CAPACITIVE TOUCHPAD CAPABLE OF OPERATING IN A SINGLE SURFACE TRACKING MODE AND A BUTTON MODE WITH REDUCED SURFACE TRACKING CAPABILITY
First Claim
1. A touchpad having two modes of operation that dynamically allocate regions of the touchpad for different functions, said touchpad comprised of:
- a primary sensor region for the detection and tracking of movement a single conductive object on a surface thereof;
a secondary sensor region that is immediately adjacent to the primary sensor region; and
a switch disposed underneath the secondary sensor region, wherein the switch dynamically toggles the secondary sensor region between a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation, wherein a first mode of operation enables the secondary sensor region to perform detection and tracking of movement of the single conductive object as if seamlessly connected to the primary sensor region, and a second mode of operation that changes the secondary sensor region to a button mode of operation as long as the switch is activated.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A touchpad that operates in two modes, wherein a first mode enables the entire surface of the touchpad to operate in a typical detection single object detection and tracking mode to track the movement of a conductive object such as a finger anywhere on the surface of the touchpad and perform typical touchpad operations such as cursor control, and a second mode of operation wherein a button region of the touchpad is no longer used for the tracking of movement of a finger on the surface of the touchpad, but is instead dedicated to a button function if a finger on the touchpad pushes with sufficient force to activate a switch underneath the touchpad.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A touchpad having two modes of operation that dynamically allocate regions of the touchpad for different functions, said touchpad comprised of:
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a primary sensor region for the detection and tracking of movement a single conductive object on a surface thereof; a secondary sensor region that is immediately adjacent to the primary sensor region; and a switch disposed underneath the secondary sensor region, wherein the switch dynamically toggles the secondary sensor region between a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation, wherein a first mode of operation enables the secondary sensor region to perform detection and tracking of movement of the single conductive object as if seamlessly connected to the primary sensor region, and a second mode of operation that changes the secondary sensor region to a button mode of operation as long as the switch is activated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for dynamically altering operation of a touchpad by activating a switch, said method comprising the steps of:
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1) providing a primary sensor region for the detection and tracking of movement a single conductive object on a surface thereof; 2) providing a secondary sensor region that is immediately adjacent to the primary sensor region; 3) providing a switch disposed underneath the secondary sensor region; and 4) dynamically switching between a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation by activating the switch, wherein a first mode of operation enables the secondary sensor region to perform detection and tracking of movement of the single conductive object as if seamlessly connected to the primary sensor region, and a second mode of operation that changes the secondary sensor region to a button mode of operation as long as the switch is activated. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7)
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Specification