Stylus detection and demodulation

• US 10,048,775 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Shahparnia, Shahrooz, Elias, John Greer
• Primary Examiner(s): Boddie, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARKER, JEFFREY ALAN
• Application Number:
  US13/831,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20140267075A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,979 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

A touch input device configured to detect stylus signals generated by an external stylus is provided. The touch input device includes a plurality of stylus signal detectors that can receive the stylus signal and estimate the start and end time of the stylus signal in order to facilitate windowed demodulation of signal. The touch input device also includes circuitry to determine which of the plurality of detectors is most likely to have received the stylus signal and based on that determination can demodulate the signal and extract data embedded within the stylus signal.

Claims

1. A method of detecting stylus signals generated by an asynchronous stylus on a touch input device, the method comprising:

configuring the touch input device to receive a stylus signal, the stylus signal generated by the asynchronous stylus, wherein the asynchronous stylus generates the stylus signal asynchronously from the touch input device, and the stylus signal generated by the asynchronous stylus has a start time and an end time;

receiving the stylus signal at a plurality of stylus signal detectors, each of the plurality of stylus signal detectors corresponding to one of a plurality of sense channels of the touch input device;

generating one or more metrics at the plurality of stylus signal detectors pertaining to the received stylus signal, the metrics comprising a first time corresponding to an estimated start time of the received stylus signal and a second time corresponding to an estimated end time of the stylus signal transmission;

determining which of the plurality of stylus signal detectors has a greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal based on the one or more metrics; and

demodulating the received stylus signal, at a plurality of demodulators, each of the plurality of demodulators corresponding to one of the plurality of sense channels of the input device, based on the first time and the second time from the stylus signal detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the touch input device to receive the stylus signal includes configuring a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense lines configured for receiving touch inputs to additionally receive the stylus signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein configuring the plurality of sense lines to receive the stylus signal includes coupling each sense line of the plurality of sense lines to a stylus signal detector of the plurality of stylus signal detectors.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more metrics can include an estimated signal strength of the received stylus signal.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining which of the plurality of stylus signal detectors has the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal includes comparing the estimated signal strengths of the plurality of detectors and determining which detector of the plurality of detectors has the greatest estimated signal strength.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein demodulating the received stylus signal based on the first time and the second time from the stylus detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal includes using the first time and the second time to facilitate a windowed demodulation of the received stylus signal.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising organizing the demodulated stylus signal into a frame of data, wherein the frame of data is synchronized in time to the generation of the stylus signal by the asynchronous stylus using the first time and the second time from the stylus signal detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising extracting a plurality of data from the demodulated stylus signal.

9. An apparatus for detecting stylus signals generated by an asynchronous stylus on a touch input device, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of electrodes capable of operating as touch detection hardware during a touch operation mode and operating as stylus detection hardware during a stylus detection mode;

a plurality of stylus signal detectors coupled to the plurality of electrodes during a stylus detection mode, each of the plurality of stylus signal detectors corresponding to one of a plurality of sense channels of the touch input device, each of the plurality of stylus signal detectors capable of receiving a stylus signal, the stylus signal generated by the asynchronous stylus, wherein the asynchronous stylus generates the stylus signal asynchronously from the touch input device, and the stylus signal generated by the asynchronous stylus has a start time and an end time, and generating one or more metrics pertaining to the received stylus signal, the metrics comprising a first time corresponding to an estimated start time of the received stylus signal and a second time corresponding to an estimated end time of stylus signal transmission;

an arbiter coupled to the plurality of stylus signal detectors and capable of;

determining which of the plurality of stylus signal detectors has the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal based on the metrics transmitted by the stylus signal detectors; and

outputting the first time and the second time from the stylus signal detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal; and

a plurality of demodulators, each of the plurality of demodulators corresponding to one of the plurality of sense channels of the input device and configured to demodulate the received stylus signal based on the first time and the second time from the stylus signal detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, further including a processor capable of configuring the input device to alternate between a touch detection mode and a stylus detection mode, wherein configuring the input device to operate in a stylus detection mode includes configuring a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense lines configured to receive a touch input to receive the stylus signal.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising switching hardware configured to couple each sense line of the plurality of sense lines to a stylus signal detector of the plurality of stylus signal detectors.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the one or more metrics generated by the plurality of stylus signal detectors include an estimated signal strength of the detected stylus signal.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the arbiter determines which of the plurality of detectors has the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal by comparing the estimated signal strengths of the plurality of detectors and determining which detector of the plurality of detectors has the greatest estimated signal strength.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of demodulators use the first time and the second time from the stylus signal detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal to facilitate a windowed demodulation of the received stylus signal.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a frame synchronizer configured to organize the demodulated stylus signal into a frame of data, wherein the frame of data is synchronized in time to the generation of the stylus signal by the asynchronous stylus using the first time and the second time from the stylus signal detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a data extraction unit configured to extract a plurality of data from the demodulated stylus signal.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of instructions for detecting and demodulating a stylus signal generated by an asynchronous stylus, that when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

configure the touch input device to receive a stylus signal, the stylus signal generated by the asynchronous stylus, wherein the asynchronous stylus generates the stylus signal asynchronously from the touch input device, and the stylus signal generated by the asynchronous stylus has a start time and an end time;

receive the stylus signal on a touch sensor panel at a plurality of stylus signal detectors, each of the plurality of stylus signal detectors corresponding to one of a plurality of sense channels of the touch input device;

generate one or more metrics pertaining to the received stylus signal using the plurality of stylus signal detectors, the metrics comprising a first time corresponding to an estimated start time of the received stylus signal and a second time corresponding to an estimated end time of the stylus signal transmission;

determine which of a plurality of stylus signal detectors has the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal based on the one or more metrics; and

demodulate, at a plurality of demodulators, each of the plurality of demodulators corresponding to one of the plurality of sense channels of the input device, the received stylus signal based on the first time and the second time from the stylus signal detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein configuring the touch input device to receive the stylus signal includes configuring a plurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense lines configured for receiving touch inputs to additionally receive the stylus signal.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein configuring the plurality of sense lines to receive the stylus signal includes coupling each sense line of the plurality of sense lines to a stylus signal detector of the plurality of stylus signal detectors.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the one or more metrics include an estimated signal strength of the detected stylus signal.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein determining which of the plurality of stylus signal detectors has the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal includes comparing the estimated signal strengths of the plurality of detectors and determining which detector of the plurality of detectors has the greatest estimated signal strength.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein demodulating the received stylus signal based on the first time and the second time from the stylus detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal includes using the first time and the second time to facilitate a windowed demodulation of the received stylus signal.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the processor is further caused to organize the demodulated stylus signal into a frame of data, wherein the frame of data is synchronized in time to the generation of the stylus signal by the asynchronous stylus using the first time and the second time from the stylus signal detector determined to have the greatest likelihood of having received the stylus signal.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the processor is further caused to extract a plurality of data from the demodulated signal.