TOUCH-SENSITIVE POINTING DEVICE WITH GUIDING LINES
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Abstract
A touchpad-or touch screen-based device has a touch-sensitive sensor surface and can generate electrical and/or optical signals dependent on the placement and/or movement of a finger physically contacting the sensor surface. The sensor surface comprises a corrugated surface in at least one sub-area, thereby providing a user with two modes for finger movement across the sensor surface, namely a first mode for sliding movement at a first finger pressure, and a second mode for guided movement at a second finger pressure higher than the first finger pressure.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1-10. -10. (canceled)
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11. A touch-sensitive pointing device, in the form of a touchpad, for controlling at least two coordinates of a movement of a cursor on a computer display and/or the vertical and horizontal scrolling in a window on a computer display, said pointing device comprising:
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a touch-sensitive sensor surface generating signals dependent on the placement and/or movement of a finger in physical contact with said sensor surface; wherein said touch-sensitive sensor surface comprises a corrugated area formed by a plurality of alternating grooves and ridges extending in a first direction along substantially straight lines, wherein neighbouring ridges are arranged substantially parallel and with a mutual distance from each other between 0.1 mm and 3 mm. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A touch-sensitive pointing device for controlling at least two coordinates of a movement, said pointing device comprising:
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a touch-sensitive sensor surface generating signals dependent on the placement and/or movement of a finger in physical contact with said sensor surface; wherein said touch-sensitive sensor surface comprises a corrugated area formed by a plurality of alternating grooves and ridges extending in a first direction along substantially straight lines, wherein neighbouring ridges are arranged substantially parallel and with a mutual distance from each other; wherein said distance between neighbouring ridges is such that, when said touch-sensitive pointing device is in use, said finger is simultaneously in contact with at least three neighbouring ridges; wherein said distance between neighbouring ridges is between 0.1 mm and 3 mm; wherein corrugation amplitude of said corrugated area is between 0.05 mm and 2 mm. - View Dependent Claims (26)
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27. A method of using a touch-sensitive pointing device for moving a cursor on a computer display from a first cursor position to a second cursor position in response to a finger'"'"'s movement on a touch-sensitive sensor surface of said touch-sensitive pointing device, wherein said touch-sensitive sensor surface is provided with a corrugated area formed by a plurality of alternating grooves and ridges extending in a first direction along substantially straight and mutually parallel lines, wherein neighbouring ridges are arranged at a distance a from each other, said method comprising the steps of:
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a) bringing said finger in contact with said touch-sensitive sensor surface at a first point on said touch-sensitive sensor surface; b) aligning said cursor with a first coordinate of said second cursor position by moving said finger across said corrugated area to an intermediate point on said touch-sensitive sensor surface while applying a first finger pressure; and c) bringing said cursor to said second cursor position by moving said finger from said intermediate point to a second point on said touch-sensitive sensor surface in a guided movement along said ridges in said first direction while applying a second finger pressure higher than said first finger pressure.
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- 28. The method according to claim 28, wherein in step b) said finger is moved essentially perpendicular to said first direction,
Specification