Apple inc. (20240103669). PIXELATED MUTUAL CAPACITANCE SENSING FOR WATER DETECTION simplified abstract

PIXELATED MUTUAL CAPACITANCE SENSING FOR WATER DETECTION

Organization Name

apple inc.

Inventor(s)

William Paul of San Francisco CA (US)

Christoph H. Krah of Cupertino CA (US)

PIXELATED MUTUAL CAPACITANCE SENSING FOR WATER DETECTION - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 20240103669 titled 'PIXELATED MUTUAL CAPACITANCE SENSING FOR WATER DETECTION

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes a pixelated mutual capacitance sensing configuration for detecting floating water. Here are the key points:

• Integrated touch screen configured in a checkerboard arrangement of drive pixels and sense pixels
• Sense pixels include sense sub-pixels surrounded by ground sub-pixels to reduce mutual capacitance
• Stimulated drive pixels capacitively couple onto sense sub-pixels, forming baseline mutual capacitance
• Grounded objects reduce mutual capacitance, while floating water increases it
• Floating water can be distinguished from grounded touch based on the change in mutual capacitance direction

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1. 1. 1. Potential Applications

• Water detection systems
• Moisture sensing devices
• Touchscreens in wet environments

1. 1. 1. Problems Solved

• Accurate detection of floating water
• Differentiation between water and grounded touch

1. 1. 1. Benefits

• Improved water detection capabilities
• Enhanced user experience in wet conditions

1. 1. 1. Potential Commercial Applications
         1. Waterproof Touchscreens: Enhancing User Experience in Wet Environments

1. 1. 1. Possible Prior Art

There may be prior art related to mutual capacitance sensing configurations for touchscreens, but specific examples are not provided in the abstract.

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1. 1. 1. Unanswered Questions

1. 1. 1. 1. How does the configuration handle varying water depths?

The abstract does not mention how the system differentiates between different levels of floating water.

1. 1. 1. 1. What is the impact of environmental factors on the accuracy of water detection?

The abstract does not address how factors like temperature or humidity may affect the performance of the system.

Original Abstract Submitted

a pixelated mutual capacitance sensing configuration to detect the presence of floating water is disclosed. an integrated touch screen can be configured in a checkerboard arrangement of alternating drive pixels and sense pixels, where each drive or sense pixel can include a plurality of sub-pixels. the sense pixels can include sense sub-pixels surrounded by ground sub-pixels to reduce the baseline mutual capacitance between the drive and sense pixels. stimulated drive pixels can capacitively couple onto the sense sub-pixels of the sense pixel, forming a baseline (no touch) mutual capacitance between the drive pixels and the sense sub-pixels. the presence of grounded objects shunts some charge to ground and reduces the mutual capacitance, while floating water provides and additional parallel mutual capacitance path that increases the mutual capacitance. floating water can be distinguished from a grounded touch based on the direction of the change in mutual capacitance.