Touch Sensitive Mechanical Keyboard

• US 20100148995A1
• Filed: 12/12/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: ELIAS, John Greer
• Granted Patent: US 10,585,493 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 341/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0202 Constructional details or processes of manufacture of the input device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures

Abstract

A touch sensitive mechanical keyboard configured to enable a standard look and feel mechanical keyboard to sense fine hand/finger motion over the surface of the keys. Command and cursor input (e.g., pointing and gestures) can be received from the user on the touch sensitive mechanical keyboard without requiring the user to move the user'"'"'s hand off the keyboard. Fine hand/finger motion detection can be enabled by embedding clusters of capacitive sensors near the surface of the keyboard'"'"'s keys. The touch sensitive mechanical keyboard can operate in two or more modes—e.g., a typing mode and a mouse mode—and operating the keyboard in mouse mode or switching between the modes can be facilitated by holding (depressing and holding) or tapping (depressing and releasing) arbitrary combinations of keys, or by detecting the number of fingers touching the touch sensitive mechanical keyboard.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

multiple mechanical keys; and

multiple sensor nodes associated with each of the keys to form a touch sensitive area across the keys

2. The input device of claim 1, wherein the sensor nodes comprise capacitive sensing nodes.

3. The input device of claim 2, wherein the sensor nodes are configured to detect a conductive object in contact with or in proximity to their associated key.

4. The input device of claim 1, wherein the sensor nodes associated with one of the keys have different sensing resolution.

5. The input device of claim 4, wherein at least one of the sensor nodes closer to an edge of the one key has a greater sensing resolution than at least one of the sensor nodes closer to the middle of the one key.

6. The input device of claim 4, wherein the different sensing resolution results from a difference in spacing between electrodes of the sensor nodes associated with the one key.

7. The input device of claim 4, wherein the different sensing resolution results from a difference in an amount of conductive material forming the sensor nodes associated with the one key.

8. The input device of claim 1, wherein each of the sensor nodes comprises a first electrode formed on a first membrane and a second electrode formed on a second membrane.

9. The input device of claim 8, wherein a spacer separates each first electrode from each second electrode.

10. The input device of claim 1, wherein each of the sensor nodes comprises a first electrode and a second electrode formed on opposite sides of a membrane.

11. The input device of claim 1, wherein each of the sensor nodes comprises a first electrode and a second electrode formed on the same side of a membrane.

12. The input device of claim 1, wherein the sensor nodes are disposed between a bottom surface of a cap portion of their associated keys and a plunger portion of their associated keys.

13. The input device of claim 1, wherein the input device is a keyboard.

14. The input device of claim 1, wherein the input device is configured to switch between a typing mode and a mouse mode based on a number of conductive objects touching the touch sensitive area.

15. A method, comprising:

forming clusters of capacitive sensor nodes on one or more membranes at a pitch greater than a pitch of mechanical keys associated with a keyboard; and

embedding each cluster of the sensor nodes into a corresponding one of the keys.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein each of the sensor nodes comprises a first electrode formed on a first membrane and a second electrode formed on a second membrane, and a driving line couples each first electrode and a sensing line couples each second electrode.

17. The method of claim 15, comprising:

combining the first membrane and the second membrane to form the sensor nodes, and

removing a portion of the combined membranes between each driving line and each sensing line.

18. The method of claim 15, comprising:

removing a portion of the first membrane between each driving line,

removing a portion of the second membrane between each sensing line, and

combining the first membrane and the second membrane to form the sensor nodes.

19. The method of claim 15, comprising:

placing a spacer between each first electrode and each second electrode.

20. A personal computer comprising:

multiple mechanical keys; and

multiple sensor nodes associated with each of the keys to form a touch sensitive area across the keys.