CAPACITIVE MOUSE

• US 20110001704A1
• Filed: 09/13/2010
• Published: 01/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Inventors: Gillespie, David W., Day, Shawn P., Errington, Andrew M., Shaw, Scott J., Trent, Raymond A. JR.
• Application Number:
  US12/880,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20110001704A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/163
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0339 Touch strips, e.g. orthogonal touch strips to control cursor movement or scrolling; single touch strip to adjust parameter or to implement a row of soft keys
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0312 for tracking the rotation of a spherical or circular member, e.g. optical rotary encoders used in mice or trackballs using a tracking ball or in mouse scroll wheels tracking relative movement in co-operation with a regularly or irregularly patterned surface, e.g. as in optical mice G06F3/0317; constructional details of scroll or thumb-wheels G06F3/0362; optical rotary encoders G01D5/3473
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03547 Touch pads, in which fingers can move on a surface
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0362 with detection of 1D translations or rotations of an operating part of the device, e.g. scroll wheels, sliders, knobs, rollers or belts

Abstract

A pointing device some or all of whose elements are made from capacitive sensors. Such elements may include a rotary motion detector which includes a rotating member and a plurality of fixed capacitive detecting members; a rolling ball with patterned conductive surface and a plurality of fixed capacitive detecting members; capacitive touch sensors or capacitive switches to serve as mouse buttons; and a scrolling wheel, knob, or touch surface built from capacitive sensors. The pointing device further includes a capacitance measuring circuit and processor to measure variations of capacitance on the various capacitive elements and to determine the movement of and other activations of the mouse.

Claims

1. A touch sensor system comprising:

a touch sensor configured to sense objects along a first axis; and

a processor in operative communication with the touch sensor, the processor configured to;

cause scrolling in response to motion of an object along the first axis, and

continue causing scrolling in response to a substantially non-zero speed of the object along the first axis as the object began lifting from the touch sensor.

2. The touch sensor system of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor is configured to sense the object along a second axis different from the first axis, and wherein the processor is configured to cause scrolling by:

generating signals for causing scrolling.

3. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to continue causing scrolling in response to the substantially non-zero speed by:

determining an amount of motion of the object occurring prior to the lifting of the object from the touch sensor; and

continuing causing scrolling in response to the amount of motion exceeding a threshold.

4. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to continue causing scrolling in response to the substantially non-zero speed by:

causing scrolling at a speed based on the substantially non-zero speed of the object along the first axis as the object began lifting from the touch sensor.

5. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to:

not continue causing scrolling in response to a substantially zero speed of the object along the first axis as the object began lifting from the touch sensor.

6. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to decay scrolling while continuing to cause scrolling.

7. The touch sensor system of claim 6 wherein the processor is configured to decay scrolling in a manner that simulates friction.

8. The touch sensor system of claim 1 wherein the processor is further configured to cease causing continued scrolling in response to the object returning to the touch sensor.

9. The touch sensor system of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor comprises a capacitive sensor.

10. The touch sensor system of claim 1, wherein the touch sensor comprises:

a substrate;

a plurality of sensors disposed on the substrate.

11. The touch sensor system of claim 1, further comprising:

an enclosure, wherein the touch sensor is disposed on an internal surface of the enclosure and configured to sense through the enclosure.

12. The touch sensor system of claim 11, further comprising:

adhesive physically coupling the touch sensor and the internal surface of the enclosure.

13. A device comprising:

an enclosure having an outside surface;

a capacitive sensor configured to sense objects proximate the outside surface; and

a processor in operative communication with the capacitive sensor, the processor configured to;

cause coasting in response to an object having a substantially non-zero speed along a first axis while lifting from the outside surface, and

not cause coasting in response to the object lifting from the outside surface with a substantially zero speed along the first axis.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein the processor is further configured to decay coasting after causing coasting.

15. The device of claim 13 wherein the processor is further configured to generate a command in response to motion of the object on the outside surface, along the first axis, and wherein the processor is configured to cause coasting by causing continuation of the command.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the command is selected from a group consisting of:

scrolling and zooming.

17. The device of claim 13, wherein the capacitive sensor comprises:

a substrate disposed on an internal surface of the enclosure;

a plurality of sensors disposed on the substrate, the plurality of sensors configured to sense objects proximate the outside surface capacitively.

18. A method of causing scrolling with a device having a touch surface, the method comprising:

causing scrolling in response to motion of an object along a first axis, proximate the touch surface;

causing continued scrolling in response to the object lifting from the touch surface while having substantially non-zero speed along the first axis; and

not causing continued scrolling in response the object lifting from the touch surface with a substantially zero speed along the first axis.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

decaying the continued scrolling.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

decaying the continued scrolling in a manner that simulates friction.