Master/slave control of touch sensing

• US 9,836,079 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2015
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Wilson, Thomas James, Reeve, Richard James
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Kent
• Assistant Examiner(s): BRITTINGHAM, NATHANIEL P
• Application Number:
  US14/961,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20160085262A1
• Time in Patent Office: 729 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/12 Synchronisation of different clock signals provided by a plurality of clock generators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers

Abstract

Touch sensing can be accomplished using master/slave touch controllers that transmit drive signals to a touch surface and process sense signals including superpositions resulting from master/slave drive signals. The master/slave can drive and sense different sets of lines, respectively, of the touch surface. A communication link between master/slave can be established by transmitting a clock signal between master/slave, transmitting a command including sequence information to the slave, and initiating a communication sequence from the clock signal and sequence information. The slave can receive/transmit communications from/to the master during first/second portions of the communication sequence, respectively. Touch sensing operations can be synchronized between master/slave by transmitting a command including phase alignment information from master to slave, and generating slave clock signals based on the clock signal and the phase alignment information, such that sense signal processing by master clock signals are in-phase with sense signal processing by slave clock signals.

Claims

1. A method of synchronizing touch sensing operations of a master controller and a slave controller for joint operation of a touch sensing surface, the method comprising:

transmitting a first clock signal from the master controller to the slave controller;

transmitting a set clock command from the master controller to the slave controller;

generating, by the slave controller in response to the set clock command and based on the first clock signal, a plurality of slave clock signals in the slave controller, at least one of the plurality of slave clock signals different from the first clock signal, wherein the plurality of slave clock signals are generated in a known phase relationship with one or more master clock signals of the master controller; and

performing touch sensing to detect touch on or near the touch sensing surface based on the one or more master clock signals and the plurality of slave clock signals, wherein the master controller operates a first portion of the touch sensing surface, and the slave controller operates a second portion of the touch sensing surface.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing serial communication between the master controller and the slave controller before transmitting the set clock command from the master controller to the slave controller.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the communication between the master and slave controllers includes alternating periods of transmission of the master controller and the slave controller.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the communication between the master and slave controllers includes transmission of a second command that causes two consecutive periods of transmission for one of the master controller and the slave controller.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the set clock command includes phase alignment information, and wherein the plurality of slave clock signals are generated based on the first clock signal and the phase alignment information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the phase alignment information includes an identification of a clock cycle of the first clock signal, such that the slave controller sets the phase of the plurality of slave clock signals based on the identified clock cycle.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of slave clock signals generated in response to the set clock command include at least one clock signal with a lower frequency than a frequency of the first clock signal from the master controller.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the touch sensing surface includes a set of first drive lines and a set of first sense lines and the second portion of the touch sensing surface includes a set of second drive lines and a set of second sense lines, and performing touch sensing includes the master controller applying one or more drive signals to one or more first drive lines and receiving one or more sense signals from the first sense lines, and the slave controller applying one or more drive signals to one or more second drive lines and receiving one or more sense signals from the second sense lines.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein one or more drive signals applied by the master controller are based on the one or more master clock signals, and the one or more drive signals applied by the slave controller are based on the plurality of slave clock signals.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein performing touch sensing further includes demodulating the sense signals received by the master controller from the one or more first sense lines with one or more demodulation signals based on the one or more master clock signals, and demodulating the sense signals received by the slave controller from the one or more second sense lines with one or more demodulation signals based on the plurality of slave clock signals.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the drive signals are applied by the master and slave controllers such that the drive signals occur simultaneously on the one or more first drive lines and the one or more second drive lines during a first time period.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein performing touch sensing includes one of stimulating the touch sensing surface with in-phase drive signals of the master and slave controllers based on the phase relationship of the one or more master clock signals and the plurality of slave clock signals, demodulating sense signals received from the touch sensing surface with in-phase demodulation signals of the master and slave controllers based on the phase relationship of the one or more master clock signals and the plurality of slave clock signals, and applying sense signals received from the touch sensing surface to decimation filters of the master and slave controllers operating in-phase based on the phase relationship of the one or more master clock signals and the plurality of slave clock signals.

13. A system comprising:

a master controller; and

a slave controller coupled to the master controller;

wherein the master controller is configured to;

transmit a first clock signal from the master controller to the slave controller; and

transmit a set clock command from the master controller to the slave controller;

wherein the slave controller is configured to;

generate, by the slave controller in response to the set clock command and based on the first clock signal, a plurality of slave clock signals in the slave controller, at least one of the plurality of slave clock signals different from the first clock signal, wherein the plurality of slave clock signals are generated in a known phase relationship with one or more master clock signals of the master controller; and

wherein the master controller and slave controller are configured to synchronously perform touch sensing to detect touch on or near a touch sensing surface based on the one or more master clock signals and the plurality of slave clock signals, wherein the master controller operates a first portion of the touch sensing surface, and the slave controller operates a second portion of the touch sensing surface.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the master controller is further configured to establish a serial communication between the master controller and the slave controller before transmitting the set clock command from the master controller to the slave controller.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the communication between the master and slave controllers includes alternating periods of transmission of the master controller and the slave controller.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the communication between the master and slave controllers includes transmission of a second command that causes two consecutive periods of transmission for one of the master controller and the slave controller.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the set clock command includes phase alignment information, and wherein the plurality of slave clock signals are generated based on the first clock signal and the phase alignment information.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the phase alignment information includes an identification of a clock cycle of the first clock signal, such that the slave controller sets the phase of the plurality of slave clock signals based on the identified clock cycle.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the plurality of slave clock signals generated in response to the set clock command include at least one clock signal with a lower frequency than a frequency of the first clock signal from the master controller.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the first portion of the touch sensing surface includes a set of first drive lines and a set of first sense lines and the second portion of the touch sensing surface includes a set of second drive lines and a set of second sense lines, and performing touch sensing includes the master controller applying one or more drive signals to one or more first drive lines and receiving one or more sense signals from the first sense lines, and the slave controller applying one or more drive signals to one or more second drive lines and receiving one or more sense signals from the second sense lines.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein one or more drive signals applied by the master controller are based on the one or more master clock signals, and the one or more drive signals applied by the slave controller are based on the plurality of slave clock signals.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein performing touch sensing further includes demodulating the sense signals received by the master controller from the one or more first sense lines with one or more demodulation signals based on the one or more master clock signals, and demodulating the sense signals received by the slave controller from the one or more second sense lines with one or more demodulation signals based on the plurality of slave clock signals.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the drive signals are applied by the master and slave controllers such that the drive signals occur simultaneously on the one or more first drive lines and the one or more second drive lines during a first time period.

24. The system of claim 13, wherein performing touch sensing includes one of stimulating the touch sensing surface with in-phase drive signals of the master and slave controllers based on the phase relationship of the one or more master clock signals and the plurality of slave clock signals, demodulating sense signals received from the touch sensing surface with in-phase demodulation signals of the master and slave controllers based on the phase relationship of the one or more master clock signals and the plurality of slave clock signals, and applying sense signals received from the touch sensing surface to decimation filters of the master and slave controllers operating in-phase based on the phase relationship of the one or more master clock signals and the plurality of slave clock signals.