Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080223628 | Low EMI Capacitive Trackpad - A printed circuit board (PCB) assembly provides a two layer capacitive trackpad sensor in which an EMI ground grid is interposed among the sensor's capacitive elements on each of its layers. The EMI grid on each of the two layers is electrically coupled via, typically, vias. The described arrangement of sensor elements (capacitor plates) and EMI ground grid traces may be incorporated into a PCB having additional layers (e.g., a four, six or eight layer PCB). If used in this manner, additional vias are provided on the PCB which permit electrical coupling between these “additional layers” and which are electrically isolated from, and shielded by, the EMI ground grid. | 09-18-2008 |
20090000010 | High tactility glove system - This invention is directed to a glove system for operating an electronic device. The glove system may include an inner liner and an outer shell. The liner may be formed from any suitable material, including a material that is thin, electrically conductive, has low thermal conductivity, and/or has an “anti-sticky” finish. The outer shell may include at least one aperture through which the inner liner may extend to operate the input mechanism of an electronic device (e.g., on at least one finger tip). In some embodiments, the aperture may be at a finger tip of the outer shell. In some embodiments, a closing mechanism may be used to maintain the aperture closed when the user is not operating the electronic device. For example, an elastic ring may surround the aperture such that, in its non-deformed state, the aperture is substantially closed. The user may elastically deform the ring to allow the liner to pass through the outer shell. | 01-01-2009 |
20090016003 | LID-CLOSED DETECTOR - In one exemplary embodiment, a portable computer having a display assembly coupled to a base assembly to alternate between a closed position and an open position. An input device disposed on the base assembly senses a contact with a portion of the display assembly to detect the display assembly in the closed position. | 01-15-2009 |
20090231305 | Force Imaging Input Device and System - A force imaging touch pad includes first and second sets of conductive traces separated by a spring membrane. When a force is applied, the spring membrane deforms moving the two sets of traces closer together. The resulting change in mutual capacitance is used to generate an image indicative of the amount or intensity of the applied force. A combined location and force imaging touch pad includes two sets of drive traces, one set of sense traces and a spring membrane. In operation, one of the drive traces is used in combination with the set of sense traces to generate an image of where one or more objects touch the touch pad. The second set of drive traces is used in combination with the sense traces and spring membrane to generate an image of the applied force's strength or intensity. | 09-17-2009 |
20090244092 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO REJECT ACCIDENTAL CONTACT ON A TOUCHPAD - In one exemplary embodiment, a portable computer having a display assembly coupled to a base assembly to alternate between a closed position and an open position. Palm rest areas are formed by a touchpad disposed on the surface of the base assembly. In an alternative embodiment, a touchpad disposed on the base assembly has a width that extends substantially into the palm rests areas of the base assembly. | 10-01-2009 |
20090295753 | ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVING DISPLAY AND SURROUNDING TOUCH SENSITIVE BEZEL FOR USER INTERFACE AND CONTROL - An electronic device has a display and has a touch sensitive bezel surrounding the display. Areas on the bezel are designated for controls used to operate the electronic device. Visual guides corresponding to the controls are displayed on the display adjacent the areas of the bezel designated for the controls. Touch data is generated by the bezel when a user touches an area of the bezel. The device determines which of the controls has been selected based on which designated area is associated with the touch data from the bezel. The device then initiates the determined control. The device can have a sensor for determining the orientation of the device. Based on the orientation, the device can alter the areas designated on the bezel for the controls and can alter the location of the visual guides for the display so that they match the altered areas on the bezel. | 12-03-2009 |
20090315851 | Multipoint Touch Surface Controller - A multipoint touch surface controller is disclosed herein. The controller includes an integrated circuit including output circuitry for driving a capacitive multi-touch sensor and input circuitry for reading the sensor. Also disclosed herein are various noise rejection and dynamic range enhancement techniques that permit the controller to be used with various sensors in various conditions without reconfiguring hardware. | 12-24-2009 |
20100141603 | METHOD AND APPARATUS TO REJECT ACCIDENTAL CONTACT ON A TOUCHPAD - In one exemplary embodiment, a portable computer having a display assembly coupled to a base assembly to alternate between a closed position and an open position. Palm rest areas are formed by a touchpad disposed on the surface of the base assembly. In an alternative embodiment, a touchpad disposed on the base assembly has a width that extends substantially into the palm rests areas of the base assembly. | 06-10-2010 |
20110201381 | USING AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR TO AUGMENT PROXIMITY SENSOR OUTPUT - Apparatuses and methods to sense proximity of an object and operate a proximity sensor of a portable device. In some embodiments, a method includes receiving an ambient light sensor (ALS) output, and altering, based on the ALS output, an effect of a proximity sensor output on control of a proximity determination. The ALS sensor and the proximity sensor may be located adjacent to an earpiece of a portable device. In some cases, the proximity determination may be a proximity of an object to the proximity sensor, and altering the effect may include changing the proximity of the object from a proximity greater than a first threshold to a proximity less than the first threshold. Other apparatuses and methods and data processing systems and machine readable media are also described. | 08-18-2011 |
20120075242 | CAPACITANCE SENSING ELECTRODE WITH INTEGRATED I/O MECHANISM - A touch sensing device is disclosed. The touch sensing device includes one or more multifunctional nodes each of which represents a single touch pixel. Each multifunctional node includes a touch sensor with one or more integrated I/O mechanisms. The touch sensor and integrated I/O mechanisms share the same communication lines and I/O pins of a controller during operation of the touch sensing device. | 03-29-2012 |
20120113009 | Wide Touchpad on a Portable Computer - In one exemplary embodiment, a portable computer having a display assembly coupled to a base assembly to alternate between a closed position and an open position. Palm rest areas are formed by a touchpad disposed on the surface of the base assembly. In an alternative embodiment, a touchpad disposed on the base assembly has a width that extends substantially into the palm rests areas of the base assembly. | 05-10-2012 |
20130021289 | TOUCH SENSITIVE DISPLAYS - Displays such as organic light-emitting diode displays may be provided with touch sensing capabilities. A touch sensor may be formed from electrodes located on a thin-film encapsulation layer or one or more sides of a polarizer. A single-sided or double-sided touch sensor panel may be attached to the upper or lower surface of a polarizer. Control circuitry may be used to provide control signals to light-emitting diodes in the display using a grid of control lines. The control lines and transparent electrode structures such as indium tin oxide structures formed on a thin-film encapsulation layer or polarizer may be used as electrodes for a touch sensor. Displays may have active regions and inactive peripheral portions. The displays may have edge portions that are bent along a bend axis that is within the active region to form a borderless display. Virtual buttons may be formed on the bent edge portions. | 01-24-2013 |
20130106813 | Electronic Device with Chip-On-Glass Ambient Light Sensors | 05-02-2013 |
20130147383 | Active Enclosure for Computing Device - A computing device is disclosed. The computing device includes a housing having an illuminable portion. The computing device also includes a light device disposed inside the housing. The light device is configured to illuminate the illuminable portion. | 06-13-2013 |
20140003678 | Navigation Assisted Fingerprint Enrollment | 01-02-2014 |
20140167619 | Light Sensors For Electronic Devices - Electronic devices may include light sensors. A light sensor may be an ambient light sensor that is mounted adjacent to an aperture in an opaque structure. An ambient light sensor may include active light sensor elements located adjacent to the aperture and inactive light sensor elements located adjacent to the opaque structure. Signal processing circuitry may be interposed between the light sensor elements and a summing circuit that sums light signals from the light sensor elements to form an ambient light signal. The signal processing circuitry may include a switch and an amplifier associated with each light sensor element. The switch associated with each element may be used to selectively activate or inactivate that element. The amplifier associated with each element may be used to amplify the light signal from that element by a gain factor that depends on the location of that element with respect to the aperture. | 06-19-2014 |
20140218891 | Active Enclosure for Computing Device - A computing device is disclosed. The computing device includes a housing having an illuminable portion. The computing device also includes a light device disposed inside the housing. The light device is configured to illuminate the illuminable portion. | 08-07-2014 |
20140252209 | PROXIMITY SENSOR WITH COMBINED LIGHT SENSOR HAVING AN INCREASED VIEWING ANGLE - A proximity and light sensing device including a radiation emitter for proximity sensing positioned on a substrate. The device further includes a radiation detector positioned on the substrate, the radiation detector configured to detect radiation from the emitter. An ambient light detector is also positioned on the substrate and around the radiation emitter so as to form a border around the radiation emitter and detect off-axis ambient light rays. | 09-11-2014 |