Adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit

• US 7,843,249 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2008
• Issued: 11/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chiphomer Technology (Shanghai) Limited
• Original Assignee: Chiphomer Technology (Shanghai) Limited
• Inventors: Zhang, Zhong, Wu, Chaoqun, Cheng, Jiantao, Wu, Ke
• Primary Examiner(s): Donovan; Lincoln
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jager; Ryan C
• Application Number:
  US12/186,791
• Publication Number:
  US 20090108914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 327/517
• US Class Current: 327/517
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96073 Amplitude comparison

Abstract

An adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit includes a voltage buffer, a current setting resistor, a current mirror, a capacitor, a start comparator, an end comparator and a time-to-digital converter. The capacitor is connected with the current setting resistor. The circuit further includes a latch with a first control switch and a second control switch. The current setting resistor is switched between the ground and a voltage source through a switching element, so that when the current setting resistor is grounded, the first control switch is closed and the second control switch is opened, and when the current setting resistor is connected with the voltage source, the second control switch is closed and the first control switch is opened. An adaptive charging mode is adopted to sense a capacitance variation with a great ability of interference recognition, a simple structure, low power consumption and real time processing.

Claims

1. An adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit, comprising a voltage buffer, a current setting resistor, a current mirror, two capacitors, a start comparator, an end comparator and a time-to-digital converter, with the voltage buffer being connected with the current setting resistor and the current mirror, the two capacitors being connected with the current mirror, the start comparator and the end comparator, and the start comparator and the end comparator being connected with the time-to-digital converter, wherein one of the two capacitors is connected with the current setting resistor;

the control circuit further comprises a latch provided with a first control switch between the capacitor and the current mirror and between the voltage buffer and the current setting resistor and a second control switch between one of the two capacitors and the current setting resistor, the latch is connected with the first control switch; and

the current setting resistor is switched between ground and a voltage source through a switching element, so that when the current setting resistor is grounded, the first control switch is closed and the second control switch is opened, and when the current setting resistor is connected with the voltage source, the second control switch is closed and the first control switch is opened.

2. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 1, wherein the two capacitors comprise a reference pad equivalent capacitor connected with the start comparator and a sensor pad equivalent capacitor connected with the end comparator.

3. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 2, further comprising a selector and a plurality of sensor pad equivalent capacitors connected with the selector, wherein the selector selects one capacitor path at a time.

4. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 2, wherein the sensor pad equivalent capacitor comprises a first parasitic capacitor and a sensor capacitor connected in parallel;

the reference pad equivalent capacitor comprises a second parasitic capacitor and a reference capacitor connected in parallel; and

the reference capacitor has a value below that of the sensor capacitor.

5. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 4, wherein when the current setting resistor is grounded, charging currents of the reference capacitor and the sensor capacitor are equal.

6. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 5, further comprising a selector and a plurality of sensor pad equivalent capacitors connected with the selector, wherein the selector selects one capacitor path at a time.

7. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 4, wherein the reference pad equivalent capacitor is connected with the voltage source via the second control switch and a reference resistor;

and when the current setting resistor is connected with the voltage source, the voltage source charges the reference capacitor and the sensor capacitor respectively with equal charging voltages via the reference resistor and the current setting resistor.

8. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 7, further comprising a selector and a plurality of sensor pad equivalent capacitors connected with the selector, wherein the selector selects one capacitor path at a time.

9. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 4, further comprising a selector and a plurality of sensor pad equivalent capacitors connected with the selector, wherein the selector selects one capacitor path at a time.

10. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit is provided with a reference voltage by an external supply through a low drop-out linear regulator, and the reference voltage is divided by a resistor into two reference voltages respectively for the voltage buffer and the start comparator and the end comparator.

11. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 10, further comprising a selector and a plurality of sensor pad equivalent capacitors connected with the selector, wherein the selector selects one capacitor path at a time.

12. The adaptive capacitive touch sense control circuit according to claim 1, further comprising a selector and a plurality of sensor pad equivalent capacitors connected with the selector, wherein the selector selects one capacitor path at a time.