COARSE SCAN AND TARGETED ACTIVE MODE SCAN FOR TOUCH AND STYLUS

• US 20160162101A1
• Filed: 09/29/2015
• Published: 06/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pant, Vivek, Shahparnia, Shahrooz, Yousefpor, Marduke, Krah, Christoph H.
• Granted Patent: US 10,061,449 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3262 Power saving in digitizer or tablet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041661 using detection at multiple resolutions, e.g. coarse and fine scanning; using detection within a limited area, e.g. object tracking window
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• 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

Power consumption of touch sensing operations for touch sensitive devices can be reduced by implementing a coarse scan (e.g., banked common mode scan) to coarsely detect the presence or absence of an object touching or proximate to a touch sensor panel and the results of the coarse scan can be used to dynamically adjust the operation of the touch sensitive device to perform or not perform a fine scan (e.g., targeted active mode scan). In some examples, the results of the coarse scan can be used to program a touch controller for the next touch sensing frame to idle when no touch event is detected or to perform a fine scan when one or more touch events are detected. In some examples, the results of the coarse scan can be used to abort a scheduled fine scan during the current touch sensing frame when no touch event is detected.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a touch sensor panel; and

processing circuitry capable of;

performing a first detection scan to identify a location of an object touching or proximate to the touch sensor panel with a coarse resolution; and

in response to identifying the coarse location of the object, reconfiguring a connection between electrodes of the touch sensor panel and sense channels of the processing circuitry and performing a second detection scan to identify the location of the object with a fine resolution.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein during the first detection scan a plurality of super-pixel electrodes are formed, each super-pixel formed by coupling together a plurality of pixel electrodes of the touch sensor panel, and wherein touch values are generated for the plurality of super-pixels electrodes.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a number of super-pixel electrodes corresponds to a number of available sense channels of the processing circuitry.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a super-pixel electrode corresponding to a maximum generated touch value.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a region of the super-pixel electrode based on touch values of super-pixel electrodes adjacent to the super-pixel electrode corresponding to the maximum generated touch value.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of rows of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of columns of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of pixel electrodes adjacent to the location identified with coarse resolution.

10. A method for dynamically adjusting operation of a device comprising a touch sensor panel and processing circuitry for an upcoming scan frame, the method comprising:

performing a first detection scan to identify a location of an object touching or proximate to the touch sensor panel with a coarse resolution; and

in response to identifying the coarse location of the object, reconfiguring a connection between electrodes of the touch sensor panel and sense channels of the processing circuitry and performing a second detection scan to identify the location of the object with a fine resolution.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein during the first detection scan a plurality of super-pixel electrodes are formed, each super-pixel formed by coupling together a plurality of pixel electrodes of the touch sensor panel, and wherein touch values are generated for the plurality of super-pixels electrodes.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a super-pixel electrode corresponding to a maximum generated touch value.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a region of the super-pixel electrode based on touch values of super-pixel electrodes adjacent to the super-pixel electrode corresponding to the maximum generated touch value.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of rows of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of columns of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of pixel electrodes adjacent to the location identified with coarse resolution.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, can perform a method, the method comprising:

performing a first detection scan to identify a location of an object touching or proximate to a touch sensor panel with a coarse resolution; and

in response to identifying the coarse location of the object, reconfiguring a connection between electrodes of the touch sensor panel and sense channels of the processing circuitry and performing a second detection scan to identify the location of the object with a fine resolution.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein during the first detection scan a plurality of super-pixel electrodes are formed, each super-pixel formed by coupling together a plurality of pixel electrodes of the touch sensor panel, and wherein touch values are generated for the plurality of super-pixels electrodes.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a super-pixel electrode corresponding to a maximum generated touch value.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 20, wherein identifying the location of the object with the coarse resolution comprises identifying a region of the super-pixel electrode based on touch values of super-pixel electrodes adjacent to the super-pixel electrode corresponding to the maximum generated touch value.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of rows of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of columns of individual pixel electrodes at the location identified with coarse resolution.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the second detection scan senses a mutual capacitance or a self-capacitance of pixel electrodes adjacent to the location identified with coarse resolution.