ADC sequencing
Granted: May 12, 2015
Patent Number:
9032116
A device comprises a central processing unit (CPU) and a memory configured for storing memory descriptors. The device also includes an analog-to-digital converter controller (ADC controller) configured for managing an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) using the memory descriptors. In addition, the device includes a direct memory access system (DMA system) configured for autonomously sequencing conversion operations performed by the ADC without CPU intervention by transferring the memory…
Intelligent current drive for bus lines
Granted: May 12, 2015
Patent Number:
9030228
An intelligent current drive is disclosed that couples an active current source to a bus line to increase the rate of pull-up and decouples the active current source from the bus line prior to reaching the desired pull-up voltage.
Capacitive keyboard with non-locking reduced keying ambiguity
Granted: May 5, 2015
Patent Number:
9024790
Keyboards, keypads and other data entry devices can suffer from a keying ambiguity problem. In a small keyboard, for example, a user's finger is likely to overlap from a desired key to onto adjacent ones. An iterative method of removing keying ambiguity from a keyboard comprising an array of capacitive keys involves measuring a signal strength associated with each key in the array, comparing the measured signal strengths to find a maximum, determining that the key having the maximum…
Substantially edgeless touch sensor
Granted: May 5, 2015
Patent Number:
9024645
In one embodiment, an apparatus is provided that includes a touch sensor. The touch sensor includes a plurality of drive electrodes made of conductive material, a plurality of sense electrodes made of conductive material, and a plurality of edges. Each of the drive electrodes and each of the sense electrodes are coupled to at least one track. The tracks are located along only one of the plurality of edges of the touch sensor.
Controlling switching current regulators
Granted: May 5, 2015
Patent Number:
9024533
A switching current regulator controls a load current flowing through a load. The switching current regulator switches a switch to an ON state after applying a regulating signal to the switch. During an integration period while the switch is in the ON state, the switching current regulator integrates an output voltage based on a sense voltage based on the load current and a reference voltage; at the end of the integration period, the switching current regulator outputs an integrated…
Circuit for driving light emitting elements
Granted: April 21, 2015
Patent Number:
9013110
In one novel aspect, driving a string of light emitting elements, such as LEDs, includes applying a drive signal to circuitry that regulates a voltage appearing at a source of a transistor whose drain is coupled to one end of the string of light emitting elements and whose source is coupled to ground through a resistive element. Sequencing of the drive signal and a voltage supply signal for the light emitting elements is controlled such that the voltage supply signal is not increased…
Correlation device
Granted: April 21, 2015
Patent Number:
9015220
In certain embodiments, a device includes a first filter. The first filter is operable to produce at least one correlation result by at least correlating an input signal sequence with a link sequence. The first filter includes a delay element. The device also includes a second filter sharing the delay element of the first filter.
Transmission-reception device of a node of a radio network
Granted: April 21, 2015
Patent Number:
9014239
In one embodiment, a method comprising receiving at a first node a first data frame having a first frequency and a first phase, receiving at the first node a second data frame having a second frequency and a second phase, and determining a first phase difference between the first phase and the second phase by correlating one or more first sampling values associated with data in the first data frame with one or more second sampling values associated with data in the second data frame.
Self-capacitance measurement with isolated capacitance
Granted: April 21, 2015
Patent Number:
9013444
In one embodiment, a method includes dividing a first amount of charge between a capacitance of a touch sensor and a compensation capacitor. The division of the first amount of charge results in a first voltage at an input node. The method also includes isolating the capacitance of the touch sensor from the compensation capacitor; and applying a reference voltage at the input node and a supply voltage at the compensation capacitor. The application of the reference voltage at the input…
Voltage reference with low sensitivity to package shift
Granted: April 21, 2015
Patent Number:
9013231
In a bandgap voltage reference with low package shift, a proportional to absolute temperature (PTAT) voltage is generated using a single diode biased at two different current levels at two different times. Using the same diode for both current density measurements removes the absolute value of the base-emitter junction voltage (Vbe) and any package shift in the PTAT voltage. The bandgap voltage reference can be implemented in a single or differential circuit topology. In some…
Integrated circuit structures containing a strain-compensated compound semiconductor layer and methods and systems related thereto
Granted: April 21, 2015
Patent Number:
9012308
A method for pseudomorphic growth and integration of an in-situ doped, strain-compensated metastable compound base into an electronic device, such as, for example, a SiGe NPN HBT, by substitutional placement of strain-compensating atomic species. The invention also applies to strained layers in other electronic devices such as strained SiGe, Si in MOS applications, vertical thin film transistors (VTFT), and a variety of other electronic device types. Devices formed from compound…
Boosting memory reads
Granted: April 14, 2015
Patent Number:
9007824
A memory device comprises memory elements that are arranged in an array. The array includes rows associated with wordlines and columns associated with bitlines. The memory elements in a row share a wordline and memory elements in a column share a bitline. For each wordline, a wordline driver circuit is associated with the wordline. The memory device comprises a boost circuit that has an output coupled to the wordline driver circuits. The boost circuit is configured to provide a negative…
Position sensing panel
Granted: April 14, 2015
Patent Number:
9007332
A position sensing panel may include electrode connecting lines from two different sets of electrodes arranged so that the distance between a side edge of a connecting line from one of the set of electrodes and a center of an adjacent connecting line from the same set of electrodes may be less than the distance between the connecting line and a nearest connecting line from the other set of electrodes.
Charge compensation for capacitive touch sensor nodes
Granted: March 24, 2015
Patent Number:
8988376
In one embodiment, a method comprises generating a first charge at a capacitor system having a magnitude based on the magnitude of a second charge present at a capacitive node of a touch sensor in the absence of a touch with respect to the capacitive node. The method further includes generating a third charge at the capacitive node of the touch sensor in the presence of a touch with respect to the capacitive node. The first charge and the third charge are summed to cancel out at least a…
Microcontroller including alternative links between peripherals for resource sharing
Granted: March 17, 2015
Patent Number:
8984195
A system includes one or more master modules configured to execute instructions embedded in non-transitory machine-readable media and controllable by a processor. The system also includes one or more peripheral modules that are configured to execute instructions embedded in non-transitory machine-readable media and controllable by the processor. The system also includes a system bus with instructions embedded in a non-transitory machine-readable medium and configured to allow data…
Touchscreen electrode arrangement with varied proportionate density
Granted: March 3, 2015
Patent Number:
8970536
An assembly includes first electrode pairs and second electrode pairs distributed across an active area of a touchscreen. Each electrode pair of the first electrode pairs is formed in a pattern, the patterns of the first electrode pairs decreasing in frequency of snaking from electrode pair to electrode pair in a first direction. Each electrode pair of the second electrode pairs is formed in a pattern, the patterns of the second electrode pairs increasing in frequency of snaking from…
Capacitive sensor with reduced noise
Granted: March 3, 2015
Patent Number:
8970229
A method includes actuating a drive electrode to couple a majority of charge to a first sense electrode, a dielectric panel overlying the drive electrode, the first sense electrode, and a second sense electrode. The sense electrodes are separated by coupling gaps, the second sense electrode shielded from the drive electrode by the first sense electrode. The first sense electrode and at least one of the drive electrode and the second sense electrode each include at least two electrode…
Distance measurement between two nodes of a radio network
Granted: February 24, 2015
Patent Number:
8965301
A method includes transmitting, by a first node, a first carrier signal and receiving, from a second node, which receives the first carrier signal, a second carrier signal. The first node measures first and second values of a first phase, the first value assigned to a first frequency of the second carrier signal and the second value assigned to a second frequency of the second carrier signal. The first and second frequencies have a frequency difference. A third value of a second phase is…
Randomizing one or more micro-features of a touch sensor
Granted: February 24, 2015
Patent Number:
8963561
In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a touch sensor with one or more meshes of conductive material. Each of the meshes includes multiple mesh cells defined by multiple mesh segments. Each of the mesh cells includes a centroid and multiple vertices. The mesh segments are made of the conductive material, and the centroids or vertices of the mesh cells have a substantially random distribution within an area of the touch sensor. The apparatus also includes one or more computer-readable…
Event system and timekeeping for battery management and protection system
Granted: February 17, 2015
Patent Number:
8957639
Operating a battery management and protection system includes generating a set of events each of which has a respective frequency F/n1, F/n2 . . . F/nm, where ni are integers. One or more of the events are provided to one or more modules in the system. The events, which are generated and provided to the modules independently of a central processing unit, trigger performance of respective actions by the modules.
