Patents Assigned to Elan Microelectronics Corporation
  • Patent number: 9207816
    Abstract: A method of distinguishing a plurality of objects on a touch panel includes: scanning the touch panel to obtain a plurality of positions corresponding to the objects on the touch panel and a plurality of induced capacitance signals corresponding to the positions; identifying a plurality of maximum induced capacitance signals corresponding to the objects respectively; and distinguishing the objects by referring to induced capacitance signal distributions around the maximum induced capacitance signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tung-Ming Yang, Wei-Kuo Mai
  • Publication number: 20150346908
    Abstract: High noise immunity sensing methods and apparatus are provided for a capacitive touch device, which sense the capacitive touch device for self capacitance or mutual capacitance or both with different scan frequencies in a frame, to thereby suppress certain frequency noise interference. By combining time domain and space domain noise-eliminating approaches, probabilities of noise interference are reduced, without compromising other parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 7, 2015
    Publication date: December 3, 2015
    Applicant: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Jung-Shou Huang, Chia-Mu Wu, Yi-Chia Hsu, Tung-Ming Yang
  • Patent number: 9182862
    Abstract: High noise immunity sensing methods and apparatus are provided for a capacitive touch device, which sense the capacitive touch device for self capacitance or mutual capacitance or both with different scan frequencies in a frame, to thereby suppress certain frequency noise interference. By combining time domain and space domain noise-eliminating approaches, probabilities of noise interference are reduced, without compromising other parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chia-Mu Wu, Yi-Chia Hsu, Jung-Shou Huang, Tung-Ming Yang
  • Patent number: 9158400
    Abstract: A touch device capable of identifying touch conflict has at least one function button mounted on a touch panel of the touch device and at least one auxiliary button mounted around the at least one function button. The at least one function button and the at least one auxiliary button are touch-activated. When users simultaneously or sequentially touch the at least one function button and the at least one auxiliary button, the touch device determines that a touch conflict occurs and determines whether to execute a function originally defined by the at least one function button or to execute another function according to the touch conflict.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Chi-Fang Hsu
  • Patent number: 9141241
    Abstract: A touch sensing structure is provided. The touch sensing structure includes a substrate, a plurality of first conductive traces and a second conductive trace. The plurality of first conductive traces is formed on the substrate. Each of the first conductive trace includes a trunk and at least one branch. The trunks of the first conductive traces are disposed to be parallel with each other. The branch of each first conductive trace is extended from one side of the trunk toward the adjacent first conductive trace. The branches between the two adjacent first conductive traces are disposed to be opposite and alternative. A path is composed of the two adjacent trunks and the branches disposed to be opposite and alternative. The second conductive trace is formed on the substrate, disposed between the two adjacent first conductive traces and extended along the path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chia-Jui Huang, Che-Hao Hsu
  • Patent number: 9134769
    Abstract: An input module is mounted on a portable electronic device and has a sensing substrate and a cover lens mounted on a top surface of the sensing substrate, a physical switch mounted on and electrically connected to a bottom surface of the sensing substrate, and a flexible bridging board having two opposite short sides respectively protruding from two short sides of the sensing substrate for the two short sides of the flexible bridging board to be mounted on the electronic device. As the two short sides of the input module are mounted on the electronic device and a lever arm between a pressed point to a fixed point of the input module is shortened, a torque applied to the input module is lowered and the input module is not easily deformed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Wei-Ming Chen, Wei-Wen Yang
  • Patent number: 9128576
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a capacitive touch panel has steps of providing a substrate, delimiting at least one preset zone on the substrate, forming multiple first-axis sensing units and multiple second-axis sensing units on one of the surfaces of the substrate, forming at least one set of connection circuit and at least one die pad on the other surface of the substrate, forming multiple first conductive vias through the substrate with at least one of the first conductive vias located within the preset zone for the second-axis sensing units to be mutually connected by the first conductive vias to form multiple second-axis sensing lines, and bonding a controller with an LQFP (Low Profile Quad) package or a TQFP (Thin Quad Flat) package on the at least one die pad within the preset zone to ensure enough space available to form the at least one first conductive via on the bottom of the controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nan-Jung Liu, Chia-Jui Huang
  • Patent number: 9112506
    Abstract: A touch panel has multiple first-axis sensing lines and multiple second-axis sub-sensing sets. Each first-axis sensing line has a second-axis sensing set formed therein with multiple second-axis sensing part of the second-axis sensing set spaced apart along the first axis. The second-axis sub-sensing parts at each identical coordinate of the second axis are connected to constitute a second-axis sensing line, and the first-axis sensing lines and the second-axis sensing lines are mutually crossed. As the second-axis sub-sensing parts constituting each second-axis sensing line are separately enclosed in different first-axis sensing lines, the capacitance values of capacitive coupling between the first-axis sensing lines and the second-axis sensing lines are relatively higher and more stable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yi-Hsin Tao, Wen-Jun Hsu
  • Patent number: 9104279
    Abstract: A scan method for increasing frame rate of a touch panel having multiple driving lines, multiple sensing lines and a scan cycle with multiple detection cycles, has steps of generating multiple sets of asynchronous excitation signals within each detection cycle with each set of excitation signals outputted to a corresponding driving line, and receiving capacitance sensing values from the sensing lines corresponding to the driving lines. In contrast to conventional scan methods only outputting one set of excitation signals within each detection cycle, the time required to scan entire driving lines is greatly reduced and the frame rate is increased. Additionally, as the multiple sets of asynchronous excitation signals are asynchronous, the interference to the capacitance sensing values sensed by the sensing circuit in response to the multiple sets of excitation signals won't occur.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chia-Hsing Lin, Yi-Hsin Tao
  • Patent number: 9104277
    Abstract: Stimulus regions are defined based on the traces of a capacitive touch panel. A first signal is applied to a first trace in a first direction under a second signal applied to a second trace in a second direction to stimulate the second trace, to sense a stimulus region for an ADC value thereof. Calibration parameters for the traces are determined according to the ADC values of the traces without being touched, and are stored for later sensing the traces for position calculation and multi-finger calculation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tsun-Min Wang, Chun-Chung Huang
  • Patent number: 9092065
    Abstract: An input device has a base, two shafts, a touchpad and a switch. The shafts are pivotally connected between the base and the touchpad, and intersect each other. When the touchpad is pressed, the shafts rotate relative to the base and the touchpad simultaneously. As the shafts intersect each other, an intersection of the shafts is nearby or exactly on a center of the touchpad, such that the shafts can pull down the touchpad from the center. Thus, no matter what location on the touchpad is pressed, a pressing force is spread uniformly, which makes the touchpad move down evenly without tilting. Besides, pulling down the touchpad from the center can further prevent leverage and deformation of the touchpad, thereby avoiding affecting the user's feel of pressing. To sum up, the input device can make the touchpad move down evenly, and prevent the touchpad from deformation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Lu-Yuan Hsueh
  • Patent number: 9081438
    Abstract: A capacitive touch panel controller has a memory and multiple driving signal output units. At least one transistor of each driving signal output unit and multiple transistors of the memory are fabricated by an identical semiconductor fabrication process so that the gate oxide layers of the transistors of the driving signal output unit and the memory are identical in thickness. As the transistor of each driving signal output unit and those of the memory are fabricated by a same high-voltage semiconductor fabrication process, the transistor of each driving signal output unit can be fabricated to provide a capacitive touch panel controller having high-voltage driving capability without using any high-voltage fabrication process and increasing the production cost. Due to the high-voltage driving, the SNR and anti-interference capability can be increased.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 14, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: I-Hau Yeh, Tsun-Min Wang, Chun-Chung Huang
  • Patent number: 9075486
    Abstract: A transconductance amplifier mirror circuit is connected to an electrode for sensing the capacitance of the electrode with reference to ground, or the capacitance between the electrode and another electrode. A voltage level change is produced on the electrode connected to the transconductance amplifier mirror circuit to cause the transconductance amplifier mirror circuit to supply charges to or drain charges from a charge calculation circuit. The charge amount variation is converted to a signal for calculating the sensed capacitance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chun-Chung Huang, I-Shu Lee, Shih-Yuan Hsu, Te-Sheng Chiu
  • Patent number: 9069427
    Abstract: A sensing method and a sensing apparatus for a capacitive touch device sense variations of self capacitances of first traces in a first direction and second traces in a second direction and variations of mutual capacitances of intersections between the first traces and the second traces, and then generates fourth sensed values from the first, second and third sensed values to serve as sensed values of the changes of the mutual capacitances of the intersections between the first traces and the second traces for identifying one or more touch points. Therefore, noise interference is suppressed and real touch points can be easily to be identified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chia-Mu Wu, Yi-Chia Hsu, Jung-Shou Huang
  • Patent number: 9069419
    Abstract: Methods are proposed for object positioning for an X-Y projected capacitive touch panel. In an embodiment, capacitance sensing under inphase excitation of traces is applied to set a base value when the capacitive touch panel is not touched and to obtain capacitances at intersections when the capacitive touch panel is touched, and the base value is compared with the measured capacitances to identify touch points. In other embodiments, X-Y projected sensing and all-point sensing are combined to reduce the amount of calculation and achieve the same positioning effect as an all-point capacitive touch panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Chia-Hsing Lin, Yi-Hsin Tao, Hung Nien, Brian Sung, Hsin-Shieh Tsai, Hsuan-Wen Tseng
  • Patent number: 9024895
    Abstract: The present invention provides a touch pad operable with multi-objects and a method of operating such a touch pad. The touch pad includes a touch structure for sensing touch points of a first and a second object and a controller for generating corresponding touching signals and related position coordinates. Moreover, the controller calculates at least two movement amount indexes according to coordinate differences between these position coordinates, thereby generating a movement amount control signal to control behaviors of a software object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Wei-Wen Yang, Chuh-Min Liu, Jian-Wei Chen
  • Patent number: 9024644
    Abstract: A waveform dividing method for a capacitive touch control device saves a first waveform in a direction, and then saves a multi-touch waveform in the direction when another object further touches the capacitive touch control device. If the multi-touch waveform is identified as having waveform overlapping, a second waveform is extracted from the difference between the multi-touch waveform and the first waveform. By calculating with the second waveform, accurate positioning of the objects on the capacitive touch control device can be achieved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 5, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Tsung-Hsien Wu, Kuo-Ming Huang
  • Patent number: 9019212
    Abstract: A passive architecture for scanning a touch panel includes a master IC and at least one passive touch IC connected to the master IC. The master IC generates a command to configure the scan parameters of the at least one passive touch IC, and the at least one passive touch IC scans the touch panel with the scan parameters in response to the command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Min-Jhih Lin, Chia-Mu Wu
  • Patent number: 9013398
    Abstract: In control methods for a multi-function controller, which includes a sensor having a ring operation region, the position of an object on the sensor is detected for generating a position information, and the force applied to the sensor by the object is detected for generating a force information. When the sensor detects multiple successive position information, which indicate that the object is circling along the ring operation region, a rotation information may be generated additionally. The position information, the force information and the rotation information are used to perform operation in various functional modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 21, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Shu-Jen Chen, Chang Ou Yang
  • Patent number: 9007074
    Abstract: A circuit and a method for sensing differential capacitance involve using plural storing capacitors to repeatedly sample charges of the differential capacitance in an over-sampling manner, and storing the charges sampled in different transfer rounds into different storing capacitors instead of repeatedly transferring charges for a single storing capacitor, so as to collect charge averages about both inputs and noises and in turn effectively reduce RF interference and source noises.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chao-Chi Yang, Shih-How Peng