillator and a sensing oscillator. In this case, in order to determine whether a touch is made quickly, the clock of the sensing oscillator may be adjusted without adjusting the clock of the sensing oscillator. It is also possible, but not limited to.

Hereinafter, with reference to the configuration of the touch sensing device using the method of reducing power consumption according to the present invention will be described the order in which the touch is detected.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reducing power consumption in a touch sensing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the order in which the method for reducing power consumption is performed in the touch sensing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention first determines whether the detected frequency is changed (S500).

Determining whether the sensed frequency is changed is as described above. First, the capacitance value in the capacitance detecting plate 100 oscillates in the frequency in the frequency oscillator 110, and the oscillated frequency in the frequency counter 120 The comparator 120 determines whether there is a change in the counted frequency by counting at.

And it is also possible to determine whether such a change in frequency is a change within a range of a predetermined value, and in the case of a change within a range of a preset value, it may be determined that there is no change in frequency.

For example, even when the touch is not actually made, the frequency may be changed by the noise of the surroundings or an object located in the vicinity even when the touch is not made. Therefore, it should be determined that the touch is not made. .

Therefore, the range of the preset value that can be determined that there is no change in the frequency may be set in consideration of the type, use, and place of the electric / electronic device in which the touch sensing device is used.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the change of the frequency is determined by determining whether the detected frequency changes (S502).

In addition, although not shown in FIG. 5, the process of determining whether the touch is performed may be further performed by determining whether the calculated change value of the frequency is equal to or greater than a preset value.

On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no change in frequency by determining whether the sensed frequency is changed, it is determined whether or not the change in frequency has elapsed for a predetermined time (S504).

If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process of oscillating the frequency at the original set cycle again and determining whether the oscillated frequency changes.

However, if the predetermined time elapses, the period is made larger than the originally set period, and this may be performed by reducing the system clock of the oscillator included in the frequency oscillator (S506).

According to the method of reducing power consumption of the touch sensing apparatus according to the present invention, when the touch is not made for a long time in the capacitive touch sensing apparatus, power consumption may be reduced.

Meanwhile, the touch sensing method according to the present invention may be implemented as a program and stored in a computer-readable recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.).

Preferred embodiments of the present invention described above are disclosed for purposes of illustration, and those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention. Additions should be considered to be within the scope of the following claims.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a touch sensing apparatus to which a method of reducing power consumption according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may be applied.

2 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a system clock when a touch is made in a capacitive touch sensing device.

3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a system clock when no touch is made in a capacitive touch sensing device.

4 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a system clock when a touch is not made in a touch sensing device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of reducing power consumption in a touch sensing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (10)

In the method of reducing power consumption of the device of the capacitive touch sensing, Generating a waveform of a charge and a discharge signal according to a capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a predetermined period; And And (b) increasing the predetermined predetermined period when there is no change in the waveform for a preset time. The method of claim 1, In step (b), Determining whether there is no change in the waveform for a preset time, Oscillating a waveform generated by a charge / discharge signal by a capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a frequency; Counting the oscillated frequency; And And comparing the counted values to reduce power consumption of the capacitive touch sensing device. The method of claim 2, Oscillating the waveform generated by the charge-discharge signal by the capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a frequency, counting the oscillated frequency, and comparing the counted value is performed for at least two frequencies A method of reducing power consumption of a capacitive touch sensing device. The method of claim 3, And said at least two frequencies are time-divided frequencies. In the capacitive touch sensing device, A frequency oscillator for oscillating a waveform generated by a charge and discharge signal by the capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a predetermined period at a frequency; And Including a frequency counting unit for counting the frequency oscillated by the frequency oscillator, And the frequency oscillator increases the predetermined period when there is no change in the frequency value counted by the frequency counter for a preset time. The method of claim 5, The touch sensing device may include a comparator configured to determine whether the touch is performed by comparing a value counted by the frequency counter with a preset value. The method of claim 6, And the comparing unit compares the change of the frequency value counted by the frequency counter unit for the preset time period. The method of claim 5, And the frequency oscillator oscillates at least two frequencies, and the frequency counter unit performs the frequency count on the oscillated at least two frequencies. The method of claim 8, And the at least two frequencies are time-divided frequencies. In the recording medium recording a program for implementing a method of reducing the power consumption of the capacitive touch sensing device, Generating a waveform of a charge and a discharge signal according to a capacitance value of the touch sensing device at a predetermined period; And (B) increasing the predetermined predetermined period when there is no change in the waveform for a preset time, and recording a program for implementing a method of reducing power consumption of the capacitive touch sensing device. Record carrier.

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