Keyboard Adaptive Haptic Response
Granted: December 27, 2012
Application Number:
20120326986
Various embodiments provide a keyboard that adaptively provides haptic feedback to a user. In at least some embodiments, an actuation of a key or keyboard element of the keyboard is detected. This can be accomplished by detecting the closure of an associated switch caused by a user depressing the key or keyboard element. In response to detecting the actuation, an electrically-deformable material is utilized as an actuating mechanism to impart single or multi-vectored movement to the key…
Touchpad with Capacitive Force Sensing
Granted: December 27, 2012
Application Number:
20120327025
Described herein are techniques related to a touchpad with capacitive force sensing. The described techniques may determine the point or region of a user-engagement surface contacted by a user. In addition, the described techniques may also determine a force of the user's finger press on the user-engagement surface using one or more capacitance force-sensors. Furthermore, the described techniques may offer active tactile feedback (i.e., haptics) to the user's finger touching the…
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIGNALING IN GRADIENT SENSOR DEVICES
Granted: December 27, 2012
Application Number:
20120330590
A processing system includes a transmitter module, a receiver module, and a determination module. The transmitter module is configured to transmit in accordance with a first excitation mode with a transmitter electrode during a first interval and a third interval of a sensing frame period, wherein, during the first excitation mode, a first voltage variation is generated in the transmitter electrode. The transmitter module is further configured to transmit in accordance with a second…
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIGNALING IN SENSOR DEVICES
Granted: December 27, 2012
Application Number:
20120326910
A processing system includes transmitter module, receiver module, and a demodulating module. The transmitter module comprises transmitter circuitry and is configured to simultaneously transmit a first transmitter signal with a first transmitter electrode and a second transmitter signal with a second transmitter electrode. The first transmitter signal includes a combination of a first heterodyne frequency and a carrier frequency. The second transmitter signal comprises a combination of a…
TOUCH AND DISPLAY DEVICE HAVING AN INTEGRATED SENSOR CONTROLLER
Granted: December 20, 2012
Application Number:
20120319966
Embodiments of the invention generally provide an input device having a smaller overall physical size and a lower production cost, and is minimally affected by electrical interference versus conventional input devices. Embodiments discussed herein include an input device that has a sensor controller disposed in close proximity to a plurality of sensing elements that are used to sense and acquire positional information of an input object. In one embodiment, the sensor controller and at…
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CALIBRATING AN INPUT DEVICE
Granted: December 20, 2012
Application Number:
20120319987
The embodiments described herein provide devices, systems and methods that facilitate improved performance in an input device. The input device, for example, may include an input surface configured to be touched by input objects, a haptic mechanism configured to provide a haptic effect to the input surface, a force sensor configured to sense force applied to the input surface, and a processing system communicatively coupled to the haptic mechanism and the force sensor. The processing…
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SENSOR DEVICE SIGNALING USING A POLARITY RESET INTERVAL
Granted: December 20, 2012
Application Number:
20120319988
A capacitive sensing method includes transmitting a first transmitter signal with a first transmitter electrode such that the first transmitter signal includes a first plurality of sensing cycles. A resulting signal is received with a receiver electrode, wherein the resulting signal comprises effects corresponding to the first transmitter signal. The polarity of each sensing cycle of the first plurality of sensing cycles corresponds to a respective bit within a bit sequence of a first…
SENSING AND DEFINING AN INPUT OBJECT
Granted: December 6, 2012
Application Number:
20120310572
An input device comprises a display, a plurality of sensor electrodes, and a processing system. The plurality of sensor electrodes is configured to detect an input object in a sensing region of the input device. The sensing region overlaps the display. The processing system is coupled with the plurality of sensor electrodes. The processing system is configured for: acquiring a capacitive image from the plurality of sensor electrodes; and correlating a part of the capacitive image with at…
Touchsurface with Level and Planar Translational Travel Responsiveness
Granted: November 29, 2012
Application Number:
20120299832
Described herein are one or more techniques related to a touchsurface with level and planar translational travel responsiveness. One or more of the described implementations include an input device having a rigid body including a touchsurface configured to travel along a depression path in response to being depressed by a user. The input device also includes a leveling mechanism that operates in manner to keep the touchsurface substantially level as the touchsurface travels along the…
CAPACITIVE SENSOR INTERFERENCE DETERMINATION
Granted: November 22, 2012
Application Number:
20120293190
A processing system for a capacitive input device is described. The capacitive input device includes a plurality of sensor electrodes configured to detect input objects in a sensing region. The processing system configured to transmit a signal on a transmitter sensor channel of the capacitive input device. The processing system is also configured to receive the signal on a receiver sensor channel of the capacitive input device, wherein the receiver sensor channel is coupled with an…
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING USER INPUT USING DUAL BASELINE MODES
Granted: November 8, 2012
Application Number:
20120283972
The embodiments described herein provide devices and methods that facilitate improved performance. In one embodiment, an input device comprises a plurality of capacitive sensor electrodes and a processing system coupled to the electrodes and configured to operate the electrodes to sense in a sensing region. Specifically, the processing system is configured to determine information about input objects in the sensing region based on comparisons of preliminary values with corresponding…
INPUT DEVICE WITH FORCE SENSING AND HAPTIC RESPONSE
Granted: November 1, 2012
Application Number:
20120274599
Devices and methods are provided that facilitate improved input device performance. The devices and methods utilize a first electrode disposed on a first substrate, a second electrode coupled to a first side of a piezoelectric material and a third electrode coupled to a second side of the piezoelectric material. The second electrode and the third electrode are configured to facilitate actuation of the piezoelectric material, while the first electrode and the second electrode define at…
TRACE DESIGN FOR REDUCED VISIBILITY IN TOUCH SCREEN DEVICES
Granted: September 27, 2012
Application Number:
20120242606
An input device having a plurality of low-visibility sensor electrodes and method for using the same are provided. In one embodiment, an input device includes a display device and a plurality of sensor electrodes disposed over the display device. The sensor electrodes are configured to sense objects in a sensing region of the input device. The sensor electrodes include a plurality of spaced apart conductive traces, each conductive trace having a diameter less than about 10 um. The…
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING USER INPUT AND INTERFERENCE ON AN INPUT DEVICE
Granted: September 13, 2012
Application Number:
20120229415
The embodiments described herein provide devices and methods that facilitate improved performance. In one embodiment, an input device comprises a processing system, a transmitter sensor electrode, and a receiver sensor electrode, where the transmitter sensor electrode and the receiver sensor electrode are capacitively coupled. The processing system is configured to receive a resulting signal from the receiver sensor electrode, where the resulting signal includes responses that correspond…
BASELINE MANAGEMENT FOR INPUT DEVICES
Granted: September 13, 2012
Application Number:
20120229418
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and system that is able to minimize or remove the affect of substantially non-random electrical interference on an input device's ability to reliably and accurately sense the position of an object. In one embodiment, the input device is configured to systematically correct for a cyclic variation in the electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by components within the electronic system, such as interference generated by the…
BASELINE MANAGEMENT FOR INPUT DEVICES
Granted: September 13, 2012
Application Number:
20120229419
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and system that is able to minimize or remove the affect of substantially non-random electrical interference on an input device's ability to reliably and accurately sense the position of an object. In one embodiment, the input device is configured to systematically correct for a cyclic variation in the electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by components within the electronic system, such as interference generated by the…
DEVICE AND METHOD FOR INTERFERENCE AVOIDANCE IN AN INPUT DEVICE
Granted: July 19, 2012
Application Number:
20120182229
Devices and methods are provided that facilitate improved interference avoidance performance. The devices and methods determine a relative ranking for a plurality of transmitter signals based on a first class of interference for each transmitter signal of the plurality of transmitter signals. The devices and methods transmit a first transmitter signal of the plurality of transmitter signals with a sensor electrode of the plurality of sensor electrodes. The first transmitter signal is…
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING INPUT OBJECTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROXIMITY EVENTS
Granted: June 28, 2012
Application Number:
20120161791
A system determines whether proximity events at different positions are produced by the same input object or by different input objects. One or more hover states (or proximity events with “non-contact” signatures) occurring near the two positions are used in making this determination. The proximity events are found to be produced by different input objects, for example, when the hover state occurs at approximately the first position within a first duration after a first time, or at…
METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MOUNTING A TOUCH SENSOR DEVICE
Granted: June 28, 2012
Application Number:
20120162863
A touch sensor device assembly is mechanically coupled to an electronic system having a casing. The touch sensor device assembly includes a touch sensor device and a deformable material disposed on the touch sensor device. The deformable material has a non-adhesive surface that can be compressed against an interior surface of the casing by a holding element such that the touch sensor device is stationary with respect to the casing.
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING OBJECT INFORMATION USING AN ESTIMATED RIGID MOTION RESPONSE
Granted: June 14, 2012
Application Number:
20120146935
The embodiments described herein provide devices and methods that facilitate improved performance. Specifically, the devices and methods provide the ability to determine object information for objects causing rigid motion on a capacitive sensor device. In one embodiment, the device and method is configured to determine an estimated rigid motion response associated with a substantially rigid motion of the at least one sensing electrode using a set of sensor values, where the substantially…
