Low pin count solution using capacitance sensing matrix for keyboard architecture
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a sensing device comprising a plurality of sensor elements to detect a conductive object, wherein a plurality of keyboard keys are assigned to correspond to pre-defined areas of the sensing device, wherein the pre-defined areas are disposed adjacent to one another without any space between, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensor elements corresponds to multiple pre-defined areas, and a number of the plurality of keyboard keys is greater than a number of the sensor elements, and wherein each of the pre-defined areas corresponds to a separate one of the plurality of keyboard keys; and
a processing device coupled to the sensing device, and comprising a look-up table storing positional data of the pre-defined areas, wherein the processing device is operable to determine a position of the conductive object on the sensing device based on measurements representing capacitance on the plurality of sensor elements, to select a keyboard key of the plurality of keyboard keys by comparing the position of the conductive object to the positional data of the pre-defined area of the sensing device corresponding to the keyboard key, and output keyboard data corresponding to the selected keyboard key to a host processor external to the processing device.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for selecting a keyboard key based on a position of a presence of a conductive object on a sensing device and a pre-defined area of the keyboard key. The apparatus may include a sensing device and a processing device. The sensing device may include a plurality of sensor elements to detect a presence of a conductive object on the sensing device. Multiple keyboard keys are assigned to pre-defined areas of the sensing device. The processing device is coupled to the sensing device using capacitance sensing pins, and may be operable to determine a position of the presence of the conductive object, and to select a keyboard key based on the position of the conductive object and the pre-defined areas of the sensing device.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a sensing device comprising a plurality of sensor elements to detect a conductive object, wherein a plurality of keyboard keys are assigned to correspond to pre-defined areas of the sensing device, wherein the pre-defined areas are disposed adjacent to one another without any space between, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensor elements corresponds to multiple pre-defined areas, and a number of the plurality of keyboard keys is greater than a number of the sensor elements, and wherein each of the pre-defined areas corresponds to a separate one of the plurality of keyboard keys; and a processing device coupled to the sensing device, and comprising a look-up table storing positional data of the pre-defined areas, wherein the processing device is operable to determine a position of the conductive object on the sensing device based on measurements representing capacitance on the plurality of sensor elements, to select a keyboard key of the plurality of keyboard keys by comparing the position of the conductive object to the positional data of the pre-defined area of the sensing device corresponding to the keyboard key, and output keyboard data corresponding to the selected keyboard key to a host processor external to the processing device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method comprising:
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assigning a plurality of keyboard keys to correspond to pre-defined areas of a sensing device having a plurality of sensor elements, wherein the pre-defined areas are disposed adjacent to one another without any space between, wherein at least one of the plurality of sensor elements corresponds to multiple pre-defined areas, and a number of the plurality of keyboard keys is greater than a number of the sensor elements, and wherein each of the pre-defined areas corresponds to a separate one of the plurality of keyboard keys; determining a position of conductive object on the sensing device based on measurements representing capacitance on the plurality of sensor elements; selecting a keyboard key of the plurality of keyboard keys by comparing the position of the conductive object to positional data of the pre-defined area of the sensing device corresponding to the keyboard key, wherein the positional data of the pre-defined area is stored in a processing device; and outputting keyboard data corresponding to the selected keyboard key from the processing device to a component external to the processing device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification