Position sensing method and device and state switching method

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention provides a position sensing device and a position sensing method and a related state switching method, which are applied between an object to be measured, a first group of electrodes and a second group of electrodes. The position sensing method includes the following steps: sending a driving signal to the first group of electrodes; selecting at least one first electrode and a second electrode from the second group of electrodes and performing an electrical property value measurement operation, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the first electrode and the second electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured, and respectively generate a first electrical property value and a second electrical property value in response to the driving signal; and obtaining the relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the first electrode and the second electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of position sensing, and in particular to a position sensing method, a position sensing device and a state switching method. Background Art

[0002] Capacitive touch panels have been widely used in various electronic information devices, mainly to complete the human-machine input interface on the device. In actual use, compared with resistive touch panels, capacitive touch panels do not require too much pressing force to make the conductive layer actually contact, so they have the advantage of not easily causing component aging and wear. Better yet, the reaction speed of capacitive touch panels is much faster than that of resistive touch panels, and can easily sense the touch and slide of the user's finger or other conductor test objects (such as stylus). However, the currently commonly used capacitive touch sensing method, when the touch panel is covered with water droplets or even operated under the water surface, because fresh water or even seawater that can be regarded as a conductor will make the traditional capacitive touch panel unable to operate normally. And developing a capacitive touch sensing panel and its related sensing method that can operate normally in a humid environment or even in an underwater environment, and then improving the deficiencies of conventional means, is one of the main purposes of the present invention. Summary of the invention

[0003] Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention provide a position sensing method, a position sensing device and a state switching method to overcome the shortcomings of the capacitive touch sensing technology involved in the above-mentioned prior art.

[0004] Specifically, a position sensing method proposed in an embodiment of the present invention is applied between an object to be measured, a first group of electrodes and a second group of electrodes, and the sensing method includes the following steps: sending a driving signal to the first group of electrodes; selecting at least one first electrode and a second electrode from the second group of electrodes and performing an electrical property value measurement operation, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the first electrode and the second electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured, and respectively generate a first electrical property value and a second electrical property value in response to the driving signal; and obtaining the relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the first electrode and the second electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

[0005] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first group of electrodes and the second group of electrodes are completed in a sensing panel, the first group of electrodes extend along a first direction, and the second group of electrodes extend along a second direction and cross the first group of electrodes in the sensing panel, and the method further includes the following steps: sending a driving signal to the second group of electrodes; selecting at least a third electrode and a fourth electrode from the first group of electrodes and performing an electrical property value measurement operation, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the third electrode and the fourth electrode, and the third electrode and the fourth electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured, and respectively generate a third electrical property value and a fourth electrical property value in response to the driving signal; and obtaining the relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the third electrode and the fourth electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second group of electrodes is completed in a sensing panel, the second group of electrodes cross the first group of electrodes outside the sensing panel, the second group of electrodes are distributed in an array in the sensing panel, the second group of electrodes are made of the same single electrode layer, and their shape is a square or a regular hexagon.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical property value is any one of a voltage value and a capacitance value, and the driving signal is a driving voltage signal.

[0008] In addition, a position sensing device provided by an embodiment of the present invention is applied to position sensing of an object to be measured, and the position sensing device includes: a first group of electrodes; a second group of electrodes crossing the first group of electrodes; and a control circuit coupled to the first group of electrodes and the second group of electrodes, the control circuit sends a driving signal to the first group of electrodes, selects at least one first electrode and a second electrode from the second group of electrodes and performs an electrical property value measurement operation, and makes a plurality of electrodes between the first electrode and the second electrode in a floating state, the first electrode and the second electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured and respectively generate a first electrical property value and a second electrical property value in response to the driving signal, and the control circuit obtains the relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the first electrode and the second electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first group of electrodes and the second group of electrodes are completed in a sensing panel, and the second group of electrodes and the first group of electrodes cross in the sensing panel, wherein the control circuit further performs the following steps: a driving signal is sent to the second group of electrodes; at least a third electrode and a fourth electrode are selected from the first group of electrodes and an electrical property value measurement operation is performed, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the third electrode and the fourth electrode, and the third electrode and the fourth electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured, and respectively generate a third electrical property value and a fourth electrical property value in response to the driving signal; and the relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the third electrode and the fourth electrode is obtained according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second group of electrodes is completed in a sensing panel, the second group of electrodes are distributed in the sensing panel and are distributed in an array, the second group of electrodes cross the first group of electrodes outside the sensing panel, the second group of electrodes are made of the same single electrode layer, and their shape is a square or a regular hexagon.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical property value is any one of a voltage value and a capacitance value, and the driving signal is a driving voltage signal.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the second set of electrodes is completed in a sensing panel, the second set of electrodes is distributed in the sensing panel and is cross-distributed in a mesh shape, and the second set of electrodes crosses the first set of electrodes outside the sensing panel.

[0013] Furthermore, a position sensing device proposed in an embodiment of the present invention is applied to position sensing of an object to be measured, and the position sensing device includes: a first group of electrodes; a first driving electrode, which crosses the first group of electrodes and has a capacitive coupling effect with the first group of electrodes; a second group of electrodes, which crosses the first group of electrodes; and a control circuit, which uses the capacitive coupling between the first driving electrode and the first group of electrodes to send a driving signal, and selects at least one first electrode and a second electrode from the second group of electrodes and performs an electrical property value measurement operation, and makes a plurality of electrodes between the first electrode and the second electrode in a floating state, the first electrode and the second electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured and generate a first electrical property value and a second electrical property value respectively in response to the driving signal, and the control circuit obtains the relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the first electrode and the second electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first group of electrodes and the second group of electrodes are completed in a sensing panel, the second group of electrodes and the first group of electrodes cross in the sensing panel, the first drive electrode and the first group of electrodes cross outside the sensing panel, and a second drive electrode and the second group of electrodes cross outside the sensing panel, wherein the control circuit further performs the following steps: utilizing the capacitive coupling between the second drive electrode and the second group of electrodes to send out a drive signal; selecting at least a third electrode and a fourth electrode from the first group of electrodes and performing an electrical property value measurement operation, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the third electrode and the fourth electrode, the third electrode and the fourth electrode that respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured, and respectively generate a third electrical property value and a fourth electrical property value in response to the drive signal; and obtaining the relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the third electrode and the fourth electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical property value is any one of a voltage value and a capacitance value, and the driving signal is a driving voltage signal.

[0016] Furthermore, a state switching method proposed in an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps: in a first state, performing the position sensing method as described above at regular intervals to determine whether there is a touch phenomenon; if a touch phenomenon is found, switching from the first state to a second state to continue performing the position sensing method as described above; if no touch is sensed for a period of time in the second state, switching from the second state back to the first state.

[0017] The above technical solution may have the following advantages or beneficial effects: it may effectively overcome the interference of liquid with conductive properties on capacitive touch sensing technology, thereby achieving the purpose of capacitive touch sensing underwater, and allowing the capacitive touch panel that has been underwater to operate normally. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative work.

[0019] Figure 1a FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a position sensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 1b It is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of a position sensing device involved in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 The figure is a flow chart of a position sensing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 3 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of voltage waveforms measured by two sensing electrode arrays according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another capacitive sensing panel using the position sensing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 5 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of another capacitive sensing panel using the position sensing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 6 The figure is a flow chart of a sensing state switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026]

Description of the accompanying drawings

[0027] Sensing panel 11; control circuit 12; electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm; electrodes Y1, Y2 ... Yn; intersection 110; protective cover 16; moisture 119; first sensing electrode Xp; second sensing electrode Xq; floating sensing electrodes Xp+1, Xp+2, Xp+3; first sensing electrode Yr; second sensing electrode Ys; floating sensing electrodes Yr+1, Yr+2, Yr+3; sensing panel 40; sensing electrode 41; control circuit 42; driving signal line 430; driving electrode 43; electrode arrays 411, 412, 413, 414, 415; finger 49; electrode arrays 421, 422, 423, 424, 425; driving electrodes 51, 52. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 1a, which is a schematic diagram of a position sensing device involved in an embodiment of the present invention, which mainly includes a sensing panel 11 and a control circuit 12. In this embodiment, the sensing panel 11 is completed in a common two-dimensional wiring manner, and includes a group of electrodes X1, X2...Xm extending along a first direction (horizontal direction in this figure) with a number of m and a group of electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn extending along a second direction (vertical direction in this figure). The intersection 110 between the electrodes X1, X2...Xm and the electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn is usually separated by an insulating material (not shown in this figure) to form a capacitor structure, and a protective cover (not shown in this figure) is usually set between the capacitive sensing panel 11 and the user's finger (or other conductive object to be measured, such as a stylus) to separate them.

[0030] In order to maintain the capacitive touch function under water, the control circuit 12 of this embodiment performs the following operations on the sensing panel 11: Figure 2 In the sensing method flow chart shown in the figure, first, step 21 is to treat electrodes Y1, Y2 ... Yn as driving electrodes, and electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm as sensing electrodes, so that a driving voltage signal (for example, a charging signal that is raised from a low voltage level to a high voltage level) is simultaneously sent to electrodes Y1, Y2 ... Yn at regular intervals. Therefore, electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm will generate a capacitive coupling effect due to the capacitive structure formed by the intersection (for example, 110 shown in the figure) between electrodes Y1, Y2 ... Yn. Step 22 is that during the same period of time, the control circuit 12 selects at least one first sensing electrode Xp and one second sensing electrode Xq from the group of sensing electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm and measures the voltage value change. It is worth noting that the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq are not adjacent to each other, and the purpose is to pull the distance between the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq to exceed the width of the finger (or other conductor to be measured). The control circuit 12 sets the other plurality of sensing electrodes (Xp+1, Xp+2, and Xp+3 in this example) originally located between the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq in a floating state. Preferably, except for the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq to be measured, the other electrodes are also set in a floating state by the control circuit 12. The floating state means that they are not electrically connected to a fixed voltage source or to ground.

[0031] In this way, when the surface of the capacitive sensing panel 11 is covered by water or even conductive liquid such as seawater (eg Figure 1bWhen the object to be detected (a finger 13 in this example) is placed at the position shown in the figure, the floating sensing electrodes Xp+1, Xp+2, and Xp+3 located between the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq and the moisture (also considered as a floating conductor) 119 on the surface of the panel 11 will together form a floating conductor layer, and the floating conductor layer at least extends from the first sensing electrode Xp to the second sensing electrode Xq. Therefore, the finger 13 generates a capacitive coupling effect with the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq through the floating conductor layer, thereby changing the equivalent capacitance value that can be measured from the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq. Therefore, the finger 13 is coupled to the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at different distances through the floating conductive layer, so that different charging and discharging behaviors are measured from the first sensing electrode Xp end and the second sensing electrode Xq end in response to the driving signal. According to the different charging and discharging behaviors, the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value belonging to the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq can be determined, or the difference of the electrical property values ​​can be directly obtained, such as the first voltage value and the second voltage value or the voltage difference, or the first capacitance value, the second capacitance value and the capacitance difference.

[0032] For example, when the driving voltage signal is a charging signal from low voltage to high voltage, the charging signal is coupled to the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq through the intersection between the electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn and the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq, which will cause the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq, which have different equivalent capacitance values, to produce different charging and discharging behaviors. In this example, the position of the finger 13 is farther away from the first sensing electrode Xp and closer to the second sensing electrode Xq. Therefore, the equivalent capacitance coupled between the second sensing electrode Xq and the finger 13 through the floating conductor layer is larger, while the equivalent capacitance coupled between the first sensing electrode Xp and the finger 13 through the floating conductor layer is smaller. Under the same driving voltage signal, within the same unit time, the first voltage value on the first sensing electrode Xp will increase to be greater than the second voltage value on the second sensing electrode Xq. Therefore, if Figure 3It can be seen from the voltage waveform diagram shown that the relative distances between the finger 13 and the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq can be determined based on the magnitude relationship between the voltages Vp and Vq measured at the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at the time point T. Taking FIG. 1 as an example, if the finger 13 is located at the floating sensing electrode Xp+2, the voltages Vp and Vq measured at the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at the time point T should be equal, indicating that the relative distances between the finger 13 and the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq are also equal. If the finger 13 is located at the floating sensing electrode Xp+1, the difference (Vp-Vq) between the two voltages Vp and Vq measured at the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at the time point T should be a negative value, indicating that the finger 13 is closer to the first sensing electrode Xp. If the finger 13 is located at the floating sensing electrode Xp+3, the difference (Vp-Vq) between the two voltages Vp and Vq measured at the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at the time point T should be a positive value (the example in FIG. 1 corresponds to Figure 3 ), indicating that the finger 13 is closer to the second sensing electrode Xq.

[0033] In this way, the sensing actions of the above steps 21 and 22 are repeated, and two separated sensing electrodes are selected in turn and the voltage value changes are measured to perform scanning in the second direction (vertical direction in this figure), so that the two separated sensing electrodes sandwiched between the three floating sensing electrodes can be moved up and down to perform scanning, and then the position of the finger 13 in the second direction (vertical direction in this figure) is found, until it is determined that the scanning is completed (step 23) and then the step 24 is entered. In order to find the position of the finger 13 in the first direction (horizontal direction in this figure), the control circuit 12 can then perform step 24, and change the electrodes X1, X2...Xm as driving electrodes, and the electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn as sensing electrodes, so that a driving voltage signal (for example, a charging signal from low voltage to high voltage) is simultaneously sent to the electrodes X1, X2...Xm at regular intervals. Therefore, the electrodes Y1, Y2 ... Yn will generate a capacitive coupling effect due to the capacitive structure formed by the intersections (such as 110 shown in the figure) between the electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm. In step 25, the control circuit 12 selects at least one first sensing electrode Yr and one second sensing electrode Ys ​​from the group of sensing electrodes Y1, Y2 ... Yn during the same period of time, so that a plurality of floating sensing electrodes (in the example of FIG. 1, Yr+1, Yr+2, Yr+3) are sandwiched between them and the voltage value change is measured. Then, the sensing actions of the above steps 24 and 25 are repeated, and two separated sensing electrodes are selected in turn and the voltage value change is measured to perform scanning in the first direction (in the horizontal direction in this figure), so that the two separated sensing electrodes sandwiched between the three floating sensing electrodes can be moved up and down to perform scanning until it is determined that the scanning has ended (step 26), and then the position of the finger 13 in the first direction (in the horizontal direction in this figure) is found (in this example, the finger 13 is located at Yr+1 closer to the first sensing electrode Yr).

[0034] After combining the positions of the first direction (horizontal direction in this figure) and the second direction (vertical direction in this figure) obtained in the above steps, the position of the finger 13 on the panel can be obtained. Taking this figure as an example, the finger 13 can be found at the intersection of electrode Yr+1 and electrode Xp+3. The above-mentioned example of the capacitive sensing panel belongs to a two-axis sensing panel, so it is necessary to interchange the roles of the driving electrode and the sensing electrode to obtain an axial position respectively. If the embodiment of the capacitive sensing panel is a single-axis sensing panel (for example, a long strip of sensing area), then only one axial scan is required to complete the positioning.

[0035] See also Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of another capacitive sensing panel using the sensing method involved in an embodiment of the present invention, and its characteristic is that the electrode intersection originally set in the sensing panel (such as 110 shown in FIG. 1) is changed to be set outside the panel. Therefore, the sensing electrodes 41 distributed in an array in the sensing panel 40 can be made of only the same single-layer electrode layer, and its shape can be a square, a regular hexagon or other shapes that can be closely arranged. Compared with the multi-layer structure in FIG. 1 that needs to be separated by insulating materials at the intersection, this example can be completed with a simpler single-layer electrode. The respective signal connection lines extending from each sensing electrode 41 (in order to simplify the picture, the figure omits the signal connection lines of each electrode and does not draw them) can be electrically connected to the control circuit 42 completed by the integrated circuit chip through a flexible circuit board or other electrical contact methods. The control circuit 42 is electrically connected to the driving electrode 43 through the driving signal line 430, and the driving electrode 43 and the signal connection line form an electrode crossing outside the panel 40 (the driving electrode 43 crosses the signal connection line and an insulating material is provided in the middle) to complete capacitive coupling. The control circuit 42 transmits the driving signal (for example, a charging signal from low voltage to high voltage) sent by the driving electrode 43 through the driving signal line 430 to the signal connection line through the electrode crossing in a capacitive coupling manner, thereby affecting the sensing electrode 41 connected to the signal connection line. In this example, a whole block of driving electrodes 43 is used to drive all signal connection lines at the same time. Of course, multiple signal connection lines can also be divided into multiple groups, and then multiple driving signal lines are matched with multiple separated driving electrodes to drive them separately. For related technologies, reference can be made to the description of the invention patents (TWI467458, CN103677467 and US9240782) that the applicant has obtained.

[0036] And Figure 4 The sensing panel shown can still be used Figure 2The steps in the flowchart are used to perform underwater touch sensing. The details are as follows: Similar to step 21: a driving voltage signal (for example, a charging signal from a low voltage level to a high voltage level) is sent to the driving electrode 43 at regular intervals. As a result, the sensing electrode 41 will produce a capacitive coupling effect due to the capacitive structure formed at the intersection with the signal connection line, thereby causing all the sensing electrodes 41 to produce a voltage change. Step 22 is that during the same period of time, the control circuit 42 selects at least two non-adjacent and sufficiently separated sensing electrode columns (for example, the circled electrode column 411 and the electrode column 415 in the figure) in the group of sensing electrodes 41 and measures the voltage value change, the purpose of which is to widen the spacing between the two sensing electrode columns to exceed the width of the finger (or other conductor to be measured) 49. The control circuit 42 will make the other plurality of sensing electrode rows (such as the circled electrode rows 412, 413, 414 in the figure) originally located between the two sensing electrode rows in a floating state, so as to form a floating conductor layer together with the moisture on the surface of the panel 40 (which can also be regarded as a floating conductor). Preferably, in addition to the two sensing electrode rows to be measured, the other sensing electrode rows are also set to be in a floating state by the control circuit 42. Figure 4 For example, if the finger 49 is located at the floating sensing electrode array 413, the voltages measured by the control circuit 42 at the sensing electrode array 411 and the sensing electrode array 415 should be equal, indicating that the relative distances between the finger 49 and the sensing electrode array 411 and the sensing electrode array 415 are also equal. If the finger 49 is located at the floating sensing electrode array 412, the difference between the two voltages measured by the control circuit 42 at the sensing electrode array 411 and the sensing electrode array 415 should be negative, indicating that the finger 49 is closer to the sensing electrode array 411. If the finger 49 is located at the floating sensing electrode 414, the difference between the two voltages measured by the control circuit 42 at the sensing electrode array 411 and the sensing electrode array 415 should be positive ( Figure 4 ), indicating that the finger 49 is closer to the sensing electrode array 415 .

[0037] In this way, the sensing actions of the above steps 21 and 22 are repeated, and two separated sensing electrode rows are selected in turn and the voltage value changes are measured to perform scanning in the second direction (vertical direction in this figure), so that the two separated sensing electrodes sandwiched between the three floating sensing electrode rows can be moved up and down to perform scanning, and then the position of the finger 49 in the second direction (vertical direction in this figure) is found, until it is determined that the scanning has ended (step 23) and then the step 24 is entered. In order to find the position of the finger 49 in the first direction (horizontal direction in this figure), the control circuit 42 can then perform step 24, and treat the vertically arranged sensing electrode rows as sensing electrodes, so that the driving voltage signal (for example, a charging signal from low voltage to high voltage) is also sent to the driving electrode 43 at regular intervals. Therefore, the sensing electrode 41 will generate a capacitive coupling effect due to the capacitive structure formed at the intersection with the signal connection line, and then all the sensing electrodes 41 will generate voltage changes. In step 25, during the same period of time, the control circuit 42 selects at least two non-adjacent and sufficiently separated vertically arranged sensing electrode rows (such as the circled electrode row 421 and the circled electrode row 425 in the figure) from the group of sensing electrodes 41 and measures the voltage value change. The purpose is to increase the distance between the two sensing electrode rows to exceed the width of the finger (or other conductor to be measured) 49. The control circuit 42 will make the other plurality of sensing electrode rows (such as the circled electrode rows 422, 423, 424 in the figure) originally located between the two sensing electrode rows in a floating state, so as to form a floating conductor layer together with the moisture on the surface of the panel 40 (which can also be regarded as a floating conductor). Figure 4 For example, if the finger 49 is located at the floating sensing electrode array 423, the voltages measured by the control circuit 42 at the sensing electrode array 421 and the sensing electrode array 425 should be equal, indicating that the relative distances between the finger 49 and the sensing electrode array 421 and the sensing electrode array 425 are also equal. Figure 4 ), the difference between the two voltages measured by the control circuit 42 at the sensing electrode array 421 and the sensing electrode array 425 should be a negative value, indicating that the finger 49 is closer to the sensing electrode array 421. If the finger 49 is located at the floating sensing electrode 424, the difference between the two voltages measured by the control circuit 42 at the sensing electrode array 421 and the sensing electrode array 425 should be a positive value, indicating that the finger 49 is closer to the sensing electrode array 425.

[0038] After combining the positions of the first direction (horizontal direction in this figure) and the second direction (vertical direction in this figure) obtained in the above steps, the position of the finger 49 on the panel can be obtained. Taking this figure as an example, it can be found that the finger 49 is located at the intersection of the electrode column 414 and the electrode column 422. The above-mentioned example of the capacitive sensing panel is a single-layer multi-point sensing panel, so the above-mentioned sensing electrode column can also use only a single sensing electrode 41 for sensing, or use various aspect ratio electrode groups composed of 2*1, 3*1, 3*3 to sense in response to needs, and the change and control of the group can be completely performed by the control circuit 42. If the embodiment of the capacitive sensing panel is a single-axis sensing panel, then only one axial scan is required to complete the positioning.

[0039] See also Figure 5 , which is a schematic diagram of another capacitive sensing panel that can use the sensing method involved in the embodiment of the present invention, and its characteristic is that the driving electrode in FIG. 1 is adjusted, and it is changed to not directly send a driving signal to the electrode on the sensing panel 11 directly by the control circuit 12, but through the driving electrodes 51 and 52 outside the sensing panel 11, respectively, the capacitive structure formed by the crossing outside the sensing panel 11 generates a capacitive coupling effect with the electrodes X1, X2...Xm and the electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn on the sensing panel 11, and the driving signal is coupled to the electrodes X1, X2...Xm and the electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn through this capacitive coupling effect. In addition, in this example, although the electrodes X1, X2...Xm and the electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn in the sensing panel 11 are distributed in a mesh-like manner, the capacitance at the intersection of the electrodes X1, X2...Xm and the electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn inside the sensing panel 11 is not concerned and is not measured).

[0040] For example, first Figure 2As shown in the sensing method flow chart, first, as in step 21, the electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm are regarded as sensing electrodes, so a driving voltage signal (for example, a charging signal from low voltage to high voltage) is sent to the driving electrode 51 at regular intervals. Therefore, the electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm will produce a capacitive coupling effect due to the capacitive structure formed at the intersection with the driving electrode 51, thereby causing a voltage change. In step 22, during the same period of time, the control circuit 12 selects at least one first sensing electrode Xp and one second sensing electrode Xq from the group of sensing electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm and measures the voltage value change. It is worth noting that the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq are not adjacent to each other, and the purpose is to pull the distance between the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq to exceed the width of the finger (or other conductor to be measured). The control circuit 12 sets the other plurality of sensing electrodes (Xp+1, Xp+2, and Xp+3 in this example) originally located between the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq in a floating state. Preferably, in addition to the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq to be measured, the other electrodes are also set by the control circuit 12 to be in a floating state.

[0041] In this way, when the surface of the capacitive sensing panel 11 is covered by water or even conductive liquid such as seawater (eg Figure 1b ), and when the object to be detected (a finger 13 in this example) is placed at the position in the figure, the floating sensing electrodes Xp+1, Xp+2, and Xp+3 located between the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq and the moisture (also considered as a floating conductor) 119 on the surface of the panel 11 will together form a floating conductor layer, and the floating conductor layer at least extends from the first sensing electrode Xp to the second sensing electrode Xq. Therefore, the finger 13 generates a capacitive coupling effect with the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq through the floating conductor layer, thereby changing the equivalent capacitance value that can be measured from the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq. Therefore, the finger 13 is coupled to the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at different distances through the floating conductive layer, so that different charging and discharging behaviors are measured from the first sensing electrode Xp end and the second sensing electrode Xq end in response to the driving signal. According to the different charging and discharging behaviors, the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value belonging to the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq can be determined, or the difference of the electrical property values ​​can be directly obtained, such as the first voltage value and the second voltage value or the voltage difference, or the first capacitance value, the second capacitance value and the capacitance difference.

[0042] For example, when the driving voltage signal is a charging signal from low voltage to high voltage, the charging signal is coupled to the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq through the driving electrode 51 and the intersection between the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq, which will cause the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq, which have different equivalent capacitance values, to produce different charging and discharging behaviors. In this example, the position of the finger 13 is farther away from the first sensing electrode Xp and closer to the second sensing electrode Xq. Therefore, the equivalent capacitance coupled between the second sensing electrode Xq and the finger 13 through the floating conductor layer is larger, while the equivalent capacitance coupled between the first sensing electrode Xp and the finger 13 through the floating conductor layer is smaller. Under the same driving voltage signal, within the same unit time, the first voltage value on the first sensing electrode Xp will increase to be greater than the second voltage value on the second sensing electrode Xq. Therefore, if Figure 3 It can be seen from the voltage waveform diagram shown that the relative distances between the finger 13 and the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq can be determined based on the magnitude relationship between the voltages Vp and Vq measured at the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at the time point T. Taking FIG. 1 as an example, if the finger 13 is located at the floating sensing electrode Xp+2, the voltages Vp and Vq measured at the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at the time point T should be equal, indicating that the relative distances between the finger 13 and the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq are also equal. If the finger 13 is located at the floating sensing electrode Xp+1, the difference (Vp-Vq) between the two voltages Vp and Vq measured at the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at the time point T should be a negative value, indicating that the finger 13 is closer to the first sensing electrode Xp. If the finger 13 is located at the floating sensing electrode Xp+3, the difference (Vp-Vq) between the two voltages Vp and Vq measured at the first sensing electrode Xp and the second sensing electrode Xq at the time point T should be a positive value (the example in FIG. 1 corresponds to Figure 3 ), indicating that the finger 13 is closer to the second sensing electrode Xq.

[0043] In this way, the sensing actions of the above steps 21 and 22 are repeated, and two separated sensing electrodes are selected in turn and the voltage value changes are measured to perform scanning in the second direction (vertical direction in this figure), so that the two separated sensing electrodes with three floating sensing electrodes in between can be moved up and down to perform scanning, and then the position of the finger 13 in the second direction (vertical direction in this figure) is found, until it is determined that the scanning has ended (step 23) and then the step 24 is entered. In order to find the position of the finger 13 in the first direction (horizontal direction in this figure), the control circuit 12 can then perform step 24 and change it to send a driving voltage signal (for example, a charging signal from low voltage to high voltage) to the driving electrode 52 at regular intervals. As a result, the electrodes Y1, Y2...Yn will generate a capacitive coupling effect due to the capacitive structure formed at the intersection with the driving electrode 52. In step 25, during the same period of time, the control circuit 12 selects at least one first sensing electrode Yr and one second sensing electrode Ys ​​from the group of sensing electrodes Y1, Y2 ... Yn, so that a plurality of floating sensing electrodes (in the example of FIG. 1 , Yr+1, Yr+2, and Yr+3) are sandwiched therebetween, and the voltage value change is measured. Then, the sensing actions of the above steps 24 and 25 are repeated, and two separated sensing electrodes are selected in turn and the voltage value change is measured to perform scanning in the first direction (in the horizontal direction in this figure), so that the two separated sensing electrodes sandwiched therebetween with three floating sensing electrodes can be moved up and down to perform scanning, until it is determined that the scanning is completed (step 26), and then the position of the finger 13 in the first direction (in the horizontal direction in this figure) is found (in this example, the finger 13 is located at Yr+1 which is closer to the first sensing electrode Yr).

[0044] After combining the positions of the first direction (horizontal direction in this figure) and the second direction (vertical direction in this figure) obtained in the above steps, the position of the finger 13 on the panel can be obtained. Taking this figure as an example, the finger 13 can be found at the intersection of electrode Yr+1 and electrode Xp+3. The above-mentioned example of the capacitive sensing panel belongs to a two-axis sensing panel, so it is necessary to interchange the roles of the driving electrode and the sensing electrode to obtain an axial position respectively. If the embodiment of the capacitive sensing panel is a single-axis sensing panel (for example, a long strip of sensing area), then only one axial scan is required to complete the positioning.

[0045] By changing the driving signal to drive the electrodes X1, X2 ... Xm and the electrodes Y1, Y2 ... Yn in a capacitive coupling manner, the effect of the floating electrode layer can be improved (the driving signal will not directly affect the electric field distribution of the floating electrode layer), and the sensing effect can be optimized. The driving electrodes 51 and 52 disposed outside the panel can also be integrated into the package of the control circuit 12.

[0046] The above three sensing panels can effectively overcome the interference of liquid with conductive properties on capacitive touch sensing technology after using the sensing method proposed in the embodiment of the present invention, thereby achieving the purpose of capacitive touch sensing underwater. The above technology can allow the capacitive touch panel that has been underwater to operate normally. However, in order to enable normal sensing of both above-water and underwater operations, this case also proposes the following Figure 6 The following practices are shown. First, the control circuit 12 / 42 can be preset to be in a first state. The first state can be a short underwater operation scan (step 61) inserted every once in a while in the traditional capacitive sensing method. The traditional capacitive sensing method is used to complete normal non-underwater capacitive sensing. However, in order to cope with the situation where the panel may enter underwater or be covered with water droplets to perform capacitive touch operations, the control circuit 12 / 42 can perform at least one underwater operation scan every once in a while. The underwater operation scan can be the sensing method proposed above. After the control circuit 12 / 42 uses the sensing method involved in the embodiment of the present invention to perform at least one full panel scan, it determines whether there is a finger touching (step 62). If no finger touching is found, it returns to step 61 to continue sensing. However, if a finger touch is detected after the full panel scan, it means that the device is currently in an underwater environment or a humid environment and a user is operating the device. Therefore, the device will switch to a second state to continue the underwater operation scanning and sensing (step 63), and check whether a finger touch has not been sensed for a period of time (e.g., 10 seconds) (step 64). If so, the device will switch back to the first state from the second state. In this way, the switching between the two application environments can be effectively handled.

[0047] For details of the capacitive sensing technology used above, please refer to the description of the applicant's Taiwan Patent Publication No. 201443754 "Control Point Sensing Method and Device for Capacitive Panel" published on November 16, 2014 and the Chinese Patent Publication No. CN 104142766 published on November 12, 2014, especially Figure 8 and its related text in the Chinese Patent Publication No. CN104142766, which describes in detail how to use an external capacitor and a comparator to estimate the voltage difference between the two electrodes, and can provide the above-mentioned control circuit to measure the voltage difference between the two separated sensing electrodes.

[0048] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A position sensing method, applied between a to-be-detected object, a first set of electrodes and a second set of electrodes, characterized in that: The sensing method comprises the following steps: Sending a driving signal to the first group of electrodes; At least one first electrode and one second electrode are selected from the second group of electrodes and an electrical property value measurement operation is performed, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the first electrode and the second electrode, and the first electrode and the second electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured, and respectively generate a first electrical property value and a second electrical property value in response to the driving signal; as well as Obtaining a relative positional relationship between the object to be measured and the first electrode and the second electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement action; The first group of electrodes and the second group of electrodes are completed in a sensing panel, the first group of electrodes extend along a first direction, the second group of electrodes extend along a second direction and cross the first group of electrodes in the sensing panel, and the method also includes the following steps: sending a driving signal to the second group of electrodes; selecting at least a third electrode and a fourth electrode from the first group of electrodes and performing an electrical property value measurement operation, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the third electrode and the fourth electrode, and the third electrode and the fourth electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured, and respectively generate a third electrical property value and a fourth electrical property value in response to the driving signal; and obtaining the relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the third electrode and the fourth electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

2. The position sensing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second set of electrodes is completed in a sensing panel. The second set of electrodes crosses the first set of electrodes outside the sensing panel. The second set of electrodes is distributed in an array in the sensing panel. The second set of electrodes is made of the same single electrode layer and has a square or regular hexagonal shape.

3. The position sensing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electrical property value is any one of a voltage value and a capacitance value, and the driving signal is a driving voltage signal.

4. A position sensing device, used for position sensing of an object to be measured, characterized in that: The position sensing device comprises: a first set of electrodes; a second set of electrodes intersecting the first set of electrodes; and a control circuit coupled to the first group of electrodes and the second group of electrodes, the control circuit sends a driving signal to the first group of electrodes, selects at least one first electrode and one second electrode from the second group of electrodes, performs an electrical property value measurement operation, and makes a plurality of electrodes between the first electrode and the second electrode in a floating state, the first electrode and the second electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured and respectively generate a first electrical property value and a second electrical property value in response to the driving signal, and the control circuit obtains a relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the first electrode and the second electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation; The first set of electrodes and the second set of electrodes are completed in a sensing panel, the second set of electrodes and the first set of electrodes cross in the sensing panel, and the control circuit further performs the following steps: Sending a driving signal to the second set of electrodes; Selecting at least one third electrode and one fourth electrode from the first group of electrodes and performing an electrical property value measurement operation, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the third electrode and the fourth electrode, and the third electrode and the fourth electrode that respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured generate a third electrical property value and a fourth electrical property value in response to the driving signal; and The relative position relationship between the object to be tested, the third electrode and the fourth electrode is obtained according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

5. The position sensing device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The second set of electrodes is completed in a sensing panel, the second set of electrodes is distributed in the sensing panel and is distributed in an array, the second set of electrodes crosses the first set of electrodes outside the sensing panel, the second set of electrodes is made of the same single-layer electrode layer, and its shape is a square or a regular hexagon.

6. The position sensing device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The electrical property value is any one of a voltage value and a capacitance value, and the driving signal is a driving voltage signal.

7. The position sensing device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The second group of electrodes is completed in a sensing panel. The second group of electrodes is distributed in the sensing panel and is cross-distributed in a mesh shape. The second group of electrodes crosses the first group of electrodes outside the sensing panel.

8. A position sensing device, used for position sensing of an object to be measured, characterized in that: The position sensing device comprises: a first set of electrodes; A first driving electrode crossing the first set of electrodes and having a capacitive coupling effect therewith; a second set of electrodes crossing the first set of electrodes; as well as A control circuit uses the capacitive coupling between the first driving electrode and the first group of electrodes to send a driving signal, selects at least one first electrode and one second electrode from the second group of electrodes, performs an electrical property value measurement operation, and makes the plurality of electrodes between the first electrode and the second electrode in a floating state, so that the first electrode and the second electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured and respectively generate a first electrical property value and a second electrical property value in response to the driving signal, and the control circuit obtains a relative position relationship between the object to be measured and the first electrode and the second electrode according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation; The first group of electrodes and the second group of electrodes are completed in a sensing panel, the second group of electrodes and the first group of electrodes cross in the sensing panel, the first driving electrode and the first group of electrodes cross outside the sensing panel, and a second driving electrode and the second group of electrodes cross outside the sensing panel, wherein the control circuit further performs the following steps: Using the capacitive coupling between the second driving electrode and the second group of electrodes to generate a driving signal; At least one third electrode and one fourth electrode are selected from the first group of electrodes and an electrical property value measurement operation is performed, wherein a plurality of electrodes in a floating state are included between the third electrode and the fourth electrode, and the third electrode and the fourth electrode respectively generate a capacitive coupling effect with the object to be measured, and respectively generate a third electrical property value and a fourth electrical property value in response to the driving signal; as well as The relative position relationship between the object to be tested, the third electrode and the fourth electrode is obtained according to the first electrical property value and the second electrical property value generated by the electrical property value measurement operation.

9. The position sensing device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The electrical property value is any one of a voltage value and a capacitance value, and the driving signal is a driving voltage signal.

10. A state switching method, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: In a first state, the position sensing method as claimed in claim 1 is performed once at regular intervals to determine whether there is a touch phenomenon; When a touch is detected, the first state is switched to a second state to continue the position sensing method as claimed in claim 1; In the second state, if no touch is sensed for a period of time, switching from the second state back to the first state; The first state is a state in which an underwater operation scan is briefly inserted at regular intervals, and the second state is a state in which underwater operation scan sensing is continuously performed.

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