Common pixel correction for sensor panels

• US 9,880,664 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2015
• Issued: 01/30/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Agarwal, Manu, Hu, Jason C., Patel, Dhaval, Shahparnia, Shahrooz, Ranganathan, Sumant
• Primary Examiner(s): OSORIO, RICARDO
• Application Number:
  US14/864,351
• Publication Number:
  US 20170090668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04182 Filtering of noise external to the device and not generated by digitiser components
• 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

Noise in sensor panel measurements can be reduced using a common pixel correction algorithm. Noise can be introduced into touch or force sensor panel measurements, for example, by circuitry of a transmit (Tx) section or a receive (Rx) section coupled to one or more sensing nodes of a sensor panel. For example, a digital-to-analog converter in the transmit section or an analog-to-digital converter in the receive section can introduce low-frequency correlated noise. Additionally, transmit and receive sections can introduce uncorrelated noise into the system. Reference nodes, coupled between Tx and Rx sections, can sense correlated and uncorrelated noise from the Tx and Rx sections. The noise measured at reference nodes can be subtract from signals measured at other sensing nodes coupled to the same Rx channel. The measurement at the reference node can be scaled using a scaling parameter to account for differences between reference nodes and sensing nodes.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of transmit channels configured to stimulate a touch or force sensor panel;

a plurality of receive channels configured to receive sense signals from the touch or force sensor panel; and

processing circuitry capable of;

sensing a plurality of sensor nodes of the touch or force sensor panel, each sensor node coupled to one of the plurality of transmit channels and coupled to one of the plurality of receive channels;

sensing a plurality of reference nodes, each of the plurality of reference nodes coupled between one of the plurality of transmit channels and one of the plurality of receive channels; and

subtracting, for each sensor node coupled to a corresponding receive channel, a measurement from sensing the reference node coupled to the corresponding receive channel from a measurement of each of the plurality of sensor nodes.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein sensing the plurality of sensor nodes comprises measuring, for each sensor node, capacitive coupling between a first electrode coupled to one of the plurality of transmit channels and a second electrode coupled to one of the plurality of receive channels.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein sensing a reference node comprises measuring capacitive coupling between a third electrode coupled to one of the plurality of transmit channels and a fourth electrode coupled to one of the plurality of receive channels, and wherein the reference node is shielded from user input.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein sensing the plurality of sensor nodes and sensing the plurality of reference nodes comprises simultaneously stimulating the plurality of sensor nodes and the plurality of reference nodes, receiving the sense signals at the plurality of receive channels, and demodulating and decoding the received sense signals to derive measurements for the plurality of sensor nodes and the plurality of reference nodes.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the processing circuitry further capable of scaling the measurement from sensing the reference node using a ratio of a baseline measurement of the sensor node to a baseline measurement of the reference node.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the ratio of the baseline measurement of the sensor node to the baseline measurement of the reference node used for scaling the measurement from sensing the reference node is unique for a corresponding sensing node.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of reference nodes are evenly distributed among the plurality of receive channels and evenly distributed among the plurality of transmit channels.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of reference nodes are evenly distributed among the plurality of receive channels, and wherein the plurality of reference nodes are distributed to one of the plurality of transmit channels.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a reference node comprises a discrete capacitor coupled between one of the plurality of transmit channels and one of the plurality of receive channels.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein sensing the plurality of sensor nodes and the plurality of reference nodes comprises banked scans, wherein a first portion of the plurality of sensor nodes is scanned with the plurality of reference nodes in a first bank scan and a second portion of the plurality of sensor nodes is scanned with the plurality of reference nodes in a second bank scan.

11. A method for reducing noise in measurements of a touch or force sensor panel, comprising:

sensing a plurality of sensor nodes of the touch or force sensor panel, each sensor node coupled to one of a plurality of transmit channels and coupled to one of a plurality of receive channels;

sensing a plurality of reference nodes, each of the plurality of reference nodes coupled between a transmit channel and a receive channel; and

subtracting, for each sensor node coupled to a corresponding receive channel, a measurement from sensing a reference node coupled to the corresponding receive channel from a measurement of each of the plurality of sensor nodes.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein sensing the plurality of sensor nodes comprises measuring, for each sensor node, capacitive coupling between a first electrode coupled to one of the plurality of transmit channels and a second electrode coupled to one of the plurality of receive channels.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein sensing the plurality of sensor nodes and sensing the plurality of reference nodes comprises simultaneously stimulating the plurality of sensor nodes and the plurality of reference nodes, receiving sense signals at the plurality of receive channels, and demodulating and decoding the received sense signals to derive measurements for the plurality of sensor nodes and the plurality of reference nodes.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising scaling the measurement from sensing the reference node using a ratio of a baseline measurement of the sensor node to a baseline measurement of the reference node.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the ratio of the baseline measurement of the sensor node to the baseline measurement of the reference node used for scaling the measurement from sensing the reference node is unique for a corresponding sensing node.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of reference nodes are evenly distributed among the plurality of receive channels and evenly distributed among the plurality of transmit channels.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of reference nodes are evenly distributed among the plurality of receive channels, and wherein the plurality of reference nodes are distributed to one of the plurality of transmit channels.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein sensing a reference node of the plurality of reference nodes comprises measuring capacitive coupling between a third electrode coupled to one of the plurality of transmit channels and a fourth electrode coupled to one of the plurality of receive channels, and wherein the reference node is shielded from user input.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein a reference node comprises a discrete capacitor coupled between one of the plurality of transmit channels and one of the plurality of receive channels.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein sensing the plurality of sensor nodes and the plurality of reference nodes comprises banked scans, wherein a first portion of the plurality of sensor nodes is scanned with the plurality of reference nodes in a first bank scan and a second portion of the plurality of sensor nodes is scanned with the plurality of reference nodes in a second bank scan.

21. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by a device including a processor, can perform a method for reducing noise in measurements of a touch or force sensor panel, the method comprising:

sensing a plurality of sensor nodes of the touch or force sensor panel, each sensor node coupled to one of a plurality of transmit channels and coupled to one of a plurality of receive channels;

sensing a plurality of reference nodes, each of the plurality of reference nodes coupled between a transmit channel and a receive channel; and

subtracting, for each sensor node coupled to a corresponding receive channel, a measurement from sensing a reference node coupled to the corresponding receive channel from a measurement of each of the plurality of sensor nodes.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein sensing the plurality of sensor nodes comprises measuring, for each sensor node, capacitive coupling between a first electrode coupled to one of the plurality of transmit channels and a second electrode coupled to one of the plurality of receive channels.

23. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 21, further comprising:

scaling the measurement from the reference node using a ratio of a baseline measurement of the sensor node to a baseline measurement of the reference node.

24. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein the plurality of reference nodes are evenly distributed among the plurality of receive channels and evenly distributed among the plurality of transmit channels.

25. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 21, wherein the plurality of reference nodes are evenly distributed among the plurality of receive channels, and wherein the plurality of reference nodes are distributed to one of the plurality of transmit channels.