Negative pixel compensation

• US 8,749,512 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2009
• Issued: 06/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Westerman, Wayne Carl, O'Connor, Sean Erik
• Primary Examiner(s): Bibbins, Latanya
• Application Number:
  US12/571,061
• Publication Number:
  US 20110074725A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,714 Days
• Field of Search: 345/173, 345/174, 178/18.02
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

Negative pixel compensation in a touch sensor panel is disclosed. The panel can compensate for a negative pixel effect in touch signal outputs due to poor grounding of an object touching the panel. To do so, the panel can reconstruct a captured touch image to remove negative pixel values indicative of the negative pixel effect and compute a composite image from the captured image and the reconstructed image to replace the captured image. In addition or alternatively, the panel can reconstruct a captured touch image to remove negative pixel values indicative of the negative pixel effect and replace the captured image with the reconstructed image.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

acquiring a touch image from a touch sensor panel;

reconstructing the acquired touch image from the touch sensor panel, wherein reconstructing the touch image includes adjusting one or more touch values of the acquired touch image for a negative pixel effect; and

compensating the acquired touch image for the negative pixel effect by computing a composite image, wherein the composite image is computed by weighting the acquired image, weighting the reconstructed touch image, and combining the weighted acquired image and weighted reconstructed image, wherein the weighting of the acquired image and the reconstructed image is based on a magnitude of the negative pixel effect.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein compensating the touch image comprises:

determining multiple parameters associated with the negative pixel effect;

combining the determined parameters to provide an image mixing factor;

weighting the touch image and the reconstructed touch image using the image mixing factor; and

computing the composite image from the weighted touch image and the weighted reconstructed touch image.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the multiple parameters comprises:

determining a number of fingers captured in the touch image as touching the touch sensor panel, wherein one finger indicates absence of the negative pixel effect and more than one finger indicates presence of the negative pixel effect; and

ending the method if the determination indicates one finger touching the touch sensor panel.

4. A touch sensor panel comprising:

multiple pixels configured to generate a touch image; and

a processor in communication with the pixels and configured to

determine a negative pixel effect on the touch image,

reconstruct the touch image, wherein reconstructing the touch image includes adjusting one or more touch values of the touch image for a negative pixel effect, and

compute a composite touch image by combining weighted pixel values of the touch image with weighted pixel values of the reconstructed touch image, wherein the weighting of the touch image and the reconstructed touch image is based on a magnitude of the negative pixel effect.

5. The touch sensor panel of claim 4, wherein determining the negative pixel effect comprises determining whether more than one finger is touching the panel according to the touch image, the determination of more than one finger being indicative that the negative pixel effect is present.

6. The touch sensor panel of claim 4, wherein reconstructing the touch image comprises correcting pixel values of the touch image subject to the negative pixel effect.

7. The touch sensor panel of claim 4, wherein computing the composite touch image comprises calculating an image mixing factor indicative of the magnitude of the negative pixel effect as a weight for the touch image and the reconstructed touch image.

8. The touch sensor panel of claim 4 incorporated into at least one of a mobile telephone, a digital media player, or a computer.

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of instructions for compensating for a negative pixel effect in a touch sensor panel, that when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

compute at least one parameter indicative of the negative pixel effect in the touch sensor panel; and

compensate pixel values of a touch image generated by the touch sensor panel for the negative pixel effect by applying the computed parameter to the pixel values, wherein the parameter is an overcompensation ratio computed as a ratio of a sum of positive pixel values in a reconstructed image to a sum of positive pixel values in the touch image, the reconstructed image being formed from the touch image absent negative pixel values.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a set of instructions for compensating for a negative pixel effect in a touch sensor panel, that when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

compute at least one parameter indicative of the negative pixel effect in the touch sensor panel; and

compensate pixel values of a touch image generated by the touch sensor panel for the negative pixel effect by applying the computed parameter to the pixel values,

wherein the parameter is a negative pixel ratio computed as a ratio of negative pixel values to positive pixel values in the touch image.