Touch systems and methods utilizing customized sensors and genericized controllers

• US 9,535,533 B2
• Filed: 10/13/2009
• Issued: 01/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Gomes, Rodrigo S., Peterson, Richard A. Jr., Lessard, Bruce A., Taylor, Gordon F.
• Primary Examiner(s): JOSEPH, DENNIS P
• Application Number:
  US12/577,849
• Publication Number:
  US 20100097336A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,639 Days
• Field of Search: 345173-178
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41875 characterised by quality surveillance of production
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33297 Diagnostic, test, debug
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45031 Manufacturing semiconductor wafers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Touch sensing circuit arrangements include a touch sensor and a controller board. The touch sensor includes one or more sensing elements to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to the sensor, and a memory device storing computer-executable firmware instructions for determining touch positions based on the touch-related signals. The controller board includes query logic executable by the controller board to cause the controller board to query for the computer-executable firmware instructions stored on the memory device of the touch sensor, and a processor circuit to determine touch positions by executing the firmware instructions loaded onto the generic controller board in response to the query.

Claims

1. A touch sensor coupled to a controller board in a touch sensing circuit arrangement, including computer-executable firmware instructions for determining touch positions,

wherein the touch sensor includes one or more sensing elements to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to the sensor, and a memory device storing the computer-executable firmware instructions, and

wherein the controller board includes query logic executable by the controller board to cause the controller board to query for the computer-executable firmware instructions stored on the memory device of the touch sensor, and a processor circuit to determine touch positions by executing the firmware instructions loaded onto the generic controller board in response to the query.

2. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 1, wherein the memory device further stores sensor-specific configuration data developed for the sensor.

3. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor further includes a touch signal adaption circuit for conditioning the touch-related signals for use by the controller board.

4. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 3, wherein the touch signal adaption circuit includes at least one amplifier to amplify the touch-related signals.

5. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 1, wherein the query logic includes controller-executable instructions stored on the controller board.

6. The touch sensing circuit arrangement of claim 1, wherein the query logic is hardwired on the controller board.

7. In a system which includes touch sensing circuit arrangement including computer-executable firmware instructions for determining touch positions, and which has a controller board including a processor circuit to determine touch positions using the computer-executable firmware instructions, the system comprising:

one or more sensing elements to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to a surface of the sensor, the touch-related signals carried by a plurality of signal lines;

a memory device storing the computer-executable firmware instructions; and

a connector to communicatively couple the controller board to the signal lines and to the memory device for communication of the touch-related signals and the computer-executable firmware instructions,

wherein the controller board includes query logic executable by the processor circuit to cause the controller board to query for the computer-executable firmware instructions stored on the memory device of the touch sensor, and wherein the processor circuit determines touch positions by executing the firmware instructions retrieved from the memory device in response to the query.

8. A touch sensor comprising:

one or more sensing elements to generate touch-related signals responsive to a touch input to the one or more sensing elements;

circuitry for communicating the touch-related signals to a communicatively coupled device; and

a memory device storing computer-executable firmware instructions that, when executed by the communicatively coupled device, cause the communicatively coupled device to resolve the touch-related signals into touch input position information,

wherein the communitively coupled device includes query logic executable by the communitively coupled device to cause the communitively coupled device to query for the computer-executable firmware instructions stored on the memory device, and a processor circuit to determine the touch input position information by executing the firmware instructions loaded onto the communitively coupled device in response to the query.

9. The touch sensor of claim 8, wherein the communicatively coupled device is a touch sensor controller board.

10. The touch sensor of claim 9, additionally including a tail for communicatively coupling the touch sensor to the touch sensor controller board, the memory device being attached to the tail.