Adaptive force sensing

• US 10,175,833 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2016
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Wang, Ying, Schwartz, Adam L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Okebato, Sahlu
• Application Number:
  US15/080,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20160370909A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• 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 method of operating a force-sensitive input device having an input surface comprises declaring a first press action upon detecting an amount of force applied to the input surface that exceeds a first no-press force value by at least a first press threshold value, determining a maximum force value applied to the input surface during the first press action, and setting a release threshold value for a subsequent release action based on the determined maximum force value.

Claims

1. A method of operating a force-sensitive input device having an input surface, the method comprising:

declaring a first press action upon detecting a first amount of force applied to the input surface that exceeds a first no-press force value by at least a first press threshold value;

determining a maximum force value applied to the input surface during the first press action;

based on the determined maximum force value, determining a release threshold value; and

declaring a release action based upon detecting that the first amount of force applied to the input surface during the first press action has decreased from the maximum force value by at least the release threshold value; and

determining a second no-press force value for a second press action, wherein the second no-press force value differs from the first no-press force value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the release threshold value based on the maximum force value comprises:

determining a difference between the maximum force value and the first no-press force value; and

multiplying the determined difference by a predetermined factor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein declaring the release action based upon detecting that the first amount of force has decreased from the maximum force value by at least the release threshold value comprises determining that the first amount of force is less than the release threshold value.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

determining the second no-press force value for the second press action upon declaring the release action.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining a minimum force value applied to the input surface after declaring the release action,

wherein the second no-press force value is the determined minimum force value.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

determining an updated second press threshold value based on the first press threshold value; and

declaring a second press action upon detecting an amount of force applied to the input surface that exceeds the second no-press force value by at least the second press threshold value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first press threshold value differs from the release threshold value.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein declaring a start of the first press action is performed responsive to determining that a rate of the force applied to the input surface exceeds at least a threshold rate value.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a location of the force applied to the input surface,

wherein the detected amount of force applied to the input surface is compensated based on the determined location.

10. A processing system for a force-sensitive input device having an input surface, the processing system comprising:

a force sensing module communicatively coupled to a plurality of sensor electrodes of the input device,

wherein the force sensing module is configured to;

declare, based on signals received from the plurality of sensor electrodes, a first press action upon detecting a first amount of force applied to the input surface exceeding a first no-press force value by at least a first press threshold value;

determine a maximum force value applied to the input surface during the first press action;

based on the determined maximum force value, determine a release threshold value; and

declare a release action based upon detecting that a second the first amount of force applied to the input surface during the first press action has decreased from the maximum force value by at least sat-files the release threshold value; and

determine a second no-press force value for a second press action, wherein the second no-press force value differs from the first no-press force value.

11. The processing system of claim 10, wherein determining the release threshold value based on the maximum force value-comprises:

determining a difference between the maximum force value and the first no-press force value; and

multiplying the determined difference by a predetermined factor.

12. The processing system of claim 10, wherein declaring the release action based upon detecting that the first amount of force has decreased from the maximum force value by at least the release threshold value comprises:

declaring the release action upon determining that the first amount of force is less than the release threshold value.

13. The processing system of claim 12, wherein the force sensing module is further configured to:

determining second no-press force value for a second press action upon declaring the release action.

14. The processing system of claim 13, wherein the force sensing module is further configured to:

determine a minimum force value applied to the input surface after declaring the release action,

wherein the second no-press force value is the determined minimum force value.

15. The processing system of claim 14, wherein the force sensing module is further configured to:

determine an updated second press threshold value based on the first press threshold value; and

declare a second press action upon detecting an amount of force applied to the input surface that exceeds the second no-press force value by at least the second press threshold value.

16. The processing system of claim 10, further comprising:

a touch sensing module communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensor electrodes,

wherein the touch sensing module is configured to;

determine, based on the signals received from the plurality of sensor electrodes, a location corresponding to the force applied to the input surface,

wherein the force sensing module is further configured to compensate the detected amount of force applied to the input surface based on the determined location.

17. An input device comprising:

a plurality of sensor electrodes configured to detect positional information and force information of input objects in a sensing region of the input device, the sensing region overlapping an input surface of the input device;

a processing system communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensor electrodes, the processing system configured to;

declare, based on signals received from the plurality of sensor electrodes, a first press action upon detecting a first amount of force applied to the input surface exceeding a first no-press force value by at least a first press threshold value;

determine a maximum force value applied to the input surface during the first press action;

based on the determined maximum force value, determining a release threshold value;

declare a release action based upon detecting that a second amount of force applied to the input surface during the first press action satisfies the release threshold value; and

determine a second no-press force value for a second press action, wherein the second no-press force value differs from the first no-press force value.

18. The input device of claim 17, wherein declaring the release action based upon detecting that the first amount of force has decreased from the maximum force value by at least the release threshold value comprises:

declaring the release action upon determining that the second amount of force is less than the release threshold value.

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

determine the second no-press force value for a second press action upon declaring the release action.

20. The input device of claim 17, further comprising:

a display, wherein the processing system is further configured to update the display using at least a subset of the plurality of sensor electrodes.