Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080245582 | FLOATING CAPACITIVE COUPLERS USED TO ENHANCE SIGNAL COUPLING IN A CAPACITIVE TOUCHPAD - A capacitive touchpad comprised of drive electrodes and at least one sense electrodes disposed on or within an insulating substrate material, wherein an electrically floating capacitive coupler is disposed adjacent to both the drive electrodes and the sense electrode to thereby enhance signal coupling between the drive electrodes and the sense electrode caused by introduction of a pointing object. | 10-09-2008 |
20080278355 | INTRUSION DETECTION USING A CAPACITANCE SENSITIVE TOUCHPAD - A capacitance sensitive proximity and touch-sensitive detection device having an XY electrode grid sensor, wherein a compensation matrix is created when the capacitance sensitive touchpad is installed within a PIN Entry Device (PED), wherein the compensation matrix enables the capacitance sensitive touchpad to compensate and be balanced for the operating environment of the PED, and wherein physical keys of a keypad can be also be individually identified as an actuated key by using a unique “key profile” for each key, and wherein the insertion of a foreign conductive and/or dielectric material such as an intruding sensor in proximity of the XY electrode grid sensor of the touchpad will cause an imbalance in the electrodes on the capacitance sensitive proximity and touch-sensitive detection device, thereby alerting detection circuitry that tampering has occurred with the PED. | 11-13-2008 |
20090009485 | DRIVEN SHIELD FOR CAPACITIVE TOUCHPADS - A conductive shield that is disposed near the sensor, wherein a signal is driven on the shield that is similar to the signal induced on the sensor, thereby reducing stray capacitances and protecting the sensor from external noise sources, and resulting in a stronger signal reaching the sensor. | 01-08-2009 |
20090128515 | PROXIMITY SENSING BY INCREASING GAIN IN TOUCHPAD CIRCUITRY AND INCREASING DISTANCE BETWEEN SENSOR ELECTRODES AND A SENSE ELECTRODE - A touchpad, wherein proximity sensing is increased by modifying existing touch-sensitive capacitance touchpad technology, wherein the first method is to increase the gain of a SENSE P electrode of the touchpad, wherein a new balancing circuit is created on the SENSE N electrode to prevent circuit saturation, and wherein the touchpad can also be operated as a typical touch-sensitive device by opening a switch on the new SENSE N circuit, and wherein a second method is to increase a distance between the sense electrode and the touchpad sensor electrodes, and to increase the thickness of the sensor and sense electrodes. | 05-21-2009 |
20090135148 | PROXIMITY SENSING BY ACTIVELY DRIVING INTERESTED OBJECTS - A touchpad that includes the ability to send a signal along an electrode to a user, wherein the user is then visible to the touchpad without having to touch the surface of the touchpad, and wherein different signals can be transmitted simultaneously to different users so that the different users are simultaneously visible and distinguishable to the proximity sensitive touchpad. | 05-28-2009 |
20100328208 | ELECTRODE PATTERNS FOR CAPACITANCE SENSITIVE TOUCHPAD - A new layout for X, Y and Sense electrodes that enables a touchpad to be constructed using fewer layers while increasing visual clarity, transmissivity, sensitivity and linearity, wherein the electrodes are disposed in a pattern that uses spiral shapes that do not require electrodes to cross over any other electrodes. | 12-30-2010 |
20100328241 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING POSITION ON SURFACE CAPACITANCE TOUCH PANEL USING A FLYING CAPACITOR - A touch panel having a substantially even coating of a conductive material on a non-conductive substrate and then covering the conductive material with a dielectric material, wherein a novel current measuring circuit reduces the effect of stray capacitance on the accuracy of a current measurement so that the relative X and Y position of an object on the touch panel can be determined using simple ratio equations. | 12-30-2010 |
20100328253 | SURFACE CAPACITANCE WITH AREA GESTURES - A surface capacitance touch sensitive surface (or “surface cap panel”) suitable for use in a touch screen or touchpad, wherein the surface cap panel has a substantially even coating of a conductive material on a non-conductive substrate and then covering the conductive material with a dielectric material, wherein a novel current measuring circuit reduces the effect of stray capacitance on the accuracy of a current measurement so that the relative X and Y position of an object on the surface cap panel can be determined using simple ratio equations, and wherein measuring the charge transfer rate in a measuring circuit, in addition to the total charge transfer for each toggle event, enables the location of two objects to be identified on the surface cap panel, wherein the charge transfer rate is used to determine the distance between two points of contact on the surface cap panel, and wherein height and width information related to the distance between the two points of contact can now be determined by doubling the number of electrodes at the corners of the surface cap panel. | 12-30-2010 |
20110001713 | INTERDIGITATED RANDOMIZED ELECTRODE PATTERN TO INCREASE THE AREA OF A TOUCHPAD HAVING A LIMITED NUMBER OF CONTROLLER IC DRIVE PINS - Increasing the effective size of a touchpad while using a single controller IC, wherein a pseudo random pattern is used such that when a certain order of electrical signals is applied to the electrodes, the local electrical fields cancel or are very large in a first region while the electrical fields in a second region create a desired electrical field pattern, wherein when a finger makes contact in the second region a certain electrical signal is expected, wherein when a finger makes contact in the first region the electrical signal is unexpected, and wherein the difference between the electrical signals from the first region and the second region can be distinguished and thus the region in which the finger made contact can be determined. | 01-06-2011 |
20110037724 | SYNCHRONOUS TIMED ORTHOGONAL MEASUREMENT PATTERN FOR MULTI-TOUCH SENSING ON A TOUCHPAD - A method for detecting multiple objects on a touchpad having a grid of orthogonal electrodes, wherein all drive electrodes are simultaneously stimulated, and then frequency or electrode coding is used to separate each electrode junction and produce a capacitance image of the touchpad surface in a single measurement sequence. | 02-17-2011 |
20110063242 | Method and system for measuring position on surface capacitance touch panel using a flying capacitor - A touch panel having a substantially even coating of a conductive material on a non-conductive substrate and then covering the conductive material with a dielectric material, wherein a novel current measuring circuit reduces the effect of stray capacitance on the accuracy of a current measurement so that the relative X and Y position of an object on the touch panel can be determined using simple ratio equations. | 03-17-2011 |
20120026131 | REDUCING NOISE SUSCEPTIBILITY IN A MUTUAL CAPACITANCE TOUCHPAD THROUGH AXIS SWAPPING - A system and method for reducing noise on a touchpad that uses mutual capacitance on an X axis and Y axis grid of transverse electrodes that function as stimulus or drive electrodes on one axis and function as inputs or sense electrodes on a different axis, wherein there is significant noise that can affect operation of the touchpad, and wherein it is desirable to minimize the effects of this noise by simultaneously sampling a group of sense electrodes, wherein by sampling the sense electrodes at the same time, the level of noise on each sense electrode should be similar and can therefore be subtracted out of measured sense signals to therefore more accurately determine a position of a sensed object or objects on the touchpad. | 02-02-2012 |
20120133614 | LINEAR PROJECTED SINGLE-LAYER CAPACITANCE SENSOR - A touch sensor having a plurality of parallel drive electrodes that are being electrically driven, providing stimulus on one end or simultaneously on both ends, thus creating a linear or varying electric field across the length of the drive electrodes, wherein adjacent sensor electrodes are connected to a sense amplifier and analog-to-digital (ADC) converter to determine the position of an object that comes near to the drive and/or sense electrodes, wherein the system uses self-capacitance and measures the amount of current driven by each driver, wherein the system uses a mutual capacitance current divider in a first method by driving an electrode with a time varying voltage and measuring induced currents at each end of an adjacent sense electrode and using ratiometric equations to determine finger position, and using a mutual capacitance voltage divider in a second method. | 05-31-2012 |
20120206407 | REDUCTION OF NOISE AND DE-GHOSTING IN A MUTUAL CAPACITANCE MULTI-TOUCH TOUCHPAD - Decreasing the cost of a touchpad by avoiding the cost of simultaneously measuring all signals from sense electrodes by using a limited number of measuring circuits to accomplish noise reduction and de-ghosting of signal data to thereby obtain the precise location of multiple fingers on a touchpad, wherein the touchpad separates the drive electrodes into groups to thereby provide a means for obtaining granular location information for de-ghosting the touchpad, and wherein overlapping measurements are made of groups of sense electrodes to obtain data that is separated in time to thereby obtain an averaged signal for each electrode and thereby reduce sensitivity to noise. | 08-16-2012 |
20120235954 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING POSITION ON SURFACE CAPACITANCE TOUCH PANEL USING A FLYING CAPACITOR - A touch panel having a substantially even coating of a conductive material on a non-conductive substrate and then covering the conductive material with a dielectric material, wherein a novel current measuring circuit reduces the effect of stray capacitance on the accuracy of a current measurement so that the relative X and Y position of an object on the touch panel can be determined using simple ratio equations. | 09-20-2012 |
20120280923 | SYSTEM FOR PROTECTING PIN DATA WHEN USING TOUCH CAPACITIVE TOUCH TECHNOLOGY ON A POINT-OF-SALE TERMINAL OR AN ENCRYPTING PIN PAD DEVICE - A system and method for providing security for a point-of-sale (POS) terminal or an encrypting PIN pad (EPP) by protecting the signals that could be directly probed on a touch sensor electrode grid or remotely probed such as through power supply signals or RF emissions, wherein the drive signals are randomly applied to drive electrodes in order to prevent tracking of drive signals, and charge is injected on sense lines to hide PIN data. | 11-08-2012 |
20120327022 | DRIVEN SHIELD FOR CAPACITIVE TOUCHPADS - A conductive shield that is disposed near the sensor, wherein a signal is driven on the shield that is similar to the signal induced on the sensor, thereby reducing stray capacitances and protecting the sensor from external noise sources, and resulting in a stronger signal reaching the sensor. | 12-27-2012 |
20130191804 | GRADUATED ROUTING FOR ROUTING ELECTRODES COUPLED TO TOUCH SENSOR ELECTRODES TO THEREBY BALANCE CAPACITANCE ON THE TOUCH SENSOR ELECTRODES - A system and method for balancing the capacitive charge on touch sensor electrodes so that every two adjacent routes have the same capacitance as any other adjacent two routes, wherein routing electrodes are spaced further and further apart, or graduated, as they get longer, to thereby balance the capacitance on the touch sensor electrodes without having to add or subtract an offset from each touch sensor electrode. | 07-25-2013 |
20140111474 | MULTIPLEXED CONDUCTORS USING DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURABLE CONTROLLER IN CAPACITIVE TOUCH SENSORS - A system and method for dynamically reconfiguring a touch sensor controller that transmits signals to and receives signals from an electrode array of a capacitance sensitive touch sensor, wherein multiplexing of signals to and from the controller enables reconfiguration of input and output pins to thereby increase the functions and versatility of a touch sensor controller. | 04-24-2014 |
20140168156 | FAIL SAFE DESIGN FOR A STYLUS THAT IS USED WITH A TOUCH SENSOR - A system and method for enabling a stylus to be used with a touch sensor even after it has failed in an open mode or a closed mode, wherein the tethered stylus activates the inking function when the stylus is in contact with the touch sensor and deactivates the inking function when the stylus is lifted off the surface of the touch sensor when the switch is functioning properly, but when there is a failure of the switch in the open mode or the closed mode, enabling the tethered stylus to continue functioning by using a timer to activate the inking function when the tethered stylus is close enough to be detected by a touch sensor, and to deactivate the inking function when the tethered stylus is no longer detectable by the touch sensor. | 06-19-2014 |
20140253505 | SYSTEM FOR PROTECTING PIN DATA WHEN USING TOUCH CAPACITIVE TOUCH TECHNOLOGY ON A POINT-OF-SALE TERMINAL OR AN ENCRYPTING PIN PAD DEVICE - A system and method for providing security for a point-of-sale (POS) terminal or an encrypting PIN pad (EPP) by protecting the signals that could be directly probed on a touch sensor electrode grid or remotely probed such as through power supply signals or RF emissions, wherein the drive signals are randomly applied to drive electrodes in order to prevent tracking of drive signals, and charge is injected on sense lines to hide PIN data. | 09-11-2014 |
20140267158 | MULTIPLEXING AND DEMULTIPLEXING TO REDUCE DRIVE AND SENSE ELECTRODES FOR SINGLE LAYER TOUCH SENSORS - A system and method for using data from a single-layer touch sensor to track a single object by using a coded stimulus drive pattern in order to multiplex data onto a sense electrode, measure the sense electrode, and then demultiplexing information from the measurement of the sense electrode in order to obtain position information regarding at least one object on the touch sensor. | 09-18-2014 |
20140283148 | FLYING WIREBONDS FOR CREATING A SECURE CAGE FOR INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND PATHWAYS - A system and method for disposing one or a plurality of flying sense electrode segments so as to physically cover integrated circuits, circuit pathways and other components on at least one circuit board to physically secure the circuits, pathways and components from probes or data interception. | 09-18-2014 |
20140304826 | CAPACITIVE SENSOR INTEGRATED IN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT PACKAGE - A system and method for disposing a capacitive proximity and touch sensor in locations where an integrated circuit package may be vulnerable to intrusion by providing electrodes in the packaging that may prevent interception of data obtained by a probe that is brought into proximity of the integrated circuit. | 10-09-2014 |
20140327651 | INDICATOR OF ENTERING A SECURE PASWORD ON A TOUCH SENSOR - A system and method for securing access to a device where access is enabled through a touch sensor, the system providing a visual feedback system through a substantially opaque touchpad, thereby enabling a touch sensor without a display to provide visual feedback regarding entry of a password, including a means for restarting entry of a password, and even providing a display of numbered keys. | 11-06-2014 |