FORCE AND TRUE CAPACITIVE TOUCH MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES FOR CAPACITIVE TOUCH SENSORS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A capacitive touch sensor comprising:
- a first array of conductors arranged in rows, wherein the conductors in the first array are arranged substantially in parallel with one another;
a second array of conductors arranged in columns, wherein columns of conductors in the second array are arranged substantially in parallel with one another, wherein the conductors in the second array are located underneath the first array of conductors, and wherein columns of conductors in the second array are arranged in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to a direction of rows of conductors in the first array;
a sheet comprising a deformable dielectric material, wherein the sheet is located underneath the second array of conductors; and
a ground plane located underneath the sheet,wherein the first and second arrays are configured to produce an electric field with electric field lines that extend in a first direction towards a user of the sensor and in a second direction towards the ground plane.
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Abstract
Methods, systems, and apparatus relate to touch sensors that are configured to measure a true capacitive touch and a force applied to the sensor from a user. Some implementations involve the measurement of force and true capacitive touch simultaneously in a touch capacitive sensor.
215 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A capacitive touch sensor comprising:
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a first array of conductors arranged in rows, wherein the conductors in the first array are arranged substantially in parallel with one another; a second array of conductors arranged in columns, wherein columns of conductors in the second array are arranged substantially in parallel with one another, wherein the conductors in the second array are located underneath the first array of conductors, and wherein columns of conductors in the second array are arranged in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to a direction of rows of conductors in the first array; a sheet comprising a deformable dielectric material, wherein the sheet is located underneath the second array of conductors; and a ground plane located underneath the sheet, wherein the first and second arrays are configured to produce an electric field with electric field lines that extend in a first direction towards a user of the sensor and in a second direction towards the ground plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A capacitive touch sensor comprising:
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a first array of conductors arranged in rows, wherein rows of conductors in the first array are arranged substantially in parallel with one another, wherein a width of the conductors measured across a single row in the first array is less than a distance of separation between respective conductors measured between adjacent edges of two adjacent rows of the first array; a second array of conductors arranged in columns, wherein columns of conductors in the second array are arranged substantially in parallel with one another, wherein the conductors in the second array are located underneath the conductors in the first array, wherein columns of conductors in the second array are arranged in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to a direction of rows of conductors in the first array, and wherein a width of the conductors measured across a single column in the second array is greater than a distance of separation between respective conductors measured between adjacent edges of two adjacent columns in the second array; a sheet comprising a deformable dielectric material, wherein the sheet is located underneath the second array of conductors; and a third array of conductors arranged in rows, wherein rows of conductors in the third array are arranged substantially in parallel with one another, wherein the conductors in the third array are located underneath the sheet, wherein the rows of conductors in the third array are arranged in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to a direction of the columns of conductors in the second array, and wherein a width of the conductors measured across a single row of the third array is greater than a distance of separation between respective conductors measured between adjacent edges of two adjacent rows in the third array. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method for conducting measurements in a capacitive touch sensor, the sensor comprising a first array of conductors arranged in rows, a second array of conductors arranged in columns that are substantially perpendicular to the rows of conductors in the first array, at least one transmitter coupled to the conductors within one of the first or second array of conductors, and at least one receiver coupled to the conductors within the other of the first or second array of conductors, the method comprising:
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transmitting, with the at least one transmitter, signals at least at two different frequencies that generate an electric field between at least one of the conductors in the first array and at least one of the conductors in the second array, wherein the first and second arrays are configured to produce a fringing electric field that extends in a direction towards a user of the sensor and to enable detection of an interruption of the electric field resulting from an object that is placed within a proximity of the sensor; receiving, with the at least one receiver, the signals with at least the two different frequencies; estimating a capacitance value at each of the two or more different frequencies using the received signals; determining if the estimated capacitance value at each of the a two or more frequencies differs by a factor of about two or more; computing a difference or ratio between the estimated capacitance values; comparing the difference or ratio against a threshold; and determining whether the object is capable of generating a true capacitive touch signal and whether an actuation of the sensor is due to measured force based on results of the comparison of the difference or ratio between the estimated capacitance values at the two or more frequencies with the threshold. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification