Compensation circuit for a TX-RX capacitive sensor

• US 8,093,914 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2008
• Issued: 01/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Parade Technologies, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Maharyta, Andriy, Kremin, Viktor
• Primary Examiner(s): Dole, Timothy J
• Application Number:
  US12/332,980
• Publication Number:
  US 20090153152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• Field of Search: 324/684, 324/686, 345/173, 345/174, 345/178, 178/18.06, 178/19.03
• US Class Current: 324/684
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 27/2605 Measuring capacitance capacitive sensors G01D5/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes

Abstract

A capacitive sensor may include a transmit electrode and a receive electrode capacitively coupled with the transmit electrode. A capacitance sensing circuit senses a capacitance between the transmit and receive electrodes by applying a signal to the transmit electrode and rectifying a current waveform induced at the receive electrode. A compensation circuit reduces the effect of a mutual and parasitic capacitances of the transmit and receive electrode pair by adding a compensation current to the rectified current.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a capacitive sensor including a transmit electrode and a receive electrode, wherein the receive electrode is capacitively coupled with the transmit electrode;

a signal generator coupled with the transmit electrode and configured to generate an induced current waveform at the receive electrode by applying a transmit signal to the transmit electrode;

a demodulation circuit coupled with the receive electrode, wherein the demodulation circuit is configured to output a rectified current based on the induced current waveform; and

a compensation circuit, coupled with the demodulation circuit, to add a compensation current to the rectified current to generate a compensated current waveform, wherein the compensation current is calibrated to cancel a portion of the rectified current attributable to a baseline capacitance of the transmit electrode and the receive electrode, the baseline capacitance comprising a capacitance of the transmit electrode and the received electrode when no input is present.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compensation current is approximately equal to an amount of current attributable to the baseline capacitance of the transmit electrode and the receive electrode.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the compensation circuit comprises a programmable current digital to analog converter (IDAC).

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a calibration circuit configured to adjust the compensation current based on measured capacitance values.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a memory configured to store a compensation current value, wherein the compensation current value is associated with a pair including the transmit electrode and the receive electrode.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the calibration circuit is configured to determine a compensation current value based on a measured capacitance between the paired transmit electrode and receive electrode.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the capacitive sensor further comprises a plurality of transmit electrodes and a plurality of receive electrodes.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a transimpedance amplifier configured to generate an output voltage based on the compensated current waveform.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a filter configured to reduce a ripple voltage of the compensated current waveform.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the demodulation circuit comprises:

a first half wave rectifier coupled with the receive electrode and configured to output a positive rectified current based on a positive portion of the induced current waveform; and

a second half wave rectifier coupled with the receive electrode and configured to output a negative rectified current based on a negative portion of the induced current waveform.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the compensation circuit comprises:

a first current source configured to add the compensation current to the positive rectified current; and

a second current source configured to add a second compensation current to the negative rectified current.

12. A method, comprising:

applying a transmit signal to a transmit electrode capacitively coupled to a receive electrode to generate an induced current waveform at the receive electrode;

rectifying the induced current waveform to generate a rectified current; and

adding a compensation current to the rectified current to generate a compensated current waveform, wherein the compensation current is calibrated to cancel a portion of the rectified current attributable to a baseline capacitance of the transmit electrode and the receive electrode, the baseline capacitance comprising a capacitance of the transmit electrode and the received electrode when no input is present.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the compensation current is approximately equal to an amount of current attributable to the baseline capacitance of the transmit electrode and the receive electrode.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising adjusting the compensation current based on measured capacitance values.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising storing a compensation current value, wherein the compensation current value is associated with a pair including the transmit electrode and the receive electrode.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining a compensation current value based on a measured capacitance between the paired transmit electrode and receive electrode.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising generating an output voltage based on the compensated current waveform.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising reducing a ripple voltage of the compensated current waveform.

19. An apparatus, comprising:

means for generating an induced current waveform based on a capacitance value of a capacitive sensor;

means for generating a rectified current based on the induced current waveform; and

means for generating a compensated current waveform by adding a compensation current to the rectified current, wherein the compensation current is calibrated to cancel a portion of the rectified current attributable to a baseline capacitance of the capacitive sensor, the baseline capacitance comprising a capacitance of the transmit electrode and the received electrode when no input is present.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the compensation current is approximately equal to an amount of current that is attributable to the baseline capacitance of the capacitive sensor.