Electronic device and coordinate detection method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9594407-B2
Application number	US-201414196980-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2014
Priority date	Apr 26, 2013
Publication date	Mar 14, 2017
Grant date	Mar 14, 2017

Abstract

An electronic device includes a housing, a planar display section, a planar transparent member, a touch panel layer which detects two-dimensional coordinates of an indicator having a predetermined conductivity along a surface of the display section and a vertical distance to the indicator, and an acceleration detection section which detects at least one of an acceleration of the housing and an acceleration of the transparent member. The two-dimensional coordinates are determined as effective coordinates when the vertical distance is equal to or smaller than a first value. The two-dimensional coordinates are determined as the effective coordinates when the vertical distance is more than the first value and is equal to or smaller than a second value more than the first value, and the acceleration detection section detects a predetermined acceleration.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
a housing;
a planar display disposed in the housing;
a planar transparent member disposed so as to overlap the display, and having a part exposed from the housing;
a touch panel layer disposed so as to overlap the display and detect two-dimensional coordinates of an indicator along a surface of the display and a vertical distance between the indicator and the surface of the display;
an acceleration detector that detects at least one of a first acceleration of the housing and/or the transparent member and a second acceleration of the housing and/or the transparent member, the second acceleration having a higher frequency than the first acceleration;
a depression detection section configured to detect a predetermined warp of the transparent member, and
a controller that determines, when the vertical distance is more than a first value and is equal to or smaller than a second value more than the first value:
(a) a touch operation is performed on the two-dimensional coordinates when at least one of the first acceleration, the second acceleration and a predetermined warp is detected, and
(b) a type of the indicator is a first type when at least one of the first acceleration and the predetermined warp is detected, and is a second type different from the first type when the second acceleration is detected.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller further determines the touch operation is performed on the two-dimensional coordinates, by the indicator of a third type different from both of the first type and the second type, when the vertical distance is equal to or smaller than the first value and at least one of the first acceleration and the predetermined warp is detected.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the display indicates the touch operation is performed, when the controller determines the touch operation is performed.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the first value is 0.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the transparent member and the touch panel layer are integrated into one piece.

6. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the display has a shape of a quadrangle, and the depression detection section is disposed along at least a side of the quadrangle.

7. The electronic device according to claim 6 , wherein
the display has a shape of a rectangle, and
the depression detection section is disposed along at least one of short sides of the rectangle.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7 , wherein
a home key is provided on a side of a predetermined short side of the rectangle, and
the depression detection section is disposed along the predetermined short side.

9. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the depression detection section is disposed so as to overlap the touch panel layer.

10. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the depression detection section is disposed on the transparent member.

11. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the depression detection section is disposed on the touch panel layer.

12. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the depression detection section is disposed on the display.

13. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein
the transparent member is a first transparent member,
the display includes a planar second transparent member and a third transparent member disposed so as to overlap the planar second transparent member,
the planar second transparent member is disposed at a position closer to the touch panel layer than the third transparent member,
a part of the third transparent member protrudes outward from the planar second transparent member at an end of the display, and
the depression detection section is disposed on a part of at least one of the transparent member and the touch panel layer corresponding to the protruding part of the third transparent member.

14. The electronic device according to claim 13 , wherein the second transparent member and the third transparent member constitute a liquid crystal display section or an organic EL display section.

15. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the display and the transparent member are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.

16. A coordinate detection method usable in an electronic device including a housing, a planar display disposed in the housing, a planar transparent member disposed so as to overlap the display, a touch panel layer disposed so as to overlap the display and detect two-dimensional coordinates of an indicator along a surface of the display and a vertical distance to the indicator from the surface of the display, an acceleration detector that detects at least one of a first acceleration of the housing and/or the transparent member and a second acceleration of the housing and/or the transparent member and a depression detection section configured to detect a predetermined warp of the transparent member, the coordinate detection method comprising:
determining a touch operation is performed, when the vertical distance is more than a first value and is equal to or smaller than a second value more than the first value and one of the first acceleration, the second acceleration and the predetermined warp is detected, the second acceleration having a higher frequency than the first acceleration; and
determining a type of indicator is a first type when at least one of the first acceleration and the predetermined warp is detected and is a second type different from the first type when the second acceleration is detected.

17. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the display further changes contents to be displayed, according to which of the first acceleration, the second acceleration and the predetermined warp is detected.

18. The electronic device according to claim 1 , wherein the display further displays the type of the indicator, according to which of the first acceleration, the second acceleration and the predetermined warp is detected.

19. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the type of the indicator of a first type is a glove and the type of indicator of the second type is a nail.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein the type of the indicator of a first type is a glove and the type of indicator of a second type is a nail.

Assignees

• Panasonic Ip Corp America

Inventors

• Takano Tomoki
• Yamaguchi Takeshi

Classifications

• G06F3/044

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F2203/04101

  2.5D-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 and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup · CPC title

• G06F1/1694 Primary

  the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer · CPC title

• G06F3/0416

  Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers · CPC title

• G06F3/0443

  using a single layer of sensing electrodes · CPC title