Multiple-touch sensor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A touch sensor, comprising:
- an electrically insulating substrate having two sides and a touch region on one of the two sides;
a plurality of electrically-conducting band segments coupled to and traversing the touch region and wherein the band segments are insulated from one another;
a cover layer overlying the touch region;
a controller providing an electrical means of sequentially energizing a plurality of the said segments and an electrical means for monitoring the electrical characteristics of the touch sensor and for identifying the location at which at least one touch position on the touch sensor is touched from the monitored electrical characteristics.
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Abstract
A touch sensor method and device are described that allow one or more simultaneous touches to be sensed and mapped to Cartesian coordinates. The device utilizes closely spaced multiple conducting strips to provide digital location of a touch position according to the position strip and analog location along the length of the strip. When the strips are energized individually and in coordinated ways, multiple touches are individually sensed and their positions are reported.
179 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A touch sensor, comprising:
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an electrically insulating substrate having two sides and a touch region on one of the two sides;
a plurality of electrically-conducting band segments coupled to and traversing the touch region and wherein the band segments are insulated from one another;
a cover layer overlying the touch region;
a controller providing an electrical means of sequentially energizing a plurality of the said segments and an electrical means for monitoring the electrical characteristics of the touch sensor and for identifying the location at which at least one touch position on the touch sensor is touched from the monitored electrical characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A touch sensor system, comprising:
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an electrically insulating substrate having a touch region;
a cover coupled to the touch region;
a plurality of electrically-conducting band segments coupled to and traversing the touch region; and
a means whereby touches are used to encode information that is transmitted to an external system. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A touch sensor system, comprising:
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an electrically insulating substrate having two sides and a touch region on one of the two sides;
a plurality of electrically-conducting band segments coupled to and traversing the touch region and wherein the band segments are insulated from one another;
a cover with an electrically-conductive surface that is able to contact the touch region under external pressure; and
a controller providing an electrical means of sequentially energizing a plurality of the said segments and an electrical means for monitoring the electrical characteristics of the touch sensor and for identifying the location of a plurality of touch positions on the touch sensor from the monitored electrical characteristics. a means by which the weight of an object left on the cover will cause contact with the electrically conducting band segments so that the shape of the object in contact with the touch sensor can be determined. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for identifying the location at which at least one touch position on the touch sensor is touched, comprising the steps of:
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providing a touch screen including;
an electrically insulating substrate having two sides and a touch region on one of the two sides;
a plurality of electrically-conducting band segments coupled to and traversing the touch region and wherein the band segments are insulated from one another;
a cover layer overlying the touch region;
a controller providing an electrical means of sequentially energizing a plurality of the said segments and an electrical means for monitoring the electrical characteristics of the touch sensor and for identifying the location at which at least one touch position on the touch sensor is touched from the monitored electrical characteristics;
sequentially energizing a plurality of the said segments;
monitoring the electrical characteristics of the touch sensor, and identifying the location at which at least one touch position on the touch sensor is touched from the monitored electrical characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28)
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Specification