IP Library Granted Patent US 11,294,514
Granted Patent B2
US 11,294,514 · App. 17/008,608 · Granted Apr 5, 2022

Baseline update for input object detection

Inventors: Katherine Kuan (San Jose, CA); Nickolas Fotopoulos (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
G06F3/044G06F3/0418G06F2203/04101G06F2203/04106
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,294,514
App. No.
17/008,608
Granted
Apr 5, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Baseline update for input object detection includes determining raw measurements from resulting signals acquired for a sensing region, obtaining a masked region of the sensing region based on the raw measurements, and generating a baseline update value using a subset of the raw measurements corresponding to an unmasked region. A baseline value of the masked region is updated using the baseline update value to obtain an updated baseline. A location of an input object is detected using the updated baseline.

Claims (83)

1. A processing system comprising:

a processing circuitry configured to:

determine a first plurality of raw measurements from a plurality of resulting signals acquired for a sensing region,

generate a plurality of delta measurements based on the first plurality of raw measurements and baseline values of a previous frame,

add a first mask location to a masked region of the sensing region based on one or more of the delta values in the plurality of delta values being greater than a specified threshold,

generate a baseline update value using a subset of the first plurality of raw measurements corresponding to an unmasked region of the sensing region, the unmasked region and the masked region being concurrently existing locations in the sensing region,

update a baseline value of the masked region using the baseline update value to obtain an updated baseline, and

detect a location of an input object using the updated baseline,

wherein the masked region comprises a plurality of mask locations corresponding to a plurality of possible locations of the input object,

wherein the masked region distinguishes between the plurality of possible locations with the unmasked region determined not to have the input object, and

wherein detecting the location of the input object using the updated baseline comprises detecting the location from the plurality of possible locations.

2. The processing system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

update at least one baseline value of the unmasked region according to a current baseline and the first plurality of raw measurements to create the updated baseline.

3. The processing system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine a second plurality of raw measurements from the plurality of resulting signals, the plurality of resulting signals spanning a least two sensing frames,

determine, for each corresponding baseline value of at least a subset of baseline values in the updated baseline, a delta value between a raw measurement in the second plurality of raw measurements and the corresponding baseline value to obtain a plurality of delta values, and

detect the location of the input object based on the plurality of delta values satisfying a threshold.

4. The processing system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine whether a transcapacitive image obtained from the first plurality of raw measurements indicates a location of the input object, and

add the location of the input object to the masked region as a second mask location.

5. The processing system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

compare the first plurality of raw measurements with a second plurality of raw measurements to obtain a comparison result,

the first plurality of raw measurements obtained for a first sensing frame and the second plurality of raw measurements obtained for a second sensing frame, the second sensing frame preceding the first sensing frame, and

add a location to the masked region as a second mask location, based on the comparison result.

6. The processing system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

obtain a subset of the plurality of raw measurements, the subset of the plurality of raw measurements corresponding to the unmasked region, and

for each pixel in the unmasked region, shift a corresponding baseline value for the pixel by a shift amount determined from a corresponding raw measurement and a current baseline value to obtain an updated baseline value in the updated baseline.

7. The processing system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine a shift amount for each of a plurality of pixels in the unmasked region to obtain a plurality of shift amounts, and

combine the plurality of shift amounts into the baseline update value.

8. The processing system of claim 7 , wherein combining the plurality of shift amounts is averaging the plurality of shift amounts.

9. A method comprising:

determining a first plurality of raw measurements from a plurality of resulting signals acquired for a sensing region;

generating a plurality of delta measurements based on the first plurality of raw measurements and baseline values of a previous frame;

adding a first mask location to a masked region of the sensing region based on one or more of the plurality of delta values being greater than a specified threshold;

generating a baseline update value using a subset of the first plurality of raw measurements corresponding to an unmasked region of the sensing region, the unmasked region and the masked region are concurrently existing locations in the sensing region;

updating a baseline value of the masked region using the baseline update value to obtain an updated baseline; and

detecting a location of an input object using the updated baseline,

wherein the masked region comprises a plurality of mask locations corresponding to a plurality of possible locations of the input object,

wherein the masked region distinguishes between the plurality of possible locations with the unmasked region determined not to have the input object, and

wherein detecting the location of the input object using the updated baseline comprises detecting the location from the plurality of possible locations.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

determining whether a transcapacitive image obtained from the first plurality of raw measurements indicates a location of the input object, and

adding the location of the input object to the masked region as a second mask location.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

comparing the first plurality of raw measurements with a second plurality of raw measurements to obtain a comparison result,

the first plurality of raw measurements obtained for a first sensing frame and the second plurality of raw measurements obtained for a second sensing frame, the second sensing frame preceding the first sensing frame, and

adding a second mask location to the masked region based on the comparison result.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

generating a plurality of delta measurements based on the first plurality of raw measurements and a current baseline, and

adding a second mask location to the masked region based on the plurality of delta measurements.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

determining a shift amount for each of a plurality of pixels in the unmasked region to obtain a plurality of shift amounts, and

combining the plurality of shift amounts into the baseline update value.

14. An input device comprising:

a plurality of sensor electrodes; and

a processing system operatively connected to the sensor electrodes and configured to:

drive the plurality of sensor electrodes,

acquire, from the plurality of sensor electrodes and based on driving the plurality of sensor electrodes, a plurality of resulting signals of a sensing region,

determine a first plurality of raw measurements from the plurality of resulting signals,

generate a plurality of delta measurements based on the first plurality of raw measurements and baseline values of a previous frame,

add a first mask location to a masked region of the sensing region based on one or more of the delta values in the plurality of delta values being greater than a specified threshold,

generate a baseline update value using a subset of the first plurality of raw measurements corresponding to an unmasked region of the sensing region, the unmasked region and the masked region are concurrently existing locations in the sensing region,

update a baseline value of the masked region using the baseline update value to obtain an updated baseline, and

detect a location of an input object using the updated baseline,

wherein the masked region comprises a plurality of mask locations corresponding to a plurality of possible locations of the input object,

wherein the masked region distinguishes between the plurality of possible locations with the unmasked region determined not to have the input object, and

wherein detecting the location of the input object using the updated baseline comprises detecting the location from the plurality of possible locations.

15. The input device of claim 14 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:

determine whether a transcapacitive image obtained from the first plurality of raw measurements indicates a location of the input object, and

add the location of the input object to the masked region as a second mask location.

16. The input device of claim 14 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:

compare the first plurality of raw measurements with a second plurality of raw measurements to obtain a comparison result,

the first plurality of raw measurements obtained for a first sensing frame and the second plurality of raw measurements obtained for a second sensing frame, the second sensing frame preceding the first sensing frame, and

add a second mask location to the masked region based on the comparison result.

17. The input device of claim 14 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:

obtain a subset of the plurality of raw measurements, the subset of the plurality of raw measurements corresponding to the unmasked region, and

for each pixel in the unmasked region, shift a corresponding baseline value for the pixel by a shift amount determined from a corresponding raw measurement and a current baseline value to obtain an updated baseline value in the updated baseline.

18. The input device of claim 14 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:

determine a shift amount for each of a plurality of pixels in the unmasked region to obtain a plurality of shift amounts, and

combine the plurality of shift amounts into the baseline update value.

19. The processing system of claim 1 ,

wherein the adding of the first mask location to the masked region provides a distinction between the masked region with a possible presence of the input object and the unmasked region with a confirmed absence of the input object.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 9, 2021
From: KUAN, KATHERINE; FOTOPOULOS, NICKOLAS
To: SYNAPTICS INCORPORATED
Reel/Frame 056807/0508 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Mar 12, 2021
From: SYNAPTICS INCORPORATED
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 055581/0737 →