US 12,073,048 B2
Front-facing proximity detection using capacitive sensor
Atulya Yellepeddi, Medford, MA (US); Harshvardhan Bhatia, Woburn, MA (US); Jiayi Jiang, Marlborough, MA (US); Reuben Harry Cohn-Gordon, Cambridge, MA (US); Johannes Traa, Medford, MA (US); and Sai Kulkarni, Cambridge, MA (US)
Assigned to Analog Devices, Inc., Wilmington, MA (US)
Filed by Analog Devices, Inc., Wilmington, MA (US)
Filed on Mar. 14, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/693,644.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/161,774, filed on Mar. 16, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0300111 A1, Sep. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. G06F 3/044 (2006.01)
CPC G06F 3/0443 (2019.05) [G06F 2203/04101 (2013.01); G06F 2203/04104 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A proximity sensor system comprising:
a sensor couplable to a plurality of electrodes arranged adjacent to a face of a device in a layout of discrete spaced-apart areas, the sensor configured to:
obtain a first set of measurements between a first subset of the plurality of electrodes, the first set of measurements related to respective capacitances between at least one pair of electrodes in the first subset of the plurality of electrodes; and
obtain a second set of measurements between a second subset of the plurality of electrodes, the second set of measurements related to respective capacitances between at least one pair of electrodes in the second subset of the plurality of electrodes; and
a proximity detector configured to:
detect at least a first threshold change in the first set of measurements;
detect at least a second threshold change in the second set of measurements; and
in response to detecting at least the first threshold change in the first set of measurements and detecting at least the second threshold change in the second set of measurements, determine that an object is approaching the face of the device.