Abstract: An apparatus includes a first oscillator circuit coupled to a first electrode and a second oscillator circuit coupled to a second electrode. The first and second oscillator circuits oscillate synchronously in response to a capacitance between the first and second electrodes being greater than or equal to a threshold coupling capacitance and asynchronously in response to the capacitance being less than the threshold coupling capacitance. The first and second electrodes are separated by a distance, such that a disturbance within the distance increases the capacitance between the electrodes equal to or above the threshold coupling capacitance. The frequency of the first oscillator circuit is inversely proportional to a capacitance of the first electrode, and the frequency of the second oscillator circuit is inversely proportional to a capacitance of the second electrode.

Abstract: A method for testing a sensor electrode is provided. The method includes acquiring a first resulting signal from a sensor electrode. The method further includes determining an in-phase response and a quadrature-phase response through a quadrature demodulation based on the first resulting signal. The method further includes detecting a defect of the sensor electrode based on the in-phase response and the quadrature-phase response.

Abstract: An autonomous haptic stylus provides tactile feedback to a user writing or drawing on a smooth, uniform, touch-sensitive, glass display screen of a tablet, laptop computer, credit card point of sale device, or other device allowing a user to write or draw thereon. The stylus has an electrostatic detection sensor or a force/pressure sensor, which allows the stylus to detect certain characteristics of the display screen and to autonomously determine the position and/or velocity of the stylus on the display screen based on those characteristics. The position and/or velocity can be used to tailor the tactile feedback to the user. A display screen digitizer that provides driving signals for the row and column electrodes of a touch-sensitive display screen can be modified to transmit row and column information over the electrodes to allow a stylus to determine its position.

Abstract: An apparatus for inductive sensing or capacitive sensing is described. The apparatus may include a signal generator to output on a first terminal a first signal in a first mode and a second signal in a second mode. The apparatus may include a charge measuring circuit to receive on a second terminal a third signal in the first mode and a fourth signal in the second mode. The third signal is representative of an inductance of a sense unit coupled between the first terminal and the second terminal. The fourth signal is representative of a capacitance of the sense unit.

Abstract: A card is provided with a touch transmitter operable to electrically communicate touch signals to a touch-sensitive screen such as a capacitive touch sensitive screen. In doing so, for example, a card may directly communicate with a mobile telephonic device or portable computer (e.g., a tablet computer).

Abstract: Conventional user interface for sensing gestures often require physical touching of a sensor pad, or an area filled with sensor pads. These conventional sensor pads take up precious real estate on a compact mobile device, interferes significantly with other components of the mobile device, complicates design, consumes power, and adds costs to the final product. With two or more small capacitive sensing electrodes placed on a mobile device (arbitrarily or with far less restrictions), capacitive sensing can provide a virtual sensor pad as a user interface. By implementing an algorithm which detects for three different conditions, the virtual sensor pad can be used effectively as a user interface modality to detect gestures such as a sliding gesture, drawing gesture, letters, writing, etc. The resulting virtual sensor pad can flexibly change to different desirable locations, and no longer suffers from the limitations of the conventional sensor pad.

Abstract: A time-to-digital converter includes: an input for receiving a time-domain input signal; an output for providing a digital output signal; a time register coupled to the input and to a first node; a time quantizer coupled to the time register for providing the digital output signal at the output; and a digital-to-time converter coupled to the output for providing a feed-back signal at the first node.

Abstract: An illustrative inventory of vehicle accessory control components includes a plurality of first circuit boards and a plurality of second circuit boards. The first circuit boards each have a substrate with a plurality of circuit elements supported on the substrate. The first circuit board substrates have an overall perimeter shape including an outer edge profile and a plurality of first deviations from the outer edge profile. The second circuit boards each have a substrate with a plurality of circuit elements supported on them. The second circuit board substrates have the overall perimeter shape including the same outer edge profile as the first circuit board substrates. The second circuit board substrates include a plurality of second deviations from the outer edge profile. At least one portion of the second deviations is different than the first deviations of the first circuit boards.

Abstract: To reduce an indication error at a peripheral part of an electromagnetic induction type coordinate detection device, sensor coils having a coil width of 21 pitches are arranged at a central part at intervals of 4 pitches. At a peripheral part, the coil width is shortened from sensor coil #5 to coil #1 sequentially so that the coil width of a sensor coil is shorter than a coil width of an inwardly adjacent sensor coil by 2 pitches. This enables the coil side pitch that is 1 all over the coil group 222, and an area enabling three-point supplementing can be enlarged from the conventional one. The sensor coils at the peripheral part have a coil pitch of 3, and so an indication error there can be reduced compared with the conventional case of coil pitch of 4 for two-point supplementing as well. Dummy wires required at the peripheral part conventionally can be eliminated.

Abstract: A vehicle lighting device includes a light source, a light source housing, and a covering member. The light source housing holds the light source therein and has an opening. The covering member is attached to the light source housing so as to cover the opening of the light source housing and configured to pass light emitted by the light source therethrough. The covering member includes a transparent sheet portion and a cover portion. The sheet portion includes an electrode layer. The cover portion is welded to one of surfaces of the sheet portion by insert molding and arranged on the light source housing to cover the opening of the light source housing and a light exit surface of the light source such that a surface of the cover portion without the sheet portion faces the light source.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for improving touch sensitivity of a capacitive type touch screen panel are provided. In the method, the apparatus sequentially drives a plurality of transmitting channels of the touch screen panel using a predetermined scan frequency. The apparatus determines a sequential touch count by simultaneously scanning a plurality of receiving channels of the touch screen panel wherein the sequential touch count is the number of sequentially touched receiving channels. Also, the apparatus specifies a scan unit to be used for dividing the plurality of receiving channels into groups on the basis of the sequential touch count and for sequentially scanning the groups of the receiving channels. The apparatus determines a touch coordinate by sequentially scanning the plurality of receiving channels using the specified scan unit.

Abstract: A rotating field eddy current probe for sensing flaws in electrically conductive tubing is disclosed. The probe includes two stimulation coils physically arranged at 90 degrees to each other about an axis a current sensing portion. The a first alternating current is applied to one of the stimulation coils at a first phase and a second alternating current is applied to the second of the stimulation coils at a second phase, said second phase being electrically 90 degrees apart from said first phase and creating a rotating oscillating magnetic field.

Abstract: A vehicle proximity switch and method are provided having lockout control for controlling a movable panel on a vehicle. The switch includes a proximity sensor such, as a capacitive sensor, installed in a vehicle and providing a sense activation field. The proximity switch also includes control circuitry for processing the sense activation field to sense user activation of the switch and controls functionality when one or more lockout sensors are activated.

Abstract: A micro ballpoint pen enabling to print directly straight, oblique, curved, dashed, broken and wavy lines and a printing apparatus including the same. The micro ballpoint pen may include a tip body including a caulking portion, at least one inner protrusion, and at least one expansible or shrinkable elastic portion, a ball provided between the caulking portion and the inner protrusion, the ball contacting and rolling on a target printing object to eject ink onto the target printing object, a supporting bar pressing the ball toward the caulking portion to form an ink outflowing channel between the caulking portion and the ball, and a control part expanding or shrinking the elastic portion to control the ink outflowing channel.

Abstract: A controller includes drive circuitry to drive one target drive electrode of a touch sensitive device with a series of predetermined phase pulses and to drive at least one other drive electrode of the touch sensitive device with a corresponding series of out-of-phase pulses. Sense circuitry receives signal transferred to sense electrodes from the drive electrodes of the touch sensitive device. The received signal is responsive to one or more touches on the touch sensitive device.

Abstract: An input device includes a body unit, a first touch type position detection unit which detects a first touch position of a human body on a first detection surface of the body unit, a second touch type position detection unit which detects a second touch position of the human body on a second detection surface of the body unit, the second detection surface being on an opposite side of the body unit as the first detection surface, and a detection area restriction unit which restricts an area, which can be detected by the second touch type position detection unit, on the second detection surface according to information of the first touch position and information determined in advance. The information determined in advance is data indicating a relation between the first touch position on the first detection surface and the restricted area on the second detection surface.

Abstract: A method and device for dual-differential sensing is disclosed. The sensing information can be generated from signals provided by a sensing device with a plurality of sensors. Each value of the sensing information corresponds to signals of three sensors, respectively. The sensing device is flexible and configured on a display. The noise effect of the display on the signal of each sensor corresponds to the distance between the display and the sensor. Besides, the noise effect of the display on each value of the sensing information corresponds to the distances between the display and the three sensors, respectively.

Abstract: A handheld electronic device and a frame control method of digital information thereof. The handheld electronic device comprises a display module, a detection module and a processing module. The display module is used to display the digital information. The detection module is connected to the display module and used to detect whether the display module is touched by a predetermined method and also used to detect a duration time or a motion track when the display module is touched by the predetermined method. The processing module is connected to the display module and the detection module and determines whether the duration time exceeds a threshold value or the motion track corresponds to a preset graphic. When the duration time exceeds the threshold value or the motion track corresponds to the preset graphic, the processing module would execute a preset process action of the digital information.

Abstract: A time difference adder included in a system-on-chip (SOC) includes a first register unit and a second register unit. The first register unit is configured to receive first and second input signals having a first time difference, and generate a first output signal in response to a first signal. The second register unit is configured to receive third and fourth input signals having a second time difference, and generate a second output signal having a third time difference with respect to the first output signal in response to the first signal. The third time difference corresponds to a sum of the first time difference and the second time difference.

Abstract: An example method includes measuring a capacitance variation of a first conductive element and a capacitance variation of a second conductive element. The example method includes calculating a centroid position through the measured capacitance variation of the first conductive element and the measured capacitance variation of the second conductive element. A conductive sub-element of the first conductive element may be interleaved with a conductive sub-element of the second conductive element. The conductive sub-element of the first conductive element and the conductive sub-element of the second conductive element may each have a varying width.

Abstract: A method may include performing a logical exclusive OR and a logical inverse exclusive or on an input reference signal and an output signal to generate an XOR signal and an XNOR signal, respectively. The method may also include generating a switch control signal indicative of whether a first phase of the input reference signal leads or lags a second phase of the output signal. The method may additionally include: (i) transmitting the XOR signal to an output of a switch if the first phase leads the second phase; and (ii) transmitting the XNOR signal to the output of the switch if the first phase lags the second phase. The method may further include generating a phase detector output signal indicative of a phase difference between the second phase based on a signal present on the output of the switch.

Abstract: Header information is used to facilitate coarse frequency and frame recovery. The coarse frequency and frame recovery is thereafter utilized to perform adaptive phase and frequency synchronization on a frame-by-frame basis. In one aspect, a frame identifier in a physical layer header of the digitized signal is utilized to estimate a first phase associated with the frame identifier. The remaining portion of the physical layer header is utilized to estimate a second phase associated with the remaining portion. The first phase estimate and the second phase estimate are combined to generate a first combined phase estimate.

Abstract: In a capacitance sensing analog circuit of a touch panel sensing circuit, by raising a magnitude of a current flowing through a sensing capacitor to form an amplified sensing capacitance, while sensing the amplified sensing capacitance with the aid of pulse width modulation signals, higher resolution of the original sensing capacitance may thus be achieved. Besides, by using a self-calibrating capacitance sensing circuit on the touch panel sensing circuit, linear errors and DC errors of an output signal of the capacitance sensing analog circuit may be filtered off, and thereby resolution of a capacitance amplifying ratio may be effectively raised so as to relieve errors within the capacitance amplifying ratio caused by noises.

Abstract: Header information is used to facilitate coarse frequency and frame recovery. The coarse frequency and frame recovery is thereafter utilized to perform adaptive phase and frequency synchronization on a frame-by-frame basis. A digitized signal representative of a wireless signal may be received. A frame identifier in a physical layer header in the signal may be identified by correlating the digitized signal to one or more known frame identifiers. The identified frame identifier may be used to estimate a phase or frequency error.

Abstract: An electronic apparatus of the present invention has a first unit and a second unit coupled to the first unit through a coupling section which allows the second unit to be opened and closed relative to the first unit and the second unit has a display screen with a pen input function for detecting the contact of a pen or the close position of a pen. The first unit includes a bottom cover, a circuit substrate arranged above the bottom cover, and an upper cover arranged above the circuit substrate. The circuit substrate has a DC-DC converter that is disposed thereon and provided with one or more coils that generate power for operating the electronic apparatus, and at least one of the coils is disposed on the surface of the circuit substrate facing the bottom cover.

Abstract: An electrical touch sensor is provided. The electrical touch sensor includes: a touch detection part having at least one touch pad and generating a first signal having a same delay time regardless of whether the object is in contact with the touch pad and a second signal having a varied delay time according to whether the object is in contact with the touch pad; and a contact signal generator generating a contact signal in response to the delay time-difference between the first and second signals. Therefore, it is possible to increase operation reliability by precisely determining whether the object is in contact with the pad, when the object has charge accumulation characteristics more than a certain level, although its conductive is insufficient. In addition, the electrical touch sensor can determine whether the object is in contact with the pad using only one pad to reduce a layout area of a product.

Abstract: A touch pad (101) includes transducers (201-204) for receiving acoustic signals resulting from touch events, such as the continuous movement of a fingertip across the surface (105) of the touch pad. The acoustic signals are acquired at different transducer locations in the surface. Signals from different transducers are combined, preferably in antiphase, to improve signal characteristics. The transducer signals are supplied to a stereo analogue to digital converter (407). Phase differences (706) are obtained and compared (703) with phase difference profiles (607) of known location, in order to identify the location of the touch event. An index (606) is used to identify candidate locations to reduce the amount of processing. Interpolation (705) is used to locate the touch event between profile locations.

Abstract: Header information is used to facilitate coarse frequency and frame recovery. The coarse frequency and frame recovery is thereafter utilized to perform adaptive phase and frequency synchronization on a frame-by-frame basis. A digitized signal representative of a wireless signal may be received. A frame identifier in a physical layer header in the signal may be identified by correlating the digitized signal to one or more known frame identifiers. The identified frame identifier may be used to estimate a phase or frequency error.

Abstract: A touch pad (101) includes transducers (201-204) for receiving acoustic signals resulting from touch events, such as the continuous movement of a fingertip across the surface (105) of the touch pad. The acoustic signals are acquired at different transducer locations in the surface. Signals from different transducers are combined, preferably in antiphase, to improve signal characteristics. The transducer signals are supplied to a stereo analogue to digital converter (407). Phase differences (706) are obtained and compared (703) with phase difference profiles (607) of known location, in order to identify the location of the touch event. An index (606) is used to identify candidate locations to reduce the amount of processing. Interpolation (705) is used to locate the touch event between profile locations.

Abstract: A low cost x-y digitising system is described for use in consumer electronic devices, such as portable digital assistants, mobile telephones, web browsers and the like. The digitizer includes a resonant stylus, an excitation winding for energising the resonant stylus and a set of sensor windings for sensing the signal generated by the stylus, from which the x-y position of the stylus is determined. The excitation signals applied to the excitation winding are designed to reduce the power drawn from the power supply which makes the digitising system particularly suited to battery operation.

Abstract: In a linear position encoder, a support is provided upon which a pair of phase quadrature windings are mounted. The windings are arranged to have a sinusoidal magnetic sensitivity characteristic along the length of the support. Mounted on a movable element there is a resonant circuit including a coil and capacitor that can magnetically couple with the windings. When the circuit is excited, it induces currents in the windings that are dependent upon the position of the circuit within a period Ts of the windings. An excitation and processing unit is provided to energize the circuit and to process the signals induced in the windings. The excitation and processing unit is operably coupled to an external high permeability rod extending along the measurement path in a first plane having the windings but removed therefrom. The rod has first and second excitation coils connected in series and wound around the rod and disposed at opposite ends defining a length of the rod.

Abstract: Processing circuitry is provided for processing signals received from, for example, sense coils forming part of a position encoder used to encode the relative positions of two relatively movable members. The position encoder is such that each of the plurality of signals from the sense coils varies sinusoidally with the relative position of the members but out of phase with respect to each other. The processing circuitry comprises mixers for multiplying each of the received signals with one of a corresponding plurality of periodic time varying signals, each having the same predetermined period and a different predetermined phase, and an adder for adding the signals from the mixers. The phase of the mixing signals are chosen so that the output signals from the adder contains a single periodic component having the predetermined period whose phase varies with the relative position of the two members.

Abstract: The present invention provides a coordinate data entry device comprising a plurality of receivers disposed in the vicinity of a board surface, and a position indicator to transmit signals, at least one of which employs ultrasonic waves, to the receivers, thereby detecting the position of the position indicator on the board surface and making the coordinate position thereof available for entry, in which the signal employing ultrasonic waves is transmitted at an arbitrary time interval, and an ultrasonic oscillating circuit transmitting the signal employing ultrasonic waves comprises a resonant circuit formed of an ultrasonic resonator and a coil, which are connected in parallel with each other, and the amplitude of a start current of the ultrasonic resonant circuit is made variable according to the lapse of time, thus allowing the variations in performance of the resonant circuit including the ultrasonic resonator to be smoothed out and making stabilized positional detection possible.

Abstract: Processing circuitry is provided for processing signals received from, for example, sense coils forming part of a position encoder used to encode the relative positions of two relatively moveable members. The position encoder is such that each of the plurality of signals from the sense coils varies sinusoidally with the relative position of the members but out of phase with respect to each other. The processing circuitry comprises mixers for multiplying each of the received signals with one of a corresponding plurality of periodic time varying signals, each having the same predetermined period and a different predetermined phase, and an adder for adding the signals from the mixers. The phase of the mixing signals are chosen so that the output signals from the adder contains a single periodic component having the predetermined period whose phase varies with the relative position of the two members.

Abstract: A position detector is provided for detecting the relative movement of first and second members which are mounted for relative movement along a measuring path. One of the members comprises a magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field and the other member comprises first and second conductors which are inductively coupled to said magnetic field generator. The arrangement of the first and second conductors and the magnetic field generator is such that output signals are generated in a first and second receive circuits whose position varies with the relative movement between the two members. In addition to carrying information relating to the relative position between the two members, the signals induced in the receive circuits also comprise information defining the relative orientation of the two movable members, and by suitable processing of the received signals the relative orientation of the two members can also be determined.

Abstract: A position detector is provided for detecting the relative movement of first and second members which are mounted for relative movement along a measuring path. One of the members comprises a magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field and the other member comprises first and second conductors which are inductively coupled to said magnetic field generator. The arrangement of the first and second conductors and the magnetic field generator is such that output signals are generated in a first and second receive circuits whose position varies with the relative movement between the two members. In addition to carrying information relating to the relative position between the two members, the signals induced in the receive circuits also comprise information defining the relative orientation of the two movable members, and by suitable processing of the received signals the relative orientation of the two members can also be determined.