Method and apparatus for improving dynamic range of a touchscreen controller
Granted: September 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8830207
A touchscreen system for increasing the dynamic range of the system comprising a touchscreen coupled to an offset cancellation element and a capacitance measuring element. The offset cancellation element is configured to be dynamically changed in capacitance such that it offsets parasitic and sensor capacitances of the touchscreen sensors thereby leaving only touch event capacitance to be measured by the measuring element. The offset cancellation element is able to adjust to the initial…
MDAC with differential current cancellation
Granted: September 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8830099
Various embodiments of the invention provide for cancellation of a residue amplifier output charging current at the reference voltage source of the reference buffer thereby preventing the charging current from altering the effective reference voltage of a reference buffer. In certain embodiments, current cancellation is accomplished by subtracting a current of the same magnitude.
Transponder
Granted: September 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8830029
A transponder is disclosed to receive a wireless electromagnetic query signal and transmit a corresponding wireless electromagnetic response signal. The transponder comprises a first coil and at least one further coil that function as antennas to receive the wireless electromagnetic query signal and generate separate wired electrical incoming signals. An axis of the first coil and an axis of the at least one further coil are differently aligned in space, and each coil is associated with…
Inductor current measurement for DC to DC converters
Granted: September 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8829879
A system includes an estimation module and a current measuring module. The estimation module estimates current through an inductor in an output stage of a power supply using a model of the current and generates an estimated current. The current measuring module measures the current through the inductor and generates a measured current. The estimation module adjusts the model based on the measured current.
Micromechanical sensor
Granted: September 9, 2014
Patent Number:
8826736
A micromechanical sensor comprising a substrate (5) and at least one mass (6) which is situated on the substrate (5) and which moves relative to the substrate (5) is used to detect motions of the sensor due to an acceleration force and/or Coriolis force which occur(s). The mass (6) and the substrate (5) and/or two masses (5, 7) which move toward one another are connected by at least one bending spring device (6). The bending spring device (6) has a spring bar (9) and a meander (10),…
Proximity sensor device
Granted: September 2, 2014
Patent Number:
8822925
Proximity sensor devices are described that integrate a light emitting diode with a light sensor assembly in a single, compact package. The proximity sensor devices comprise a substrate having a surface. The light emitting diode and light sensor assembly are mounted to the substrate proximate to the surface. The light emitting diode is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation in a limited spectrum of wavelengths, while the light sensor assembly is configured to detect electromagnetic…
System and method of controlling modulation frequency of spread-spectrum signal
Granted: August 26, 2014
Patent Number:
8817841
An apparatus for generating a spread-spectrum signal based on an input signal whose frequency may vary substantially. The apparatus is particularly suited for controlling the frequency of the modulation in response to wide variations of the frequency of the input signal. This prevents the modulation frequency from deviating into an undesired frequency range which could cause adverse operational effects. The apparatus includes a detector adapted to generate a first signal related to the…
Current-steering digital-to-analog converter with cancellation of dynamic distortion
Granted: August 26, 2014
Patent Number:
8816889
A digital-to-analog converter (DAC) includes, in a segment of the DAC, a first switch and a second switch. The first switch includes a first pair of transistors having a first set of inputs and has a first output connected to an output of the DAC. The second switch includes second and third pairs of transistors having second and third sets of inputs, respectively, and has a second output that is connected to the output of the DAC. A driver module generates control signals to drive the…
Transponder
Granted: August 26, 2014
Patent Number:
8816825
Proposed is a transponder for receiving a wireless electromagnetic interrogation signal and for transmitting a wireless electromagnetic response signal with a first coil acting as an antenna for generating a first wired electrical receive signal from the interrogation signal, and with at least one further coil acting as an antenna for generating a further wired electrical receive signal from the interrogation signal, wherein an axis of the first coil and an axis of the further coil are…
Light sensor having IR cut interference filter with color filter integrated on-chip
Granted: August 19, 2014
Patent Number:
8809099
Techniques are described to furnish a light sensor that includes a patterned IR interference filter integrated with a patterned color pass filter. In one or more implementations, the light sensor includes a substrate having a surface. An IR interference filter configured to block infrared light is disposed over the surface of the substrate. The light sensor also includes one or more color pass filters placed above or below the IR interference filter. The color pass filters are configured…
Notch filter for control signals in PWM controlled systems
Granted: August 12, 2014
Patent Number:
8805554
A notch filter includes first, second, and third difference modules, a delay module, and a gain module. The first difference module calculates a first difference between a control signal in a pulse width modulation (PWM) system and a feedback value. The second difference module calculates a second difference between the first difference and a delayed second difference. The delay module generates the delayed second difference by introducing a one period delay to the second difference,…
Transmit/receive systems for imaging devices
Granted: August 12, 2014
Patent Number:
8804457
A transceiver for an ultrasonic imaging device includes a transmit circuit and a receive circuit. The transmit circuit outputs test pulses to a probe including a transducer to generate an image of a test object. A composite signal including the test pulses and a reflected signal is output by the transducer. The receive circuit receives the composite signal including the test pulses and the reflected signal and includes a filter circuit. The filter circuit filters the test pulses from the…
Light sensor having IR cut and color pass interference filter integrated on-chip
Granted: August 12, 2014
Patent Number:
8803270
A light sensor is described that includes an IR interference filter and at least one color interference filter integrated on-chip. The light sensor comprises a semiconductor device (e.g., a die) that includes a substrate. Photodetectors are disposed proximate to the surface of the substrate. An IR interference filter is disposed over the photodetectors. The IR interference filter is configured to filter infrared light from light received by the light sensor to at least substantially…
Light sensor having a contiguous IR suppression filter and a transparent substrate
Granted: August 12, 2014
Patent Number:
8803068
Techniques are described to furnish an IR suppression filter, or any other interference based filter, that is formed on a transparent substrate to a light sensor. In one or more implementations, a light sensor includes a substrate having a surface. One or more photodetectors are formed in the substrate. The photodetectors are configured to detect light and provide a signal in response thereto. An IR suppression filter configured to block infrared light from reaching the surface is formed…
Detection of signals for transmission
Granted: August 5, 2014
Patent Number:
8797067
A circuit, set forth by way of example and not limitation, includes a signal detector operative to detect two types of signals, where the two types of signals include a higher-frequency signal and a lower-frequency signal. The signal detector is operative to detect that a received input signal is one of the two types of signals. An output driver is operative to receive the input signal and to adjust conditioning performed on the input signal to create an output signal for transmission…
Low-noise, high-gain semiconductor device incorporating BCD (bipolar-CMOS-DMOS) technology
Granted: August 5, 2014
Patent Number:
8796767
Techniques are described to form a low-noise, high-gain semiconductor device. In one or more implementations, the device includes a substrate including a first dopant material having a concentration ranging from about 1×1010/cm3 to about 1×1019/cm3. The substrate also includes at least two active regions formed proximate to a surface of the substrate. The at least two active regions include a second dopant material, which is different than the first dopant material. The device further…
Electronic circuit arrangement for receiving low frequency electro-magnetic waves with an adjustable attenuator element
Granted: July 29, 2014
Patent Number:
8792844
An electronic circuit arrangement for receiving low-frequency electromagnetic waves is proposed, having an inductor (L) acting as an antenna for generating a received signal, having a first receiver (2), connected to the inductor (L), for decoding a first component of the received signal and having a second receiver (3), connected to the inductor (L), for decoding a second component of the received signal, wherein at least the second receiver (3) is connected to the inductor (L) via an…
Light sensor having a transparent substrate, a contiguous IR suppression filter and through-substrate vias
Granted: July 29, 2014
Patent Number:
8791404
Techniques are described to furnish an IR suppression filter that is formed on a glass substrate to a light sensor. In one or more implementations, a light sensor includes a substrate having a surface. One or more photodetectors are formed in the substrate and configured to detect light and provide a signal in response thereto. An IR suppression filter configured to block infrared light from reaching the surface is formed on a glass substrate. The light sensor also includes a plurality…
MEMS gyroscope for detecting rotational motions about an X-, Y-, and/or Z-axis
Granted: July 29, 2014
Patent Number:
8789416
The invention relates to a MEMS gyroscope for detecting rotational motions about an x-, y-, and/or Z-axis, in particular a 3-D sensor, containing a substrate, several, at least two, preferably four, drive masses (2) that are movable radially With respect to a center and drive elements (7) for the oscillating vibration of the drive masses (2) in order to generate Coriolis forces on the drive masses (2) in the event of rotation of the substrate about the x-, y-, and/or Z-axis. The…
Wafer level packaging using a lead-frame
Granted: July 22, 2014
Patent Number:
8785244
Wafer level packaging using a lead-frame. When used to package two or more chips, a final product having QFN package-like finish. The final product will also have a performance rivaling or exceeding that of a corresponding monolithic chip because of the very close connection of the two or more chips and the ability to tailor the fabrication processing of each chip to only that required for the devices on that chip. The wafer level packaging can also be used to package monolithic chips,…
