Interference monitoring with transmitter electrodes

• US 10,530,363 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2017
• Issued: 01/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Bohannon, Eric, Lo, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Nitin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Onyekaba, Amy
• Application Number:
  US15/692,156
• Publication Number:
  US 20190068189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/9622 using a plurality of detectors, e.g. keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96031 Combination of touch switch and LC display
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96071 characterised by the detection principle

Abstract

A method of capacitive sensing may include transmitting a first sensing signal along a first transmitter electrode among various transmitter electrodes of an input device. The method may further include obtaining, using various receiver electrodes in the input device, a first resulting signal in response to the first sensing signal being transmitted along the first transmitter electrode. The method may further include obtaining a second resulting signal from a second transmitter electrode among the transmitter electrodes. The method may further include determining, using the second resulting signal, interference along the second transmitter electrode. The method may further include adjusting, using the interference along the second transmitter electrode, the first resulting signal to produce an adjusted resulting signal. The method may further include determining, using the adjusted resulting signal, positional information regarding a location of an input object in a sensing region of the input device.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

a plurality of transmitter electrodes coupled to driving circuitry, wherein the driving circuitry is configured to transmit one or more sensing signals along a first transmitter electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes;

a receiver electrode coupled to a first sensing circuitry, wherein the first sensing circuitry is configured to obtain a first resulting signal from the receiver electrode in response to transmitting the one or more sensing signals along the first transmitter electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes, wherein the first resulting signal from the receiving electrode is configured for determining positional information regarding an input object located in a sensing region of the input device;

a second sensing circuitry coupled to a second transmitter electrode different from the first transmitter electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes,

wherein the second sensing circuitry is configured for determining an amount of interference based on a second resulting signal that is obtained from the second transmitter electrode, and

wherein the second resulting signal used for determining the amount of interference is obtained from the second transmitter electrode while the one or more sensing signals are transmitted along the first transmitter electrode; and

a filtering circuitry coupled to the second sensing circuitry, wherein the filtering circuitry is configured for removing a portion of the amount of interference from the first resulting signal.

2. The input device of claim 1,

wherein the filtering circuitry comprises scaling circuitry, and

wherein the scaling circuitry is configured to adjust an amplitude of the first resulting signal based on the amount of interference to remove the portion of the amount of interference that is determined using the second transmitter electrode.

3. The input device of claim 1, further comprising:

a processing system coupled to the first sensing circuitry and the second sensing circuitry,

wherein the processing system is configured to determine the amount of interference on the second transmitter electrode, and

wherein the processing system is further configured to adjust a sensing frequency that a plurality of sensing signals are transmitted along the plurality of transmitter electrodes based at least in part on the amount of interference on the second transmitter electrode.

4. The input device of claim 1,

wherein the second sensing circuitry is configured to determine the interference on the second transmitter electrode at substantially the same time that the one or more sensing signals are transmitted along the first transmitter electrode.

5. The input device of claim 1,

wherein the plurality of transmitter electrodes comprise a third transmitter electrode that is configured to be set to a reference voltage while the second sensing circuitry measures the amount of interference on the second transmitter electrode.

6. The input device of claim 1,

wherein the first resulting signal corresponds to a change in variable capacitance between the input object in a sensing region and the one or more sensing signals.

7. A processing system coupled with an input device, comprising:

a sensor module, the sensor module configured to;

transmit a first sensing signal along a first transmitter electrode among a plurality of transmitter electrodes of the input device,

obtain, using a receiver electrode from a plurality of receiver electrodes in the input device, a first resulting signal in response to the first sensing signal being transmitted along the first transmitter electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes, and

obtain a second resulting signal from a second transmitter electrode different from the first transmitter electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes while the first sensing signal is transmitted along the first transmitter electrode; and

a determination module, the determination module configured to;

determine, using the second resulting signal, an amount of interference along the second transmitter electrode,

adjust, using the amount of interference, the first resulting signal to produce an adjusted resulting signal, wherein a portion of the amount of interference is removed from the adjusted resulting signal, and

determine, using the adjusted resulting signal, positional information regarding a location of an input object in a sensing region of the input device.

8. The processing system of claim 7, wherein the sensor module is further configured to:

select, among the plurality of transmitter electrodes of the input device, a third transmitter electrode for transmitting a second sensing signal;

select, among the plurality of transmitter electrodes of the input device, a fourth transmitter electrode for determining interference;

transmit the second sensing signal along the third transmitter electrode; and

determine interference along the fourth transmitter electrode.

9. The processing system of claim 7, wherein the determination module is further configured to:

determine that the amount of interference is constructive interference,

wherein adjusting the first resulting signal comprises decreasing the first resulting signal in response to determining that the amount of interference is constructive interference.

10. The processing system of claim 8, wherein the third transmitter electrode is selected according to a code division multiplexing scan of a sensing region of the input device, and wherein the fourth transmitter electrode determines interference over a sensing signal spectrum that is produced by the code division multiplexing scan of the sensing region.

11. The processing system of claim 7, wherein the determination module is further configured to:

generate a digital signal of an interference signal that is obtained from a monitoring electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes;

determine second positional information using a fourth resulting signal that is obtained from a receiver electrode among the plurality of receiver electrodes; and

adjust the second positional information using the digital signal of the interference signal to produce adjusted positional information.

12. The processing system of claim 7, wherein the determination module is further configured to:

report the positional information to a host device, wherein the positional information triggers an interface action in a graphical user interface operating on the host device.

13. The processing system of claim 7, wherein the determination module is further configured to:

determine, using the interference determined in the second transmitter electrode, an amount of interference in the plurality of resulting signals;

determine, using the amount of interference, a sensing frequency of a plurality of sensing signals; and

wherein the sensor module is further configured to;

transmit, at the sensing frequency, a plurality of sensing signals over the plurality of transmitter electrodes of the input device.

14. A method of capacitive sensing, comprising:

transmitting a first sensing signal along a first transmitter electrode among a plurality of transmitter electrodes of an input device;

obtaining, using a plurality of receiver electrodes in the input device, a first resulting signal in response to the first sensing signal being transmitted along the first transmitter electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes;

obtaining a second resulting signal from a second transmitter electrode different from the first transmitter electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes while the first sensing signal is transmitted along the first transmitter electrode;

determining, using the second resulting signal, interference along the second transmitter electrode;

adjusting, using the interference along the second transmitter electrode, the first resulting signal to produce an adjusted resulting signal; and

determining, using the adjusted resulting signal, positional information regarding a location of an input object in a sensing region of the input device.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

selecting, among the plurality of transmitter electrodes of the input device, a third transmitter electrode for transmitting a second sensing signal;

selecting, among the plurality of transmitter electrodes of the input device, a fourth transmitter electrode for determining interference;

transmitting the second sensing signal along the third transmitter electrode; and

determining interference along the fourth transmitter electrode.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the third transmitter electrode is selected according to a code division multiplexing scan of a sensing region of the input device, and wherein the fourth transmitter electrode determines interference over a sensing signal spectrum that is produced by the code division multiplexing scan of the sensing region.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining that the amount of interference is constructive interference,

wherein adjusting the first resulting signal comprises decreasing the first resulting signal in response to determining that the amount of interference is constructive interference.

18. The method of claim 14,

generating a digital signal of an interference signal that is obtained from a monitoring electrode among the plurality of transmitter electrodes;

determining second positional information based at least in part on a fourth resulting signal that is obtained from a receiver electrode among the plurality of receiver electrodes; and

adjusting the second positional information using the digital signal of the interference signal to produce adjusted positional information.

19. The method of claim 14,

reporting the first positional information to a host device, wherein the first positional information triggers an interface action in a graphical user interface operating on the host device.

20. The method of claim 14,

determining, using the interference determined in the second transmitter electrode, an amount of interference in the plurality of resulting signals;

determining, using the amount of interference, a sensing frequency of a plurality of sensing signals; and

transmitting, at the sensing frequency, a plurality of sensing signals over the plurality of transmitter electrodes of the input device.