Low power capacitive sensor button

• US 9,176,636 B1
• Filed: 03/24/2015
• Issued: 11/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Original Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Maharyta, Andriy, Klein, Hans, Liepold, Carl Ferdinand
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, PREMAL R
• Application Number:
  US14/667,434
• Time in Patent Office: 224 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/22 Modifications for ensuring a predetermined initial state when the supply voltage has been applied bi-stable generators H03K3/12
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/30 Modifications for providing a predetermined threshold before switching shaping pulses by thresholding H03K5/08
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960745 Capacitive differential; e.g. comparison with reference capacitance
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/96075 involving bridge circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960765 Details of shielding arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960775 Emitter-receiver or "fringe" type detection, i.e. one or more field emitting electrodes and corresponding one or more receiving electrodes

Abstract

A capacitance sensing module includes a timer circuit configured to generate a repetitive trigger signal, a low power oscillator block configured to generate a clock signal having a higher frequency than the repetitive trigger signal, a sensing block coupled with the timer circuit and the oscillator block and configured to, in response to the repetitive trigger signal, detect a presence of a conductive object at a capacitive sensor button by applying an excitation signal based on the clock signal to the capacitive sensor button, and a wake logic block coupled with the sensing block and configured to transition a processing unit from a low power consumption state to a high power consumption state in response to the sensing block detecting the presence of the conductive object at the capacitive sensor button.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a timer circuit configured to generate a repetitive trigger signal;

a low power oscillator block configured to generate a clock signal having a higher frequency than the repetitive trigger signal;

a sensing block coupled with the timer circuit and the oscillator block and configured to, in response to the repetitive trigger signal, detect a presence of a conductive object at a capacitive sensor button by applying an excitation signal based on the clock signal to the capacitive sensor button during a measurement period; and

a wake logic block coupled with the sensing block and configured to transition a processing unit from a low power consumption state to a high power consumption state in response to the sensing block detecting the presence of the conductive object at the capacitive sensor button.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a steady state current drawn by the sensing block during the measurement period no more than 1 μ

A, and wherein a steady state current drawn by the low power oscillator block is no more than 10 nA.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein a total steady state current drawn by the timer circuit, low power oscillator block, and the sensing block is less than 200 nA.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the low power consumption state is an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) C3 ‘

sleep’

power state, and wherein the high power consumption state is an ACPI C0 ‘

operating’

power state.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the low power oscillator block is further configured to provide the clock signal to the timer circuit, and wherein the timer circuit is further configured to generate the repetitive trigger signal based on the clock signal.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the repetitive trigger signal has a frequency not greater than 1 Hz, and wherein the clock signal has a frequency not greater than 1 kHz.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing block further comprises:

a state machine configured to transition the sensing block from a low power consumption state to a high power consumption state in response to a first pulse of the repetitive trigger signal; and

a sensing circuit coupled with the state machine, wherein, during operation of the sensing block in the high power consumption state, the sensing circuit is configured to apply the excitation signal to the capacitive sensor button during the measurement period.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a sensing circuit of the sensing block comprises:

a reference branch;

a sensor branch; and

a comparator coupled with the reference branch and the sensor branch, wherein the sensing circuit is configured to;

apply the excitation signal to the reference branch,

apply the excitation signal to the capacitive sensor button via the sensor branch, and

compare a voltage at a first node in the reference branch with a voltage at a second node in the sensor branch.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the state machine is configured to transition the sensing block to a low power consumption state after the measurement period and before a next subsequent pulse after the first pulse of the repetitive trigger signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing block is configured to cause a processing unit to transition from a low power consumption sleep state to a high power consumption working state in response to detecting the presence of the conductive object at the capacitive sensor button.

11. A method, comprising:

generating a repetitive trigger signal;

generating an excitation signal having a higher frequency than the repetitive trigger signal;

in response to the repetitive trigger signal, detecting a presence of a conductive object at a capacitive sensor button by applying the excitation signal to the capacitive sensor button during a measurement period; and

in response to detecting the presence of the conductive object at the capacitive sensor button, transitioning a processing unit from a low power consumption state to a high power consumption state.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the repetitive trigger signal and the excitation signal are generated based on a clock signal.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

applying the excitation signal to a reference branch;

applying the excitation signal to the capacitive sensor button via a sensor branch; and

comparing a voltage at a first node in the reference branch with a voltage at a second node in the sensor branch.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the low power consumption state is an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) C3 ‘

sleep’

power state, and wherein the high power consumption state is an ACPI C0 ‘

operating’

power state.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transitioning from a low power consumption state to a high power consumption state in response to a first pulse of the repetitive trigger signal; and

transitioning from the high power consumption state to the low power consumption state after the measurement period and before a next subsequent pulse of the repetitive trigger signal after the first pulse of the repetitive trigger signal.

16. A system, comprising:

a processing unit;

a capacitive sensor button;

a timer circuit configured to generate a repetitive trigger signal;

a low power oscillator block configured to generate an clock signal having a higher frequency than the repetitive trigger signal;

a sensing block coupled with the timer circuit and the oscillator block and configured to, in response to the repetitive trigger signal, detect a presence of a conductive object at the capacitive sensor button by applying an excitation signal based on the clock signal to the capacitive sensor button during a measurement period; and

a wake logic block coupled with the sensing block and configured to transition the processing unit from a low power consumption state to a high power consumption state in response to the sensing block detecting the presence of the conductive object at the capacitive sensor button.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the timer circuit is configured to generate the repetitive trigger signal based on the clock signal, and wherein the repetitive trigger signal has a frequency not greater than 1 Hz, and wherein the clock signal has a frequency not greater than 1 kHz.

18. The system of claim 16, further comprising a memory coupled with the processing unit, wherein the memory is configured to store instructions executable by the processing unit, and wherein the processing unit is configured to automatically execute the instructions after transitioning from the low power consumption state to the high power consumption state in response to the sensing block detecting the presence of the conductive object at the capacitive sensor button.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the timer circuit, the low power oscillator block, the sensing block, and the wake logic block are located on a first integrated circuit chip and operate on a first power domain, and wherein the processing unit is located on a second integrated circuit chip and operate on a second power domain independent from the first power domain.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the capacitive sensor button further comprises:

a transmit (TX) electrode coupled with the sensing block; and

a receive (RX) electrode coupled with the sensing block and capacitively coupled with the TX electrode, wherein a mutual capacitance between the TX electrode and the RX decreases in response to a conductive object contacting a surface over the TX electrode and the RX electrode.