Single-chip multi-stimulus sensor controller

• US 9,483,141 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2015
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hotelling, Steven P., Krah, Christoph H., Yousefpor, Marduke, Wilson, Thomas James
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Jr., Kenneth B
• Application Number:
  US14/704,885
• Publication Number:
  US 20150234535A1
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• 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: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/18 Timing circuits for raster scan displays specially adapted for television H04N ; synchronisation between the display unit and other display units, videodisc player G09G5/12

Abstract

A multi-stimulus controller for a multi-touch sensor is formed on a single integrated circuit (single-chip). The multi-stimulus controller includes a transmit oscillator, a transmit signal section that generates a plurality of drive signals based on a frequency of the transmit oscillator, a plurality of transmit channels that transmit the drive signals simultaneously to drive the multi-touch sensor, a receive channel that receives a sense signal resulting from the driving of the multi-touch sensor, a receive oscillator, and a demodulation section that demodulates the received sense signal based on a frequency of the receive oscillator to obtain sensing results, the demodulation section including a demodulator and a vector operator.

Claims

1. An apparatus for decoding a plurality of sense signals, the apparatus comprising:

demodulation circuitry configured for mixing each sense signal with a demodulation signal to obtain a set of composite measurements, each sense signal being formed of a plurality of component signals resulting from driving a sensor with a combination of simultaneous drive signals; and

processing circuitry configured for processing the set of composite measurements to obtain measurement data carried by the component signals, wherein processing the set of composite measurements comprises decoding the set of composite measurements to derive the measurement data carried by the component signals, wherein the decoding is based on a plurality of values used to generate the simultaneous drive signals.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein processing the set of composite measurements comprises decoding the set of composite measurements based on a second plurality of values, the second plurality of values based on an inverse of the plurality of values used to generate the simultaneous drive signals.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second plurality of values includes adjustments to compensate for differences in phase delays among the component signals.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an oscillator configured to output the demodulation signal to the demodulation circuitry.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the oscillator forms the demodulation signal by generating a periodic waveform and mixing the periodic waveform with an envelope waveform.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the demodulation circuitry is further configured for applying a programmable delay to each sense signal to match a phase of the demodulation signal.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the demodulation circuitry is further configured for integrating an output from the mixing of each sense signal with the demodulation signal to obtain the set of composite measurements.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of composite measurements are stored in a first memory.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to read the set of composite measurements from the first memory.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mixing of each sense signal with the demodulation signal is performed using digital signals.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the measurement data are stored in a second memory.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the component signals are signal charges injected into a sense line by the drive signals.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the drive signals include drive signals that are the same frequency and 180 degrees out of phase.

14. A method for demodulating and decoding sense signals, the method comprising:

mixing each sense signal with a demodulation signal to obtain a set of composite measurements, each sense signal being formed of a plurality of component signals resulting from driving a sensor with a combination of simultaneous drive signals; and

processing the set of composite measurements to obtain measurement data carried by the component signals, wherein processing the set of composite measurements comprises decoding the set of composite measurements to derive the measurement data carried by the component signals, wherein the decoding is based on a plurality of values used to generate the simultaneous drive signals.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein processing the set of composite measurements comprises decoding the set of composite measurements based on a second plurality of values, the second plurality of values based on an inverse of the plurality of values used to generate the simultaneous drive signals.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second plurality of values includes adjustments to compensate for differences in phase delays among the component signals.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the demodulation signal is formed by generating a periodic waveform and mixing the periodic waveform with an envelope waveform.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising applying a programmable delay to each sense signal to match a phase of the demodulation signal.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising integrating an output from the mixing of each sense signal with the demodulation signal to obtain the set of composite measurements.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the drive signals include drive signals that are the same frequency and 180 degrees out of phase.