OPTICAL CAPACITIVE THUMB CONTROL WITH PRESSURE SENSOR
First Claim
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14-1. The method as recited in claim 14 further comprising:
- distinguishing between a tap and a sustained pressure when detecting pressure.
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Abstract
A small sensor surface designed to control a smart phone or Mobile Internet Device (MID). The sensor surface may be mounted on the side of the proposed device in a position where a user'"'"'s thumb or finger naturally falls when holding the device in his/her hand. The sensor surface is simultaneously convex and concave, providing both visual and physical cues for the use of the sensor surface. The sensor may include capacitive sensing, optical sensing and pressure sensing capabilities to interpret thumb gestures into device control.
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Citations
22 Claims
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14-1. The method as recited in claim 14 further comprising:
distinguishing between a tap and a sustained pressure when detecting pressure.
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15-2. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising:
optically detecting thumb movement on or near the touchpad.
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17. A system, comprising:
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a hand-held computer device; a thumb touchpad located on an upper side panel of the computer device; an array of capacitive sensors associated with the touchpad; at least one optical sensor associated with the touchpad, wherein the array of capacitive sensors and the optical sensor operate to detect thumb gestures to control a cursor in an x and y direction for the computer device; and a pressure sensor mechanism associated with the touchpad to detect thumb pressure as a Boolean input for the computer device. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification