US 11,789,559 B2
Input device
Akira Sato, Miyagi-ken (JP); Satoshi Nakajima, Miyagi-ken (JP); and Tomohiro Sasaki, Miyagi-ken (JP)
Assigned to Alps Alpine Co. , Ltd., Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Alps Alpine Co., Ltd., Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Feb. 28, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/175,890.
Claims priority of application No. 2022-032835 (JP), filed on Mar. 3, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0280859 A1, Sep. 7, 2023
Int. Cl. G06F 3/041 (2006.01); G06F 3/044 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/0416 (2013.01) [G06F 3/044 (2013.01); G06F 2203/04108 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An input device comprising:
a top panel having an operation surface;
a detection unit configured to detect a capacitance corresponding to a distance between the operation surface and an object; and
a controller configured to determine, based on a detection result from the detection unit, a relative state between the operation surface and the object, which is one of a plurality of states including:
a non-detection state, in which the object is not detected; and
a plurality of detection states, for which a corresponding plurality of capacitance thresholds and a corresponding plurality of time thresholds are set,
wherein the controller is further configured to:
measure, for each of the plurality of detection states, a duration during which the capacitance is greater than or equal to corresponding one of the plurality of capacitance thresholds;
determine, for each of a plurality of durations measured and obtained for the plurality of detection states, whether or not the duration is greater than or equal to corresponding one of the plurality of time thresholds;
determine, if none of the plurality of durations is greater than or equal to the corresponding one of the plurality of time thresholds, that the relative state is the non-detection state; and
determine, if at least one duration among the plurality of durations is greater than or equal to the corresponding one of the time thresholds, that the relative state is one of the detection states which has a highest capacitance threshold among the at least one detection state corresponding to the at least one duration.