Single-chip multi-stimulus sensor controller

An apparatus for obtaining a plurality of measurement data in a single sense signal, the apparatus comprising:

• a transmitter that generates analog drive signals via a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and transmits the drive signals simultaneously to a sensor, wherein the sensor generates the sense signal in response to the drive signals, the sense signal including the plurality of measurement data;
• a receiver that receives the sense signal and converts the sense signal to a digital signal via an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that operates at a sampling rate that is less than an update rate of the DAC;
• and
• a decoder that decodes the sense signal to obtain the plurality of measurement data.

An apparatus for transmitting a plurality of drive signals simultaneously to a sensor, the apparatus comprising:

• transmit logic that generates one or more digital signals;
• a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that converts the one or more digital signals into one or more analog signals;
• an analog bus that receives the one or more analog signals from the DAC;
• a plurality of analog multiplexers (MUXs) connected to the analog bus, each MUX selecting one of a plurality of bus signals of the analog bus for transmission to the sensor as a drive signal, wherein the bus signals include the one or more analog signals from the DAC;
• and
• a plurality of analog output buffers connected to the MUXs, that buffer the selected drive signals for transmission to the sensor.

A mobile telephone including a controller for a multi-touch sensor, the controller formed on a single integrated circuit, the controller comprising:

• a transmit oscillator;
• a transmit signal section that generates a plurality of drive signals based on a frequency of the transmit oscillator;
• a plurality of transmit channels that transmit the drive signals simultaneously to drive the multi-touch sensor;
• a receive channel that receives a sense signal resulting from the driving of the multi-touch sensor;
• a receive oscillator;
• and
• a demodulation section that demodulates the received sense signal based on a frequency of the receive oscillator to obtain sensing results, the demodulation section including a demodulator and a vector operator.

A digital media player including a controller for a multi-touch sensor, the controller formed on a single integrated circuit, the controller comprising:

• a transmit oscillator;
• a transmit signal section that generates a plurality of drive signals based on a frequency of the transmit oscillator;
• a plurality of transmit channels that transmit the drive signals simultaneously to drive the multi-touch sensor;
• a receive channel that receives a sense signal resulting from the driving of the multi-touch sensor;
• a receive oscillator;
• and
• a demodulation section that demodulates the received sense signal based on a frequency of the receive oscillator to obtain sensing results, the demodulation section including a demodulator and a vector operator.