Touch panel device, touch panel device control method, program, and storage medium storing the program

A touch panel device having a touch panel, wherein the touch panel includes:

• first electrodes arranged in multiple lines and extending in a first direction;
• and
• second electrodes arranged in multiple lines and extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction,
• the touch panel device comprising:
• a driving unit configured to send drive pulse signals to either one of the first electrodes and the second electrodes that operate as drive electrodes;
• a receiving unit configured to receive a sense signal from each of the lines that are sensed by other of the first electrodes and the second electrodes that operate as sense electrodes;
• a switching unit configured to switch between a first state in which the first electrodes are connected to the driving unit as the drive electrodes and the second electrodes are connected to the receiving unit as the sense electrodes, and a second state in which the second electrodes are connected to the driving unit as the drive electrodes and the first electrodes are connected to the receiving unit as the sense electrodes;
• a driving control unit configured to control the driving unit to send the drive pulse signals having a set frequency sequentially to the plurality of drive electrodes;
• a signal strength obtaining unit, wherein, with the touch panel having a top surface divided into a matrix of sections, the signal strength obtaining unit is configured to specify one of the sections based on a combination of a line of the drive electrodes to which the driving unit has sent the drive pulse signal and a line of the sense electrodes from which the receiving unit has received the sense signal and to obtain a strength of the sense signal received by the receiving unit as a signal strength of the specified section;
• a noise determination unit configured to determine whether the sense signals of the sense electrodes contain noise;
• a switching control unit configured to control the switching unit to switch between the first state and the second state when the sense signals are determined to contain noise;
• and
• an operation position obtaining unit configured to, if the sense signals are not determined to contain noise, obtain, as an operation position touched by an operating member, one of the sections whose signal strength in the first state is equal to or greater than a first threshold value, and if the sense signals are determined to contain noise, obtain, as the operation position touched by the operating member, one of the sections whose signal strength in the first state is equal to or greater than the first threshold value and whose signal strength in the second state is equal to or greater than the first threshold value.