Synaptics Corporation

Synaptics Incorpoated

David Hoch

Joseph Kurth Reynolds

Tracy Scott Dattalo

Adam L Schwartz

Derek Solven

Mihai M Bulea

John Weinerth

Katayoun Goudarzi

Massoud Badaye

Petr Shepelev

Guozhong Shen

Thomas A Mackin

David A Sobel

Robert J Bolender

Matthew A Stevenson

Jim Dunphy

A capacitive sensing layer of an input device includes a substantially rectangular sensor pattern extending in a horizontal direction and in a vertical direction, including first and second electrodes. Each of the first electrodes includes a strip extending in the vertical direction. The first electrodes are separated in the horizontal direction by first gaps. Each of the second electrodes includes a substantially rectangular pad, disposed adjacent to one of the first electrodes, in one of the first gaps. Two of the second electrodes are disposed in each of the first gaps in the horizontal direction. The two of the second electrodes in each of the first gaps are separated by second gaps. A subset of the second electrodes are disposed in each of the first gaps, in the vertical direction. The capacitive sensing layers also includes routing traces of the second electrodes disposed in the second gaps.

Single layer capacitive imaging sensors

A capacitive sensing array includes a first transmitter electrode, a plurality of first receiver electrodes, a second transmitter electrode, and a plurality of second receiver electrodes disposed in a first row of the array. The first transmitter electrode is disposed in a first column of the array and is coupled to a first transmitter channel. The first receiver electrodes are disposed in a second column of the array, adjacent the first transmitter electrode, and are coupled to a respective one of a plurality of first receiver channels. The second transmitter electrode is disposed in a third column of the array and is coupled to a second transmitter channel. The second receiver electrodes are disposed in a fourth column of the array, adjacent the second transmitter electrode, and are coupled to a respective one of the first receiver channels.

Single-layer capacitive image sensor

A system and method for capacitive sensing comprises driving a first sensor electrode of a plurality of sensor electrodes with a first sensing signal to acquire a first resulting signal with the first sensor electrode during a period and driving a second sensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes with the first sensing signal to acquire a second resulting signal with the second sensor electrode during the period. Further, a third sensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes is driven with a reference signal during the period. Rotational information for an input object is determined at least partially based on the first resulting signal and the second resulting signal.

Excitation schemes for an input device

A capacitive sensing input system includes sensor electrodes disposed in a sensor electrode pattern and a processing system. When under a low ground mass (LGM) condition, proximity-sensing pairs of electrodes formed by a first selective pairing of the sensor electrodes have an increased sensitivity to a presence of an input object in comparison to LGM-sensitive pairs of electrodes formed by a second selective pairing of the sensor electrodes that are primarily sensitive to the LGM condition. The processing system is configured to, while under the LGM condition, determine a first LGM term using a mutual capacitance sensing with a first of the LGM-sensitive pairs of electrodes, obtain a first transcapacitance sensing signal for a sensing element formed by a first of the proximity-sensing pairs of electrodes, and generate an LGM-corrected transcapacitance sensing signal by correcting the first transcapacitance sensing signal using the first LGM term.

Low ground mass correction for capacitive imaging sensors

A sensor pattern for capacitive sensing includes a first electrode and a multitude of second electrodes capacitively coupled to the first electrode. The first electrode includes a strip extending in a vertical direction across the sensor pattern. The multitude of second electrodes include a first subset and a second subset. The first subset of the multitude of second electrodes is arranged in a first column, the first column extending in a vertical direction. The second subset of the multitude of second electrodes is arranged in a second column, the second column extending in the vertical direction. The first subset and the second subset of the multitude of electrodes are disposed adjacent to the first electrode on opposing sides of the first electrode.

Sensor patterns for capacitive imaging sensors in touch displays

A method for capacitive sensing includes: driving, by a processing system, a first plurality of transmitter electrodes using a first plurality of basis functions, wherein the first plurality of transmitter electrodes are part of a first set of non-intersecting electrodes which are arranged adjacently to one another in a first orientation; and obtaining, by the processing system, via a first plurality of receiver electrodes of the first set of non-intersecting electrodes, a first plurality of resulting signals corresponding to the first plurality of basis functions driven onto the first plurality of transmitter electrodes. The first plurality of resulting signals includes: capacitance information for nearest-neighbor pairs of electrodes of the first set of non-intersecting electrodes; capacitance information for second nearest-neighbor pairs of electrodes of the first set of non-intersecting electrodes; and/or capacitance information for third nearest-neighbor pairs of electrodes of the first set of non-intersecting electrodes.

Transcapacitive sensing with consideration of capacitive couplings from non-adjacent electrodes

An input device including a sensing region is disclosed. The input device includes: sensor circuitry configured to: operate, during a first timeslot, electrodes as a first cluster; and operate, during a second timeslot, the electrodes as a second cluster, where the electrodes are aligned with an axis, and where at least one of the electrodes operates as a transmitter in the first cluster and as a receiver in the second cluster; and determination circuitry configured to: determine a first set of signal values associated with a first set of electrodes in the first cluster; determine a second set of signal values associated with a second set of electrodes in the second cluster; and generate a profile for the sensing region based on the first set of signal values and the second set of signal values, where the profile reflects an input object in the sensing region.

Capacitive sensing acquisition schemes

A processing system includes a sensor module configured to receive first and second signals from first and second sensor electrodes, respectively, and generate a combination signal. The processing system further includes a determination module configured to determine, using the first sensor electrode, an absolute capacitive coupling to an input object; determine, using the first and second sensor electrodes, a transcapacitive coupling; determine a ratio of the absolute to transcapacitive coupling; determine, using the combination signal, in absence of a predetermined low ground mass state, and when the ratio fails to exceed a predetermined threshold, first positional information regarding a location of the input object; and determine, when the ratio fails to exceed the predetermined threshold and in presence of the predetermined low ground mass state, second positional information regarding the location of the input object in the sensing region using an absolute capacitive scan.

Transcapacitive and absolute capacitive sensing profiles

The invention relates to a processing system. The processing system includes a sensor module performing a first measurement to obtain a combination signal using a first sensor electrode and a second sensor electrode. The first electrode is driven using a first modulated signal with a first driving voltage amplitude and simultaneously the second electrode is driven using a second modulated signal with a second driving voltage amplitude greater than the first driving voltage amplitude, while simultaneously first and second resulting signals are received from the first and second electrodes, respectively. The sensor module is further performs a second measurement to obtain a transcapacitance signal using the first and second sensor electrodes. The processing system also includes a determination module that generates the combination signal by combining the first and second resulting signals, and computes an absolute capacitance signal from the combination signal, the transcapacitance signal, and a background capacitance.

Method and system for alternative absolute profile determination

The invention relates to a processing system. The processing system includes a determination module configured to make a determination that a low ground mass condition associated with an input device exists in an initial combination signal obtained from a sensor module using initial sensor settings. Based on the determination, adjusted sensor settings are determined, and an adjusted combination signal is obtained, using the adjusted sensor settings and, using the adjusted combination signal, object information for one or more input objects in a sensing region of the input device is obtained. The sensor module is configured to generate, using a first sensor electrode, a second sensor electrode, and the adjusted sensor settings, the adjusted combination signal. The adjusted combination signal includes effects of a transcapacitive coupling between the first sensor electrode and the second sensor electrode and effects of an absolute capacitive coupling between the second sensor electrode and the input object.

Methods and systems for dynamically adjusting combination signals

An example input device for force and proximity sensing includes a plurality of touch electrodes comprising touch transmitter electrodes and touch receiver electrodes, a force electrode layer comprising a plurality of force electrodes, and a processing system. When operating in a proximity sensing mode, the processing system drives the touch transmitter electrodes with touch transmitter signals and determines a position of an input object, within a sensing region defined by the plurality of touch electrodes, based at least in part on a transcapacitive proximity measurement acquired from the touch receiver electrodes. When operating in a force sensing mode, the processing system drives the plurality of force electrodes with force transmitter signals and determines a force of the input object based at least in part on a transcapacitive force measurement based on a change in capacitance between the plurality of force electrodes and the plurality of touch electrodes.

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Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

David Hoch