Fast multi-touch noise reduction

• US 10,551,985 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2018
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tactual Labs Co.
• Original Assignee: Tactual Labs Co.
• Inventors: Forlines, Clifton, Leigh, Darren, Wigdor, Daniel, Sanders, Steven Leonard
• Primary Examiner(s): Mandeville, Jason M
• Application Number:
  US16/237,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20190138133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 345173, 345174
• 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 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• 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 3/044 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 low-latency touch sensitive device provides a method for determining a location of a touch event thereon. The touch sensitive device row conductors and column conductors, the path of each of the row conductors crossing the path of each of the column conductors. Each of a set of orthogonal row signals are simultaneously transmitted on a respective one of at least some of the row conductors and an amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals present on each of the plurality of column conductors is detected. A set of orthogonal column signals are simultaneously transmitted on a respective one of at least some of the column conductors. An amount of each of the orthogonal column signals present on each of the plurality of row conductors is detected. The detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal row signals and the detected amount of each of the plurality of orthogonal column signals is used to determine the location of a touch event on the device.

Claims

1. A method for determining a location of a touch event on a touch sensitive device, the touch sensitive device comprising a plurality of first conductors and a plurality of second conductors, the method comprising:

a. simultaneously transmitting a first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the plurality of first conductors, each of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals being frequency orthogonal to each other of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals;

b. determining a measurement of each of the simultaneously transmitted first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals present on each of the plurality of second conductors;

c. simultaneously transmitting a second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the second plurality of conductors, each of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals being frequency orthogonal to each other of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals;

d. determining a measurement of each of the second plurality of simultaneously transmitted unique frequency orthogonal signals present on each of the first plurality of conductors;

e. determining a location of a touch event on the touch sensitive device based on the determined measurements of each of simultaneously transmitted first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals and the determined measurements of each of the simultaneously transmitted second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the simultaneously transmitted first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is contained within the simultaneously transmitted second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the simultaneously transmitted second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is contained within the simultaneously transmitted first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein none of the simultaneously transmitted first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is contained within the simultaneously transmitted second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the simultaneously transmitted first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is transmitted at the same time as the simultaneously transmitted second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the simultaneously transmitted first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals are not transmitted at the same time as the simultaneously transmitted second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining a location of a touch event on the touch sensitive device based on determine measurements comprises identifying the location of a touch event on the touch sensitive device where changes to at least one of the first plurality of frequency orthogonal signals on at least one of the first plurality of conductors are identified on at least one of the second plurality of conductors and changes to at least one of the second plurality of frequency orthogonal signals on at least one of the second plurality of conductors are identified on at least one of the first plurality of conductors.

8. A device comprising:

a. a first plurality of conductors and second plurality of conductors being arranged such that;

i. the first plurality of conductors and the second plurality of conductors arranged so that at least one of the first plurality of conductors and at least one of the second plurality of conductors are located proximate to each other;

b. first signal generator adapted to generate a first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the plurality of first conductors, each of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals being frequency orthogonal to each other of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals;

c. first signal decoder operatively connected to the second plurality of conductors, the first signal decoder adapted to detect a level for each of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the second plurality of conductors;

d. second signal generator adapted to simultaneously generate a second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals, each one of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals being frequency orthogonal to each of the other of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals, the second signal generator being operatively connected to the second plurality of conductors such that at least a unique one of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is generated on each of the second plurality of conductors;

e. second signal decoder operatively connected to the first plurality of conductors, the second signal decoder adapted to detect a level for each of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the first plurality of conductors; and

f. touch event locator for determining coordinates of a touch event based, at least in part, on the detected levels for each of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the second plurality of conductors and for each of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the first plurality of conductors, wherein the touch event locator rejects coordinates as a touch event when a detected level of at least one of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals for a specific one of the first plurality of conductors on a specific one of the second plurality of conductors does not correspond to a detected level of at least one of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals for the specific one of the second plurality of conductors on the specific one of the first plurality of conductors.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein each of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is contained within the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is contained within the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

11. The device of claim 8, wherein none of the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals is contained within the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

12. The device of claim 8, wherein the first signal generator generates the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals at the same time that the second signal generator generates the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

13. The device of claim 8, wherein the first signal generator does not generate the first plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals at the same time that the second signal generator is generating the second plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals.

14. A low-latency touch sensitive device comprising:

first and second pluralities of conductors being arranged such that;

each of the paths of the conductors of the first plurality of conductors cross each of the paths of the conductors of the second plurality of conductors, and

wherein

when the touch sensitive device is not being touched, a first level of signal is coupled between the first plurality of conductors and the second plurality of conductors, and

when the touch sensitive device is being touched, a second level of signal is coupled between at least one of the conductors of the first plurality of conductors and at least one of the second plurality of;

at least one signal generator adapted to generate a plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals, each unique frequency orthogonal signal being frequency orthogonal to each of the other unique frequency orthogonal signals;

first transmitter associated with the first plurality of conductors, the first transmitter being adapted to simultaneously transmit a first subset of the plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the first plurality of conductors respectively such that at least a unique one of the signals from the first subset is generated on each of the first plurality of conductors;

second transmitter associated with the second plurality of conductors, the second transmitter being adapted to transmit a second subset of the plurality of unique frequency orthogonal signals on each of the second plurality of conductors simultaneously such that at least a unique one of the signals from the second subset is generated on each of the second plurality of conductors;

first receiver associated with the first plurality of conductors, the first receiver being adapted to receive signals present on each of the first plurality of conductors;

second receiver associated with the second plurality of conductors, the second receiver being adapted to receive signals present on each of the second plurality of conductors; and

signal processor adapted to decode the signals received by the first receiver and the signals received by the second receiver, and for each of the signals received by the first receiver and the signals received by the second receiver, to determine which of the unique frequency orthogonal signals meet the second level of signal, the signal processor further adapted to correlate signals received by the first receiver that meet the second level of signal to signals received by the second receiver that meet the second level of signal,

wherein the signal processor is adapted to determine that a touch has occurred at or near an intersection of a conductor of the first plurality of conductors and a conductor of the second plurality of conductors when the first receiver receives a signal that is determined to represent a potential touch at or near the conductor of the first plurality of conductors that corresponds to a signal received by the second receiver that is determined to represent a potential touch at or near the conductor of the second plurality of conductors.

15. The low-latency touch sensitive device according to claim 14, further comprising a circuit for electrically subtracting a signal sent by the first transmitter from a signal received at the first receiver.

16. The low-latency touch sensitive device according to claim 14, wherein the signal processor is configured to subtract a signal sent by the first transmitter from a signal received at the first receiver.

17. The low-latency touch sensitive device according to claim 14, wherein the first and second transmitters are discrete transmitters.

18. The low-latency touch sensitive device according to claim 14, wherein the first and second transmitters are the same transmitter.

19. The low-latency touch sensitive device according to claim 14, wherein the first and second transmitters form part of at least one signal generator.

20. The low-latency touch sensitive device according to claim 14, wherein the first and second transmitters are separate from the one signal generator.