TWI813137B - Electronic device with pressure sensing, pressure sensing unit thereof, and capacitive sensing control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an electronic device with pressure sensing and a pressure sensing unit thereof. The pressure sensing unit has a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer arranged in a stack. The first electrode layer is disposed on the second electrode layer. The control unit alternately executes the first mode and the second mode. In the first mode, the first electrode layer is grounded and the second electrode layer is subjected to self-capacitance induction. In the second mode, the second electrode layer is grounded and the first electrode layer is subjected to self-capacitance induction. Through the shielding effect formed by the first electrode layer in the first mode, the induction amount independently affected by the pressure is obtained. The sensing quantity containing the touch information is obtained through the second mode, so as to effectively distinguish the pressure event or the touch event that the user wants to trigger.

Description

Electronic device with pressure sensing, pressure sensing unit thereof, and capacitive sensing control method thereof

The present invention relates to electronic devices with touch sensing, in particular to electronic devices with pressure sensing functions.

In existing electronic devices with both touch sensing and pressure sensing, a sensing electrode layer is disposed above a ground electrode layer, and self-capacitance sensing is performed. When the touch object contacts the sensing electrode layer, When the shell is connected, the contact will produce changes in the inductive capacitance, and at the same time, the force applied will also cause the deformation of the induction electrode layer to produce changes in the inductive capacitance. The changes in the inductive capacitance caused by the contact and deformation will be transmitted to the control unit at the same time, and the control unit is The pressure and contact area exerted by the touch object are judged by the change in its sensing capacitance.

However, since the change in inductive capacitance received by the control unit includes both contact and pressure information, it is difficult for the control unit to distinguish whether the gesture or event that the user wants to trigger is mainly contact or pressure-based. For example, when the user applies a lighter force to trigger a pressing gesture, the pressure generated by the lighter force provides a smaller sensing amount, but the contact area may provide a larger sensing amount, so it may This causes the control unit to misjudge it as no action; or when the user attempts to trigger the sliding gesture with greater force, the control unit may misjudge it as a pressing gesture because both the pressure and the contact area provide a large sensing amount.

In view of this, in the prior art, how to distinguish whether the received change in inductive capacitance comes from contact or from pressure information has become a problem that needs to be solved.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the invention, the technical means adopted by the present invention is to provide a pressure sensing unit, which includes: a control unit; a first electrode layer that forms an electrical connection with the control unit; a second electrode layer, which forms an electrical connection with the control unit and is disposed on one side of the first electrode layer; Wherein, the control unit executes a first mode and a second mode: In the first mode, the first electrode layer is electrically connected to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and the second electrode layer is subjected to self-capacitance sensing and obtains a first sensing quantity; In the second mode, the second electrode layer is electrically connected to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and self-capacitance sensing is performed on the first electrode layer to obtain a second sensing quantity; Wherein, the first sensing quantity is used as a pressure information, and the second sensing quantity is used as a touch information.

Furthermore, an electronic device having the aforementioned pressure sensing unit is provided, which is provided with a housing to accommodate the aforementioned pressure sensing unit, and is provided with a protective layer covering the first electrode layer.

Furthermore, a capacitive sensing control method including pressure sensing is provided, which is used for a pressure sensing unit having a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer. The control method includes the following steps: Execute a first mode, electrically connect the first electrode layer to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and perform self-capacitance sensing on the second electrode layer to obtain a first sensing quantity; and Execute a second mode, electrically connect the second electrode layer to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and perform self-capacitance sensing on the first electrode layer to obtain a second sensing quantity; Wherein, the first sensing quantity is used as a pressure information, and the combination of the second sensing quantities is used as a touch information.

The advantage of the present invention is that by switching different modes, different sensing quantities are obtained to distinguish pressure information and touch information, and to distinguish whether the operation performed by the user is a pressure event or a touch event, so as to effectively reflect the user's real wishes. operation, thereby improving user experience.

The following is a further explanation of the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve the intended inventive object with reference to the drawings and embodiments of the present invention. The drawings are simplified only for the purpose of illustration and describe the relationship between the elements and components of the present invention. To illustrate the structure or method invention of the present invention, therefore, the elements shown in the figures are not presented in actual quantities, actual shapes, actual sizes and actual proportions, and the dimensions or proportions have been exaggerated or simplified to provide a better explanation. , the actual number, actual shape, or actual size proportions have been selectively designed and configured, while the detailed component layout may be more complex.

Please refer to FIG. 1 . The pressure sensing unit 1 of the present invention includes a control unit 10 , a first electrode layer 20 , and a second electrode layer 30 . The first electrode layer 20 is electrically connected to the control unit 10 , the second electrode layer 30 is electrically connected to the control unit 10 , and the second electrode layer 30 is disposed on one side of the first electrode layer 20 .

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 . The electronic device 2 of the present invention has the aforementioned pressure sensing unit 1 in it. The electronic device 2 also has a shell 40 and a protective layer 50 . The aforementioned pressure sensing unit 1 is provided on the housing 40, and the protective layer 50 is provided on the surface of the housing 40 and covers the first electrode layer 20. In one embodiment, the first electrode layer 20 and the second electrode layer 30 respectively include a plurality of sensing electrodes, and have a deformable unit 25 located between the first and second electrode layers 20 and 30; when there is When the touch object 60 contacts the protective layer 50 , the capacitance of the first electrode layer 20 or the second electrode layer 30 changes due to the touch position of the touch object 60 , and the corresponding capacitance change is obtained. The amount of induction; in addition, when the protective layer 50 is stressed, the deformable unit 25 therefore produces compressive deformation, and the deformation causes the distance between the first and second electrode layers 20 and 30 to change, thereby causing a change in capacitance. The sensing quantity corresponding to the aforementioned pressure information is obtained from the capacitance change. In one embodiment, the electronic device 2 may be an electronic device of a wearable device such as a stylus, a touch pad, a touch screen, glasses with a touch function, or a VR device.

Please refer to Figure 1, Figure 3A and Figure 3B. The control unit 10 executes an execution program. The execution program includes x times of the first mode M ₁ and y times of the second mode M ₂ . The x and y is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1, x and y may be equal or unequal. In each execution program, the first mode M ₁ or the second mode M ₂ may be executed first. In one embodiment (as shown in FIG. 3A ), the control unit 10 continuously executes the execution program multiple times, and each execution program includes a first mode M ₁ and a second mode M ₂ . In another embodiment (as shown in FIG. 3B ), the control unit 10 continuously executes the execution program multiple times, and each execution program includes two first modes M ₁ and one second mode M ₂ .

In the first mode M ₁ , the control unit 10 electrically connects the first electrode layer 20 to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and performs self-capacitance sensing on the second electrode layer 30 and obtains a first sensing Since the first electrode layer 20 is located between the protective layer 50 and the second electrode layer 30 and the first electrode layer 20 is connected to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, the first electrode layer 20 forms The shielding effect prevents the second electrode layer 30 from causing changes in capacitance due to touch actions such as proximity or contact movement of the touch object 60, thereby affecting the sensing results. The first sensing amount generated by the second electrode layer 30, It only comes from the capacitance change caused by the deformation of the first electrode layer 20 due to force, so the first induction quantity can be used as pressure information.

In the second mode M ₂ , the control unit 10 electrically connects the second electrode layer 30 to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and performs self-capacitance sensing on the first electrode layer 20 and obtains a second sensing. At this time, the touch behavior such as the approach or contact movement of the touch object 60 will cause the capacitance change of the first electrode layer 20, so the second sensing amount generated by the first electrode layer 20 can be used as a touch information. In one embodiment, in the second mode M ₂ , the downward force of the touch object 60 will also deform, causing a change in capacitance. Therefore, the second sensing quantity as the touch information includes the second sensing quantity from the touch object 60 . In addition to the touch behavior of the touch object 60, it also includes behavior from external pressure. Then, the first sensing amount is further compared with the second sensing amount to find the sensing result corresponding to the touch behavior of the touch object 60 that does not include pressure information. For example, the second sensing amount is reduced by By removing the first sensing quantity and removing the sensing results affected by pressure in the second sensing quantity, the difference can be used to determine the presence or absence of the touch object 60, the touch area or the touch trajectory and other touch behaviors.

In one embodiment, in the first mode M ₁ , the self-capacitance sensing means transmitting an excitation signal to the sensing electrode on the second electrode layer 30 and then receiving the first sensing quantity; in the second In mode _M2 , the self-capacitance sensing refers to transmitting an excitation signal to the sensing electrode on the first electrode layer 20 and then receiving the second sensing quantity.

Please refer to FIG. 3A , FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 . The touch object 60 exerts a specific force on the protective layer 50 . When the first mode M ₁ is executed (as shown in FIG. 4 ), the control unit 10 receives the first sensing quantity generated from the second electrode layer 30 , when the first sensing quantity is greater than a pressure threshold. When, it is determined that the touch object 60 triggers a pressure event, such as triggering a pressing gesture; when the second mode _M2 is executed (as shown in FIG. 5 ), the control unit 10 receives the input signal from the first electrode layer 20 The position of the touch object 60 can be determined based on the second sensing amount generated.

Please refer to FIG. 3A , FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , the touch object 60 moves on the protective layer 50 . When the first mode M ₁ is executed (as shown in FIG. 6 ), the control unit 10 receives the first induction quantity generated from the second electrode layer 30 ; when the second mode M ₂ is executed (such as As shown in FIG. 7 ), the control unit 10 receives the second sensing quantity generated from the first electrode layer 20 , and can determine the position of the touch object 60 based on the second sensing quantity, and then determine whether a touch occurs. event. Wherein, the touch event refers to a touch behavior or gesture without pressure. In this embodiment, the control unit 10 continuously executes the execution program multiple times. In the n consecutive execution programs, the position change of the touch object 60 is determined by the second sensing quantity. When the When the position of the touch object 60 changes, compare whether the position distance is greater than a preset length. If the position distance before and after is greater than the preset length, it is determined that the gesture of the touch object 60 is sliding, where n is greater than or equal to 1. is a positive integer, that is, the second sensing amount obtained by executing the program within 1, 2, or n times is used to determine the position movement of the touch object 60 and then determine whether a sliding gesture is constituted.

When the touch object 60 contacts the protective layer 50 over a large area but the force exerted is not greater than the pressure threshold, although the second sensing amount obtained in the second mode M ₂ will be larger due to the larger contact area. However, the first sensing amount obtained in the first mode M ₁ is not affected by the contact area and only responds to the force exerted by the touch object 60 , so the first sensing amount is not affected by the contact area. The sensing amount will not exceed the pressure threshold, thus preventing users from accidentally triggering press events and reducing misjudgments.

To sum up, the present invention utilizes the first electrode layer 20 as a shielding layer in the first mode M ₁ so that the first induction quantity obtained in the first mode M ₁ is only affected by the pressure. The pressure information can be obtained independently and is not affected by the touch object 60 or other environmental noise (such as screen noise or electromagnetic interference, etc.), and is combined with the second mode M ₂ that is executed alternately with the first mode M ₁ , To obtain the second sensing quantity with touch information, and thereby determine the touch behavior such as the contact area or movement trajectory of the touch object 60, it is possible to accurately determine whether the pressure event or touch event that the user wants to trigger is control events.

The above are only embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the present invention in any form. Although the present invention has been disclosed in the embodiments above, they are not used to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field, Without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention, the technical content disclosed above can be used to make some changes or modifications to equivalent embodiments with equivalent changes. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

1: Sensing unit 10: Control unit 20: First electrode layer 25: Deformable unit 30: Second electrode layer 2: Electronic device 40: Housing 50: Protective layer 60: Touch object M ₁ : First mode M ₂ : Second mode

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the pressure sensing unit of the present invention; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the use state of the electronic device of the present invention; Figure 3A is a timing diagram of the first embodiment of the execution program of the present invention; Figure 3B is a timing diagram of the second embodiment of the execution program of the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the pressure sensing unit of the present invention in the first mode during a pressing event; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the pressure sensing unit of the present invention in the second mode during a pressing event; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the pressure sensing unit of the present invention in the first mode in a touch event; FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the pressure sensing unit of the present invention in the second mode during a touch event.

M ₁ : first mode M ₂ : second mode

Claims (13)

A pressure sensing unit, which includes: a control unit; a first electrode layer, which forms an electrical connection with the control unit; a second electrode layer, which forms an electrical connection with the control unit, and is disposed on the first electrode layer side; wherein, the control unit executes a first mode and a second mode, wherein the control unit continuously executes multiple execution programs, and each execution program includes x times of the first mode and y times of the first mode. Two modes, where x and y are respectively positive integers greater than or equal to 1: In the first mode, the first electrode layer is electrically connected to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and the second electrode layer is automatically capacitance sensing and obtaining a first sensing quantity; and in the second mode, electrically connecting the second electrode layer to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and performing self-capacitance sensing on the first electrode layer and obtaining a first sensing quantity. Two sensing quantities; wherein the control unit generates pressure information based on the first sensing quantity, and generates touch information based on the second sensing quantity. The pressure sensing unit of claim 1, wherein when the first sensing quantity is greater than a pressure threshold, it is determined that a pressing event is established. The pressure sensing unit of claim 1, wherein when the difference between the second sensing amount and the first sensing amount is greater than a touch threshold, it is determined that there is a touch object. The pressure sensing unit of claim 3, wherein when the position distance of the touch object executing the program for n consecutive times is greater than a preset length, it is determined that the gesture of the touch object is sliding, and n is greater than or equal to A positive integer of 1. An electronic device with pressure sensing, which includes: a shell; A control unit, which is provided on the housing; a first electrode layer, which is provided on the housing and forms an electrical connection with the control unit; a second electrode layer, which is provided on the housing and forms an electrical connection with the control unit Electrically connected and disposed on one side of the first electrode layer; a protective layer covering the first electrode layer; wherein the control unit executes a first mode and a second mode, wherein the control unit continuously Execute multiple execution programs, each of which includes x times of the first mode and y times of the second mode, where x and y are respectively positive integers greater than or equal to 1: in the first mode, the The first electrode layer is electrically connected to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and performs self-capacitance sensing on the second electrode layer to obtain a first induction quantity; and in the second mode, the second electrode layer is electrically connected to Connect a ground terminal or a fixed potential, perform self-capacitance sensing on the first electrode layer and obtain a second sensing quantity; wherein, the control unit generates pressure information based on the first sensing quantity, and generates pressure information based on the second sensing quantity. A quantity of touch information is generated. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein when the first sensing quantity is greater than a pressure threshold, it is determined that a pressing event is established. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein when the difference between the second sensing amount and the first sensing amount is greater than a touch threshold, it is determined that there is a touch object. The electronic device as described in claim 7, wherein when the position distance of the touch object executing the program for n consecutive times is greater than a preset length, the gesture of the touch object is determined to be sliding, and n is greater than or equal to 1. Positive integer. A capacitive sensing control method including pressure sensing, which is used for a pressure sensing unit having a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer. The control method executes a first mode and a first Two modes, in which multiple execution programs are executed continuously, and each execution program includes x times of the first mode and y times of the second mode, where x and y are respectively positive integers greater than or equal to 1, where: in In the first mode, the first electrode layer is electrically connected to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and the second electrode layer performs self-capacitance sensing and obtains a first induction quantity; and in the second mode, The second electrode layer is electrically connected to a ground terminal or a fixed potential, and self-capacitance sensing is performed on the first electrode layer to obtain a second sensing quantity; wherein a pressure information is generated according to the first sensing quantity, and Generate touch information according to the second sensing quantity. The capacitive sensing control method as described in claim 9, wherein when the first sensing quantity is greater than a pressure threshold, it is determined that the pressure event is a pressing event. The capacitive sensing control method according to claim 9, wherein when the difference between the second sensing amount and the first sensing amount is greater than a touch threshold, it is determined that there is a touch object. The capacitive sensing control method as described in claim 11, wherein when the position distance of the touch object executing the program for n consecutive times is greater than a preset length, it is determined that the gesture of the touch object is sliding, and n is greater than or equal to A positive integer of 1. The capacitive sensing control method as described in claim 9, wherein in the first mode, the self-capacitive sensing means transmitting an excitation signal to the second electrode layer and then receiving the first sensing quantity; in the second In the mode, the self-capacitance sensing means transmitting an excitation signal to the first electrode layer and then receiving the second induction quantity.

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