Impedance sensing screen pointing device
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling the position of a screen pointer for an electronic device having a display screen, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of sensing elements against which a portion of the tip of a human digit may be placed; and
a controller coupled to each of the sensing elements for sensing an electrical property at each of the sensing elements, the controller configured to generate pixel values representing the portion of the tip of the digit placed against die sensing elements based on the sensed electrical property at each of the sensing elements, the controller configured to generate movement data based on a comparison of successively generated sets of the pixel values, the comparison including comparing a first one of the sets with at least one pixel shifted version of a second one of the sets, the movement data indicative of motion of the tip of the digit across the sensing elements.
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Abstract
An apparatus for controlling the position of a screen pointer for an electronic device having a display screen includes a plurality of sensing elements against which a portion of the tip of a human digit may be placed. A controller coupled to each of the sensing elements senses an electrical property at each of the sensing elements. The controller is configured to generate pixel values representing the portion of the tip of the digit placed against the sensing elements based on the sensed electrical property at each of the sensing elements, and generate movement data based on a comparison of successively generated sets of the pixel values. The comparison includes comparing a first one of the sets with at least one pixel shifted version of a second one of the sets. The movement data is indicative of motion of the tip of the digit across the sensing elements.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling the position of a screen pointer for an electronic device having a display screen, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of sensing elements against which a portion of the tip of a human digit may be placed; and a controller coupled to each of the sensing elements for sensing an electrical property at each of the sensing elements, the controller configured to generate pixel values representing the portion of the tip of the digit placed against die sensing elements based on the sensed electrical property at each of the sensing elements, the controller configured to generate movement data based on a comparison of successively generated sets of the pixel values, the comparison including comparing a first one of the sets with at least one pixel shifted version of a second one of the sets, the movement data indicative of motion of the tip of the digit across the sensing elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of controlling the position of a screen pointer for an electronic device having a screen display, the method comprising:
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placing a portion of an appendage of the human hand against a plurality of sensing elements; sensing an impedance at each of the sensing elements; generating digital values representing the sensed impedance at each of the sensing elements, the digital values representing digital images of the portion of the appendage placed against the sensing elements; correlating at least one version of a first one of the digital images with at least one version of a second one of the digital images to generate motion data indicative of motion across the sensing elements by the appendage; and adjusting the position of the screen pointer in accordance with the motion data. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification