System and method to drive touch panel to measure hover

• US 9,477,356 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2013
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Erdogan, Ozan E. Sr., Shen, Guozhong, Christman, Daniel S.
• Primary Examiner(s): HARRIS, DOROTHY H
• Application Number:
  US14/108,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20140375598A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,043 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- 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 without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• 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

Techniques in accordance with the present disclosure allow the detection of hover events and/or touch events performed over the touch panel without requiring that the touch panel be equipped with additional hardware and/or materials. In one or more implementations, the apparatus includes a touch panel controller configured to operatively couple to a touch panel sensor. The touch panel sensor includes at least one drive electrode and at least one sense electrode. The touch panel controller includes output circuitry operatively coupled to the at least one drive electrode. The output circuitry is configured to generate drive signals to drive the drive electrode (i.e., drive the touch panel sensor). The touch panel controller also includes input circuitry operatively coupled to the at least one sense electrode. The input circuitry is configured to measure mutual-capacitance between the at least drive electrode and the at least one sense electrode to detect a hover event. The present disclosure is directed to driving a subset of rows (or columns) and senses the subset of the remaining rows (or columns). Thus, the same sensor can measure multi-touch event and hover without changes to sensor pattern.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a touch panel controller coupled to a touch panel sensor, the touch panel sensor including a plurality of row and column sets of electrodes, each set of row electrodes including at least one row drive electrode and at least one row sense electrode, each set of column electrodes including at least one column drive electrode and at least one column sense electrode, the at least one row sense electrode in parallel along a first direction with the at least one row drive electrode and the at least one column sense electrode in parallel along a second direction with the at least one column drive electrode, the touch panel controller comprising;

output circuitry coupled to the at least one row drive electrode of each set of row electrodes and coupled to the at least one column drive electrode of each set of column electrodes, the output circuitry configured to generate drive signals to drive the at least one row drive electrode and the at least one column drive electrode of each set of row electrodes and each set of column electrodes; and

input circuitry coupled to the at least one row sense electrode of each set of row electrodes and coupled to the at least one column sense electrode of each set of column electrodes, the input circuitry configured to measure mutual capacitance between the at least one row or column drive electrode and the at least one row or column sense electrode of each set of row or column electrodes to detect a hover event, wherein the touch panel controller is configured to;

cause the output circuitry to drive at least one row drive electrode of a set of row electrodes during a first time interval;

sense a change in mutual capacitance between the at least one row drive electrode and at least one row sense electrode of the set of row electrodes during the first time interval to detect a row hover event;

cause the output circuitry to drive at least one column drive electrode of a set of column electrodes during a second time interval;

sense a change in mutual capacitance between the at least one column drive electrode and at least one column sense electrode of the set of column electrodes during the second time interval to detect a column hover event; and

approximate a hover event position based upon the row hover event and the column hover event.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising an intermediary electrode disposed either between the at least one row drive electrode and the at least one row sense electrode of at least one set of row electrodes without intersecting either of the at least one row drive electrode or the at least one row sense electrode, or between the at least one column drive electrode and the at least one column sense electrode of at least one set of column electrodes without intersecting either of the at least one column drive electrode or the at least one column sense electrode.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one row drive electrode of a set of row electrodes is adjacent to at least one row sense electrode of the set of row electrodes or at least one column drive electrode of a set of column electrodes is adjacent to at least one column sense electrode of the set of column electrodes.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the output circuitry comprises a digital-to-analog converter coupled to a buffer, the buffer coupled to at least one row drive electrode of a set of row electrodes and at least one column drive electrode of a set of column electrodes.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the input circuitry comprises a charge amplifier, the charge amplifier further comprising an operational amplifier having an inverting input terminal, a non-inverting input terminal, and an output terminal, the inverting input terminal coupled to at least one row sense electrode of a set of row electrodes and at least one column sense electrode of a set of column electrodes;

and an integrating capacitor electrically coupled between the inverting input terminal and the output terminal.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein approximating the hover event position involves determining an intersection of the row hover event and the column hover event.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein approximating the hover event position involves determining an intersection of greatest signal strength corresponding to row electrodes and greatest signal strength corresponding to column electrodes.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a touch panel controller coupled to a touch panel sensor, the touch panel sensor including a plurality of row electrodes and a plurality of column electrodes, the plurality of row electrodes including sets of row drive electrodes and sets of row sense electrodes, subsets of the sets of row sense electrodes non-intersecting with corresponding subsets of the sets of row drive electrodes and the plurality of column electrodes including sets of column drive electrodes and sets of column sense electrodes, subsets of the sets of column sense electrodes non-intersecting with corresponding subsets of the sets of column drive electrodes, the touch panel controller comprising;

output circuitry coupled to the plurality of row drive electrodes and the plurality of column drive electrodes, the output circuitry configured to generate drive signals to drive the row drive electrodes and the column drive electrodes; and

input circuitry coupled to a subset of row and column electrodes, the input circuitry configured to measure mutual capacitance between the sets of row and column drive electrodes and the sets of row and column sense electrodes to detect a hover event, wherein the touch panel controller is configured to;

cause the output circuitry to drive a subset of row drive electrodes during a first time interval;

sense a change in mutual capacitance between the subset of row drive electrodes and a subset of row sense electrodes during the first time interval to detect a row hover event;

cause the output circuitry to drive a subset of column drive electrodes during a second time interval;

sense a change in mutual capacitance between the subset of column drive electrodes and a subset of column sense electrodes during the second time interval to detect a column hover event; and

approximate a hover event position based upon the row hover event and the column hover event.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the output circuitry comprises a digital-to-analog converter coupled to a buffer, the buffer coupled to at least one row drive electrode and at least one column drive electrode.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the input circuitry comprises a charge amplifier, the charge amplifier further comprising an operational amplifier having an inverting input terminal, a non-inverting input terminal, and an output terminal, the inverting input terminal coupled to at least one row sense electrode and at least one column sense electrode;

and an integrating capacitor electrically coupled between the inverting input terminal and the output terminal.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein approximating the hover event position involves determining an intersection of the row hover event and the column hover event.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein approximating the hover event position involves determining an intersection greatest signal strength corresponding to row electrodes and greatest signal strength corresponding to column electrodes.

13. A method of driving a touch panel sensor including a plurality of row and column sets of electrodes, each set of row electrodes including at least one row drive electrode and at least one row sense electrode, each set of column electrodes including at least one column drive electrode and at least one column sense electrode, the at least one row sense electrode in parallel along a first direction with the at least one row drive electrode and the at least one column sense electrode in parallel along a second direction with the at least one column drive electrode, the method comprising:

driving a subset of the row drive electrodes during a first time interval by way of output circuitry;

sensing a change in mutual capacitance between the subset of row drive electrodes and a subset of row sense electrodes during the first time interval to detect a row hover event;

driving a subset of the column drive electrodes during a second time interval by way of output circuitry;

sensing a change in mutual capacitance between the subset of column drive electrodes and a subset of column sense electrodes during the second time interval to detect a column hover event; and

approximating a hover event position based upon the row hover event and the column hover event.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein approximating the hover event position involves determining an intersection of the row hover event and the column hover event.

15. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein an intermediary electrode is disposed between at least one row drive electrode and at least one row sense electrode without intersecting either of the at least one row drive electrode and the at least one row sense electrode.

16. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein an intermediary electrode is disposed between at least one column drive electrode and at least one column sense electrode without intersecting either of the at least one column drive electrode and the at least one column sense electrode.

17. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the output circuitry comprises a digital-to-analog converter coupled to a buffer, the buffer coupled to at least one row drive electrode and at least one column drive electrode.

18. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the input circuitry comprises a charge amplifier, the charge amplifier further comprising an operational amplifier having an inverting input terminal, a non-inverting input terminal, and an output terminal, the inverting input terminal coupled to at least one row sense electrode and at least one column sense electrode;

and an integrating capacitor electrically coupled between the inverting input terminal and the output terminal.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein approximating the position of the hover event involves determining an intersection of greatest signal strength corresponding to row electrodes and greatest signal strength corresponding to column electrodes.