Method and apparatus for discriminating between user interactions
Described herein is a car entertainment and navigation system that includes a user interface controller, a detecting circuit, and a selection circuit. The detecting circuit includes a selection circuit, capacitance-sensing circuitry to determine a location of a touch proximate to one or more electrodes of the touch screen display based on capacitance measurements of a plurality of electrodes of the touch screen made during a first mode of operation of the detecting circuit, and user-detecting circuitry to determine a location of a user corresponding to the touch based on signal measurements of a capacitively-coupled signal at the one or more electrodes made during a second mode of operation of the detecting circuit. The selection circuit is configurable to selectively couple the capacitance-sensing circuitry to the plurality of electrodes during the first mode and selectively coupling the user-detecting circuitry to the one or more electrodes during the second mode.
1 - 20 . (canceled)
21 . A method comprising:
outputting graphical display data to a touch screen display of a vehicle;
determining a location of a touch proximate to one or more electrodes of the touch screen display based on capacitance measurements of a plurality of electrodes of the touch screen display made during a first mode of operation; and
determining a location of a user corresponding to the touch based on signal measurements of a capacitively-coupled signal at the one or more electrodes made during a second mode of operation.
22 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising:
receiving a signal from a device; and
determining that the vehicle is in motion based on the signal.
23 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising:
receiving a signal from a vehicle system; and
determining a state of the vehicle based on the signal.
24 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising detecting a frequency of the capacitively-coupled signal, and wherein determining the location of the user comprises determining that the frequency of the capacitively-coupled signal corresponds to a driver's seat of the vehicle.
25 . The method of claim 24 , wherein detecting the frequency of the capacitively-coupled signal comprises amplifying the capacitively-coupled signal.
26 . The method of claim 21 , wherein determining the location of the user comprises determining if the user is seated in a driver's seat of the vehicle.
27 . The method of claim 21 , wherein the first mode is a touch sensing mode and the second mode is a user sensing mode, wherein the method further comprises reconfiguring the one or more electrodes to sense the capacitively-coupled signal in the user sensing mode in response to the touch being detected proximate to the one or more electrodes in the touch sensing mode.
28 . The method of claim 21 , wherein determining the location of the touch in the first mode and determining the location of the user in the second mode are performed sequentially.
29 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising:
measuring capacitance of the one or more electrodes; and
coupling one or more additional electrodes of the plurality of electrodes that are not being measured to a ground potential while measuring capacitance of the one or more electrodes.
30 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising outputting touch information and user information to a host processor, wherein the touch information comprises the location of the touch and the user information comprises the location of the user.
31 . The method of claim 30 , wherein determining the location of the user comprises determining whether the location of the user is either at a driver seat of the vehicle or a passenger seat of the vehicle.
32 . The method of claim 31 , further comprising outputting a motion status of the vehicle to the host processor.
33 . An integrated circuit comprising:
capacitance-sensing circuitry to determine a location of a touch proximate to one or more electrodes of a touch screen display based on capacitance measurements of a plurality of electrodes of the touch screen display made during a first mode of operation of the integrated circuit, and
user-detecting circuitry to determine a location of a user corresponding to the touch based on signal measurements of a capacitive-coupled signal at the one or more electrodes made during a second mode of operation of the integrated circuit; and
a processing device coupled to the capacitance-sensing circuitry and the user-detecting circuitry, wherein the processing device is to output the location of the touch and the location of the user via an output interface.
34 . The integrated circuit of claim 33 , wherein the processing device is configured to:
receive a signal from a device in a vehicle;
determine whether the vehicle is in motion based on the signal; and
determine whether the user is seated in a driver's seat of the vehicle.
35 . A system comprising:
a touch screen display comprising electrodes and display elements; and
a processing device coupled to the touch screen display, wherein the processing device comprises:
a user interface controller coupled to the touch screen display;
a detecting circuit coupled to the user interface controller, the detecting circuit comprising a capacitance measurement circuit and a user-detector circuit, wherein the capacitance measurement circuit is to determine a location of a touch proximate to the one or more electrodes based on capacitance measurements made during a first mode, and wherein the user-detector circuit is to determine a location of a user corresponding to the touch based on signal measurements of a capacitively-coupled signal at the one or more electrodes made during a second mode.
36 . The system of claim 35 , further comprising:
a first drive circuit located at a driver seat of a vehicle, the first drive circuit to generate a first signal; and
a second drive circuit located at a passenger seat of the vehicle, the second drive circuit to generate a second signal.
37 . The system of claim 36 , wherein the first drive circuit, during operation of the vehicle, is to apply the first signal to a body of a first user in the driver seat, and wherein the second drive circuit, during operation of the vehicle, is to apply the second signal to a body of a second user, if any, in the passenger seat.
38 . The system of claim 37 , wherein the detecting circuit is configured to distinguish between the first signal and the second signal in the capacitively-coupled signal.
39 . The system of claim 35 , further comprising a vehicle system of a vehicle, the vehicle system being coupled to the processing device, wherein the processing device is configured to:
receive a signal from the vehicle system;
determine whether the vehicle is in motion based on the signal; and
determine whether the user is seated in a driver's seat of the vehicle.
40 . The system of claim 35 , further comprising a speedometer of a vehicle, wherein the detecting circuit is configured to receive a signal from the speedometer and determine that the vehicle is in motion based on the signal.