Patent Description:
With development of science and technologies, response speed of terminal devices to operations of users is getting faster and faster, and response accuracy of terminal devices to operations of users is getting higher and higher. After a user performs a touch operation on a terminal device, a touch control component, such as a display screen, needs to collect position information corresponding to the touch operation of the user. The position information is reported to an application layer or a control layer in an application processor, such that the application layer or the control layer outputs a corresponding image based on the touch operation. In related arts, a report rate of the touch control component is relatively high, and thus the application layer or the control layer in the application processor frequently repeats a cycle of suspending a task, receiving position information, and restarting the task, thereby greatly increasing power consumption of the terminal devices.

<CIT> provides a data processing method and an apparatus, to resolve problems that a response speed is low and image display is not even during dragging, caused when a terminal processes reported-point data.

According to the invention, there are provided a touch control method, applied to a touch drive module of a terminal device, comprising the features of claim <NUM>, a touch drive module for a terminal device comprising the features of claim <NUM>, a computer program product comprising the features of claim <NUM>, and a computer readable storage medium comprising the features of claim <NUM>.

Advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

In some embodiments, collecting the position information corresponding to the touch operation includes collecting the position information corresponding to the touch operation inputted by a user based on a preset frequency.

In some embodiments, determining the reporting frequency of the position information based on the vertical synchronization signal includes at least one of: determining position information for reporting in one signal interval based on at least one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval; or determining position information for reporting in each of at least two signal intervals based on at least two pieces of position information collected in the at least two signal intervals, in which least one piece of position information is collected in each signal interval.

In some embodiments, determining the position information for reporting in one signal interval based on the at least one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval includes, in response to collecting one piece of position information in the one signal interval, reporting the position information.

In some embodiments, determining the position information for reporting in one signal interval based on the at least one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval includes, in response to collecting at least two pieces of position information in the one signal interval, reporting one of the at least two pieces of position information.

In some embodiments, determining the position information for reporting in one signal interval based on the at least one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval includes determining a new piece of position information based on at least two pieces of position information collected in the one signal interval for reporting.

In some embodiments, determining the new piece of position information based on the at least two pieces of position information collected in the one signal interval for reporting includes: obtaining a preset reporting time line in the signal interval; determining a first connection line based on the at least two pieces of position information in the one signal interval; and determining an intersection of the reporting time line and the first connection line as the new piece of position information for reporting.

In some embodiments, determining the position information for reporting in each of the at least two signal intervals based on the at least two pieces of position information collected in the at least two signal intervals, includes: obtaining a preset reporting time line in each of the at least two signal intervals; determining a second connection line based on the at least two pieces of position information collected in the at least two signal intervals; and determining an intersection of the reporting time line in each of the at least two signal intervals and the second connection line as position information for reporting in a corresponding signal interval.

In some embodiments, the collection module is configured to collect the position information corresponding to the touch operation inputted by a user based on a preset frequency.

In some embodiments, the frequency module includes at least one of: a first reporting unit, configured to determine position information for reporting in one signal interval based on at least one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval; or a second reporting unit, configured to determine position information for reporting in each of at least two signal intervals based on at least two pieces of position information collected in the at least two signal intervals, in which at least one piece of position information is collected in each signal interval.

In some embodiments, the first reporting unit is configured to, in response to collecting one piece of position information in the one signal interval, report the position information.

In some embodiments, the first reporting unit is configured to, in response to collecting at least two pieces of position information in the one signal interval, report one of the at least two pieces of position information.

In some embodiments, the first reporting unit is configured to determine a new piece of position information based on at least two pieces of position information collected in the one signal interval for reporting.

In some embodiments, the first reporting unit, in response to determining the new piece of position information based on the at least two pieces of position information collected in one signal interval for reporting, is configured to: obtain a preset reporting time line in the signal interval; determine a first connection line based on the at least two pieces of position information in the one signal interval; and determine an intersection of the reporting time line and the first connection line as the new piece of position information for reporting.

In some embodiments, the second reporting unit is configured to: obtain a preset reporting time line in each of the at least two signal intervals; determine a second connection line based on the at least two pieces of position information collected in the at least two signal intervals; and determine an intersection of the reporting time line in each of the at least two signal intervals and the second connection line as position information for reporting in a corresponding signal interval.

The technical solution according to embodiments of the present invention may include the following beneficial effects.

With the present invention, the vertical synchronization signal sent by the application processor and/or the display drive module is received, such that a frequency at which the application processor and/or the display drive module updates an image is obtained, and a specific time (the time when each vertical synchronization signal is sent is the time when the image is updated) of updating the image is obtained. After the position information corresponding to the touch operation is collected, the position information is not reported directly, rather, the reporting frequency of the position information is determined based on the vertical synchronization signal, such that the reporting frequency of the position information matches the frequency of updating the image. That is to say, one piece of position information is reported each time an image is updated. And then, the position information is reported to the application processor based on the above frequency. By matching the reporting frequency of the position information with the vertical synchronization signal, the position information is reported once within one signal interval, such that a report rate is lowered, uniformity of reporting points is ensured, steps of suspending a task, receiving the position information, and restarting the task of the application processor are decreased, and the power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.

The terms used in the present disclosure are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The singular forms "a", "said" and "the" used in the present disclosure and attached claims are also intended to include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term "and/or" used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in the present disclosure to describe various types of information, the information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information. Depending on the context, for example, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when" or "upon" or "in response to determining".

After position information corresponding to a touch operation is collected by a touch control component, the position information is first sent to a touch driver, and then sent up layer by layer. When touch data is generated, a microcontroller unit (MCU) at a hardware layer may send an interrupt (INT) signal to an upper layer, such that the upper layer may receive data such as coordinates of a touch through a communication interface of inter-integrated circuit (I2C) or serial peripheral interface (SPI). When the application layer is performing image output of a certain frame, touch firmware under the layer may be interrupted twice, and two coordinates are reported. Each of the interruptions may interrupt a program of a control hardware at the upper layer, and original work in progress may need to be transferred to a temporary memory space for storage, resulting in a first time of power consumption. After the interruption is completed, actions of transferring and storage performed on the original work in progress by the hardware, resulting in a second time of power consumption. During the above transferring, the hardware requires additional power consumption.

To reduce power consumption, embodiments of the present disclosure provide touch control methods for a terminal device. <FIG> illustrates the flow of the touch control method.

The terminal device may also include an application processor and a display drive module. The terminal device may be a smart phone, a tablet computer, a desktop/laptop/handheld computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) device, and other devices including a touch screen, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

The method includes blocks S101 to S104.

At block S101, a vertical synchronization signal is received.

The vertical synchronization signal is a synchronization signal between the application processor and the display drive module for displaying and refreshing frames. With the vertical synchronization signal, a refresh of a display screen driven by the display drive module and an update of a drawing image performed by the application processor may be performed synchronously. The application processor may continuously send vertical synchronization signals to the display drive module. After each vertical synchronization signal is sent to the display drive module, the application processor updates one frame of image, and the display drive module drives the display screen to refresh one frame of image.

In block S101, each time the application processor sends a vertical synchronization signal to the display drive module, the application processor may simultaneously send a vertical synchronization signal to the touch drive module. The specific sending form may be directly sending or indirectly sending. Therefore, the touch drive module receives the vertical synchronization signal, that is, a frequency and a specific time point of refreshing the image performed by both the application processor and the display drive module are notified to the touch drive module in real time, so that the touch drive module may make a report at a frequency and a time point matching the above frequency and time point.

At block S102, position information corresponding to a touch operation is collected.

The touch operation is inputted by a user based on the display screen of the terminal device, that is, the user may touch a certain position on the display screen, and positions of touching made by the user may change from time to time. The touch drive module scans sensors in the display screen in real time, so as to obtain the position information corresponding to the touch operation of the user. The position information may be represented by coordinates. For example, rows and columns of pixels of the display screen may be labeled. Coordinates of each pixel is represented by a row label and a column label of the pixel, the position corresponding to the touch operation corresponds to one or more pixels. The coordinates of the one or more pixels may be used to represent the position corresponding to the touch operation.

In some embodiments, the position information corresponding to the touch operation inputted by the user is collected based on a preset frequency. For example, the preset frequency may be <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or the like.

At block S103, a reporting frequency of the position information is determined based on the vertical synchronization signal, such that the position information is reported once in one signal interval. The signal interval is an interval between two adjacent vertical synchronization signals.

One signal interval is the time period required for the application processor and the display drive module to refresh one frame of image. The frequency of refreshing the image and the frequency of collecting the position information may be the same or different. When the above two frequencies are the same, pieces of position information that may be reflected in refreshing each frame of image (in other words, pieces of position information referred to in drawing each frame of image) have the same value. When the above two frequencies are different, pieces of position information that may be reflected in refreshing each frame of image (in other words, pieces of position information referred to in drawing each frame of image) have different values.

In this block, after the touch drive module collects the position information, the reporting frequency of the position information may be determined based on the vertical synchronization signal, that is, only one piece of position information is reported during a time period between two vertical synchronization signals. In this manner, regardless of whether the frequency of refreshing the image and the frequency of collecting the position information are the same, pieces of position information that may be reflected in refreshing each frame of image (in other words, pieces of position information referred to in drawing each frame of image) have the same value, so a slide is smoother. In addition, since only one piece of position information is reflected in refreshing each frame of image, the power consumption of the terminal device is reduced as the program of the control hardware in the upper layer is interrupted only once.

At block S104, the position information is reported to the application processor based on the reporting frequency.

In block S104, an interrupt signal is reported first. After receiving the interrupt signal, the application processor interrupts an ongoing program or task, and then receives the position information reported through the communication interface of I2C or SPI.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the vertical synchronization signal sent by the application processor and/or the display drive module is received, such that a frequency at which the application processor and/or the display drive module updates an image, and a specific time of updating the image are obtained. For example, the time when each vertical synchronization signal is sent is the time when the image is updated. After the position information corresponding to the touch operation is collected, the position information is not reported directly, rather, the reporting frequency of the position information is determined based on the vertical synchronization signal, such that the reporting frequency of the position information matches the frequency of updating the image. That is to say, one piece of position information is reported each time an image is updated. And then, the position information is reported to the application processor based on the above frequency. By matching the reporting frequency of the position information with the vertical synchronization signal, the position information is reported once within one signal interval, such that a report rate is lowered, uniformity of reporting points is ensured, steps of suspending a task, receiving the position information, and restarting the task of the application processor are decreased, and the power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the reporting frequency of the position information may be determined in the following two manners.

In the first manner, position information for reporting in one signal interval is determined based on at least one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval.

In the second manner, position information for reporting in each of at least two signal intervals is determined based on at least two pieces of position information collected in the at least two signal intervals. At least one piece of position information is collected in each signal interval.

Regarding the first manner, after the position information in the one signal interval is collected, the position information for reporting in the interval is calculated. The position information collected or one piece of the position information collected may be directly reported. That is to say, in response to one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval, the position information is reported; and/or in response to at least two pieces of position information collected in the one signal interval, one of the at least two pieces of position information is reported. It is also possible to determine and report a new piece of position information based on the at least one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval.

Referring to <FIG>, in an example, numerals <NUM>-<NUM> represent seven vertical synchronization signals, and numerals <NUM>-<NUM> represent six signal intervals formed by the above seven vertical synchronization signals. Two pieces of position information are collected in each of the signal intervals <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. For example, two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>; two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>; two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>; and two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>. For each of the above four signal intervals, a new piece of position information for reporting is determined based on the two pieces of position information collected therein. That is to say, within the signal interval <NUM>, position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected. Within the signal interval <NUM>, position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected. Within the signal interval <NUM>, position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected. Within the signal interval <NUM>, position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected. Manners of determining the new piece of position information for reporting for the above four signal intervals are the same. The following description takes the signal interval <NUM> as an example. In the signal interval <NUM>, a reporting time line <NUM> is preset. The two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected in the signal interval <NUM> are connected to form a connection line <NUM>. An intersection of the connection line <NUM> and the reporting time line <NUM> is determined as the new piece of position information <NUM> for reporting. New pieces of position information are determined in the same manner for other signal intervals. Reporting time lines and connection lines of other intervals are similar and are not shown in <FIG>.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the above-mentioned first manner of determining the position information for reporting is a one-to-one correspondence determination manner. In addition, determining the position information immediately after collecting the position information reduces time lag and delay time of reporting the position information, and improves the instantaneity and efficiency of reporting.

In the second manner, after the position information in the at least two signal intervals are collected, at least two pieces of position information are collected as at least one piece of position information is collected in each signal interval. For each interval, the position information for reporting is calculated based on the at least two pieces of position information collected.

Referring to <FIG>, numerals <NUM>-<NUM> represent seven vertical synchronization signals, and numerals <NUM>-<NUM> represent six signal intervals formed by formed by the above seven vertical synchronization signals. One piece of position information <NUM> is collected in the signal interval <NUM>. Two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>. One piece of position information <NUM> is collected in the signal interval <NUM>. Two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>. The position information for reporting in each signal interval is determined based on the six pieces of position information collected in the above four signal intervals. In other words, it is determined that position information <NUM> is reported in the signal interval <NUM>; it is determined that position information <NUM> is reported in the signal interval <NUM>; it is determined that position information <NUM> is reported in the signal interval <NUM>; and it is determined that position information <NUM> is reported in the signal interval <NUM>. For example, a reporting time line is set in each signal interval. That is to say, a reporting time line <NUM> is set in the signal interval <NUM>; a reporting time line <NUM> is set in the signal interval <NUM>; a reporting time line <NUM> is set in the signal interval <NUM>; and a reporting time line <NUM> is set in the signal interval <NUM>. A connection line is determined based on all the position information collected in a manner of including as much position information as possible on the connection line (in a manner of minimizing a sum of distances from each piece of position information to the connection line). For example, a connection line <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>. An intersection of the connection line and each reporting time line is determined as the position information for reporting. That is to say, an intersection <NUM> of the connection line <NUM> and the reporting time line <NUM> is determined as the position information for reporting in the signal interval <NUM>; an intersection <NUM> of the connection line <NUM> and the reporting time line <NUM> is determined as the position information for reporting in the signal interval <NUM>; an intersection <NUM> of the connection line <NUM> and the reporting time line <NUM> is determined as the position information for reporting in the signal interval <NUM>; and an intersection <NUM> of the connection line <NUM> and the reporting time line <NUM> is determined as the position information for reporting in the signal interval <NUM>.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, the above-mentioned second manner of determining the position information for reporting is a many-to-many correspondence determination manner. The second manner fully considers mutual influence of the position information collected in adjacent signal intervals, and improves accuracy and smoothness of the position information for reporting.

In a second aspect, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a touch control method applied to an application processor of a terminal device. <FIG> illustrates the flow of the control method.

The terminal device may also include an application processor and a display drive module. The terminal device may be a smart phone, a tablet computer, a desktop/laptop/handheld computer, a notebook computer, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a netbook, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) device, and other devices including the touch screen, which is not limited in the present disclosure.

At block S401, a vertical synchronization signal is sent to the touch drive module.

The vertical synchronization signal is a synchronization signal between the application processor and the display drive module for displaying and refreshing frames. With the vertical synchronization signal, a refresh of the display screen driven by the display drive module and an update of a drawing image performed by the application processor may be performed synchronously. The application processor AP may continuously send vertical synchronization signals to the display drive module. After each vertical synchronization signal is sent to the display drive module, the application processor updates one frame of image, and the display drive module drives the display to refresh one frame of image.

In block S401, each time the application processor sends a vertical synchronization signal to the display drive module, the application processor will simultaneously send a vertical synchronization signal to the touch drive module. The specific sending form may be directly sending or indirectly sending. Therefore, the touch drive module receives the vertical synchronization signal, that is, the frequency and specific time point of refreshing the image performed by both the application processor and the display drive module are notified to the touch drive module in real time, so that the touch drive module may make a report at a frequency and time point matching the above frequency and time point.

<FIG> illustrates a manner in which the application processor directly sends the vertical synchronization signal to the touch drive module. For example, the application processor AP sends the vertical synchronization signal vsync to the display drive module DDIC and the touch drive module Touch synchronously.

<FIG> illustrates a manner in which the application processor indirectly sends the vertical synchronization signal to the touch drive module. For example, the application processor AP sends the vertical synchronization signal vsync to the display drive module DDIC, and the display drive module DDIC sends the vertical synchronization signal vsync to the touch drive module Touch. In this manner, the display drive module DDIC and the touch drive module Touch may be integrated into a touch and display drive module TDDI.

Referring back to <FIG>, at block S402, position information reported by the touch drive module is received. Each piece of position information in the position information reported corresponds to one signal interval between two adjacent vertical synchronization signals.

In block S402, the touch drive module collects position information corresponding to each touch operation in real time, determines the reporting frequency of the position information based on the vertical synchronization signal, and reports the position information based on the reporting frequency determined. For example, during reporting, an interrupt signal INT (refer to <FIG>, both of which illustrate a process of the touch drive module Touch sending INT to AP) needs to be reported first. After receiving the interrupt signal, the application processor suspends the ongoing program or task, and then receives the position information reported through the communication interface of I2C or SPI. Since the reporting frequency determined by the touch drive module is that the position information is reported once in one signal interval, each piece of position information received by the application processor corresponds to one signal interval.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, sending the vertical synchronization signal to the touch drive module enables the touch drive module to obtain a frequency at which the application processor and/or the display drive module updates an image, and a specific time point of updating the image. For example, the time point when each vertical synchronization signal is sent is the time point when the image is updated. The position information reported by the touch drive module at the reporting frequency determined is received, that is, one piece of position information is received every time one frame of image is refreshed, such that the report rate is lowered, the uniformity of reporting points is ensured, steps of suspending a task, receiving the position information, and restarting the task at the application processor are decreased, and the power consumption of the terminal device is reduced.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, after the position information is received, the method further includes determining visible position information based on the position information for reporting and the vertical synchronization signal, such that time intervals between pieces of visible position information and adjacent vertical synchronization signals are equal.

The time intervals between the pieces of visible position information and the adjacent vertical synchronization signals being equal means that for each signal interval, the visible position information has identical time distance to the vertical synchronization signal on left side of the signal interval, and for each signal interval, the visible position information has identical time distance to the vertical synchronization signal on right side of the signal interval. By confirming the visible position information, a connection line of various pieces of position information or various reporting points is smooth, and thus the user experience of touching the touch screen of the terminal device is improved.

Referring to <FIG>, in an example, numerals <NUM>-<NUM> represent seven vertical synchronization signals, and numerals <NUM>-<NUM> represent six signal intervals formed by the above seven vertical synchronization signals. Two pieces of position information are collected in each of the signal intervals <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. That is, two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>; two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>; two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>; and two pieces of position information <NUM> and <NUM> are collected in the signal interval <NUM>. Regarding each of the above four signal intervals, a new piece of position information for reporting is determined based on the two pieces of position information collected thereon. That is, in the signal interval <NUM>, position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected; in the signal interval <NUM>, position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected; in the signal interval <NUM>, position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected; and in the signal interval <NUM>, position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> and <NUM> collected. For each of the above four signal intervals, the visible position information is determined based on the position information for reporting and the vertical synchronization signal. That is to say, in the signal interval <NUM>, visible position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> for reporting; in the signal interval <NUM>, visible position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> for reporting; in the signal interval <NUM>, visible position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> for reporting; and in the signal interval <NUM>, visible position information <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM> for reporting. A time distance from the visible position information <NUM> to a vertical synchronization signal <NUM> on a left side of the visible position information <NUM>, a time distance from the visible position information <NUM> to a vertical synchronization signal <NUM> on a left side of the visible position information <NUM>, a time distance from the visible position information <NUM> to a vertical synchronization signal <NUM> on a left side of the visible position information <NUM>, and a time distance from the visible position information <NUM> to a vertical synchronization signal <NUM> on a left side of the visible position information <NUM> are identical. A time distance from the visible position information <NUM> to the vertical synchronization signal <NUM> on a right side of the visible position information <NUM>, a time distance from the visible position information <NUM> to the vertical synchronization signal <NUM> on a right side of the visible position information <NUM>, a time distance from the visible position information <NUM> to the vertical synchronization signal <NUM> on a right side of the visible position information <NUM>, and a time distance from the visible position information <NUM> to a vertical synchronization signal <NUM> on a right side of the visible position information <NUM> are identical. The visible position information of each signal interval may be determined in the following manner. Various visible time lines in the signal intervals are preset uniformly. For example, a visible time line <NUM> in the signal interval <NUM>, a visible time line <NUM> in the signal interval <NUM>, a visible time line <NUM> in the signal interval <NUM>, and a visible time line <NUM> in the signal interval <NUM> are preset uniformly. A connection line is determined based on all the position information for reporting in a manner of including as much position information as possible on a connection line (in a manner of minimizing a sum of distances from each piece of position information to the connection line). That is to say, a connection line <NUM> is determined based on the position information <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> for reporting. Intersections of the connection line and various visible time lines are determined as pieces of visible position information. That is to say, an intersection <NUM> of the connection line <NUM> and a visible time line <NUM> is determined as the visible position information in the signal interval <NUM>; an intersection <NUM> of the connection line <NUM> and a visible time line <NUM> is determined as the visible position information in the signal interval <NUM>; an intersection <NUM> of the connection line <NUM> and a visible time line <NUM> is determined as the visible position information in the signal interval <NUM>; and an intersection <NUM> of the connection line <NUM> and a visible time line <NUM> is determined as the visible position information in the signal interval <NUM>.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of the touch control apparatus. According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a touch control apparatus is provided. The touch control apparatus is applied to a touch drive module of a terminal device. The terminal device also includes an application processor and a display drive module. The apparatus includes a first receiving module <NUM>, a collection module <NUM>, a frequency module <NUM> and a reporting module <NUM>. The first receiving module <NUM> is configured to receive a vertical synchronization signal. The collection module <NUM> is configured to collect position information corresponding to a touch operation. The frequency module <NUM> is configured to determine a reporting frequency of the position information based on the vertical synchronization signal, such that the position information is reported once in one signal interval. The signal interval is an interval between two adjacent vertical synchronization signals. The reporting module <NUM> is configured to report the position information to the application processor based on the reporting frequency.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the collection module <NUM> is configured to collect the position information corresponding to the touch operation inputted by a user based on a preset frequency.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the frequency module <NUM> includes a first reporting unit and a second reporting unit. The first reporting unit is configured to determine position information for reporting in one signal interval based on at least one piece of position information collected in the one signal interval. The second reporting unit is configured to determine position information for reporting in each of at least two signal intervals based on at least two pieces of position information collected in the at least two signal intervals. At least one piece of position information is collected in each signal interval.

In some embodiments, the first reporting unit is configured to: in response to collecting one piece of position information in the one signal interval, report the position information; and in response to collecting at least two pieces of position information in the one signal interval, report one of the at least two pieces of position information.

Regarding the apparatus according to the foregoing embodiments, the operation performed by each module of the apparatus has been described in detail in the method embodiments, and thus will not be repeated here.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram of a touch control apparatus. According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a touch control apparatus is provided. The touch control apparatus is applied to an application processor of a terminal device. The terminal device further includes a touch drive module. The apparatus also includes a sending module <NUM> and a second receiving module <NUM>. The sending module <NUM> is configured to send a vertical synchronization signal to the touch drive module. The second receiving module <NUM> is configured to receive position information reported by the touch drive module. Each piece of position information in the position information reported corresponds to one signal interval between two adjacent vertical synchronization signals.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device further includes a display drive module. The sending module is configured to send the vertical synchronization signal to the display drive module. The display module sends the vertical synchronization signal to the touch drive module.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes a visible module. The visible module is configured to determine visible position information based on the position information for reporting and the vertical synchronization signal, such that time intervals between pieces of visible position information and adjacent vertical synchronization signals are equal.

Regarding the apparatus according to the foregoing embodiments, the specific operation performed by each module of the apparatus has been described in detail in the method embodiments, and thus will not be repeated here.

According to a fifth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided. Illustratively, <FIG> is a block diagram of an electronic device <NUM> according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, the device <NUM> may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a messaging device, a game console, a tablet device, a medical device, an exercise device, a personal digital assistant, and so on.

The processing component <NUM> normally controls the overall operation (such as operations associated with displaying, telephone calls, data communications, camera operations and recording operations) of the device <NUM>. The processing component <NUM> may include one or a plurality of processors <NUM> to execute instructions so as to perform all or part of the steps of the above described method. In addition, the processing component <NUM> may include one or a plurality of units to facilitate interactions between the processing component <NUM> and other components. For example, the processing component <NUM> may include a multimedia unit to facilitate interactions between the multimedia component <NUM> and the processing component <NUM>. Also for example, the processing component <NUM> may execute instructions to implement a touch drive module or an application processor.

The memory <NUM> is configured to store various types of data to support operations at the device <NUM>. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operated on the device <NUM>, contact data, phone book data, messages, images, videos and the like. The memory <NUM> may be realized by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage devices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), a programmable read only memory (PROM), a read only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a disk or an optical disk.

The power component <NUM> may include a power management system, one or a plurality of power sources and other components associated with power generation, management, and distribution of the device <NUM>.

The multimedia component <NUM> includes a screen that provides an output interface between the device <NUM> and the user. If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or a plurality of touch sensors to sense touches, slides, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensor may sense not only the boundary of the touches or sliding actions, but also the duration and pressure related to the touches or sliding operations. When the device <NUM> is in an operation mode such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front camera and/or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data. Each front camera and rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or have a focal length and an optical zoom capability.

The audio component <NUM> is configured to output and/or input an audio signal. For example, the audio component <NUM> includes a microphone (MIC) that is configured to receive an external audio signal when the device <NUM> is in an operation mode such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signal may be further stored in the memory <NUM> or transmitted via the communication component <NUM>. In some embodiments, the audio component <NUM> further includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

The I/O interface <NUM> provides an interface between the processing component <NUM> and a peripheral interface unit. The peripheral interface unit may be a keyboard, a click wheel, a button and so on. These buttons may include, but are not limited to, a home button, a volume button, a start button, and a locking button.

The sensor assembly <NUM> includes one or a plurality of sensors for providing the device <NUM> with various aspects of status assessments. For example, the sensor component <NUM> may detect an ON/OFF state of the device <NUM> and a relative positioning of the components. For example, the components may be a display and a keypad of the device <NUM>. The sensor component <NUM> may also detect a change in position of the device <NUM> or a component of the device <NUM>, the presence or absence of contact of the user with the device <NUM>, the orientation or acceleration/deceleration of the device <NUM> and a temperature change of the device <NUM>. The sensor component <NUM> may also include a light sensor (such as a CMOS or a CCD image sensor) for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component <NUM> may further include an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component <NUM> is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the device <NUM> and other devices. The device <NUM> may access a wireless network based on a communication standard such as Wi-Fi, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM>, or a combination thereof. In some exemplary embodiments, the communication component <NUM> receives broadcast signals or broadcast-associated information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In some exemplary embodiments, the communication component <NUM> further includes a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short range communication. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, infrared data association (IrDA) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology and other technologies.

In some exemplary embodiments, the device <NUM> may be implemented by one or a plurality of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components, so as to perform the above touch control method.

In a sixth aspect, in some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, there is also provided a non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions, such as a memory <NUM> including instructions. The instructions are executable by the processor <NUM> of the device <NUM> to perform the above method. For example, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium may be a ROM, a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, etc..

Claim 1:
A touch control method, applied to a touch drive module of a terminal device, the method comprising:
receiving (S101) a vertical synchronization signal from an application processor of the terminal device;
collecting (S102) position information corresponding to a touch operation;
determining (S103) a reporting frequency of the position information based on the vertical synchronization signal, such that the position information is reported once in one signal interval, the signal interval being an interval between two adjacent vertical synchronization signals; and
reporting (S104) the position information to the application processor based on the reporting frequency;
characterized in that, determining (S103) the reporting frequency of the position information based on the vertical synchronization signal comprises:
in response to acquiring at least two pieces of position information in one signal interval, determining one piece of position information for reporting in one signal interval based on the at least two pieces of position information acquired in the one signal interval, such that one piece of position information is reported in one signal interval;
wherein determining one piece of position information for reporting in one signal interval based on the at least two pieces of position information acquired in the one signal interval comprises:
obtaining a preset reporting time line in the signal interval;
determining a first connection line based on the at least two pieces of position information in the one signal interval; and
determining an intersection of the reporting time line and the first connection line as one piece of position information for reporting.