Antenna-based response

Abstract

The invention relates to a capacitor module, which may include: a set of electrodes; a processing resource in communication with the set of electrodes; an embedded antenna in communication with the processing resource; and a memory in communication with the processing resource, where the memory includes programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing resource to receive the capacitive input from the electrode set, compare an input attribute of the capacitive input to a stored attribute, and send an instruction to trigger an embedded antenna-based response based at least in part on a result of the comparison.

Description

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application is a continuous application of U.S. Patent Application No. 19 / 184,903, filed April 21, 2025, entitled "Antenna-Based Response," which in turn is a partial continuous application of U.S. Patent Application No. 19 / 184,903, filed August 20, 2024, entitled "Determining Non-Prompt Input." The entire contents of each of these documents are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods for embedded antennas integrated into electronic devices. Specifically, this disclosure relates to systems and methods for calibrating embedded antennas. Background Technology

[0004] Antennas are typically integrated into many electronic devices. NFC antennas are being integrated into even more electronic devices used for payment transactions, authentication, and other types of data exchange.

[0005] An example of an NFC antenna integrated into an electronic device is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 10,275,05, granted to Katsuhisa Orihara. This reference discloses a touchpad antenna device that ensures communication performance while reducing antenna size and maintaining touchpad operability, and discloses an electronic device including this touchpad antenna device. The touchpad antenna device is provided together with a capacitive touchpad mounted on the electronic device and communicates with an external device via electromagnetic field signals. It has an antenna coil that is inductively coupled to the external device and arranged by winding wires such that the wires, with openings opposite each other in the width direction, are close to each other, wherein the antenna coil is arranged along the outer edge of the sheet-like electrode portion constituting the touchpad.

[0006] Another example of an NFC antenna integrated into an electronic device is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014 / 0078094, granted to Songnan Yang. This reference discloses that when the threshold of a capacitive sensor in a touchpad is periodically updated to allow for drift in these values, the update process can be paused while a nearby radio antenna is transmitting. Otherwise, such transmissions from an antenna located next to the touchpad could significantly alter the effective capacitance of these sensors, making the touchpad unreliable when recording touches. Even though the capacitance may quickly return to normal after the transmission stops, moving average techniques, typically used to smooth short-term changes, may include periods of capacitance variation, thus prolonging the duration of unreliability; pausing the update process during transmission avoids this problem.

[0007] All publicly available content from each of these documents is incorporated into this paper by reference. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In some embodiments, a capacitor module may include: a set of electrodes; a processing resource communicating with the set of electrodes; an embedded antenna communicating with the processing resource; and a memory communicating with the processing resource, wherein the memory includes programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing resource to: receive a capacitor input from the set of electrodes; compare an input attribute of the capacitor input with a stored attribute; and, based at least in part on the comparison result, send an instruction to trigger a response based on the embedded antenna.

[0009] The response could include increasing the power level of the embedded antenna.

[0010] The response may include activating the embedded antenna.

[0011] The response could include disabling the embedded antenna.

[0012] The response may include using an embedded antenna to resolve the modulation pattern from an external antenna device.

[0013] The response may include sending a command to cause the embedded antenna to send a polling signal.

[0014] The response may include sending a command to cause the embedded antenna to send an interrogation signal.

[0015] The response may include acknowledging that the external antenna device is within range of the embedded antenna.

[0016] Programming instructions can also enable the processing of resources to acquire storage attributes.

[0017] Acquiring storage properties may include: in response to receiving typed input from a keyboard that can be integrated into a device that also integrates a capacitor module, recording capacitance characteristics using capacitor electrodes.

[0018] Acquiring storage attributes may include: in response to receiving camera input from a camera that can be integrated into a device that also integrates a capacitor module, recording capacitance characteristics using capacitor electrodes.

[0019] Acquiring storage properties may include recording capacitance characteristics using an embedded antenna in response to a tap on a device with an integrated capacitor module.

[0020] Acquiring storage attributes may include: recording capacitance characteristics using capacitor electrodes in response to identifying the signal pattern of an external antenna device.

[0021] Obtaining storage attributes may include: in response to prompting the user to perform an operation using a device with an integrated capacitor module, recording capacitance characteristics using capacitor electrodes.

[0022] Operating the device may include placing the user's hand near the capacitor module.

[0023] Operating the device may include touch input using the user's hand on a touch surface integrated with capacitive electrodes.

[0024] Operating the device can include non-contact gesture input using the user's hand above a touch surface integrated with capacitive electrodes.

[0025] Operating the device may include placing an external antenna device above a touch surface with integrated capacitive electrodes.

[0026] The programming instructions may further include: modifying the storage attribute by obtaining a subsequent attribute and modifying the storage attribute based on that subsequent attribute.

[0027] The processing resources may include a capacitor controller with capacitor processing logic and an antenna controller with antenna processing logic.

[0028] Processing resources may include a single controller with capacitor processing logic and antenna processing logic.

[0029] In some embodiments, a computer program product for using a capacitor module may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a controller to receive a capacitor input from a set of electrodes; compare input attributes of the capacitor input with stored attributes; and send instructions, at least in part, based on the comparison result, to trigger a response based on an embedded antenna.

[0030] The response could include disabling the embedded antenna.

[0031] The response may include using an embedded antenna to resolve the modulation pattern from an external antenna device.

[0032] The response may include sending a command to cause the embedded antenna to send a polling signal.

[0033] The response may include sending a command to cause the embedded antenna to send an interrogation signal.

[0034] The response may include acknowledging that the external antenna device is within range of the embedded antenna.

[0035] Programming instructions can also enable the processing of resources to acquire storage attributes.

[0036] Acquiring storage properties may include: in response to receiving typed input from a keyboard that can be integrated into a device that also integrates a capacitor module, recording capacitance characteristics using capacitor electrodes.

[0037] Acquiring storage attributes may include: recording capacitance characteristics using capacitor electrodes in response to identifying the signal pattern of an external antenna device.

[0038] Obtaining storage attributes may include: in response to prompting the user to perform an operation using a device with an integrated capacitor module, recording capacitance characteristics using capacitor electrodes.

[0039] Acquiring storage properties may include recording capacitance characteristics using an embedded antenna in response to a tap on a device with an integrated capacitor module.

[0040] Acquiring storage attributes may include: in response to receiving camera input from a camera that can be integrated into a device that also integrates a capacitor module, recording capacitance characteristics using capacitor electrodes.

[0041] Programming instructions can further enable processing resources to modify storage attributes by obtaining subsequent attributes and modifying storage attributes based on those subsequent attributes.

[0042] In some embodiments, a method of using a capacitor module may include receiving a capacitor input from a set of electrodes; comparing input properties of the capacitor input with storage properties; and sending an instruction based at least in part on the comparison result to trigger a response based on an embedded antenna.

[0043] This method may include retrieving storage attributes.

[0044] This method may include modifying the stored property by obtaining subsequent attributes and modifying the stored property based on the subsequent attributes.

[0045] In some embodiments, an antenna module may include: an embedded antenna; a processing resource communicating with the embedded antenna; and a memory communicating with the processing resource, wherein the memory includes programming instructions that, when executed, cause the processing resource to: receive input from the embedded antenna; compare input attributes of the input with storage attributes; and send instructions, at least in part, based on the comparison result, to trigger a response based on the embedded antenna.

[0046] The antenna module may include a set of capacitive sensing electrodes that communicate with processing resources.

[0047] The response may include disabling the capacitor electrode.

[0048] The response could include increasing the power level of the embedded antenna.

[0049] The response may include activating the embedded antenna.

[0050] The response may include using an embedded antenna to resolve the modulation pattern from an external antenna device.

[0051] The response may include rejecting the input from the embedded antenna as a signal from an external antenna device.

[0052] The response could include disabling the embedded antenna.

[0053] A response may include sending a message to the user.

[0054] The response may include sending polling signals using an embedded antenna.

[0055] The response may include sending a command to cause the embedded antenna to send an interrogation signal.

[0056] Programming instructions can further enable processing resources to acquire storage attributes.

[0057] Acquiring storage attributes may include: in response to receiving typed input from a keyboard that can be integrated into a device that also integrates an antenna module, recording sensing characteristics using an embedded antenna.

[0058] Acquiring storage attributes may include: in response to a camera receiving camera input, which can be integrated into a device that also integrates an antenna module, recording sensed features using an embedded antenna.

[0059] Acquiring storage attributes may include: recording sensing features using the embedded antenna in response to a tap on a device with an integrated embedded antenna.

[0060] Acquiring storage attributes may include: recording sensing characteristics using an embedded antenna in response to prompting the user to perform an operation using a device with an integrated antenna module.

[0061] Acquiring storage attributes may include: recording sensing characteristics using an embedded antenna in response to the identification of signal patterns from an external antenna device.

[0062] Acquiring storage attributes may include: in response to prompting the user to place the device with the integrated antenna module near a metal object, using the embedded antenna to record sensing characteristics.

[0063] Operating the device may include placing the user's hand near the embedded antenna.

[0064] Operating the device may include touch input using the user's hand on a touch surface integrated with capacitive electrodes.

[0065] Operating the device can include non-contact gesture input using the user's hand above a touch surface integrated with capacitive electrodes.

[0066] Operating the device may include placing an external antenna device above a touch surface with integrated capacitive electrodes.

[0067] The programming instructions may further include: modifying the storage attribute by obtaining a subsequent attribute and modifying the storage attribute based on that subsequent attribute.

[0068] In some embodiments, a computer program product for using an antenna module may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that can be executed by a controller to receive input from an embedded antenna integrated into the antenna module; compare input attributes of the input with stored attributes; and send instructions, at least in part, based on the comparison result, to trigger an embedded antenna-based response.

[0069] The response could include disabling the capacitor electrodes that are also integrated into the antenna module.

[0070] The response could include increasing the power level of the embedded antenna.

[0071] The response may include activating the embedded antenna.

[0072] The response may include using an embedded antenna to resolve the modulation pattern from an external antenna device.

[0073] The response may include rejecting the input from the embedded antenna as a signal from an external antenna device.

[0074] The response could include disabling the embedded antenna.

[0075] A response may include sending a message to the user.

[0076] The response may include sending polling signals using an embedded antenna.

[0077] The response may include sending a command to cause the embedded antenna to send an interrogation signal.

[0078] Programming instructions can further enable processing resources to acquire storage attributes.

[0079] Acquiring storage attributes may include: in response to receiving typed input from a keyboard that can be integrated into a device that also integrates an antenna module, recording sensing characteristics using an embedded antenna.

[0080] Acquiring storage attributes may include: in response to receiving camera input from a camera that can be integrated into a device that also integrates an antenna module, recording sensed features using an embedded antenna.

[0081] Acquiring storage attributes may include: recording sensing features using the embedded antenna in response to a tap on a device with an integrated embedded antenna.

[0082] Acquiring storage attributes may include: recording sensing characteristics using an embedded antenna in response to prompting the user to perform an operation using a device with an integrated antenna module.

[0083] Acquiring storage attributes may include: recording sensing characteristics using an embedded antenna in response to the identification of signal patterns from an external antenna device.

[0084] Acquiring storage attributes may include: in response to prompting the user to place the device with the integrated antenna module near a metal object, using the embedded antenna to record sensing characteristics.

[0085] The programming instructions may further include: modifying the storage attribute by obtaining a subsequent attribute and modifying the storage attribute based on that subsequent attribute.

[0086] In some embodiments, a method of using an antenna module may include: receiving input from an embedded antenna integrated into the antenna module; comparing properties of the input with stored properties; and sending an instruction based at least in part on the comparison result to trigger a response based on the embedded antenna.

[0087] This method may include retrieving storage attributes.

[0088] The method may include: modifying the stored property by obtaining a subsequent property and modifying the stored property based on the subsequent property. Attached Figure Description

[0089] Figure 1 An example of an electronic device according to this disclosure is shown.

[0090] Figure 2 An example of a substrate having a first set of electrodes and a second set of electrodes according to the present disclosure is shown.

[0091] Figure 3 An example of a touchpad according to this disclosure is shown.

[0092] Figure 4 An example of a touchscreen according to this disclosure is shown.

[0093] Figure 5 An example of a stacking according to this disclosure is shown.

[0094] Figure 6 An example of a user prompt based on this disclosure is shown.

[0095] Figure 7 An example of a typed input method according to this disclosure is shown.

[0096] Figure 8 An example of card input according to this disclosure is shown.

[0097] Figure 9An example of a tap input layer according to this disclosure is shown.

[0098] Figure 10 An example of a capacitor module according to this disclosure is shown.

[0099] Figure 11 An example of a capacitor module according to this disclosure is shown.

[0100] Figure 12 An example of an antenna module according to this disclosure is shown.

[0101] Figure 13 An example of an antenna module according to this disclosure is shown.

[0102] Figure 14 An example of a capacitor module according to this disclosure is shown.

[0103] Figure 15 Examples of modules according to this disclosure are shown.

[0104] Figure 16A An example of an electronic device according to this disclosure is shown.

[0105] Figure 16B An example of an electronic device according to this disclosure is shown.

[0106] Figure 17 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0107] Figure 18 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0108] Figure 19 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0109] Figure 20 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0110] Figure 21 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0111] Figure 22 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0112] Figure 23 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0113] Figure 24 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0114] Figure 25 An example of a method of using an antenna according to this disclosure is shown.

[0115] While this disclosure may have various modifications and substitutions, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and will be described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that this disclosure is not intended to limit it to the specific forms disclosed. Rather, this disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0116] This specification provides examples but is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the invention. Rather, the following description will provide those skilled in the art with an advantageous description for implementing embodiments of the invention. Various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of the elements.

[0117] Therefore, various embodiments may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, it should be understood that these methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Furthermore, aspects and elements described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in various other embodiments. It should also be understood that the following systems, methods, apparatuses, and software may be individually or collectively components of a larger system, wherein the application of other procedures may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of these components.

[0118] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "aligned" generally refers to parallel, substantially parallel, or forming an angle of less than 35.0 degrees. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "lateral" generally refers to perpendicular, substantially perpendicular, or forming an angle between 55.0 and 125.0 degrees. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "length" generally refers to the longest dimension of the object. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "width" generally refers to the dimension of the object from one side to the other, and may refer to a measurement perpendicular to the length of the object and spanning the object.

[0119] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "electrode" generally refers to a portion of an electrical conductor used for measurement, while the terms "path" and "trace" generally refer to portions of an electrical conductor not used for measurement. For the purposes of this disclosure, referring to a circuit, the term "line" generally refers to a combination of an electrode and a portion of a "path" or "trace" of an electrical conductor. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "Tx" generally refers to a transmitting line, electrode, or a portion of a transmitting line or electrode, and the term "Rx" generally refers to a sensing line, electrode, or a portion of a sensing line or electrode.

[0120] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "electronic device" generally refers to a device that can be transported and includes batteries and electronic components. Examples may include laptops, desktop computers, mobile phones, tablet computers, personal digital devices, watches, game controllers, gaming wearables, wearable devices, measuring devices, automation devices, security devices, displays, computer mice, vehicles, infotainment systems, audio systems, control panels, other types of devices, motion tracking devices, tracking devices, card readers, point-of-sale stations, kiosks, or combinations thereof.

[0121] It should be understood that the terms "capacitive module," "touchpad," and "touch sensor" used herein are interchangeable with "capacitive touch sensor," "capacitive sensor," "capacitive sensor," "capacitive touch and proximity sensor," "proximity sensor," "touch and proximity sensor," "touch panel," "touchpad," "touchpad," and "touchscreen." Capacitive modules can be integrated into electronic devices.

[0122] It should also be understood that, as used herein, the terms “vertical,” “horizontal,” “lateral,” “up,” “down,” “left,” “right,” “inner,” “outer,” etc., can refer to the relative orientation or position of features in the disclosed devices and / or components shown in the figures. For example, “up” or “topmost” can refer to a feature that is closer to the top of the page than another feature. However, these terms should be interpreted broadly to include devices and / or components with other orientations, such as inverted or tilted orientations, where top / bottom, above / below, above / below, up / down, and left / right can be interchanged according to orientation.

[0123] In some cases, the capacitor module is located within a housing. The capacitor module can be located below the housing and capable of detecting objects outside the housing. In an example where the capacitor module can detect capacitance changes through the housing, the housing is a capacitive reference surface. For example, the capacitor module can be disposed within a cavity formed by the keyboard housing of a computer, such as a laptop or other type of computing device, and the sensor can be disposed below the surface of the keyboard housing. In such an example, the keyboard housing adjacent to the capacitor module is a capacitive reference surface. In some examples, an opening can be formed in the housing, and a cover layer can be positioned within the opening. In this example, the cover layer is a capacitive reference surface. In such an example, the capacitor module can be positioned adjacent to the back side of the cover layer, and the capacitor module can sense the presence of an object by the thickness of the cover layer. For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "reference surface" can generally refer to a surface through which a pressure sensor, capacitive sensor, or other type of sensor is positioned to sense pressure, presence, position, touch, proximity, capacitance, magnetic properties, electrical properties, other types of properties, or other characteristics or combinations thereof indicating input. For example, the reference surface can be a housing, a cover layer, or other type of surface through which input is sensed. In some examples, the reference surface does not have a moving portion. In some examples, the reference surface may be made of any suitable type of material, including but not limited to plastics, glass, dielectric materials, metals, other types of materials, or combinations thereof.

[0124] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "display" can generally refer to a display or screen that is not shown in the same area as the capacitive reference surface. In some cases, the display is integrated into a laptop computer, with the keyboard located between the display and the capacitive reference surface. In some examples where the capacitive reference surface is integrated into the laptop computer, the capacitive reference surface may be part of a touchpad. Pressure sensors may be integrated into the stack that constitutes the capacitive module. However, in some cases, pressure sensors may be located in other parts of the laptop computer, such as under the keyboard housing but outside the area used for sensing touch input, on the side of the laptop computer, above the keyboard, on the side of the keyboard, at another location on the laptop computer, or at other locations. In examples where these elements are integrated into the laptop computer, the display may be pivotally connected to the keyboard housing. The display may be a digital screen, a touchscreen, other types of screens, or a combination thereof. In some cases, the display is located on the same device as the device where the capacitive reference surface is located, while in other examples, the display is located on a different device than the device where the capacitive reference surface is located. For example, the display may be projected onto a different surface such as a wall or a projection screen. In some examples, the reference surface may be located on an input or game controller, and the display may be located on a wearable device such as a virtual reality or augmented reality screen. In some cases, the reference surface and the display are located on the same surface, but at different positions on that surface. In other examples, the reference surface and the display may be integrated into the same device, but located on different surfaces. In some cases, the reference surface and the display may be oriented at different angular directions relative to each other.

[0125] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "antenna module" generally refers to a module that includes an embedded antenna. An antenna module may include processing resources, such as a controller or other types of processing resources. These processing resources enable the antenna module to transmit antenna signals, receive antenna signals, process received antenna signals, perform other antenna-related tasks, or combinations thereof. The antenna may be mounted on a printed circuit board or other surface. In some cases, the antenna is a near-field communication (NFC) antenna. An antenna module may include hardware and software for implementing the module's antenna functions. In some embodiments, the antenna module may also include sensors and circuitry dedicated to functions other than the antenna functions. For example, an antenna module may include at least one capacitive sensor / electrode, stress gauge, pressure sensor, induction coil, magnet, haptic actuator, other features, or combinations thereof. The antenna module may locally store a portion of the programming instructions for operating the antenna and / or processing received antenna signals. In other examples, the antenna module may access remotely stored programming instructions located in an electronic device including the antenna module, or at a location accessible wirelessly, such as a cloud-based location.

[0126] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "input attribute" generally refers to an attribute of a received signal and / or an attribute derived from the received signal. In some examples, an input attribute is a feature of the raw received data or a feature found in the raw received data. In other examples, an input attribute is a feature of the processed data or a feature found in the processed data. An input attribute can be a received antenna input, a received capacitive input, a portion of other received inputs, or a combination thereof. Input attributes can include dimensional attributes, motion attributes, signal attributes, image attributes, other types of attributes, or combinations thereof.

[0127] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "dimensional attribute" generally refers to the dimension of a measured object (e.g., a finger, thumb, palm, stylus, etc.). In some examples, a dimensional attribute may include length, width, surface area, distance between features of the object, diagonal measurement of the object, diagonal measurement of a feature of the object, curvature of an object's edge, length of an object's edge, cross-section of the object, cross-section of a portion of the object, cross-section of a feature of the object, length of a feature of the object, length of the object's central axis, angular orientation of the object's central axis, position of the central axis of a feature of the object, angular orientation of a feature of the object, other dimensions, or combinations thereof. Features of the object may include protrusions of the object, discontinuities of the object, appendages of the object, other features, or combinations thereof. A dimensional attribute may be a finger dimensional attribute, a thumb dimensional attribute, a palm dimensional attribute, a stylus dimensional attribute, a proximity dimensional attribute, other types of dimensional attributes, or combinations thereof.

[0128] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "motion attribute" generally refers to the motion of a measured object (e.g., a finger, thumb, palm, stylus, etc.). In some examples, motion attributes may include the distance the object moves, the object's rotation, the angular distance of the object's rotation, the object's nutation, the object's direction of motion, the object's motion pattern, the object's motion speed, the object's initial motion speed, the object's sustained speed (i.e., the speed after the initial speed), the object's rolling pattern, the object's motion duration, the number of motion cycles of the object within a predetermined time period, the sliding distance, the sliding speed, the sliding angle, the number of sliding cycles, the sliding rotation, the object's oscillation, the change in the object's oscillation, the object's stability, the object's stationary position, the duration of the object's stationary position, the rolling distance, the rolling speed, the rolling angle, the number of rolling cycles, the rolling rotation, the curvature of the motion, the trajectory of the motion, the position of the motion, the zoom distance, the zoom speed, the zoom speed, the zoom pinch angle, the number of zoom cycles, the zoom pinch rotation, and the zoom... The motion attributes include: curvature of motion, trajectory of scaling motion, position of scaling motion, velocity differences between different parts of an object, angular velocity differences between different parts of an object, rotational differences between different parts of an object, distal velocity of an object, proximal velocity of an object, rotational speed of an object, shape formed by object motion, straightness of lines formed by motion, changes in object length, changes in object width, changes in object rotation, changes in object surface area, changes in object size, changes in object shape, changes in object edge curvature, changes in the position of the object's central axis, changes in the position of the central axis of an object's features, changes in the orientation of an object or feature, frequency of positional changes of an object or feature, frequency of motion of an object or feature, changes in the relative angular positions between object features, changes in the relative angular positions between the central axes of object features, and other types of motion attributes or combinations thereof. Motion attributes can be finger motion attributes, thumb motion attributes, palm motion attributes, stylus motion attributes, proximity motion attributes, motion differences between different parts of an object, relative motion, absolute motion, and other types of motion attributes or combinations thereof.

[0129] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "signal attribute" generally refers to a signal, such as a capacitance measurement, an antenna measurement, an inductance measurement, a magnetic signal, other types of measurements, or combinations thereof. In some examples, a signal attribute may include signal strength, signal duration, signal amplitude, signal-associated noise, noise patterns accompanying the signal, signal interference, signal-associated interference patterns, signal resonance, signal frequency, signal polarity, signal reflection, signal voltage, changes in signal strength over time, changes in signal frequency over time, changes in signal amplitude over time, changes in signal polarity over time, signal modulation, other changes in the signal over time, signal peak value, signal edge, processed signal attribute, analog signal attribute, other signal attributes, or combinations thereof.

[0130] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "image attribute" generally refers to an image of a measured object (e.g., a finger, thumb, palm, stylus, external antenna, credit card, telephone, mobile device, tag, RFID chip, etc.). In some examples, image attributes may include image length, image width, image surface area, distance between image features, image interpolation, image spline, spline shape, spline curvature, number of nodes in the spline, relative angle between different parts of the spline, distance between spline nodes, image edge attributes, image centroid, distance between image edges and image centroid, signal intensity variation on the image, edge location, image corner location, length of linear portion of image edge, location of linear portion of image edge, image symmetry, image asymmetry, dimension of image asymmetry, repetition pattern in the image, dimension of image segmentation, image contour, a portion of image contour, derivative of image contour or a portion of image contour, number of features of interest identified in the image, spacing pattern of image features, spacing distance of image features, image density, other image attributes, or combinations thereof.

[0131] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "typing attribute" generally refers to dimensional attributes, motion attributes, signal attributes, image attributes, proximity attributes, processed attributes, raw data attributes, other types of attributes, or combinations thereof. In some cases, typing prompts may allow a user to bring their hand, palm, thumb, and / or fingers close to a capacitive sensor and / or an embedded antenna. In such examples, the system can recognize combinations of palm, fingers, and thumb that may be hovering above, placed on, touching, located beside, or combined on a capacitive reference surface. Typing actions can also cause multiple simultaneous or overlapping movements of the fingers, thumb, and palm. Therefore, typing attributes can include aspects of attributes derived from the fingers, thumb, and palm.

[0132] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "stored attribute" generally refers to an attribute stored in or accessible through processing resources. For example, a stored attribute can be accessed by processing resources and stored in memory in an electronic device with an embedded antenna, a networked location, a remote location, a cloud-based location, other types of locations, or combinations thereof. A stored attribute can be an attribute derived from raw data of user input or from processed data of user input. In some cases, a stored attribute can be modified based on subsequent user input. For example, a stored attribute can be based on the mean, median, minimum, maximum, range, or other measure of one or more user inputs. In some cases, a stored attribute can be determined using machine learning, k-nearest neighbor models, logistic regression models, decision tree models, random forest models, gradient boosting machines, support vector machines, neural networks, other types of models, other processes, or combinations thereof. In some cases, a stored attribute is associated with conditions. For example, a stored attribute can be an indicator that indicates that user input has specific conditions, such as pressure input, gesture input, touch input, palm input, finger input, antenna input, card tapping input, card malfunction input, no input, non-antenna input, other types of conditions, or combinations thereof.

[0133] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "embedded antenna" generally refers to an antenna integrated into an antenna module, capacitor module, other type of module, electronic device, or a combination thereof. In one example, the embedded antenna is integrated into a stack of capacitor modules included in an electronic device. In some examples, the capacitor module including the embedded antenna can be a laptop computer, mobile device, smartphone, watch, tablet computer, vehicle, other type of electronic device, or a combination thereof. In other examples, the embedded antenna can be integrated into the electronic device but is physically separate from and distinct from the capacitor module. For example, a laptop computer may include a capacitor module associated with a touchpad and / or touchscreen integrated into the laptop computer, while the embedded antenna can be integrated into the palm rest area of ​​the laptop computer but not physically connected to the capacitor module. In some examples where the embedded antenna is not physically connected to the capacitor module, the embedded antenna can be positioned close enough to the capacitor module that the capacitor module can detect signals from the antenna. In some cases, the capacitor module is associated with the touchscreen of the electronic device, and the embedded antenna may or may not be integrated into the capacitor module.

[0134] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "external antenna" generally refers to an antenna not integrated into a capacitor module or in an electronic device with an integrated capacitor module. In some cases, the external antenna can communicate with an embedded antenna. For example, the embedded antenna can communicate with the external antenna via the NFC protocol or other suitable protocols. A non-exhaustive list of devices that can integrate an external antenna capable of communicating with the embedded antenna includes: credit cards, ID cards, other types of information cards, telephones, mobile devices, tablet computers, watches, tags, RFID chips, wearable devices, earphones, keychains, kiosks, payment terminals, control panels, authentication devices, charging devices, other types of devices, or combinations thereof. The external antenna can be a passive antenna, a semi-passive antenna, an active antenna, other types of antennas, or combinations thereof.

[0135] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "polling signal" generally refers to a signal transmitted from an embedded antenna for detecting whether a device with an external antenna is within the sensing range of the embedded antenna. In some cases, the transmission power of the polling signal is lower than that of an interrogation signal, which can be used to exchange data between the embedded antenna and the external antenna. In some cases, if no response to the polling signal is detected, the embedded antenna may continue to transmit the polling signal until a response is received, or the embedded antenna may enter a sleep state until it is awakened by another device in the capacitor module or electronic device. In some cases where a response to the polling signal is received, the embedded antenna may transmit an interrogation signal to exchange data with the external device.

[0136] For the purposes of this disclosure, the term "interrogation signal" generally refers to a signal transmitted from an embedded antenna to an external antenna to exchange information. The transmission power of an interrogation signal may be higher than that of a polling signal. In some examples, an interrogation signal requests information from an external antenna and / or exchanges data with an external antenna.

[0137] For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "disable embedded antenna" generally refers to turning off the embedded antenna, ignoring signals received through the embedded antenna, classifying signals as non-antenna signals, suspending transmissions transmitted through the embedded antenna, turning off the power to the embedded antenna, other functions that reduce or minimize the operation of the embedded antenna, or combinations thereof. In some cases, if the system determines that the received signal (received through the embedded antenna, capacitive electrodes, or both) indicates a false alarm, processing resources can disable the embedded antenna. In some cases, the embedded antenna can be disabled for a predetermined period of time after receiving a false alarm indication. For example, a metal ring worn by a user and placed near the embedded antenna may respond to a polling signal, thereby sending a command to the embedded antenna to transmit an interrogation signal. In such examples, by comparing at least one attribute of the received signal generated by the metal ring with stored attributes, the system can identify that the received response is not user input. In this case, the embedded antenna can be disabled, or it can continue transmitting polling signals instead of switching to transmitting interrogation signals.

[0138] For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "antenna signal mode" generally refers to a characteristic of an antenna signal. A non-exhaustive list of signal modes may include, but is not limited to: signal timing, signal power level, modulation mode, coded data, magnetic field variation, compliance with the NFC protocol, resonant frequency, bandwidth rate, polarization mode, amplitude mode, frequency mode, other characteristics, or combinations thereof.

[0139] For the purposes of this disclosure, the phrase "disable capacitor electrode" generally refers to turning off the sensing electrode, turning off the transmitting electrode, ignoring signals received through the capacitor electrode, suspending transmissions transmitted through the capacitor electrode, turning off the power supply to at least one capacitor electrode, other functions that reduce or minimize the operation of the capacitor electrode, or combinations thereof. If the system determines that the embedded antenna is transmitting an interrogation signal, the system can disable the capacitor electrode for a predetermined period of operation of the embedded antenna, during a period of interaction between the embedded antenna and an external antenna, during a variable period of time, during other periods of time, or a combination thereof.

[0140] Figure 1 An example of an electronic device 100 is shown. In this example, the electronic device is a laptop computer. In the example shown, the electronic device 100 includes input components such as a keyboard 102 and a capacitive module such as a touchpad 104 integrated into a housing 103. The electronic device 100 also includes a display 106. Programs operated by the electronic device 100 can be displayed on the display 106 and controlled by a sequence of instructions provided by the user via the keyboard 102 and / or via the touchpad 104. An internal battery (not shown) can be used to power the operation of the electronic device 100.

[0141] Keyboard 102 includes an arrangement of keys 108 that can be individually selected when a user presses a key with sufficient force to press the key 108 against a switch located below keyboard 102. In response to selecting key 108, a program can receive instructions on how to operate, such as a word processing program determining which types of text to process. The user can use touchpad 104 to give different types of instructions to programs operating on computing device 100. For example, the cursor displayed on display 106 can be controlled via touchpad 104. The user can control the cursor's position by sliding their hand along the surface of touchpad 104. In some cases, the user can move the cursor to or near an object on the display of the computing device and give a command to select that object via touchpad 104. For example, the user can provide the instruction to select the object by tapping the surface of touchpad 104 once or multiple times. In this example, electronic device 100 also includes a camera 120.

[0142] Touchpad 104 is a stacked capacitor module comprising a layer disposed beneath the keyboard housing, beneath a cover layer adapted to an opening in the keyboard housing, or beneath another capacitive reference surface. In some examples, the capacitor module is located in an area of ​​the keyboard surface where a user's palm can rest while typing. The capacitor module may include a substrate such as a printed circuit board or other type of substrate. One of the layers of the capacitor module may include a sensor layer comprising a first set of electrodes oriented in a first direction and a second set of electrodes oriented in a second direction transverse to the first direction. These electrodes may be spaced apart and / or electrically isolated from each other. Electrical isolation can be achieved by depositing at least a portion of the electrodes on different sides of the same substrate or by providing a dedicated substrate for each set of electrodes. Capacitance can be measured at the overlapping intersections between different sets of electrodes. However, the capacitance between the electrodes may change when an object with a dielectric value different from that of the surrounding air (e.g., a finger, stylus, etc.) approaches the intersection between the electrodes. This change in capacitance and the relative position of the object with respect to the capacitor module can be calculated to determine the location where the user is touching or hovering the object within the detection range of the capacitor module. In some examples, the first and second sets of electrodes are equidistant from each other. Therefore, in these examples, the sensitivity of the capacitor module is the same in both directions. However, in other examples, the distance between the electrodes can be non-equidistant to provide greater sensitivity for movement in certain directions.

[0143] In some cases, the display 106 is mechanically separate and movable relative to the keyboard via a connecting mechanism 114. In these examples, the display 106 and the keyboard 102 can be interconnected and movable relative to each other. The display 106 can be movable relative to the keyboard 102 within a range of 0 degrees to 180 degrees or greater. In some examples, when the display 106 is in the closed position, it can fold onto the upper surface of the keyboard 102, and when the display 106 is in the operating position, it can fold open from the keyboard 102. In some examples, when in use by the user, the display 106 can be oriented at an angle between 35 degrees and 135 degrees relative to the keyboard 102. However, in these examples, the display 106 can be positioned at any angle desired by the user.

[0144] In some examples, display 106 may be a non-touch-sensitive display. However, in other examples, at least a portion of display 106 is touch-sensitive. In these examples, the touch-sensitive display may also include a capacitive module located behind the outer surface of display 106. When a user's finger or other object approaches the touch-sensitive screen, the capacitive module can detect changes in capacitance as input from the user.

[0145] Although Figure 1 The example shown depicts an electronic device as a laptop computer, but capacitive sensors and touch surfaces can be integrated into any suitable device. The non-exhaustive list of devices includes, but is not limited to, desktop computers, monitors, screens, kiosks, computing devices, tablet computers, smartphones, position sensors, card reader sensors, other types of electronic devices, other types of devices, or combinations thereof.

[0146] In some examples, the NFC antenna is integrated into the touchpad 104. However, in some examples, at least one NFC antenna is not integrated into the touchpad, but rather integrated into other locations on the electronic device, such as, but not limited to, the housing 103, the housing within the palm rest area, inside the display 106, at the bezel of the display, near the keyboard, below the keyboard, other locations on the electronic device, or combinations thereof. In some examples, no NFC antenna is integrated into the touchpad 104.

[0147] Figure 2An example of a portion of a capacitance module 200 is shown. In this example, the capacitance module 200 may include a substrate 202, a first set of electrodes 204, and a second set of electrodes 206. The first set of electrodes 204 and the second set of electrodes 206 may be oriented laterally to each other. Furthermore, the first set of electrodes 204 and the second set of electrodes 206 may be electrically isolated from each other so that the electrodes do not short-circuit with each other. However, capacitance can be measured where the electrodes from the first set of electrodes 204 and the second set of electrodes 206 overlap. The capacitance module 200 may include one or more electrodes from the first set of electrodes 204 or the second set of electrodes 206. Such a substrate 202 and electrode set can be integrated into a touchscreen, touchpad, position sensor, game controller, button, and / or detection circuitry.

[0148] In some examples, the capacitor module 200 is a mutual capacitance sensing device. In such examples, the substrate 202 has a set of row electrodes 204 and a set of column electrodes 206 defining the touch / proximity sensitive area of ​​the component. In some cases, the component is configured as a rectangular grid consisting of an appropriate number of electrodes (e.g., 8x6, 16x12, 9x15, etc.).

[0149] like Figure 2 As shown, the capacitor module 200 includes a touch controller 208. The touch controller 208 may include at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an analog front-end (AFE) including amplifiers, a peripheral interface controller (PIC), other types of microprocessors, and / or combinations thereof, and may be implemented by suitable circuitry, hardware, firmware, and / or software as an integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a combination of logic gates, other types of digital or analog electrical design components, or combinations thereof, to select from available operating modes.

[0150] In some cases, the touch controller 208 includes at least one multiplexing circuit to select which of the electrode groups 204, 206 is used as both the driving electrode and the sensing electrode. The driving electrodes can be driven one at a time sequentially, randomly, or simultaneously in an coded mode. Other configurations, such as a self-capacitance mode for simultaneously driving and sensing electrodes, are also possible. The electrodes can also be arranged in a non-rectangular array, such as a radial pattern, a linear series, etc. A shielding layer can be provided beneath the electrodes (see [link to documentation]). Figure 3 This reduces noise or other interference. The shielding layer can extend beyond the electrode grid. Other configurations are also possible.

[0151] In some cases, measurements are not performed using a fixed reference point. The touch controller 208 can generate signals that are sent directly to the first set of electrodes 204 or the second set of electrodes 206 in various modes.

[0152] In some cases, the component does not rely on absolute capacitance measurements to determine the position of a finger (or stylus, pointer, or other object) on the surface of the capacitance module 200. The capacitance module 200 can measure charge imbalances on the electrodes that serve as sensing electrodes; in some examples, the sensing electrodes can be any of the electrodes specified in electrode groups 204, 206, or in other examples, dedicated sensing electrodes. When there is no pointing object on or near the capacitance module 200, the touch controller 208 can be in a balanced state, and there is no signal on the sensing electrodes. When a finger or other pointing object creates an imbalance due to capacitive coupling, changes in capacitance can occur at the intersections between electrode groups 204, 206 that constitute the touch / proximity sensitive area. In some cases, changes in capacitance are measured. However, in alternative examples, absolute capacitance values ​​can be measured.

[0153] Although this example is described as a capacitor module 200 having the flexibility to switch electrode groups 204, 206 between sensing and transmitting electrodes, in other examples, each electrode group is dedicated to either transmitting or sensing functions.

[0154] Figure 3 An example of a substrate 202 having a first set of electrodes 204 and a second set of electrodes 206 deposited on a substrate 202 and integrated into a capacitor module is shown. The first set of electrodes 204 and the second set of electrodes 206 may be spaced apart from each other and electrically isolated from each other. Figure 3 In the example shown, a first set of electrodes 204 is deposited on a first side of a substrate 202, and a second set of electrodes 206 is deposited on a second side of the substrate 202, wherein the second side is opposite to the first side and spaced apart by the thickness of the substrate 202. The substrate may be made of an electrically insulating material to prevent the first set of electrodes 204 and the second set of electrodes 206 from short-circuiting with each other. Figure 2 As shown, the first set of electrodes 204 and the second set of electrodes 206 can be oriented laterally to each other. Capacitance measurements can be performed at the intersections where the electrodes from the first set of electrodes 204 and the second set of electrodes 206 overlap. In some examples, a voltage can be applied to the transmitting electrode, and the voltage of the sensing electrode overlapping with the transmitting electrode can be measured. The voltage from the sensing electrode can be used to determine the capacitance at the intersection where the sensing electrode and the transmitting electrode overlap.

[0155] A cross-section of the capacitor module is shown. Figure 3In this example, substrate 202 may be located between capacitive reference surface 212 and shielding portion 214. Capacitive reference surface 212 may be a covering placed above a first side of substrate 202 and allowing at least partial passage of an electric field. When a user's finger or stylus approaches capacitive reference surface 212, the presence of the finger or stylus can affect the electric field on substrate 202. In the presence of a finger or stylus, the voltage measured from the sensing electrodes may differ from the voltage when the finger or stylus is absent. Therefore, changes in capacitance can be measured.

[0156] The shielding portion 214 may be a conductive layer that shields against electrical noise from internal components of an electronic device. This shielding portion can prevent the influence of electric fields on the substrate 202. In some cases, the shielding portion is a conductive solid material. In other cases, the shielding portion has a substrate and a conductive material disposed on at least one substrate. In some embodiments, the shielding layer is located between the capacitor electrodes and the component layer to prevent electric fields generated by components on the component layer from affecting the capacitor electrodes. In some embodiments, the shielding layer is located between the capacitor electrodes and a battery that is separate from the capacitor module but intended to be placed adjacent to the capacitor module. In this example, the shielding layer can prevent electric fields generated by the battery from affecting the capacitor electrodes. In another example, the shielding portion is a functional layer in a touchpad and also shields the electrodes from electrical interference noise. For example, in some examples, a pixel layer in a display application can form an image visible through a capacitive reference surface, but also shield the electrodes from electrical noise.

[0157] The voltage applied to the emitting electrode can be transmitted from the touch controller 208 to the appropriate electrode group via electrical connection 216. The voltage applied to the sensing electrode by the electric field generated from the emitting electrode can be detected via electrical connection 218 from the sensing electrode to the touch controller 208.

[0158] Although Figure 3 An example is shown with two sets of electrodes deposited on a substrate, one set of electrodes deposited on the first side and the second set of electrodes deposited on the second side, but in other examples, each set of electrodes may be deposited on its own dedicated substrate.

[0159] Furthermore, although the above examples describe a touchpad with a first set of electrodes and a second set of electrodes, in some examples, the capacitive module has a single set of electrodes. In such examples, the electrodes of the sensor layer can serve as both transmitting and receiving electrodes. In some cases, a voltage can be applied to the electrodes for a period of time, which changes the capacitance around the electrodes. At the end of this period, the applied voltage is interrupted. The voltage from the same electrode can then be measured to determine the capacitance. If there is no object (e.g., a finger, stylus, etc.) on or near the capacitive reference surface, the measured voltage of the electrode after the voltage interruption can be at a value consistent with the baseline capacitance. However, if an object is touching or near the capacitive reference surface, the measured voltage can indicate the change in capacitance relative to the baseline capacitance.

[0160] In some examples, the capacitor module has a first set of electrodes and a second set of electrodes, and communicates with a controller that is configured to perform mutual capacitance measurements (e.g., capacitance measurements using the first and second sets of electrodes) or self-capacitance measurements (e.g., capacitance measurements using only one set of electrodes).

[0161] Figure 4 An example of a capacitive module integrated into a touchscreen is shown. In this example, the substrate 202, electrode groups 204, 206, and electrical connections 216, 218 can be similarly combined. Figure 3 The described layout. Figure 4 In this example, shielding portion 214 is located between substrate 202 and display layer 400. Display layer 400 may be a pixel layer or diode that emits light to generate an image. The display layer may be a liquid crystal display, a light-emitting diode display, an organic light-emitting diode display, an electroluminescent display, a quantum dot light-emitting diode display, an incandescent filament display, a vacuum fluorescent display, a cathode gas display, other types of displays, or combinations thereof. In this example, shielding portion 214, substrate 202, and capacitive reference surface 212 may all be at least partially optically transparent, such that the image displayed in the display layer is visible to the user through capacitive reference surface 212. Such a touchscreen may be included in monitors, display assemblies, laptops, mobile phones, mobile devices, electronic tablets, dashboards, display panels, infotainment devices, other types of electronic devices, or combinations thereof.

[0162] Figure 5 An example of a stack according to the present disclosure is shown. In this example, the capacitor module 500 includes a first sensor layer 502, a second sensor layer 504, a shielding layer 506, and a component layer 508. Although the capacitor module 500 in this example includes four layers, in other examples, the capacitor module may include a different number of layers. For example, the capacitor module may include two, three, five, or different numbers of layers.

[0163] The first sensor layer 502 and the second sensor layer 504 can be arranged adjacent to each other. Although this example shows two sensor layers 502 and 504, in other examples, the capacitor module may include only a single sensor layer.

[0164] Sensor layers 502 and 504 may include a set of electrodes 510, which can be used to detect and / or measure changes in capacitance in a capacitive circuit. In this example, sensor layer 504 includes a set of electrodes 510. In other examples, the sensor layer may include two sets of electrodes, three sets of electrodes, or different numbers of sets of electrodes. The set of electrodes 510 may operate using self-capacitance, mutual capacitance, or a combination thereof.

[0165] The shielding layer 506 is located within the capacitor module 500, adjacent to the sensor layer 504. In other examples, the shielding layer may be located at a different position relative to other layers in the stack.

[0166] The shielding layer 506 may be made of a material that blocks or reduces electromagnetic and / or electrical interference. The shielding layer may be made of conductive materials such as copper, aluminum, silver, or combinations thereof. The shielding layer may be made of composite materials such as plastics, glass, other composite structures, or combinations thereof. The shielding layer may be a conductive coating applied to a substrate, such as indium tin oxide (ITO), graphene, conductive polymers, other coatings, or combinations thereof. In some cases, the shielding layer may be made of magnetic materials such as iron, ferrite, other metals, their composites, their alloys, their mixtures, or combinations thereof.

[0167] In this example, shielding layer 506 is implemented using a single material. In other examples, the shielding layer can be implemented in different ways. Different implementations of the shielding layer can offer specific advantages. For example, the shielding layer can be implemented as a mesh shield using a grid or mesh pattern of conductive material. This implementation can reduce the weight and / or cost of the shielding layer while providing sufficient shielding. In another example, the shielding layer can be implemented as a segmented structure in which conductive material portions are interspersed with non-conductive gaps. This implementation allows for flexibility in the construction and layout of capacitor modules, improves thermal management, and accommodates complex component configurations within electronic devices.

[0168] In this example, shielding layer 506 is located between sensor layer 504 and component layer 508. Shielding layer 506 can help prevent electromagnetic interference from external sources such as component 516 or capacitor module on component layer 508 from interfering with the set of electrodes 510 on sensor layers 502 and 504.

[0169] Shielding sensor layer 504 with shielding layer 506 improves the accuracy and stability of capacitance measurements performed by the electrode set 510. Shielding sensor layer 504 also reduces noise, which improves the sensitivity and accuracy of user input on the capacitance module. Shielding layer 506 can be positioned to block interference from batteries, power supplies, storage resources, processing resources, electronic components, other components, or combinations thereof that may be located within the cavity of the electronic device.

[0170] In this example, component layer 508 is adjacent to shielding layer 506. In other examples, the component layer may be located at a different position relative to other layers or components of capacitor modules in the stack. Component layer 508 includes antenna 512 and other components 516.

[0171] The components 516 included on component layer 508 can contribute to the functionality of capacitor module 500. Components on the component layer may include central processing unit (CPU), microcontroller, operational amplifier, memory unit, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), graphics processing unit (GPU), interface controller, power management integrated circuit, processing resources, antenna, other types of components, or combinations thereof.

[0172] Antenna 512 can facilitate wireless communication according to Near Field Communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, Short Range Wireless, other wireless protocols, or combinations thereof.

[0173] In this example, component layer 508 includes an antenna 512. In other examples, layers in a capacitor module may include multiple antennas.

[0174] Antenna 512 can be made of a highly conductive material to maximize the efficiency of signal transmission and reception. In some examples, the antenna can be made of copper, silver, gold, other conductive materials, their composites, mixtures, alloys, or combinations thereof.

[0175] In some examples, the embedded antenna 512 can be deposited on the component layer 508. In other examples, the embedded antenna 512 can be etched into the component layer 508 using photolithography or similar processes.

[0176] Embedded antennas can have any suitable shape. A non-exhaustive list of suitable antenna shapes includes, but is not limited to: coil shapes, dipole shapes, other types of shapes, or combinations thereof. The shape of the antenna may correspond to the wireless protocol for which the antenna is configured to transmit signals. In this example, embedded antenna 512 has a coil shape and can be used to transmit wireless signals according to the NFC protocol.

[0177] Embedded antennas can be used to transmit signals based on wireless communication protocols. In other examples, embedded antennas can be configured to transmit and / or send signals according to multiple protocols, including but not limited to Wi-Fi, short-range wireless protocols, near-field communication (NFC) protocols, Zigbee protocols, other types of protocols, or combinations thereof. In examples with multiple antennas, each embedded antenna can be used to transmit according to a different protocol.

[0178] Figure 6 An example of calibrating an embedded antenna is shown. In this example, the embedded antenna is integrated into an input device 604 of electronic device 600 (e.g., a touchpad, a capacitive module, an antenna module, or other type of input device). In some cases, the input device may include a touch surface. The input device includes a capacitive module (not shown) that includes a stack, the stack of which may be located on... Figure 6 The input device 604 shown is located below the touch surface. In this example, the embedded antenna may be integrated into the stack, or it may be integrated into the electronic device 600 but separate from the capacitive module of the touchpad. In other examples, the capacitive module is integrated into the display screen. Although this example shows the electronic device as a laptop computer, any suitable electronic device 600 may be used, such as a mobile device, tablet computer, mobile phone, watch, monitor, payment terminal, other suitable electronic device, or a combination thereof.

[0179] The calibration process may include a prompt 602 from electronic device 600, prompting the user to perform a specific action that the system can use to detect capacitive features, antenna features, other types of features, or combinations thereof. The system can associate the received features with the specific action performed by the user. The feature may be broken down into multiple parts and / or features, which may become stored attributes associated with the specific action. While this example illustrates a system prompting the user to perform a specific action, the system can also use non-prompt actions to calibrate the system. For example, the system can determine that the user's finger is above or near the embedded antenna through a camera integrated into the electronic device, keyboard input, touch input, proximity input, input from other sensors integrated into the electronic device, other actions, or combinations thereof.

[0180] In this specific example, a prompt requests the user to perform touch input on the touch surface. Capacitive electrodes can detect capacitive features in response to the user's touch of the touch surface. In some embodiments, an embedded antenna can detect antenna features in response to the user's touch of the touch surface. In other examples, both the capacitive electrodes and the embedded antenna can acquire corresponding features in response to the user placing their finger on or near the touch surface.

[0181] In the example shown, the user wears a metal ring 608. This metal ring 608 may cause capacitive and / or antenna characteristics to have specific properties that would not exist otherwise without the metal ring 608. In this example, the system may store at least one property of the characteristics received due to the metal ring 608 and associate that property with the touch input.

[0182] In some cases, the metal ring 608 may have a specific shape and / or other characteristics that cause it to passively respond to polling signals from an embedded antenna. However, since the metal ring 608 is not an external antenna, it is not expected that the embedded antenna will increase its power and / or send an interrogation signal in response to the metal ring 608. Therefore, the metal ring 608 may cause the embedded antenna to detect a false alarm. However, stored properties associated with touch input can help the system determine that touch input when a user wears the ring is not a response from an external antenna. The system may also include at least one stored property associated with an actual external antenna response, which is different from the stored property associated with touch input. Therefore, in response to a passive return signal received from a polling signal, the system can compare the received signal with the stored properties associated with the touch input and with the stored properties associated with the external antenna response. Based on the comparison of the received signal with each of these stored properties, the system can determine whether the received response indicates the presence of an external antenna or is a user touch input (i.e., a false alarm from an external antenna signal).

[0183] While wearing a metal ring is described as a possible cause of false alarms, other possible causes include, but are not limited to: wearing a watch, fitness tracker, bracelet, or other type of jewelry; placing an electronic device near a metal surface; placing a metal object near an embedded antenna; other types of situations or combinations thereof.

[0184] In some cases, the system can detect a capacitance measurement approximately simultaneously with the antenna receiving a response to a polling signal. The capacitance measurement can also be compared with stored attributes associated with the touch input and the external antenna. In some cases, the system can confirm that the received signal originates from the external antenna. In other cases, the system can determine that the received signal originates from the external antenna without comparing the received antenna signal with stored antenna signal attributes. In other words, the system can determine that the signal received in response to an antenna polling signal is from an external antenna based on capacitance characteristics, antenna characteristics, or both.

[0185] In the example shown, the system prompts the user to perform touch input on the touch surface so that the system can store the associated attributes. However, the system may prompt the user to perform any appropriate action to retrieve the stored attributes. The system may also appropriately associate the attributes of received signals with appropriate user actions and / or other types of conditions without prompting the user to perform an action. The system can determine how to classify signal attributes based on other inputs received by the electronic device—such as camera input, keyboard input, sensor input, display input, capacitive input, antenna input, etc.

[0186] In the example shown, the prompt is displayed on a monitor. In other examples, the prompt can be conveyed in different ways. For example, the prompt can be delivered to the user as an audio notification via a speaker or audio interface, as haptic feedback via vibration and / or touch, using lights or LED signals, by sending a text message to a connected device, or through other communication methods or combinations thereof.

[0187] While the examples shown illustrate the action of a user touching a touch surface, in other examples, attributes may be stored for other prompted or non-prompt inputs. In some examples, user actions may include palm input, where the user places their palm on the touch surface. In other examples, user actions may include thumb input, other finger input, multi-finger input, input combining palm and finger input, proximity input, input involving both touch and proximity input, touch input at a specific location on the touch surface, motion input where the user touches the touch surface and moves the touch in a specific manner, rotation input at different angles, other types of input, or combinations thereof.

[0188] In the examples shown, the input can be a single input. In other examples, the input can be a gesture or a combination of gestures. For example, a user can provide a proximity gesture, whereby the user places their finger, thumb, palm, stylus, or other object near the capacitive module without physical contact with the touch surface. In other examples, a user can drag their finger from one point on the touch surface to another. In other examples, a user can drag their finger from one point on the touch surface to another in a rotational motion. In other examples, a user can place their finger on the touch surface for a specified period of time. In other examples, a user can provide a combination of gestures, such as performing a drag gesture, a rotation gesture, and a proximity gesture in sequence.

[0189] When user 606 provides input, input device 604 can record capacitance and / or antenna measurements corresponding to that input. These measurements may include the input length, input width, input surface area in contact with the input device reference surface, or combinations thereof. The input measurements may include duration elements, such as the duration of contact between the input and the reference surface of input device 604.

[0190] During calibration, user-inputted measurements are processed and stored in the capacitance module's storage resources. These measurements can form a corresponding input reference dataset.

[0191] After acquiring the initial stored attributes, the calibration process can repeat these steps to collect measurements and form a capacitance reference dataset, an antenna reference dataset, or both, for different types of user input. For example, the user may be prompted to provide input, or the user may provide finger input, palm input, thumb input, proximity input, touch input, stylus input, other types of input, or combinations thereof, without prompting.

[0192] Finger input may include touching a reference surface of the input device with a finger. In response to detecting finger input, the input device may record the capacitance signal strength, multiple capacitance signal strengths at selected locations corresponding to the finger shape, finger length, finger width, multiple finger widths along the finger length, finger shape, surface area associated with the finger, finger size, other dimensions of the finger shape, other attributes associated with the measurement signal from the finger input, or combinations thereof.

[0193] Palm input can include touching the touch surface of the input device with the user's palm. In response to detecting palm input, the input device can record the capacitance signal strength, multiple capacitance signal strengths at selected locations corresponding to the palm shape, palm length, palm width, multiple palm widths along the palm length, multiple palm lengths along the palm width, palm shape, surface area associated with the palm, palm size, the position of one or more fingers and / or thumb extending from the palm, other dimensions of the palm shape, other attributes associated with the measurement signal from the palm input, or combinations thereof.

[0194] Thumb input may include touching the touch surface of the input device with the thumb. In response to detecting thumb input, the input device may record the capacitance signal strength, multiple capacitance signal strengths at selected locations corresponding to the thumb shape, thumb length, thumb width, multiple thumb widths along the thumb length, thumb shape, surface area associated with the thumb, thumb size, other dimensions of the thumb shape, other attributes associated with the measurement signal from the thumb input, or combinations thereof.

[0195] Stylus input may include touching the touch surface of the input device with one end of a stylus. In response to detecting stylus input, the input device may record capacitive signal strength, multiple capacitive signal strengths at selected locations corresponding to the stylus shape, stylus length, stylus width, multiple stylus widths along the stylus length, stylus shape, surface area associated with the stylus, stylus size, other dimensions of the stylus shape, other attributes associated with measurement signals from the stylus input, or combinations thereof. The user may receive stylus prompts instructing them to use the stylus to write specific alphanumeric symbols, write specific phrases, sign their name, draw shapes, draw images, draw lines, draw circles, draw patterns, perform other types of stylus input, or combinations thereof.

[0196] Proximity input can include hovering over the touch surface of an input device. For example, proximity finger input can include hovering a finger over the touch surface of an input device without touching the input device. For example, proximity thumb input can include hovering a thumb over the touch surface of an input device without touching the input device. For example, proximity palm input can include hovering a palm over the touch surface of an input device without touching the input device. For example, proximity stylus input can include hovering a stylus over a reference surface of an input device without touching the input device. Proximity prompts can prompt the user to wave their hand over the touch surface, make a single-finger gesture, make a multi-finger gesture, make a single-hand gesture, make a multi-hand gesture, make a gesture, move an object horizontally relative to a reference surface, move an object vertically relative to a reference surface, make a circular motion, make other types of movements, or combinations thereof.

[0197] In response to the detection of a proximity input, the input device may record the capacitance signal strength, multiple capacitance signal strengths at selected locations corresponding to the proximity shape, the length of the proximity shape, the width of the proximity shape, multiple widths along the length of the proximity shape, the proximity shape, the surface area associated with the proximity shape, the size of the proximity shape, other dimensions of the proximity shape, other attributes associated with the measurement signal from the proximity input, or combinations thereof.

[0198] Antenna inputs may include signal strength, frequency, frequency variation, amplitude, amplitude variation, polarity, polarity variation, power level, power variation, bandwidth, return loss, impedance value, gain value, gain variation, Doppler shift, time delay, phase, phase variation, multipath effect, other antenna signal properties, or combinations thereof.

[0199] In some cases, raw data from the input can be stored as attributes. In other examples, attributes may include processed data. In some examples, processed attributes may include average length, median length, maximum length, minimum length, length within a first standard deviation, average width, median width, maximum width, minimum width, width within a first standard deviation, average surface area, median surface area, maximum surface area, minimum surface area, surface area within a first standard deviation, average capacitance signal strength, median capacitance signal strength, maximum capacitance signal strength, minimum capacitance signal strength, capacitance signal strength within a first standard deviation, average size, median capacitance signal strength, maximum size, minimum size, size within a first standard deviation, average signal strength, median signal strength, maximum signal strength, minimum signal strength, signal strength within a first standard deviation, average frequency, median frequency, maximum frequency, minimum frequency, and frequency within a first standard deviation. Frequency, average amplitude, median amplitude, maximum amplitude, minimum amplitude, amplitude within the first standard deviation, average bandwidth, median bandwidth, maximum bandwidth, minimum bandwidth, bandwidth within the first standard deviation, average return loss, median return loss, maximum return loss, minimum return loss, return loss within the first standard deviation, average impedance, median impedance, maximum impedance, minimum impedance, impedance within the first standard deviation, average gain, median gain, maximum gain, minimum gain, gain within the first standard deviation, average Doppler shift, median Doppler shift, maximum Doppler shift, minimum Doppler shift, Doppler shift within the first standard deviation, average time delay, median time delay, maximum time delay, minimum time delay, time delay within the first standard deviation, other processed attributes, or combinations thereof. In some cases, both raw and processed attributes are stored and / or used for comparison with non-prompted user input.

[0200] During operation of the electronic device, the system can classify capacitive inputs and / or received antenna inputs by comparing them with a reference dataset stored in its memory. This comparison may involve assessing the similarity and differences between new measurements and stored attributes. In some examples, the system can use this analysis to classify a non-cue input as a signal from an external antenna when at least one attribute of the non-cue input matches or is at least similar to one of the attributes of an external antenna.

[0201] This process of measuring, storing, and comparing inputs enables input devices to distinguish between different types of touch inputs, antenna inputs, other types of inputs, or combinations thereof. This classification can help reduce false alarms from external antennas.

[0202] In some cases, in response to determining that the input is an external antenna input, the system can cause the antenna to send an interrogation signal, increase antenna power, interpret messages, analyze modulation patterns, send messages to the user, disable capacitor electrodes, disable other functions within the electronic device, perform other actions, or combinations thereof.

[0203] In some cases, capacitance properties can indicate the presence of an external antenna. In such examples, the system can wake up the antenna, turn it on, send polling signals, send interrogation signals, boost the antenna signal, perform other actions, or combinations thereof.

[0204] In some cases, a received antenna signal can be determined to be a false alarm by comparing it with stored capacitance properties, stored antenna properties, or a combination of both. For example, this comparison might determine that the detected signal is more likely to indicate a user touch input, user proximity input, rain input, environmental input, other conditions, or a combination thereof. In response to determining that the received antenna signal is a false alarm, the system can ignore the input, reject the input, disable the antenna for a predetermined time, disable a portion of the antenna for a predetermined time, change the antenna's sensitivity threshold, distrust the received antenna signal, send a message to the user, provide other responses, or a combination thereof.

[0205] During calibration, machine learning models or other types of modules can be used to update and / or modify properties as more measurements are acquired. During operation, capacitive inputs, antenna inputs, or both can be fed into the machine learning model, and the inputs can be classified at least in part based on the model's output.

[0206] Machine learning models can be k-nearest neighbors, logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, gradient boosting machine, support vector machine, neural network, other machine learning models, or combinations thereof.

[0207] In some examples, machine learning models can be trained and stored on processing resources and memory belonging to the capacitor module itself. In other examples, machine learning models can be trained and stored on device resources associated with the means of electronic communication with the capacitor module.

[0208] The system can initiate the calibration process when a user sets up a profile associated with an electronic device. In some examples, the calibration process can be initiated or updated in response to a user request. In some examples, the calibration process can be initiated or updated in response to event-based triggers, such as turning on the electronic device, updating software, changing settings associated with an input device, a program request, a user request, opening a program with the electronic device, updating a user profile, other event-based triggers, successful exchange of information between an embedded antenna and an external antenna, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the calibration process can be initiated repeatedly based on a recurrence.

[0209] In cases of repeated calibration processes, the dataset collected from a previous calibration process can be replaced by the dataset from the most recent calibration. However, in other examples, the dataset from the most recent calibration can be used to update or refine processed stored properties. In other examples, stored properties may include properties from multiple calibrations.

[0210] In some examples, storage attributes may be associated with certain conditions, such as damaged card storage attributes, bent card storage attributes, misaligned storage attributes, distance storage attributes, external antenna status storage attributes, other types of attributes, or combinations thereof. In response to a comparison with the storage attributes, the system may send a message to the user. This message may be presented through the screen of an electronic device, text message, email, speaker, tactile stimulation, other mechanisms for conveying messages, or combinations thereof. The message may include notifications, requests, other types of messages, or combinations thereof. A non-exhaustive list of notifications that the system may send includes, but is not limited to: external antenna damage notifications, card damage notifications, bent card notifications, card external antenna performance degradation notifications, card expiration notifications, card impending expiration notifications, card unusable notifications, card being too close to another card with a magnetic stripe notifications, card being too close to another card with a second external antenna notifications, other types of notifications, or combinations thereof.

[0211] The non-exhaustive list of requests that the system can send includes, but is not limited to: requests to center the card above the embedded antenna, requests to adjust the card's orientation, requests to hold the card at different angles, requests to move the card closer to the card reader, requests to remove the card from the user's wallet, requests to remove other cards that may contain interfering signals, other requests, or combinations thereof.

[0212] In some examples, the calibration process can be helpful when the electronic device is a mobile device covered by a metal casing or other types of casing that may interfere with antenna signals. In some cases, the user may operate the electronic device on a metal surface, place the electronic device on a metal surface, or place the electronic device in an environment that may interfere with antenna signals. In some cases, the system may prompt the user to place the electronic device on a metal surface during the calibration process to calibrate under such conditions.

[0213] Figure 7An example is shown where a user provides typing input to the keyboard 610 of electronic device 60. In response to detecting that the user is typing, the system can cause a capacitance module to measure and extract capacitance properties that may be associated with the user's palm and fingers being near the input device 604. In response to detecting that the user is typing, the system can cause an embedded antenna to measure and extract received antenna signal properties that may be associated with the user's palm and fingers being near the input device. In cases where the user is wearing a metal ring 608, watch 612, or other type of jewelry that may cause false alarms from external antenna signals, the system can store capacitance properties, antenna properties, or combinations thereof associated with the user typing, their fingers being near the input device, their palm being near the input device, or other conditions inferred from the received keyboard input. Subsequently, when a non-cue antenna signal is detected, at least one property of the received antenna signal can be compared with the stored properties (stored capacitance properties or stored antenna properties) to determine or confirm the presence of an external antenna.

[0214] In another example, camera 612 can detect when a user is typing, has a metal ring near input device 604, is touching input device 604, has their palm placed on input device 604, is using a card with an external antenna near input device 604, is performing other actions that may affect the antenna signal, or a combination thereof. In response to such camera input, the system can acquire capacitance characteristics, antenna characteristics, other types of characteristics, or combinations thereof to extract stored attributes for later comparison with other received signals.

[0215] Figure 8 This illustration shows an example of a user holding a card 800 with an external antenna 802 over an input device 804 with an embedded antenna 806. In this example, the user holds the card 800 in such a way that the external antenna 802 is within the detectable range of the embedded antenna 806.

[0216] An embedded antenna can broadcast a polling signal at low power to detect the presence of external antennas within its detection range. When no response is received from other external antennas, the system can determine that no external antenna is within the detection range. If an external antenna is within the detection range under certain conditions, the electromagnetic energy of the polling signal can passively interact with the external antenna, producing a reflection that can be detected by the embedded antenna. In response to detecting this reflection, the system can determine that the external antenna is within the detection range of the embedded antenna.

[0217] Figure 9An example is shown where a user taps card 800 on input device 804. This tap may produce a vibration or a specific reflection pattern to help notify and / or confirm the presence of an external antenna. In some cases, tapping the card may simply ensure that the card is within a detectable sensing range. In response to a tap or being within an appropriate detectable sensing range, the embedded antenna may broadcast a polling signal, broadcast an interrogation signal, increase the power of the embedded antenna, resolve the modulation of the external antenna, perform other actions, or combinations thereof.

[0218] exist Figure 8 and Figure 9 In this process, there may be conditions where interference hinders the correct identification of the presence of an external antenna within the detectable range, interferes with the parsing of messages in signals from external antennas, or both. For example, if multiple cards with external antennas are within the detectable range, the interrogation signal may receive individual responses from the external antennas of each card. This can happen when a user places a wallet containing multiple cards near the input device instead of removing the desired card from the wallet. In other cases, cards with external antennas may be bent, affecting the signals reflected back from the external antennas. Furthermore, jewelry worn by the user may also affect the signal from the external antennas. Each of these conditions can be calibrated by correlating attributes from prompted or non-prompted inputs (confirmed through typed input, camera input, other types of input, or combinations thereof). The calibration process can be ongoing because the system can use at least some subsequent inputs to update and / or refine stored attributes.

[0219] Figure 10 Showing with Figure 5 This is another type of capacitor module, different from the one shown. In this example, the shielding layer 506 includes a plurality of openings 1000, which are configured to allow at least a portion of the antenna signal to pass through the shielding layer and through the capacitor electrodes. Such openings can help improve the transmission of embedded antenna signals.

[0220] In some cases, reflected signals from an external antenna may also be detected by the capacitor electrodes. In such examples, stored properties may include the time difference between the embedded antenna signal and the reflected signal, the intensity difference between the embedded antenna signal and the reflected signal, the frequency difference between the embedded antenna signal and the reflected signal, the amplitude difference between the embedded antenna signal and the reflected signal, the polarity difference between the embedded antenna signal and the reflected signal, the modulation difference between the embedded antenna signal and the reflected signal, other differences between the embedded antenna signal and the reflected signal, or combinations thereof.

[0221] Figure 11 Showing with Figure 5This is another capacitor module, different from the one shown. In this example, the shielding layer 506 includes a single branch opening 1100, which is configured to allow at least a portion of the antenna signal to pass through the shielding layer and through the capacitor electrodes. Such an opening can help improve the transmission of embedded antenna signals. An example description of such an opening can be found in U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 793,152, filed August 2, 2024, entitled "A Continuous Opening in a Shield Layer". The entire contents of U.S. Patent Application No. 18 / 793,152 are incorporated herein by reference.

[0222] Figure 12 An example of antenna module 1200 is shown. In this example, antenna module 1200 includes an embedded antenna 1202 located on a printed circuit board. In other examples, the embedded antenna may be located on a flexible printed circuit board, other types of boards, or a combination thereof. In this example, there are no capacitor electrodes on the same surface as the embedded antenna 1202. In some examples, no capacitor electrodes are integrated into the same module as the embedded antenna.

[0223] Figure 13 An example of module 1300 is shown, which has an embedded antenna 1302 surrounding a set of capacitive electrodes 1304. In this example, the embedded antenna 1302 and the capacitive electrodes 1304 are located on the same layer.

[0224] Figure 14 An example of module 1400 is shown, which has an embedded antenna 1402 located on the side of a set of capacitive electrodes 1404. In this example, a shielding portion 1406 is provided between the set of capacitive electrodes 1404 and the embedded antenna 1402.

[0225] Figure 15 An example of module 1500 is shown. In this example, module 1500 includes programming instructions in memory and may include associated firmware, logic, processing resources, memory resources, power supply, hardware, connectors, or other types of components to perform the tasks of module 1500. Module 1500 may be combined with... Figure 1-14 Used in accordance with the apparatus, modules, methods, systems, and principles described in Figures 16-25. In this example, module 1500 includes an embedded antenna 1502, an attribute comparator 1506, a stored attribute 1508, and a response instruction unit 1510.

[0226] Module 1500 may optionally include one or more of the following: at least one capacitor electrode 1504, an antenna power regulator 1512, a power switch 1514, an antenna disabler 1516, a polling signal initiator 1518, an interrogation signal initiator 1520, an antenna confirmer 1522, a message sender 1524, a capacitor feature analyzer 1526, an antenna feature analyzer 1528, a keyboard input analyzer 1530, a camera input analyzer 1532, a tap analyzer 1534, a signal pattern analyzer 1536, a user prompter 1538, a machine learning module 1540, a storage attribute modifier 1542, a capacitor electrode disabler 1544, and / or an antenna signal rejector 1546.

[0227] The embedded antenna 1502 can be any suitable antenna, such as an NFC antenna, Wi-Fi antenna, Bluetooth antenna, other types of antennas, or combinations thereof. In some cases, the embedded antenna includes a shape that can be used to receive and transmit antenna signals. In some cases, the embedded antenna includes a separate transmitter and a separate receiver. In some cases, the embedded antenna is part of an antenna array that may include multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and / or both.

[0228] Capacitive electrode 1504 may be part of a set of electrodes configured to measure capacitance changes. The electrodes may use mutual capacitance protocols, self-capacitance protocols, or other types of protocols to measure capacitance changes.

[0229] The attribute comparator 1506 compares the original or processed input attributes with the stored attributes. The attribute comparator can determine the degree of similarity between the input attributes and the stored attributes. Based at least in part on the comparisons performed by the attribute comparator, the system can classify the input type.

[0230] The stored attribute 1508 can be an attribute derived from at least one input signal. The stored attribute can be a raw data attribute or a processed attribute. As the capacitive electrode or embedded antenna receives and analyzes more inputs, the stored attribute can be updated and / or modified.

[0231] The response instruction unit 1510 can determine the type of response to a comparison between an input attribute and a stored attribute. For example, if the input attribute is similar to, or at least sufficiently similar to, a stored attribute associated with a credit card having an external antenna, the response instruction unit 1510 can send an instruction to perform a response, such as sending an interrogation signal, sending a polling signal, turning on the antenna, parsing a message on a received signal, other types of instructions, or combinations thereof. In other examples, the response instruction unit can determine that the received signal is a false alarm from the receiving antenna. In this example, the response instruction unit can send a response to disable the antenna for a predetermined time, reject the received signal, perform other actions, or combinations thereof.

[0232] The power switch 1514 can be used to turn the antenna on or off. The power switch can be used in response to determining that an external antenna is present within the detectable range of the embedded antenna.

[0233] The antenna disabler 1516 can disable an embedded antenna. The embedded antenna can be disabled by turning off the antenna power, pausing antenna transmission, ignoring signals received by the embedded antenna, other actions, or combinations thereof.

[0234] The polling signal initiator 1518 enables the embedded antenna to send polling signals. The power of the polling signal can be lower than that of the interrogation signal, and it can be used to detect the presence of an external antenna, rather than to resolve messages from an external antenna.

[0235] The interrogation signal initiator 1520 can be used to exchange information between an external antenna and an embedded antenna. In response to determining that the external antenna is within the detectable range of the embedded antenna, the interrogation signal initiator can transmit a signal with a power higher than the polling signal.

[0236] Antenna confirmer 1522 can confirm the presence of an antenna. For example, this module can determine that an embedded antenna has received a signal. The antenna confirmer can determine that the received signal originates from an external antenna, and not from a metal ring, metal surface, metal casing, nearby metal objects, other interfering objects, or a combination thereof. The antenna confirmer can confirm that the received signal originates from an external antenna by comparing attributes in the received signal with stored attributes. The input attributes used to confirm the presence of the antenna can be antenna attributes, capacitance attributes, or a combination of both.

[0237] The message sender 1524 can send a message to the user. This message can be associated with a stored attribute that matches or is at least sufficiently similar to the input attribute. For example, an input attribute determined to be similar to a stored attribute associated with a message indicating that the credit card is too far away for the system to reliably parse an external antenna could also be associated with a message instructing the user to move the credit card closer to the embedded antenna.

[0238] The capacitance feature analyzer 1526 can analyze a capacitance input. The capacitance feature analyzer can break down a capacitance input into smaller parts, find relationships between different parts of the capacitance feature, process parts of the capacitance feature, identify capacitance properties, calculate capacitance properties, perform other tasks, or combinations thereof.

[0239] The antenna feature analyzer 1528 can analyze received antenna input. The antenna feature analyzer can decompose the antenna input into smaller parts, find relationships between different parts of the antenna feature, process parts of the antenna feature, identify antenna properties, calculate antenna properties, perform other tasks, or combinations thereof.

[0240] The keyboard input analyzer 1530 can determine that a user is performing keyboard input. In response to determining that a user is performing keyboard input, the keyboard input analyzer can determine which key is receiving keyboard input. In some cases, identifying that keyboard input is in progress by the keyboard input analyzer can trigger capacitance measurements or antenna measurements to obtain typical input properties that may occur when a user uses the keyboard of an electronic device.

[0241] The camera input analyzer 1532 can determine that a user is performing a specific type of input. For example, the camera input analyzer can determine that the user is performing touch input using an input device including a capacitive module, an embedded antenna, or both. In response, capacitance and / or antenna measurements can be performed, and attributes obtained from the corresponding measurements can be stored as touch input attributes or used to modify stored touch input attributes. The camera input analyzer can be used to obtain attributes or modify stored attributes associated with other user actions, including contactless gestures, typing, card input, card tapping, palm input, palm and finger combination input, thumb input, multi-touch input, touch input while wearing jewelry that may affect the antenna signal, other types of input, or combinations thereof.

[0242] The tap analyzer 1534 can determine that a user is making a tap input using a credit card or other card with an external antenna. In response to determining that a tap input is in progress, the tap analyzer can send instructions to perform capacitance and / or antenna measurements to obtain attributes for storage or modify the currently stored attributes.

[0243] The signal pattern analyzer 1536 can be used to determine the characteristics of capacitance measurements or received antenna signals. Analysis patterns and / or components of the signal / measurement can be used to create and / or modify stored attributes.

[0244] User prompter 1538 can be used to prompt a user to perform an action. This action may involve input that the system can measure to obtain and / or modify signal properties. Examples of prompts that the user prompter can provide include, but are not limited to: touch input, non-contact gestures, typing input, card input, card tapping input, palm input, palm and finger combination input, thumb input, multi-touch input, touch input while wearing jewelry that may affect the antenna signal, placing an electronic device on a metal surface, placing an electronic device near a metal object, making specific inputs while wearing a specific type of jewelry that may interfere with the received antenna signal, other types of prompts, or combinations thereof. In some examples, the prompter uses a display, audio, vibration, text messages, other types of messages, or combinations thereof to provide prompts.

[0245] The machine learning module 1540 can be used to analyze the attributes of received input. The machine learning module can understand at least some of the conditions present when the input is received, so that the attributes can be appropriately classified.

[0246] The storage attribute modifier 1542 can communicate with the machine learning module. In response to receiving input from the learning machine module, the storage attribute modifier can modify the storage attributes.

[0247] The capacitor electrode disabler 1546 can disable at least one capacitor electrode. The capacitor electrode disabler can disable a capacitor electrode in response to determining that the embedded antenna is communicating with an external antenna, that the user is providing unconscious palm input, that the user is typing, or that other conditions or combinations thereof exist.

[0248] Antenna signal rejector 1546 can reject received antenna signals. The antenna signal rejector can reject received antenna signals if stored properties indicate that the received antenna signal is a false alarm. This may occur when properties associated with capacitance measurements and / or antenna properties indicate that the user is inputting to the touchpad or performing other actions unrelated to the antenna.

[0249] Figure 16A An example of an electronic device 1600 is shown, wherein at least a portion of the outer surface of the electronic device is covered by a cover 1602. In some examples, the cover 1602 may be made of a metal that interferes with the return signal of an external antenna.

[0250] Figure 16B An example is shown where electronic device 1600 is placed on metal surface 1604. This metal surface can be a table, chair, counter, other surface, or a combination thereof. In such an example, metal surface 1604 may interfere with the return signal from an external antenna.

[0251] In such Figure 16A and Figure 16B In the examples shown, the calibration systems, modules, apparatuses, electronic devices, and methods described herein can help determine specific antenna characteristics and / or capacitance characteristics that can be received, which are at least in part caused by the cover 1602, the metal surface 1604, or other nearby objects that may interfere with the received signal.

[0252] Figure 17 An example of method 1700 using an antenna is shown. Method 1700 can be based on a reference. Figure 1-1 The method is performed according to the description of the apparatus, module, and principle in section 6. Method 1700 may include detecting 1702 a capacitive input and determining 1704 whether the input attribute of the capacitive input is similar to a stored finger attribute. If similar, method 1700 may include classifying the input 1706 as a finger input. If not similar, method 1700 may include determining 1708 whether the input attribute of the capacitive input is similar to a stored attribute of a finger wearing jewelry. If similar, method 1700 may include classifying the input 1710 as a attribute of a finger wearing jewelry. If not similar, method 1700 may include determining 1712 whether the input attribute of the capacitive input is similar to a stored card attribute. In some examples, the card is a card with an external antenna. If similar, method 1700 may include classifying the input 1714 as a card attribute. If not similar, method 1700 may include determining 1716 whether the input attribute of the capacitive input is similar to a stored multi-card attribute. If similar, method 1700 may include classifying the input 1718 as a multi-card attribute. If they are not similar, method 1700 may include determining whether the input attribute of the capacitive input 1720 is similar to the stored misaligned card attribute. If they are similar, method 1700 includes classifying the input 1722 as an misaligned card attribute. In this specific example, if the input attribute is not similar to the stored attribute, method 1700 includes failing to classify the input 1724.

[0253] Figure 18 An example of method 1800 using an antenna is shown. Method 1800 can be based on a reference. Figure 1-17The method is performed by describing the device, module, and principle. Method 1800 may include detecting 1802 an antenna input and determining 1804 whether the input attribute of the antenna input is similar to a stored finger attribute. If similar, method 1800 may include classifying the input 1806 as a finger input. If not similar, method 1800 may include determining 1808 whether the input attribute of the antenna input is similar to a stored attribute of a finger wearing jewelry. If similar, method 1800 may include classifying the input 1810 as a finger input wearing jewelry. If not similar, method 1800 may include determining 1812 whether the input attribute of the antenna input is similar to a stored card attribute. In some examples, the card is a card with an external antenna. If similar, method 1800 may include classifying the input 1814 as a card attribute. If not similar, method 1800 may include determining 1816 whether the input attribute of the antenna input is similar to a stored multi-card attribute. If similar, method 1800 may include classifying the input 1818 as a multi-card attribute. If they are not similar, method 1800 may include determining 1820 whether the input attribute of the antenna input is similar to a stored misaligned card attribute. If they are similar, method 1800 may include classifying the input 1822 as an misaligned card attribute. In this specific example, if the input attribute is not similar to the stored attribute, the method includes failing 1824 to classify the input.

[0254] Figure 19 An example of method 1900 using an antenna is shown. Method 1900 can be based on a reference. Figure 1-18 The method is performed by describing the device, module, and principle. Method 1900 may include detecting 1902 a capacitive input or antenna input and determining 1904 whether the attribute of the capacitive input or antenna input is similar to a card attribute. In some examples, the card is a card with an external antenna. If they are not similar, method 1900 includes confirming 1906 that the input is a non-card input, passing the input (or at least one attribute of the input) 1908 to one or more non-card machine learning models, and updating 1910 at least one non-card stored attribute. If they are similar, method 1900 includes confirming 1912 that the input is a card input, passing the input (or at least one attribute of the input) 1914 to one or more card machine learning models, and updating 1916 at least one card stored attribute.

[0255] Figure 20 An example of a method 2000 using an antenna is shown. This method 2000 can be based on a reference... Figure 1-19The method is performed by describing the device, module, and principle. Method 2000 may include receiving a capacitive input from at least one electrode 2002; comparing the input properties of the capacitive input with storage properties 2004; and sending a command to trigger an embedded antenna-based response, at least in part based on the comparison result 2006.

[0256] Figure 21 An example of a method 2100 using an antenna is shown. This method 2100 can be based on a reference... Figure 1-20 The method is performed by describing the device, module, and principle. Method 2100 may include acquiring 2102 storage attributes, receiving 2104 a capacitive input from at least one capacitive electrode; comparing the input attributes of the capacitive input with the storage attributes 2106; and sending 2108 a command to trigger an embedded antenna-based response, at least in part based on the comparison result.

[0257] Figure 22 An example of method 2200 using an antenna is shown. Method 2200 can be based on a reference... Figure 1-21 The method is performed by describing the device, module, and principle. Method 2200 may include receiving a capacitive input from at least one electrode 2202; comparing an input attribute of the capacitive input with a storage attribute 2204; sending an instruction 2206 to trigger an embedded antenna-based response based at least in part on the comparison result; and modifying the storage attribute 2208 by acquiring a subsequent capacitive attribute and modifying the storage attribute based on the subsequent capacitive attribute.

[0258] Figure 23 An example of a method 2300 using an antenna is shown. This method 2300 can be based on a reference... Figure 1-22 The method is performed by describing the device, module, and principle. Method 2300 may include receiving an input from an embedded antenna 2302; comparing the input attributes of the input with stored attributes 2304; and sending a command 2306 to trigger an embedded antenna-based response, at least in part based on the comparison result.

[0259] Figure 24 An example of a method 2400 using an antenna is shown. This method 2400 can be based on a reference... Figure 1-23 The method is performed by describing the device, module, and principle. Method 2400 may include acquiring 2402 stored attributes, receiving 2404 input from the embedded antenna; comparing the input attributes of the input with the stored attributes 2406; and sending 2408 an instruction to trigger an embedded antenna-based response, at least in part based on the comparison result.

[0260] Figure 25 An example of method 2500 using an antenna is shown. Method 2500 can be based on a reference. Figure 1-24The method is performed by describing the device, module, and principle. Method 2500 may include receiving an input from an embedded antenna 2502; comparing the input attributes of the input with stored attributes 2504; sending an instruction 2506 to trigger an embedded antenna-based response based at least in part on the comparison result; and modifying the stored attributes 2508 by acquiring subsequent attributes and modifying the stored attributes based on the subsequent attributes.

[0261] It should be noted that the methods, systems, and apparatus described above are merely examples. It must be emphasized that various processes or components can be appropriately omitted, substituted, or added in various embodiments. For example, it should be understood that in alternative embodiments, the methods can be performed in a different order than described, and various steps can be added, omitted, or combined. Furthermore, features described with respect to certain embodiments can be combined in various other embodiments. Different aspects and elements of the embodiments can be combined in a similar manner. Additionally, it must be emphasized that technology is constantly evolving; therefore, many elements are exemplary in nature and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

[0262] Specific details are set forth in this specification to provide a full understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques are shown without unnecessary detail to avoid obscuring the embodiments.

[0263] Additionally, it should be noted that embodiments can be described as processes shown as flowcharts or block diagrams. While each embodiment may be described as a sequential process, many operations can be performed in parallel or simultaneously. Furthermore, the order of operations can be rearranged. The process may have additional steps not included in the figures.

[0264] After describing several embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications, substitutions, and equivalents can be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the above-described elements may simply be components of a larger system, where other rules may take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the invention. Furthermore, multiple steps may be performed before, during, or after considering the above-described elements. Therefore, the foregoing description should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An antenna module, comprising: Embedded antenna; Processing resources and communicating with the embedded antenna; as well as Memory, communicating with the processing resources, The memory includes programming instructions, which, when executed, cause the processing resources to: Receive input from the embedded antenna; The input attributes are compared with the storage attributes; and Based at least in part on the comparison results, a command is sent to trigger a response based on the embedded antenna.

2. The antenna module according to claim 1, further comprising: A set of capacitive sensing electrodes that communicate with the processing resource.

3. The antenna module according to claim 2, wherein, The response includes disabling the capacitance sensing electrode.

4. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The response includes increasing the power level of the embedded antenna.

5. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The response includes activating the embedded antenna.

6. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The response includes using the embedded antenna to resolve the modulation pattern from the external antenna device.

7. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The response includes rejecting the input from the embedded antenna as a signal from an external antenna device.

8. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The response includes disabling the embedded antenna.

9. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The response includes sending a polling signal using the embedded antenna.

10. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The response includes sending a command to cause the embedded antenna to send an interrogation signal.

11. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The programming instructions further enable the processing resource to acquire the storage attributes.

12. The antenna module according to claim 11, wherein, Acquiring the storage attributes includes: in response to receiving typed input from the keyboard, recording sensing features using the embedded antenna, wherein the keyboard is integrated into a device that also integrates the antenna module.

13. The antenna module according to claim 11, wherein, Obtaining the storage attributes includes: in response to the camera receiving camera input, using the embedded antenna to record sensing features, wherein the camera is integrated into a device that also integrates the antenna module.

14. The antenna module according to claim 11, wherein, Acquiring the storage attribute includes: in response to a tap on a device with the embedded antenna integrated, recording sensing features using the embedded antenna.

15. The antenna module according to claim 11, wherein, Obtaining the storage attributes includes: in response to prompting the user to perform an operation using a device integrated with the antenna module, recording sensing features using the embedded antenna.

16. The antenna module according to claim 1, wherein, The programming instructions further include: modifying the storage attribute by obtaining subsequent attributes and modifying the storage attribute based on the subsequent attributes.

17. A computer program product for using an antenna module, the computer program product comprising a non-transient computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a controller to: Input is received from the embedded antenna integrated into the antenna module; Compare the input attributes with the storage attributes; and Based at least in part on the comparison results, a command is sent to trigger a response based on the embedded antenna.

18. The computer program product according to claim 1, wherein, The response includes disabling the capacitor electrodes that are also integrated into the antenna module.

19. A method of using an antenna module, comprising: From embedded antennas integrated into antenna modules to receive input; The input attributes are compared with the storage attributes; as well as Commands are sent at least in part based on the comparison results to trigger a response based on the embedded antenna.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The storage attribute is modified by obtaining subsequent attributes and modifying the storage attribute based on the subsequent attributes.

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