Compensation for Capacitance Change in Touch Sensing Device

• US 20120026123A1
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Published: 02/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: GRUNTHANER, Martin Paul, Harley, Jonah A., Mullens, Christopher Tenzin
• Application Number:
  US12/848,032
• Publication Number:
  US 20120026123A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• 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: H03K 17/9622 using a plurality of detectors, e.g. keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/94026 Automatic threshold calibration; e.g. threshold automatically adapts to ambient conditions or follows variation of input

Abstract

This relates to compensation for undesirable capacitance changes in a touch sensing device, where the capacitance changes are not indicative of a touch at the device. The touch sensing device can include a touch sensor panel having touch sensors for sensing a touch at the panel, a flexible circuit for transmitting the sensed touch signal from the panel, and a touch controller for receiving and processing the transmitted signal. To compensate for the capacitance changes, the touch sensing device can include one or more reference conductive traces decoupled from touch sensors of the device to measure non-touch capacitances in the device. The touch sensing device can then adjust a touch signal from the touch sensors using the non-touch capacitance measurements to substantially reduce or eliminate the non-touch capacitances from the signal.

Claims

1. A touch sensing device comprising:

at least one capacitive sensor disposed on a first substrate for sensing a touch at the sensor;

a first conductive trace disposed on a second substrate and coupled to the sensor for transmitting a touch capacitance measurement indicative of the touch; and

a second conductive trace disposed on the second substrate, decoupled from the sensor, and proximate to the first conductive trace, the second conductive trace for transmitting a reference capacitance measurement indicative of a non-touch capacitance change so as to compensate for the non-touch capacitance change during transmission of the touch capacitance measurement, the non-touch capacitance change being associated with at least one of the first substrate or the second substrate.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising at least a third conductive trace disposed on the second substrate, decoupled from the sensor, and proximate to the first conductive trace, the third conductive trace for transmitting another reference capacitance measurement indicative of the non-touch capacitance change so as to compensate for the non-touch capacitance change during transmission of the touch capacitance measurement.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the second substrate comprises a flexible circuit having the first and second conductive traces disposed thereon, wherein the non-touch capacitance change is associated with the flexible circuit.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises a touch sensor panel having the sensor and portions of the first and second conductive traces disposed thereon, wherein the non-touch capacitance change is associated with the touch sensor panel.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises a touch sensor panel having the sensor, portions of the first and second conductive traces, and a conductive element disposed thereon,

the conductive element measures a non-touch capacitance change associated with the first substrate, and

the second conductive trace is coupled to the conductive element for transmitting a reference capacitance measurement from the conductive element so as to compensate for the non-touch capacitance change associated with the first substrate during transmission of the touch capacitance measurement,

wherein the non-touch capacitance change is associated with the touch sensor.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the first substrate comprises a touch sensor panel having the sensor and portions of the first and second conductive traces disposed thereon, and

the second substrate comprises a flexible circuit having remaining portions of the first and second conductive traces disposed thereon,

wherein the non-touch capacitance change is associated with the touch sensor panel and the flexible circuit.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the second conductive trace has a shorter length than the first conductive trace and is proximate to only a portion of the first conductive trace.

8. The device of claim 1 incorporated into at least one of a mobile telephone, a digital media player, or a personal computer.

9. A circuit comprising:

a first substrate having a sensor thereon, the first substrate being sensitive to a state change in the circuit;

a second substrate having at least two conductive traces thereon, the second substrate being sensitive to the state change in the circuit, a first of the conductive traces being associated with the sensor to transmit a signal from the sensor and a second of the conductive traces being disassociated from the sensor; and

logic for determining from the second of the conductive traces a capacitance effect of the state change at the second substrate and for reducing the determined capacitance effect in the transmitted signal.

10. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the state change in the circuit comprises at least one of a change in environmental conditions or a change in operation of the circuit.

11. The circuit of claim 9, wherein:

the second substrate has a third of the conductive traces that is disassociated from the sensor, and

the logic determines from the third of the conductive traces the capacitance effect of the state change at the second substrate and reduces the capacitance effect determined from the third of the conductive traces in the transmitted signal.

12. The circuit of claim 9, wherein:

the first substrate has a sensor trace thereon to couple the sensor to the first of the conductive traces and to transmit the signal from the sensor to the first of the conductive traces,

the second of the conductive traces on the second substrate extends to the first substrate to be proximate to the sensor trace, and

the logic determines from the second of the conductive traces the capacitance effect of the state change at the first and second substrates and reduces the determined capacitance effect in the transmitted signal.

13. The circuit of claim 9, wherein:

the first substrate has a conductive element and a sensor trace thereon, the sensor trace coupling the sensor to the first of the conductive traces and transmitting the signal from the sensor to the first of the conductive traces,

the second of the conductive traces on the second substrate extends to the first substrate to couple to the conductive element and to be proximate to the sensor trace, and

the logic determines from the second of the conductive traces the capacitance effect of the state change at the first and second substrates and reduces the determined capacitance effect in the transmitted signal.

14. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the first substrate is glass.

15. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the second substrate is a flexible polymer.

16. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the capacitance effect is associated with a change in a dielectric constant of at least one of the first or second substrate.

17. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the first and second substrates can have different sensitivities to the state change.

18. A method comprising:

measuring a touch at a touch sensing device, the touch measurement comprising a first capacitance of a touch region of the device, the first capacitance indicative of a touch at the device, and a second capacitance of a transmitting region of the device coupled to the touch region, the second capacitance indicative of an environmental change at the device;

measuring the second capacitance in the transmitting region using a reference conductive trace decoupled from the touch region; and

adjusting the touch measurement based on the second capacitance measurement to compensate the touch measurement for the environmental change at the device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first capacitance is also indicative of the environmental change at the device, and wherein adjusting the touch measurement comprises:

calculating a change in capacitance in the touch region based the touch measurement and a capacitance in the touch region prior to the environmental change;

calculating a change in capacitance in the transmitting region based on the second capacitance measurement and a capacitance in the transmitting region prior to the environmental change; and

subtracting the calculated changes in the tough region and the transmitting region from the touch measurement to compensate the touch measurement for the environmental change at the device.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein adjusting the touch measurement comprises:

determining a ratio between the second capacitance measurement and a capacitance in the transmitting region prior to the environmental change; and

applying the determined ratio to a capacitance in the touch region prior to the environmental change to compensate the touch measurement for the environmental change at the device.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the environmental change includes at least one of a temperature change, a humidity change, or a pressure change.

22. A touch sensing device comprising:

multiple touch sensors disposed on a substrate to sense a touch at the device;

a flexible circuit coupled to the touch sensors to transmit touch signals from the touch sensors indicative of the sensed touch, the flexible circuit including a first conductive trace to transmit the touch signals and a second conductive trace to measure an effect of an environmental change on the device; and

a sensing circuit coupled to the flexible circuit to process the transmitted touch signals, including compensating the transmitted touch signals for the measured effect of the environmental change,

wherein at least one of the substrate, the flexible circuit, or the sensing circuit is sensitive to the environmental change.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein the sensors are self capacitance sensors.

24. The device of claim 22, wherein the sensors are mutual capacitance sensors.

25. A method comprising:

measuring a first capacitance change associated with a touch at a touch sensing device using a first conductive trace coupled to a touch sensor of the device;

measuring a second capacitance change at the touch sensing device using a second conductive trace positioned parallel to the first conductive trace and decoupled from the touch sensor, the second capacitance change not associated with the touch and associated with an operating change of the device; and

adjusting the first capacitance measurement based on the second capacitance measurement to compensate for the second capacitance change.