JP2010237778A - Capacitance type motion input device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent malfunction against accidental noise from the outside or a change in offset, and reduce a consumption current, in an input interface using motion detection by capacitance. <P>SOLUTION: A capacitance type motion input device includes a main sensor provided in a device body and composed of two or more pairs of detection electrode/drive electrodes forming a capacitance between the detection electrode and the drive electrode, a sub-sensor provided separately from the main sensor and having at least a pair of detection electrode/drive electrode, a measurement means for measuring the capacitance with these pairs of detection/drive electrodes respectively, and a control means for performing motion detection of a body to be detected from a change amount of measurement values of the capacitance of the main sensor, performing operation of the device body based on the motion detection, and performing switching main sensor driving and motion detection in response to the measurement value of the capacitance of the sub-sensor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a capacitance type motion input device that performs input by detecting a motion of an object to be detected in an operation target region using capacitance.

  As a method for detecting a motion of a detection object such as a human body, for example, at least one camera and an image processing unit are used to detect a human motion by imaging with the camera, and the motion is stored in a PC (personal computer). There is a method of outputting to the control unit (for example, Patent Document 1). There is also a method in which an acceleration sensor or the like is built in the device, and the device is moved in a specific direction, and the movement is output to a control unit in the PC. In recent years, devices have been developed that perform motion detection based on changes in capacitance and perform input by gestures (such as hand movement) (for example, Patent Document 2). A device that detects motion based on a change in capacitance can be detected regardless of the surrounding brightness, and can be detected without having any device on the side of the hand performing the gesture.

JP 2001-87549 A International Publication No. 2008/096822 Pamphlet

  However, in the above device, the capacitance detected by the device changes due to the electromagnetic noise of the frequency that matches the sampling rate from the outside and the change of the offset capacitance due to the change of the environment in the vicinity of the device. The input interface may operate at a timing not intended by the user. In particular, when motion input is not intended and there is no object to be detected such as a user's hand in the vicinity of the device, the change in noise and offset capacitance is easily detected as a signal as it is, which is likely to occur. Furthermore, in order to read the motion, high-speed sampling is required, and current consumption increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and in an input interface using motion detection by electrostatic capacitance, while preventing malfunction due to sudden noise or offset change entering from the outside, consumption An object of the present invention is to provide a capacitive motion input device capable of reducing current.

  The capacitance type motion input device according to the present invention includes a device main body and two or more detection electrode / drive electrode pairs provided in the device main body and forming a capacitance between the detection electrode and the drive electrode. And the sub-sensor having at least one detection electrode / drive electrode pair provided separately from the main sensor and the detection electrode / drive electrode pair provided in the main sensor and the sub sensor, respectively. And detecting the motion of the detected object from the amount of change in the measured capacitance value of the main sensor, operating the device body based on the motion detection, and detecting the electrostatic capacity of the sub sensor. Control means for driving the main sensor or switching the motion detection in accordance with a capacitance measurement value.

  According to this configuration, the sub sensor and the main sensor can be used in a time-sharing manner, and the main sensor is driven according to the output of the sub sensor. Therefore, the input interface using the motion detection based on the capacitance enters from the outside. It is possible to prevent malfunctions due to sudden noise and offset changes, and to reduce current consumption.

  In the capacitive motion input device of the present invention, it is preferable that the control means switches on / off of power supply to the main sensor in accordance with a measurement value of the sub sensor. According to this configuration, power consumption can be reduced.

  In the capacitive motion input device according to the present invention, the control means does not use a measurement value of any of the two or more detection electrode / drive electrode pairs of the main sensor according to the measurement value of the sub sensor. It is preferable to operate in the motion detection mode. According to this configuration, malfunction can be prevented and the user interface can be improved.

  In the capacitive motion input device of the present invention, it is preferable that the sub sensor is provided in the device main body and is separated from the main sensor by a predetermined distance.

  In the capacitive motion input device of the present invention, it is preferable that the sub sensor is mounted on a separate member with respect to the device main body and connected to the device main body.

  In the capacitive motion input device of the present invention, the measuring means measures the capacitance of the detection / drive electrode pair provided in the main sensor and the sub sensor using the same circuit in a time-sharing manner. It is preferable. According to this configuration, the circuit can be reduced in size.

  In the capacitive motion input device of the present invention, it is preferable that the sub sensor is intermittently driven at a cycle lower than the cycle at the time of operation of the main sensor. According to this configuration, power consumption can be reduced.

  In the electrostatic capacity type motion input device of the present invention, it is preferable that the sub sensor is intermittently driven, and the motion detection of the main sensor is enabled when the output of the sub sensor becomes a predetermined threshold value or more.

  In the capacitance type motion input device of the present invention, the sub sensor is intermittently driven during the operation of the main sensor, and the main sensor motion detection is rejected when the output of the sub sensor becomes a predetermined threshold value or less. It is preferable to do. According to this configuration, power consumption can be reduced and malfunctions can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, an apparatus main body, a main sensor that is provided in the apparatus main body and includes two or more detection electrode / drive electrode pairs that form a capacitance between the detection electrode and the drive electrode; A sub-sensor provided separately from the main sensor and having at least one detection electrode / drive electrode pair; and a measuring means for measuring capacitance with each of the main sensor and the detection electrode / drive electrode pair provided in the sub-sensor. , Detecting the motion of the detected object from the amount of change in the measured value of the capacitance of the main sensor, operating the apparatus body based on the motion detection, and according to the measured value of the capacitance of the sub sensor Control means for driving the main sensor or switching the motion detection, so that the input interface using the motion detection based on the capacitance is provided. In over scan, it can be provided while preventing the malfunction to changes in unexpected noise or offset entering from the outside, a capacitive motion input device that can reduce current consumption.

It is a figure which shows the notebook type personal computer (notebook PC) which is the electrostatic capacitance type motion input device which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the principle of the capacitive motion detection of the capacitive motion input device which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the electrostatic capacitance type motion input device shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the measurement trigger of a sub sensor and a main sensor in the electrostatic capacitance type motion input device which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the sub sensor and the main sensor in the electrostatic capacitance type motion input device which concerns on this invention. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the sub sensor in the electrostatic capacitance type motion input device which concerns on this invention. In the electrostatic capacity type motion input device concerning the present invention, it is a figure showing an example in case a conductor exists near the main sensor. (A), (b) is a figure for demonstrating the case where an application is operated using the capacitive motion input device which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the other usage example of the electrostatic capacitance type motion input device which concerns on this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a notebook personal computer (notebook PC) which is a capacitive motion input device according to the present invention. The main body of the notebook PC 1 includes a first surface having a monitor 13 which is a different area, and a second surface having a main sensor 14 and a keyboard 15. In addition, a sub sensor 16 for determining whether or not the main sensor 14 can detect motion is provided on the second surface.

  The main sensor 14 includes two detection electrode / drive electrode pairs that form a capacitance between the detection electrode and the drive electrode. The two detection electrode / drive electrode pairs are formed around the monitor 13 of the notebook PC 1. These two detection electrode / drive electrode pairs (electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) are arranged as shown in FIG. 2, and the electrodes 12a, 12d provided above and below the monitor 13 are used as drive electrodes, and the monitor Electrodes 12b and 12c provided on the left and right of 13 are used as detection electrodes. Thereby, the position of the hand 2 can be detected. FIG. 2 shows a case where the position of the hand 2 is detected when the hand 2 moves in the X-axis direction. The sub sensor 16 described later also has at least one detection electrode / drive electrode pair. Capacitance is measured by the detection electrode / drive electrode pair provided in the main sensor 14 and the sub sensor 16.

  In the present embodiment, the drive electrodes 12a and 12d are provided separately on the upper and lower sides, and the detection electrodes 12b and 12c are provided on the left and right sides, but the detected object in the operation target region is detected at a detectable position. If the electrode and the drive electrode are arranged (if there is a detection electrode / drive electrode pair), there is no particular limitation on the number of electrodes and the arrangement position.

Motion detection of the hand (detected body) 2 in the operation target region can be performed from the amount of change in capacitance obtained by each of these detection electrode / drive electrode pairs. Capacitance is always formed between the detection electrodes 12b and 12c and the drive electrodes 12a and 12d. Here, the detection electrode 12b and the driving electrodes 12a, 12d and the capacitance _{C x1} is formed between the detection electrode 12c and the driving electrodes 12a, electrostatic capacitance _{C x2} between 12d are formed . In such a configuration, when the hand 2 moves in any direction in the X-axis direction (left-right direction), the capacitance between the hand 2 changes to the capacitance between the detection electrode and the drive electrode. Occurs. For example, when the hand 2 moves to the right side, the capacitance C _x1 increases and the capacitance C _x2 decreases. Therefore, by taking the difference (C _x1 -C _x2 ) between these capacitance values, it is possible to detect the movement (motion) of the hand 2 in the X-axis direction (left-right direction) as shown in FIG. It becomes.

  Also, by using the detection method similar to the above using the upper and lower electrodes 12a and 12d of the monitor 13 as detection electrodes and the left and right electrodes 12b and 12c of the monitor 13 as drive electrodes, a hand in the Y-axis direction (vertical direction) can be obtained. It is possible to detect the second motion (motion). Therefore, the notebook PC 1 can perform motion input (gesture sensing) using such motion detection. That is, using such motion detection, the notebook PC 1 is operated based on the motion detection of the detected object. The motion detection is performed when the main sensor 14 can be input by the sub sensor 16.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal structure of the capacitive motion input device shown in FIG. A notebook PC 1 that is a capacitance type motion input device includes a measurement circuit 17 for analog operation that is electrically connected to the main sensor 14 and the sub sensor 16, and a CPU 18 that controls energization and measurement of the measurement circuit. Yes. The measurement circuit 17 includes a multiplexer 17a that switches outputs from the main sensor 14 and the sub sensor 16, a comparator 17b that compares the output from the sensor with a predetermined threshold, and an A / D converter 17c.

  In such a configuration, the capacitance is measured by the detection electrode / drive electrode pair provided in the main sensor 14 and the sub sensor 16, and the detected object is determined from the amount of change in the measured value of the capacitance of the main sensor 14. Motion detection is performed, and control for operating the apparatus main body is performed based on the motion detection. Further, in this configuration, the main sensor 14 is driven and motion detection switching is controlled according to the measured capacitance value of the sub sensor 16.

  Further, in this configuration, the main sensor 14 is driven and motion detection switching is controlled according to the measured capacitance value of the sub sensor 16. For example, depending on the measurement value of the sub sensor 16, the power supply to the main sensor 14 is switched ON / OFF, or among the two or more detection electrode / drive electrode pairs of the main sensor 14 according to the measurement value of the sub sensor 16. Control is performed to operate in a motion detection mode that does not use any of the measured values.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of measurement triggers of the sub sensor and the main sensor in the capacitive motion input device of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operations of the sub sensor and the main sensor in the capacitive motion input device of the present invention.

  In the capacitive motion input device having the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, power is supplied to the entire analog circuit (measurement circuit 17) at the trigger timing of the sub sensor 16. That is, the CPU 18 generates a measurement trigger at a long cycle (in FIG. 4, the measurement trigger of the sub sensor 16 is 500 ms), and power is supplied to the measurement circuit 17 only for a necessary time (ST11). At this time, the sub sensor 16 is intermittently driven with a period lower than the period when the main sensor 14 operates. Then, when power is supplied to the measurement circuit 17 and a measurement trigger is issued, the output of the sub sensor 16 is measured. At this time, the multiplexer 17a is switched so that the output from the sub sensor 16 is measured. Then, the comparator 17b compares the output of the sub sensor 16 with a predetermined threshold value (ST12). When the output of the sub sensor 16 exceeds the predetermined threshold value, it is determined to detect the motion of the main sensor 14.

  When measuring the output of the main sensor 14, the output of the main sensor 14 is measured with a measurement trigger (short cycle) of the measurement circuit 17 (in FIG. 4, the measurement trigger of the main sensor 14 is 3 ms) (ST13). At this time, the measurement circuit 17 is always supplied with power and can react immediately to the measurement trigger. At this time, the multiplexer 17a is switched so that the output from the main sensor 14 is measured. When measuring the output of the main sensor 14, motion detection (gesture sensing) as described above is performed (ST14). The output of the main sensor 14 is performed during a period when the output of the sub sensor 16 exceeds a predetermined threshold. Therefore, when the output of the sub sensor 16 measured by intermittent driving is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold (ST15), the measurement of the main sensor 14 is terminated, and the measurement of the main sensor 14 is not performed until the output of the sub sensor 16 exceeds the threshold again. That is, the sub sensor 16 is intermittently driven during the operation of the main sensor 14, and the motion detection of the main sensor 14 is rejected when the sub sensor 16 outputs an output equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold.

  As described above, when the motion of the main sensor 14 is detected, the output of the sub sensor 16 is monitored, and the measurement of the main sensor 14 is performed when the output of the sub sensor 16 exceeds the threshold value and when the output of the sub sensor 16 is equal to or less than the threshold value. Determine whether or not (motion detection) is possible. Chattering can be avoided by providing the output threshold value of the sub sensor 16 with a hysteresis characteristic. Further, the sub sensor 16 is operated by intermittent driving of about 500 ms, the output state is monitored, and the main sensor 14 is driven only when the sub sensor 16 output exceeds the threshold (two sensors are time-divisionally divided). By driving it), the current consumption can be greatly reduced. Further, since the motion detection of the main sensor 14 is performed only when the output of the sub sensor 16 exceeds the threshold value due to the operation intended by the user, the user does not intend the motion input and the output of the sub sensor 16 does not exceed the threshold value. Even if noise from the outside or a change in offset capacitance occurs at the timing, a motion input not intended by the user is not performed.

  The measurement of the main sensor 14 and the measurement of the sub sensor 16 may be performed by different processing units. However, by performing the measurement of the main sensor 14 and the sub sensor 16 by the same processing unit as shown in FIG. By configuring the capacitance of the detection / drive electrode pair provided in the sub-sensor 16 to be measured using the same circuit in a time-sharing manner, the circuit scale can be kept small, and the power consumption is also small. This is preferable because it is possible.

  The sub sensor 16 only needs to be able to detect only that the detection target is close (Z axis). For this reason, what is necessary is just to set it as the structure which can detect the electrostatic capacitance formed between at least 1 set of detection electrodes and drive electrodes. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the detection electrode 16b may be composed of two detection electrode 16b, 16c / drive electrode 16a, 16d pairs that form a capacitance between the detection electrode and the drive electrode. As shown in FIG. 6B, the detection electrode 16b / drive electrode 16a pair may form a capacitance between the detection electrode and the drive electrode. Further, the absolute value of the capacitance may be used as the output of the sub sensor, or a reference capacitor may be provided and a difference value from the reference capacitor may be provided as the output of the sub sensor. On the other hand, the main sensor 14 may be configured to detect the X axis and the Y axis, and may further be configured to detect the Z axis. When detecting the Z axis, a detection electrode and a drive electrode are provided in addition to the electrode pair shown in FIG. 2, or one of the electrodes of the sub sensor 16 is used as one of the electrode pairs for Z axis detection. Alternatively, the output of the sub sensor 16 can be used as detection of the Z axis.

  Also, if there is a conductor in the vicinity of the sensors 14, 16, when the conductor is not the current path of any device, is not the ground, and the conductor does not cover the sensor 14, 16 portion, By electrically connecting to 16 drive lines (drive electrodes), it is possible to operate the external conductor as a part of the sensors 14 and 16 in a comprehensive manner. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, when the light guide plate 21 provided with the reflection plate 22 that is a conductor is disposed on the main sensor 14 or the sub sensor 16 (main sensor 14 in FIG. 7) via the spacer 23. By electrically connecting the reflection plate 22 and the drive electrodes 12a and 12d (the spacer 23 is interposed, the reflection plate 22 does not cover the sensor 14 and 16 portions). It is possible to operate in a comprehensive manner as a part. Conventionally, when there is a conductor near the sensor that performs motion detection, the sensitivity in the height direction may be reduced, causing malfunction or failure to operate. Sufficient sensitivity can be maintained.

  As described above, according to the capacitive motion input device according to the present invention, the sub sensor and the main sensor are used in a time-sharing manner, and the main sensor is driven according to the output of the sub sensor. In the input interface using detection, it is possible to prevent malfunctions due to sudden noise and offset changes entering from the outside, and to reduce current consumption.

  In the above description, the case where the main sensor 14 is driven when the detected object is detected by the sub sensor 16 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the main sensor 14 is always driven, The present invention can also be applied to a mode in which motion detection in one direction is performed when a detected object is detected at 16, and motion is detected in another direction when the detected object is not detected by the sub sensor 16. . For example, when the detection object is detected by the sub sensor 16, the left and right electrodes 12b and 12c of the monitor 13 are used as detection electrodes, the upper and lower electrodes 12a and 12d of the monitor 13 are used as drive electrodes, and the X-axis direction (left and right direction) When motion detection is performed and the detection target is not detected by the sub sensor 16, the upper and lower electrodes 12a and 12d of the monitor 13 are used as detection electrodes, the left and right electrodes 12b and 12c of the monitor 13 are used as drive electrodes, and the Y-axis direction (up and down Direction) motion detection. The switching between the detection electrode and the drive electrode is performed when the output of the sub sensor 16 exceeds the threshold value as described above.

  Next, the case where the capacitance type motion input device of the present invention is actually used will be described. Here, the motion input when operating the video application using the notebook PC 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

  In this video application, when the hand is swung left or right on the main sensor 14, the video thumbnail shown in FIG. 8A is rotated one by one to the left or right. At this time, since there is no hand on the sub-sensor 16, input in the left-right direction is enabled. In this video application, it is also possible to rotate the thumbnail continuously when the hand is moved to the right / left rotation.

  On the other hand, the input in the vertical direction is only performed when the hand is on the sub sensor 16. As a result, it is possible to prevent erroneous input in the vertical direction. When input is performed in the vertical direction, the thumbnail image can be enlarged / reduced in the video application as shown in FIG. 8B.

  Therefore, in this video application, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the hand is held over the sub sensor 16, the thumbnail is rotated left and right, and when the hand is placed over the sub sensor, As shown in FIG. 8B, the screen is fixed (held) and enlarged / reduced / reproduced. Specifically, with the screen fixed, the operation of moving the hand from the back to the front on the main sensor 14 is assigned to enlargement, and the operation of moving the hand from the front to the back on the main sensor 14 is assigned to reduction.

  Furthermore, the reproduction / stop of the moving image is performed by stopping the hand on the main sensor 14. By assigning fast forward / rewind to the right rotation and left rotation during playback, it is possible to make the operation close to intuition. Specifically, the right feed is assigned to the operation of moving the hand from the left to the right on the main sensor 14, the left feed is assigned to the operation of moving the hand from the right to the left on the main sensor 14, and the fast feed is performed. The operation of rotating the hand clockwise on the main sensor 14 is assigned, rewinding is assigned the operation of rotating the hand counterclockwise on the main sensor 14, and the hand is placed at about several centimeters on the sub sensor 16. Can be assigned to place. In addition, when starting or stopping playback, an operation of placing a hand on the main sensor 14 at a height within about several centimeters above the sensor and resting for about several hundred ms is assigned.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, a sensor is formed on the frame of a digital photo frame, and the capacitive motion input device of the present invention can be used to switch a photographic image displayed on a display (monitor 13). In this case, the photograph can be fed by moving the hand across the left and right frames. Since it can be operated without touching the frame, there is a great merit that the display is not dirty. Also, the image can be enlarged / reduced with a simple operation by allocating the image in the up / down direction to enlargement / reduction of the image and operating in the up / down direction with the hand close to the sub sensor 16. . In the enlarged image, the screen can be moved according to the position of the hand. Further, it is possible to send a large amount of images at a time by detecting the rotation operation.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the sub sensor 16 is mounted on a separate member with respect to the apparatus main body, and may be connected to the apparatus main body. In the apparatus main body, the sub sensor 16 is separated from the main sensor 14 by a predetermined distance, for example, 5 cm or more. It may be provided at the position. For example, when the sub sensor is mounted on a separate member, the sub sensor is provided in a sitting part such as a chair or a seat, or a part where the sub sensor is grasped or touched. When the main body 14 is provided in the apparatus main body, the main sensor 14 is mounted on the monitor screen with ITO electrodes, and the sub-sensor 16 is mounted on the frame frame.

  A plurality of sub sensors 16 may be provided. Thereby, for example, when the output of at least one sub sensor 16 exceeds a threshold, power consumption can be reduced by detecting the motion of the main sensor 14, and when the output of one sub sensor 16 exceeds the threshold, the upper and lower Both left and right inputs are possible, and when the output of the other sub sensor 16 exceeds the threshold, it is possible to perform control such as limiting the input to only the left and right directions.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be implemented with various modifications. In the above embodiment, left and right, top and bottom, number of electrodes, position, size, shape, connection configuration for motion detection of X axis, Y axis and Z axis, control order, motion input operation, etc. Can be appropriately changed. Other modifications may be made as appropriate without departing from the scope of the object of the present invention.

1 Notebook PC
12a, 12d, 16a, 16d Drive electrode 12b, 12c, 16b, 16c Detection electrode 13 Monitor 14 Main sensor 15 Keyboard 16 Sub sensor 17 Measurement circuit 17a Multiplexer 17b Comparator 17c A / D converter 18 CPU
21 Light guide plate 22 Reflection plate 23 Spacer

Claims (9)

  Separately from the main sensor, a main sensor that is provided in the main body of the apparatus and includes two or more detection electrode / drive electrode pairs that form a capacitance between the detection electrode and the drive electrode. A sub-sensor having at least one detection electrode / drive electrode pair, a measuring means for measuring capacitance with each of the main sensor and the detection electrode / drive electrode pair provided in the sub-sensor, and a static sensor of the main sensor. Based on the amount of change in the measured capacitance value, the motion of the detected object is detected, the device body is operated based on the motion detection, and the main sensor is driven according to the measured capacitance value of the sub sensor. Or a capacitive motion input device comprising control means for switching the motion detection.   The electrostatic capacity type motion input device according to claim 1, wherein the control means switches ON / OFF of a power source to the main sensor according to a measurement value of the sub sensor.   The control means performs an operation in a motion detection mode that does not use any measurement value of two or more detection electrode / drive electrode pairs of the main sensor according to the measurement value of the sub sensor. The capacitive motion input device according to claim 1.   4. The capacitive motion input device according to claim 1, wherein the sub sensor is provided in the device main body and is separated from the main sensor by a predetermined distance. 5.   4. The capacitive motion input device according to claim 1, wherein the sub sensor is mounted on a separate member with respect to the device main body and connected to the device main body. 5. .   6. The measurement unit according to claim 1, wherein the measurement unit measures capacitances of detection / drive electrode pairs provided in the main sensor and the sub sensor by using the same circuit in a time division manner. The capacitive motion input device according to any one of the above.   The capacitive motion input device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sub sensor is intermittently driven at a cycle lower than a cycle when the main sensor operates.   8. The motion of the main sensor is enabled when the sub sensor is intermittently driven and the output of the sub sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold value. 9. Capacitive motion input device.   9. The sub-sensor is intermittently driven during the operation of the main sensor, and the motion detection of the main sensor is rejected when the sub-sensor outputs a predetermined threshold value or less. The capacitive motion input device according to any one of the above.

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