Touch Panel Ghost Touch Filtering via Pressure Threshold Validation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Capacitive touch screens are prone to 'ghost touches' due to conductive foreign substances and electromagnetic noise, leading to malfunction and reduced response speed and sensitivity.

Innovation Solution

Incorporating a pressure sensor to differentiate between valid and invalid touch inputs by using pressure information, where a valid touch input is recognized based on a pressure value greater than or equal to a threshold, thereby disregarding ghost touches.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a capacitive touch screen is used for touch recognition, then multi-touch capability and low malfunction probability are achieved, but ghost touches occur due to conductive foreign substances and electromagnetic noise

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetouch recognition accuracyVSAvoidghost touch
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

A pressure sensor is introduced as an intermediary component between the touch screen and the control logic. This pressure sensor provides additional information (pressure values) that mediates the decision-making process for validating touch inputs, helping to distinguish genuine touches from ghost touches without compromising the capacitive touch screen's multi-touch capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter used for touch validation by incorporating pressure values from the pressure sensor alongside the capacitive touch detection. By establishing a threshold for pressure values, the system transforms the single-parameter capacitive detection into a multi-parameter validation process, where ghost touches are filtered out based on insufficient pressure

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If touch driver configuration is used to remove ghost touch based on duration or form, then ghost touch prevention is achieved, but response speed and sensitivity are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveghost touch preventionVSAvoidresponse speed
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the software-based temporal analysis (duration and form checking) with a physical measurement approach using pressure sensing. Instead of analyzing the temporal characteristics of touch signals, the system immediately validates touches based on pressure magnitude, substituting a mechanical sensing approach for software-based temporal filtering and thereby maintaining fast response speed

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

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

This approach effectively reduces the occurrence of ghost touches without compromising response speed or sensitivity, ensuring accurate user input recognition.

Implementation Method 1

a pressure sensor that obtains pressure information corresponding to the touch input

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPressure sensing:

Implementation Method 2

The capacitive touch screens may recognize a touch input based on a variation of the amount of charge of an electrode included in a touch panel

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectCapacitive sensing: Capacitance

Data Source

PatentEP3156888B1Apparatus and method for obtaining coordinate through touch panel thereof
Publication Date: 2020.12.02 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD
  • EP3156888B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3156888B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3156888B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a display, a first sensor, a second sensor, and a processor configured to obtain, using the first sensor, location information corresponding to an active area of the display, in response to contact between an external object and the display, obtain, using the second sensor, pressure information corresponding to a pressure applied to the display resulting from the contact between the external object and the display, and determine a validity of the location information based on whether the pressure information satisfies a designated condition.