PROXIMITY DETECTION
First Claim
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1. A proximity sensor comprising:
- an antenna, wherein the antenna has a capacitance to ground that is variable as a function of the proximity of an object to the antenna;
a sample capacitor connected to the antenna; and
control circuitry connected to the sample capacitor, the control circuitry configured to;
supply a charge to the sample capacitor and the antenna;
discharge the antenna;
in response to the discharge of the antenna, provide a signal indicative of the capacitance to ground of the antenna; and
process the signal to detect a change in the capacitance to ground as indicative of the proximity of the object to the antenna.
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Abstract
For proximity detection, capacitance of a sensing element to ground is measured as one or more objects move into or out of proximity to the sensing element.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A proximity sensor comprising:
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an antenna, wherein the antenna has a capacitance to ground that is variable as a function of the proximity of an object to the antenna; a sample capacitor connected to the antenna; and control circuitry connected to the sample capacitor, the control circuitry configured to; supply a charge to the sample capacitor and the antenna; discharge the antenna; in response to the discharge of the antenna, provide a signal indicative of the capacitance to ground of the antenna; and process the signal to detect a change in the capacitance to ground as indicative of the proximity of the object to the antenna. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A proximity sensor controller, comprising:
control circuitry including a processor, wherein the control circuitry is connected to a sample capacitor and an antenna, wherein the antenna has a capacitance to ground that is variable as a function of proximity of an object to the antenna, the processor configured to execute instructions that cause the processor to perform functions to measure the antenna capacitance to ground, comprising functions to; supply a charge to the sample capacitor and the antenna; discharge the antenna; in response to the discharge of the antenna, provide a signal indicative of the capacitance to ground of the antenna; and process the signal to detect a change in the capacitance to ground as indicative of the proximity of the object to the antenna. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. An article of manufacture comprising:
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a machine readable storage medium; and executable program instructions embodied in the machine readable storage medium that when executed by a processor of a programmable computing device configures the programmable computing device to control a proximity sensor having control circuitry connected to a sample capacitor and an antenna, wherein the antenna has a capacitance to ground that is variable as a function of the proximity of a person or object to the antenna, to perform functions to measure the antenna capacitance to ground, including functions to; supply a charge to the sample capacitor and the antenna; discharge the antenna; and provide a signal indicative of the capacitance to ground of the antenna. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A proximity sensor comprising:
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an antenna, wherein the antenna has a capacitance to ground that is variable as a function of the proximity of an object to the antenna; an oscillator connected to the antenna, wherein the oscillator includes a capacitor; and control circuitry connected to the oscillator, the control circuitry configured to; supply an excitation to the oscillator and a charge to the antenna; measure the resonant frequency of the oscillator; and provide a signal indicative of the proximity of the object to the antenna. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification