Touch Screen Sensitivity Control for Hover Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Touch detection sensitivity in electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, increases power consumption when detecting both surface and hovering touches, especially when adjusting the full area sensitivity, leading to inefficient power management.

Innovation Solution

An electronic device method and apparatus that sets a partial area with higher touch detection sensitivity corresponding to user interface objects on a touch screen panel, allowing for enhanced detection of hovering and surface touches while reducing overall power consumption.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the touch detection sensitivity of the full area of the touch screen panel is increased to detect hovering touches, then the detection accuracy for hovering touches is improved, but the power consumption rapidly increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetouch detection accuracyVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The touch screen panel is divided into multiple partial areas, each with independently adjustable detection sensitivity. The processor identifies user interface objects and sets higher sensitivity only for partial areas where hovering touch detection is needed, while maintaining lower sensitivity in other areas, thus reducing overall power consumption while maintaining detection accuracy where required

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different partial areas of the touch screen panel are assigned different detection sensitivity characteristics. Areas corresponding to user interface objects that require hovering touch detection have enhanced sensitivity, while other areas use standard sensitivity levels, optimizing the balance between detection performance and power consumption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Adaptability or versatility

If the touch detection sensitivity is increased to detect both surface and hovering touches, then the input detection capability is improved, but the power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinput detection capabilityVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The detection sensitivity is made dynamically adjustable rather than fixed. The processor dynamically sets the sensitivity level for each partial area based on the current user interface context and object type, enabling the system to adapt between high sensitivity modes (for hovering touch detection) and low sensitivity modes (for power saving), thus achieving versatile input detection with optimized power consumption

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS9791963B2Method and apparatus for detecting user input in an electronic device

Publication Date: 2017.10.17 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

A method and an electronic device for detecting a user input in the electronic device are provided. The method includes acquiring information regarding a user interface object to be displayed on a touch screen panel; setting, based on the information, a partial area that is at least a part of a touch detection area corresponding to the user interface object; and adjusting a touch detection sensitivity of the partial area to be greater than a touch detection sensitivity of the touch screen panel.