Touch screen controller for determining relationship between a user's hand and a housing of an electronic device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12517604-B2
Application number	US-202217859576-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 7, 2022
Priority date	Apr 26, 2016
Publication date	Jan 6, 2026
Grant date	Jan 6, 2026

Abstract

An electronic device includes a touch screen for a touch sensitive display carried by a portable housing. The electronic device is configured to operate in a high detection threshold mode to determine whether an object is in contact with the touch sensitive display, and operate in a low detection threshold mode to determine whether the object is adjacent to the touch sensitive display, based on lack of detection of the object being in contact with the touch sensitive display. The electronic device is further configured to determine whether the object s in contact with a peripheral edge of the portable housing by determining whether the object is adjacent opposite sides of the touch sensitive display, based on detection of the object being adjacent to the touch sensitive display.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An electronic device, comprising:
a touch screen controller for a touch sensitive display carried by a portable housing configured to:
operate in a high detection threshold mode to determine whether an object is in contact with the touch sensitive display;
wherein, when operating in the high detection threshold mode, the touch screen controller drives each force line of the touch sensitive display;
operate in a low detection threshold mode to determine whether the object is adjacent to the touch sensitive display, based on lack of detection of the object being in contact with the touch sensitive display;
wherein, when operating in the low detection threshold mode, the touch screen controller drives a subset of the force lines of the touch sensitive display and scans each sense line of the touch sensitive display; and
determine whether the object is in contact with a peripheral edge of the portable housing based on determination of the object being adjacent to the touch sensitive display;
wherein the touch screen controller determines that the object is hovering above the touch sensitive display based on detection of the object being adjacent to the touch sensitive display but not being adjacent to first and second opposing sides of the touch sensitive display; wherein the touch screen controller determines whether the object is adjacent to the touch sensitive display by at least one of:
scanning a first plurality of adjacent sense lines for a first side of the touch sensitive display and determining that the object is adjacent the first side as a function of a difference between strength values for each sense line of the first plurality of adjacent sense lines being greater than a threshold; and
scanning a second plurality of adjacent sense lines for a second side of the touch sensitive display opposite to the first side and determining that the object is adjacent the second side as a function of a difference between strength values for each sense line of the second plurality of adjacent sense lines being greater than the threshold.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the subset of the force lines of the touch sensitive display includes force lines located toward at least one side of the touch sensitive display and not force lines located toward a center of the touch sensitive display.

3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the subset of the force lines of the touch sensitive display includes a pair of force lines adjacent sides of the touch sensitive display and excludes other force lines of the touch sensitive display.

4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch screen controller determines whether the object is adjacent to the touch sensitive display by:
determining whether the object is adjacent to the first side of the touch sensitive display and then determining whether the object is adjacent to the second side of the touch sensitive display opposite from the first side; or simultaneously determining whether the object is adjacent to first and second opposing sides of the touch sensitive display.

5 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch screen controller determines that the object is hovering above the touch sensitive display by determining that the difference between strength values for each sense line of the first plurality of adjacent sense lines is less than the threshold or by determining that the difference between strength values for each sense line of the second plurality of adjacent sense lines is less than the threshold.

6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch screen controller determines whether the object is adjacent to the touch sensitive display by at least one of:
driving a first plurality of adjacent force lines for the first side of the touch sensitive display and determining that the object is adjacent the first side as a function of a difference between strength values for sense lines of the touch sensitive display intersecting different ones of the first plurality of adjacent force lines being greater than a threshold; and driving a second plurality of adjacent force lines for the second side of the touch sensitive display opposite to the first side and determining that the object is adjacent the second side as a function of a difference between strength values for sense lines of the touch sensitive display intersecting different ones of the second plurality of adjacent force lines being greater than the threshold.

7 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch screen controller determines whether the object is adjacent to the touch sensitive display by at least one of:
scanning first and second adjacent sense lines for the first side of the touch sensitive display and determining that the object is adjacent the first side as a function a strength value for the first sense line for the first side being greater than a first threshold and a strength value for the second sense line for the first side being less than a second threshold, the second threshold being less than the first threshold; and scanning first and second adjacent sense lines for the second side of the touch sensitive display opposite to the first side and determining that the object is adjacent the second side as a function of a strength value for the first sense line for the second side being greater than the first threshold and a strength value for the second sense line for the second side being less than the second threshold.

8 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch screen controller determines whether the object is adjacent to the touch sensitive display by at least one of:
driving first and second adjacent force lines for the first side of the touch sensitive display and determining that the object is adjacent the first side as a function of strength values for sense lines of the touch sensitive display intersecting the first force line for the first side being greater than a first threshold and strength values for sense lines of the touch sensitive display intersecting the second force line for the first side being less than a second threshold, the second threshold being less than the first threshold; and driving first and second adjacent force lines for the second side of the touch sensitive display opposite to the first side and determining that the object is adjacent the second side as a function of a strength value for each sense line intersecting the first force line for the second side being greater than the first threshold and a strength value for each sense line intersecting the second force line for the second side being less than the second threshold.

9 . The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the first threshold is predetermined; and wherein the second threshold is defined as a predetermined percentage of a maximum possible strength value for the first sense line for the first side.

10 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch screen controller determines whether the object is adjacent to the touch sensitive display by:
first determining whether the object is adjacent to the first side of the touch sensitive display, and then determining whether the object is adjacent to the second side of the touch sensitive display opposite to the first side; or simultaneously determining whether the object is adjacent to the first side of the touch sensitive display and whether the object is adjacent to the second side of the touch sensitive display opposite to the first side.

11 . An electronic device, comprising:
a touch screen controller for a touch sensitive display carried by a portable housing configured to:
operate in a hig

Assignees

• St Microelectronics Asia Pacific Pte Ltd
• Stmicroelectronics Beijing R&D Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kang Tae-Gil
• Yin Hang
• La Cam Chung

Classifications

• G06F3/0446

  using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes · CPC title

• G06F3/04166

  Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving (Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184) · CPC title

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F3/0416 Primary

  Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers · CPC title

• G06F2203/04108

  Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction · CPC title