Patents by Inventor Shahrooz Shahparnia
Shahrooz Shahparnia has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 10162400Abstract: In one embodiment, a stylus includes one or more electrodes and one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying first logic for transmitting signals wirelessly to a device through a touch-sensor of the device. The stylus has a first power mode in which components of the stylus for receiving signals from or transmitting signals to the device are powered off; a second power mode in which components of the stylus for receiving signals from the device are powered on at least periodically and components of the stylus for transmitting signals to the device are powered off; and a third power mode in which components of the stylus for transmitting signals to the device are powered on at least periodically. The media further embodies second logic for transitioning the stylus from one of the first, second, and third power modes to another one of the first, second, and third power modes.Type: GrantFiled: December 17, 2011Date of Patent: December 25, 2018Assignee: Wacom Co., Ltd.Inventors: Shahrooz Shahparnia, Trond Jarle Pedersen, John Logan, Vemund Kval Bakken, Kishore Sundara-Rajan
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Publication number: 20180364841Abstract: Self capacitance touch circuits to cancel the effects of parasitic capacitance in a touch sensitive device are disclosed. One circuit can generate a parasitic capacitance cancelation signal that can be injected into touch sensing circuitry to cancel the parasitic capacitance. Another circuit can adjust the phase and magnitude of the parasitic capacitance cancelation signal based on characteristics of channels in the touch sensing circuitry so as to fine tune the parasitic capacitance cancelations. Another circuit can drive a guard plate and touch panel electrodes so as to cancel the parasitic capacitances between the panel and the plate and between the electrodes.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 24, 2018Publication date: December 20, 2018Inventors: Shahrooz SHAHPARNIA, Christoph H. KRAH
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Patent number: 10120478Abstract: Systems for detecting an amount and/or location of a force applied to a device using a piezoelectric film are provided. One example system can include a transparent piezoelectric film for generating an electric charge in response to a deformation of the film. Electrodes positioned on opposite surfaces of the piezoelectric film can be used to detect the generated electric charge and determine an amount and/or location of force applied to the film based on the generated electric charge. In another embodiment, the system can include a capacitive touch sensor for determining a location of a touch event on the device.Type: GrantFiled: October 28, 2014Date of Patent: November 6, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Sinan Filiz, Brian Q. Huppi, Christopher J. Butler, Martin P. Grunthaner, Shahrooz Shahparnia, Sunggu Kang, Kai Wang
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Patent number: 10114484Abstract: In one embodiment, an active stylus includes a transmitter configured to transmit electrical signals to a device through a touch sensor of the device. The active stylus also includes a receiver configured to receive electrical signals from the device through the touch sensor of the device. Furthermore, the active stylus includes a controller configured to determine a strength of an electrical signal received by the receiver from the touch sensor of the device and instruct the transmitter to transmit electrical signals to the device at a voltage based at least on the determined strength of the electrical signal received by the receiver.Type: GrantFiled: March 20, 2017Date of Patent: October 30, 2018Assignee: Atmel CorporationInventors: Eivind Holsen, Shahrooz Shahparnia, Kishore Sundara-Rajan, Trond Jarle Pedersen, Vemund Kval Bakken, James D. Lyle
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Publication number: 20180307371Abstract: A touch controller can dynamically balance performance criteria, such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) thresholds, with power consumption for touch sensitive devices. A touch controller can be configured to reduce power consumption by reconfiguring bank boundaries for an active mode scan so as to reduce the number of banks scanned with a banked active mode scan. Additionally or alternatively, the stimulation signal amplitude and integration time of the touch controller can be dynamically adjusted to balance performance criteria with power consumption. Default integration times and default stimulation signal amplitudes can be increased in higher-noise operating environments to raise SNR, and can be reduced to save power in lower-noise operating environments.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 28, 2018Publication date: October 25, 2018Inventors: Amit NAYYAR, Shahrooz SHAHPARNIA
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Patent number: 10082889Abstract: In one embodiment, a device includes a stylus tip capable of communicating wirelessly with another device through a touch sensor of the other device. The stylus tip includes one or more surface areas, one or more substrates disposed along one or more of the surface areas of the stylus tip, and a plurality of electrodes disposed on or in the one or more substrates.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 2011Date of Patent: September 25, 2018Assignee: Atmel CorporationInventors: Kishore Sundara-Rajan, Shahrooz Shahparnia
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Patent number: 10067618Abstract: Power consumption of touch sensing operations for touch sensitive devices can be reduced by implementing one or more coarse scans to coarsely detect the presence or absence of an object touching or proximate to a touch sensor panel and dynamically adjusting the operation of the touch sensitive device to perform or not perform one or more steps of a fine scan based on the results of the one or more coarse scans. In some examples, the fine scan can be scheduled, and one or more steps of the fine scan can be aborted when no touch is detected at touch sensors scanned during the one or more steps. Sense channels unused due to the aborted fine scan steps can be powered down during aborted fine scan steps.Type: GrantFiled: September 29, 2015Date of Patent: September 4, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Shwetabh Verma, Shahrooz Shahparnia, Sumant Ranganathan, Vivek Pant
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Patent number: 10067580Abstract: A touch controller that can configure touch circuitry according to a scan plan, which can define a sequence of scan events to be performed on a touch panel is disclosed. The touch controller can include a configurable transmit section to generate stimulation signals to drive the panel, a configurable receive section to receive and process touch signals from the panel, and a configurable memory to store the touch signals. The touch controller can also include a programmable scan engine to configure the transmit section, the receive section, and the memory according to the scan plan. The touch controller advantageously provides more robust and flexible touch circuitry to handle various types of touch events at the panel. An active stylus that can generate stimulation signals that can be detected by the touch controller during various touch events at the panel is also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: July 16, 2014Date of Patent: September 4, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventor: Shahrooz Shahparnia
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Patent number: 10067575Abstract: A touch sensitive device can be capable of detecting signals generated by a stylus and correcting the detected stylus signals for effects due to noise present on the device. In one example, signals are taken from one or more electrodes that are a pre-determined distance away from an electrode in which a stylus signal is detected. The pre-determined distance can be empirically determined such that a noise estimate can be generated such that the electrodes have a higher probability of containing only noise that is highly correlated to the noise present on a detected stylus signal. The generated noise estimate is then subtracted from a detected stylus signal to reduce the effect of noise on the stylus signal.Type: GrantFiled: November 30, 2012Date of Patent: September 4, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Manu Agarwal, Shahrooz Shahparnia, Martin Paul Grunthaner
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Patent number: 10061444Abstract: Self capacitance touch circuits to cancel the effects of parasitic capacitance in a touch sensitive device are disclosed. One circuit can generate a parasitic capacitance cancelation signal that can be injected into touch sensing circuitry to cancel the parasitic capacitance. Another circuit can adjust the phase and magnitude of the parasitic capacitance cancelation signal based on characteristics of channels in the touch sensing circuitry so as to fine tune the parasitic capacitance cancelations. Another circuit can drive a guard plate and touch panel electrodes so as to cancel the parasitic capacitances between the panel and the plate and between the electrodes.Type: GrantFiled: October 30, 2013Date of Patent: August 28, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Shahrooz Shahparnia, Christoph H. Krah
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Patent number: 10061450Abstract: Power consumption of touch sensing operations for touch sensitive devices can be reduced by implementing a coarse scan (e.g., banked common mode scan) to coarsely detect the presence or absence of an object touching or proximate to a touch sensor panel and the results of the coarse scan can be used to dynamically adjust the operation of the touch sensitive device to perform or not perform a fine scan (e.g., targeted active mode scan). In some examples, the results of the coarse scan can be used to program a touch controller for the next touch sensing frame to idle when no touch event is detected or to perform a fine scan when one or more touch events are detected. In some examples, the results of the coarse scan can be used to abort a scheduled fine scan during the current touch sensing frame when no touch event is detected.Type: GrantFiled: September 29, 2015Date of Patent: August 28, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Shahrooz Shahparnia, Christopher Tenzin Mullens, Martin Paul Grunthaner, Adam Geboff
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Patent number: 10061449Abstract: Power consumption of touch sensing operations for touch sensitive devices can be reduced by implementing a coarse scan (e.g., banked common mode scan) to coarsely detect the presence or absence of an object touching or proximate to a touch sensor panel and the results of the coarse scan can be used to dynamically adjust the operation of the touch sensitive device to perform or not perform a fine scan (e.g., targeted active mode scan). In some examples, the results of the coarse scan can be used to program a touch controller for the next touch sensing frame to idle when no touch event is detected or to perform a fine scan when one or more touch events are detected. In some examples, the results of the coarse scan can be used to abort a scheduled fine scan during the current touch sensing frame when no touch event is detected.Type: GrantFiled: September 29, 2015Date of Patent: August 28, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Vivek Pant, Shahrooz Shahparnia, Marduke Yousefpor, Christoph H. Krah
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Patent number: 10048775Abstract: A touch input device configured to detect stylus signals generated by an external stylus is provided. The touch input device includes a plurality of stylus signal detectors that can receive the stylus signal and estimate the start and end time of the stylus signal in order to facilitate windowed demodulation of signal. The touch input device also includes circuitry to determine which of the plurality of detectors is most likely to have received the stylus signal and based on that determination can demodulate the signal and extract data embedded within the stylus signal.Type: GrantFiled: March 14, 2013Date of Patent: August 14, 2018Assignee: APPLE INC.Inventors: Shahrooz Shahparnia, John Greer Elias
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Patent number: 10042486Abstract: A touch controller on a touch sensitive device configured to generate a dynamic demodulation waveform so as to minimize the effects on a signal to noise ratio caused by a tonal noise is disclosed. The demodulation waveform can be turned off for finite durations so as to minimize the probability that a transitional voltage of the tonal noise source is included in the demodulation result.Type: GrantFiled: October 15, 2014Date of Patent: August 7, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventor: Shahrooz Shahparnia
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Patent number: 10037100Abstract: A touch controller can dynamically balance performance criteria, such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) thresholds, with power consumption for touch sensitive devices. A touch controller can be configured to reduce power consumption by reconfiguring bank boundaries for an active mode scan so as to reduce the number of banks scanned with a banked active mode scan. Additionally or alternatively, the stimulation signal amplitude and integration time of the touch controller can be dynamically adjusted to balance performance criteria with power consumption. Default integration times and default stimulation signal amplitudes can be increased in higher-noise operating environments to raise SNR, and can be reduced to save power in lower-noise operating environments.Type: GrantFiled: June 19, 2015Date of Patent: July 31, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Amit Nayyar, Shahrooz Shahparnia
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Patent number: 10013096Abstract: In one embodiment, a method comprises generating, by a controller, a plurality of drive signals. The method further includes simultaneously transmitting, by the controller, the plurality of drive signals to a plurality of drive electrodes disposed on a touch sensor. The method further includes sensing a sense electrode of a plurality of sense electrodes disposed on the touch sensor. The sensing comprises measuring, for each drive electrode of the plurality of drive electrodes, at least one value indicative of a capacitance between the sense electrode and the drive electrode.Type: GrantFiled: October 18, 2012Date of Patent: July 3, 2018Assignee: Atmel CorporationInventors: Vemund Kval Bakken, Izhar Bentov, Vivek Pant, Shahrooz Shahparnia
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Patent number: 9946366Abstract: A touch input device configured to synchronize a stylus acquisition process with both a touch data acquisition process and a display refresh process is provided. The touch input device can include one or more processors that can synchronize the stylus data acquisition process to the touch data acquisition process by coordinating stylus scans to take place in between touch scans. The one or more processors can also virtual data banks to synchronize both the touch data acquisition and the stylus scan acquisition with the display refresh process.Type: GrantFiled: June 3, 2013Date of Patent: April 17, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventors: Shahrooz Shahparnia, Christopher Tenzin Mullens, Martin Paul Grunthaner
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Patent number: 9939935Abstract: A touch controller that can configure touch circuitry according to a scan plan, which can define a sequence of scan events to be performed on a touch panel is disclosed. The touch controller can include a configurable transmit section to generate stimulation signals to drive the panel, a configurable receive section to receive and process touch signals from the panel, and a configurable memory to store the touch signals. The touch controller can also include a programmable scan engine to configure the transmit section, the receive section, and the memory according to the scan plan. The touch controller advantageously provides more robust and flexible touch circuitry to handle various types of touch events at the panel. An active stylus that can generate stimulation signals that can be detected by the touch controller during various touch events at the panel is also disclosed.Type: GrantFiled: July 16, 2014Date of Patent: April 10, 2018Assignee: Apple Inc.Inventor: Shahrooz Shahparnia
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Patent number: 9933866Abstract: In certain embodiments, a stylus includes one or more electrodes and one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying logic for transmitting signals wirelessly to a device through a touch sensor of the device. At least some of the signals are high-voltage signals generated by a relatively large potential difference compared to a voltage within a voltage range of approximately 1 to approximately 3 volts. The stylus includes a stylus tip, and one or more of the one or more electrodes are disposed at the stylus tip.Type: GrantFiled: October 17, 2014Date of Patent: April 3, 2018Assignee: Atmel CorporationInventors: Shahrooz Shahparnia, Kishore Sundara-Rajan, Yassar Ali, Izhar Bentov
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Publication number: 20180067155Abstract: A capacitive sensor device comprises a first sensor electrode, a second sensor electrode, and a processing system coupled to the first sensor electrode and the second sensor electrode. The processing system is configured to acquire a first capacitive measurement by emitting and receiving a first electrical signal with the first sensor electrode. The processing system is configured to acquire a second capacitive measurement by emitting and receiving a second electrical signal, wherein one of the first and second sensor electrodes performs the emitting and the other of the first and second sensor electrodes performs the receiving, and wherein the first and second capacitive measurements are non-degenerate. The processing system is configured to determine positional information using the first and second capacitive measurements.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 30, 2017Publication date: March 8, 2018Applicant: Synaptics IncorporatedInventors: Joseph Kurth REYNOLDS, Phillip Acker, JR., Kirk Hargreaves, Shahrooz Shahparnia