Touch pad with force sensors and actuator feedback
First Claim
1. An electronic device, comprising:
- a housing having an opening defined therein; and
a track pad disposed within the opening of the housing, the track pad comprising;
a contact surface;
a capacitive touch sensor disposed below the contact surface and configured to detect the location of a touch on the contact surface;
a set of force sensors disposed below the capacitive touch sensor; and
an output device configured to output non-visual feedback in response to a force of the touch that exceeds a threshold force on the contact surface of the track pad;
wherein;
the trackpad is configured to transfer the force to one or more of the set of force sensors; and
the set of force sensors are configured to produce a non-binary output signal that corresponds to the force of the touch on the contact surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Electronic devices may use touch pads that have touch sensor arrays, force sensors, and actuators for providing tactile feedback. A touch pad may be mounted in a computer housing. The touch pad may have a rectangular planar touch pad member that has a glass layer covered with ink and contains a capacitive touch sensor array. Force sensors may be mounted under each of the four corners of the rectangular planar touch pad member. The force sensors may be used to measure how much force is applied to the surface of the planar touch pad member by a user. Processed force sensor signals may indicate the presence of button activity such as press and release events. In response to detected button activity or other activity in the device, actuator drive signals may be generated for controlling the actuator. The user may supply settings to adjust signal processing and tactile feedback parameters.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electronic device, comprising:
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a housing having an opening defined therein; and a track pad disposed within the opening of the housing, the track pad comprising; a contact surface; a capacitive touch sensor disposed below the contact surface and configured to detect the location of a touch on the contact surface; a set of force sensors disposed below the capacitive touch sensor; and an output device configured to output non-visual feedback in response to a force of the touch that exceeds a threshold force on the contact surface of the track pad; wherein; the trackpad is configured to transfer the force to one or more of the set of force sensors; and the set of force sensors are configured to produce a non-binary output signal that corresponds to the force of the touch on the contact surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A portable computer comprising:
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a housing; a display disposed with the housing; a keyboard disposed with the housing; and a track pad disposed within an opening in the housing and positioned along a side of the keyboard, the track pad comprising; a contact surface; a capacitive touch sensor disposed below the contact surface and configured to detect the location of a touch on the contact surface; a set of force sensors disposed below the contact surface in a layer separate from the capacitive touch sensor, wherein; each force sensor is positioned proximate to a different corner of the track pad; and the set of force sensors are configured to produce a non-binary output signal that corresponds to a force on the contact surface. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of receiving a user input on a surface of a track pad, the method comprising:
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producing a location output that corresponds to a location of a touch on a contact surface of the track pad using a capacitive touch sensor disposed below the contact surface; producing an analog force output in response to the touch on the contact surface of the track pad using a set of force sensors positioned below the capacitive touch sensor and proximate to respective corners of the track pad, the track pad configured to transfer force at the location of the touch to the set of force sensors; determining an average applied force by averaging the analog force output from the set of force sensors; triggering a button press event if the average applied force exceeds a threshold; and outputting a non-visual feedback in response to the button press event. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification