US-12620257-B2 - Multiple sensor pairing with single controller for display applications

US12620257B2US 12620257 B2US12620257 B2US 12620257B2US-12620257-B2

Abstract

An ultrasonic sensor system may comprise sensors (e.g., fingerprint sensors) configured to obtain information using ultrasonic waves. The ultrasonic sensor system may further include a controller chip configured to obtain the information, and a first flexible printed circuit substrate onto which the controller chip and a first sensor are mounted. The first flexible printed circuit substrate may further comprise an electrical connector. The ultrasonic sensor system may further include a second flexible printed circuit substrate, electrically coupled with the first flexible printed circuit substrate via the electrical connector, onto which a second sensor is mounted. The first sensor may be electrically coupled with the controller chip via the first flexible printed circuit substrate, and the second sensor may be electrically coupled with the controller chip via the second flexible printed circuit substrate, the electrical connector, and the first flexible printed circuit substrate.

Inventors

Jae Hyeong Seo
Jessica Liu Strohmann
Kostadin Dimitrov Djordjev

Assignees

QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240730

Claims (14)

1 . An ultrasonic sensor system comprising: a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, wherein each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is configured to obtain respective sensor information by generating and receiving ultrasonic waves traveling through a display; a controller chip configured to obtain the respective sensor information from each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors; a first flexible printed circuit substrate onto which the controller chip and a first ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors are mounted, the first flexible printed circuit substrate further comprising an electrical connector; a second flexible printed circuit substrate onto which a second ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is mounted, the second flexible printed circuit substrate electrically coupled with the first flexible printed circuit substrate via the electrical connector; and a memory chip mounted onto the second flexible printed circuit substrate and configured to store one or more tuning parameters for the second ultrasonic sensor accessible to the controller chip via the electrical connector; wherein: the first ultrasonic sensor is electrically coupled with the controller chip via the first flexible printed circuit substrate, and the second ultrasonic sensor is electrically coupled with the controller chip via the second flexible printed circuit substrate, the electrical connector, and the first flexible printed circuit substrate.
2 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the memory chip comprises an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM).
3 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the memory chip is configured to store one or more tuning parameters for the second ultrasonic sensor.
4 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the memory chip is electrically coupled with a second electrical connector of the first flexible printed circuit substrate, enabling an application processor to read information stored by the memory chip when the application processor is electrically coupled with the ultrasonic sensor system via the second electrical connector.
5 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 1 , wherein each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is configured to be coupled with a different respective planar section of a foldable display or a different respective display of an electronic device.
6 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 1 , further comprising a multiplexer configured to enable the controller chip to switch between communicating with the first ultrasonic sensor and the second ultrasonic sensor.
7 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the first flexible printed circuit substrate, the second flexible printed circuit substrate, or both, comprises a chip-on-flex (COF).
8 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the first ultrasonic sensor, the second ultrasonic sensor, or both, comprises a thin-film transistor (TFT) or a silicon (Si) sensor.
9 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the controller chip comprises an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
10 . An ultrasonic sensor system comprising: a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, wherein each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is configured to obtain respective sensor information by generating and receiving ultrasonic waves traveling through a display; a controller chip configured to obtain the respective sensor information from each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors; a set of one or more flexible printed circuit substrates electrically coupled with the controller chip and the plurality of ultrasonic sensors, the set of flexible printed circuit substrates electrically coupling the controller chip with each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors, wherein the set of one or more flexible printed circuit substrates comprises: a first flexible printed circuit substrate onto which the controller chip a first ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors are mounted; and a second flexible printed circuit substrate onto which a second ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is mounted, the second flexible printed circuit substrate electrically coupled with the first flexible printed circuit substrate via an electrical connector; and a memory chip mounted onto the second flexible printed circuit substrate, the memory chip configured to store one or more tuning parameters for the second ultrasonic sensor, wherein the memory chip is configured to enable an application processor to access the stored one or more tuning parameters for the second ultrasonic sensor via a second electrical connector of the first flexible printed circuit substrate.
11 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 10 , wherein each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is configured to be coupled with a different respective display of an electronic device.
12 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 11 , wherein each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is configured to be coupled with a different respective planar section of a foldable display, and wherein at least one flexible printed circuit substrate of the set of one or more flexible printed circuit substrates is configured to bridge at least one fold of the foldable display.
13 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 10 , wherein the first flexible printed circuit substrate, the second flexible printed circuit substrate, or both, comprises a chip-on-flex (COF).
14 . The ultrasonic sensor system of claim 10 , wherein the first ultrasonic sensor, the second ultrasonic sensor, or both, comprises a thin-film transistor (TFT) or a silicon (Si) sensor.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates generally to fingerprint sensors and other sensors used with displays, and methods, devices, and systems related to such sensors. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED TECHNOLOGY Biometric authentication can be an important feature for controlling access to electronic devices, etc. Many existing products include fingerprint and other sensors for biometric authentication, gesture detection, and other functions. Although existing fingerprint sensors provide benefits, improved methods and devices would be desirable. SUMMARY A first example ultrasonic sensor system, according to the disclosure, comprises a plurality of ultrasonic sensors, where each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is configured to obtain respective sensor information by generating and receiving ultrasonic waves traveling through a display. The ultrasonic sensor system further comprises a controller chip configured to obtain the respective sensor information from each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors, and a first flexible printed circuit substrate onto which the controller chip and a first ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors are mounted. The first flexible printed circuit substrate may comprise an electrical connector. The ultrasonic sensor system further comprises a second flexible printed circuit substrate onto which a second ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors is mounted. The second flexible printed circuit substrate may be electrically coupled with the first flexible printed circuit substrate via the electrical connector. The first ultrasonic sensor may be electrically coupled with the controller chip via the first flexible printed circuit substrate, and the second ultrasonic sensor may be electrically coupled with the controller chip via the second flexible printed circuit substrate, the electrical connector, and the first flexible printed circuit substrate. A second example ultrasonic sensor system, according to the disclosure, comprises a plurality of ultrasonic sensors. Each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors may be configured to obtain respective sensor information by generating and receiving ultrasonic waves traveling through a display. The ultrasonic sensor system further comprises a controller chip configured to obtain the respective sensor information from each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors. The ultrasonic sensor system further comprises a set of one or more flexible printed circuit substrates electrically coupled with the controller chip and the plurality of ultrasonic sensors, the set of flexible printed circuit substrates electrically coupling the controller chip with each ultrasonic sensor of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors. This summary is neither intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this disclosure, any or all drawings, and each claim. The foregoing, together with other features and examples, will be described in more detail below in the following specification, claims, and accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figures may not be drawn to scale. Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. FIGS. 1A and 1B are illustrations of example electronic devices with foldable displays. FIG. 2A is a block diagram of components of an example ultrasonic sensing system, according to some embodiments. FIG. 2B is a block diagram of components of an example mobile device, according to some embodiments. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example system that includes an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor array in communication with a controller and an application processor, according to some embodiments. FIG. 4 is an illustration of a foldable electronic device for which enhanced security is enabled by leveraging multiple fingerprint sensors, according to some embodiments. FIG. 5 is an illustration of a flexible printed circuit module, according to a first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an illustration of a flexible printed circuit module, according to a second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a configuration in which a number of muxes may be used to route output signals from a number of fingerprint sensors, according to some embodiments. FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a first example configuration having two fingerprint sensors and controller. FIG. 9