Method and apparatus for sensing the force with which a button is pressed
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for sensing a force, comprising:
- an actuator having a conductive deformable surface;
a substrate having a first conductive trace and a second conductive trace;
a housing coupled to the actuator and to the substrate, holding the actuator in proximity to the substrate; and
a circuit for measuring a capacitance value.
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Abstract
Disclosed is an apparatus for sensing a force, comprising an actuator having a conductive deformable surface, a substrate having a first conductive trace and a second conductive trace, a housing coupled to the actuator and to the substrate, holding the actuator in proximity to the substrate, and a circuit for measuring a capacitance value.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An apparatus for sensing a force, comprising:
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an actuator having a conductive deformable surface;
a substrate having a first conductive trace and a second conductive trace;
a housing coupled to the actuator and to the substrate, holding the actuator in proximity to the substrate; and
a circuit for measuring a capacitance value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for determining the force with which an actuator is pressed comprising:
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providing an actuator with a conductive actuating surface which deforms when pressed against a flat surface, where the area of the conductive surface in contact with the flat surface increases as the actuating force increases;
providing a circuit board with conductive traces having an insulating material over the traces, such that a capacitance is created between said traces that varies as the actuating surface is pressed against the insulator;
measuring a first capacitance value between the traces on the circuit board; and
providing the capacitance measurement to a processing element. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A circuit for sensing an actuating force, comprising
a first conductive trace coupled to a reference voltage; -
a second conductive trace electrically insulated from the first conductive trace, located proximate to the first conductive trace; and
a sensor having a sensing input coupled to the second conductive trace, and having an output. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. An entertainment system, comprising:
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an entertainment device configurable to provide multimedia output;
a handheld input device capable of providing user input to the console, wherein the input device is configurable to sense an actuating force using a capacitance measurement; and
a communication protocol operating between the input device and the entertainment console. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification