Digitizer pad
First Claim
1. A digitizer pad apparatus comprising:
- at least two sets of terminals, each set defining a parameter dimension;
a resistor ply disposed between the terminals of each set and having an electrical contact surface, the resister ply having a resistance profile along the dimension between the terminals in each set;
an output terminal;
a first pressure sensitive ply disposed for overlaying the resistor ply between the resistor ply and the output terminal;
means for electrical interconnecting the output terminal to a selected location along the contact surface of the resistor ply;
a voltage source; and
switching means for sequentially coupling the voltage source across selected terminals from the sets of terminals to provide a voltage drop across the selected terminals whereby the voltage at the output terminal is a measure of the selected location along the parameter dimension defined by the terminals across which the voltage source is coupled;
the switching means further interconnected for selectively coupling the voltage source across the first pressure sensitive ply, whereby the voltage at the output terminal is a measure of the magnitude of the force pressing the first pressure sensitive layer against the resistor ply when the voltage source is coupled across the first pressure sensitive layer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A digitizer pad includes at least two sets of terminals where each set has at least a first and second terminal positioned to define a parameter dimension therebetween. A resistor ply is disposed between the terminals of each set. The resistor ply has an electrical contact surface with a resistance gradient profile between the terminals in each set. An output terminal is electrically interconnected to a selected location along the contact surface of the resistor ply. A voltage source is sequentially coupled, by suitable switching means, across a selected subset of terminals in each set of terminals whereby the voltage at the output terminal is a measure of the selected location along the parameter dimension defined by the terminals across which the voltage source is coupled.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A digitizer pad apparatus comprising:
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at least two sets of terminals, each set defining a parameter dimension; a resistor ply disposed between the terminals of each set and having an electrical contact surface, the resister ply having a resistance profile along the dimension between the terminals in each set; an output terminal; a first pressure sensitive ply disposed for overlaying the resistor ply between the resistor ply and the output terminal; means for electrical interconnecting the output terminal to a selected location along the contact surface of the resistor ply; a voltage source; and switching means for sequentially coupling the voltage source across selected terminals from the sets of terminals to provide a voltage drop across the selected terminals whereby the voltage at the output terminal is a measure of the selected location along the parameter dimension defined by the terminals across which the voltage source is coupled;
the switching means further interconnected for selectively coupling the voltage source across the first pressure sensitive ply, whereby the voltage at the output terminal is a measure of the magnitude of the force pressing the first pressure sensitive layer against the resistor ply when the voltage source is coupled across the first pressure sensitive layer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A digitizer pad apparatus comprising:
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a base ply; at least two sets of terminals disposed on the base ply, each set of terminals positioned in spaced apart relationship; a resistor ply disposed on the base ply in electrical contact with each of the terminals for providing an electrical conduction path between the terminals of each set of terminals, the resistor ply defining a resistance profile along the spacial dimension between selected pairs of terminals in each set of terminals; a top ply; a conductive ply disposed on the top ply and positioned in facing relationship to the resistor ply; a voltage source; switching means interconnected to the terminals and to the voltage source for intermittently selecting a pair of terminals and interconnecting the voltage source across the selected pair of terminals for providing a voltage drop between the selected pair of terminals, and simultaneously interconnecting the remaining terminals to provide a substantially zero voltage drop thereacross, the conductive ply being selectively moveable to make contact against the resistor ply at a selected location to enable conduction between the conductive ply and one of the terminals in the selected pair of terminals, the voltage at the selected location defining a parameter measure in the spacial dimension defined by the paid of terminals across which the voltage is coupled; and a first pressure sensitive layer disposed between the conductive ply and the resistor ply, the switching means further interconnected for providing a zero voltage along the resistor ply but a voltage differential across the first pressure sensitive layer, the voltage differential varying inversely with the magnitude of force applied to press the first pressure sensitive layer against the resistor ply at the selected location. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A digitizer pad apparatus comprising:
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a base ply; at least one set of base ply terminals disposed on the base ply, the base ply terminals being in spaced apart relationship; a base resistor ply disposed on the base ply in electrical contact with each of the base ply terminals for providing an electrical conduction path between selected pairs of base ply terminals; a top ply positioned in facing relationship to the base ply; at least one set of top ply terminals disposed on the top ply, the top ply terminals being in spaced apart relationship to each other; a top resistor ply disposed on the top ply in electrical contact with each of the top ply terminals for providing an electrical conduction path between selected pairs of top ply terminals, the top resistor ply facing the base resistor ply; a pressure sensitive layer disposed between the base resistor ply and the top resistor ply; a voltage source; and switching means interconnected to the base ply terminals, to the top ply terminal and to the voltage source for intermittently selecting one pair of terminals from one of the sets of top ply and bottom ply terminals and interconnecting the selected pair of terminals to the voltage source for providing a voltage drop between the selected pair, and interconnecting the remaining terminals to have a substantially zero voltage drop therebetween, and at least one of the base and top plies being selectively moveable to cause the top resistor ply and the base resistor ply to make electrical conducting contact at a selected location to enable conduction along a conduction path between one terminal from the selected pair and through the base and top resistor plies whereby the voltage drop along the conduction path defines a parameter measure of the selected location along a spacial dimension defined by the select pair of terminals across which the voltage source is coupled and further interconnected for intermittently coupling the voltage source to cause a zero voltage across the pairs of base and top ply terminals but coupling the voltage source across the pressure sensitive layer, the voltage across the pressure sensitive layer varying inversely with the magnitude of force applied to press the base resistor ply and the top resistor ply together with the pressure sensitive layer therebetween at the selected location. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification