Coarse scan and targeted active mode scan for touch and stylus

• US 10,061,449 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2015
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pant, Vivek, Shahparnia, Shahrooz, Yousefpor, Marduke, Krah, Christoph H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Jennifer
• Application Number:
  US14/869,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20160162101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 345174, 178 1806
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• 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

Power consumption of touch sensing operations for touch sensitive devices can be reduced by implementing a coarse scan (e.g., banked common mode scan) to coarsely detect the presence or absence of an object touching or proximate to a touch sensor panel and the results of the coarse scan can be used to dynamically adjust the operation of the touch sensitive device to perform or not perform a fine scan (e.g., targeted active mode scan). In some examples, the results of the coarse scan can be used to program a touch controller for the next touch sensing frame to idle when no touch event is detected or to perform a fine scan when one or more touch events are detected. In some examples, the results of the coarse scan can be used to abort a scheduled fine scan during the current touch sensing frame when no touch event is detected.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a touch sensor panel comprising touch electrodes; and

processing circuitry coupled to the touch sensor panel and comprising sense channels, the processing circuitry capable of;

performing a first detection scan to identify a location of an object touching or proximate to the touch sensor panel with a coarse resolution, wherein at least one of the sense channels is connected to a first number of the touch electrodes; and

in response to identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution, reconfiguring a connection between the touch electrodes of the touch sensor panel and the sense channels of the processing circuitry and performing a second detection scan to identify a location of the object with a fine resolution, wherein reconfiguring the connection comprises connecting the at least one of the sense channels to a second number of the touch electrodes, the second number of the touch electrodes less than the first number of the touch electrodes.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein during the first detection scan a plurality of groups of touch electrodes are formed, each group formed by coupling together a plurality of touch electrodes of the touch sensor panel, and wherein touch values are generated for the plurality of groups of touch electrodes.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a number of groups of touch electrodes is equal to a number of available sense channels of the processing circuitry.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a group of touch electrodes among the plurality of groups of touch electrodes with a maximum generated touch value among the touch values measured for the plurality of groups of touch electrodes during the first detection scan.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a region of the group of touch electrodes based on touch values of one or more of the plurality of groups of touch electrodes adjacent to the group of touch electrodes with the maximum generated touch value, wherein the region includes fewer touch electrodes than included in the group of touch electrodes.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for touch electrodes of groups of touch electrodes adjacent to the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for rows of touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for columns of touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

10. A method comprising:

at a device comprising a touch sensor panel and processing circuitry, wherein the touch sensor panel comprises touch electrodes and the processing circuitry comprises sense channels;

performing a first detection scan to identify a location of an object touching or proximate to the touch sensor panel with a coarse resolution, wherein at least one of the sense channels is connected to a first number of the touch electrodes; and

in response to identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution, reconfiguring a connection between the touch electrodes of the touch sensor panel and the sense channels of the processing circuitry and performing a second detection scan to identify a location of the object with a fine resolution, wherein reconfiguring the connection comprises connecting the at least one of the sense channels to a second number of the touch electrodes, the second number of the touch electrodes less than the first number of the touch electrodes.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein during the first detection scan a plurality of groups of touch electrodes are formed, each group formed by coupling together a plurality of touch electrodes of the touch sensor panel, and wherein touch values are generated for the plurality of groups of touch electrodes.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a group of touch electrodes among the plurality of groups of touch electrodes with a maximum generated touch value among the touch values measured for the plurality of groups of touch electrodes during the first detection scan.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a region of the group of touch electrodes based on touch values of one or more of the plurality of groups of touch electrodes adjacent to the group of touch electrodes with the maximum generated touch value, wherein the region includes fewer touch electrodes than included in the group of touch electrodes.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for touch electrodes of groups of touch electrodes adjacent to the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for rows of touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for columns of touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, can perform a method, the method comprising:

at a device comprising a touch sensor panel and the processing circuitry, wherein the touch sensor panel comprises touch electrodes and the processing circuitry comprises sense channels;

performing a first detection scan to identify a location of an object touching or proximate to the touch sensor panel with a coarse resolution, wherein at least one of the sense channels is connected to a first number of the touch electrodes; and

in response to identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution, reconfiguring a connection between the touch electrodes of the touch sensor panel and the sense channels of the processing circuitry and performing a second detection scan to identify a location of the object with a fine resolution, wherein reconfiguring the connection comprises connecting the at least one of the sense channels to a second number of the touch electrodes, the second number of the touch electrodes less than the first number of the touch electrodes.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein during the first detection scan a plurality of groups of touch electrodes are formed, each group formed by coupling together a plurality of touch electrodes of the touch sensor panel, and wherein touch values are generated for the plurality of groups of touch electrodes.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a group of touch electrodes among the plurality of groups of touch electrodes with a maximum generated touch value among the touch values measured for the plurality of groups of touch electrodes during the first detection scan.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a region of the group of touch electrodes based on touch values of one or more of the plurality of groups of touch electrodes adjacent to the group of touch electrodes with the maximum generated touch value, wherein the region includes fewer touch electrodes than included in the group of touch electrodes.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 22, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for touch electrodes of groups of touch electrodes adjacent to the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for rows of touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance for columns of touch electrodes of the group of touch electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.