Detailed Description
Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a capacitive touch device according to an embodiment of the invention. Thecapacitive touch device 1 includes acontrol chip 100 and atouch panel 13; preferably, thecapacitive touch device 1 can be detected by using a self-capacitance detection mode (self-capacitance mode). In some embodiments, thecapacitive touch device 1 can detect a proximity object and determine a touch position by using a self capacitive detection mode and a mutual capacitive detection mode (mutual capacitive mode) in a time-sharing manner. For example, in some embodiments, since the scanning period of the self-capacitance detection mode is short, thecapacitive touch device 1 may first identify whether an object is approaching by using the self-capacitance detection mode, and then identify a touch position by using the mutual capacitance detection mode when it is determined that an object is approaching; in other embodiments, thecapacitive touch device 1 may first determine a rough position (rough position) of an approaching object and determine a desired detection range (WOI) by using the self-capacitance detection mode, and then identify a precise position (fine position) in the desired detection range by using the mutual capacitance detection mode, so as to reduce the amount of data required to be processed in the mutual capacitance detection mode. It should be noted that the above embodiments of the self-capacitance detection mode and the mutual capacitance detection mode are only used for illustration, but not for limiting the invention.
Thetouch panel 13 includes a plurality of detectingelectrodes 131 for forming self-inductance capacitors C respectivelys(ii) a The detectingelectrode 131 includes a plurality of driving electrodes and a plurality of receiving electrodes extending in different directions, such as perpendicular to each other, and a mutual inductance capacitance C can be formed between the driving electrodes and the receiving electrodesm(see FIGS. 2 and 3). Capacitor with a capacitor elementThe principle of forming the self-inductance capacitor and the mutual-inductance capacitor in the touch panel is known and is not the subject of the description of the present invention, and therefore, the description thereof is omitted.
Thecontrol chip 100 includes a plurality of drivingcircuits 11 and a plurality of detecting capacitors CinAnd asimulation circuit 150; thesimulation circuit 15 is used to simulate the circuit characteristics of the detection circuit in the self-contained detection mode (for example, detailed later). In the self-capacitance detection mode, the drivingcircuit 11 and the detection capacitor CinA signal input terminal electrically coupled to thedetection electrode 131 through a pin (pin). The drivingcircuit 11 is configured to output a driving signal Sd, such as a sine wave, a cosine wave, a square wave, etc., to the detectingelectrode 131. In the mutual capacitance detection mode, only the drivingcircuit 11 corresponding to the driving electrode outputs the driving signal Sd, and the drivingcircuit 11 corresponding to the receiving electrode is opened.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a capacitive touch device according to an embodiment of the invention. As described above, thecapacitive touch device 1 includes thetouch panel 13 and thecontrol chip 100. Thecontrol chip 100 includes a plurality of drivingcircuits 11 and a plurality of detecting capacitors CinAn analogfront end 15 and a digitalback end 16; thedigital backend 16 is not a subject of the description of the present invention, and therefore, is not described herein again. In the present invention, the drivingcircuit 11 can pass through the detection capacitor CinA signal input terminal electrically coupled to the detecting electrode 131 (e.g. in a self-capacitance detecting mode), or the detecting capacitor C can be bypassed (bypass)inA signal input terminal electrically coupled to the detection electrode 131 (e.g., in a mutual capacitance detection mode); wherein, a plurality of change-over switches SW can be arranged1Between the drivingcircuit 11 and thetouch panel 13.
The analogfront end 15 includes anemulation circuit 150, a plurality ofprogrammable filters 151, a subtraction circuit 52, again circuit 153, and an anti-noise filter (AAF) 154. Theprogrammable filter 151 and the detection capacitor CinAnd a self-inductance capacitance C of thedetection electrode 131sForming a first filter circuit; wherein the first filter circuit is, for example, a band-pass filter (BPF) or a high-pass filter (b:)HPF), the first filter circuit may further form a band pass filter having a predetermined bandwidth with the low pass filter formed by theanti-noise filter 154. In one embodiment, the signal output terminal of eachdetection electrode 131 is connected (e.g., via a switch element) to theprogrammable filter 151. It should be noted that although FIGS. 2 and 3 only show the laterally disposed detectingelectrodes 131 connected to theprogrammable filter 151, in other embodiments, theprogrammable filter 151 is also connected to the longitudinally disposed detectingelectrodes 131, and is not limited to that shown in FIGS. 2-3. The connection manner of theprogrammable filter 151 may be determined according to the operation mode of thecapacitive touch device 1.
Thesimulation circuit 150 forms a second filter circuit and is configured to output a reference signal Sref(ii) a The second filter circuit is, for example, a band-pass filter circuit or a high-pass filter circuit, and the second filter circuit may further form a band-pass filter with a predetermined bandwidth with the low-pass filter formed by theanti-noise filter 154. Thesubtraction circuit 152 is coupled to thesimulation circuit 150 for passing through the switch SW in the self-capacitance detection mode2Theprogrammable filter 151 is electrically coupled to the detectingelectrode 131. Thesubtraction circuit 152 is used for subtracting the reference signal S output by thesimulation circuit 150refThe detection signal S outputted from theprogrammable filter 151 coupled theretoo1Performing a differential operation to output a differential detection signal Sdiff. More particularly, in the present specification, the detection capacitor CinBy a plurality of change-over switches (e.g. SW)1) Are electrically coupled to the signal input terminals of the detectingelectrodes 131 respectively, and the subtractingcircuit 152 is connected to the detecting electrodes through a plurality of switches (e.g. SW)2) Are electrically coupled to theprogrammable filter 151 and the detectingelectrode 131, respectively.
In the present specification, the detection capacitor CinDisposed in thecontrol chip 100 for connecting with a self-inductance capacitor CsA partial pressure is formed. Thereby, thecapacitive touch device 1 can detect the signal S according to the differencediffA peak-to-peak value (peak-to-peak values) change of (a) determines a contact event; wherein the differential detection signal SdiffIs a time continuous signal; wherein the differential detection signal S is used before the touch event is determineddiffMay be further filtered, digitized, etc. For example, FIG. 2 shows a touch differential sense signal SContact withAnd no-contact differential detection signal SIs not in contact with. However, due to the self-inductance capacitance CsUsually quite large, so that a large sensing capacitor C is required to achieve effective voltage divisioninTherefore, a relative installation space is required in the wafer, and the overall size of thecontrol wafer 100 cannot be reduced.
Therefore, in the present description, theemulation circuit 150 is configured to simulate the detection line (e.g., from the drivingcircuit 11 through the detection capacitor C)inThe detectingelectrode 131 and the programmable filter 151) to output the reference signal SrefAs the detection signal So1The erase value of (2) is shown in FIG. 4A. By deriving from said detection signal So1Subtracting the elimination value to reduce the DC signal level, the detection capacitor C can be reducedinThe value of (c). For example, the detection capacitor CinIs preferably smaller than the self-inductance capacitance Cs10% of the capacitance value of (c). Therefore, the overall size of thecontrol wafer 100 can be effectively reduced.
In order to contact the differential detection signal SContact withAnd the untouched differential detection signal SIs not in contact withThe difference between the signals is more obvious, and in some embodiments, thegain circuit 153 may be used to amplify the differential detection signal Sdiff(ii) a The gain value (gain) of thegain circuit 153 may be determined according to an analysis range of an analog-to-digital conversion unit (ADC) in the digitalback end 16, and is not particularly limited. As shown in fig. 2, the contact differential detection signal S is included in the output signal (i.e., the amplified differential detection signal) of thegain circuit 153Contact withAnd the untouched differential detection signal SIs not in contact withThe difference therebetween is increased, and thus whether a contact event occurs can be more easily recognized. Theanti-noise filter 154 is then used to filter the amplified differential detection signal, as described above154 is for example a low pass filter.
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating another block diagram of a capacitive touch device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 also shows an implementation of thesimulation circuit 150 and theprogrammable filter 151.
In some embodiments, theprogrammable filter 151 includes an input resistor RinAnd an amplifyingcircuit 15A; wherein the detection capacitor CinThe self-inductance capacitor CsThe input resistor RinAnd the amplifyingcircuit 15A forms a first filter circuit and the emulatingcircuit 150 forms a second filter circuit. As mentioned above, the subtractingcircuit 152 is used to output the detection signal S from the first filtering circuito1And a reference signal S output by the second filter circuitrefPerforming a differential operation to output a differential detection signal SdiffReferring to FIGS. 4A-4B; wherein, FIG. 4B is the detection signal S of FIG. 4Ao1And a reference signal SrefIs detected as a differential detection signal SdiffThe waveform of (2).
In one embodiment, theamplifier circuit 15A is an Integral Programmable Gain Amplifier (IPGA). For example, the amplifyingcircuit 15A includes an operational amplifier OP, a feedback resistor Rf, and a compensation capacitor Cf. The feedback resistor Rf and the compensation capacitor Cf are bridged between the negative input end and the output end of the operational amplifier OP, and the input resistor RinA second terminal (i.e. a signal output terminal) of the detectingelectrode 131 is coupled to the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier OP, and a first terminal (i.e. a signal input terminal) of the detectingelectrode 131 is coupled to the detecting capacitor Cin. In this embodiment, the frequency response of the first filter circuit can be expressed by equation (1) and Bode plot (Bode diagram) of fig. 6, and the first filter circuit has two poles (pole) and zero (zero) at 0
(Vout/Vin)=-(Rf/Rin)×(s·Cin·Rin)/(1+s·Rf·Cf)×(1+s·Rin·Cs+s·Rin·Cin) (1)
As described above, since the output of thesimulation circuit 150 is the output of the simulation circuitThe cancellation value of the first filter circuit, the frequency response of theemulation circuit 150 is preferably similar to the first filter circuit, i.e., the frequency response of theemulation circuit 150 is determined according to the frequency response of the first filter circuit. In some embodiments, the two frequency responses are similar, including, but not limited to, two poles of thesimulation circuit 150 being close to two poles of the first filter circuit. For example, two poles of thesimulation circuit 150 can be determined according to two poles of the first filter circuit, and only the pole frequency needs to be considered since the zero has no effect. For example, the frequency difference between the pole frequency (pole frequency) of two poles of thesimulation circuit 150 and the corresponding pole of the second filter circuit is designed to be lower than 35%, preferably lower than 20%, of the pole frequency. Although theoretically, the two poles of thesimulation circuit 150 are as close as possible to the two poles of the first filter circuit, in practice, the self-inductance capacitance C of eachdetection electrode 131 is considered to be the samesIt is not easily known in advance with precision, and therefore thesimulation circuit 150 is designed in an estimated manner.
In one embodiment, thesimulation circuit 150 includes an analog detection capacitor Cref_inAnalog self-inductance capacitor Cref_sAnalog input resistor Rref_inAnd ananalog amplifier circuit 15B, and the analog detection capacitor Cref_inThe analog self-inductance capacitor Cref_sThe analog input resistor Rref_inThe connection mode with theanalog amplifying circuit 15B is the same as that of the detection capacitor CinThe self-inductance capacitor CsThe input resistor RinConnected to theamplifier circuit 15A in such a way as to obtain a similar frequency response. That is, the analog self-inductance capacitance Cref_sSelf-inductance capacitance C for simulatingdetection electrode 131sThe analog detection capacitor Cref_inCorresponding analog detection capacitor CinThe analog input resistor Rref_inCorresponding input resistance RinTheanalog amplifier circuit 15B corresponds to theamplifier circuit 15A. It has to be noted that the circuit parameters (pole RC values) of thesimulation circuit 150 may not be exactly the same as the circuit parameters of the first filter circuit, as long as thesimulation circuitThe circuit 150 has a similar frequency response to the first filter circuit and is capable of reducing the detection capacitance CsThat is, there is no particular limitation.
Theanalog amplifying circuit 15B also includes an operational amplifier OP', an analog feedback resistor Rref_fAnd an analog compensation capacitor Cref_f(ii) a The connection of the elements in theanalog amplifier circuit 15B is the same as that of theamplifier circuit 15A. Therefore, the second filter circuit formed by thesimulation circuit 150 also has a frequency response similar to that of equation (1) and fig. 6, except that all the device parameters in thesimulation circuit 150 are designed in advance. Therefore, the positions of the two extreme values can be adjusted by changing the parameters of the elements in thesimulation circuit 150, i.e., the resistance and the capacitance.
Referring to fig. 5, a flowchart illustrating an operating method of a capacitive touch device according to an embodiment of the invention includes a self-capacitance detection mode (step S)51) And mutual capacitance detection mode (step S)52). In this embodiment, the self-capacitance detection mode and the mutual capacitance detection mode operate in a time-sharing manner, for example, the self-capacitance detection mode is used to determine an approaching object and/or a to-be-detected area (WOI), and then the mutual capacitance detection mode is used to determine a touch position and/or a gesture.
In the self-capacitance detection mode, the drivingcircuit 11 passes through the detection capacitor CinAre respectively electrically coupled to the first ends of the drivingelectrodes 131, and the subtractingcircuit 152 is sequentially electrically coupled to the second ends of the drivingelectrodes 131. Meanwhile, thesubtraction circuit 152 receives the reference signal S output by thesimulation circuit 150refThe subtractingcircuit 152 is electrically coupled to the second end of the drivingelectrode 131 through theprogrammable filter 151, so that the subtractingcircuit 152 can output the detecting signal S outputted by theprogrammable filter 151o1And the reference signal S output by thesimulation circuit 150refPerforming a differential operation to output a differential detection signal SdiffAs shown in fig. 4A and 4B. Then, thegain circuit 153 can be used to amplify the differential detection signal SdiffSo as to contact the differential detection signal SContact withAnd the untouched differential detection signal SIs not in contact withThe difference between them is more pronounced as shown in fig. 2. In addition, in one embodiment, only the detection signals output by the plurality of driving electrodes or the plurality of receiving electrodes are detected to determine whether a contact event occurs, so that the operation can be performed in a shorter scanning period.
In another embodiment, the detection signals output by the plurality of driving electrodes and the plurality of receiving electrodes can be detected to substantially identify a desired detection area (WOI) in a mutual capacitance detection mode. Therefore, in the self-capacitance detection mode, the drivingcircuit 11 is also driven by the detection capacitor CinAre respectively electrically coupled to a first terminal (i.e., a signal input terminal) of the receivingelectrode 131, and the subtractingcircuit 152 is sequentially electrically coupled to a second terminal (i.e., a signal output terminal) of the receivingelectrode 131. The range to be detected can be determined by judging the driving electrode and the receiving electrode which sense the approaching object. As described above, in the present specification, the driving electrode and the receiving electrode belong to the detectingelectrode 131 for generating the mutual inductance capacitance C therebetweenm。
In the mutual capacitance detection mode, the drivingcircuit 11 does not pass through the detection capacitor CinAre electrically coupled to the first ends of the drivingelectrodes 131, respectively; for example, in FIGS. 2-3, thedrive circuit 11 utilizes a switch SW1Bypass (bypass) the detection capacitor CinTo directly drive the signal SdTo thedetection electrode 131. Furthermore, theanti-noise filter 154 is not electrically coupled to the second end of the drivingelectrode 131 through thesubtraction circuit 152 in turn, for example, as in fig. 2-3, theanti-noise filter 154 utilizes another switch SW2The subtracting circuit 152 (and the gain circuit 153) are bypassed so that the detecting signal S outputted from theprogrammable filter 151o1Directly to theanti-noise filter 154. The filter parameters of theanti-noise filter 154 may be determined according to the actual application, and are not particularly limited.
In the self-capacitance detection mode, the signal transmitted to the detection line does not pass through the resistance and the capacitance of the panel, so the reference line (C) is usedI.e., an emulation circuit) and the detection line, so that the reference signal S is not significantrefCan be used as a cancellation value in subtracting the detected signal.
It should be noted that although the contactless differential detection signal S is shown in fig. 2Is not in contact withIs greater than the contact differential detection signal SContact withThe amplitude (or peak to peak) of the signal is merely illustrative and not limiting. The contact differential detection signal S is set according to the parameter (i.e., RC value) of thesimulation circuit 150Contact withMay be larger than the untouched differential detection signal SIs not in contact with。
It should be noted that although the detection signal S is shown in FIG. 4Ao1Is greater than the reference signal SrefThe amplitude (or peak to peak) of the signal is merely illustrative and not limiting. According to the parameter setting (i.e. RC value) of thesimulation circuit 150, the reference signal SrefMay also be larger than the detection signal So1The amplitude of (d).
In other embodiments, the circuit parameters of thesimulation circuit 150 are changed to wake up the sleep mode of thecapacitive touch device 1. In this sleep mode, most of the touch detection is performed by the analogfront end 15, which reduces the amount of complex post-processing operations of the digitalback end 16 and thus reduces overall power consumption.
Fig. 7 is a block diagram of acapacitive touch device 1 according to another embodiment of the invention. The analogfront end 15 of the present embodiment further includes a mechanism for waking up thecapacitive touch device 1 operating in the sleep mode. In other words, thecapacitive touch device 1 of fig. 7 can be combined with fig. 3, for example, the analogfront end 15 further includes a multiplexer or a switch (for example, switched between thesubtraction circuit 152 and thegain circuit 153 and the detection circuit 155) to switch to the circuit connection of fig. 7 in a sleep mode and to switch to the circuit connection of fig. 3 in a normal mode (non-sleep mode), for example, a mode for calculating touch positions and/or gestures, and the sleep mode for example, a mode for not calculating touch positions and gestures. Thus, after detecting a touch event using FIG. 7, the operations of FIGS. 2-3 and 5 can be performed.
As described above, thecapacitive touch device 1 includes thetouch panel 13, the driving terminal and the detecting terminal. The detection end includes an analogfront end 15 and a digitalback end 16. A drivingcircuit 11 and a plurality of switches SW included in the driving end1And a detection capacitor CinThe contents of the detectingelectrodes 131 included in thetouch panel 13 and the digitalback end 16 have been described in the previous embodiments. For example, thetouch panel 13 can be operated in a self-capacitance detection mode or a mutual-capacitance detection mode. The detection capacitor CinA switch SW for coupling to the signal input terminal of the detectingelectrode 131 in the self-capacitance detection mode and for being switched from the signal input terminal of the detectingelectrode 131 in the mutual-capacitance detection mode1Bypassing thedetection electrode 131 without being connected thereto.
The analogfront end 15 comprises a plurality of input resistors RinA plurality ofamplification circuits 15A (see fig. 3), a simulation circuit 150', asubtraction circuit 152, adetection circuit 155, and aphase reference circuit 156; wherein thedetection circuit 155 is a phase detection circuit. As mentioned above, the driving terminal and the detecting terminal are disposed in thecontrol chip 100.
As mentioned above, the plurality of input resistors RinRespectively coupled to the signal output terminals of the detectingelectrodes 131. The plurality of amplifyingcircuits 15A pass through the plurality of input resistors RinCoupled to thedetection electrode 131 and configured to output a detection signal So1. When the conductor contacts or approaches thetouch panel 13, the detection signal S is generatedo1A change occurs. For example, fig. 7 shows that when the detectingelectrode 131 is not in inductive contact, the amplifyingcircuit 15A outputs the first detecting signal So11(ii) a When the detectingelectrode 131 is touched, the amplifyingcircuit 15A outputs the second detecting signal So12. In the description of the present invention, the signal S is detected unless otherwise specifiedo1May be the first detection signal So11And a second detection signal So12One of them. As mentioned before, the first detection signal S depends on the applicationo11And a second detection signal So12The size values of (a) may be interchanged.
This embodiment and the previous oneOne difference of the embodiments is the reference signal S output by the simulation circuit 150' of FIG. 7ref' reference signal S output bysimulation circuit 150 different from FIG. 2ref. In the former embodiment, the reference signal S output by thesimulation circuit 150refTo approximate the detection signal S as closely as possibleo1(ii) a In this embodiment, the reference signal S outputted by the simulation circuit 150ref' is interposed between the first detection signal So11And the second detection signal So12As shown in fig. 7.
The subtractingcircuit 152 is also used to calculate the detection signal So1(may be the first detection signal So11Or the second detection signal So12Determined by whether there is a conductor approaching the touch panel 13) and the reference signal Sref' to output a differential detection signal Sdiff。
For example, thesubtraction circuit 152 is directed to the reference signal Sref' with said first detection signal So11Performing a differential operation to generate a first differential detection signal Sdiff1=So11-Sref' (as shown in FIG. 7) and with respect to the reference signal Sref' with said second detection signal So12Performing a differential operation to generate a second differential detection signal Sdiff2=So12-Sref' (as shown in FIG. 7). According to a reference signal Sref' the first differential detection signal Sdiff1And the second differential detection signal Sdiff2With a phase difference of 180 degrees or referred to as reverse. The present embodiment uses the phase difference to identify whether a touch event occurs on thetouch panel 13.
In one embodiment, the simulation circuit 150' of FIG. 8A is similar to that of FIG. 3, and includes an analog detection capacitor Cref_inAnalog self-inductance capacitor Cref_sAnalog input resistor Rref_inAnd ananalog amplifier circuit 15B. In addition, the simulation circuit 150' of the present embodiment further includes an analog mutual inductance capacitor Cref_mThe analog mutual inductance capacitor Cref_mFor simulating mutual inductance capacitance C between thedetection electrodes 131 of thetouch panel 13m。
In addition, such asAs shown in FIG. 8A, the simulation circuit 150' of the present embodiment further includes a switch SWref_1、SWref_2And SWref_3To cooperate with thetouch panel 13 to operate in a self-capacitance detection mode or a mutual-capacitance detection mode.
In the self-contained test mode, the switch SW is switchedref_2Bypass analog mutual inductance capacitor Cref_mAnd a change-over switch SWref_1And SWref_3Conducted to connect with the analog detection capacitor Cref_inAnd an analog self-inductance capacitor Cref_sTo form thesimulation circuit 150 of fig. 3. That is, the simulation circuit 150' detects the capacitance C according to the simulation in the self-capacitance detection moderef_inThe analog self-inductance capacitor Cref_sThe analog input resistor Rref_inAnd theanalog amplifying circuit 15B outputs a first reference signal (or a self-contained reference signal).
However, in order to make the waveform of the first reference signal intervene in the first detection signal So11(also detected in the self-contained detection mode) and the second detection signal So12(also detected in the self-capacitance detection mode), the analog self-inductance capacitance Cref_sCan be based on the detection signal S caused by contacto1Is selected. In one embodiment, the analog self-inductance capacitor Cref_sA self-inductance capacitance C selected as thedetection electrode 131 of thetouch panel 13S0.92 to 0.98 times, since the detection signal S caused by contact in generalo1The amount of change in (c) is about 10%. It can be understood that the detection signal S is caused when the touch is madeo1The range of multiples may be adjusted when the amount of change in (c) is different.
Thesubtraction circuit 152 is for the detection signal S in the self-capacitance detection modeo1Performs a differential operation with the first reference signal to generate a differential detection signal Sdiff。
In the mutual capacitance detection mode, the switch SW is switchedref_1And SWref_3Separately bypassing analog detection capacitor Cref_inAnd an analog self-inductance capacitor Cref_sAnd a change-over switch SWref_2Conducted to connect with analog mutual inductance capacitor Cref_mThat is, as shown in FIG. 8AThe connections shown are. That is, the simulation circuit 150' in the mutual capacitance detection mode is based on the simulated mutual inductance capacitance Cref_mThe analog input resistor Rref_inAnd theanalog amplifying circuit 15B outputs a second reference signal (or a mutual capacitance reference signal). In this embodiment, the first reference signal may be different from the second reference signal due to different circuit components for generating the first reference signal and the second reference signal.
Similarly, in order to interpose the waveform of the second reference signal between the first detection signal So11(also generated in the mutual capacitance detection mode) and said second detection signal So12(also generated in mutual capacitance detection mode), the analog mutual capacitance Cref_mSelected as the mutual inductance capacitance C of thedetection electrode 131 of thetouch panel 13m0.92 to 0.98 times; the setting of the multiple is described above.
Thesubtraction circuit 152 is for the detection signal S in the mutual capacitance detection modeo1Is differentially operated with a second reference signal to generate a differential detection signal Sdiff。
It should be understood that although FIG. 8A shows the emulation circuit 150' including three switches SWref_1、SWref_2、SWref_3And analog detection capacitor Cref_inAnalog self-inductance capacitor Cref_sAnalog mutual inductance capacitor Cref_mTo cooperate with the two modes of operation, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive. In some embodiments, thecapacitive touch device 1 can perform contact detection in one of the self-capacitance detection mode and the mutual capacitance detection mode to end the sleep mode, and does not need to adopt the two modes at the same time.
For example, when thecapacitive touch device 1 only uses the mutual capacitance detection mode for touch detection, the simulation circuit 150' of fig. 8A may not include the switch SWref_1、SWref_2、SWref_3And an analog detection capacitor Cref_inAnalog self-inductance capacitor Cref_s. For example, when thecapacitive touch device 1 only uses the self-capacitance detection mode for touch detection, the simulation circuit 150' of fig. 8A may not include the switch SWref_1、SWref_2、SWref_3And simulating mutual inductance capacitance Cref_m。
In another embodiment, the emulation circuit 150' may not be implemented as the circuit of FIG. 8A, but includes theflash memory 81 of FIG. 8B and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)83, and theDAC 83 generates the reference signal S according to at least one digital data stored in the flash memory 81ref'. Theflash memory 81 stores digital data, and therefore theflash memory 81 is included in the digitalback end 16, for example.
As described above, thecapacitive touch device 1 can perform contact detection in the sleep mode by using at least one of the self-capacitance detection mode and the mutual capacitance detection mode. Therefore, it is preferable that at least one of the first digital data used in the self-capacitance detection mode and the second digital data used in the mutual-capacitance detection mode is stored in theflash memory 81.
The first digital data is a first detection signal S output by the amplifyingcircuit 15A when thesimulation touch panel 13 is touched in the self-capacitance detection mode in advanceo11And a second detection signal S outputted from theamplifier circuit 15A when not touchedo12The data is obtained and stored in theflash memory 81. The touch simulation method is, for example, a built-in self test (BIST) circuit built in parallel with thedetection electrode 131 of thetouch panel 13, such as an equivalent capacitance circuit simulating a human body or a finger. Contact is indicated when the BIST circuit is connected (e.g., turned on by a switch) to thedetection electrode 131 and no contact is indicated when the BIST circuit is not connected (e.g., turned off by a switch) to thedetection electrode 131, thereby simulating a contact operation.
The first digital data is a waveform of the first reference signal (similar to S of fig. 7)ref') between the first detection signals So11And the second detection signal So12Between the waveforms of (a). The first digital data is generated by, for example, operating thetouch panel 13 in a self-contained detection mode and sequentially connecting or disconnecting the built-in self-test circuit to obtain two sets of data (e.g., S shown in fig. 7 for sampling)o11、So12Data obtained from the waveform) and then based onThe two sets of data are used to calculate the first digital data, for example, but not limited to, averaging the data of the corresponding sampling points of the two sets of data.
Similarly, the second digital data is a third detection signal (similar to S) output by the amplifyingcircuit 15A in advance according to simulation when thetouch panel 13 is touched in the mutual capacitance detection modeo11) And a fourth detection signal (like S) outputted from theamplification circuit 15A when not touchedo12) The data is obtained and stored in theflash memory 81. The second digital data is a waveform of the second reference signal (similar to S of fig. 7)ref') between waveforms of the third and fourth detection signals; the second digital data is generated in a manner similar to the first digital data, and only the operation mode of thecapacitive touch device 1 is different.
At the time of contact detection, the digital-analog converter 83 outputs a first reference signal according to the first digital data in the self-capacitance detection mode or outputs a second reference signal according to the second digital data in the mutual capacitance detection mode. It can be understood that when the detection signal S is sampledo11、So12The reference signal can be restored from the digital data when the sampling frequency of (2) times the Nyquist frequency is exceeded. As mentioned above, in some embodiments, theflash memory 81 may store only one of the first digital data and the second digital data, so the digital-to-analog converter 83 may generate only one of the first reference signal and the second reference signal.
The subtractingcircuit 152 operates as described above for the detection signal S in the self-capacitance detection modeo1Performing a differential operation with the first reference signal or for the detection signal S in the mutual capacitance detection modeo1Performing a differential operation with the second reference signal to generate a differential detection signal Sdiff。
Thecapacitive touch device 1 further comprises aphase reference circuit 156 for generating a phase reference signal SprefAnd includes adetection circuit 155 for comparing the differential detection signal SdiffAnd a phase reference signal SprefTo determine whether thecapacitive touch device 1 is touched. Thedetection circuit 155 is electrically connected to thesubtraction circuit 152 and thephase reference circuit 156. In one embodiment, thedetection circuit 155 may be implemented by a differential operational amplifier (differential amplifier), for example.
As shown in fig. 7, the subtractingcircuit 152 outputs the first differential detection signal S when no touch is detecteddiff1Thesubtraction circuit 152 outputs a second differential detection signal S when a touch occursdiff2. Thedetection circuit 155 compares the first differential detection signal Sdiff1And/or said second differential detection signal Sdiff2And the phase reference signal SprefTo output a contact signal St or a non-contact signal Snt.
For example, assume the phase reference signal SprefSelected to differentially detect signals (i.e., S) from no contactdiff1) Having the same phase. When thedetection circuit 155 judges the differential detection signal SdiffAnd a phase reference signal SprefWhen the touch panel is substantially in phase, it is determined that no touch event has occurred and an untouched signal Snt indicating that thetouch panel 13 is untouched is generated to the digitalback end 16. The digitalback end 16 maintains thecapacitive touch device 1 in a sleep or low power mode. When thedetection circuit 155 judges the differential detection signal SdiffAnd a phase reference signal SprefWith an inverted phase (180 degrees out of phase), it can be determined that a touch event has occurred and generate a touch signal St to the digitalback end 16 indicating that thetouch panel 13 is touched, and the digitalback end 16 wakes up thecapacitive touch device 1. Thecapacitive touch device 1 is woken up and operates as in the previous embodiment, as shown in fig. 2 to 3 and 5.
In another embodiment, thedetection circuit 155 generates the control signal St to the digitalback end 16 only when it is determined that the touch event occurs to wake up thecapacitive touch device 1, otherwise does not generate the control signal.
Thephase reference circuit 156 can be made in a suitable manner without limitation, as long as it can generate the phase reference signal SprefThedetection circuit 155 may be used as a phase reference. Phase reference signal SprefCan be selected asdiff1、Sdiff2Or a combination thereof, as long as thedetection circuit 155 is able to recognize.
In one embodiment, thetouch panel 13 may include at least one null line (null line) to generate the false signal So1_dummyThe empty line is arranged not to be contacted to make the capacitance value (C)S、Cm) Is modified, for example, by providing a shielding layer thereon. In other words, the glitch So1_dummyAlways representing a non-contact detection signal. Thephase reference circuit 156 includes the at least one empty line, the emulation circuit 150', and thesubtraction circuit 152. More specifically, thephase reference circuit 156 may be disposed apart from and identical to the circuit for generating the phase reference signal S for thecapacitive touch device 1 to actually detect the touchprefThe circuit of (1).
For example, FIG. 9A shows a circuit diagram ofphase reference circuit 156 in a relatively mutual capacitance detection mode, which includesdrive circuit 11, and mutual capacitance C formed by empty lines (i.e., empty detection electrodes 131)mInput resistance RinAn amplifying circuit 15A, a simulation circuit 150' and asubtracting circuit 152. The emulation circuit 150' includes at least the components of the relatively mutually compatible detection mode of fig. 8A (as mentioned above, all the components of fig. 8A may be included and the connection may be changed by switching a switch). The subtractingcircuit 152 outputs S of fig. 7diff1Of the phase reference signal SprefThis is used as a reference for judging contact or non-contact.
For example, FIG. 9B shows a circuit diagram of thephase reference circuit 156 in the self-capacitance detection mode, which includes the drivingcircuit 11 and the detection capacitor CinA self-inductance capacitance C formed by the empty line (i.e. the empty detection electrode 131)SInput resistance RinAn amplifying circuit 15A, a simulation circuit 150' and asubtracting circuit 152. The emulation circuit 150' includes at least the components of the relatively self-contained detection mode of fig. 8A (similarly, all the components of fig. 8A may be included and the connection may be changed by switching a switch). The subtractingcircuit 152 outputs S of fig. 7diff1Of the phase reference signal SprefThis is used as a reference for judging contact or non-contact.
In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9C, thephase reference circuit 156 includesIncludes a phase lock loop (157), the phase lock loop (157) is used to lock the reference signal S outputted by thesimulation circuit 150refThe phase of. As mentioned above, since the emulation circuit 150' is disposed in thecontrol chip 100 without being affected by an external conductor, the reference signal SrefThe phase of' is in phase with the untouched differential detection signal.
Similarly, the connected capacitances of the simulation circuit 150' are different according to different operation modes, so that different reference signals S are outputref'. It is assumed that the simulation circuit 150' outputs a first reference signal in the self-capacitance detection mode and a second reference signal in the mutual-capacitance detection mode, and thus the phase-lockedloop 157 locks the phase of the first reference signal in the self-capacitance detection mode and the phase of the second reference signal in the mutual-capacitance detection mode.
In another embodiment, as shown in fig. 9D, thephase reference circuit 156 includes aphase locking loop 157, and thephase locking loop 157 is used to lock the phase of the driving signal Sd output by the drivingcircuit 11 at the driving end. Although the drive signal Sd is also unaffected by the external conductor, the differential detection signal S being compareddiffThe differential detection signal S is generated because the phase shift is still derived from the signal passing through thetouch panel 13diffThe phase of the driving signal Sd is not exactly in phase or in anti-phase. In this embodiment, thedetection circuit 155 can detect the differential detection signal SdiffWhether the phase difference from the phase of the driving signal Sd is within a preset range. For example, non-contact is determined when the phase difference is between 0 and 45 degrees and non-contact is determined when the phase difference is between 135 and 180 degrees. It is understood that the range of the phase difference is not limited thereto, and may be measured and set in advance before factory shipment, and is not particularly limited.
In some embodiments, thecapacitive touch device 1 described in the present invention can be used as a trigger button (touch button) for simply detecting whether a touch event occurs, without calculating a touch position, for example, without including the components in fig. 3 that are not included in fig. 7.
The change-over switch of the illustrative embodiment of the invention is, for example, a semiconductor switch.
In summary, how to reduce the overall power consumption of the capacitive touch device is an important issue. Therefore, the present invention provides a capacitive touch device (fig. 7), in which an emulation circuit is disposed in a control chip to generate a reference signal, a phase difference between a contact differential signal and a non-contact differential signal, which is obtained by subtracting the reference signal from a detection signal of a touch panel, is 180 degrees, and a contact event can be determined according to the phase difference. Meanwhile, the judgment of the contact event can be completed by the analog front end, so that the electric energy consumed by the digital back end can be reduced.
Although the present invention has been disclosed by way of examples, it is not intended to be limited thereto, and various changes and modifications can be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention is subject to the scope defined by the appended claims.