Force sensing using capacitive touch surfaces
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:
- identifying, by a computing device, contact with a surface of a touch-sensitive input device;
identifying, by the computing device, a location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device;
calculating a change in a mutual capacitance between a first electrode and a second electrode included in a sensor module disposed below the surface of the touch-sensitive input device;
calculating a change in a mutual capacitance between the second electrode and a third electrode included in the sensor module, the first electrode being adjacent to the second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode located approximate to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device, and the third electrode being adjacent to the second electrode and located closer to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device than the first electrode;
estimating a contact-coupled capacitance based on the calculated change in the mutual capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode, and based on the calculated change in the mutual capacitance between the second electrode and the third electrode; and
calculating a force applied to the surface of the touch-sensitive input device at the identified location based on;
a change in self-capacitance of the first electrode,a change in self-capacitance of the second electrode,a change in self-capacitance of the third electrode, andthe estimated contact-coupled capacitance.
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Abstract
In one general aspect, a method can include identifying contact with a surface of a touch-sensitive input device, identifying a location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device, and calculating a change in a mutual capacitance between a first electrode and a second electrode included in a sensor module disposed below the surface of the touch-sensitive input device. The first electrode can be adjacent to the second electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode can be located approximate to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device. The method can include estimating a contact-coupled capacitance based on the calculated change in a mutual capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode, and calculating a force applied to the surface of the touch-sensitive input device at the identified location.
41 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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identifying, by a computing device, contact with a surface of a touch-sensitive input device; identifying, by the computing device, a location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device; calculating a change in a mutual capacitance between a first electrode and a second electrode included in a sensor module disposed below the surface of the touch-sensitive input device; calculating a change in a mutual capacitance between the second electrode and a third electrode included in the sensor module, the first electrode being adjacent to the second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode located approximate to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device, and the third electrode being adjacent to the second electrode and located closer to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device than the first electrode; estimating a contact-coupled capacitance based on the calculated change in the mutual capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode, and based on the calculated change in the mutual capacitance between the second electrode and the third electrode; and calculating a force applied to the surface of the touch-sensitive input device at the identified location based on; a change in self-capacitance of the first electrode, a change in self-capacitance of the second electrode, a change in self-capacitance of the third electrode, and the estimated contact-coupled capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A non-transitory, machine-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause a computing device to:
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identify contact with a surface of a touch-sensitive input device; identify a location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device; calculate a change in a mutual capacitance between a first electrode and a second electrode included in a sensor module disposed below the surface of the touch-sensitive input device; calculate a change in a mutual capacitance between the second electrode and a third electrode included in the sensor module, the first electrode being adjacent to the second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode located approximate to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device, and the third electrode being adjacent to the second electrode and located closer to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device than the first electrode; estimate a contact-coupled capacitance based on the calculated change in the mutual capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode, and based on the calculated change in the mutual capacitance between the second electrode and the third electrode; and calculate a force applied to the surface of the touch-sensitive input device at the identified location based on; a change in self-capacitance of the first electrode, a change in self-capacitance of the second electrode, a change in self-capacitance of the third electrode, and the estimated contact-coupled capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computing device comprising:
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at least one controller; and a touch-sensitive input device including a surface, and a sensor module disposed below the surface of the touch-sensitive input device, the sensor module including a first electrode, a second electrode, and a third electrode, the first electrode being adjacent to the second electrode, and the third electrode being adjacent to the second electrode, wherein the at least one controller and the touch-sensitive input device are collectively configured to; identify contact with the surface of the touch-sensitive input device; identify a location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device; calculate a change in a mutual capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode; calculate a change in a mutual capacitance between the second electrode and the third electrode included in the sensor module, the first electrode and the second electrode located approximate to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device, and the third electrode being located closer to the identified location of the contact on the surface of the touch-sensitive input device than the first electrode; estimate a contact-coupled capacitance based on the calculated change in the mutual capacitance between the first electrode and the second electrode, and based on the calculated change in the mutual capacitance between the second electrode and the third electrode; and calculate a force applied to the surface of the touch-sensitive input device at the identified location based on; a change in self-capacitance of the first electrode, a change in self-capacitance of the second electrode, a change in self-capacitance of the third electrode, and the estimated contact-coupled capacitance. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification
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Current AssigneeGoogle LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
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Original AssigneeGoogle LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
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InventorsSundara-Rajan, Kishore
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Primary Examiner(s)ABDIN, SHAHEDA A
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Application NumberUS15/058,584Publication NumberTime in Patent Office720 DaysField of SearchUS Class CurrentCPC Class CodesG06F 3/04186 Touch location disambiguationG06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of...G06F 3/0447 Position sensing using the ...
