IP Library Granted Patent US 9,939,965
Granted Patent B2
US 9,939,965 · App. 13/711,105 · Granted Apr 10, 2018

Sending drive signals with an increased number of pulses to particular drive lines

Inventor: Kishore Sundara-Rajan (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: Atmel Corporation
G06F3/044
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,939,965
App. No.
13/711,105
Granted
Apr 10, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

In one embodiment, a method includes detecting a touch of an object on a device. The method also includes predicting an area of the device that the detected touch will move to. The method further includes sending a first set of drive signals to one or more drive lines within the predicted area, the first set of drive signals each having a first number of pulses. The method further includes sending a second set of drive signals to one or more drive lines outside the predicted area, the second set of drive signals each having a second number of pulses. Furthermore, the first number of pulses is greater than the second number of pulses.

Claims (94)

1. A method comprising:

detecting a touch of an object on a device;

predicting an area of the device to which the detected touch will move;

sending, in response to predicting the area of the device to which the detected touch will move, a first set of drive signals to one or more drive lines within the predicted area, the first set of drive signals each having a first number of pulses; and

sending, in response to predicting the area of the device to which the detected touch will move, a second set of drive signals to one or more drive lines outside the predicted area, the second set of drive signals each having a second number of pulses, wherein the first number of pulses is greater than the second number of pulses and wherein both the first number of pulses and the second number of pulses are a non-zero number of pulses.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

detecting that the object is not touching the device anymore; and

in response to the detected absence of touch, sending a third set of drive signals to the one or more drive lines within the predicted area and the one or more drive lines outside the predicted area, the third set of drive signals each having a third number of pulses, wherein the third number of pulses is lower than the second number of pulses and the first number of pulses.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

predicting a second area of the device to which the detected touch will move;

sending a third set of drive signals to one or more drive lines within the second predicted area, the third set of drive signals each having a third number of pulses; and

sending a fourth set of drive signals to one or more drive lines outside the second predicted area, the fourth set of drive signals each having a fourth number of pulses, wherein the third number of pulses is greater than the fourth number of pulses.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object is selected from a group consisting of:

a user's finger;

an active stylus; and

a passive stylus.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the first number of pulses based at least on one or more of:

an indication corresponding to a power savings of the device;

an indication corresponding to a frame rate of the device; and

an indication corresponding to a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first number of pulses is greater than or equal to 16 pulses.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first number of pulses is greater than or equal to 12 pulses and less than or equal to 63 pulses.

8. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying logic that is operable when executed to:

detect a touch of an object on a device;

predict an area of the device to which the detected touch will move;

send, in response to predicting the area of the device to which the detected touch will move, a first set of drive signals to one or more drive lines within the predicted area, the first set of drive signals each having a first number of pulses; and

send, in response to predicting the area of the device to which the detected touch will move, a second set of drive signals to one or more drive lines outside the predicted area, the second set of drive signals each having a second number of pulses, wherein the first number of pulses is greater than the second number of pulses and wherein both the first number of pulses and the second number of pulses are a non-zero number of pulses.

9. The media of claim 8 , wherein the logic is further operable when executed to:

detect that the object is not touching the device anymore; and

in response to the detected absence of touch, send a third set of drive signals to the one or more drive lines within the predicted area and the one or more drive lines outside the predicted area, the third set of drive signals each having a third number of pulses, wherein the third number of pulses is lower than the second number of pulses and the first number of pulses.

10. The media of claim 8 , wherein the logic is further operable when executed to:

predict a second area of the device to which the detected touch will move;

send a third set of drive signals to one or more drive lines within the second predicted area, the third set of drive signals each having a third number of pulses; and

send a fourth set of drive signals to one or more drive lines outside the second predicted area, the fourth set of drive signals each having a fourth number of pulses, wherein the third number of pulses is greater than the fourth number of pulses.

11. The media of claim 8 , wherein the object is selected from a group consisting of:

a user's finger;

an active stylus; and

a passive stylus.

12. The media of claim 8 , wherein the predicted area is based at least on an area in which the detected touch occurred.

13. The media of claim 8 , wherein the logic is further operable when executed to determine the first number of pulses based at least on one or more of:

an indication corresponding to a power savings of the device;

an indication corresponding to a frame rate of the device; and

an indication corresponding to a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the device.

14. A device comprising:

a touch sensor; and

a touch-sensor controller operable to:

detect a touch of an object on a device;

determine whether the object is a stylus;

perform, based on determining that the object is a stylus, operations comprising:

predicting an area of the device to which the detected touch will move;

sending a first set of drive signals to one or more drive lines within the predicted area, the first set of drive signals each having a first number of pulses; and

sending a second set of drive signals to one or more drive lines outside the predicted area, the second set of drive signals each having a second number of pulses, wherein the first number of pulses is greater than the second number of pulses and wherein both the first number of pulses and the second number of pulses are a non-zero number of pulses.

15. The device of claim 14 , wherein the touch-sensor controller is further operable to:

detect that the object is not touching the device anymore; and

in response to the detected absence of touch, send a third set of drive signals to the one or more drive lines within the predicted area and the one or more drive lines outside the predicted area, the third set of drive signals each having a third number of pulses, wherein the third number of pulses is lower than the second number of pulses and the first number of pulses.

16. The device of claim 14 , wherein the touch-sensor controller is further operable to:

predict a second area of the device to which the detected touch will move;

send a third set of drive signals to one or more drive lines within the second predicted area, the third set of drive signals each having a third number of pulses; and

send a fourth set of drive signals to one or more drive lines outside the second predicted area, the fourth set of drive signals each having a fourth number of pulses, wherein the third number of pulses is greater than the fourth number of pulses.

17. The device of claim 14 , wherein the object is selected from a group consisting of:

a user's finger;

an active stylus; and

a passive stylus.

18. The device of claim 14 , wherein the predicted area is based at least on an area in which the detected touch occurred.

19. The device of claim 14 , wherein the touch-sensor controller is further operable to determine the first number of pulses based at least on one or more of:

an indication corresponding to a power savings of the device;

an indication corresponding to a frame rate of the device; and

an indication corresponding to a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the device.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein predicting the area of the device to which the detected touch will move comprises calculating the predicted area to which the detected touch will move according to the following formula:

NX

p

=

NX

object

+

2

v

object

N

latency

X

pitch

F

,

where:

NX object is a size of a footprint of the object;

v object is a fastest speed of travel of the object;

N latency is a latency between an end of a scan of a touch sensor and a determination of a position of the object based on the scan;

X pitch is a drive line pitch of the touch sensor; and

F is a frame rate.

Assignments (12)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Mar 9, 2022
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 059358/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 28, 2022
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 059262/0105 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 25, 2022
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 059333/0222 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 5, 2019
From: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY GERMANY GMBH
To: NEODRÓN LIMITED
Reel/Frame 048259/0840 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN CERTAIN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Dec 21, 2018
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 047976/0884 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN CERTAIN PATENT RIGHTS Recorded Dec 21, 2018
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 047976/0937 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 18, 2018
From: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 047103/0206 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 25, 2018
From: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 046426/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 10, 2017
From: ATMEL CORPORATION
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 041715/0747 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT COLLATERAL Recorded Apr 7, 2016
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 038376/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 3, 2014
From: ATMEL CORPORATION
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC. AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 031912/0173 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 11, 2012
From: SUNDARA-RAJAN, KISHORE
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 029447/0350 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20140160036A1 · Jun 12, 2014