Touch position-sensing panel and method
Granted: July 22, 2014
Patent Number:
8786572
A touch position-sensing panel has electrodes arranged in different directions to form capacitive nodes, where at least one electrode has a corner within the perimeter of the electrode.
Priority and combination suppression techniques (PST/CST) for a capacitive keyboard
Granted: July 22, 2014
Patent Number:
8786554
Apparatus and methods are described for selecting which of a plurality of simultaneously activated keys in a keyboard based on an array of capacitive sensors is a key intended for selection by a user. Combinations of keys which are commonly activated simultaneously when a user intends to select a single key are identified and associated with the single keys most likely to give rise to the identified combinations during normal use of the keyboard. In use, an observed combination of…
Conductive shield for shaping an electric field of a conductive wire
Granted: July 22, 2014
Patent Number:
8786356
In one embodiment, a method comprises generating, by a control unit, a first drive signal and a second drive signal. The method further comprises emitting, by a conductive wire coupled to a capacitive touch sensor, a first electric field that extends in a plurality of directions in response to reception of the first drive signal. The method further comprises shaping, by a conductive shield that surrounds the conductive wire, at least a portion of the first electric field that extends…
Self-calibrating, wide-range temperature sensor
Granted: July 22, 2014
Patent Number:
8783949
A self-calibrating, wide-range temperature sensor includes a current reference, impervious to process and voltage, with the current reference mirrored into two oppositely-sized bipolar transistors or diodes. Duplicate current sources are used with a ratio of geometries between them, such that the larger current biases the smaller bipolar transistor (less cross-sectional area) and the smaller current source biases the larger bipolar transistor (higher cross-sectional area). The current…
ADC sequencing
Granted: July 8, 2014
Patent Number:
8775694
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…
Circuit and method for controlling a receiver circuit
Granted: July 1, 2014
Patent Number:
8767877
A method for controlling a receiver circuit and circuit with a receiver circuit and with a control circuit is provided, whereby a received signal is demodulated and filtered. An amplitude value of the demodulated and filtered signal is compared with thresholds of a window comparator. A zero crossing of the demodulated and filtered signal is compared with time thresholds of a time window by a comparison unit. A first output value of the window comparator and a second output value of the…
Panel for position sensors
Granted: July 1, 2014
Patent Number:
8766929
This document discloses systems, methods, and articles of manufactures, related to position sensors and uses therefor. Various patterns of drive electrodes and sense electrodes that can be used to in a panel for a position sensor are shown and described. In various examples, the drive electrodes and sense electrodes can be arranged in a grid-like matrix.
Supplying voltage in a circuit using a first voltage source and an adjustable second voltage source
Granted: July 1, 2014
Patent Number:
8766618
A circuit, use, and method for operating a circuit is provided that includes a regulated first voltage source for providing a supply voltage at an output of the first voltage source for a subcircuit, an adjustable second voltage source for providing an output voltage to supply the subcircuit, and an evaluation circuit, which is connected to an output of the second voltage source and to a control input of the second voltage source and to the output of the first voltage source. Wherein the…
Circuit and method for adjusting an offset output current for an input current amplifier
Granted: June 24, 2014
Patent Number:
8760227
A circuit and a method for correcting an offset is provided that includes a current amplifier and an adjusting circuit for correcting an offset of an output current of the current amplifier. Wherein the adjusting circuit has a controlled current source, an output of the controlled current source is connected to the current amplifier for impressing an output current of the controlled current source in the current amplifier, an input of the controlled current source to form a regulation…
Method for data communication between a base station and a transponder
Granted: June 24, 2014
Patent Number:
8761149
A method for data communication between a base station and at least one transponder by a high-frequency electromagnetic carrier signal is disclosed, onto which information packets are modulated, whereby each information packet has a header section, a middle section, and an end section and whereby the middle section has a data field for the transmission of data and/or address information and a protection field placed thereafter for the correction of errors in the transmission of the data…
Receiver, receiving method, and use of an in-phase signal and a quadrature-phase signal
Granted: June 17, 2014
Patent Number:
8755466
A receiver, receiving method, and use of an in-phase signal and a quadrature-phase signal is provided, that includes a mixer in the receiving path, an oscillator whose output is connected to a mixer input of the mixer, whereby the oscillator is formed to output a base signal, oscillating at a base frequency, at the output, a clock generation device to generate a clock signal from the base signal, whose input is connected to the output of the oscillator, whereby the clock generation…
Circuit, system and method for communication between two nodes of a radio network
Granted: June 17, 2014
Patent Number:
8755300
A first node of a radio network initiates a mode for finding the range to a second node. The first node transmits to the second node, with the address of the second node, a range finding command, which switches the second node into the range finding mode and controls a sequence. The first node transmits in a transmission time window a first signal, which is received by the second node in an associated reception time window, a first phase value of the first signal being measured. The…
Current mirror self-capacitance measurement
Granted: June 17, 2014
Patent Number:
8754659
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…
Proximity sensor
Granted: June 10, 2014
Patent Number:
8749251
In one embodiment, a method includes monitoring detection by a sensing element of a key touch on a touch screen; determining an amount of time that has elapsed since the sensing element last detected a change of capacitance indicative of a key touch on the touch screen; and, if the amount of time that has elapsed exceeds a predetermined time duration, then initiating a particular function of an apparatus.
Circuit for monitoring of accumulator cells connected in series
Granted: June 10, 2014
Patent Number:
8749244
In one embodiment, a circuit includes a measuring circuit coupled to an accumulator cell. A first output of the measuring circuit outputs a current signal based on a cell voltage of the accumulator cell. The circuit includes an interface circuit coupled to the first output of the measuring circuit and a second output of a level-shifter circuit configured to change a voltage level on the first output at the interface circuit. The level-shifter circuit includes a first input coupled to the…
Method and apparatus to scramble data stored in memories accessed by microprocessors
Granted: June 3, 2014
Patent Number:
8745410
A scrambler/descrambler module included in an integrated circuit device is operable for receiving a scrambling key and constant data that is unique to the integrated circuit device. The scrambler/descrambler module includes a first layer or circuit arrangement that uses a scrambling key to generate first scrambled data. The scrambler/descrambler module includes a second layer or second circuit arrangement that uses data that is unique to the integrated circuit device, and that is…
Primary side PFC driver with dimming capability
Granted: May 27, 2014
Patent Number:
8736190
A primary side PFC driver circuit is disclosed that includes a switch control circuit for commanding a switch to allow an inductor coupled to an output load (e.g., LEDs) to transfer energy provided by an input voltage source. The switch control circuit provides two signals for commanding the switch. A first signal having a first frequency, with a duty cycle in proportion to the input voltage amplitude, commands the switch to allow the average input current to be proportional to the input…
Mesh design for touch sensors
Granted: May 27, 2014
Patent Number:
8736571
In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a touch sensor including a mesh of multiple first lines and second lines of conductive material extending across a display. The first lines are substantially parallel to each other. The second lines are substantially parallel to each other. The display includes multiple pixels that each include sub-pixels. Each of the pixels has a first pixel pitch along a first axis and a second pixel pitch along a second axis that is perpendicular to the first…
Two-dimensional touch sensors
Granted: May 27, 2014
Patent Number:
8736568
In a touch sensor, as well as providing touch position data, additional data is provided on the shape of the touch. This is achieved by having sampling nodes on a finer mesh than the size of the actuating object, typically a finger, so each finger touch activates a group of adjacent nodes on the sensor. In this way, each touch has a shape formed by the activated nodes. The shape allows the touch sensor to report an angle with each touch and data indicating how elongate the touch is,…
Touch-sensor-controller sensor hub
Granted: May 27, 2014
Patent Number:
8736551
In one embodiment, a method includes controlling a touch sensor of a device. The control of the touch sensor includes a first processing cycle executed by the controller that comprises acquisition of touch-sensor signals from the touch sensor; a second processing cycle executed by the controller that comprises pre-processing of the touch-sensor signals; and a third processing cycle executed by the controller that comprises processing of the touch-sensor signals to determine whether a…
