Measuring body capacitance effect in touch sensitive device

• US 10,282,026 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2016
• Issued: 05/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Krah, Christoph H., Hotelling, Steven P., Yousefpor, Marduke
• Primary Examiner(s): Chow, Van N
• Application Number:
  US15/261,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20160378263A1
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13338 Input devices, e.g. touch panels
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960705 Safety of capacitive touch and proximity switches, e.g. increasing reliability, fail-safe

Abstract

Measuring an effect of body capacitance in a touch sensitive device is disclosed. This effect can be caused by poor grounding of a user or other objects touching the device or of the device itself. The device can operate in a stray capacitance mode to measure a body capacitance effect and in a normal mode to detect a touch on the device. During the stray capacitance mode, the device can obtain a body capacitance measurement from the device. During the normal mode, the device can obtain a touch measurement from the device. The device can calculate a body capacitance factor based on a ratio between the body capacitance measurement and the touch measurement and use the body capacitance factor to compensate for erroneous or distorted touch output values from the device. Various components of the device can be switchably configured according to the particular mode.

Claims

1. A touch sensitive device comprising:

a touch sensor panel configured to sense an object proximate thereto;

scan logic couplable to the touch sensor panel and configured to perform a first scan sequence on the panel to measure a touch by the object at the panel during a first mode and produce a plurality of touch measurement values of a first plurality of sensing nodes; and

perform a second scan sequence on the panel to measure grounding of the object during a second mode and produce a plurality of grounding measurement values of the first plurality of sensing nodes; and

a processor configured to compensate the plurality of touch measurement values from the first scan sequence according to the plurality of grounding measurement values from the second scan sequence.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the second scan sequence is further performed to determine an occurrence of the touch by the object at the panel and wherein the device switches to the first mode if the touch is determined to have occurred.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the scan logic concurrently performs the first scan sequence and the second scan sequence or the scan logic alternates between performing the first scan sequence and the second scan sequence.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor panel comprises:

a sense channel having a switchable input;

a drive channel associated with the sense channel; and

switching circuitry coupled to at least the sense channel and configured to;

transmit a reference signal through the input of the sense channel during the first scan sequence; and

transmit a stimulation signal through the input of the sense channel during the second scan sequence.

5. The touch sensitive device of claim 4, wherein the second scan sequence includes transmitting a common voltage signal from the drive channel.

6. The touch sensitive device of claim 4, wherein the first scan sequence includes transmitting a second stimulation signal from the drive channel.

7. The touch sensitive device of claim 4 incorporated into at least one of a mobile telephone, a digital media player, or a personal computer.

8. The touch sensitive device of claim 4, wherein the drive channel is configured to receive the stimulation signal.

9. The touch sensitive device of claim 4, wherein the stimulation signal is transmitted downstream of the sense channel, the transmitted stimulation signal configured to improve a dynamic range of the sense channel.

10. A method comprising:

performing a first scan sequence on a touch sensor panel to measure a touch by an object proximate to the panel during a first mode and produce a plurality of touch measurement values of a first plurality of sensing nodes;

performing a second scan sequence on the panel to measure grounding of the object during a second mode and produce a plurality of grounding measurement values of the first plurality of sensing nodes; and

compensating the plurality of touch measurement values from the first scan sequence according to the plurality of grounding measurement values from the second scan sequence.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the second scan sequence is further performed to determine an occurrence of the touch by the object at the panel and wherein the device switches to the first mode if the touch is determined to have occurred.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the scan logic concurrently performs the first scan sequence and the second scan sequence or the scan logic alternates between performing the first scan sequence and the second scan sequence.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

transmitting a reference signal through a switchable input of a sense channel of the touch sensor panel during the first scan sequence; and

transmitting a stimulation signal through the input of the sense channel during the second scan sequence.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second scan sequence includes transmitting a common voltage signal from the drive channel.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the first scan sequence includes transmitting a second stimulation signal from the drive channel.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the drive channel is configured to receive the stimulation signal.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the stimulation signal is transmitted downstream of the sense channel, the transmitted stimulation signal configured to improve a dynamic range of the sense channel.