Force sensitive touch panel
First Claim
1. In a touch sensitive panel for generating selected ones of any of a plurality of different signals each of which is generated by touching a different location on the panel, the combination comprising:
- a rectangular panel formed of material which exhibits a degree of elasticity,a plurality of panel member supports which support said panel member at spaced apart regions thereof, the panel member supports being separate from the panel member,force sensing means positioned upon said panel member for sensing the magnitudes of the forces that are applied to each of said spaced apart supports by said panel member when said panel member is touched at a selected location thereon, wherein said forces are sensed by detecting the deformation of said panel member in the vicinities of each of said supports that is caused by touching of said panel member, andlocation analyzing means for determining the location on said panel member that is being touched by comparing the magnitudes of said forces that are applied to said spaced apart supports by said panel member and for generating the one of said signals that corresponds to the determined location.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A touch panel generates any of a plurality of different signals that are selected by touching different specific areas of a panel member. Spaced apart supports at the edges of the touch sensitive area hold a panel member in spaced apart relationship to the underlying surface. Force sensitive circuit elements, such as strain gauges or pressure sensitive resistors, sense the force which the panel member exerts on each support when finger pressure is applied to the member. Additional circuit components compare the forces exerted on each support to determine the location on the panel that is being touched and generate the particular signal that correlates with that location. The touch panel may be used to enter instructions and other data into a computer or the like or to transmit selected control signals to other types of equipment. The panel may be transparent and be attached to the screen of a visual data display enabling entry of menu selections or other data by simply touching the screen.
378 Citations
23 Claims
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1. In a touch sensitive panel for generating selected ones of any of a plurality of different signals each of which is generated by touching a different location on the panel, the combination comprising:
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a rectangular panel formed of material which exhibits a degree of elasticity, a plurality of panel member supports which support said panel member at spaced apart regions thereof, the panel member supports being separate from the panel member, force sensing means positioned upon said panel member for sensing the magnitudes of the forces that are applied to each of said spaced apart supports by said panel member when said panel member is touched at a selected location thereon, wherein said forces are sensed by detecting the deformation of said panel member in the vicinities of each of said supports that is caused by touching of said panel member, and location analyzing means for determining the location on said panel member that is being touched by comparing the magnitudes of said forces that are applied to said spaced apart supports by said panel member and for generating the one of said signals that corresponds to the determined location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A touch panel for generating selected ones of a plurality of different signals wherein each of said signals is correlated with a different location on said touch panel, comprising:
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a rectangular panel member having a touch sensitive area bounded by first and second sides and first and second ends, a plurality of panel member supports which support said panel member at spaced apart regions which are situated at said sides and ends of said touch sensitive area, the panel member supports being separate from the panel member, a plurality of strain gauges of the type in which electrical resistances varies in response to strain, each of said strain gauges being secured to said panel member at a location thereon which is near an associated one of said panel member supports to sense the force which said panel member exerts on said associated one of said panel supports by detecting deformation of said panel member in the vicinity of said associated one of said supports, means for producing a plurality of electrical voltages each of which varies in response to changes of said resistance of a separate one of said strain gauges and thereby indicates the force sensed by that strain gauge, and data processing means for determining the location on said panel member where pressure is exerted thereagainst by comparing said forces which are sensed by said strain gauges and for producing the one of said signals that correlates with said location. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. In a touch sensitive panel for generating selected ones of any of a plurality of different signals each of which is generated by touching a different location on the panel, the combination comprising:
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a rectangular panel member support means for holding said panel in spaced apart relationship with an underlying surface, a plurality of pressure sensitive resistors disposed between said panel member and said support means in position to be compressed against said support means when force is exerted against said panel member, said resistors being strips of resistive material of a type which exhibit a change of electrical resistance when pressure is exerted against the resistor, said resistors being disposed to extend along spaced apart regions of the periphery of said panel member, force sensing means for sensing the magnitudes of the forces that are applied to said support means through each of said resistors when said panel member is touched at a selected location thereon by detecting changes of the electrical resistance of each of said resistors that result from said touching of said panel member, and location analyzing mans for sensing the location on said panel member that is being touched by comparing the magnitudes of said forces and for generating the one of said signals that corresponds to the sensed location. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. In a touch sensitive panel for generating selected ones of any of a plurality of different signals each of which is generated by touching a different location on the panel, the combination comprising:
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a rectangular panel member formed of material which exhibits a degree of elasticity, a plurality of panel member supports which support said panel member at spaced apart regions thereof, the panel member supports being separate from the panel member, force sensing means positioned on said panel member for sensing the magnitudes of the forces that are applied to each of said spaced apart supports by said panel member when said panel member is touched at a selected location thereon, wherein said forces are sensed by detecting the deformation of said panel member in the vicinities of each of said supports that is caused by touching of said panel member, and location analyzing means for sensing the location on said panel member that is being touched by comparing the magnitudes of said forces that are applied to said spaced apart supports by said panel member and for generating the one of said signals that corresponds to the sensed location wherein said force sensing means includes a plurality of strain gauges of the type which exhibit a change of electrical properties in response to forces exerted thereon, and further wherein a pair of said strain gauges are secured to said panel member in the vicinity of each of said panel member supports, the strain gauges of each pair being secured to opposite surfaces of said panel member, each of said strain gauges having an output terminal which exhibits a voltage that varies in response to flexing of the strain gauge, further including a plurality of differential amplifiers each having inputs connected to said output terminals of a separate pair of said strain gauges and each having an output coupled to said location analyzing means to transmit a signal thereto that is indicative of the voltage difference at the output terminals of the pair of strain gauges to which the amplifier is connected.
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Specification