Abstract: A capacitive position sensor for detecting the position of an object, typically an operator's finger, relative to a resistive sensing element, wherein the sensing element comprises a sensing path that has terminals connected along it that subdivide the sensing path into multiple sections. Each terminal is coupled to its own sensing channel, each of which generates a signal that is sensitive to the capacitance between its terminal and a system ground. The signals are fed to a processor for analysis. The processor determines over which section the object is positioned by comparing the signals from the sensing channels, and determines the position of the object within that section by comparing the signals from the terminals spanning that section. In this way, the sensing path can be formed in a closed loop, such as a circle for a scroll dial, in which the operator's finger position and movement can be uniquely determined in a straightforward manner.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a touch sensor includes drive electrodes. The drive electrodes include drive electrode structures that are each coupled to an adjacent drive electrode structure by a first strip of conductive material. The touch sensor also includes sense electrodes. The sense electrodes include sense electrode structures that are each coupled to an adjacent sense electrode structure by a second strip of conductive material. The sense electrode structures are formed on a same layer as the drive electrode structures. The first or second strip of conductive material include one or more conductive crossovers that each couple two drive electrode structures to each other or couple two sense electrode structures to each other.

Abstract: In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a display and a first and second substrate. Each substrate has a surface facing toward the display; a surface facing away from the display; and drive or sense electrodes of a touch sensor disposed on the surface of each substrate facing away from the display. The drive or sense electrodes are made of a conductive mesh of conductive material. The apparatus also includes an adhesive layer between the first and second substrates.

Abstract: A method for evaluating the state of a fuel-air mixture and/or the combustion in a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine, with sample signals of flame light signals being stored in a database, and with flame light signals of the combustion in the combustion chamber being detected and compared with the stored sample signals, and with an evaluation of the state being output in the case of coincidence between the measured and stored signal patterns. In order to enable the monitoring of the combustion in the simplest possible way the sample signals in the database are stored with the assigned emission values and an evaluation of the state of the combustion is performed with respect to the obtained emissions in the case of coincidence between the measured and stored signal patterns for the combustion chamber of the respective cylinder.

Abstract: An iterative method may comprise obtaining a current input signal value for a current iteration, comparing the current input signal value with an output signal value determined in a previous iteration, updating a counter value determined in the previous iteration based on the comparison such that the updated counter value replaces the previously determined counter value, determining a slew value based on the counter value, and adding the slew value to the previously determined output signal value to generate a new current output signal value. Different slew values may be added to the previous output signal to obtain a new output signal. The counter value is updated to reflect recent trends in the input signals. For example, if the input signal is on an upward trend, the counter value may be relatively high because it is incremented each time an input signal exceeds a previously determined output signal.

Abstract: Keyboards, keypads and other data entry devices can suffer from a keying ambiguity problem. In a small keyboard, for example, a user's finger is likely to overlap from a desired key to onto adjacent ones. An iterative method of removing keying ambiguity from a keyboard comprising an array of capacitive keys involves measuring a signal strength associated with each key in the array, comparing the measured signal strengths to find a maximum, determining that the key having the maximum signal strength is the unique user-selected key, and maintaining that selection until either the initially selected key's signal strength drops below some threshold level or a second key's signal strength exceeds the first key's signal strength.

Abstract: In one embodiment, an apparatus includes an adhesive layer between a cover panel and a substrate. The substrate has drive or sense electrodes of a touch sensor disposed on it. The drive or sense electrodes are made of a conductive mesh of conductive material including metal.

Abstract: In a capacitive sensor of the type having X electrodes which are driven and Y electrodes that are used as sense channels connected to charge measurement capacitors, signal measurements may be made by driving the X electrodes to transfer successive packets of charge to the charge measurement capacitors. An additional noise measurement may be made by emulating or mimicking the signal measurement, but in certain embodiments without driving the X electrodes. The packets of charge transferred to the charge accumulation capacitor may be indicative of noise induced on the XY sensing nodes. These noise measurements can be used to configure post-processing of the signal measurements.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving one or more first output signals from a first area of a touch-sensitive position sensor; receiving one or more second output signals from a second area of the touch-sensitive position sensor; calculating a first touch-position estimate based on the first output signals; calculating a second touch-position estimate based on the second output signals; and determining, based at least in part on the first and second touch-position estimates, an intended-touch location with respect to the touch-sensitive position sensor.

Abstract: Keyboards, keypads and other data entry devices can suffer from a keying ambiguity problem. In a small keyboard, for example, a user's finger is likely to overlap from a desired key to onto adjacent ones. An iterative method of removing keying ambiguity from a keyboard comprising an array of capacitive keys involves measuring a signal strength associated with each key in the array, comparing the measured signal strengths to find a maximum, determining that the key having the maximum signal strength is the unique user-selected key, and maintaining that selection until either the initially selected key's signal strength drops below some threshold level or a second key's signal strength exceeds the first key's signal strength.

Abstract: Disclosed examples of electrode structures and methods of manufacture thereof may provide one or more advantages relating to enhanced conductivity, for example, while providing optically clear conductors.

Abstract: An exemplary touch position sensing panel includes an opaque electrode layer and a transparent electrode layer separated from the opaque electrode layer by a substrate. The electrodes are arranged such that nodes are formed in areas where the electrodes cross over each other. The transparent electrode layer shields the opaque layer from electric field noise from electric field sources underlying the position-sensing panel, such as a display, while at the same time providing transparency to light emitted from the underlying display. Techniques are also discussed for forming the transparent electrode layer and/or the opaque electrode layer.

Abstract: Darkening layers and/or passivation layers are provided on electrodes of panels for touch sensitive screens. Darkening, for example, reduces reflections of ambient light that might otherwise increase electrode visibility. Passivation reduces performance degradation due to electrode oxidation. A darkening layer may also serve as a passivation layer.

Abstract: An iterative method for generating a series of output signal values from a series of input signal values is described. Iterations of the method comprise the steps of obtaining a current input signal value for the current iteration, comparing the current input signal value with an output signal value determined in a previous iteration, updating a counter value determined in the previous iteration based on the result of the comparison between the current input signal value and the previous output signal value such that the updated counter value replaces the counter value determined in the previous iteration, determining a slew value based on the counter value; and adding the slew value to the previously determined output signal value to generate a new current output signal value. Thus different slew values may be added to the previous output signal to obtain a new output signal. The counter value is updated so that its value reflects recent trends in the input signals. E.g.

Abstract: In a capacitive sensor of the type having X electrodes which are driven and Y electrodes that are used as sense channels connected to charge measurement capacitors, signal measurements are made conventionally by driving the X electrodes to transfer successive packets of charge to the charge measurement capacitors. However, an additional noise measurement is made by emulating or mimicking the signal measurement, but without driving the X electrodes. The packets of charge transferred to the charge accumulation capacitor are then indicative of noise induced on the XY sensing nodes. These noise measurements can be used to configure post-processing of the signal measurements.

Abstract: A touch sensitive position sensor for detecting the position of an object in two dimensions is described. The position sensor has first and second resistive bus-bars spaced apart with an anisotropic conductive area between them. Electric currents induced in the anisotropic conductive area by touch or proximity flow preferentially towards the bus-bars to be sensed by detection circuitry. Because induced currents, for example those induced by drive circuitry, flow preferentially along one direction, pin-cushion distortions in position estimates are largely constrained to this single direction. Such one-dimensional distortions can be corrected for very simply by applying scalar correction factors, thereby avoiding the need for complicated vector correction.

Abstract: The invention relates to an energy saving headset 100. The headset 100 comprises a power management unit 150 that is operable to reduce the power consumption of the headset 100 when a user 110 is not present. The power management unit 150 uses capacitive sensing to detect the presence of the user 110. Capacitive sensing is advantageous since it provides a flexible and reliable sensor that can accurately detect the presence or absence of a user 110 either by detecting user proximity or user contact. Moreover, in various embodiments, the sensitivity of a capacitive sensor may be adjusted to account for user movement or changes in environmental conditions, such as, for example, the presence of water, or sweat, on the headset 100 to further improve sensing reliability. The invention further relates to headsets using user presence signals based on capacitive sensing to control other functions of the headset or to control external devices to which the headset is connected, either wirelessly or by wires.

Abstract: In touch sensitive display devices, the display scanning circuitry responsible for driving images of the panel screen can cause noise on the electrodes of nearby touch sensors. The display controller circuit and/or the touch sensor controller circuit of the exemplary touchscreen display devices may be configured to reduce such noise during the touch sensor acquisition cycle by implementing one or more of several techniques in which a portion of each of the sensor acquisition cycles occurs within a period of reduced noise from a cycle of the scanning of the display.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes monitoring detection by a sensing element of a key touch on a touch screen; determining an amount of time that has elapsed since the sensing element last detected a change of capacitance indicative of a key touch on the touch screen; and, if the amount of time that has elapsed exceeds a predetermined time duration, then initiating a particular function of an apparatus.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a method includes receiving one or more first signals indicating one or more first capacitive couplings of an object with a sensing element that comprises a sensing path that comprises a length. The first capacitive couplings correspond to the object coming into proximity with the sensing element at a first position along the sensing path of the sensing element. The method includes determining based on one or more of the first signals the first position of the object along the sensing path and setting a parameter to an initial value based on the first position of the object along the sensing path. The initial value includes a particular parameter value and is associated with a range of paratemeter values. The range of parameter values is associated with the length of the sensing path.