integrated circuits

Abstract

To allow a touch IC to detect a pen on the basis of control from an external processor.SOLUTION: An integrated circuit executes pen detection to detect a pen signal transmitted from a pen on the basis of electrical charges induced in a sensor electrode group. The integrated circuit is configured to: transmit pen data including information indicating a state of the pen detected by the pen detection to an external processor; receive, from the external processor, pen control data including control content of various pen-detection parameters to be used by the integrated circuit for the pen detection, the pen control data being generated by the external processor on the basis of the pen data; and control the various pen-detection parameters on the basis of the control content included in the pen control data received from the external processor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method implemented in a system including a touch IC and an external processor. [Background technology]

[0002] In position detection systems that detect the position of a finger or electronic pen on a touch surface, the position detection process is typically performed by a touch IC. However, in recent years, there has been a growing demand for position detection processes that include complex processes such as gesture recognition, and it is becoming difficult for touch ICs with simple configurations that have limited computing resources such as memory capacity and processing power to handle these processes. Therefore, studies have begun on systems that add an external processor (an integrated circuit different from the touch IC, such as a CPU, GPU, DSP, or AI processor) and have the external processor take over the position detection process that was previously performed by the touch IC. This type of system makes it possible to use the abundant computing resources of the external processor to perform advanced processing such as gesture recognition based on frame data (detection data for one touch surface) acquired by the touch IC.

[0003] Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose examples of such systems. Specifically, Figure 3 of Patent Document 1 discloses a system in which frame data is supplied from a touch IC (304) to a GPU (308) that is an external processor, and the GPU (308) calculates the touch position. Furthermore, Figure 1 of Patent Document 2 discloses a system having a touch data communication interface in which the touch IC is on the source side and the external processor that is a DSP is on the sink side. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Application Publication No. 2017 / 0255320 [Patent Document 2] US Patent Application Publication No. 2016 / 0170548 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the systems described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the results of processing by the external processor are not returned to the touch IC, which means that the results of processing by the external processor cannot be used for touch detection or pen detection operations by the touch IC, and so improvement is needed.

[0006] In addition, data such as position and pen pressure detected by the touch IC is sent to the downstream host processor, where it is used to generate ink data, etc. However, when an external processor is added, the host processor must obtain some of the data that it previously obtained in bulk from the touch IC from the external processor. This affects the implementation of the host processor, so it is necessary to make it possible to add an external processor without changing the implementation of the host processor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A method according to a first aspect of the present invention is a method executed in a system including a touch IC that performs touch detection and an external processor different from the touch IC, wherein the system further includes a group of sensor electrodes connected to the touch IC and a first bus that connects the touch IC and the external processor, wherein the touch IC generates frame data indicating the detection level for each two-dimensional position of the group of sensor electrodes and supplies the frame data to the external processor via the first bus, the external processor returns judgment data to the touch IC as a result of performing predetermined processing based on the frame data, and the touch IC performs an operation based on the judgment data.

[0008] A method according to a second aspect of the present invention is a method according to the first aspect, wherein the external processor returns the judgment data to the touch IC via the first bus, the external processor is an AI coprocessor for assisting the touch IC, the system further includes a second bus connecting the touch IC and a host processor, and the touch IC reports touch coordinates included in the judgment data to the host processor via the second bus. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the determination data resulting from the processing by the external processor is returned from the external processor to the touch IC, so that the touch IC can use the results of the processing by the external processor.

[0010] According to the second aspect of the present invention, touch coordinates derived by the AI ​​coprocessor are supplied to the host processor via the touch IC, making it possible to add an external processor without changing the implementation of the host processor. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a process flow diagram showing details of touch detection performed by the touch detection unit 32 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 1. FIG. 4 is a process flow diagram showing details of pen detection performed by the pen detection unit 33 shown in FIG. [Figure 4] (a) is a diagram explaining the palm area derivation process performed by the touch IC compatible firmware 51 shown in Figure 1, and (b) is a diagram explaining an example of determining the user's dominant hand by the touch IC compatible firmware 51. [Figure 5] 2 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the system 1 shown in FIG. [Figure 6]6 is a process flow diagram showing details of the determination process performed in step S3 shown in FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 7] 6 is a process flow diagram showing details of a part related to touch detection among the processes based on the determination data performed in step S4 shown in FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 8] 6 is a process flow diagram showing details of a portion relating to pen detection among the processes based on the determination data performed in step S4 shown in FIG. 5. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the system 1 shown in FIG. [Figure 11] 11 is a process flow diagram showing details of the determination process performed in step S3a shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the diagram, the system 1 includes a sensor electrode group 2, a touch IC 3, a dedicated bus 4a (first bus), a peripheral device bus 4b (second bus), bus interfaces 40 and 41, a memory 42, a host processor 5, and an internal bus 6.

[0014] The sensor electrode group 2 is a plurality of sensor electrodes arranged directly below the touch surface. For example, if the system 1 is a tablet terminal, the sensor electrode group 2 is arranged directly below the display surface, which is the touch surface. The plurality of sensor electrodes constituting the sensor electrode group 2 includes a plurality of X electrodes 2x each extending in the y direction shown in the figure and arranged at equal intervals in the x direction (a direction perpendicular to the y direction), and a plurality of Y electrodes 2y each extending in the x direction shown in the figure and arranged at equal intervals in the y direction.

[0015] The touch IC 3 is an integrated circuit configured to be able to execute firmware 31, and is connected to each of the sensor electrodes that make up the sensor electrode group 2. The firmware 31 is configured to realize a touch detection unit 32 that performs an operation to detect a finger 8 shown in the figure (hereinafter referred to as "touch detection"), and a pen detection unit 33 that performs an operation to detect an electronic pen 7 shown in the figure by detecting a pen signal based on an electric charge induced in the sensor electrode group 2 (hereinafter referred to as "pen detection").

[0016] 2 is a process flow diagram showing details of touch detection performed by the touch detection unit 32. As shown in the figure, the touch detection unit 32 first transmits touch detection signals to each X electrode 2x (step S10), and then receives the touch detection signals at each Y electrode 2y (step S11). Then, based on the reception results, a heat map showing the detection level for each two-dimensional position of the sensor electrode group 2 is created (step S12).

[0017] The processing of steps S1 to S3 will be described in more detail. The touch detection signal is a signal consisting of K pulse trains, each containing K pulses (data of "1" or "-1"). Here, K is the number of X electrodes 2x. Furthermore, the contents of the K pulse trains (i.e., combinations of the K pulses) are all different.

[0018] The touch detection unit 32 inputs the K pulse trains one by one in parallel to each X electrode 2x (step S10). Then, for each input, the touch detection unit 32 acquires the value of the current flowing from each Y electrode 2y (step S11). The current value acquired in this way is the inner product of the K pulses constituting the input pulse train and the K capacitances formed at the intersections of the Y electrode 2y and each X electrode 2x.

[0019] Through the above process, the touch detection unit 32 acquires K current values ​​for each Y electrode 2y. For each of the K pulse trains, the touch detection unit 32 calculates the inner product of the K pulses constituting the pulse train and the acquired K current values, thereby calculating the detection level for each two-dimensional position of the sensor electrode group 2 (i.e., for each intersection of each X electrode 2x and each Y electrode 2y) (step S12). In this way, the above-mentioned heat map is completed.

[0020] After generating the heat map, the touch detection unit 32 generates frame data including the generated heat map and transmits it to the host processor 5 (step S13).

[0021] The touch detection unit 32 also performs a process of deriving a touch area, which is an area touched by the finger 8, and a palm area, which is an area touched by the palm or fist of the user's hand, rather than the finger 8, based on the generated heat map (step S14). Specifically, the touch detection unit 32 first determines an area whose capacitance is greater than a predetermined threshold, and if the area of ​​the area is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold, it determines the area as a touch area; otherwise, it determines the area as a palm area. A series of processes up to this point completes one touch detection operation. The touch detection unit 32 may also transmit the touch area and palm area acquired in step S14 to the host processor 5.

[0022] Here, the above-mentioned thresholds used by the touch detection unit 32 to acquire the touch area and the palm area constitute a part of various parameters for touch detection used by the touch detection unit 32 to perform touch detection. The various parameters for touch detection may also include a parameter serving as a determination criterion for labeling (a process of recognizing adjacent touch areas as the same area) (for example, n when a criterion is set such that adjacent touch areas in n directions out of a total of eight directions, i.e., two vertical directions, two horizontal directions, and four diagonal directions, are regarded as one touch area), a parameter for controlling the content of the touch detection signal, a parameter for controlling the area to be targeted for touch detection, a parameter for controlling one or more sensor electrodes of the sensor electrode group 2 to be used for touch detection, a parameter for determining a tracking target in the case of multi-touch, a parameter for controlling a method for determining the palm area, a parameter for controlling the content of data transmitted from the touch detection unit 32 to the host processor 5, and a parameter for controlling a method for driving the sensor electrode group 2 (for example, the waveform, voltage, and transmission frequency of the touch detection signal). Although the details will be described later, the touch detection unit 32 is configured to control these various parameters for touch detection based on touch control data included in the determination data returned from the host processor 5.

[0023] 3 is a process flow diagram showing details of pen detection performed by the pen detection unit 33. As shown in the figure, the pen detection unit 33 first generates an uplink signal and inputs it to each X electrode 2x, thereby transmitting the uplink signal to the electronic pen 7 (step S20). The uplink signal is a signal for synchronizing the electronic pen 7 with the system 1 and transmitting an instruction (command) to the electronic pen 7. In response to receiving this uplink signal, the electronic pen 7 is configured to transmit a pen signal including, in this order, an unmodulated burst signal and a data signal modulated by various data acquired within the electronic pen 7 (such as writing pressure, on-on information of the side switches, and a pen ID; hereinafter, referred to as "pen-acquired data"). The command transmitted by the uplink signal serves to instruct the electronic pen 7 on the content of the data to be transmitted by the data signal.

[0024] Next, the pen detection unit 33 determines whether or not to perform a global scan (step S21). This determination is made based on the pen control data included in the determination data returned from the host processor 5, and this point will be described later.

[0025] If it is determined in step S21 that a global scan is to be performed, the pen detection unit 33 performs a process of scanning all of the sensor electrodes that make up the sensor electrode group 2 (global scan) at the timing when the electronic pen 7 is transmitting a pen signal (step S22), and determines whether or not a pen signal has been detected as a result (step S23). In the global scan, no demodulation process of the data signal is performed, and in step S23, it is simply determined whether or not a pen signal has been detected. If it is determined in step S23 that a pen signal has not been detected, the pen detection unit 33 transmits pen data indicating that a pen has not been detected to the host processor 5 (step S32), and ends the pen detection operation.

[0026] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S23 that a pen signal has been detected, the pen detection unit 33 derives pen coordinates based on the detection level of the pen signal at each sensor electrode (step S24), and then transmits pen data indicating the derived pen coordinates to the host processor 5 (step S25), thereby completing the pen detection operation.

[0027] If it is determined in step S21 that a global scan will not be performed, the pen detection unit 33 performs a process (sector scan) of scanning only a predetermined number of sensor electrodes located near the immediately preceding pen coordinates among the plurality of sensor electrodes constituting the sensor electrode group 2 at the timing when the electronic pen 7 is transmitting a burst signal (step S26), and determines whether or not a pen signal has been detected as a result (step S27). If it is determined that a pen signal has not been detected, the pen detection unit 33 transmits pen data indicating that a pen has not been detected to the host processor 5 (step S32), and ends the pen detection operation.

[0028] On the other hand, if the pen detection unit 33 determines in step S27 that a pen signal has been detected, it derives pen coordinates based on the detection level of the pen signal at each sensor electrode (step S28). Thereafter, it receives the data signal using the sensor electrode closest to the derived pen coordinates and demodulates it to receive the pen acquisition data transmitted by the electronic pen 7 (step S29).

[0029] Next, the pen detection unit 33 performs a process of acquiring pen state information (step S30). The pen state information is information indicating whether the electronic pen 7 has come into contact with the touch surface (pen up), whether the electronic pen 7 that has come into contact with the touch surface continues to come into contact with the touch surface (pen move), or whether the electronic pen 7 has been removed from the touch surface (pen down). Whether the electronic pen 7 is in contact with the touch surface is determined based on whether the writing pressure acquired in step S30 exceeds a predetermined threshold value (hereinafter referred to as "writing pressure ON load").

[0030] The pen state information acquired in step S30 may include tilt information indicating the tilt of the electronic pen 7. More specifically, an electronic pen 7 that supports tilt detection is configured to transmit a pen signal from each of two transmitting electrodes. The pen detection unit 33 is configured to acquire two pen coordinates by deriving pen coordinates based on each of the two pen signals thus transmitted, and to derive the tilt of the electronic pen 7 based on the distance between these two pen coordinates.

[0031] After completing step S30, the pen detection unit 33 transmits the derived pen coordinates, the received pen acquisition data, and pen data indicating the acquired pen state information to the host processor 5 (step S31), and ends the pen detection operation.

[0032] Here, the writing pressure ON load used by the pen detection unit 33 to acquire pen state information constitutes part of various pen detection parameters used for pen detection by the pen detection unit 33. The various pen detection parameters may also include a parameter indicating the operation ratio between global scan and sector scan for forcibly executing a global scan, a parameter indicating the detection level of the pen signal for determining that the pen signal has been detected in steps S23 and S27 of Fig. 3, a parameter indicating the frequency of the pen signal, a parameter indicating the transmission strength (amplification level) of the uplink signal, a parameter for correcting the pen coordinates derived by the pen detection unit 33, and a parameter for correcting the tilt of the electronic pen 7 derived by the pen detection unit 33. As will be described in detail later, the pen detection unit 33 is configured to also control these various pen detection parameters based on pen control data included in the determination data returned from the host processor 5.

[0033] Returning to Figure 1, the host processor 5 is the central processing unit (CPU) of the system 1, and is responsible for controlling the entire system 1 by executing a predetermined operating system (OS) 52. The host processor 5 may also include a graphics processing unit (GPU). A GPU is a processing device that can generally perform calculations faster than a CPU, and is responsible for processing that requires high-speed calculations, such as real-time image processing.

[0034] The host processor 5 is connected to bus interfaces 40 and 41 and a memory 42 via an internal bus 6. The memory 42 stores a program that defines the operation of the host processor 5, and the host processor 5 performs each process described below by reading and executing this program. The memory 42 also serves to temporarily or permanently store various data used by the host processor 5 during processing.

[0035] The bus interface 40 is connected to the touch IC 3 via a dedicated bus 4a, and the bus interface 41 is connected to the touch IC 3 via a peripheral device bus 4b. As a result, the host processor 5 is connected to the touch IC 3 in two systems, via the dedicated bus 4a and the peripheral device bus 4b.

[0036] The peripheral bus 4b is a bus commonly used within the system 1, and may be implemented, for example, by a universal serial bus (USB). The touch coordinates and palm coordinates derived by the touch detection unit 32, as well as the pen data acquired by the pen detection unit 33, are preferably transmitted from the touch IC 3 to the host processor 5 via the peripheral bus 4b. On the other hand, the dedicated bus 4a is specially provided for transmitting and receiving frame data and judgment data, including heat maps, and may be implemented, for example, by a serial peripheral interface (SPI) to enable transmission and reception of large amounts of data. Note that, because the amount of judgment data is not as large as that of the heat map, it may also be transmitted from the host processor 5 to the touch IC 3 via the peripheral bus 4b.

[0037] In addition to the operating system 52, the host processor 5 also executes touch IC compatible firmware (FW) 51 (external processor). The touch IC compatible firmware 51 is a program that runs on, for example, a GPU, and generates the above-mentioned judgment data by performing predetermined processing based on the frame data (heat map) and pen data supplied from the touch IC 3, and performs processing to return the generated judgment data to the touch IC 3. The generation and return of the judgment data will be explained in more detail later with reference to sequence diagrams and processing flow diagrams.

[0038] The predetermined processing performed by the touch IC compatible firmware 51 includes processing to derive the touch area and palm area based on the heat map and pen coordinates supplied from the touch IC 3. The touch IC compatible firmware 51 supplies the derived touch area and palm area to a touch driver 53 of the operating system 52.

[0039] 4(a) is a diagram illustrating the palm area derivation process performed by the touch IC compatible firmware 51. The figure shows a case where four touch areas A to D are derived by the touch IC compatible firmware 51 and one pen coordinate is supplied from the touch IC 3.

[0040] When a user performs input using the electronic pen 7, the user's hand holding the electronic pen 7 may touch the touch surface and be detected as a touch area. The touch area that may be detected in this way should be located to the right of the pen coordinates if the user is right-handed, and to the left of the pen coordinates if the user is left-handed. Therefore, if the user is right-handed, the touch IC compatible firmware 51 provisionally sets a palm area of ​​a predetermined shape (the range indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 4(a)) to the right of the pen coordinates, and acquires the touch area included in this as the palm area. In the example of FIG. 4(a), touch areas C and D are acquired as the palm area. Furthermore, if the user is left-handed, a palm area of ​​a predetermined shape is provisionally set to the left of the pen coordinates, and the touch area included in this is acquired as the palm area.

[0041] In order for the touch IC compatible firmware 51 to perform such processing, it is necessary to acquire information indicating the user's dominant hand in advance. In one example, this can be achieved by setting a parameter indicating the user's dominant hand (right-handed or left-handed) in the touch IC compatible firmware 51 through a previous user setting. In another example, this can also be achieved by the touch IC compatible firmware 51 determining the user's dominant hand from the positional relationship between the touch area and the pen coordinates.

[0042] FIG. 4(b) is a diagram illustrating an example of determining a user's dominant hand by the touch IC compatible firmware 51. In the example shown in the figure, two touch areas A and B are present on the left side of the pen coordinates. If the positional relationship between the touch areas A and B and the pen coordinates remains the same for a certain period of time or more, the touch IC compatible firmware 51 can determine that the user's dominant hand is the left hand. In this way, the touch IC compatible firmware 51 can also determine the user's dominant hand.

[0043] Although an example of deriving the palm area based on the positional relationship with the pen coordinates has been described here, the touch IC compatible firmware 51 may also acquire, for example, a touch area whose area is equal to or greater than a predetermined value as the palm area.

[0044] Returning to Figure 1, the operating system 52 includes a touch driver 53 and a pen driver 54. The touch driver 53 receives the touch area and palm area derived by the touch IC compatible firmware 51, performs predetermined processing, and then passes the data to a drawing application or the like running on the operating system 52. The pen driver 54 also receives pen data from the touch IC 3, performs predetermined processing, and then passes the data to the drawing application or the like. Based on the data received from the touch driver 53 and pen driver 54, the drawing application generates and renders ink data indicating the trajectory of the finger 8 or electronic pen 7 on the touch surface. This allows the user to check the results of input with the electronic pen 7 or finger 8 on the screen.

[0045] Next, the generation and return of the determination data by the touch IC compatible firmware 51 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0046] 5 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the system 1 shown in FIG. The touch IC 3 is configured to repeatedly perform pen detection by the pen detection unit 33 (step S1) and touch detection by the touch detection unit 32 (step S2). Note that, as will be described in detail later, the execution ratio (scan scenario) of steps S1 and S2 is instructed to the touch IC 3 by the touch IC compatible firmware 51 using pen control data (data for controlling the pen detection operation) included in the determination data returned from the touch IC compatible firmware 51 to the touch IC 3. The touch IC 3 is configured to perform steps S1 and S2 in accordance with this instruction.

[0047] When the touch IC 3 executes pen detection by the pen detection unit 33 (step S1), it supplies pen data to the touch IC compatible firmware 51 and the operating system 52 (more specifically, the pen driver 54). This supply is performed via the peripheral device bus 4b. Furthermore, when the touch IC 3 executes touch detection by the touch detection unit 32 (step S2), it supplies frame data including a heat map to the touch IC compatible firmware 51. This supply is performed via the dedicated bus 4a.

[0048] The touch IC compatible firmware 51 that has received the pen data and frame data executes a determination process (step S3). This process generates determination data that includes touch control data including the touch area and palm area, and pen control data. The generated determination data is returned to the touch IC 3 via the dedicated bus 4a or the peripheral device bus 4b. The touch area and palm area are also supplied to the operating system 52 (more specifically, the touch driver 53).

[0049] 6 is a process flow diagram showing details of the determination process performed in step S3. As shown in the figure, the touch IC compatible firmware 51 first determines whether the pen data includes pen coordinates or data indicating no pen detection (step S40). If it is determined that the pen coordinates are included, it generates pen control data that specifies a scan scenario for when the pen is detected and a sector scan position (step S41). On the other hand, if it is determined that the pen data includes data indicating no pen detection, it generates pen control data that specifies a scan scenario for when the pen is not detected and execution of a global scan (step S42).

[0050] Here, the scan scenario when a pen is detected is a scenario that includes pen detection more frequently than the scan scenario when a pen is not detected. This increases the frequency with which the touch IC 3 receives pen signals when a pen is detected, making it possible to detect the position of the electronic pen 7 more frequently and to transmit larger data sizes from the electronic pen 7 to the touch IC 3. On the other hand, when a pen is not detected, it becomes possible to acquire the touch area and palm area more frequently.

[0051] Next, the touch IC support firmware 51 extracts a heat map from the received frame data and derives a touch area based on the extracted heat map (step S43). The touch IC support firmware 51 further derives a palm area based on the pen coordinates included in the received pen data and the touch area derived in step S43 (step S44). Details of this derivation are as described with reference to FIG. 4(a). If the pen coordinates are not received, the palm area may not be derived, or a touch area whose area is equal to or greater than a predetermined value may be derived as the palm area. The touch IC support firmware 51 supplies the thus derived touch area and palm area to the operating system 52 (more specifically, the touch driver 53) (step S45).

[0052] Next, the touch IC compatible firmware 51 generates touch control data including the derived touch area and palm area (step S46), and generates control contents of the various pen detection parameters described above based on the received pen coordinates and the derived touch area and palm area, etc., and adds them to the pen control data (step S47).Then, the touch IC compatible firmware 51 generates judgment data including the touch control data and pen control data and transmits it to the touch IC 3 (step S48), and ends the judgment process.

[0053] Returning to Fig. 5, the touch IC 3 that has received the determination data executes processing based on the determination data in each of the touch detection unit 32 and the pen detection unit 33 (step S4).

[0054] 7 is a process flow diagram showing details of the touch detection portion of the process based on the determination data performed in step S4. As shown in the figure, the touch detection unit 32 first acquires touch control data from the determination data (step S50) and compares the touch area and palm area contained therein with the touch area and palm area derived within the touch IC 3 (step S51). Based on the comparison result, the touch detection unit 32 then controls the various touch detection parameters described above so that the touch area and palm area derived within the touch IC 3 approach the touch area and palm area derived by the touch IC compatible firmware 51 (step S52), and ends the process.

[0055] The control in step S52 may include, for example, lowering the threshold value (capacitance threshold value) for touch detection to increase touch detection sensitivity when five fingers are detected on the touch IC support firmware 51 side but only four are detected on the touch IC 3 side, or raising the threshold value (area threshold value) for palm detection to make palm detection easier when a palm is detected on the touch IC support firmware 51 side but not on the touch IC 3 side. Alternatively, multiple operating modes (e.g., glove mode, water droplet or other foreign substance mode), each of which is preset with one or more touch detection parameters, may be stored in advance in the touch IC support firmware 51 and the touch detection unit 32, and the touch IC support firmware 51 may determine the optimal operating mode based on the heat map, and the touch IC 3 may control the various touch detection parameters to operate in the determined operating mode. Of course, other parameters described above may also be controlled in step S52.

[0056] 8 is a process flow diagram showing details of the part related to pen detection among the processes based on the determination data performed in step S4. First, the pen detection unit 33 acquires pen control data from the determination data (step S60). Then, according to the designation of the acquired pen control data, it sets the pen (step S61). Subsequent pen detection operations and touch detection operations are performed according to the scan scenario set here.

[0057] Next, the pen detection unit 33 determines whether the pen control data specifies a global scan or a sector scan position (step S62). If it determines that a global scan is specified, the pen detection unit 33 sets the next pen detection to global scan (step S63). As a result, the determination result of step S21 in FIG. 3 becomes positive at the next pen detection. On the other hand, if it determines in step S62 that a sector scan position is specified, the pen detection unit 33 sets the next pen detection to sector scan and sets the sector scan position (step S64). As a result, the determination result of step S21 in FIG. 3 becomes negative at the next pen detection, and the sensor electrodes to be scanned are determined at step S26 in FIG. 3.

[0058] Finally, the pen detection unit 33 controls various pen detection parameters based on the control contents of the various pen detection parameters included in the pen control data (step S65), and then ends the process. The control in step S65 may include control of increasing or decreasing the pen signal detection level for determining that a pen signal has been detected in steps S23 and S27 of Fig. 3, or control of changing the operation ratio between global scan and sector scan, depending on whether the electronic pen 7 has been detected in the touch IC compatible firmware 51 and the touch IC 3. Of course, other parameters described above may also be controlled in step S65.

[0059] As described above, according to the method executed by the system 1 of this embodiment, the determination data that is the result of processing by the host processor 5 is returned from the touch IC compatible firmware 51 to the touch IC 3, so that the touch IC 3 can use the result of processing by the host processor 5. As a result, for example, the touch IC 3 can derive the touch area and palm area with higher accuracy, and can perform pen detection based on the control from the touch IC compatible firmware 51.

[0060] Furthermore, since the heat map, which has a large data size, is transmitted via the dedicated bus 4a, it becomes possible to supply the heat map from the touch IC 3 to the host processor 5 without straining the communication resources of the peripheral device bus 4b.

[0061] In the present embodiment, pen data is supplied to the touch IC compatible firmware 51 every time the pen detection unit 33 performs pen detection, but if a scan scenario is adopted in which, for example, one touch detection is performed after multiple pen detections are performed, only the pen data obtained as a result of the pen detection performed immediately before the touch detection may be supplied to the touch IC compatible firmware 51. In this way, it is possible to reduce the processing load of the touch IC compatible firmware 51 without affecting the determination processing in step S3 of FIG.

[0062] In addition, in the present embodiment, the touch IC compatible firmware 51 supplies the touch area and palm area to the operating system 52. However, more advanced processing such as gesture recognition based on a heat map may be performed in the touch IC compatible firmware 51, and the results may also be supplied to the operating system 52. The results of the advanced processing may also be included in the determination data returned to the touch IC 3. This allows the touch IC compatible firmware 51 to be used more meaningfully.

[0063] In addition, in the present embodiment, only the touch area and palm area derived by the touch IC compatible firmware 51 are included in the touch control data, but similar to the various parameters for pen detection, specific control contents of various parameters for touch detection may be generated in the touch IC compatible firmware 51 and may be included in the touch control data. In this way, it becomes possible to specifically control the various parameters for touch detection used in the touch detection unit 32 from the touch IC compatible firmware 51.

[0064] 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. System 1 according to this embodiment differs from system 1 according to the first embodiment in that an AI (Artificial Intelligence) coprocessor 9 provided separately from host processor 5 is used as an external processor for touch IC 3, and pen data is not supplied to AI coprocessor 9, which is an external processor. Since system 1 according to the first embodiment is otherwise similar to system 1 according to the first embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are assigned the same reference numerals, and the following description will focus on the differences from system 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0065] 9, system 1 according to this embodiment is configured to include an AI coprocessor 9. Touch IC compatible firmware 51 shown in FIG. 1 is not provided in system 1 according to this embodiment. In addition, bus interface 40 is provided within AI coprocessor 9 and is not connected to internal bus 6.

[0066] The AI ​​coprocessor 9 is an auxiliary processor with built-in artificial intelligence, and is connected to the touch IC 3 via the dedicated bus 4a. The AI ​​coprocessor 9 receives frame data including a heat map from the touch IC 3 via the dedicated bus 4a, derives touch coordinates and palm coordinates based on the received heat map, and returns judgment data including the results to the touch IC 3 via the dedicated bus 4a.

[0067] The touch detection unit 32 according to this embodiment is configured to extract touch coordinates and palm coordinates from the reduced determination data and report them to the host processor 5 via the peripheral bus 4b. This allows the host processor 5 to obtain the touch area and palm area derived by the AI ​​coprocessor 9 without communicating with the AI ​​coprocessor 9. In other words, the AI ​​coprocessor 9 is hidden from the perspective of the host processor 5, so it is possible to add the AI ​​coprocessor 9, which is an external processor, without changing the implementation of the host processor 5.

[0068] 10 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of system 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, pen data obtained as a result of pen detection by pen detection unit 33 (step S1) is supplied only to operating system 52 (more specifically, pen driver 54), and is not supplied to AI coprocessor 9. Furthermore, instead of the determination process of step S3, a determination process of step S3a is executed.

[0069] Fig. 11 is a process flow diagram showing details of the determination process performed in step S3a. As shown in the figure, the determination process performed in step S3a is the same as the determination process shown in Fig. 6 except that steps S40 to S42, S45, and S47 are omitted and steps S44 and S48 are replaced with steps S44a and S48a, respectively.

[0070] Step S44a differs from step S44 shown in FIG. 6 in that it does not use pen coordinates. That is, the AI ​​coprocessor 9 is configured to derive the palm area based only on the touch area derived in step S43. In a specific example, a touch area whose area is equal to or greater than a predetermined value may be derived as the palm area. Step S48a differs from step S48 shown in FIG. 6 in that the determination data does not include pen control data.

[0071] Returning to Figure 10, the touch detection unit 32 reports the touch area and palm area included in the determination data received from the AI ​​coprocessor 9 to the host processor 5 as the touch area and palm area that it has derived. This makes it possible to add the AI ​​coprocessor 9, which is an external processor, without changing the implementation of the host processor 5, as described above.

[0072] As described above, according to the method executed in the system 1 of this embodiment, the touch coordinates and palm coordinates derived by the AI ​​coprocessor 9 are supplied to the host processor 5 via the touch IC 3, making it possible to add an external processor without changing the implementation of the host processor 5.

[0073] The touch detection unit 32 according to this embodiment may also execute the process shown in Fig. 7. By doing so, the touch IC 3 according to this embodiment can also derive the touch area and palm area with higher accuracy.

[0074] Also in this embodiment, pen data obtained as a result of pen detection by pen detection unit 33 (step S1) may be supplied to AI coprocessor 9. In this way, also in this embodiment, pen detection unit 33 can perform pen detection based on control from host processor 5. Also, in AI coprocessor 9, it becomes possible to derive the palm area based on the pen coordinates.

[0075] Also in this embodiment, more advanced processing such as gesture recognition based on a heat map may be performed in the AI ​​coprocessor 9, and the results may be included in the determination data returned to the touch IC 3. In this case, it is preferable that the touch IC 3 also report the results of the advanced processing thus returned to the host processor 5. This allows the AI ​​coprocessor 9 to be used more meaningfully.

[0076] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 1 System 2. Sensor electrode group 2x X electrodes 2y Y electrode 3 Touch IC 4a Private bus 4b Peripheral Bus 5 Host Processor 6 Internal Bus 7 Electronic pen 8 fingers 9 AI Coprocessor 31 Firmware 32 Touch detection unit 33 Pen detection unit 40,41 Bus Interface 42 memory 51 Touch IC compatible firmware 52 Operating Systems 53 Touch Driver 54 Pen Driver

Claims

1. An integrated circuit for performing pen detection that detects pen signals transmitted from a pen based on charges induced on a group of sensor electrodes, transmitting pen data including information indicating the state of the pen detected by the pen detection to an external processor; receiving, from the external processor, pen control data generated by the external processor based on the pen data, the pen control data including control contents of various pen detection parameters used by the integrated circuit to perform the pen detection; controlling the various parameters for pen detection based on the control content included in the pen control data received from the external processor; Integrated circuit.

2. acquiring two pen coordinates by deriving pen coordinates based on two pen signals transmitted by the pen from two transmitting electrodes, respectively, and deriving a tilt of the pen based on the two acquired pen coordinates; the information indicating the state of the pen includes tilt information indicating the tilt of the pen, The various parameters for pen detection include a parameter for correcting the inclination of the pen.

10. The integrated circuit of claim 1.

3. the pen control data includes data specifying a sector scan position; the integrated circuit sets the next pen detection position in accordance with data specifying the sector scan position included in the pen control data; 10. The integrated circuit of claim 1.

4. the pen control data includes a scan scenario indicating an execution ratio of touch detection for detecting a finger and pen detection; the integrated circuit performs the touch detection and the pen detection according to the scan scenario included in the pen control data.

10. The integrated circuit of claim 1.

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