US 11,886,668 B1
Ultrasonic touch sensor with active feedback
Matthias Eberl, Taufkirchen (DE); Fabian Merbeler, Munich (DE); and Emanuel Stoicescu, Bucharest (RO)
Assigned to Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg (DE)
Filed by Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg (DE)
Filed on Oct. 7, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/938,844.
Int. Cl. G06F 3/043 (2006.01); G06F 3/041 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/0436 (2013.01) [G06F 3/0418 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A touch sensor, comprising:
a housing having an ultrasound chamber;
a touch structure coupled to the housing and arranged over the ultrasound chamber such that the ultrasound chamber forms an enclosed interior volume, wherein the touch structure comprises a touch interface;
a transmitter arranged inside the enclosed interior volume, wherein the transmitter is configured to transmit an ultrasonic transmit wave towards the touch structure;
a receiver arranged inside the enclosed interior volume and coupled to the transmitter via a propagation path, wherein the receiver is configured to receive an ultrasonic reflected wave produced from the ultrasonic transmit wave and the propagation path;
a programmable voltage source configured to provide a bias voltage to the transmitter or to the receiver;
a receiver circuit configured to convert the ultrasonic reflected wave into a measurement signal and generate an error value representative of a difference between a measured value of the measurement signal and a reference value;
a controller configured to adjust the bias voltage to a voltage level that reduces the error value; and
a measurement circuit configured to measure the adjusted bias voltage and determine whether a no-touch event or a touch event has occurred at the touch interface based on a comparison of the measured adjusted bias voltage and a bias voltage threshold.