Capacitive mouse

• US 7,212,189 B2
• Filed: 03/05/2003
• Issued: 05/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• 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.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hjerpe; Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): LESPERANCE, JEAN E
• Application Number:
  US10/382,799
• Publication Number:
  US 20030156098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,518 Days
• Field of Search: 345/163, 345/164, 345/165, 345/166, 345/167, 345/173, 345/174, 345/175
• 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 pointing device comprising:

a computer mouse configured to generate cursor commands;

a touch sensor coupled to said computer mouse, said touch sensor configured for measuring motion of a finger along an axis, said touch sensor configured for operating by capacitive means; and

a processor in operative communication with said touch sensor, said processor configured to generate a scrolling command in response to said motion of said finger along said axis, said processor is configured to cease said scrolling command after finger lifting from said touch sensor without substantially continuing generating said scrolling command responsive to said responsive to said finger being stationary prior to lifting from said finger lifting, said processor further configured to continue generating said scrolling command responsive to said finger lifting from said touch sensor for a time after said finger lifting to emulate coasting responsive to said finger motion prior to said finger lifting.

2. The pointing device of claim 1 further comprising:

a friction simulation means configured to decay scrolling action of said scrolling command in response to cessation of said scrolling command after said finger lifts from said touch sensor.

3. A touch sensor system, comprising:

a one-axis touch sensor configured for sensing an object along a single axis; and

a processor in operative communication with said one-axis touch sensor, said processor configured to generate a scrolling signal responsive to sensing motion of said object along said one-axis touch sensor, and wherein said processor is further configured to cease said scrolling, without substantially continuing said scrolling signal, responsive to said object being substantially stationary prior to said object lifting from said one-axis touch sensor, wherein said processor is further configured to continue said scrolling signal for a time after lifting off of said object from said one-axis touch sensor to emulate coasting responsive to sensing object motion prior to said lifting off of said object from said one-axis touch sensor.

4. The one-axis touch sensor of claim 3 wherein said scrolling signal is compatible with that from a standard commercial scroll wheel mouse.

5. The one-axis touch sensor of claim 3 wherein said processor is configured to measure the amount of motion of said object occurring prior to the lifting off of said object from said one-axis touch sensor, and wherein the one-axis touch sensor configured to continue said scrolling signal when said amount of motion exceeds a predetermined threshold.

6. The one-axis touch sensor of claim 5 wherein said predetermined threshold is non-zero.

7. A one-axis touch sensor comprising:

a sensor configured to sense a finger along a single axis of the one-axis touch sensor; and

a processor in operative communication with said sensor, wherein said sensor is configured to transmit to said processor one of a touch signal responsive to motion of said finger touching said sensor, and a lift signal responsive to lift off of said finger from said sensor, and wherein said processor is configured to generate a scrolling signal responsive to said touch signal and said lift signal and wherein said processor is further configured to generate a coasting signal for a time after said lift off of said sensor to emulate coasting responsive to finger motion prior to said lift off of said finger.

8. The one-axis touch sensor of claim 7 wherein said touch signal includes an indication of a presence of said finger touching said sensor and a motion of the finger along said axis.

9. The one-axis touch sensor of claim 8 wherein said scrolling signal is an indication of said non-zero velocity.

10. The one-axis touch sensor of claim 7 wherein both said lift signal and said touch signal are responsive to a continuous action comprising a contact of said finger on said sensor, said motion of said finger along said axis and said lift off of said finger.

11. The one-axis touch sensor of claim 7 wherein said coasting signal indicates said motion of said finger along said axis being a non-zero velocity during said lift off.

12. The one-axis touch sensor of claim 7 wherein said scrolling signal is in quadrature form, said quadrature form including characteristics of being the type of signals produced by a rotary encoder.

13. A touch sensor system comprising:

a capacitive sensor configured to sense a finger along an axis; and

a processor in operative communication with said capacitive sensor, said processor configured to generate scrolling in response to motion of said finger along said axis, wherein said processor is configured to cease said scrolling, without substantially continuing said scrolling, responsive to said finger being substantially stationary prior to said finger lifting from said capacitive sensor, and wherein said processor is further configured to continue generating scrolling for a time after a finger lift from said capacitive sensor to emulate coasting when said finger lift was preceded by finger motion along the axis.

14. The touch sensor system of claim 13 wherein said processor is further configured to decay scrolling after said finger lift when said finger lift was immediately preceded by finger motion along the axis.