Patents Assigned to QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Patent number: 10042491
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for a portable user apparatus, including a portion which can be folded over the user apparatus, said foldable portion including at least two detection layers, each kept at a guard potential and including at least one capacitive detection electrode: a first of said layers being arranged to carry out a function of capacitive detection of at least one control object located on one side of said foldable portion; a second of said layers being arranged so as to carry out a function of capacitive detection of at least one control object located on the other side of said foldable portion, with a view to triggering a function in the user apparatus. The invention also relates to an apparatus provided with such an accessory device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: Quickstep Technologies LLC
    Inventor: Didier Roziere
  • Patent number: 10007388
    Abstract: A device for control interface sensitive to movement of a body, includes a detection surface; at least one capacitive sensor including a measurement electrode including an active surface facing the detection surface, or substantially coinciding with the detection surface; electronic excitation and processing components for exciting the measurement electrodes at an alternating electrical potential and processing the signals emanating from the capacitive sensors, to provide distance information between the active surface of the electrodes and one or several objects; a guard of electrically conducting material disposed in proximity to the measurement electrodes, at least along the face of the measurement electrodes substantially opposite to the active surface, which guard is excited at an alternating electrical potential substantially identical to the alternating electrical potential of the measurement electrodes, wherein: the measurement electrodes and the guard are made of substantially transparent conducting
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Didier Roziere
  • Patent number: 9983746
    Abstract: An interface device for detecting at least one object of interest is disclosed. The interface device has a detection surface provided with a plurality of capacitive-measurement electrodes. The measurement electrodes are driven at an alternating electrical excitation potential, and the capacitive coupling between the measurement electrodes and the object of interest can be measured. Guard elements can be driven at an alternating electrical potential substantially identical to the alternating electrical excitation potential of the measurement electrodes. The alternating electrical excitation potential has an excitation frequency low enough such that the measurement electrodes and linking tracks capacitively coupled to the object of interest have an electrical impedance at the excitation frequency whose resistive part is much lower than the modulus of the reactive part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Didier Roziere
  • Patent number: 9939956
    Abstract: This invention relates to a capacitive sensing device comprising (i) at least one capacitive electrode (12) with a substantially conductive material arranged so as to form a conductive surface (51); (ii) at least one guard component placed close to said at least one capacitive electrode (12); said capacitive electrode(s) (12) comprises(comprise) at least one opening (52) without conductive material arranged within or on the edge of the conductive surface (51) so as to reduce the coupling capacitance between said capacitive electrode(s) (12) and said guard component(s). The invention also relates to an apparatus implementing the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: Didier Roziere, Christian Neel, Christophe Blondin
  • Publication number: 20170315646
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a man-machine interface device comprising (i) a display with display pixels distributed within a display zone, (ii) display control elements (302, 304) disposed in said display zone and used to control said display pixels, (iii) capacitive measurement electrodes (502) distributed within said display zone, (iv) capacitive excitation and detection means, (v) at least one guard element disposed in proximity to the capacitive measurement electrodes (502), in which at least one display control element (302, 304) is also used as guard element or as capacitive measurement electrode (502). The invention also relates to an apparatus comprising the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2015
    Publication date: November 2, 2017
    Applicant: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Didier ROZIERE
  • Patent number: 9798433
    Abstract: An accessory device for use with an electronic user apparatus is disclosed. The electronic user apparatus includes at least one capacitive sensor for detection of at least one control object with respect to a control surface, and at least one apparatus guard placed at an alternating guard potential (VG), different from a ground potential of the at least one control object, and identical to a potential of the capacitive sensor. The accessory device includes at least one accessory guard capable of being set to the alternating guard potential (VG) by coupling with the electronic user apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2017
    Assignee: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Christophe Blondin
  • Publication number: 20170285869
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device or apparatus comprising a touch surface provided with first capacitive measurement electrodes (21), a fingerprint sensor (14) provided with second capacitive measurement electrodes (22) distinct from the first electrodes (21), capacitive electronic detection means (20) arranged so as to allow the detection of control objects (11) in a neighborhood of the first electrodes (21) by measuring a capacitive coupling between said first measurement electrodes (21) and said control objects (11) wherein said capacitive electronic detection means (20) comprise inputs electrically connected simultaneously to at least one first measurement electrode (21) and at least one second measurement electrode (22).
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2015
    Publication date: October 5, 2017
    Applicant: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Didier ROZIERE
  • Publication number: 20170220156
    Abstract: A method and device for generating a power supply voltage, referenced to a first reference potential, in an electronic system including an energizing source connected to the first and second reference potentials so as to impart an AC voltage differential between the reference potentials, wherein the device includes: (i) a source for supplying AC voltage, which is referenced to the second reference potential, connected to the first reference potential, and encompasses the energizing source; and (ii) rectifying and filtering elements connected, at the input thereof, to the first reference potential and to the source for supplying AC voltage, respectively, so as to generate, at an output, a power supply voltage (Vf) referenced to the first reference potential by rectifying a voltage at the terminals of the source for supplying AC voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2017
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Applicant: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: Christophe BLONDIN, Christian NEEL, Didier ROZIERE
  • Patent number: 9640991
    Abstract: A method and device for generating a power supply voltage (Vf), referenced to a first reference potential (4), in an electronic system including an energizing source (3) connected to the first and second reference potentials (4, 5) so as to impart an AC voltage differential between the reference potentials (4, 5), wherein the device includes: (i) a source (10) for supplying AC voltage, which is referenced to the second reference potential (5), connected to the first reference potential (4), and encompasses the energizing source (3); and (ii) rectifying and filtering elements (1) connected, at the input thereof, to the first reference potential (4) and to the source (10) for supplying AC voltage, respectively, so as to generate, at an output (8), a power supply voltage (Vf) referenced to the first reference potential (4) by rectifying a voltage at the terminals of the source (10) for supplying AC voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: Christophe Blondin, Christian Neel, Didier Roziere
  • Publication number: 20170108978
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a process for interacting with an electronic and/or computer device comprising a command interface provided with capacitive sensors disposed in order to detect command objects, where said process comprises steps of: (i) searching (40) for objects described as contact in contact with the command interface surface; (ii) searching (41) for objects described as hovering at a distance from said command interface; and (iii) executing a command described as combined (43) when at least one contact object is present in at least one predefined contact area and at least one hovering object is present in at least one predefined hovering area, where said combined command (43) takes into consideration at least some information concerning said at least one hovering object. The invention also relates to a command interface and a device implementing the process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2015
    Publication date: April 20, 2017
    Applicant: QuickStep Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Christophe BLONDIN, Didier ROZIERE
  • Patent number: 9535547
    Abstract: A device for control interface sensitive to movement of a body, includes a detection surface; at least one capacitive sensor including a measurement electrode including an active surface facing the detection surface, or substantially coinciding with the detection surface; electronic excitation and processing components for exciting the measurement electrodes at an alternating electrical potential and processing the signals emanating from the capacitive sensors, to provide distance information between the active surface of the electrodes and one or several objects; a guard of electrically conducting material disposed in proximity to the measurement electrodes, at least along the face of the measurement electrodes substantially opposite to the active surface, which guard is excited at an alternating electrical potential substantially identical to the alternating electrical potential of the measurement electrodes, wherein: the measurement electrodes and the guard are made of substantially transparent conducting
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Didier Roziere
  • Publication number: 20160291730
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for a portable user apparatus, including a portion which can be folded over the user apparatus, said foldable portion including at least two detection layers, each kept at a guard potential and including at least one capacitive detection electrode: a first of said layers being arranged to carry out a function of capacitive detection of at least one control object located on one side of said foldable portion; a second of said layers being arranged so as to carry out a function of capacitive detection of at least one control object located on the other side of said foldable portion, with a view to triggering a function in the user apparatus. The invention also relates to an apparatus provided with such an accessory device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 12, 2014
    Publication date: October 6, 2016
    Applicant: Quickstep Technologies LLC
    Inventor: Didier ROZIERE
  • Patent number: 9401697
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for generating an alternating voltage difference between a first and second reference potential. The device comprises: an oscillator electrically referenced to the first reference potential; and a voltage follower/amplifier device electrically referenced to the second reference potential and having an input connected to the oscillator and an output connected to the first reference potential such that it can impose an alternating voltage difference, which depends on the signal generated by the oscillator, between said first and second reference potentials. The invention also relates to a system that uses the device and to a method for generating an alternating voltage difference between a first and second reference potential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2016
    Assignee: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventors: Christophe Blondin, Christian Neel, Didier Roziere
  • Patent number: 9360512
    Abstract: A method for providing corrected measurements of absolute capacitance of an object in the proximity of at least two independent electrodes of a non-optimized shape integrated in a human-machine interface device for detecting the object. The method includes measuring, for each electrode, an actual value of absolute capacitance between the electrode and the object, and calculating a prediction by applying a multi-variable nonlinear prediction model to the actual values of absolute capacitance so as to obtain an image of probability densities. Then, using the probability densities as corrected absolute capacitance values for detecting the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: QUICKSTEP TECHNOLOGIES LLC
    Inventor: Bruno Luong