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Anisotropic, resistance-based determination of a position of an object with respect to a touch screen element

  • US 8,049,738 B2
  • Filed: 10/29/2010
  • Issued: 11/01/2011
  • Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2003
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A touch sensitive position sensor comprising:

  • a substrate defining a touch sensitive platform;

    a first resistive bus-bar on the substrate;

    a second resistive bus-bar substantially parallel to the first resistive bus-bar on the substrate;

    a third resistive bus-bar substantially parallel to the first resistive bus-bar and the second resistive bus-bar on the substrate, the third resistive bus-bar being between the first resistive bus-bar and the second resistive bus-bar;

    wherein the first resistive bus-bar extends between a first and a second electrode, the second resistive bus-bar extends between a third and a fourth electrode, and the third resistive bus-bar extends between a fifth and a sixth electrode;

    a first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth drive channel associated with respective ones of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth electrodes;

    each drive channel being operable to generate an output signal dependent on the resistance between the respective first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth electrode and a position of an object;

    an anisotropic conductive area having a non-zero resistance arranged between the first, second and third resistive bus-bars such that currents induced in the anisotropic conductive area flow preferentially towards the first, second, and third resistive bus-bars; and

    a processor operable to generate an estimate for the position of the object by comparing the output signals from the fifth and sixth drive channels and a sum of the output signals selected from one of the first and second drive channels or the third and fourth drive channels;

    wherein processor is configured to estimate the position of the object in a first direction running between the resistive bus-bars from a ratiometric analysis of a sum of the output signals from the fifth and sixth drive channels and the sum of the selected output signals.

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