System and method for measuring individual force in multi-object sensing
First Claim
1. A capacitive proximity device comprising:
- a sensing region overlapping an input surface;
a sensor layer comprising a plurality of capacitive sensing electrodes configured to sense input objects in the sensing region;
a plurality of capacitive force sensors each configured to provide a measure of force applied to the input surface by the input objects;
a processing system coupled to the plurality of capacitive sensing electrodes and coupled to the plurality of capacitive force sensors, the processing system configured to;
determine positional information for the input objects in the sensing region based on changes in a transcapacitive coupling between the sensor electrodes; and
determine force information for the input objects in the sensing region based on;
the positional information for the input objects; and
at least a sub set of the plurality of measures of force provided by the plurality of capacitive force sensors.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An input device is provided that facilitates improved user interface functionality by determining force information for each of multiple objects in a sensing region. The input device includes a processing system, a sensor configured to sense objects in a sensing region proximate a surface, and a plurality of force sensors. The plurality of force sensors are coupled to the surface to provide a plurality of measures of force applied to the surface. The processing system is configured to determine positional information for each the multiple objects sensed by the sensor in the sensing region. Furthermore, the processing system is configured to determine force information for each of the multiple objects from the positional information and the plurality of measures of force applied to the surface. Thus, device and method provides the ability to determine both positional information and force information for each of multiple objects in a sensing region.
7 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A capacitive proximity device comprising:
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a sensing region overlapping an input surface; a sensor layer comprising a plurality of capacitive sensing electrodes configured to sense input objects in the sensing region; a plurality of capacitive force sensors each configured to provide a measure of force applied to the input surface by the input objects; a processing system coupled to the plurality of capacitive sensing electrodes and coupled to the plurality of capacitive force sensors, the processing system configured to; determine positional information for the input objects in the sensing region based on changes in a transcapacitive coupling between the sensor electrodes; and determine force information for the input objects in the sensing region based on; the positional information for the input objects; and at least a sub set of the plurality of measures of force provided by the plurality of capacitive force sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method comprising the steps of:
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simultaneously sensing multiple input objects in a sensing region of a capacitive sensor; determining positional information for each of the multiple input objects simultaneously sensed by the sensor; determining a plurality of measures of force applied to an input surface of the sensor; determining force information for the each of the multiple objects from; the positional information for each of the multiple input objects in the sensing region; and at least a sub set of the plurality of measures of force applied to the input surface of the sensor; and performing a user interface action in response to at least one of the determined positional and determined force information. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification