Transcapacitive touch and force sensing in an input device

• US 10,372,259 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2016
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Hoch, David, Schwartz, Adam L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ghebretinsae, Temesghen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cohen, Yaron
• Application Number:
  US15/199,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20170242523A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• 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 2203/04107 Shielding in digitiser, i.e. guard or shielding arrangements, mostly for capacitive touchscreens, e.g. driven shields, driven grounds
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04144 using an array of force sensing means position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells G06F3/0447
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041662 using alternate mutual and self-capacitive scanning
• 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: G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the local deformation of sensor cells

Abstract

An example input device for force and proximity sensing includes a plurality of touch electrodes including touch transmitter electrodes and touch receiver electrodes, and a force electrode layer including a plurality of force electrodes. The input device further includes a resilient material layer disposed between the plurality of touch electrodes and the force electrode layer. The input device further includes a processing system coupled to the plurality of touch electrodes and the plurality of force electrodes, the processing system configured to: drive the transmitter electrodes with touch transmitter signals and acquire a transcapacitive proximity measurement from the touch receiver electrodes; and drive the plurality of force electrodes with force transmitter signals and acquire a transcapacitive force measurement from either the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes.

Claims

1. An input device for force and proximity sensing comprising:

a plurality of touch electrodes comprising touch transmitter electrodes and touch receiver electrodes;

a force electrode layer comprising a plurality of force electrodes;

a resilient material layer having an original shape and being disposed between the plurality of touch electrodes and the force electrode layer, the resilient material layer configured to deform from its original shape when a force is applied to the input device to cause one or more of the plurality of touch electrodes to deflect towards the force electrode layer; and

a processing system coupled to the plurality of touch electrodes and the plurality of force electrodes, the processing system being operable in at least a proximity sensing mode and a force sensing mode and configured to;

when operating in the proximity sensing mode;

drive the touch transmitter electrodes with touch transmitter signals; and

determine a position of an input object, within a sensing region defined by the plurality of touch electrodes, based at least in part on a transcapacitive proximity measurement acquired from the touch receiver electrodes; and

when operating in the force sensing mode;

drive the plurality of force electrodes with force transmitter signals; and

determine a force of the input object based at least in part on a transcapacitive force measurement acquired from at least one of the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes, the transcapacitive force measurement being based on a change in capacitance between the plurality of force electrodes and the at least one of the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes.

2. The input device of claim 1, wherein the touch transmitter electrodes are disposed on a layer over the resilient material layer and the touch receiver electrodes are disposed on a different layer below the resilient material layer.

3. The input device of claim 1, wherein the touch transmitter electrodes and the touch receiver electrodes are disposed on a single layer.

4. The input device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of force electrodes is disposed in a pattern oriented along a first axis.

5. The input device of claim 4, wherein the first axis along which the plurality of force electrodes is oriented is orthogonal to a second axis of either the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes.

6. The input device of claim 1, wherein the force transmitter signals are orthogonal to the touch transmitter signals in at least one of time, or frequency or combination thereof, or code.

7. The input device of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the resilient material layer is less than a pitch of the plurality of touch electrodes.

8. The input device of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to drive the plurality of force electrodes with guard signals while driving the touch transmitter electrodes with the touch transmitter signals.

9. The input device of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured to acquire the transcapacitive proximity measurement from the touch receiver electrodes by receiving touch resulting signals from the touch receiver electrodes, the touch resulting signals resulting from effects of an input object in proximity to the plurality of touch electrodes.

10. The input device of claim 1, wherein the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes are in proximity to an input surface of the input device to cause a change in transcapacitance between the touch transmitter electrodes and the touch receiver electrodes when an input object is in proximity to the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes.

11. A processing system for force and proximity sensing at an input device, the processing system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the processing system to be operable in at least a proximity sensing mode and a force sensing mode and;

when operating in the proximity sensing mode;

drive one or more touch transmitter electrodes with touch transmitter signals and determine a position of an input object within a sensing region based at least in part on touch resulting signals acquired from one or more touch receiver electrodes, wherein the sensing region is defined by the one or more touch transmitter electrodes and the one or more touch receiver electrodes;

when operating in the force sensing mode;

drive a plurality of force electrodes, disposed on a force electrode layer, with force transmitter signals, wherein the force electrode layer is separated from the touch transmitter electrodes and the touch receiver electrodes by a resilient material layer having an original shape; and

determine a force of the input object based at least in part on force resulting signals acquired from at least one of the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes based at least in part on a change in capacitance between the plurality of force electrodes and the at least one of the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes wherein the resilient material layer is configured to deform from its original shape when a force is applied to the input device to cause the one or more of the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes to deflect towards the force layer;

determine a transcapacitive proximity measurement based on the touch resulting signals; and

determine a transcapacitive force measurement from the force resulting signals.

12. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the force transmitter signals are orthogonal to the touch transmitter signals in at least one of time, frequency, or code.

13. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the processing system is further configured to drive the plurality of force electrodes with guard signals while driving the touch transmitter electrodes with the touch transmitter signals.

14. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the touch resulting signals result from effects of an input object in proximity to the one or more touch electrodes.

15. The processing system of claim 11, wherein the force resulting signals result from effects of displacement of at least one of the one or more touch electrodes with respect to the force electrode layer in response to compression of the resilient material layer.

16. A method of force and proximity sensing at an input device operable in at least a proximity sensing mode and a force sensing mode, the method comprising:

when operating in the proximity sensing mode;

driving one or more touch transmitter electrodes with touch transmitter signals and determining a position of an input object within a sensing region based at least in part on touch resulting signals acquired from one or more touch receiver electrodes, wherein the sensing region is defined by the one or more touch transmitter electrodes and the one or more touch receiver electrodes;

when operating in the force sensing mode;

driving a plurality of force electrodes, disposed on a force electrode layer, with force transmitter signals, wherein the force electrode layer is separated from the touch transmitter electrodes and the touch receiver electrodes by a resilient material layer having an original shape; and

determining a force of the input object based at least in part on force resulting signals acquired from at least one of the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes based at least in part on a change in capacitance between the plurality of force electrodes and the at least one of the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes wherein the resilient material layer is configured to deform from its original shape when a force is applied to the input device to cause the one or more of the touch transmitter electrodes or the touch receiver electrodes to deflect towards the force layer;

determining a transcapacitive proximity measurement based on the touch resulting signals; and

determining a transcapacitive force measurement from the force resulting signals.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising driving the plurality of force electrodes with guard signals while driving the touch transmitter electrodes with the touch transmitter signals.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the force transmitter signals are orthogonal to the touch transmitter signals in at least one of time, frequency, or code.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the touch resulting signals result from effects of an input object in proximity to the one or more touch transmitter electrodes.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the force resulting signals result from effects of displacement of at least one of the one or more touch transmitter electrodes with respect to the force electrode layer in response to a deformation of the resilient material layer.