Method and apparatus for coordinating a wireless PAN network and a wireless LAN network
Granted: January 6, 2015
Patent Number:
8929350
A personal area network (PAN) devices use a wireless medium shared with a wireless local area network (WLAN). WLAN devices communicate using WLAN protocols and PAN devices communicate using PAN protocols, allowing for lower power transmissions over the wireless medium relative to transmissions over the WLAN. A PAN coordinator device obtains access to the wireless medium for the PAN devices by signalling a reservation of the medium by the PAN coordinator device, such that the other…
Transmitting-receiving apparatus
Granted: January 6, 2015
Patent Number:
8929264
In one embodiment, receiving a first radio frequency (RF) signal from a first node, generating a first digital data set by decoding the first received RF signal, determining whether a first address in the first digital data set is associated with at least one of a first radio network or a second radio network by comparing the first address to a first set of addresses associated with the first radio network and a second set of addresses associated with the second radio network, appending…
Pulse width modulation controller architectures
Granted: January 6, 2015
Patent Number:
8929110
Systems, apparatuses, and techniques for pulse width modulation (PWM) are described. A described system includes a circuit that contains an inductor and a transistor that controls current through the inductor based on a PWM signal to produce an output; and a controller to provide the PWM signal, which includes PWM cycles that include on-durations and off-durations. The controller can receive a first signal indicating an input voltage that is applied to the inductor, receive a second…
Pixel occlusion mitigation
Granted: December 23, 2014
Patent Number:
8917261
In one embodiment, a method includes determining output modifications to apply to pixels of a display based on a modification map for pixels of the display. The modification map provides output-modification values for the pixels to mitigate optical occlusion of pixels of the display optically occluded by micro-features of a touch sensor overlying the display relative to other pixels of the display not optically occluded by micro-features of the touch sensor. The method also includes…
Regulation of gamma characteristic in a display
Granted: December 23, 2014
Patent Number:
8917231
System(s) and method(s) are provided for regulation of gamma characteristic of a display having solid-state-based backlight illumination. Regulation of the gamma characteristic can be accomplished at least in part through synchronization of data writing to a set of pixels in a display within a video frame with backlight illumination of a region of the display during a predetermined period, wherein the region is spanned by the set of pixels. Collection of data indicative of illumination…
Power conversion feedback control circuit for reaching a goal voltage
Granted: December 16, 2014
Patent Number:
8912770
A power conversion circuit of two feedback loops is disclosed that includes a feedback control circuit for ramping up or down a commanded voltage to a load (e.g., LEDs). The second feedback loop feeds into the first feedback loop, and the second feedback loop operates at a slower bandwidth than the first feedback loop. When ramping up or down the commanded voltage, a voltage overshoot results because of delay in the system. The overshoot can be compensated for by a final adjustment to…
Stored public key validity registers for cryptographic devices and systems
Granted: December 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8909929
Systems and techniques for performing cryptographic operations based on public key validity registers are described. A described system includes a controller and a memory structure to store one or more public keys. The memory structure includes one or more validity registers that respectively correspond to the one or more public keys. The controller has exclusive write access to the validity register. The controller can be configured to perform an authentication of a public key, write an…
Starting sensorless brushless direct-current (BLDC) motors based on current-ripple analysis
Granted: December 2, 2014
Patent Number:
8901868
In one embodiment, a method includes measuring between two consecutive electrical commutations of a brushless direct-current (BLDC) motor a current through the BLDC motor. One or more pulse-width-modulation (PWM)-configurable signals are driving the BLDC motor. The method includes determining a waveform of the current through the BLDC motor; if the waveform of the current through the BLDC motor comprises a first type, then increasing a duty cycle of each of one or more of the…
Method and system of communication between a transponder and a base station
Granted: December 2, 2014
Patent Number:
8904134
A transponder having a transmitting and receiving device for receiving commands and transmitting data and command processor for executing commands, and a programming device for changing the memory contents, and a data memory which has a first memory area and a second memory area, whereby the first memory area has the first value or a second value, and when the first memory area has the first value, the content of both memory areas can be changed and, in the case of read access to the…
Package dependent segment terminal remapping for driving liquid crystal displays
Granted: December 2, 2014
Patent Number:
8902395
A microcontroller for controlling a liquid crystal display (LCD) is mountable in any one of multiple package types. The microcontroller includes a LCD controller to generate logical mapping signals indicative of voltages to be applied to segment terminals of a LCD glass. A driver circuit drives the segment terminals selectively. A remapping unit receives the logical mapping signals from the LCD controller and maps the logical mapping signals, for each of the package types, to physical…
Line spacing in mesh designs for touch sensors
Granted: November 25, 2014
Patent Number:
8896573
An apparatus includes a touch sensor that includes a mesh of multiple first and second lines of conductive material extending across a display, where the display includes multiple pixels. The first lines are substantially parallel to each other, and the second lines are substantially parallel to each other. Each of the pixels has a first pixel pitch (PPx) along a first axis and a second pixel pitch (PPy) along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first axis. The first pixel pitch…
Current mirror self-capacitance measurement
Granted: November 25, 2014
Patent Number:
8896327
In one embodiment, a method includes applying a first current to a capacitance of a touch sensor. The application of the first current to the capacitance for a first amount of time modifies the voltage at the capacitance from the reference voltage level to a first pre-determined voltage level. The method also includes applying a second current to an integration capacitor. The second current is proportional to the first current. The application of the second current to the integration…
Method and apparatus for coordinating a wireless PAN network and a wireless LAN network
Granted: November 18, 2014
Patent Number:
8891497
Devices of a personal area network (PAN) use a wireless medium that is shared with a wireless local area network (WLAN) using power-efficient methods. PAN devices power up as needed to listen for frames. Once a PAN device determines that a frame is not for a PAN device, the PAN device can return to a power down state. In some cases, where a PAN coordinator determines that the wireless medium is congested, setting a PAN device backoff period during which the PAN device can remain in a…
Connecting conductive layers using in-mould lamination and decoration
Granted: November 18, 2014
Patent Number:
8890824
In one embodiment, a method for forming a touch sensor is provided. The method includes forming a plurality of electrodes on a first substrate. The plurality of electrodes are configured to form a plurality of capacitive nodes. Each capacitive node is configured to sense touch of an object proximate a touch sensing area of the substrate. The method further includes compressing together a plurality of conductive pads at least in part by applying a resin in liquid form to a first…
Adaptive programming for non-volatile memory devices
Granted: November 11, 2014
Patent Number:
8885413
Systems and techniques for performing write operations on non-volatile memory are described. A described system includes a memory structure including non-volatile memory cells that are arranged on word lines and bit lines and a microcontroller that is communicatively coupled with the memory structure. The memory structure can include non-volatile memory cells that are arranged on word lines and bit lines. The microcontroller can be configured to receive data to write to the memory…
Binary divarication digital-to-analog conversion
Granted: November 11, 2014
Patent Number:
8884798
Systems and techniques for performing binary divarication digital-to-analog conversion are described. A described converter includes voltage range adjusters arranged in series to convert a digital sequence to an analog representation, each of the adjusters being responsive to a respective bit of the digital sequence, and a combiner. The first adjuster produces first high and low output voltages based on first high and low input voltages and a most significant bit value of the digital…
Charge equalization between series-connected battery cells
Granted: November 11, 2014
Patent Number:
8884580
In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a first input current from a battery through a first connection and a second connection and generating a first output current through a third connection to a first node and a fourth connection to a second node. The first and second nodes are configured to output the first output current to an energy store configured to store a charge. The method includes receiving a second input current through the third connection from the first node and…
Self-recovering bus signal detector
Granted: November 4, 2014
Patent Number:
8878569
A detector circuit is disclosed that detects bus signal conditions. To detect a START condition, asynchronous sequential logic detects a first bus signal transition (e.g., from high to low) and a second bus signal (e.g., a high signal). The outputs of the asynchronous sequential logic are combined to produce a START signal that can be latched, so that the START signal can be used to wake up a system or for other purposes. To detect a STOP condition, asynchronous sequential logic is set…
Microcontroller with integrated interface enabling reading data randomly from serial flash memory
Granted: November 4, 2014
Patent Number:
8880785
A microcontroller includes a microprocessor, a serial flash memory interface, and input/output (I/O) terminals for coupling the serial flash memory interface to external serial flash memory. The microprocessor is operable to generate instruction frames that trigger respective commands to read data from specified addresses in the external serial flash memory. The serial flash memory interface receives and processes the instruction frames, obtains the data contained in the specified…
Direct memory access controller
Granted: November 4, 2014
Patent Number:
8880756
Systems and methods for direct memory access are described. One example system includes a memory module that includes a first memory portion that maintains transfer descriptors of direct memory access (DMA) channels, and a second memory portion that maintains transfer descriptors of enabled DMA channels. The system includes a controller coupled to the memory module, the controller includes one or more DMA channels coupled to a system bus, a channel arbiter that selects one of the enabled…
