An electrical appliance and a capacitive induction input detection device thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a capacitive sensing input detection device, comprising: a touch sensing electrode array, a capacitance detection circuit and a processor, wherein the touch sensing electrode array comprises a plurality of touch sensing electrodes, the capacitance detection circuit is connected to the plurality of touch sensing electrodes and is used to detect the distributed capacitance on each touch sensing electrode, and the processor is configured to: calculate the distributed capacitance increment of each touch sensing electrode, compare the distributed capacitance increment with a corresponding threshold value, and calculate the touch position according to the distributed capacitance increments of adjacent touch sensing electrodes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electrical appliance, in particular to a capacitive induction input detection device. Background Art

[0002] With the demand for intelligent electrical appliances, more and more electrical products such as household appliances need to be equipped with human-machine interaction devices such as gesture detection. Existing gesture detection devices mostly use infrared detection. Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an existing infrared gesture detection device. Figure 1 As shown, the infrared gesture detection device 100 includes two groups of infrared transceivers, the infrared transmitter 110 and the infrared receiver 111 are combined into one group of infrared transceivers, and the infrared transmitter 112 and the infrared receiver 113 are combined into another group. Multiple groups of infrared transceivers can be set in the infrared gesture detection device according to the needs of actual applications. When the infrared gesture detection device 100 is working, the infrared transmitters 110 and 112 continuously emit infrared waves. When a human hand or other object moves to the front of the infrared transmitter of this group and the distance from the infrared transmitter is less than a certain range, the infrared wave will be reflected by the human hand and received by the infrared receiver of this group, so that the position of the human hand can be detected. After analyzing the signals received by multiple groups of infrared transceivers, the waving direction of the human hand can be determined, thereby identifying the human gesture.

[0003] In existing gesture detection devices based on infrared transmitters and receivers, each pair of infrared transmitters and receivers can only detect whether there is an object at a close distance in the vertical direction, and cannot determine the position of a human hand between the two pairs of sensors. Therefore, in practical applications, in order to improve the position accuracy of gesture detection, multiple pairs of sensors need to be installed, which leads to a high cost of components for the entire device. In addition, infrared sensors can only detect whether there is an object blocking the close distance, and cannot determine whether the object is a human body or other objects. In practical applications, false triggering often occurs due to blocking by other objects.

[0004] Among the existing gesture detection devices, some use capacitive sensing, which is mostly used in sensing buttons and touch pads. Sensing buttons use one-dimensional coordinates, and touch pads use two-dimensional coordinates. Both require actual touch to the device interface, and cannot sense the proximity of the touch object through capacitance, that is, they cannot be applied to human gesture detection and judgment, so their application areas and fields are very small. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides an electrical appliance and a capacitive induction input detection device thereof, so as to realize sensitive detection of a conductive touch object such as a human hand.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a capacitive sensing input detection device, comprising: a touch sensing electrode array, a capacitance detection circuit and a processor, the touch sensing electrode array comprising a plurality of touch sensing electrodes, the capacitance detection circuit connected to the plurality of touch sensing electrodes, and used to detect the distributed capacitance on each touch sensing electrode, the processor is configured to: calculate the distributed capacitance increment of each touch sensing electrode, and compare the distributed capacitance increment with a corresponding threshold value, and calculate the touch position according to the distributed capacitance increments of adjacent touch sensing electrodes.

[0007] In an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of touch sensing electrodes are symmetrically arranged in a first direction and a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of touch sensing electrodes surround one or more regions.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of touch sensing electrodes include: first touch sensing electrodes and second touch sensing electrodes arranged at intervals in a first direction, and third touch sensing electrodes and fourth touch sensing electrodes arranged at intervals in a second direction, wherein the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes surround a touch area, and the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes are at the edge of the touch area.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, each touch sensing electrode is in a bar shape, and the aspect ratio is greater than 10:1.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the processor is configured to determine that a touch object is approaching when the average distributed capacitance increment of the plurality of touch sensing electrodes is greater than a corresponding threshold value, and start calculating the touch position according to the distributed capacitance increments of adjacent touch sensing electrodes.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the touch object represented by the threshold and the touch sensing electrode array reaches 10 cm.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the processor is configured to calculate the touch position in the following manner: calculate the touch position in the first direction according to the first distributed capacitance increment and the second distributed capacitance increment on the first touch sensing electrode and the second touch sensing electrode; and calculate the touch position in the second direction according to the third distributed capacitance increment and the fourth distributed capacitance increment on the third touch sensing electrode and the fourth touch sensing electrode.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present invention, the processor is further configured to determine a touch object trajectory according to touch positions at multiple moments.

[0015] The present invention further provides an electrical appliance, comprising the capacitive induction input detection device described in any one of the above embodiments.

[0016] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following significant advantages compared with the prior art: high detection position accuracy, low detection device cost, and can be widely used in human-machine interfaces of household appliances or other electrical appliances. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of an existing infrared gesture detection device.

[0019] Figure 2 The figure is a schematic diagram of a capacitive induction input detection device for an electrical appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 For Figure 2 Schematic diagram of calculating the touch position of a touch object in a device.

[0021] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a capacitive induction input detection device for an electrical appliance according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0024] As shown in this application and claims, unless the context clearly indicates an exception, the words "a", "an" and / or "the" do not refer to the singular and may also include the plural. Generally speaking, the terms "comprises" and "includes" only indicate the inclusion of the steps and elements that have been clearly identified, and these steps and elements do not constitute an exclusive list. The method or device may also include other steps or elements.

[0025] It should be understood that when a component is referred to as being "on another component," "connected to another component," "coupled to another component," or "contacting another component," it may be directly on, connected to, coupled to, or contacting the other component, or there may be intervening components. In contrast, when a component is referred to as being "directly on another component," "directly connected to," "directly coupled to," or "directly contacting" another component, there are no intervening components. Similarly, when a first component is referred to as being "electrically in contact with" or "electrically coupled to" a second component, there is an electrical path between the first component and the second component that allows current to flow. The electrical path may include capacitors, coupled inductors, and / or other components that allow current to flow, even without direct contact between conductive components.

[0026] Embodiment 1

[0027] Figure 2 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a capacitive induction input detection device for an electrical appliance according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, the electrical appliance 20 includes a capacitive sensing input detection device 200, and the capacitive sensing input detection device 200 includes a touch sensing electrode array 210, a capacitance detection circuit 220 and a processor 230. The touch sensing electrode array 210 includes four touch sensing electrodes: a first touch sensing electrode 211, a second touch sensing electrode 212, a third touch sensing electrode 213 and a fourth touch sensing electrode 214, and the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 are electrically isolated. The first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 surround an area, which is a rectangular area. In some other embodiments, the shape of the area can be a rectangle, or other shapes such as a triangle or a polygon. The first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 are symmetrically arranged in a first direction (X direction in the figure) and a second direction (Y direction in the figure), and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular. In this embodiment, the first touch sensing electrodes 211 and the second touch sensing electrodes 212 are arranged at intervals in the first direction, and the third touch sensing electrodes 213 and the fourth touch sensing electrodes 214 are arranged at intervals in the second direction. In some other embodiments, the first direction and the second direction are not limited to Figure 2 The first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 surround a touch sensing area 210a, and the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 are at the edge of the touch sensing area 210a. It can be understood that due to the characteristics of the touch sensing electrodes, the boundary of the touch sensing area 210a is not clearly defined, so Figure 2The dotted boxes shown are only examples. The first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 are in the shape of strips. Compared with other shapes of the same area, the strip-shaped touch sensing electrodes can detect touch objects in a larger range, so the touch area enclosed is also larger. Considering the expansion of the touch area, the aspect ratio of the touch sensing electrodes 211-214 is preferably greater than 10:1.

[0028] The processor is used to calculate the distributed capacitance increment of the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214, and compare the distributed capacitance increment with the corresponding threshold value, and calculate the touch position according to the distributed capacitance increment of the adjacent touch sensing electrodes. When the average distributed capacitance increment of the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 is greater than the threshold value corresponding to the touch sensing electrode, the processor determines that a touch object is approaching and starts to determine the touch position of the touch object. The threshold represents the distance between the touch object and the touch sensing electrode array 210, and the distance reaches 10cm. That is, when the distance between the touch object and the touch sensing electrode array 210 is less than or equal to 10cm, the processor determines that a touch object is approaching. Therefore, the input detection device 200 of this embodiment allows non-contact operation at a long distance. The capacitance detection circuit is connected to the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214, and is used to detect the distributed capacitance on each touch sensing electrode. In some embodiments, the processor and the capacitance detection circuit are integrated in a touch microcontroller, and the touch microcontroller is arranged inside the electrical appliance 20. There are some commercially available touch-control microcontrollers that can be used as the touch-control microcontrollers in this embodiment, such as the SC95F861X series chips of Saiyuan Microelectronics.

[0029] The judgment principle of the processor is specifically described below according to this embodiment:

[0030] When the touch object approaches the touch sensing electrode, the capacitance detection circuit detects that the distributed capacitance on the touch sensing electrode increases, and the processor calculates the distributed capacitance increment of the touch sensing electrode. The calculation formula of the distributed capacitance is:

[0031] CεS / d (1)

[0032] In formula (1), C is the distributed capacitance, and the capacitance value of the distributed capacitance is on the order of 10 -2pf. ε is the dielectric constant of air, S is the sensing area between the touch sensing electrode and the touch object, and d is the distance between the touch sensing electrode and the touch object. In this embodiment, the processor calculates the distributed capacitances C1, C2, C3, and C4 of the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 respectively. When it is detected that the average distributed capacitance increment of the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 is greater than the corresponding threshold, the processor determines that a touch object is approaching. The touch object may be a human hand or other conductive object that can change the distributed capacitance on the touch sensing electrode. By adjusting the threshold value corresponding to the touch sensing electrode, the sensitivity of the capacitive sensing input detection device can be adjusted, and the farthest distance of the touch object approaching can be detected.

[0033] The processor may calculate the touch position according to the ratio or difference of the distributed capacitance increments of adjacent touch sensing electrodes.

[0034] In one example, the processor is configured to calculate the touch position in the following manner: calculate the touch position of the touch object in the first direction according to the ratio △C1 / △C2 of the first distributed capacitance increment △C1 and the second distributed capacitance increment △C2 on the first touch sensing electrode 211 and the second touch sensing electrode 212; and calculate the touch position of the touch object in the second direction according to the ratio △C3 / △C4 of the third distributed capacitance increment △C3 and the fourth distributed capacitance increment △C4 on the third touch sensing electrode 213 and the fourth touch sensing electrode 214. The processor is further configured to determine the trajectory of the touch object according to the touch positions at multiple moments.

[0035] The centers of the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 in the touch sensing electrode array 210 are the origin O, the touch position of the touch object in the first direction (the X direction in the figure) is X, and the touch position of the touch object in the second direction (the Y direction in the figure) is Y. The touch position of the touch object can be expressed as a coordinate (X, Y). The calculation formulas of X and Y are as follows:

[0036]

[0037]

[0038] In formulas (2) and (3), A and B are gain adjustment factors in the first direction and the second direction, respectively, for adjusting the sensitivity of the capacitive sensing input detection device 200 to the touch object detection when the touch object moves.

[0039] In another example, Figure 3 For Figure 2 Schematic diagram of calculating the touch position of a touch object in a device. Figure 3As shown, the centers of the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes 211-214 in the touch sensing electrode array 210 are the origin O, the touch position of the touch object in the first direction (the X direction in the figure) is X, and the touch position of the touch object in the second direction (the Y direction in the figure) is Y. The touch position of the touch object can be expressed as a coordinate (X, Y). The calculation formulas of X and Y are as follows:

[0040] X=CΔC2-ΔC1) (4)

[0041] Y=D(ΔC4-ΔC3) (5)

[0042] In formulas (4) and (5), C and D are gain adjustment factors in the first direction and the second direction, respectively, for adjusting the sensitivity of the capacitive sensing input detection device 200 to the touch object detection when the touch object moves. The processor calculates different coordinates of the touch position of the touch object at different times, and determines the trajectory of the touch object by connecting the curves obtained by different coordinates, for example, the trajectory of a human hand when the touch object is a human hand.

[0043] Embodiment 2

[0044] Figure 4 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a capacitive induction input detection device for an electrical appliance according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4As shown, the electrical appliance 30 includes a capacitive sensing input detection device 300, and the capacitive sensing input detection device 300 includes a touch sensing electrode array 310, a capacitance detection circuit 320 and a processor 330. The processor and the capacitance detection circuit are integrated in a touch microcontroller, and the touch microcontroller is arranged inside the electrical appliance 30. The functions and components of the processor and the capacitance detection circuit can be similar to those in the first embodiment, and are not repeated here. The touch sensing electrode array 310 includes six touch sensing electrodes: a first touch sensing electrode 311, a second touch sensing electrode 312, a third touch sensing electrode 313, a fourth touch sensing electrode 314, a fifth touch sensing electrode 315 and a sixth touch sensing electrode 316. The fifth touch sensing electrode 315 includes a first part 315a, a second part 315b, and a thin wire 317 that is separated from each other and electrically connects the first part 315a and the second part 315b. The sixth touch sensing electrode 316 includes a first portion 316a and a second portion 316b separated from each other and a thin wire 318 electrically connecting the first portion 316a and the second portion 316b. The thin wires 317 and 318 of the fifth touch sensing electrode 315 and the sixth touch sensing electrode 316 cross each other and are electrically isolated. Here, the fifth touch sensing electrode 315 and the sixth touch sensing electrode 316 use thin wires at the crossing portion, which can reduce the coupling capacitance between the two. The third touch sensing electrode 313, the fourth touch sensing electrode 314 and the sixth touch sensing electrode 316 are arranged at intervals in the second direction (the Y direction in the figure), and the first touch sensing electrode 311, the second touch sensing electrode 312 and the fifth touch sensing electrode 315 are arranged at intervals in the first direction (the X direction in the figure). The first to sixth touch sensing electrodes 311-316 are electrically isolated.The first to sixth touch sensing electrodes 311-316 are surrounded by four areas, which are the first touch sensing area 310a, the second touch sensing area 310b, the third touch sensing area 310c and the fourth touch sensing area 310d. The first to sixth touch sensing electrodes 311-316 are respectively located at the edges of the first to fourth touch sensing areas 310a-310d: the first touch sensing electrode 311, the fourth touch sensing electrode 314, the first part 315a of the fifth touch sensing electrode 315 and the first part 316a of the sixth touch sensing electrode 316 are located at the edge of the first touch sensing area 310a, and the second touch sensing electrode 312, the fourth touch sensing electrode 314, the first part 315a of the fifth touch sensing electrode 315 and the first part 316a of the sixth touch sensing electrode 316 are located at the edge of the first touch sensing area 310a. The first touch sensing electrode 311, the third touch sensing electrode 313, the second portion 315b of the fifth touch sensing electrode 315, and the second portion 316a of the sixth touch sensing electrode 316 are at an edge of the second touch sensing area 310b, the first touch sensing electrode 311, the third touch sensing electrode 313, the second portion 315b of the fifth touch sensing electrode 315, and the first portion 316a of the sixth touch sensing electrode 316 are at an edge of the third touch sensing area 310c, and the second touch sensing electrode 312, the third touch sensing electrode 313, the second portion 315b of the fifth touch sensing electrode 315, and the second portion 316b of the sixth touch sensing electrode 316 are at an edge of the fourth touch sensing area 310d.

[0045] Based on the first embodiment, this embodiment adds two touch sensing electrodes: the fifth touch sensing electrode 315 and the sixth touch sensing electrode 316. Correspondingly, the number of touch areas in this embodiment is increased to four, so it is more sensitive when detecting the touch position of the touch object, and the calculated touch position is more accurate. Other details of this embodiment can refer to the first embodiment, for example, the method of determining the touch position in the first to fourth touch areas 310a-310d is similar to the method of determining the touch position in the touch area 210a in the first embodiment. Therefore, this embodiment will not expand on the details similar to the first embodiment.

[0046] In addition, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the structures described in the above embodiments, and other changes may be possible, for example, the number of touch sensing electrodes and the number of touch control areas may be greater.

[0047] The above embodiments of the present invention provide an electrical appliance, which includes the capacitive sensing input detection device in the above embodiments. The capacitive sensing input detection device in the above embodiments of the present invention detects whether the touch object is close to the electrical appliance and calculates the trajectory of the touch object moving in front of the electrical appliance by detecting and calculating the change in the distributed capacitance on the touch sensing electrode. While reducing the arrangement density and complexity of the touch sensing electrodes and reducing the material and process costs of the detection device, it has the advantages of long detection distance, high detection sensitivity and high detection accuracy, and can be widely used in electrical appliances, especially in the field of human-computer interaction of household appliances.

[0048] Unless explicitly stated in the claims, the order of the processing elements and sequences described in this application, the use of alphanumeric characters, or the use of other names are not intended to limit the order of the processes and methods of this application. Although the above disclosure discusses some invention embodiments that are currently considered useful through various examples, it should be understood that such details are only for illustrative purposes, and the attached claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, each claim is intended to cover all modifications and equivalent combinations that are consistent with the essence and scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0049] The present application uses specific words to describe the embodiments of the present application. For example, "one embodiment", "an embodiment", and / or "some embodiments" refer to a certain feature, structure or characteristic related to at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, it should be emphasized and noted that "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" mentioned twice or multiple times in different positions in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, some features, structures or characteristics in one or more embodiments of the present application can be appropriately combined.

[0050] Similarly, it should be noted that in order to simplify the description of the disclosure of this application and thus help understand one or more application embodiments, in the above description of the embodiments of this application, multiple features are sometimes merged into one embodiment, figure or description thereof. However, this disclosure method does not mean that the features required by the object of this application are more than the features mentioned in the claims. In fact, the features of the embodiments are less than all the features of the single embodiment disclosed above.

[0051] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the current specific embodiments, a person skilled in the art should recognize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, and various equivalent changes or substitutions may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, any changes or modifications to the above embodiments within the spirit of the present invention will fall within the scope of the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A capacitive sensing input detection device, comprising: A touch sensing electrode array, comprising a plurality of touch sensing electrodes; The plurality of touch sensing electrodes are symmetrically arranged in a first direction and a second direction, and the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular; The first touch sensing electrodes and the second touch sensing electrodes are arranged at intervals in the first direction, and the third touch sensing electrodes and the fourth touch sensing electrodes are arranged at intervals in the second direction, wherein the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes surround a touch sensing area, and the first to fourth touch sensing electrodes are at the edge of the touch sensing area; a capacitance detection circuit, connected to the plurality of touch sensing electrodes, and configured to detect a distributed capacitance on each touch sensing electrode; Processor, configured as: Calculating the distributed capacitance increment of each touch sensing electrode, and comparing the distributed capacitance increment with a corresponding threshold; as well as Calculating the touch position according to the distributed capacitance increments of adjacent touch sensing electrodes, including: calculating the touch position in the first direction according to the first distributed capacitance increment and the second distributed capacitance increment on the first touch sensing electrode and the second touch sensing electrode; And calculating the touch position in the second direction according to the third distributed capacitance increment and the fourth distributed capacitance increment on the third touch sensing electrode and the fourth touch sensing electrode.

2. The capacitive sensing input detection device according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of touch sensing electrodes surround one or more areas.

3. The capacitive sensing input detection device according to claim 1, wherein: Each touch sensing electrode is in a bar shape, and has a length-to-width ratio of greater than 10:

1.

4. The capacitive sensing input detection device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is configured to determine that a touch object is approaching when an average distributed capacitance increment of the plurality of touch sensing electrodes is greater than a corresponding threshold value, and start calculating a touch position according to distributed capacitance increments of adjacent touch sensing electrodes.

5. The capacitive induction input detection device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The distance between the touch object represented by the threshold and the touch sensing electrode array reaches 10 cm.

6. The capacitive induction input detection device according to claim 1, wherein: The processor is further configured to determine a touch object trajectory according to touch positions at multiple moments.

7. An electrical appliance, comprising: A capacitive sensing input detection device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6.

Images