Patents Assigned to Elan Microelectronics Corporation
  • Circuit and method for sensing a differential capacitance
    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
  • Group scanning circuit and method for a capacitive touch sensor
    Patent number: 8988362
    Abstract: For object detection, a two-step group scan to the traces of a capacitive touch sensor is performed, thereby dramatically shortening the overall scanning time and reducing noise effect. After all the traces are scanned by the pre-scan step to find out the trace of a touch point, the trace of the touch point and traces adjacent thereto are scanned by the re-scan step for more accurate positioning of the touch point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: I-Hau Yeh, Chun-Yu Lin
  • Scan method for a touch panel
    Patent number: 8982074
    Abstract: A scan method for a touch panel has steps of: receiving a self-sensing frame; calculating sensing slopes between each sensing line and its neighboring sensing lines in the self-sensing frame; determining whether any sensing slope is larger than a slope threshold, and marking the sensing line if the sensing slope is larger than the slope threshold; and executing a mutual scan approach on the marked sensing lines to produce a mutual sensing frame without sensing point caused by noise. Further, the present invention also increases the frame rate since only a part of sensing lines need to be scanned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Jung-Shou Huang, Chia-Mu Wu, Tse-Lun Hung, Shun-Yi Chen
  • Capacitive touch system and control method for a capacitive touch system
    Patent number: 8976121
    Abstract: A capacitive touch system uses two or more integrated circuits to simultaneously scan a touch panel in such a manner that each of the integrated circuits scans only a portion of the touch panel to retrieve a respective detected data by itself. All the detected data are used for computation by one of the integrated circuits or one other than the integrated circuits to determine a touch information. This approach enables axis intersect projected capacitance touch integrated circuits applicable to a large scale touch panel, without degrading the frame rate of a capacitive touch system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: ELAN Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Tse-Lun Hung, Jung-Shou Huang, Hsin-Shieh Tsai
  • Two-dimensional capacitive touch panel with single sensor layer
    Patent number: 8970523
    Abstract: A two-dimensional capacitive touch panel includes three electrodes made from a single sensor layer, with the first one of the electrodes between the other two of the electrodes to establish mutual capacitances between the first electrode and the other two, respectively. The mutual capacitance between the first and second electrodes increases along a direction, and the mutual capacitance between the first and third electrodes decreases along a direction. The first electrode is applied with an excitation signal for sensing variations in the mutual capacitances to calculate a position in the direction that is touched by an external conductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chia-Hsing Lin, Wen-Jun Hsu, Yi-Hsin Tao
  • Method for identifying touch object
    Patent number: 8970521
    Abstract: A method for identifying touch object on a touch panel has steps of (A) reading m capacitance variations on a first direction, wherein the m capacitance variations respectively correspond to m sensed units of the touch panel; (B) determining whether a difference between the capacitance variation of a kth sensed unit and that of another sensed unit exceeds a preset noise ripple, wherein k is equal to or smaller than m, m is a positive integer; (C) determining whether the capacitance variation of the kth sensed unit exceeds those of the adjacent sensed units; and (D) determining a touch stylus touched on the touch panel when the difference exceeds the preset noise ripple and the capacitance variation of the kth sensed unit exceeds those of the adjacent sensed units. Accordingly, the method can correctly identify a range touched by a stylus from the sensed signals combined with LCM noise signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventor: Ching-Ting Chiu
  • Sensing device and method for operating same
    Patent number: 8963065
    Abstract: An array of active pixel sensors and an array of sampling circuits of an active image sensor are divided into sub-arrays in operation so that a sampling time and a readout time in a frame overlap to each other to shorten the total readout time of a frame. In an embodiment, a first sub-array of sampling circuits samples a first sub-array of active pixel sensors during a readout circuit reads out sampled signals from a second sub-array of sampling circuits, or the second sub-array of sampling circuits samples a second sub-array of active pixel sensors during the readout circuit reads out sampled signals from the first sub-array of sampling circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventor: Chun-Kai Liu
  • Method for cursor motion control by a touchpad to move a cursor on a display screen
    Patent number: 8963846
    Abstract: A cursor control method using a touchpad triggers an automatic movement signal for a cursor when an object moves from a first defined region into a second defined region of a two-dimensional touch sensor, or when an object stays in the second defined region for a preset duration after it moves from the first defined region into the second defined region, and define the automatic movement signal with the direction identical to that of the object moving into the second defined region, so that the cursor will keep moving in its last moving direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Jia-Yih Lii, Wei-Kuo Chang
  • Cob module of an optical mouse
    Patent number: 8952896
    Abstract: A COB module of an optical mouse has a controller circuit and optical components of the optical mouse integrated thereon, so as to improve the problem with conventional optical mice that light path shifting tends to occur and improve the imaging definition. By disposing a button and wheel mechanism independently outside the COB module, the optical mouse has significantly improved flexibility in design, lower cost related to design alteration, and relaxed requirements on alignment and correction during production.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventor: Chin-Lin Liu
  • Sensing unit, sensing arrangement and sensing method for touch panel application
    Patent number: 8952922
    Abstract: Two sensing units are configured as an exciter and a sensor connected to two trace lines, respectively, for mutual capacitance sensing from the capacitance units including these two trace lines. The two sensing units connect the two trace lines together to balance them to a same voltage level first, and then disconnect them from each other. Thereafter, the exciter connects the first trace line to an excitation node to induce a charge change on the second trace line, and the sensor senses the charge change to detect the variation of the mutual capacitance between the two trace lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chia-Hsing Lin, Yi-Hsin Tao, Wen-Jun Hsu, I-Shu Lee, Shih-Yuan Hsu
  • Method for identifying multiple touch objects
    Patent number: 8907908
    Abstract: A method for identifying multiple touch objects has steps of reading at least one touched cluster to be identified in a sensing frame, determining a range of each one of the at least one touched cluster to be identified, comparing the range of each touched cluster to be identified with a first preset division range, if the range of the touched cluster to be identified exceeds the first preset division range, reducing a sensing value of each one of at least one middle sensing point within the first touched cluster to be divided, determining a count of center sensing points of each first touched cluster to be divided, and dividing the first touched cluster to be divided containing multiple center sensing points. Accordingly, the present invention correctly identifies multiple touch objects from a single touched cluster arising from an excessively large line-to-line space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Tsz-Hsuan Chao, Sheng-Tsai Huang
  • TOUCH DEVICE AND MEASURING VOLTAGE DYNAMIC ADJUSTMENT METHOD THEREOF
    Publication number: 20140347316
    Abstract: A touch device and a measuring voltage dynamic adjustment method thereof are provided. The touch device comprises a touch panel, a touch sensing circuit and a processing unit. The touch sensing circuit electrically connected to the touch panel is configured to provide a first measuring voltage to the touch panel and sense capacitance variation of the touch panel to generate a plurality of sensing signals. The processing unit electrically connected to the touch sensing circuit is configured to receive the sensing signals, determine whether a touch is caused by a stylus according to the sensing signals and if yes, enable the touch sensing circuit to provide a second measuring voltage to the touch panel. The second measuring voltage is larger than the first measuring voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Publication date: November 27, 2014
    Applicant: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: I-Hau YEH, Bo-Syuan HUANG, Hsueh-Wei YANG, Yung Lieh CHIEN
  • Control circuit and control method for capacitive touch panel
    Patent number: 8884909
    Abstract: A control circuit and a control method for a capacitive touch panel are provided. Therein, while a scanning signal charges and discharges each trace on the capacitive touch panel, a signal in phase with the scanning signal is provided to traces adjacent to the scanned trace or a ground layer under the scanned trace so as to lower parasitic capacitances between the scanned trace and the ground layer or other traces, thereby decreasing a base capacitance of the capacitive touch panel and enhancing a sensing result of the control circuit as well as providing a shielding effect and reducing noise interference so that the capacitive touch panel has improved performance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2014
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chun-Chung Huang, Tsun-Min Wang, Chun-Yu Lin
  • TOUCH DEVICE AND MEASURING VOLTAGE DYNAMIC ADJUSTMENT METHOD THEREOF
    Publication number: 20140327646
    Abstract: A touch device and a measuring voltage dynamic adjustment method thereof are provided. The touch device comprises a touch panel, a touch sensing circuit and a processing unit. The touch sensing circuit electrically connected to the touch panel is configured to provide a measuring voltage to the touch panel and sense the touch panel to generate a sensing signal. The processing unit electrically connected to the touch sensing circuit is configured to receive the sensing signal, calculate a first ratio according to the sensing signal and dynamically adjust the measuring voltage according to the first ratio.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2014
    Publication date: November 6, 2014
    Applicant: ELAN MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: I-Hau YEH, Bo-Syuan HUANG, Hsueh-Wei YANG, Yung Lieh CHIEN
  • Statistical analyzing method and statistical quality indicator for reliability improvement of a capacitive touch device
    Patent number: 8866794
    Abstract: For a capacitive touch device having a capacitive touch sensor to be sensed to generate sensed values, a sensing apparatus and method statistically analyze the sensed values generated in a certain time period to evaluate the sensing quality thereof, discard the poor reliable sensed values, and re-sense the capacitive touch sensor to generate new sensed values, by which the resultant output signal will have improved reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chia-Hsing Lin, Po-Hao Kuo, Yi-Hsin Tao
  • Method of detecting floating mode of a touch panel
    Patent number: 8866778
    Abstract: A method of detecting floating mode of a touch panel has steps of reading a sensing cluster and presetting a detection window; taking each sensing point of the sensing cluster as a center point of the detection window; after determining that the center point has a negative sensing value qualifying to be generated under a floating mode, further determining a count of the sensing points other than the center point having the sensing values generated under a grounding mode and incrementing an accumulative number by one if the count exceeds a first critical value; keeping incrementing the accumulative number until each sensing point in the sensing cluster has been taken as the center point of the detection window for scanning; and determining if the accumulative number exceeds a second critical value, and if positive, further determining that the current sensing cluster is generated under the floating mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2014
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chia-Mu Wu, Tse-Lun Hung, Shun-Yi Chen, Jung-Shou Huang
  • Capacitive touch device capable of distinguishing between conductor and nonconductor
    Patent number: 8842094
    Abstract: A capacitive touch device capable of distinguishing conductor and nonconductor includes a flexible sensor layer receiving a first driving signal, an elastic insulation layer below the flexible sensor layer, and an electrically conductive layer below the elastic insulation layer and receiving a second driving signal synchronous but out of phase to the first driving signal. The flexible sensor layer generates a capacitance variation responsive to an object touching thereon, for identifying the object as a conductor or a nonconductor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 23, 2014
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Hsin-Fu Hsu, Wei-Wen Yang
  • Circuit and Method for Sensing a Differential Capacitance
    Publication number: 20140266258
    Abstract: A circuit for sensing a differential capacitance includes a charge-storing circuit to generate a first output voltage and a second output voltage related to capacitances at two terminals of the differential capacitance, respectively, an operational amplifier to amplify the difference between the first and second output voltages to generate a sensing value, a first sampling capacitor having one terminal connected to the negative input terminal and the other terminal receiving the first or second output voltage, and a second sampling capacitor having one terminal connected to the negative input terminal and the other terminal switched to the output terminal of the operational amplifier. The second sampling capacitor stores a non-ideal error value to offset the non-ideal effect of the operational amplifier imparted on the sensing value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2014
    Publication date: September 18, 2014
    Applicant: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chao-Chi YANG, Shih-How PENG
  • Equalized capacitive touchpad and touch positioning method
    Patent number: 8830201
    Abstract: An equalized capacitive touchpad and a touch positioning method for a capacitive touchpad use an equalizer to correct a sensed value of a mutual capacitance between two sensing lines of the capacitive touchpad, to thereby offset the attenuation of the sensed value due to the impedance of the two sensing lines. Thus, the sensed values generated from different positions along a sensing line are equalized, and the touch positioning accuracy of the capacitive touchpad is improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventors: Chun-Chung Huang, Tsun-Min Wang
  • Computing device for performing functions of multi-touch finger gesture and method of the same
    Patent number: 8830192
    Abstract: A computing device for performing functions of multi-touch finger gesture is disclosed. The computing device includes a receiver to receive at least one of a first input from a first object or a second input from at least two second objects, a look-up-table (LUT) module to store a second set of functions associated with the at least two second objects, and a mapping module to map one type of the first input from the first object to a corresponding one of the second set of functions. The computing device is configured to perform a corresponding one of the second set of functions based on the type of the first input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: Elan Microelectronics Corporation
    Inventor: Joe Tsung-Ying Yeh