POINTING AND DATA ENTRY INPUT DEVICE
First Claim
1. An input device comprising:
- an array of adjacent capacitive sensors arranged into rows and columns, each capacitive sensor exhibiting a capacitance characteristic when in proximity to a conductive element;
a plurality of mechanical hysteresis mechanisms that are each deposited on and in contact with one of the capacitive sensors and configured to be actuated by a corresponding push button, each capacitive sensor exhibiting an electrical characteristic upon actuation of the corresponding mechanical hysteresis mechanism; and
an insulating overlay layer positioned over the array of capacitive sensors and the plurality of mechanical hysteresis mechanisms to define each push button and to define a surface for accommodating the conductive element.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An input device includes an array of adjacent capacitive sensors arranged into rows and columns. Each capacitive sensor exhibits a capacitance characteristic when in proximity to a conductive element. A plurality of mechanical hysteresis mechanisms are each deposited on and in contact with each of the capacitive sensors and configured to be actuated by a corresponding push button. Each capacitive sensor exhibits an electrical characteristic upon actuation of the corresponding mechanical hysteresis mechanism. An insulating overlay layer positioned over the array of capacitive sensors and the plurality of mechanical hysteresis mechanisms defines each push button and defines a surface for accommodating the conductive element.
46 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An input device comprising:
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an array of adjacent capacitive sensors arranged into rows and columns, each capacitive sensor exhibiting a capacitance characteristic when in proximity to a conductive element; a plurality of mechanical hysteresis mechanisms that are each deposited on and in contact with one of the capacitive sensors and configured to be actuated by a corresponding push button, each capacitive sensor exhibiting an electrical characteristic upon actuation of the corresponding mechanical hysteresis mechanism; and an insulating overlay layer positioned over the array of capacitive sensors and the plurality of mechanical hysteresis mechanisms to define each push button and to define a surface for accommodating the conductive element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of determining a position of a conductive element, the method comprising:
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providing an input pad including an array of adjacent capacitive sensors arranged into rows and columns, each capacitive sensor exhibits an increase in capacitance when in proximity to the conductive element generating capacitance values for each capacitive sensor; and deriving a position of the conductive element on the input pad based on the capacitance values of each sensor and a proportional contribution of each row and column of the array of adjacent capacitive sensors. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An input device comprising:
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an array of adjacent capacitive sensors arranged into rows and columns that provide capacitance information, each row and column including a corresponding weight such that a position of a conductive element is determined based on the capacitance information of the capacitive sensors and the corresponding weights; a plurality of push buttons that each correspond with one of the capacitive sensors, each capacitive sensor providing electrical information upon actuation of its corresponding push button; and an insulating overlay layer that defines each push button and defines a surface for accommodating the conductive element. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification