Touch Panel Coordinate Detection with Acceleration Filtering
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Capacitive touch panels struggle to differentiate between finger operations and hover states when gloves or nails are used, leading to inaccurate detection of touch positions.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device with a touch panel layer, a transparent member, and acceleration detection sections that determine effective coordinates based on vertical distance and acceleration frequencies, allowing for precise detection of touch positions even with gloves or nails.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a capacitive touch panel is used to detect touch operations, then touch positions can be detected through changes in electric charge, but the system cannot differentiate between hover states and actual touch operations when gloves or nails are used
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the touch detection process into multiple stages: hover detection (first threshold), touch detection (second threshold), and deep press detection (third threshold). By dividing the detection range into distinct zones with different threshold values, the system can accurately identify whether a gloved finger is hovering or actually touching the panel, resolving the ambiguity between hover and touch states.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameter from a single threshold value to multiple threshold values (first, second, and third threshold values) that correspond to different detection zones. This parameter change enables the system to distinguish between hover operations and actual touch operations by comparing the detected electric charge against the appropriate threshold, thereby improving reliability when gloves or nails are used.
2Device complexity
If the touch panel detects only electric charge changes, then the detection system remains simple, but it cannot detect which part of the touch panel is pushed when a glove is used
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanical transmission structure (transmission mechanism) that converts the touch input on the touch panel into rotational or linear movement of a detection member. This intermediary mechanism allows the system to detect touch location and pressure without requiring complex sensor arrays, maintaining relatively simple device complexity while achieving precise measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex electronic sensor arrays with a mechanical detection system where a detection member (such as a ball or roller) physically responds to touch inputs. The mechanical movement of this detection member is then translated into electrical signals for processing, substituting a simpler mechanical system for what would otherwise require complex electronic measurement systems.
3Measurement precision
If multiple detection thresholds are implemented to distinguish hover and touch states, then differentiation accuracy improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detection threshold into multiple discrete levels (first, second, and third threshold values) that correspond to different operational zones. This segmentation allows the system to accurately differentiate between hover and touch states while maintaining manageable complexity through clear, distinct threshold boundaries rather than continuous variable adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by establishing multiple fixed threshold values that define different detection zones. This approach improves differentiation accuracy by providing clear decision boundaries, while the complexity is controlled through the use of predetermined threshold values rather than requiring complex real-time parameter adjustment mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate detection of touch panel positions regardless of glove or nail usage, enhancing user interaction by distinguishing between touch and hover states.
Implementation Method 1
a capacitive touch panel that allows an operation at a height within a predetermined range without contact of a finger with a panel surface (this proximity operation is called a hover operation)
Implementation Method 2
an acceleration detection section configured to detect at least one of an acceleration of the housing and an acceleration of the transparent member
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device includes a housing, a planar display section, a planar transparent member, a touch panel layer which detects two-dimensional coordinates of an indicator having a predetermined conductivity along a surface of the display section and a vertical distance to the indicator, and an acceleration detection section which detects at least one of an acceleration of the housing and an acceleration of the transparent member. The two-dimensional coordinates are determined as effective coordinates when the vertical distance is equal to or smaller than a first value. The two-dimensional coordinates are determined as the effective coordinates when the vertical distance is more than the first value and is equal to or smaller than a second value more than the first value, and the acceleration detection section detects a predetermined acceleration.