TOUCH SYSTEMS AND METHODS UTILIZING CUSTOMIZED SENSORS AND GENERICIZED CONTROLLERS

• US 20100097336A1
• Filed: 10/13/2009
• Published: 04/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Lessard, Bruce A., GOMES, Rodrigo S., Taylor, Gordon F., Peterson, Richard A. JR.
• Granted Patent: US 9,535,533 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41875 characterised by quality surveillance of production
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33297 Diagnostic, test, debug
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45031 Manufacturing semiconductor wafers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Touch sensing circuit arrangements include a touch sensor and a controller board. The touch sensor includes one or more sensing elements to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to the sensor, and a memory device storing computer-executable firmware instructions for determining touch positions based on the touch-related signals. The controller board includes query logic executable by the controller board to cause the controller board to query for the computer-executable firmware instructions stored on the memory device of the touch sensor, and a processor circuit to determine touch positions by executing the firmware instructions loaded onto the generic controller board in response to the query.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing touch sensing circuit arrangements, each touch sensing circuit arrangement including a sensor to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to the sensor, and a controller board to determine touch positions based on the touch-related signals, the method comprising:

producing a plurality of different sensors, each of the different sensors customized by including a memory device storing computer-executable firmware instructions executable by the controller board for determining touch positions;

producing a plurality of controller boards; and

assembling a touch sensing circuit arrangement that includes one of the plurality of different sensors and that includes one of the plurality of controller boards.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the different sensors are customized according to touch sensing technique used by each sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the different sensors are customized according to sensor-specific configuration data stored on the memory device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the sensor-specific configuration data includes sensor calibration data developed for the sensor.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein sensor customization is performed by:

selecting a sensor type;

selecting a configuration profile for the selected sensor type, the configuration profile including the firmware instructions for determining touch positions from touch-related signals generated by the selected sensor;

storing the configuration profile on the memory device; and

attaching the memory device to the selected sensor such that the memory device is accessible to the controller board upon assembly of the touch sensing circuit arrangement.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of different sensors include one or more of capacitive sensors, resistive sensors, and force sensors.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the firmware instructions further include computer-executable instructions for distinguishing noise from touch-related signals.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the firmware instructions further include computer-executable instructions for distinguishing multiple simultaneous touch inputs.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the firmware instructions further include computer-executable instructions for distinguishing multiple users touching the sensor.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the firmware instructions further include computer-executable instructions to compensate for touch-related signal errors caused by one or more of sensor movement, charge accumulation, ESD events, or palm effects.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the firmware instructions further include computer-executable instructions for automatic touch simulation and system diagnostics.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of controller boards is generic to each of the customized different sensors.

13. A touch sensor coupled to a controller board in a touch sensing circuit arrangement, including computer-executable firmware instructions for determining touch positions,

wherein the touch sensor includes one or more sensing elements to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to the sensor, and a memory device storing the computer-executable firmware instructions, and

wherein the controller board includes query logic executable by the controller board to cause the controller board to query for the computer-executable firmware instructions stored on the memory device of the touch sensor, and a processor circuit to determine touch positions by executing the firmware instructions loaded onto the generic controller board in response to the query.

14. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 13, wherein the memory device further stores sensor-specific configuration data developed for the sensor

15. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 13, wherein the touch sensor further includes a touch signal adaption circuit for conditioning the touch-related signals for use by the controller board.

16. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 15, wherein the touch signal adaption circuit includes at least one amplifier to amplify the touch-related signals.

17. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 13, wherein the query logic includes controller-executable instructions stored on the controller board.

18. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 13, wherein the query logic is hardwired on the controller board.

19. In a system which includes touch sensing circuit arrangement including computer-executable firmware instructions for determining touch positions, and which has a controller board including a processor circuit to determine touch positions using the computer-executable firmware instructions, the system comprising:

one or more sensing elements to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to a surface of the sensor, the touch-related signals carried by a plurality of signal lines;

a memory device storing the computer-executable firmware instructions; and

a connector to communicatively couple the controller board to the signal lines and to the memory device for communication of the touch-related signals and the computer-executable firmware instructions.

20. A method of tracking parts for assembling touch sensing circuit arrangements responsive to specific orders, comprising:

associating a different sensor-part number with each of a plurality of different types of sensors, each of the different sensors including a memory device storing computer-executable firmware instructions specific to the type of sensor for determining touch positions;

associating a single controller-part number with each of a plurality of controller boards, each controller board configured for connection to each different type of sensor;

for each different sensor-part number, managing an inventory of the associated type of sensor based in part on sensor-specific information contained in the orders; and

managing an inventory of the controller boards based in part on the total inventory for all of the different sensors.

21. A testing method for use with a touch sensing circuit arrangement that includes a controller board to determine touch positions based on touch-related signals generated by a sensor responsive to a touch input to the sensor, the sensor including a memory device storing a configuration profile including computer-executable firmware instructions for determining touch positions, the testing method comprising:

assembling the touch sensing circuit arrangement by connecting the sensor to the controller board;

loading the computer-executable firmware instructions onto the controller board from the sensor memory device;

stimulating the touch sensor to generate test touch signals;

evaluating the test touch signals using the computer-executable firmware instructions loaded onto the controller board; and

verifying or modifying the configuration profile for the sensor responsive to results of the test touch signal evaluating step.

22. The testing method of claim 21, wherein the testing method is performed as part of a manufacturing process used to produce the customized sensor.

23. The testing method of claim 21, wherein the testing method is performed as part of a pre-shipment verification process.

24. The testing method of claim 21, wherein the testing method is performed as part of an installation process.

25. The testing method of claim 21, wherein the testing method is performed as part of field maintenance process.

26. The testing method of claim 21, wherein the test touch signals are indicative of touch inputs at one or more known locations, and wherein evaluating the test touch signals includes determining one or more touch positions based on the generated test touch signals using the computer-executable firmware instructions loaded onto the controller board, and comparing the determined one or more touch positions to the one or more known locations.

27. A touch sensor comprising:

one or more sensing elements to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to the one or more sensing elements;

circuitry for communicating the touch-related signals to a communicatively coupled device; and

a memory device storing computer-executable firmware instructions that, when executed by the communicatively coupled device, cause the communicatively coupled device to resolve the touch-related signals into touch input position information.

28. The touch sensor of claim 27, wherein the communicatively coupled device is a touch sensor controller board.

29. The touch sensor of claim 28, additionally including a tail for communicatively coupling the touch sensor to the touch sensor controller board, the memory device being attached to the tail.