Transmitter Electrode Power Reduction via Intermediate Voltage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Touch sensor devices face high power consumption due to the need to drive arrays of sensor electrodes, which is particularly burdensome for devices with limited power supplies, and the size of the driver circuitry is proportional to the charge required, leading to inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A processing system that includes a driver module coupled to a transmitter electrode, which is driven from an intermediate voltage potential by an electronic storage device before being driven to a second voltage potential by a driver module, reducing the power consumption by minimizing the amount of power needed from the driver module.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If driver circuitry directly drives sensor electrodes from initial voltage to final voltage, then transmitter signal is generated, but power consumption is high
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic storage device is pre-charged to an intermediate voltage potential before the driver module operates. This preliminary charging action stores energy in advance, so when the driver module activates the transmitter electrode, it only needs to provide the voltage difference from the intermediate potential to the final potential, significantly reducing the power consumption of the driver circuitry while still generating the required transmitter signal.
2Area of stationary object
If driver circuitry drives large array of sensor electrodes, then complete sensing coverage is achieved, but driver circuitry size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic storage device acts as an intermediary between the power source and the transmitter electrode. It decouples the high-power charging function from the low-power driving function. The storage device absorbs the bulk of the energy transfer, allowing the driver module to remain small while still supporting large sensor electrode arrays, thus reducing driver circuitry size without compromising sensing coverage.
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 reduces the overall power consumption of the input device by leveraging an electronic storage device to partially drive the transmitter electrode, thereby conserving energy, especially in devices with limited power supplies.
Implementation Method 1
an electronic storage device configured to drive the first transmitter electrode to the intermediate voltage potential
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a method and system that is able to reduce the power consumption needed to drive sensor electrodes included within an input device. The power consumption of the input device is reduced by providing an intermediate electronic storage device that partially drives a sensor electrode before a driver module drives the sensor electrode the remaining amount to the second voltage potential.