Patent ID: 8390596

Claim:
A control method, for a touch panel comprising a first terminal, a second terminal, a third terminal, a fourth terminal, a first resistive film arranged such that one edge thereof that extends in a first direction is connected to the first terminal and an edge that is opposite to the aforementioned one edge is connected to the second terminal, and a second resistive film arranged with a gap between it and the first resistive film such that one edge thereof that extends in a second direction orthogonal to the aforementioned first direction is connected to the third terminal, and an edge that is opposite to the aforementioned one edge is connected to the fourth terminal, the control method comprising: applying a predetermined first bias voltage and a predetermined second bias voltage to the first terminal and the second terminal, respectively; detecting a first panel voltage and a second panel voltage that occur at the third and fourth terminals, respectively; detecting a first panel current that flows through a path that comprises the first terminal, the first resistive film, and the second terminal; provisionally determining of the second-direction coordinate of a point touched by the user based upon the first panel current and at least one of the first and second panel voltages; applying predetermined third and fourth bias voltages to the third and fourth terminals, respectively; detecting a third panel voltage that occurs at one of the first and second terminals; detecting a second panel current that flows through a path that comprises the third terminal, the second resistive film, and the fourth terminal; provisionally determining the first-direction coordinate of the point touched by the user, based upon at least the third panel voltage and the second panel current; and determining the coordinates of two points by combining the second-direction coordinates of the two points thus provisionally determined and the first-direction coordinates of the two points thus provisionally determined, based upon the magnitude relation between the first panel voltage and the second panel voltage, when the user touches the two points at the same time.