Display And Input Device

• US 20080055274A1
• Filed: 07/22/2004
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Van Berkel, Cornelis, Deane, Steven C.
• Application Number:
  US10/566,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20080055274A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/174
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1637 Details related to the display arrangement, including those related to the mounting of the display in the housing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0445 using two or more layers of sensing electrodes, e.g. using two layers of electrodes separated by a dielectric layer

Abstract

A display and input device, comprising a substrate (30), for example a flexible conducting foil, comprising a front surface (8) and a rear surface (10); a plurality of layers (32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39) provided on the front surface (8) of the substrate (30), the plurality of layers (32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39) being operable as a display, for example an electrophoretic display, viewable from the front surface side of the device; and circuitry (52, 54) connected to the substrate (30) for detecting capacitive coupling between a user'"'"'s finger (12) and the substrate (30) such that the substrate (30) is operable as a touchpad for sensing a user'"'"'s finger (12) touching, or being located in close proximity to, the rear surface (10) of the substrate (30).

Claims

1. A display and input device, comprising:

a substrate comprising a front surface and a rear surface;

a plurality of layers provided on the front surface of the substrate, the plurality of layers being operable as a display viewable from the front surface side of the device; and

circuitry connected to the substrate for detecting capacitive coupling between a user'"'"'s finger and the substrate such that the substrate is operable as a touchpad for sensing a user'"'"'s finger touching, or being located in close proximity to, the rear surface of the substrate.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is flexible.

3. A device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is made of a conducting material.

4. A device according to claim 2, wherein the substrate comprises a flexible foil.

5. A device according to claim 1 wherein the substrate is made of an insulating material with a conductive coating on the rear surface.

6. A device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a protective coating on the rear surface the protective coating being sufficiently thin to allow the capacitive coupling between a user'"'"'s finger and the substrate to be detected.

7. A device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of layers are operable as an electrophoretic display.

8. A device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry comprises a plurality of ammeters each connected to a different point on the edge of the substrate.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the substrate is substantially rectangular and the plurality of ammeters comprises a respective ammeter placed at each corner of the substrate.

10. Use of a display device as a combined display and input device, the display device comprising a substrate comprising a front surface and a rear surface and a plurality of layers provided on the front surface of the substrate the plurality of layers being operable as a display, wherein the use as a combined display and input device is implemented by using the rear surface of the substrate as a capacitive coupling sheet.