Ubiquitous capacitive touch sensing technology in home appliances

Since many of the components required to build a system are now integrated into a unified chip, SoC can significantly accelerate time-to-market. In addition, the time required to connect multiple devices and troubleshoot can be significantly reduced.

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of an induction cooker. This appliance must provide the following key features:

● Maintain the temperature of the pan: Pulse width modulation (PWM) is required to set the ignition duration of the heating coil;

● Fan control: temperature sensor and PWM are required to drive the fan motor;

● Overcurrent and overvoltage protection: ADC and comparator are required;

●Automatic detection of pan: Inductive sensing function is required;

● Time-based cooking function: requires real time clock (RTC);

● User interface - display: LED driver or LCD glass display is required;

● User Interface - Button: Requires capacitive touch sensing and detection.

Capacitive sensing technology

Keys based on capacitive sensing technology make the shape of the appliance stylish and beautiful, eliminating wear and tear, and are more popular than mechanical buttons. Many appliances must be used in close proximity to liquids, so consider waterproofing to avoid water splashes and false button triggering. Figure 2 shows a typical layout of a capacitive sensor printed circuit board (PCB). Water resistance is achieved by connecting the guard electrode instead of grounding the shaded portion (blue) around the sensor.

Figure 2. Using a protective electrode for waterproofing

The signal driving this electrode is the same as the signal connected to the sensor, so the water droplets will not form a potential difference between the shadow area and the sensor when the water drops on the sensor, and no more capacitance will be coupled to the sensor, so that the waterproof effect can be achieved. If the sensor is completely immersed in water, a protection mechanism is activated to disable the sensor's operation.

Since many appliances operate with large currents, the power supply typically generates large noise/ripple due to changes in load current and digital switches, and digital switches are coupled to capacitive sensors, which affects the reliability of the user interface. Based on the correct schematic and layout guidelines, we can reduce the ripple in the power supply by techniques such as ground wire layout to ensure that there is no ground bounce. However, it is difficult to completely remove the noise. If the reference is driven by the +ve line of the power supply, a false alarm of capacitive sensing may occur.

By switching the sensor between GND and VREF (internal generation), any change in the power supply will not cause an erroneous trigger as long as it is within the specified product operating limits.

Higher integration, lower cost

The SoC features integrated on-chip peripherals and hardware-based features that help designers implement most or all of their electrical functions.

In today's highly competitive consumer market, appliances must have a rich set of features. Integrated SoCs not only integrate more and more application features, but also reduce overall system cost, making them the best choice for OEMs. This method is also applicable to small appliances such as induction cookers and microwave ovens, as well as large appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators. Of course, large appliances still require special control for specific functions such as FOC motor control.

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