Granted Patent B2

US 11,494,037 · App. 16/932,901 · Granted Nov 8, 2022

Inventors: Trond Jarle Pedersen (Trondheim, NO); John Stanley Dubery (Basingstroke, GB)

Assignee: Atmel Corporation

G06F3/044G06F3/04164G06F2203/04101G06F2203/04105

Abstract

Claims (69)

1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising logic, the logic configured to, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

applying a first excitation voltage to an electrode of a touch sensor, wherein applying the first excitation voltage to the electrode charges a capacitive node associated with the electrode from a first voltage level to a second voltage level that is greater than the first voltage level;

determining a first charge measurement, wherein the first charge measurement is associated with a first change from the first voltage level to the second voltage level;

applying, by a controller of the touch sensor, a second excitation voltage to the electrode of the touch sensor, wherein applying the second excitation voltage to the electrode charges the capacitive node from the second voltage level to a third voltage level that is greater than the second voltage level;

discharging the capacitive node from the third voltage level to a fourth voltage level that is less than the second voltage level;

determining a second charge measurement, wherein the second charge measurement is associated with a second change from the third voltage level to the fourth voltage level; and

determining a measured charge signal based on the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement;

wherein the excitation voltage is:

the first excitation voltage and the second excitation voltage are each derived from a reference voltage;

the first excitation voltage is less than the reference voltage; and

the second excitation voltage is greater than two times the reference voltage.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein determining the measured charge signal based on the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement comprises combining the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise:

comparing the measured charge signal to a reference measurement; and

determining that an object is within a detection distance of the touch sensor based on a difference between the measured charge signal and the reference measurement.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein:

the first charge measurement is associated with a first integration performed over a first time period,

the second charge measurement is associated with a second integration performed over a second time period, and

the first time period and the second time period are equal.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein

applying the second excitation voltage comprises amplifying the first excitation voltage.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein a signal to noise ratio of the measured charge signal is characterized as follows: V1 represents a magnitude of the first change, N1 represents a first noise component associated with the first change, V1+N1 represents the first charge measurement, V2 represents a magnitude of the second change, N2 represents a second noise component associated with the second change, and V2+N2 represents the second charge measurement.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein a magnitude of the first charge measurement is different than a magnitude of the second charge measurement.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1 , wherein the first voltage level and the fourth voltage level are different.

9. A method, comprising:

applying a first excitation voltage to an electrode of a touch sensor, wherein applying the first excitation voltage to the electrode charges a capacitive node associated with the electrode from a first voltage level to a second voltage level that is greater than the first voltage level;

determining a first charge measurement, wherein the first charge measurement is associated with a first change from the first voltage level to the second voltage level;

applying, by a controller of the touch sensor, a second excitation voltage to the electrode of the touch sensor, wherein applying the second excitation voltage to the electrode charges the capacitive node from the second voltage level to a third voltage level that is greater than the second voltage level;

discharging the capacitive node from the third voltage level to a fourth voltage level that is less than the second voltage level;

determining a second charge measurement, wherein the second charge measurement is associated with a second change from the third voltage level to the fourth voltage level; and

determining a measured charge signal based on the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement;

wherein:

the first excitation voltage and the second excitation voltage are each derived from a reference voltage;

the first excitation voltage is less than the reference voltage; and

the second excitation voltage is greater than two times the reference voltage.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining the measured charge signal based on the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement comprises combining the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

comparing the measured charge signal to a reference measurement; and

determining that an object is within a detection distance of the touch sensor based on a difference between the measured charge signal and the reference measurement.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein:

the first charge measurement is associated with a first integration performed over a first time period,

the second charge measurement is associated with a second integration performed over a second time period, and

the first time period and the second time period are equal.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein

applying the second excitation voltage comprises amplifying the first excitation voltage.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein a signal to noise ratio of the measured charge signal is characterized as follows: V1 represents a magnitude of the first change, N1 represents a first noise component associated with the first change, V1+N1 represents the first charge measurement, V2 represents a magnitude of the second change, N2 represents a second noise component associated with the second change, and V2+N2 represents the second charge measurement.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein a magnitude of the first charge measurement is different than a magnitude of the second charge measurement.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first voltage level and the fourth voltage level are different.

17. A device, comprising:

a touch sensor; and

a processor configured to perform operations comprising:

applying a first excitation voltage to an electrode of a touch sensor, wherein applying the first excitation voltage to the electrode charges a capacitive node associated with the electrode from a first voltage level to a second voltage level that is greater than the first voltage level;

determining a first charge measurement, wherein the first charge measurement is associated with a first change from the first voltage level to the second voltage level;

applying, by a controller of the touch sensor, a second excitation voltage to the electrode of the touch sensor, wherein applying the second excitation voltage to the electrode charges the capacitive node from the second voltage level to a third voltage level that is greater than the second voltage level;

discharging the capacitive node from the third voltage level to a fourth voltage level that is less than the second voltage level;

determining a second charge measurement, wherein the second charge measurement is associated with a second change from the third voltage level to the fourth voltage level; and

determining a measured charge signal based on the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement;

wherein:

the first excitation voltage and the second excitation voltage are each derived from a reference voltage;

the first excitation voltage is less than the reference voltage; and

the second excitation voltage is greater than two times the reference voltage.

18. The device of claim 17 , wherein determining the measured charge signal based on the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement comprises combining the first charge measurement and the second charge measurement.

19. The device of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:

comparing the measured charge signal to a reference measurement; and

determining that an object is within a detection distance of the touch sensor based on a difference between the measured charge signal and the reference measurement.

20. The device of claim 17 , wherein:

the first charge measurement is associated with a first integration performed over a first time period,

the second charge measurement is associated with a second integration performed over a second time period, and

the first time period and the second time period are equal.

Assignments (13)