Touch sensor with adaptive touch detection thresholding
DCFirst Claim
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1. A touch sensor comprising:
- a plurality of sense electrodes; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of sense electrodes, the controller configured to;
receive a plurality of signals from the plurality of sense electrodes associated with an interaction with the touch sensor by an external object, the plurality of signals indicative of an amount of capacitance between the touch sensor and the external object;
access a stored threshold value, the threshold value indicating a threshold magnitude of capacitance;
determine a grounding status of the touch sensor based on a strength of a charge return path between the touch sensor and a ground;
adjust the stored threshold value based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor;
after adjusting the stored threshold value, determine whether to process the interaction as a touch by the external object based on a comparison of the amount of capacitance with the adjusted threshold value; and
after adjusting the stored threshold value based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor;
determine that the external object has not touched the touch sensor within a predetermined amount of time; and
change the stored threshold value back to an original value, the original value comprising a value of the stored threshold value before it was adjusted based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor.
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Abstract
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, by a controller coupled to a touch sensor, a plurality of signals from a plurality of sense electrodes, the plurality of signals indicative of an amount of capacitance between the touch sensor and an external object. The method further includes accessing a stored threshold value, determining a strength of a charge return path between the touch sensor and a ground, and adjusting the stored threshold value based on the determined strength of the charge return path. The threshold value indicates a threshold magnitude of the signals from the plurality of sense electrodes to process as a touch by the external object.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A touch sensor comprising:
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a plurality of sense electrodes; and a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of sense electrodes, the controller configured to; receive a plurality of signals from the plurality of sense electrodes associated with an interaction with the touch sensor by an external object, the plurality of signals indicative of an amount of capacitance between the touch sensor and the external object; access a stored threshold value, the threshold value indicating a threshold magnitude of capacitance; determine a grounding status of the touch sensor based on a strength of a charge return path between the touch sensor and a ground; adjust the stored threshold value based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor; after adjusting the stored threshold value, determine whether to process the interaction as a touch by the external object based on a comparison of the amount of capacitance with the adjusted threshold value; and after adjusting the stored threshold value based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor; determine that the external object has not touched the touch sensor within a predetermined amount of time; and change the stored threshold value back to an original value, the original value comprising a value of the stored threshold value before it was adjusted based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 21, 22, 23)
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7. A method comprising:
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receiving, by a controller coupled to a touch sensor, a plurality of signals from a plurality of sense electrodes associated with an interaction with the touch sensor by an external object, the plurality of signals indicative of an amount of capacitance between the touch sensor and the external object; accessing, by the controller, a stored threshold value, the threshold value indicating a threshold magnitude of capacitance; determining, by the controller, a grounding status of the touch sensor based on a strength of a charge return path between the touch sensor and a ground; adjusting, by the controller, the stored threshold value based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor; after adjusting the stored threshold value, determining, by the controller, whether to process the interaction as a touch by the external object based on a comparison of the amount of capacitance with the adjusted threshold value; and after adjusting the stored threshold value based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor; determining, by the controller, that the external object has not touched the touch sensor within a predetermined amount of time; and changing, by the controller, the stored threshold value back to an original value, the original value comprising a value of the stored threshold value before it was adjusted based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A touch-sensitive device comprising a controller, the controller communicatively coupled to a plurality of sense electrodes, the controller operable to:
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receive a plurality of signals from the plurality of sense electrodes associated with an interaction with the touch sensor by an external object, the plurality of signals indicative of an amount of capacitance between the touch-sensitive device and the external object; access a stored threshold value, the threshold value indicating a threshold magnitude of capacitance; determine a grounding status of the touch sensor based on a strength of a charge return path between the touch-sensitive device and a ground; adjust the stored threshold value based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor; after adjusting the stored threshold value, determine whether to process the interaction as a touch by the external object based on a comparison of the amount of capacitance with the adjusted threshold value; and after adjusting the stored threshold value based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor; determine that the external object has not touched the touch sensor within a predetermined amount of time; and change the stored threshold value back to an original value, the original value comprising a value of the stored threshold value before it was adjusted based on the determined grounding status of the touch sensor. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification