Patents Assigned to Atmel Corporation
  • Patent number: 11841981
    Abstract: A low-cost cryptographic accelerator is disclosed that accelerates inner loops of a cryptographic process. The cryptographic accelerator performs operations on cryptographic data provided by a central processing unit (CPU) running a software cryptographic process to create a combined hardware and software cryptographic process, resulting in a lower cost secure communication solution than software-only or hardware-only cryptographic processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Frode Milch Pedersen, Martin Olsson, Arne Aas
  • Patent number: 11809626
    Abstract: The embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to techniques for identifying elements in a user interface (UI), and more particularly, techniques for determining UI elements selected on a contact-sensitive user interface and using those techniques to provide one or more haptic responses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: William Liddell, Paul Clements, Thomas Souche
  • Patent number: 11675462
    Abstract: A process includes receiving an associated input signal via a receiver electrode of a sensor array, the associated input signal indicative of an associated mutual capacitance of the receiver electrode; adding a balancing signal to the associated input signal to generate a balanced input signal at least partially responsive to a number of sensor nodes at the receiver electrode; generating a voltage signal indicative of the associated mutual capacitance of the receiver electrode at least partially responsive to a balanced input signal; and generating a digital value representative of the voltage signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Richard P. Collins, Samuel Daniel Brunet, Paul Heslop
  • Patent number: 11579665
    Abstract: Knob on display (KoD) devices and related systems, methods, and devices are disclosed. A KoD device includes a touch surface including a conductive material. The touch surface is configured to be positioned in a released position and in a depressed position. The touch surface is configured to be positioned in the depressed position responsive to pressure applied to the touch surface. The KoD device also includes a push electrode pad configured to be positioned in engagement proximity to a touch sensor of a touch screen device in both the released position and the depressed position. The push electrode pad is electrically connected to the conductive material of the touch surface responsive to the depressed position and electrically isolated from the conductive material of the touch surface in the released position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Nigel Hinson, Gareth Michael Jones
  • Patent number: 11494037
    Abstract: A method including applying a first excitation voltage to an electrode of a touch sensor which charges a capacitive node associated with the electrode from a first voltage level to a second voltage level that is greater than the first voltage level. A first measurement measures a charge to change from the first voltage level to the second voltage level. A second excitation voltage is applied to the electrode which charges the capacitive node from the second voltage level to a third voltage level that is greater than the second voltage level. The capacitive node is discharged from the third voltage level to a fourth voltage level that is less than the second voltage level. A second measurement measures a charge to change from the third voltage level to the fourth voltage level. A measured charge signal is generated based on the first measurement and the second measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Trond Jarle Pedersen, John Stanley Dubery
  • Patent number: 11474641
    Abstract: In certain embodiments, a method includes performing a first positive integration by sensing a first rising edge of a charging signal of a touch sensor during a first synchronization period and performing a first negative integration by sensing a first falling edge of the charging signal during a second synchronization period. The method also includes toggling the charging signal, resulting in a second rising edge of the charging signal during the second synchronization period. The method further includes performing a second negative integration by sensing a second falling edge of the charging signal during a third synchronization period and performing a second positive integration by sensing a third rising edge of the charging signal during a fourth synchronization period. The first integrations are associated with a first sample measurement and the second integrations are associated with a second sample measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Grahame Reynolds, Hammad Syed
  • Patent number: 11301080
    Abstract: A sensor region of a touch sensor may include active and inactive sensor regions. The inactive sensor regions may include one or more routing connectors electrically connected to the active sensor regions, electrically connected to connection forming elements, and/or electrically connected to tracking lines. System and touch displays may include touch sensors with such sensor regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Rob Ann Beuker, Mark Cheng, Yona Tsai, Samuel Daniel Brunet
  • Patent number: 11256632
    Abstract: A bus architecture is disclosed that provides for transaction queue reallocation on the modules communicating using the bus. A module can implement a transaction request queue by virtue of digital electronic circuitry, e.g., hardware or software or a combination of both. Some bus clogging issues that affect conventional systems can be circumvented by combining an out of order system bus protocol that uses a transaction request replay mechanism. Modules can evict less urgent transactions from transaction request queues to make room to insert more urgent transactions. Master modules can dynamically update a quality of service (QoS) value for a transaction while the transaction is still pending.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Franck Lunadier, Vincent Debout
  • Patent number: 11204666
    Abstract: A touch sensing method is described as well as related methods and systems. In some embodiments of the touch sensing method, energy of a drive signal is allocated among frequencies of RF subcarriers such that the allocated energy meets electromagnetic emissions requirements for the application of a touch sensing system implementing the touch sensing method. Also described are methods of determining a spectrally shaped time domain digital waveform for use in generating a spectrally shaped drive signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventor: Anders Vinje
  • Patent number: 11157083
    Abstract: The embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to techniques for identifying elements in a user interface (UI), and more particularly, techniques for determining UI elements selected on a contact-sensitive user interface and using those techniques to provide one or more haptic responses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2021
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: William Liddell, Paul Clements, Thomas Souche
  • Patent number: 10955973
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes outputting a first current associated with a first electrode track of a self-capacitance touch sensor. The method also includes outputting a second current associated with a second electrode track of the self-capacitance touch sensor. The method also includes measuring a voltage associated with a difference between the first and second currents and determining a position of an object relative to the self-capacitance touch sensor based on the voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 23, 2021
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory Brillant, Steinar Myren, Terje Saether
  • Patent number: 10942492
    Abstract: An updated process parameter to an autonomous process control peripheral is autonomously obtained when made available by a process monitor peripheral, such as an analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The input can be obtained in response to a system event, such as a completed ADC conversion. The autonomous process control peripheral can compute an updated control variable each time the process variable is updated. When the updated control variable is calculated by the autonomous process control peripheral, the updated control variable is autonomously transferred or otherwise made available (e.g., through a register) by the autonomous process control peripheral to a process actuate peripheral. The process actuate peripheral uses the updated control variable to adjust the process being controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventor: Jacob Lunn Lassen
  • Patent number: 10895939
    Abstract: Disclosed are segmented sensors and related systems, methods, and devices. In one embodiment, a capacitive sensor includes a first gird of sensor lines, a second grid of sensor lines, and an isolating region defined between the first grid of sensor lines and the second grid of sensor lines. Also disclosed are touch controllers configured for operable coupling to, and detecting touches at, a segmented sensor, and related systems, methods, and devices. In one embodiment, connectors of a touch controllers are configured for operable coupling to sensing lines from different segments of a segmented sensor and touch controllers are configured to detect touches at the different segments.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: John Dubery, Samuel Daniel Brunet
  • Patent number: 10809843
    Abstract: In certain embodiments, a method includes performing a first positive integration by sensing a first rising edge of a charging signal of a touch sensor during a first synchronization period and performing a first negative integration by sensing a first falling edge of the charging signal during a second synchronization period. The method also includes toggling the charging signal, resulting in a second rising edge of the charging signal during the second synchronization period. The method further includes performing a second negative integration by sensing a second falling edge of the charging signal during a third synchronization period and performing a second positive integration by sensing a third rising edge of the charging signal during a fourth synchronization period. The first integrations are associated with a first sample measurement and the second integrations are associated with a second sample measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Grahame Reynolds, Hammad Syed
  • Patent number: 10783279
    Abstract: A low-cost cryptographic accelerator is disclosed that accelerates inner loops of a cryptographic process. The cryptographic accelerator performs operations on cryptographic data provided by a central processing unit (CPU) running a software cryptographic process to create a combined hardware and software cryptographic process, resulting in a lower cost secure communication solution than software-only or hardware-only cryptographic processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Frode Milch Pedersen, Martin Olsson, Arne Aas
  • Patent number: 10776294
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a system comprises: a first bus; a second bus; a first peripheral coupled to the first bus and the second bus, the first peripheral configured to receive a command from the first bus and to generate data in response to the first command; and a second peripheral coupled to the first bus and the second bus, the second peripheral configured to initiate transfer of the generated data from the first peripheral to the second peripheral over the second bus such that access to the generated data through the first bus is prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2020
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Guillaume Pean, Vincent Debout, Marc Maunier
  • Patent number: 10768647
    Abstract: Systems, methods, circuits and computer-readable mediums for regulators, e.g., low-dropout (LDO) regulators, with load-insensitive compensations are provided. An example regulator includes an amplifier operable to receive an input voltage and a feedback voltage, a follower responsive to an output voltage of the amplifier and operable to supply a regulated voltage to a load coupled to the follower, and a feedback circuit coupled to the load and the amplifier and operable to provide the feedback voltage. The amplifier is operable to have a substantially unity gain beyond a resonant frequency of the amplifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Albert Vareljian, Ronak Desai, Bilin Wang
  • Patent number: 10768745
    Abstract: In certain embodiments, an apparatus includes controller circuitry and a touch sensor that includes first electrodes. The controller circuitry is configured to measure first capacitance values during a first time period, each first capacitance value associated with a respective first electrode. The controller circuitry is also configured to determine a first hand-usage value based at least on a distribution of the first capacitance values. The controller circuitry is also configured to estimate a hand-usage state based at least on the first hand-usage value. The hand-usage state indicates one of the following hand configurations: right-handed interaction with the touch sensor, left-handed interaction with the touch sensor, or two-handed interaction with the touch sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2020
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Martin J. Simmons, Thomas Myers
  • Patent number: 10725950
    Abstract: 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 coupled to receive the pad return clock and is configured to sample and hold data from a data bus during the read data state of the memory read operation based on the pad return clock. A second synchronous logic is coupled to receive a system clock and is configured to sample the held data based on the system clock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Frédéric Schumacher, Guillaume Pean, Renaud Tiennot
  • Patent number: 10719177
    Abstract: A method including applying a first excitation voltage to an electrode of a touch sensor which charges a capacitive node associated with the electrode from a first voltage level to a second voltage level that is greater than the first voltage level. A first measurement measures a charge to change from the first voltage level to the second voltage level. A second excitation voltage is applied to the electrode which charges the capacitive node from the second voltage level to a third voltage level that is greater than the second voltage level. The capacitive node is discharged from the third voltage level to a fourth voltage level that is less than the second voltage level. A second measurement measures a charge to change from the third voltage level to the fourth voltage level. A measured charge signal is generated based on the first measurement and the second measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2020
    Assignee: Atmel Corporation
    Inventors: Trond Jarle Pedersen, John Stanley Dubery