Atmel Patent Grants

Circuit of a node and method for transit time measurement in a radio network

Granted: October 30, 2018
Patent Number: 10117045
A circuit of a node in a radio network and method for transit time measurement between a first node and a second node of a radio network is provided. A frame is transmitted by the first node, wherein the frame requires an acknowledgment of reception by the second node. A first point in time of the transmission of the frame is established by the first node by a time counter. The frame is received by the second node at a second point in time. The acknowledgment is transmitted by the second…

Adaptive transmit voltage in active stylus

Granted: October 30, 2018
Patent Number: 10114484
In one embodiment, an active stylus includes a transmitter configured to transmit electrical signals to a device through a touch sensor of the device. The active stylus also includes a receiver configured to receive electrical signals from the device through the touch sensor of the device. Furthermore, the active stylus includes a controller configured to determine a strength of an electrical signal received by the receiver from the touch sensor of the device and instruct the transmitter…

Sensor stack with opposing electrodes

Granted: October 2, 2018
Patent Number: 10088960
In certain embodiments, an apparatus includes a first substrate with sense electrodes of a touch sensor disposed on it and a second substrate with drive electrodes of the touch sensor disposed on it. One or more of the following is true: the sense electrodes of the first substrate are made of a first conductive mesh of conductive material such that the sense electrodes include the first conductive mesh; and the drive electrodes of the second substrate are made of a second conductive mesh…

Circuit of a node and method for transit time measurement in a radio network

Granted: September 25, 2018
Patent Number: 10085112
A circuit of a node in a radio network and method for transit time measurement between a first node and a second node of a radio network is provided. A frame is transmitted by the first node, wherein the frame requires an acknowledgment of reception by the second node. A first point in time of the transmission of the frame is established by the first node by a time counter. The frame is received by the second node at a second point in time. The acknowledgment is transmitted by the second…

Peripheral interface circuit for serial memory

Granted: September 25, 2018
Patent Number: 10083137
A peripheral interface circuit and method is disclosed for dealing with round trip delay with serial memory. In some implementations, a finite state machine is configured to introduce a delay state prior to a read data state to absorb round trip delay associated with a memory read operation. A clock module is coupled to the finite state machine and configured to delay start of a pad return clock for the read operation until completion of the delay state. A first synchronous logic is…

Increasing the dynamic range of an integrator based mutual-capacitance measurement circuit

Granted: September 25, 2018
Patent Number: 10082922
In one embodiment, a device includes one or more processors and one or more memory units. The one or more memory units collectively store logic configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations including obtaining a first measurement associated with a first voltage, the first voltage output by the mutual-capacitance measurement circuit in response to a first change in capacitance, and obtaining a second measurement associated with a second voltage, the second voltage…

Multi-electrode active stylus tip

Granted: September 25, 2018
Patent Number: 10082889
In one embodiment, a device includes a stylus tip capable of communicating wirelessly with another device through a touch sensor of the other device. The stylus tip includes one or more surface areas, one or more substrates disposed along one or more of the surface areas of the stylus tip, and a plurality of electrodes disposed on or in the one or more substrates.

Security extensions for non-volatile memory

Granted: September 11, 2018
Patent Number: 10073661
The disclosed embodiments provide security extensions for memory (e.g., non-volatile memory) by means of address and data scrambling and differential data storage to minimize exposure to side channel attacks and obfuscate the stored data. The scrambling function maximizes reverse engineering costs when recovering sequences of secret keys.

Capacitive measurement circuit for a touch sensor drive

Granted: September 4, 2018
Patent Number: 10067619
In one embodiment, a method for determining the location of a touch on a touch sensor includes receiving input signals in response to a touch proximate to a location on the touch sensor. Each input signal may have a total capacitance that includes a first capacitance associated with the touch and a second capacitance that is parasitic capacitance. The parasitic capacitance of one or more of the input signals may be adjusted to result in the second capacitance of each of the input signals…

Power mode configuration for touch sensors

Granted: August 28, 2018
Patent Number: 10061375
In one embodiment, a system includes a touch sensor, measurement circuits, and a monitoring circuit. The measurement circuits are respectively coupled to electrodes of the touch sensor. Each measurement circuit includes a first component, a second component, and a third component. The first component of each measurement circuit is activated in a first power mode and the second and third components of each measurement circuit are deactivated in the first power mode. The monitoring circuit…

Fault detection

Granted: August 21, 2018
Patent Number: 10054647
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for fault detection in a power control system. In one aspect, a method includes measuring a plurality of values of a feedback voltage from a power control system over a period of time; determining a rate of feedback voltage change based on the measured values of the feedback voltage and a duration of the period of time; determining, with a controller, that the determined rate of feedback…

Programmable logic unit

Granted: August 14, 2018
Patent Number: 10049071
Programmable logic units are described. A described unit includes one or more input interfaces to receive one or more input signals; logic elements that are individually programmable; one or more output interfaces to provide one or more output signals; and a programmable interconnect array that is configured to selectively form one or more interconnections within the unit based on one or more programming settings. The programmable interconnect array can be programmable to route the one…

Method and apparatus for operating a wireless PAN network using an overlay protocol that enhances co-existence with a wireless LAN network

Granted: August 7, 2018
Patent Number: 10045290
A computing device is interfaced with other devices in a wireless personal area network (PAN) to enhance co-existence with a wireless local area network (WLAN). The computing device coordinates activity of the wireless PAN as a coordinator for the wireless PAN, including communicating with the wireless PAN devices using an overlay protocol that is only partially compliant with the protocol used over the WLAN but enables co-existence. WLAN devices can, upon hearing an overlay protocol…

Substantially edgeless touch sensor

Granted: August 7, 2018
Patent Number: 10044353
In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a substrate configured to extend substantially out to at least two edges of a surface of a device. The apparatus also includes a touch sensor disposed on the substrate, the touch sensor comprising an active area that is configured to extend substantially out to at least two of the edges of the surface of the device.

Dynamic clustering of touch sensor electrodes

Granted: August 7, 2018
Patent Number: 10042501
In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a sensor and a controller having a processor and a memory. The memory includes logic operable, when executed by the processor, to connect each electrode of a first subset of electrodes of the sensor and determine a first value associated with the first subset of electrodes. Based at least on the first value, the logic is further operable to alter the first subset of electrodes to a second subset of electrodes and connect, in response to…

Two-dimensional touch panel

Granted: August 7, 2018
Patent Number: 10042485
A capacitive touch panel is provided capable of detecting multiple simultaneous touches. The touch panel delivers sets of capacitance signal values to a processor which computes the coordinates of single or multiple touch locations on the touch panel. The processing of each set is performed by (i) identifying the sensing element having the largest capacitance signal value; (ii) defining a region around that sensing element; and (iii) repeating the process iteratively, wherein each…

Touch system with code hopping algorithms and code division multiplexing

Granted: August 7, 2018
Patent Number: 10042483
In one embodiment, a system includes a touch sensor and a computer-readable storage media coupled to the touch sensor and embodying logic that is configured when executed to receive a first plurality of sense signals from sense electrodes of the touch sensor and determine, based on characteristics of the first plurality of sense signals, a plurality of codes. The logic may then assign the plurality of codes to each of the drive electrodes of the touch sensor and determine, based on the…

Dynamic configuration of touch sensor electrode clusters

Granted: July 31, 2018
Patent Number: 10037119
An apparatus of one embodiment includes a sensor having a plurality of electrodes and a controller having a processor and a memory. The memory includes logic operable to configure the plurality of electrodes of the sensor to form a first cluster pattern including a first cluster and a second cluster. The first cluster and the second cluster each include two or more electrodes of the plurality of electrodes. The logic is further operable to determine a value associated with a capacitance…

Active stylus with a parallel communication channel

Granted: July 24, 2018
Patent Number: 10031590
A method of one embodiment includes generating, by a stylus, a composite signal. The composite signal includes a first signal having a first frequency, the first signal being used by a touch-sensing device to determine a position of the stylus relative to the touch-sensing device, and a second signal having a second frequency. The second signal may include status information such as an amount of force exerted on the stylus, battery information, orientation information, information…

Pseudo driven shield

Granted: July 24, 2018
Patent Number: 10031632
In one embodiment, a device includes a controller, first electrodes, second electrodes, a plurality of sensors, and a shield sensor. The controller is operable to cause substantially equal voltages to be present on the first and second electrodes while measuring capacitances of the plurality of first electrodes electrically coupled to the shield sensor and measuring capacitances of the plurality of second electrodes electrically coupled to the plurality of sensors.