Pressure dependent capacitive sensing circuit switch construction

• US 9,948,297 B2
• Filed: 04/08/2011
• Issued: 04/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Azoteq Holdings Limited
• Original Assignee: Frederick Johannes Bruwer
• Inventors: Bruwer, Frederick Johannes
• Primary Examiner(s): Faragalla, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bibbee, Chayce
• Application Number:
  US13/641,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20130093500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,566 Days
• Field of Search: 345173, 327517
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/955 using a capacitive detector
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/962 Capacitive touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/9622 using a plurality of detectors, e.g. keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/975 using a capacitive movable element
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/94036 Multiple detection, i.e. where different switching signals are generated after operation of the user is detected at different time instants at different locations during the actuation movement by two or more sensors of the same or different kinds
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 2217/960755 Constructional details of capacitive touch and proximity switches

Abstract

A user interface which includes a capacitive measurement circuit with a sense plate covered by an electrically conductive cover member, and wherein said circuit may sense two types of events, said types distinguished by an inverse change in measured capacitance, and wherein user proximity and touches with less than a minimum required force constitute one event type, and touches with more than said minimum force constitute the other event type.

Claims

1. A user interface for a product, wherein the user interface comprises a construction including a projected, charge transfer based capacitance measurement circuit connected to at least first and second sense plates of a sense plate structure for measuring the projected capacitance between said first and second sense plates, said sense plate structure being covered by an electrically conductive and electrically floating cover member, that at least forms an area above said sense plate structure, and the construction is such that force applied to the conductive cover member or a layer of material, that is attached to the conductive cover member, causes a deflection that changes a distance between the sense plate structure and the conductive cover member under the point of the applied force, wherein the projected capacitance measurement circuit provides measurement data to identify and differentiate between the following events:

a. an object coming into proximity of the conductive cover member, without making physical contact therewith or said object coming into contact with the conductive cover member or material attached to the conductive cover member, and causing a decrease in the magnitude of the projected capacitance of the sense plate structure between the first and second sense plates measured by the projected capacitance measurement circuit; and

b. an object coming into contact with and applying more than a minimum force to the conductive cover member or material attached to the conductive cover member so that the conductive cover member or the material attached to the conductive cover member deflects and comes within a predetermined distance or makes contact with the sense plate structure in a way that causes an increase in the magnitude of the projected capacitance of the sense plate structure between the first and second sense plates measured by the projected capacitance measurement circuit.

2. The user interface of claim 1 wherein the conductive cover member comprises a snap dome structure that deflects with a sudden movement when more than a minimum force is applied to it and then results in tactile feedback to the user.

3. The user interface of claim 2 wherein the conductive cover member above said sense plate structure is grounded once a proximity event has been detected via said sense plate structure and wherein events where an engaging object applies sufficient force to said conductive cover member to cause its deflection, are detected thereafter, via an associated change in measured capacitance.

4. The user interface of claim 3, wherein use is made of parasitic capacitance cancellation techniques to compensate for an increase or decrease in measured capacitance due to said grounding of said conductive cover member.

5. The user interface of claim 4, wherein the connection between ground and said conductive cover member is removed after a predetermined period during which no deflection of said conductive cover member that results in sufficient measured capacitance change to qualify as an event, has been detected.

6. The user interface in accordance with claim 2 wherein events as per section a) of claim 1 result in a reduced charge transferred between an associated driver one of said sense plates and a receiver one of sense plates, and events as per section b) of claim 1 result in an increased charge being transferred from the driver sense plate to the receiver sense plate.

7. The user interface in accordance with claim 2 wherein the conductive cover member is electrically insulated from the sense plate structure.

8. The user interface according to claim 1 which comprises a matrix of sense plate structures and use of projected capacitance measurements, and wherein a sequence of capacitive measurement data resulting from a plurality of events as described in section (a) of claim 1 and detected by the capacitance measurement circuit through the matrix of sense plate structures, is used to implement a capacitive track pad system and the tracking function to control movement of a cursor on a display or to move between or highlight icons on a display.

9. The user interface according to claim 8 wherein the sequence of measurement data is further used to implement and recognize a tap and/or double tap selection command of soft keys or icons on the display, in response to an event(s) as described in section a) of claim 1, and wherein speed of movement of an engaging object is used to determine a distance of movement applied to said cursor in a manner such that slow movement results in small movement steps, and fast movement results in larger movement steps.

10. The user interface according to claim 8 wherein use is made of conductive snap dome structures over specific projected capacitance sense plate structures to detect events as described in section b) of claim 1 related to specific sense plate structures and wherein events as described in section b) of claim 1 are interpreted as selections of keys or icons associated with the said cursor and the snap dome structures result in tactile feedback to the user.

11. The user interface according to claim 2 wherein the capacitance measurement circuit provides information related to a distance between the conductive cover member and the sense plate structure, and wherein a threshold in measured capacitance is implemented to distinguish between a light touch and a hard touch, and wherein this information is relayed to a user through a display, and wherein the hard touch is interpreted as a selection, and the light touch is interpreted as a temporary or preliminary selection.

12. The user interface according to claim 5 wherein the capacitance measurement circuit provides information related to a distance between the conductive cover member and the sense plate structure, and wherein a threshold in measured capacitance is implemented to distinguish between a light touch and a hard touch, and wherein this information is relayed to a user through a display, and wherein the hard touch is interpreted as a selection, and the light touch is interpreted as a temporary or preliminary selection.

13. A method of implementing a touch sensing user interface comprising a projected, charge transfer based capacitance measurement circuit and at least one floating electrically conductive cover member, said cover member forming an area over at least first and second sense plates of a sense plate structure connected to said projected capacitance measurement circuit, and a surface to be touched by a user, and wherein the method further requires that force applied to a point on the touch surface results in a deflection that decreases the distance between the sense plate structure and the conductive cover member under the point of the applied force, and wherein the method includes the step of having the measurement data from the projected capacitance measurement circuit interpreted to identify and differentiate between the following events:

a. an object coming into proximity of the conductive cover member without making physical contact with the conductive cover member or material attached to the conductive cover member or said object coming into physical contact with the conductive cover member or material attached to the conductive cover member; and

wherein said object causes a decrease in the magnitude of the projected capacitance of the sense plate structure between the first and second sense plates measured by the projected capacitance measurement circuit; and

b. an object coming into physical contact with the conductive cover member or material attached to the conductive cover member and such object exerting more than a minimum force to result in the conductive cover member or the material attached thereto deflecting and the conductive member coming within a predetermined distance of or in contact with the sense plate structure to cause an increase in the magnitude of the projected capacitance of the sense plate structure between the first and second sense plates measured by the projected capacitance measurement circuit.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said floating conductive cover member is grounded once a proximity event has been detected via said sense plate structure and wherein events where an engaging object applies sufficient force to said conductive cover member to cause its deflection, are detected thereafter, via an associated change in measured capacitance, and where parasitic capacitance cancellation techniques are used to compensate for an increase or decrease in measured capacitance due to said grounding of said conductive cover member.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the connection between ground and said conductive cover member is removed after a predetermined period during which no deflection of said conductive cover member that results in sufficient measured capacitance change to qualify as an event, has been detected.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein said first and second sense plates comprise a first, driver sense plate and a second, receiver sense plate and physical contact by an object exerting more than a minimum force causes contact between the conductive cover member or material attached thereto and the driver and receiver sense plates of the sense plate structure in a way that results in an increased measured capacitance between the driver and the receiver sense plates, even if the contact is through an electrically insulating layer, whereas a contact exerting less than said minimum force, results in a decreased measured capacitance between the driver and receiver sense plates of the sense plate structure.

17. The method in accordance with claim 13 which includes the step of using a sequence of measurement data from a matrix of projected capacitance sense plate structures and corresponding conductive cover members resulting from events as described in section a) of claim 13 to create a capacitive track pad system and the tracking mechanism functions to move a cursor on a screen or to assist in selection of icons or touch keys on a screen.

18. The method in accordance with claim 17 which includes the step of using data from the capacitance measurement circuit to identify a tap and/or double tap command based on an event as described in section a) of claim 13, and wherein speed of movement of an engaging object is used to determine a distance of movement applied to said cursor in a manner such that slow movement results in small movement steps, and fast movement results in larger movement steps.

19. The method in accordance with claim 17 which includes the use of conductive snap dome structures over specific projected capacitance sense plate structures and the step of using data from the capacitance measurement circuit to detect events as described in section b) of claim 13 on specific projected capacitance sense plate structures, and wherein said detections are interpreted as selections of keys or icons associated with said cursor, and the snap dome structures result in tactile feedback to the user.

20. The method in accordance with claim 17 which includes the step of using measurement information, resulting from multiple objects in proximity to or in contact with conductive cover members or material attached to the conductive cover members, to implement dual touch or multiple touch gesture commands.