METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING POSITION ON SURFACE CAPACITANCE TOUCH PANEL USING A FLYING CAPACITOR

• US 20100328241A1
• Filed: 06/14/2010
• Published: 12/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cirque Corporation
• Original Assignee: Cirque Corporation
• Inventors: Bytheway, Jared G., Paulsen, Keith
• Application Number:
  US12/815,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20100328241A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0444 using a single conductive element covering the whole sensing surface, e.g. by sensing the electrical current flowing at the corners

Abstract

A touch panel having a substantially even coating of a conductive material on a non-conductive substrate and then covering the conductive material with a dielectric material, wherein a novel current measuring circuit reduces the effect of stray capacitance on the accuracy of a current measurement so that the relative X and Y position of an object on the touch panel can be determined using simple ratio equations.

Claims

1. A method for determining the distance between two fingers on a touchpanel, said method comprising the steps of:

1) providing a touch panel comprised of an insulating substrate, a resistive material disposed on the substrate, and a dielectric disposed on the resistive material;

2) determining a location of two fingers on the touchpanel;

3) determining the distance between the two fingers;

4) tracking the distance between the two fingers to determine if the fingers are performing a gesture such as pinching, unpinching or rotation.