Method and apparatus for sensing

• US 7,986,153 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2009
• Issued: 07/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Neodrón Limited (Atlantic IP Services Limited)
• Original Assignee: Atmel Corporation (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Inventors: Easter, Kevin Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Hollington; Jermele M
• Application Number:
  US12/395,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20100219845A1
• Time in Patent Office: 876 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 324/678
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 27/2605 Measuring capacitance capacitive sensors G01D5/24
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/9622 using a plurality of detectors, e.g. keyboard

Abstract

An apparatus for sensing a change in capacitance of a sensing electrode to a system ground, such as that which may be used to form a touch sensor, with the sensing electrode forming touch sensitive surface is arranged to include a sleep mode of operation. The apparatus includes a sample capacitor having a first terminal coupled to the sensing electrode, and a second terminal coupled to a voltage measurement circuit. The voltage measurement circuit is arranged in operation to determine a voltage at the second terminal of the sample capacitor. A voltage biasing arrangement is arranged under the control of a controller to apply a biasing voltage or the system ground to the first terminal or the second terminal of the sample capacitor in accordance with a measurement cycle.

Claims

1. An apparatus for sensing a change in capacitance of a sensing electrode to a system ground, the apparatus comprising

a sample capacitor having two terminals, a first of the two terminals being coupled to the sensing electrode,

a voltage measurement circuit being coupled to a second of the terminals of the sample capacitor, the voltage measurement circuit being arranged in operation to determine a voltage at the second terminal of the sample capacitor, and

a voltage biasing arrangement which is arranged under the control of a controller to apply a biasing voltage or the system ground to the first terminal or the second terminal of the sample capacitor in accordance with a measurement cycle, the measurement cycle comprising

grounding the first and second terminals of the sample capacitor during an initialisation part of the measurement cycle by connecting the first and second terminals to the system ground,

charging the sensing electrode via the sample capacitor, during a charging part of the measurement cycle by applying a drive voltage to the second terminal of the sample capacitor, whilst floating the first terminal by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage, and during a measurement part of the measurement cycle grounding the first terminal whilst floating the second terminal by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage, and measuring the voltage at the second terminal, and

determining whether there has been a change in capacitance of the sensing electrode in accordance with the measured voltage, wherein before or after the measurement cycle the controller is arranged to perform a sleep mode in which the sensing electrode is biased at a voltage which is greater than the system ground.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged to perform the sleep mode for a first predetermined time period, before performing the measurement cycle.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged to perform the sleep mode, if the controller determines that the apparatus has entered an in active state.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the controller is arranged to determine that the apparatus as entered the in active state if after repeating the measurement cycle there has been no change in the capacitance of the sensing electrode for a second predetermined time period.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the controller is arranged to repeat the charging part and the measuring part of the measurement cycle until the voltage measurement circuit determines that the voltage at the second terminal of the sample capacitor has reached a predetermined threshold voltage, and the controller is operable to determine whether there has been a change in the capacitance of the sensing electrode from a time taken to reach the predetermined threshold, when measured during the measurement part of the measurement cycle.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the controller is operable to determine that a change in capacitance has been caused by the presence of a body proximate the touch sensor, if the time taken to reach the predetermined threshold of less than or equal to a first predetermined value, which is less than an expected value if no body is present and to determine that an error condition has occurred corresponding to the apparatus being in the in active state if the time taken to reach the predetermined threshold exceeds a second predetermined value, which is greater than the expected value if no body is present.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6, comprising

an integrating filter, which is arranged to receive samples representative of values of time taken to reach the predetermined threshold voltage which are generated and to determine that a positive detection of a body proximate the touch sensor, if the time taken to reach the predetermined threshold is less than the first predetermined value for more than a predetermined number of successive samples.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the biasing arrangement include at least four switches,

a first of the switches being connected to the second terminal and arranged to apply a positive biasing voltage when in a closed state and to float the second terminal in an open state,

a second of the switches being connected to the second terminal and arranged to connect the second terminal to the system ground when in a closed state and to float the second terminal in an open state,

a third of the switches being connected to the first terminal and arranged to apply a positive biasing voltage when in a closed state and to float the first terminal in an open state, and

a fourth of the switches being connected to the first terminal and arranged to connect the first terminal to system ground when in a closed state and to float the first terminal in an open state, and during the sleep mode, the first switch, the second switch and the fourth switch are in an open state and the third switch is in the closed state.

9. A pair of audio reproducing devices comprising a first ear phone and a second ear phone, each of the first and the second ear phones including a touch sensing apparatus which is arranged to detect a body proximate a sensing electrode of the touch sensing apparatus from a change in capacitance of the sensing electrode to a system ground, the touch sensing apparatus comprising

a sample capacitor having two terminals, a first of the two terminals being connected to the sensing electrode,

a voltage measurement circuit connected to a second of the terminals of the sample capacitor, the voltage measurement circuit being arranged in operation to determine a voltage at the second terminal of the measurement capacitor, and

a voltage biasing arrangement which is arranged under the control of a controller to apply a biasing voltage or the system ground to the first terminal or the second terminal of the sample capacitor in accordance with a measurement cycle, the measurement cycle comprising

grounding the first and second terminals of the sample capacitor during an initialisation part of the measurement cycle by connecting the first and second terminals to the system ground,

charging the sensing electrode via the sample capacitor, during a charging part of the measurement cycle by applying a drive voltage to the second terminal of the sample capacitor for a predetermined period, whilst floating the first terminal by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage, and during a measurement part of the measurement cycle grounding the first terminal whilst floating the second terminal by not applying a system ground or biasing voltage, and measuring the voltage at the second terminal, and

determining whether there has been a change in capacitance of the sensing electrode in accordance with the measured voltage, wherein the measurement cycle includes a sleep mode in which the sensing electrode is biased at a voltage which is greater than the system ground.

10. A method of sensing a change in capacitance of a sensing electrode to a system ground, the sensing electrode being coupled to a first terminal of a sample capacitor with a second terminal of the sample capacitor being connected to a voltage measurement circuit for determining a voltage at the second terminal of the sample capacitor, the method comprising

applying the system ground to the first and second terminals of the sample capacitor during an initialisation part of the measurement cycle,

charging the sensing electrode via the sample capacitor, during a charging part of the measurement cycle by applying a drive voltage to the second terminal of the sample capacitor, whilst floating the first terminal by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage,

during a measurement part of the measurement cycle applying the system ground to the first terminal whilst floating the second terminal by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage, and measuring the voltage at the second terminal, and

determining whether there has been a change in capacitance of the sensing electrode in accordance with the measured voltage, wherein the measurement cycle includes a sleep mode step, which includes

biasing the sensing electrode at a voltage which is greater than the system ground.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sleep mode step includes biasing the sensing electrode at a voltage which is greater than the system ground, so that the sensing electrode is held high for a first predetermined time period, before performing the measurement cycle.

12. A method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the sleep mode step includes identifying an in active state, and then biasing the sensing at a voltage which is greater than the system ground, so that the sensing electrode is held high.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the identifying the in active state comprises

after repeating the measurement cycle, detecting that there has been no change in the capacitance of the sensing electrode for a second predetermined time period.

14. A method as claimed in claim 12, comprising

repeating the charging part and the measuring part of the measurement cycle until the measurement part of the measurement cycle determines that the voltage at the second terminal of the sample capacitor has reached a predetermined threshold voltage, and

determining whether there has been a change in the capacitance of the sensing electrode from a time taken to reach the predetermined threshold, when measured during the measurement part of the measurement cycle.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, comprising

determining that a change in capacitance has been caused by the presence of a body proximate the touch sensor, if the time taken to reach the predetermined threshold of less than or equal to a first predetermined value, which is less than an expected value if no body is present, and

determining that an error condition has occurred corresponding to the apparatus being in the in active state if the time taken to reach the predetermined threshold exceeds a second predetermined value, which is greater than the expected value if no body is present.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15, comprising

receiving samples representative of values of time taken to reach the predetermined threshold voltage which are generated, and

determining that a positive detection of a body proximate the touch sensor, if the time taken to reach the predetermined threshold is less than the first predetermined value for more than a predetermined number of successive samples.

17. An apparatus for sensing a change in capacitance of a sensing electrode to a system ground, the sensing electrode being coupled to a first terminal of a sample capacitor with a second terminal of the sample capacitor being connected to a voltage measurement circuit for determining a voltage at the second terminal of the sample capacitor, the apparatus comprising

means for applying the system ground to the first and second terminals of the sample capacitor during an initialisation part of the measurement cycle,

means for charging the sensing electrode via the sample capacitor, during a charging part of the measurement cycle by applying a drive voltage to the second terminal of the sample capacitor, whilst floating the first terminal by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage,

means for applying during a measurement part of the measurement cycle the system ground to the first terminal whilst floating the second terminal by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage, and measuring the voltage at the second terminal,

means for determining whether there has been a change in capacitance of the sensing electrode in accordance with the measured voltage, and

means for biasing the first terminal of the sample capacitor at a voltage which is greater than the system ground, whilst the second terminal of the sample capacitor is floated by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage, during a sleep mode, so that the sensing electrode is held at a voltage above the system ground during the sleep mode.

18. A plurality of touch sensing devices, each of which is arranged to detect a body proximate a sensing electrode of the touch sensing device from a change in capacitance of the sensing electrode to a system ground, at least one of the plurality of touch sensing devices including

a sample capacitor having two terminals, a first of the two terminals being coupled to the sensing electrode,

a voltage measurement circuit coupled to a second of the terminals of the sample capacitor, the voltage measurement circuit being arranged in operation to determine a voltage at the second terminal of the measurement capacitor, and

a voltage biasing arrangement which is arranged under the control of a controller to apply a biasing voltage or the system ground to the first terminal or the second terminal of the sample capacitor in accordance with a measurement cycle, the measurement cycle comprising

grounding the first and second terminals of the sample capacitor during an initialisation part of the measurement cycle by coupling the first and second terminals to ground,

charging the sensing electrode via the sample capacitor, during a charging part of the measurement cycle by applying a drive voltage to the second terminal of the sample capacitor, whilst floating the first terminal by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage, and during a measurement cycle of the measurement phase grounding the first terminal whilst floating the second terminal by not applying a system ground or biasing voltage, and measuring the voltage at the second terminal, and

determining whether there has been a change in capacitance of the sensing electrode in accordance with the measured voltage, wherein the measurement cycle includes a sleep mode in which the first terminal of the sample capacitor is biased at a voltage which is greater than the system ground, whilst the second terminal of the sample capacitor is floated by not applying the system ground or a biasing voltage, so that the sensing electrode is held at a voltage above the system ground during the sleep mode.