Touch-Based User Interface Conductive Rings
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a casing;
a touch sensor disposed on the casing as a first manually-operable control and providing a touch-sensitive surface to enable operation of a user interface by a user of the apparatus with a tip of a digit of the user;
a second manually-operable lacking ability to sense a mere touch of the second manually-operable control by the tip, and disposed on the casing at a location in close proximity to a portion the periphery of the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor;
an outer conductive ring disposed about the periphery of the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor enabling an approach of the tip towards at least portions of the touch-sensitive surface adjacent the periphery of the touch-sensitive surface to be detected;
a processing device able to access the touch sensor and the second manually-operable control; and
a storage accessible to the processing device and storing a sequence of instructions that when executed by the processing device, causes the processing device to;
monitor a level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring on a recurring basis for an instance of the level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring rising above a minimum capacitance threshold; and
in response to an instance of the level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring rising above the minimum capacitance threshold, employ the level of capacitance in distinguishing between an instance of the user interacting with the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor and an instance of the user operating the second manually-operable control.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus in which an outer conductive ring surrounds the periphery of a touch-sensitive surface of a touch sensor serving as a manually-operable control, wherein a portion of the outer conductive ring is also between the touch-sensitive surface and another manually-operable control that lacks the ability to sense the mere touch of a tip of a digit of a user. A processing device causes the level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring to be measured on a recurring basis for instances of an amount of additional capacitance above a minimum capacitance threshold, and employs such amounts of additional capacitance in a comparison to distinguish between the user interacting with a control surface defined on the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor or the other manually-operable control.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a casing; a touch sensor disposed on the casing as a first manually-operable control and providing a touch-sensitive surface to enable operation of a user interface by a user of the apparatus with a tip of a digit of the user; a second manually-operable lacking ability to sense a mere touch of the second manually-operable control by the tip, and disposed on the casing at a location in close proximity to a portion the periphery of the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor; an outer conductive ring disposed about the periphery of the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor enabling an approach of the tip towards at least portions of the touch-sensitive surface adjacent the periphery of the touch-sensitive surface to be detected; a processing device able to access the touch sensor and the second manually-operable control; and a storage accessible to the processing device and storing a sequence of instructions that when executed by the processing device, causes the processing device to; monitor a level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring on a recurring basis for an instance of the level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring rising above a minimum capacitance threshold; and in response to an instance of the level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring rising above the minimum capacitance threshold, employ the level of capacitance in distinguishing between an instance of the user interacting with the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor and an instance of the user operating the second manually-operable control. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method comprising:
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monitoring a level of capacitance of an outer conductive ring surrounding the periphery of a touch-sensitive surface of a touch sensor serving as a first manually-operable control and separating the touch-sensitive surface from a second manually-operable control on a recurring basis for an instance of the level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring rising above a minimum capacitance threshold; and in response to an instance of the level of capacitance of the outer conductive ring rising above the minimum capacitance threshold, employing the level of capacitance in distinguishing between an instance of a user interacting with the touch-sensitive surface of the touch sensor and an instance of the user operating the second manually-operable control. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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Specification