System and method for determining user input and interference on an input device

• US 9,367,181 B2
• Filed: 03/08/2011
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Schwartz, Adam, Reynolds, Joseph Kurth, Weinerth, John, Jordan, Joel C.
• Primary Examiner(s): HORNER, JONATHAN R
• Application Number:
  US13/043,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20120229415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,925 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-174, 178 1803- 1807, 702/191
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means

Abstract

The embodiments described herein provide devices and methods that facilitate improved performance. In one embodiment, an input device comprises a processing system, a transmitter sensor electrode, and a receiver sensor electrode, where the transmitter sensor electrode and the receiver sensor electrode are capacitively coupled. The processing system is configured to receive a resulting signal from the receiver sensor electrode, where the resulting signal includes responses that correspond to the transmitter signal. The processing system is further configured to separately accumulate, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, a first portion and a second portion of the resulting signal to respectively produce a first accumulation and a second accumulation, wherein the first accumulation is used for determining user input to the input device and the second accumulation is used for determining interference, and wherein the first portion and the second portion are non-coterminous.

Claims

1. A processing system for a capacitive input device, the capacitive input device comprising a transmitter sensor electrode and a receiver sensor electrode capacitively coupled to the transmitter sensor electrode, wherein the processing system comprises:

transmitter circuitry configured to drive a transmitter signal onto the transmitter sensor electrode, the transmitter signal comprising a transmitter waveform with repeating cycles, wherein each cycle of the transmitter waveform includes a first transition;

receiver circuitry configured to receive, from the receiver sensor electrode, a resulting signal, the resulting signal including effects corresponding to the transmitter signal and indicative of a user input in the sensing region; and

accumulator circuitry configured to, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform;

separately accumulate a first portion of the resulting signal using a first channel with a first capacitor and produce a first accumulation used for determining the user input, and

accumulate a second portion of the resulting signal using a second channel and produce a second accumulation used for determining interference,

wherein the second portion is accumulated during a reset period that is non-coterminous with the first portion, and

wherein the first accumulation is discharged from the first capacitor during the reset period.

2. The processing system of claim 1 wherein the first portion includes effects of the first transition on the resulting signal, and wherein the second portion starts after a beginning of the first portion.

3. The processing system of claim 1 wherein the second portion starts after the effects of the first transition have substantially settled.

4. The processing system of claim 1 wherein the second portion starts a predetermined time period after the first transition.

5. The processing system of claim 1 wherein the accumulator circuitry is further configured to, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, reset the first accumulation during the reset period following the first portion, and wherein the second portion overlaps the reset period.

6. The processing system of claim 1 wherein the accumulator circuitry is configured to, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, accumulate the second portion of the resulting signal by:

accumulating the second portion with a second capacitor during the reset period.

7. The processing system of claim 1, wherein each cycle of the transmitter waveform includes a second transition, and wherein the accumulator circuitry is further configured to, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform:

accumulate a third portion of the resulting signal to produce a third accumulation, wherein the third portion includes effects of the second transition on the resulting signal, and wherein the third accumulation is also used for detecting the user input.

8. The processing system of claim 7, wherein the accumulator circuitry is further configured to, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform:

accumulate a fourth portion of the resulting signal to produce a fourth accumulation, wherein the fourth portion starts after a beginning of the third portion, and wherein the fourth accumulation is also used for detecting interference.

9. An input device for capacitively sensing input objects in a sensing region, comprising:

a transmitter sensor electrode and a receiver sensor electrode, wherein the transmitter sensor electrode is capacitively coupled to the receiver sensor electrode;

a processing system configured to;

drive a transmitter signal onto the transmitter sensor electrode, the transmitter signal comprising a transmitter waveform with repeating cycles, wherein each cycle of the transmitter waveform includes a first transition;

receive a resulting signal from the receiver sensor electrode, the resulting signal including effects corresponding to the transmitter signal and indicative of a user input in the sensing region;

separately accumulate, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, a first portion of the resulting signal using a first channel with a first capacitor to produce a first accumulation used for determining the user input to the input device; and

accumulate a second portion of the resulting signal using a second channel to produce a second accumulation used for determining interference,

wherein the second portion is accumulated during a reset period that is non-coterminous with the first portion, and

wherein the first accumulation is discharged from the first capacitor during the reset period.

10. The input device of claim 9 wherein the first portion includes effects of the first transition on the resulting signal, and wherein the second portion starts after a beginning of the first portion.

11. The input device of claim 9 wherein the processing system is further configured to, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, reset the first accumulation during the reset period following the first portion, and wherein the second portion overlaps the reset period.

12. The input device of claim 9 wherein the processing system is configured to, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, accumulate the second portion of the resulting signal by:

accumulating the second portion with a second capacitor during the reset period of the first capacitor.

13. The input device of claim 9, wherein each cycle of the transmitter waveform includes a second transition, and wherein the processing system is further configured to, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform:

accumulate a third portion of the resulting signal to produce a third accumulation, wherein the third portion includes effects of the second transition on the resulting signal, and wherein the third accumulation is also used for determining the user input; and

accumulate a fourth portion of the resulting signal to produce a fourth accumulation, wherein the fourth portion starts after a start of the third portion, and wherein the fourth accumulation is also used for determining interference.

14. The input device of claim 9 further comprising a second receiver sensor electrode, wherein the transmitter sensor electrode is capacitively coupled to the second receiver sensor electrode, and wherein the processing system is further configured to:

receive a second resulting signal from the second receiver sensor electrode, the second resulting signal corresponding to the transmitter signal;

separately accumulate, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, a second first portion and a second second portion of the second resulting signal to respectively produce a second first accumulation and a second second accumulation, wherein the second first accumulation is used for determining the user input to the input device and the second second accumulation is used for the determining interference, and wherein the second first portion and the second second portion are non-coterminous.

15. The input device of claim 14 wherein the processing system comprises a circuit element configured to accumulate the second portion of the resulting signal and the second second portion of the second resulting signal.

16. The input device of claim 14 wherein the processing system comprises a circuit element configured to non-concurrently accumulate the second portion of the resulting signal and the second second portion of the second resulting signal.

17. A method of operating a capacitive input device, the method comprising:

driving a transmitter signal onto a transmitter sensor electrode, the transmitter signal comprising a transmitter waveform with repeating cycles, wherein each cycle of the transmitter waveform includes a first transition;

receiving a resulting signal from a receiver sensor electrode, the resulting signal including effects corresponding to the transmitter signal and indicative of a user input in the sensing region;

separately accumulating, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, a first portion of the resulting signal using a first channel with a first capacitor to produce a first accumulation;

accumulating a second portion of the resulting signal to produce a second accumulation,

wherein the second portion is accumulated during a reset period that is non-coterminous with the first portion,

wherein the first accumulation is discharged from the first capacitor during the reset period, and

wherein the first portion includes effects of the first transition on the resulting signal, and wherein the second portion starts after a beginning of the first portion;

determining the user input using the first accumulation; and

determining interference using the second accumulation of the resulting signal.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising, for each cycle of the transmitter waveform, resetting the first accumulation during the reset period following the first portion, and wherein the second portion overlaps the reset period.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein each cycle of the transmitter waveform includes a second transition, and wherein the method further comprises:

accumulating a third portion of the resulting signal to produce a third accumulation, wherein the third portion includes effects of the second transition on the resulting signal;

wherein the determining the user input additionally uses the third accumulation;

accumulating a fourth portion of the resulting signal to produce a fourth accumulation, wherein the fourth portion starts after a start of the third portion; and

wherein the determining interference additionally uses the fourth accumulation.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising changing the transmitter signal in response to determining interference above a threshold level.