Touch operation detection apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9891752-B2
Application number	US-201514920417-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 22, 2015
Priority date	Dec 11, 2014
Publication date	Feb 13, 2018
Grant date	Feb 13, 2018

Abstract

A touch operation detection apparatus includes a touch pad that has an operation surface touchable by an operator's body, and has a plurality of electrostatic sensors incorporated therein each of which detects electrostatic capacitance that is variable according to a touch on the operation surface; a number-of-touched-point determination part that determines whether the number of touched points at which touches are made on the operation surface of the touch pad is greater than or equal to 2 based on signals from the electrostatic sensors; and a sensitivity adjustment execution part that executes a sensitivity adjustment concerning the touch against the operation surface of the touch pad when the number-of-touched-point determination part determines that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A touch operation detection apparatus comprising:
a touch pad that has an operation surface touchable by an operator's body, and has a plurality of electrostatic sensors incorporated therein each of which detects electrostatic capacitance that is variable according to a touch on the operation surface;
a number-of-touched-point determination part that determines whether the number of touched points at which touches are made on the operation surface of the touch pad is greater than or equal to 2 based on signals from the electrostatic sensors; and
a sensitivity adjustment execution part that executes a sensitivity adjustment concerning the touch against the operation surface of the touch pad, wherein
when a state where the number-of-touched-point determination part is determining that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2 continues for a time greater than or equal to a first predetermined time, and, within a second predetermined time longer than the first predetermined time, the number-of-touched-point determination part determines that no touch is made on the operation surface, the sensitivity adjustment execution part executes the sensitivity adjustment in a current execution of a control routine, and
when the state where the number-of-touched-point determination part is determining that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2 continues for a time greater than or equal to the first predetermined time, but the number-of-touched-point determination part does not determine that no touch is made on the operation surface within the second predetermined time, the sensitivity adjustment execution part ends the current execution of the control routine without executing the sensitivity adjustment.

2. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the sensitivity adjustment execution part executes the sensitivity adjustment based on the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by the electrostatic sensors when the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2.

3. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein
the sensitivity adjustment execution part executes the sensitivity adjustment of changing an electrostatic capacitance threshold to be used to determine whether the touch is being made on the operation surface of the touch pad.

4. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein
the touch operation detection apparatus determines that a human being is touching the touch pad, when the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors exceeds the electrostatic capacitance threshold, and the minimum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors exceeds zero and is less than the electrostatic capacitance threshold.

5. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 4 , wherein
the sensitivity adjustment execution part does not execute the sensitivity adjustment when a difference between the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors when the number-of-touched-point determination part determines that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2 and the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors when no touch is made on the operation surface of the touch pad is less than a predetermined value.

6. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein
the sensitivity adjustment execution part does not execute the sensitivity adjustment when a difference between the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors when the number-of-touched-point determination part determines that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2 and the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors when no touch is made on the operation surface of the touch pad is less than a predetermined value.

7. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein
when the state where the number-of-touched-point determination part is determining that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2 continues for a time greater than or equal to the first predetermined time under the condition where touched positions on the operation surface do not change, and, within the second predetermined time, the number-of-touched-point determination part determines that no touch is made on the operation surface, the sensitivity adjustment execution part executes the sensitivity adjustment in the current execution of the control routine.

8. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein
the sensitivity adjustment execution part does not execute the sensitivity adjustment when a difference between the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors when the number-of-touched-point determination part determines that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2 and the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors when no touch is made on the operation surface of the touch pad is less than a predetermined value.

9. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 2 , wherein
when the state where the number-of-touched-point determination part is determining that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2 continues for a time greater than or equal to the first predetermined time under the condition where touched positions on the operation surface do not change, and, within the second predetermined time, the number-of-touched-point determination part determines that no touch is made on the operation surface, the sensitivity adjustment execution part executes the sensitivity adjustment in the current execution of the control routine.

10. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein
the sensitivity adjustment execution part executes the sensitivity adjustment of changing an electrostatic capacitance threshold to be used to determine whether the touch is being made on the operation surface of the touch pad.

11. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein
the touch operation detection apparatus determines that a human being is touching the touch pad, when the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors exceeds the electrostatic capacitance threshold, and the minimum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors exceeds zero and is less than the electrostatic capacitance threshold.

12. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein
the sensitivity adjustment execution part does not execute the sensitivity adjustment when a difference between the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors when the number-of-touched-point determination part determines that the number of touched points is greater than or equal to 2 and the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances detected by using the electrostatic sensors when no touch is made on the operation surface of the touch pad is less than a predetermined value.

13. The touch operation detection apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein
the sensitivity adjustment execution part does not execute the sensitivity adjustment when a difference between the maximum value of the electrostatic capacitances de

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kakinuma Shoji

Classifications

• G06F3/044 Primary

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F2203/04808

  Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen · CPC title

• G06F2203/04104

  Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger · CPC title

• G06F3/0488

  using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures · CPC title

• G06F3/0418 Primary

  for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment · CPC title