TW201504904A - Touch controller and method of controlling touch controller - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of controlling a touch controller is provided. The touch controller is applied to a capacitive touch panel and executes a first mode detection and a second mode detection that is different from the first mode detection during at least one duty cycle. The method includes utilizing the first mode detection and the second mode detection to generate a first detection result and a second detection result, respectively; generating a determination result according to the first detection result and the second detection result, wherein the determination result indicates whether water is on the capacitive touch panel.

Description

Touch circuit and method for controlling touch circuit

The present invention relates to a touch technology, and more particularly to a method and a related touch circuit for controlling a touch-distributed circuit controlled by a multi-mode detection to perform water dispersion detection.

Today, touch technology is widely used in various types of electronic products, replacing traditional mechanical physical buttons, providing users with more intuitive and convenient operation of electronic products. At present, the most widely used electronic products in the industry are portable electronic devices. In order to meet the needs of users in special use environments, portable electronic devices with waterproof functions have been developed for the manufacture of portable electronic devices, so that users can operate portable electronic devices in water or in a water-dispersed environment. However, such a use is a challenge for touch detection.

The reason is that the current mainstream touch technology is capacitive touch. The concept is to detect the change of the capacitance value of each area on the capacitive touch panel to determine whether a touch occurs. However, when the moisture stays on the capacitive touch panel, the capacitance value of a specific area is usually changed. As a result, the accuracy of the touch detection will be degraded. Therefore, when the moisture stays on the capacitive touch panel, the touch detection must distinguish whether the measured change in the capacitance value is caused by moisture or by a user's touch. In addition, touch detection also needs to use specific algorithms and mechanisms to further detect the user's touch behavior when the user touches the area with water dispersion (eg, click, slide).

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling a touch circuit to detect a water dispersion on a touch panel, and a touch circuit using the method of the present invention for detecting. The detection method of the present invention is mainly used in a touch circuit with multiple touch detection technologies, and determines whether water is dispersed on the touch panel according to the result of performing different detection technologies by the touch circuit. In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a control mechanism when water is dispersed on a touch panel, and an associated touch circuit.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling a touch circuit. The touch circuit is applied to a capacitive touch panel and performs a first mode detection and a second mode detection different from the first mode detection in at least one working cycle. The method includes: generating a first detection result by using the first mode detection and generating a second detection result by using the second mode detection; and according to the first detection result and the second detection result A judgment result is generated, and the judgment result indicates whether there is a water dispersion cloth on the capacitive touch panel.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a touch circuit for a capacitive touch panel. The touch circuit performs a first mode detection and a second mode detection different from the first mode detection in at least one working cycle. The touch circuit comprises: a detection module and a determination module. The detection module is configured to perform the first mode detection and the second mode detection, and generate a first detection result and a second detection result respectively. The determining module is coupled to the detecting module, and configured to generate a determination result according to the first detecting result and the second detecting result, the determining result indicating whether the capacitive touch panel has moisture spread.

Through the invention, the touch technology can be more comprehensive, and even if the user uses the touch device in the environment with water dispersion cloth, the user can correctly detect all the touch behavior of the user.

110~120‧‧‧Steps

200‧‧‧ touch panel

210‧‧‧ water

X1~X6, Y1~Y6‧‧‧ sense electrodes

300‧‧‧Touch circuit

310‧‧‧Detection module

320‧‧‧Judgement module

330‧‧‧Control Module

Figure 1 is a flow chart of one embodiment of the method of the present invention.

Figure 2 illustrates how the present invention determines the water dispersion on the touch panel.

Figure 3 is a functional block diagram of one embodiment of the touch circuit of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a flow chart of an embodiment of the method of the present invention. The process is used to detect whether there is a water dispersion cloth on the capacitive touch panel. In step 110, a mutual sensing detection is performed by using the touch circuit to generate a mutual-capacity detection result, and a self-capacitive detection is used to generate a self-contained detection result. Then, in step 120, a determination result is generated according to the self-capacitance detection result and the mutual capacitance detection result, and the determination result indicates whether there is a water dispersion cloth on the capacitive touch panel. Briefly, the method of the present invention is applied to a touch circuit having a mutual capacitance detection mode and a self-capacity detection mode. The touch circuit performs self-capacitance detection and mutual capacitance detection in one working cycle. When the touch circuit enters the self-capacitance detection cycle, self-capacitance detection is performed, and the touch circuit drives the sensing electrodes in the capacitive touch panel one by one, and then detects the capacitance of the driven sensing electrode. The value, which in turn produces a self-contained detection result. Furthermore, when the touch circuit enters the mutual capacitance detection cycle, mutual capacitance detection is performed. At this time, the touch circuit drives the sensing electrodes in the horizontal (or vertical) direction one by one. When a horizontal (or vertical) direction sensing circuit is driven, the touch circuit detects the capacitance value of the intersection of the driven sensing electrode and all the sensing electrodes in the vertical (or horizontal) direction, thereby generating mutual capacitance detection. Test results.

After the self-contained detection result and the mutual-capacity detection result are generated, the present invention makes a judgment according to the principle explained below. Please refer to the diagram represented by Figure 2 first. As shown, the capacitive touch panel 200 includes sensing electrodes X1~X6 and Y1~Y6 (please note that the number of sensing electrodes is for illustrative purposes only). When the moisture 210 is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel 200, the self-capacitance detection result generated by the self-capacitance detection method has more sensing electrodes in the vicinity of the water dispersion cloth region (for example, the sensing electrode X1~) X3 and Y1~Y3) have significant changes in capacitance values. Relatively The mutual capacitance detection result produced by the mutual capacitance detection method has a small change in the capacitance value in the vicinity of the water dispersion cloth area (such as the intersection of the sensing electrodes Z1 to Z9). Based on such a phenomenon, the present invention first judges condition (a) to determine whether or not there is a water dispersion cloth. The condition (a) includes: whether the number of the sensing values greater than a first threshold value in the self-capacitance detection result is greater than a first value. As can be seen from the above description, the self-capacitance detection result includes a plurality of sensing values, and the sensing values are obtained by detecting the capacitance values of all the driven sensing electrodes according to the touch circuit. That is, it is judged here whether the capacitance value of the sensing electrode measured by the self-capacitance detection method is significantly changed, and the number of sensing electrodes having a significant change in the capacitance value is sufficient. Then, the second point required by condition (a) is whether the number of sensing values greater than a second threshold value in the mutual capacitance detection result is less than a second value. The mutual-capacity detection result includes a plurality of sensing values, and the sensing values are obtained by detecting a capacitance value of the intersection of the sensing electrodes in different directions according to the touch circuit. What is judged here is whether the capacitance value of the intersection of the sensing electrodes measured by the mutual capacitance detection method has a significant change, and the number of intersections of the sensing electrodes with significant changes in the capacitance value is small enough. It is important to note here that, in practice, the sensed value may be represented by other values that are identical in meaning to the capacitance value. Furthermore, the first threshold value and the second threshold value may be the same or different, and the first value and the second value may also be the same or different. As a matter of fact, the first threshold value and the second threshold value and the first value and the second value may be differently set, and the present invention does not limit these values.

Furthermore, the present invention further enhances the accuracy of the determination of the water dispersion cloth by another condition (b), which requires that the sensed value in the mutual capacitance detection result is greater than the corresponding one of the background reference values. Background reference value. The so-called background reference value refers to the capacitance value detected by the intersection of each sensing electrode when no touch occurs, which may be measured at a certain point in time, or in the case of non-touch detection. The average of the capacitance values measured at several different time points. Generally speaking, when water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel, the capacitance value of the intersection of the sensing electrodes measured by the mutual capacitance detection is better than the background reference measured when no touch occurs. The value is high. Therefore, the present invention utilizes such a phenomenon as a condition for judging whether water is dispersed on a capacitive touch panel. One. When at least one of the above conditions (a) and (b) is satisfied, the method of the present invention determines that water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel. However, in order to improve the accuracy of the judgment of the water dispersion cloth, in some embodiments of the present invention, it is necessary to satisfy the conditions (a) and (b) at the same time, and it is determined that water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel to produce a corresponding The result of the judgment.

When it is determined that water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel, the present invention causes the touch circuit to enter the water touch mode. As mentioned above, when water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel, the touch circuit may obtain some different sensing values. For example, when a finger or other object touches a capacitive touch panel, the mutual capacitance detection will result in a decrease in the capacitance value at the intersection of some of the sensing electrodes. However, if the water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel, the capacitance value at the intersection of the partial sensing electrodes is increased. Such an abnormality may affect the detection of a normal touch of the user. Therefore, it is necessary to turn off the specific adjustment mechanism and the calibration machine in the touch circuit in order to respond to the normal touch behavior. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, after the touch circuit enters the water touch mode, the following operations are further performed on the touch circuit.

In an embodiment, the touch circuit will turn off palm rejection. The original purpose of this function is to eliminate the change in the sensed value caused by the user's palm touching the capacitive touch panel, as this is usually not the control behavior that the user wants to perform. When this function is activated, once it is found that the touch circuit detects a large range of sensing values, it will be determined as a palm touch and will be excluded. However, as the water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel, a wide range of sensing values are also detected. At this time, if these changes are excluded, the user may not normally measure the touch on the water dispersion area. Therefore, the present invention turns off the palm removal function when the touch circuit enters the water touch mode.

In addition, the touch circuit usually has a recalibration function. Usually, when the sensed values detected during a continuous period of time deviate from the standard level, the touch circuit will activate the recalibration function and restore the sensing. The expected level of value. However, when the water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel, since the sensed value has deviated from the proper level, if the recalibration procedure is performed again, the user's touch may not be correctly measured. Therefore, in an embodiment, after the touch circuit enters the water touch mode, the present invention turns off the recalibration function of the touch circuit.

Moreover, when the touch circuit enters the water touch mode, the present invention adjusts a threshold value for determining a touch event. This threshold is used to measure whether the change in the sensed value is sufficiently noticeable as a touch event. In general, the touch circuit does not treat all sensed value changes as a touch event, because a small amount of sensed value change may often be caused by noise. Therefore, only when the sensed value changes more than a certain degree, it will be recognized as a touch event, so there is a need for a threshold setting. However, when the water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel, some changes in the sensed value have been caused, so it is necessary to adjust the threshold to measure the user's touch on the water dispersion area. Therefore, in an embodiment, when the touch circuit enters the water touch mode, the present invention adjusts a threshold value used by the touch circuit to determine a touch event.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a touch circuit capable of detecting whether water is dispersed on a touch panel, and the touch circuit is as shown in FIG. The touch control circuit 300 includes a detection module 310 and a determination module 310. The detection module 310 is coupled to a plurality of sensing electrodes of the capacitive touch panel (not shown), and performs a self-capacitive detection and a mutual capacitance detection in at least one working cycle, and respectively generates one Self-contained detection results and a mutual-detection detection result. The technical details of how the detection module 310 performs self-capacitance detection and mutual capacitance detection are well known to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and will not be described herein. The determination module 320 is coupled to the detection module 310 for generating a determination result according to the self-capacitance detection result and the mutual capacitance detection result, and the determination result indicates whether the capacitive touch is There is a water dispersion cloth on the panel. In one embodiment, the touch circuit 300 further includes a control module 330. The control module 330 is coupled to the determination module 320 for causing the touch circuit 300 to enter a water touch mode when the determination result indicates that the capacitive touch panel has a water dispersion cloth. formula. When the touch circuit 300 enters the water touch mode, the control module 330 turns off an adjustment mode performed by the touch circuit 300 when the palm contacts the capacitive touch panel. Among them, the adjustment mode is a palm elimination function. In this adjustment mode, the touch circuit 300 will eliminate the touch reaction that may be caused by the palm. Moreover, when the touch circuit 300 enters the water touch mode, the control module 330 turns off the re-correction function of the touch circuit 300. The effect of the recalibration function is to restore the sensed deviation from the normal level, so that the sensed value returns to the desired level. In addition, when the touch control circuit 300 enters the water touch mode, the control module 330 adjusts a threshold value used by the touch circuit 300 to determine a touch event.

The determining module 320 determines, according to at least one of the following conditions (a) and (b), whether water is dispersed on the capacitive touch panel, including: condition (a): whether the self-capacitive detection result is greater than The number of the first threshold value is greater than a first value, and whether the number of the sensed values greater than a second threshold value in the mutual capacitance detection result is less than a second value; and condition (b) And determining whether the mutual-detection detection result includes a sensing value that is greater than at least one of the background reference values. When at least one of the conditions (a) and (b) is satisfied, the determining module 330 generates the determination result indicating that the capacitive touch panel has a water dispersion cloth. The background reference value refers to the sensed value detected by the mutual capacitance detection method when no touch occurs. It may be the measured value measured at a certain point in time, or the average value of the measured value measured multiple times.

It should be noted that although the touch circuit has both self-capacitive detection and mutual capacitance detection as an example, how the water dispersion cloth detection of the present invention is implemented is explained. However, this is not a limitation of the invention. In fact, the concept of the present invention can be further promoted and combined with any touch circuit with multiple detection technologies, utilizing the innate characteristics of different detection technologies and the different effects on the characteristics when water is dispersed on the touch panel. According to the mutuality of the detected detection results, the situation of the water dispersion cloth is judged.

In summary, the present invention provides a method for effectively detecting a water dispersion cloth through different results of different detection technologies by a touch circuit, and a related touch circuit. Moreover, after detecting the water dispersion cloth, the present invention further provides an effective control mechanism to avoid the adverse effect of moisture on the touch detection, and greatly improve the handling of the touch device in a moisture-using environment.

110~120‧‧‧Steps

Claims (16)

A method for controlling a touch circuit, the touch circuit being applied to a capacitive touch panel, and performing a first mode detection and at least one of the first mode detections in at least one working cycle The second mode detection method includes: generating a first detection result by using the first mode detection and generating a second detection result by using the second mode detection; and according to the first detection result and the first The detection result is used to generate a determination result indicating whether there is a water dispersion cloth on the capacitive touch panel. The method of claim 1, further comprising: when the judgment result indicates that the capacitive touch panel has a water dispersion cloth, the touch circuit enters a water touch mode. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of causing the touch circuit to enter the water touch mode comprises: turning off an adjustment function performed by the touch circuit when a palm touches the capacitive touch panel. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of causing the touch circuit to enter the water touch mode comprises: turning off one of the touch circuits and recalibrating the function. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of causing the touch circuit to enter the water touch mode comprises: adjusting a threshold value of the touch circuit for determining a touch event. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating the determination result according to the first detection result and the second detection result comprises: according to at least one of the conditions (a) and (b) The result of the determination is: condition (a): whether the number of the sensing values greater than a first threshold in the first detection result is greater than a first value, and whether the second detection result is greater than a second The number of sensed values of the threshold is less than a second value; and condition (b): whether the second detection result includes a sensed value greater than at least one of the background reference values of the set of background reference values; When at least one of the conditions (a) and (b) is satisfied, the judgment result indicating that the water-scattering cloth is present on the capacitive touch panel is generated. The method of claim 6, wherein the set of background reference values is determined by the second mode detection. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mode detection is a self-contained detection, and the second mode detection is a mutual capacitance detection. A touch circuit for a capacitive touch panel performs a first mode detection and a second mode detection different from the first mode detection in at least one working cycle, the touch circuit includes: a detection module for performing the first mode detection and the second mode detection, and respectively generating a first detection result and a second detection result; and a determination module coupled to the The detection module is configured to generate a determination result according to the first detection result and the second detection result, and the determination result indicates whether there is a water dispersion cloth on the capacitive touch panel. The touch control circuit of claim 9, further comprising: a control module coupled to the determination module, wherein when the determination result indicates that the capacitive touch panel has a water dispersion cloth, The touch circuit enters a water touch mode. The touch control circuit of claim 10, wherein when the touch circuit enters the water touch mode, the control module turns off the touch circuit when a palm touches the capacitive touch panel. An adjustment mode. The touch control circuit of claim 10, wherein the control module turns off one of the touch control circuit recalibration functions when the touch circuit enters the water touch mode. The touch control circuit of claim 10, wherein the control module adjusts a threshold value used by the touch circuit to determine a touch event when the touch circuit enters the water touch mode. The touch control circuit of claim 9, wherein the determination module generates the determination result according to at least one of the conditions (a) and (b): condition (a): whether the first detection The number of the sensing values greater than a first threshold value is greater than a first value, and whether the number of sensing values greater than a second threshold value in the second detection result is less than a second value; and the condition b): whether the second detection result includes a sensing value greater than at least one of the background reference values; and wherein, when at least one of the conditions (a) and (b) is satisfied The determining module generates the determination result indicating that the capacitive touch panel has a water dispersion cloth. The touch circuit of claim 14, wherein the set of background reference values is Two mode detection is measured. The touch circuit of claim 9, wherein the first mode detection is a self-capacitance detection, and the second mode detection is a mutual capacitance detection.