Mutual capacitive touch sensing anomaly detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional threshold-based systems for mutual capacitive touch sensing are inadequate in detecting anomalies, as they may fail to distinguish between intentional and unintentional touch events and cannot accurately identify damage to sensor traces, requiring additional hardware and complex configurations.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a processor that measures capacitance changes by dynamically configuring ports to create and swap electric fields, allowing for the comparison of mutual capacitance changes under different configurations to determine anomaly likelihood without additional hardware, using a threshold-based system to differentiate between normal and anomalous operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional threshold-based systems are used for mutual capacitive touch sensing, then the system structure remains simple, but the system cannot accurately distinguish between intentional and unintentional touch events or detect trace damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically swaps the configuration of transmit and receive ports between different measurement cycles. In the first cycle, port 1 is configured as transmit and port 2 as receive; in the second cycle, their roles are reversed. This dynamic reconfiguration enables the system to detect anomalies by comparing capacitance measurements from different port assignments, improving reliability without adding hardware complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters of the touch sensor by swapping port configurations between measurement cycles. This parameter change allows the same physical sensor to be measured from different electrical perspectives, enabling detection of trace damage and false touch events through comparison of the swapped configurations
2Reliability
If additional hardware is added to detect sensor trace damage and distinguish touch events, then anomaly detection capability improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The touch sensor system performs self-diagnosis by swapping its own port configurations and comparing measurements. The existing transmit and receive ports are reused in reversed roles, allowing the system to detect trace damage and anomalies using its own resources without requiring additional test hardware or external diagnostic equipment
3Measurement precision
If port configurations are swapped to detect anomalies, then measurement precision for anomaly detection improves, but measurement time increases due to multiple measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs periodic measurements by alternating between two port configurations in successive measurement cycles. The first cycle measures with port 1 as transmit and port 2 as receive, while the second cycle swaps them. This periodic action enables anomaly detection through comparison while maintaining efficient measurement timing through regular alternating patterns
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively identifies anomalies in mutual capacitive touch sensors by analyzing differences in capacitance measurements from swapped port configurations, reducing false positives and detecting trace damage without requiring extra hardware, thus enhancing error detection in capacitive touch systems.
Implementation Method 1
a capacitive element can be formed by two conductive elements that can generate an electric field
Implementation Method 2
The mutual capacitance between the two conductive elements forming the capacitive element can change
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Systems and methods for determining a likelihood of an occurrence of an anomaly in a sensor are described. A processor can receive a first measurement of a first capacitance change between a first port and a second port of a device connected to the sensor. The first measurement can be obtained in response to the first port being configured to perform a first function, and in response to the second port being configured to perform a second function. The processor can receive a second measurement of a second capacitance change between the first and second ports. The second measurement can be obtained in response to the first port being configured to perform the second function, and in response to the second port being configured to perform the first function. The processor can determine the likelihood of the occurrence of the anomaly based on the first and second measurements.