Signal conditioning on touch-enabled devices using 3D touch

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10613673-B2
Application number	US-201615289096-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 7, 2016
Priority date	Aug 25, 2016
Publication date	Apr 7, 2020
Grant date	Apr 7, 2020

Abstract

The various implementations described herein include methods, devices, and systems for detecting touch inputs. In one aspect, a device includes: (1) a touch surface; (2) a plurality of sense electrodes coupled to the touch surface and configured to sense capacitance of a touch input; (3) one or more force electrodes coupled to the touch surface and configured to sense force of the touch input; and (4) a sensing module configured to: (a) determine capacitance of at least a subset of the plurality of sense electrodes; (b) determine force of at least one of the one or more force electrodes; and (c) if the capacitance meets one or more first predefined criteria indicative of a touch input and if force meets one or more second predefined criteria indicative of a touch input, determine that the touch input is present on the touch-sensitive surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A touch-sensing device, comprising:
a touch surface;
a plurality of sense electrodes coupled to the touch surface and configured to sense capacitance;
a plurality of force electrodes coupled to the touch surface and configured to sense force; and
a processing device electrically coupled to the plurality of sense electrodes and the plurality of force electrodes, the processing device configured to:
obtain respective capacitance values from the plurality of sense electrodes;
identify a candidate input based on the respective capacitance values;
obtain from a force electrode of the plurality of force electrodes a force signal associated with a position on the touch surface corresponding to a first sense electrode;
determine force applied on the touch surface based on the force signal;
determine a capacitance profile and a force profile based on the respective capacitance values and the force signal, respectively;
classify the candidate input as a valid touch input or an invalid touch input based on one or more of: a duration of the candidate input, the capacitance profile of the candidate input, and the force profile of the candidate input;
in accordance with a classification of the candidate input as being a valid touch input:
determine a location of the touch input on the touch surface; and
report the presence and location of the touch input; and

in accordance with a classification of the candidate input as being an invalid touch input:
infer that the candidate input corresponds to one of: an object hovering over the touch surface, and a foreign substance on the touch surface based on the capacitance profile of the candidate input and the force profile of the candidate input, including: (1) in accordance with a determination that a spike of the capacitance profile exceeds a touch detection threshold in the absence of any spike of the force profile exceeding a force detection threshold, inferring that the candidate input corresponds to an object hovering over the touch surface and (2) in accordance with a determination that a spike of the capacitance profile does not drop below the touch detection threshold immediately after the object is away from the touch surface and is not sensed by the plurality of sense electrodes, inferring that the candidate input corresponds to a foreign substance on the touch surface; and
reject the candidate input.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further configured to:
after determining the location of the touch input:
obtain respective second capacitance values from the plurality of sense electrodes;
determine a second force applied on the touch surface based on a second force signal obtained from the force electrode of the plurality of force electrodes; and
in accordance with a determination that the second capacitance values meet a first predefined criterion and a determination that the second force meets a second predefined criterion, determine that the touch input continues to be present on the touch surface.

3. The device of claim 2 , wherein the second capacitance values and the second force are indicative of an increase in temperature on the touch surface.

4. The device of claim 2 , wherein the processing device is further configured to, in accordance with a determination that the second capacitance values meet the first predefined criterion and a determination that the second force does not meet the second predefined criterion, determine that the touch input is no longer present on the touch surface.

5. The device of claim 1 , wherein the location of the touch input is determined based on the capacitance values and the force.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sense electrodes comprises a touch-sensing electrode layer coupled to the touch surface.

7. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a compressible layer, wherein the plurality of force electrodes comprise a conductive layer coupled to the compressible layer and configured to determine distortions in the compressible layer due to an applied force.

8. The device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sense electrodes is configured to sense capacitance while in a sensing mode; and
wherein the plurality of force electrodes is configured to sense force while in a force mode.

9. The device of claim 8 , wherein, in the sensing mode, the touch-sensing device is configured to set the plurality of force electrodes electrically afloat; and
wherein, in the force mode, the touch-sensing device is configured to drive the plurality of force electrodes.

10. The device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sense electrodes and plurality of force electrodes are configured to concurrently sense capacitance and force.

11. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further configured to determine the capacitive profile of the candidate input based on the respective capacitance values.

12. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further configured to determine the force profile of the candidate input based on respective force signals from the plurality of force electrodes.

13. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further configured to:
determine an expected force profile for the candidate input based on the respective capacitance values;
determine the force profile for the candidate input based on the force signal; and
wherein the classification of the candidate input is based on a comparison of the expected force profile and the force profile.

14. The device of claim 1 , wherein the candidate input is classified as a touch input or an invalid touch input based on the duration of the candidate input, the capacitance profile of the candidate input, and the force profile of the candidate input.

15. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further configured to, in accordance with inferring that the candidate input corresponds to an object hovering over the touch surface, report the presence of the hovering object.

16. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further configured to, in accordance with inferring that the candidate input corresponds to a foreign substance on the touch surface, adjust a capacitive baseline of the plurality of sense electrodes to compensate for the presence of the foreign substance.

17. A method, comprising:
at a touch-sensing device having a touch surface, a plurality of sense electrodes, and a plurality of force electrodes:
obtaining respective capacitance values from the plurality of sense electrodes;
identifying a candidate input based on the respective capacitance values;
obtaining from a force electrode of the plurality of force electrodes a force signal associated with a position on the touch surface corresponding to a first sense electrode;
determining force applied on the touch surface based on the force signal;
determining a capacitance profile and a force profile based on the respective capacitance values and the force signal, respectively;
classifying the candidate input as a valid touch input or an invalid touch input based on one or more of: a duration of the candidate input, the capacitance profile of the candidate input, and the force profile of the candidate input;
in accordance with a classification of the candidate input as being a valid touch input:
determining a location of the touch input on the touch surface; and
reporting the presence and location of the touch input; and

in accordance with a classification of the candidate input as being an invalid touch inp

Assignees

• Parade Tech Ltd

Inventors

• Tucker Jeffrey
• Bentson Tom
• Lobrow Marcin
• Sterling Gary

Classifications

• G06F2203/04108

  Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction · CPC title

• G06F2203/04101

  2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup · CPC title

• G06F2203/04104

  Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger · CPC title

• G06F2203/04106

  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 title

• G06F3/0412

  Digitisers structurally integrated in a display · CPC title