Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Yingying Tang

Tianzhu Qiao

Jonathan Westhues

Sean M Donnelly

Denis Varlamov

Embodiments of a touch-sensitive display device are disclosed herein. According to a first aspect, a touch-sensitive display device comprises an electrode matrix including transmit electrodes and receive electrodes; a conductive plane; and a controller configured to cause a transmit electrode driver to drive the transmit electrodes in a mutual capacitance mode. The controller is configured to cause the transmit electrodes, the receive electrodes, and the conductive plane to be connected to a common charging voltage during charge periods of a self-capacitance mode; to, during discharge periods of the self-capacitance mode that alternate with the charge periods, cause the transmit electrodes, the receive electrodes, and the conductive plane to be connected to a common reference voltage; and to, during the discharge periods, cause the transmit electrodes and the receive electrodes to be coupled to receive circuitry configured to measure self-capacitance of the transmit electrodes and the receive electrodes.

Touch-sensitive display device

Examples are described for touch-sensitive displays in which ground references for associated electronics are isolated from one another. In one example, a touch-sensitive display includes a display panel, and a touch sensor, the touch sensor including a receive electrode, the touch sensor including a transmit electrode, the receive electrode and the transmit electrode overlaying the display panel, and wherein a ground reference of the receive and/or the transmit electrode is isolated from a ground reference of the display panel, thereby creating a transmission-inhibiting communication boundary between the display panel and the touch sensor, the touch sensor communicatively connected to the display panel so as to exchange data between ground domains separated by the boundary.

Ground reference floating in a touch-sensitive display

Examples are disclosed herein that relate to hover sensing. One example provides a hover sensor comprising an electrode array including a first electrode subset and a second electrode subset, each electrode in the first electrode subset coupled to a corresponding electrode in the second electrode subset at a respective node and separated from the corresponding electrode by a gap, a charge circuit configured to charge the first electrode subset substantially oppositely about a reference voltage to the second electrode subset, an integration circuit configured to, for each respective node, store a net charge on a capacitor and provide an output voltage based on the net charge stored on the capacitor, and a controller. The controller is configured to indicate a presence of a hover object responsive to identifying at least a threshold voltage change based on a sample of the output voltage.

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Wilsonville, OR, United States of America

Yingying Tang