Systems and methods for detecting multiple touch points in surface-capacitance type touch panels
AssigneeNuvoton Technology Corporation
InventorsIlia STOLOV, Ziv HERSHMAN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Surface-capacitance-based multi-touch touch panel apparatus including a multiplicity of electrically conductive shapes e.g. diamonds arranged along at least one of rows and columns whose capacitance is measured by capacitive sensors; wherein the rows and columns include a set of linear arrays including at least one individual linear array which includes a plurality of first sets of shapes, each first set including n>=1 shapes all shorted to a single set-specific capacitive sensor such that no two first sets are both shorted to a common capacitive sensor.
Claims20
Surface-capacitance-based multi-touch touch panel apparatus including:
- a. A touch panel having dimensions L, K respectively along first and second axes respectively and including a multiplicity of electrically conductive shapes, the touch panel including:
- i. At least one row touch surface comprising a subset of said multiplicity of shapes arranged in a row along said first axis wherein all shapes in said subset are connected to a row-specific capacitive sensor;
- and
- ii. A plurality of approximate position indicative touch surfaces, wherein each approximate position indicative touch surface's dimensions along the first and second axes respectively are less than L and K respectively, and wherein said plurality of approximate position indicative touch surfaces are respectively uniquely connected to a respective plurality of approximate position indicative capacitive sensors;
- and
- b. A response analyzer operative to identify an approximate location of each touch along both of said axes, based on at least one response obtained from at least one of said approximate position indicative touch surfaces, to refine at least one component, along at least one of said first and second axes, of said approximate location using at least one response obtained from said at least one row touch surface, and to output a refined location for said touch along both of said axes, accordingly.
A multi-touch method for detecting simultaneous multiple touches of a touch panel, the method including:
- providing a surface-capacitance-based touch panel configured and operative to support multi-touch applications;
- and
- using the surface-capacitance touch panel to serve a multi-touch application,
- wherein said touch panel serves at least one multi-touch application having an application-specific required resolution and wherein said using includes:
- localizing a touch, along x and y axes, at a resolution less than said application-specific required resolution, thereby to provide approximate x and y touch coordinates;
- and
- refining said approximate x and y touch coordinates along at least one of said x and y axes to a resolution which satisfies said application-specific required resolution.
A computer program product, comprising a computer usable medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for:
- detecting simultaneous multiple touches of a touch panel,
- the method including:
- providing a surface-capacitance-based touch panel configured and operative to support multi-touch applications;
- and
- using the surface-capacitance touch panel to serve a multi-touch application.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.