Mitigating common mode display noise using hybrid estimation approach

• US 9,864,466 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2015
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Goudarzi, Katayoun
• Primary Examiner(s): BOYD, JONATHAN A
• Application Number:
  US14/985,690
• Publication Number:
  US 20170192605A1
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• Field of Search: 345174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04102 Flexible digitiser, i.e. constructional details for allowing the whole digitising part of a device to be flexed or rolled like a sheet of paper
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041662 using alternate mutual and self-capacitive scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means

Abstract

A processing system configured for capacitive sensing includes sensor circuitry with functionality to acquire an absolute capacitive profile for sensor electrodes, and acquire a transcapacitive image using the sensor electrodes. The processing system is configured to create a first estimate of common mode noise using the absolute capacitive profile and the transcapacitive image, determine a location lacking an input object in the transcapacitive image using the first estimate of common mode noise, create a second estimate of common mode noise based on the location and the transcapacitive image, determine positional information of the input object using the second estimate of common mode noise, and process the positional information.

Claims

1. A processing system configured for capacitive sensing, the processing system comprising:

sensor circuitry with functionality to;

acquire a first absolute capacitive profile for a first plurality of sensor electrodes; and

acquire a transcapacitive image using the first plurality of sensor electrodes;

wherein the processing system is configured to;

create a first estimate of common mode noise using the first absolute capacitive profile and the transcapacitive image;

determine a location lacking an input object in the transcapacitive image using the first estimate of common mode noise;

create a second estimate of common mode noise based on the location and the transcapacitive image;

determine positional information of the input object using the second estimate of common mode noise; and

process the positional information.

2. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the first plurality of sensor electrodes are receiver electrodes, and wherein acquiring the transcapacitive image comprises transmitting transmitter signals using a second plurality of sensor electrodes and receiving resulting signals using the plurality of receiver electrodes, wherein the resulting signals comprise effects of the transmitter signals.

3. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

acquire a second absolute capacitive profile for a second plurality of sensor electrodes,

wherein creating the first estimate of common mode noise comprises;

creating a first projection of the transcapacitive image along a first axis, the first axis corresponding to the first plurality of sensor electrodes;

creating a second projection of the transcapacitive image along a second axis, the second axis corresponding to the second plurality of sensor electrodes; and

determining the first estimate of common mode noise using the first projection, the second projection, the first absolute capacitance profile, and the second absolute capacitance profile.

4. The processing system of claim 3, wherein determining the first estimate of common mode noise comprises:

determining a grounding mass parameter that relates the first projection to the first absolute capacitance profile, wherein the grounding mass parameter identifies a grounding state of a sensing region having the input object, and

using the grounding mass parameter, the second projection, and the second absolute capacitance profile to estimate the first estimate of common mode noise.

5. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

acquire a second absolute capacitive profile for a second plurality of sensor electrodes, the second plurality of sensor electrodes corresponding to a transmitter axis comprising a plurality of transmitter electrodes for generating the transcapacitive image, and

create a third estimate of common mode noise for the second absolute capacitive profile,

wherein the first estimate of common mode noise is created using the third estimate of common mode noise.

6. The processing system of claim 5, wherein determining the location lacking the input object in the transcapacitive image comprises:

updating the transcapacitive image to account for common mode noise using the first estimate of common mode noise;

determining a input object detection threshold from the updated transcapacitive image;

determining, from the updated image, each possible input object location satisfying the input object detection threshold; and

selecting, as the location lacking the input object, a region excluding each possible input object in the updated transcapacitive image.

7. The processing system of claim 1, wherein creating the second estimate of common mode noise based on the location and the transcapacitive image comprises:

determine, using each pixel along a transmitter electrode of a plurality of transmitter electrodes, a noise value for the transmitter electrode, wherein the transmitter electrode corresponds to the location lacking the input object;

determine a third estimate of common mode noise for a transmitter axis absolute capacitive profile using the noise value; and

determine the second estimate of common mode noise from the third estimate of common mode noise for the transmitter axis absolute capacitance profile.

8. The processing system of claim 7, wherein the processing system is further configured to:

generate a fourth estimate of common mode noise for the first absolute capacitive profile.

9. The processing system of claim 1, wherein processing the positional information comprises performing at least one selected from a group consisting of reporting the positional information and changing a state of a host device according to the positional information.

10. An input device for capacitive sensing comprising:

a first plurality of sensor electrodes for receiving resulting signals from a transmitter electrode; and

a processing system configured to;

acquire a first absolute capacitive profile for the first plurality of sensor electrodes;

acquire a transcapacitive image using the first plurality of sensor electrodes;

create a first estimate of common mode noise using the first absolute capacitive profile and the transcapacitive image;

determine a location lacking an input object in the transcapacitive image using the first estimate of common mode noise;

create a second estimate of common mode noise based on the location and the transcapacitive image;

determine positional information of the input object using the second estimate of common mode noise; and

process the positional information.

11. The input device of claim 10, wherein the processing system further comprises functionality to:

acquire a second absolute capacitive profile for a second plurality of sensor electrodes,

wherein creating the first estimate of common mode noise comprises;

creating a first projection of the transcapacitive image along a first axis, the first axis corresponding to the first plurality of sensor electrodes,

creating a second projection of the transcapacitive image along a second axis, the second axis corresponding to the second plurality of sensor electrodes, and

determining the first estimate of common mode noise using the first projection, the second projection, the first absolute capacitance profile, and the second absolute capacitance profile.

12. A method for mitigating common mode noise, the method comprising:

acquiring a first absolute capacitive profile for a first plurality of sensor electrodes;

acquiring a transcapacitive image using the first plurality of sensor electrodes;

creating a first estimate of common mode noise using the first absolute capacitive profile and the transcapacitive image;

determining a location lacking an input object in the transcapacitive image using the first estimate of common mode noise;

creating a second estimate of common mode noise based on the location and the transcapacitive image;

determining positional information of the input object using the second estimate of common mode noise; and

processing the positional information.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first plurality of sensor electrodes are receiver electrodes, and wherein acquiring the transcapacitive image comprises transmitting transmitter signals using a second plurality of sensor electrodes and receiving resulting signals using the plurality of receiver electrodes, wherein the resulting signals comprises effects of the transmitter signals.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

acquiring a second absolute capacitive profile for a second plurality of sensor electrodes,

wherein creating the first estimate of common mode noise comprises;

creating a first projection of the transcapacitive image along a first axis, the first axis corresponding to the first plurality of sensor electrodes,

creating a second projection of the transcapacitive image along a second axis, the second axis corresponding to the second plurality of sensor electrodes, and

determining the first estimate of common mode noise using the first projection, the second projection, the first absolute capacitance profile, and the second absolute capacitance profile.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the first estimate of common mode noise comprises:

determining a grounding mass parameter that relates the first projection to the first absolute capacitance profile, wherein the grounding mass parameter identifies a grounding state of a sensing region having the input object, and

using the grounding mass parameter, the second projection, and the second absolute capacitance profile to estimate the first estimate of common mode noise.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

acquiring a second absolute capacitive profile for a second plurality of sensor electrodes, the second plurality of sensor electrodes corresponding to a transmitter axis comprising a plurality of transmitter electrodes for generating the transcapacitive image; and

creating a third estimate of common mode noise for the second absolute capacitive profile,

wherein the first estimate of common mode noise is created using the third estimate of common mode noise.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the location lacking the input object in the transcapacitive image comprises:

updating the transcapacitive image to account for common mode noise using the first estimate of common mode noise;

determining a input object detection threshold from the updated transcapacitive image;

determining, from the updated image, each possible input object location satisfying the input object detection threshold; and

selecting, as the location lacking the input object, a region excluding each possible input object in the updated transcapacitive image.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein creating the second estimate of common mode noise based on the location and the transcapacitive image comprises:

determine, for each pixel along a transmitter electrode of a plurality of transmitter electrodes corresponding to the location lacking the input object, a noise value for the sensor electrode;

determine a third estimate of common mode noise for a transmitter axis absolute capacitive profile using the noise value; and

determine the second estimate of common mode noise from the transmitter axis absolute capacitance profile.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

generating a fourth estimate of common mode noise for the first absolute capacitive profile.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein processing the positional information comprises performing at least one selected from a group consisting of reporting the positional information and changing a state of a host device according to the positional information.