US006137427A
`6,137,427
`(114) Patent Number:
`United States Patent 55
`Binstead
`[45] Date of Patent:
`*Oct. 24, 2000
`
`
`[54] MULTIPLE INPUT PROXIMITY DETECTOR
`AND TOUCHPAD SYSTEM
`
`10/1995 Gruaz et al. wee eeeneceeeeeee 341/33
`5,459,463
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`[76]
`
`Inventor: Ronald Peter Binstead, 15 Seely Road,
`Radford, Nottingham, United Kingdom,
`GB NG7 1NU
`
`0078676A 5/1983 European Pat. Off.
`0609021A 8/1994 European Pat. Off.
`3910977A 10/1990 Germany .
`
`.
`.
`
`[*] Notice:
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`[21] Appl. No.: 09/179,489
`
`[22]
`
`Filed:
`
`Oct. 27, 1998
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`[63] Continuation of application No. 08/718,356, Oct. 3, 1996,
`Pat. No. 5,844,506, which is a continuation of application
`No. PCT/GB95/00767, Apr. 5, 1995.
`
`[30]
`
`Foreign Application Priority Data
`
`Apr. 5, 1994
`
`[GB]
`
`United Kingdom .......0.00... 9406702
`
`PSD] Wit, C07 cicccccccscccsssccsssessssssessssesssseenee HO03K 17/94
`[52] U.S. Che caaccecccssscsssseseseeen 341/33; 341/34; 345/173;
`345/174
`[58] Field of Search wo... 341/33, 34, 20;
`345/173, 174
`
`[56]
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`Primary Examiner—Michael Horabik
`Assistant Examiner—Timothy Edwards,Jr.
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Cahill Sutton & Thomas, P.L.C.
`
`[57]
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A touchpad is formedofan electrically insulating membrane
`(10) with a first series of spaced apart conductors (12) on a
`first face of membrane (10) and a second series of spaced
`apart conductors (14) on or proximal thereto, in which there
`is no electrical contact between thefirst and secondseries of
`conductors (12, 14) Each conductor in the first and second
`series of conductorsis sensitive to the proximity of a finger
`to modify the capacitance of the proximate conductor to
`detect the presence of the finger positioned close to that
`conductor. A scanning system operative to sample oneof the
`conductors in turn from both the first and secondseries of
`conductors (12, 14) in order to measure and store a capaci-
`tance value associated with that respective conductor. The
`scanning system is operative to maintain all conductors
`(12-n, 14-n) at a commonpotential equal to the potential of
`the conductor being sampled when the remaining conductors
`are not actively being sampled by the scanning system.
`
`4,686,332
`
`8/1987 Greanias et al. oe ceeeeeeeee 178/19
`
`25 Claims, 9 Drawing Sheets
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`34
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`PETITIONERS
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`Exhibit 1016, Page 1
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`PETITIONERS
`Exhibit 1016, Page 1
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 24, 2000
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`Sheet 1 of 9
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`6,137,427
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`PETITIONERS
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`Exhibit 1016, Page 2
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`PETITIONERS
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 24, 2000
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`Sheet 2 of 9
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`Exhibit 1016, Page 3
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`Oct. 24, 2000
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`Sheet 3 of 9
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`U.S. Patent
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`Fig. 3a
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 24, 2000
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`Sheet 4 of 9
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`Exhibit 1016, Page 5
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 24, 2000
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`6,137,427
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`Sheet 5 of 9
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`PETITIONERS
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 24, 2000
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`Sheet 6 of 9
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`Fig. 7
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 24, 2000
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`Sheet 7 of 9
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`6,137,427
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`U.S. Patent
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`Oct. 24, 2000
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`Sheet 9 of 9
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`6,137,427
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`6,137,427
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`1
`MULTIPLE INPUT PROXIMITY DETECTOR
`AND TOUCHPAD SYSTEM
`
`The present application is a continuation of an applica-
`tion entitled “MULTIPLE INPUT PROXIMITY DETEC-
`TOR AND TOUCHPAD SYSTEMS”,filed Oct. 3, 1996 and
`assigned Ser. No. 08/718,356, now U'S. Pat. No. 5,844,506
`which is a national application based upon British PCT
`Application entitled “MULTIPLE INPUT PROXIMITY
`DETECTOR AND TOUCHPAD SYSTEM”, assigned Ser.
`No. PCT/GB95/00767, filed Apr. 5, 1995, claiming priority
`to a British application entitled “MULTIPLE INPUT
`PROXIMITY DETECTOR AND TOUCHPAD SYSTEM”,
`filed May 4, 1994 and assigned Ser. No. 9406702.2,all of
`which applications describe and claim inventions made by
`the present inventor.
`The present invention relates to a multiple input prox-
`imity detector/touchpad system which may comprise, for
`example, a keypadarray, digitising tablet, touchscreen or an
`electronic mouse which may be operated through a variable
`thickness of glass or other dielectric medium, and more
`particularly to the design of a multiple input proximity
`detector/touchpad system in which a large matrix of keys or
`a large touch sensitive area may be formed using the
`superposition of, for example, orthogonally arranged con-
`ducting elements. The conducting elements, and the elec-
`tronic scanning system to service the conducting elements
`are particularly arranged to obtain optimized sensitivity.
`In European Patent No. EP-0185671 there is described a
`touch operated keyboard for attachment to one face of a
`sheet of glass comprising a plurality of keypads disposed
`adjacent each other in a desired pattern,
`together with
`interrogation means for assessing the condition of the
`keypads, indicating when a keypad, or keypads have been
`operated by a user, and an electronic scanning and process-
`ing system for providing meansfor threshold value genera-
`tion and drift compensation.
`The threshold value generation means is operative to
`determine repeatedly at predetermined intervals the required
`capacitance level associated with any keypad in order to
`indicate that that keypad has been operated by a user.
`The drift compensation means is operative to offset
`variations in capacitance caused by varying background
`conditions.
`The present invention is directed towards the construc-
`tion of a multiple input proximity detector/touchpad system,
`which may comprise a keypadarray, digitising tablet, touch-
`screen or an electronic mouse, wherein the position of a
`user’s finger or other object touching, or in close proximity
`to the “touch sensitive” surface area, hereinafter referred to
`as a touchpad, is determined by means of the capacitive
`effect of that
`finger on multiple conductor elements
`(hereinafter referred to as a keystroke), and to the optimi-
`sation of sensitivity of the touchpad, particularly when the
`touch sensitive area becomesrelatively large. It is intended
`that
`throughout
`the present specification, reference to a
`“finger” is intended to include any object that would exert
`sufficient capacitive influence to be detected by the touch-
`pad.
`It should be noted that the activation of a “keypad” or
`area of the touchpad can be achieved without pressure on, or
`even without physical contact with,
`the surface of the
`touchpad, although in normal modeof operation, the user’s
`finger would contact
`the touchpad surface or a surface
`associated therewith.
`Other known types of touchpad, such as membrane
`switches having two sets of conductors face to face, require
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`the use of pressure on two conducting elements at an
`intersection of those conducting elements. Pairs of conduct-
`ing elements may be scanned in systematic manner to
`determine which,
`if any,
`intersection has been pressed.
`Disadvantages of this system are that there are moving parts
`(eg. the upper surface presented to the user’s finger) which
`can therefore be subject
`to damage, and also that
`the
`positioning of the user’s finger must coincide with the
`conducting elementintersection. This method employsa set
`of driver conductors and a set of sensing conductors.
`The present invention, however, uses only sensing con-
`ductors and has no moving parts.
`It can thus be well
`protected from damage by users by the glass or other
`dielectric medium covering the touchpad. The electronic
`scanning of the conducting elements requires connection to
`only one element at a time, and all other elements can be
`placed in condition to reduce interference when not being
`scanned. The present invention further permits detection of
`the user’s finger at any point on the touchpad’s active
`surface, and the electronic scanning mechanism could be
`arranged to assign predeterminedareas of the touchpad to be
`interpreted as discrete keypads, or “boxes”.
`Of fundamental importance to such a touchpad system is
`the sensitivity of the apparatus to the proximity of a finger
`when compared with normal variations in capacitance. This
`ensures reliable indication of an intentional “keystroke” as
`previously described, and the determination with a high
`degree of accuracy ofthe position ofthatfinger. The position
`of the finger may be a digital representation of which “box”
`or predetermined area of the touchpad has been activated
`from a set of possible boxes, or predetermined areas, or
`alternatively an analogue representation of the position by,
`for example, x-y coordinates.
`The present invention is further directed towards the
`achievement of this required sensitivity, by a number of
`alternative embodiments which maybe used separately or in
`conjunction with one another.
`Applications of such a touchpad are many and diverse,
`for example:
`as a touchscreen interface for a computer system the
`keyboard being located immediately in front of a
`display unit which may be, for example, a cathode ray
`tube or liquid crystal display;
`a cash till keypad, where there would normally be many
`buttons for specific or different types of merchandise
`(the present
`invention is particularly suited to this
`application wherethe till operatoris likely to have dirty
`or greasy hands, since the invention can provide a
`smooth glass for the keypad surface which is easily
`wiped clean);
`as an equivalent to a “mouse” input device to a computer
`system where the screen cursor is moved by moving
`one’s finger across the surface of a touchpad;
`as a standard layout keyboard for use in a hostile envi-
`ronment;
`
`as many discrete proximity sensing keys.
`In the environmentof a cathode ray tube, or other static-or
`interference-generating device, it may be necessary to pro-
`tect the touchpad from such static by known means, for
`example a transparent earthing shield. Alternatively, an
`actively driven back plane may be used.
`In a general aspect
`the present
`invention provides a
`multiple input proximity detector in which the juxtaposition
`of two or more independent sensor inputs are used to
`determine the proximity of a finger, such detection only
`being accepted as valid whenall the sensor inputs indicate
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`6,137,427
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`4
`film in order to achieve similar effect of separation of the
`first and second series of conductor elements by a dielectric
`layer.
`the superposition of the
`is also possible to effect
`It
`conducting elements in other ways. For example, in FIG. 2b
`the first series of conductor elements 12 may be deposited
`onto the thin dielectric film 10 and an insulating layer 13
`deposited thereupon. The second series of conducting ele-
`ments 14 may then be deposited over the insulating layer.
`Thus, the insulating layer 13 forms a membrane structure
`between the first and second series of conducting elements.
`The insulating layer 13 need not, however, be continuous
`over the entire touchpad surface:
`it is only necessary to
`insulate the intersections of the first and second series of
`conductor elements. In FIG. 2c, this arrangement is shown,
`where small regions of insulating material 13' are deposited
`over the first series of conducting elements 12 at the pro-
`posed intersection points. The second series of conductor
`elements 14 may then be deposited. In this instance, the
`small regions of insulating material 13' in conjunction with
`the dielectric film 10 form a membranestructure separating
`the first and second series of conductor elements.
`Connection to the conductor elements 12 and the conduc-
`tor elements 14 is made by further conducting elements 32,
`34 respectively deposited and/or defined in similar manner
`to conductor elements 12, 14. A connection to the touchpad
`scanning system is made by connector 30 using an appro-
`priate connection system.
`In the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2a—2c, the width 16
`of the conductor elements 12 and 14 is small compared with
`the inter-element spacing 18. If the conducting material
`being used to form conductor elements 12, 14 is of low
`invention in which connections can be made
`present
`conductivity, an alternative pattern of conductor element
`between conducting elements;
`may be used as described later.
`FIG. 6 shows a small part of a touchpad surface;
`In another embodiment,the inter-element spacing 18 need
`FIG. 7 showsa part of a touchpad surface indicating an
`notbe identical for each adjacent pair of conductor elements.
`embodimentof the invention in which multiple keypad areas
`The sensitivity of the touchpad and its immunity to
`are assigned to each intersection;
`extraneous interference has been found to be enhanced by
`FIG. 8 shows schematically an embodiment of scanning
`the encapsulation of the dielectric film 10 and conducting
`apparatus suitable for use with the touchpad;
`elements 12, 14, 32, 34 in a dielectric laminate 50, as shown
`FIG. 9 showsa pattern of conductor elements suitable for
`40
`
`use in the style of a standard typewriter keyboard layout; and in FIGS. 2a—2c The dielectric laminate may beaplastic film,
`FIG. 10 showsa pattern of conductor elements demon-
`and can be formed using well known techniques such as heat
`strating one embodimentof a multiplexed touchpad.
`sealing. This provides a constant dielectric environment in
`With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2a, and according to one
`the immediate proximity of the conductor elements, elimi-
`embodiment of the invention,
`there is provided a thin
`nates the influence of moisture which might otherwise be
`dielectric film 10 on which is deposited on one face by an
`present on the conductor elements, and further improves the
`appropriate technique such as screen printing or similar
`robustness of the apparatus.
`lithographic process, a pattern of electrically conducting
`Highsensitivity to changes in capacitance of a conductor
`material forminga first series of parallel conductor elements
`element or group of conductor elements caused by the
`12 with appropriate connectionsat one or both ends. On the
`proximity of a finger or other object is achieved by mini-
`other face of the thin dielectric film 10, by a similar
`mising the cross-coupled capacitance between the conductor
`elements 12 and the conductor elements 14. This can be
`technique, there is provided a pattern of electrically con-
`ducting material forming a secondseries of parallel conduc-
`achieved in one embodimentby the use of highly conductive
`material (such as silver) and the forming of conductor
`tor elements 14 with appropriate connections at one or both
`ends which are orthogonal to, but not in electrical contact
`elements which have a very narrow width 16 when com-
`with the first series. The first and second series of conductor
`pared to the conductor spacing 18 as previously described,
`elements thus form a plurality of intersections 20. Appro-
`such that the capacitance of the intersections 20 is small. In
`priate material for these conductor elements 12, 14 is, for
`the event
`that
`it
`is desirable that a lower conductivity
`material be used (e.g. indium oxide), or that the dimensions
`example, silver-based conducting ink. If the conductorele-
`ments are to be of low visibility where the touchpadis being
`of the touchpad becomesufficiently large such that there is
`used in front of a display system, then indium oxide is an
`substantial resistance along a conductor element, then alter-
`appropriate material.
`native patterns may be considered such as those embodied in
`FIGS. 3a and 35.
`the first and second series of
`In other embodiments,
`In FIG. 3a, where the conductor elements have a more
`conductor elements need not be parallel, nor is it necessary
`for the first and second series of conductor elements to be
`substantial width 22, at the intersections 20 the width 24 is
`greatly reduced.
`In FIG. 3b, the conductor elements 12 and 14 maintain
`full width 22, but the second conductor element 14 has a
`
`3
`a valid detection, where such inputs may be juxtaposed next
`to a range of other inputs in unique combination such that
`when any one combination givesa true detection for all its
`individual inputs, a unique valid detection is determined.
`According to the present invention there is provided a
`touchpad comprising an electrically insulating membrane
`with a first series of spaced apart conductors on a first face
`of the membrane and a second series of spaced apart
`conductors on or proximal thereto,
`in which there is no
`electrical contact between the first and second series of
`
`conductors, each conductorin said series being sensitive to
`the proximity of a finger to modify the capacitance of said
`conductor to detect the presence of said finger positioned
`close to that conductor. Preferably the first and second
`conductors comprise fine wires preferably of a size between
`10 to 25 microns to be substantially invisible when the
`touchpad is used as a touchscreen.
`invention will now be
`Embodiments of the present
`described by way of example with reference to the accom-
`panying drawings in which:
`FIG. 1 shows in plan view a touchpad according to the
`present invention;
`FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c show in alternative embodiments
`cross-sections through the touchpad of FIG. 1, not to scale;
`FIGS. 3a and 3b show embodimentsof intersection points
`of two conducting elements;
`FIG. 4 showsin plan view an embodimentof the present
`invention suitable for a large area touchpad with multiple
`conducting elements;
`FIG. 5 shows in cross-section an embodiment of the
`
`mutually orthogonal. The second series of conductor ele-
`ments may be deposited onto a second thin dielectric film,
`the second film being superimposed on thefirst dielectric
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`6,137,427
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`5
`“window” area 28 which has no conductive material. This
`“window” allows the necessary capacitive link to the first
`conductive element 12. The window area 28 need not be
`
`completely open. As indicated by dotted line 29, an area of
`conductor material electrically isolated from the second
`conductor element 14 can in fact be left within the window
`28 andstill provide the necessary capacitive link to the first
`conductor element 12.
`The relative thicknesses of the conductor elements thus
`
`can be varied to suit the conductivity of the material being
`used, the length of the tracks, and other constraining factors.
`It is noted that the smaller width tracks can result in better
`
`resolution and higher speed of operation, but use of the
`wider tracks can be acceptable for lower resolution, less
`sensitive or slower requirements.
`In another embodiment,
`the sensitivity to changes in
`capacitance caused by the proximity of a finger or other
`object to a large area touchpad is enhanced by connecting
`several conductor elements 12, 14 together in groups as
`embodiedin FIG. 4. This particular embodimentis preferred
`where the required positional resolution of a keystroke can
`be compromised in favour of an increased area of touchpad.
`This particular embodiment confers upon the apparatus the
`additional benefit
`that damage to one of the conductor
`elements 12 or 14 causing a break in that element does not
`affect
`the performance of the system, provided that
`the
`connection of each group of elements at both ends is made,
`as shownin the embodimentof FIG. 4. Ifa fine wire is used
`
`to detect a large area then the wire should be zig-zagged over
`that area. The wire could be zig-zagged with “—'th of an
`inch spacing.
`the conductor elements can be electrically
`If required,
`connected to elements on the opposite face of the dielectric
`film 10 by the provision of appropriately placed holes 36 in
`the dielectric film as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, filled with
`conductive material through which, for example, conductor
`element 12 is connected to conductor element 32 in order
`that connector 30 is only required to make contact to one
`face of the dielectric film 10. Such a system may also be
`used to form “underpasses” for the conductor elements if
`required on particularly complex conductor patterns. These
`“underpasses” may be used to effect the intersection points
`of the first series of conductor elements 12 and the second
`series of conductor elements 14.
`It is further noted that where conductor elements are used
`
`which havesignificant resistance along the length thereof, it
`is possible to minimise the impact this has by providing
`conductor elements 32,34 to contact both ends of conductor
`elements 12,14 respectively.It is further possible to provide
`conductor elements 32,34 in high-conductivity material, and
`conductor elements in the lower conductivity material, the
`elements being coupled together in known manner.
`In a particular embodimentof this invention the required
`sensitivity of the system to changes in capacitance on any
`given element
`is enhanced by ensuring that all of the
`conductor elements 14-1... 14-n and 12-1... . 12-n are
`maintained at
`the same potential
`(for example ground
`potential, or V,.,5 hereinafter referred to as “ground
`potential”) except for the conductor element being sampled.
`The groundingof all conductor elements not being sampled
`greatly reduces the effect of stray capacitance from other
`parts of the touchpad on the element being sampled, thus
`providing a more reliable measure of any capacitive change
`that may have taken place on the conductor element being
`scanned.
`An appropriate system for scanning keyboards, such as
`that described in European Patent No. 0185671 is readily
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`applicable with some modification to this touchpad. In one
`particular embodiment as shownin FIG. 8, each of conduc-
`tor elements 12-1 to 12-4, and 14-1 to 14-3 is connected at
`one end to a resistor 71 having a high value such as 100
`kohms when compared with the impedanceof the detection
`circuit, for example 10 kohms. (The particular values of
`resistance used are exemplary, and may be substantially
`varied according to the configuration of the system.) Each of
`the resistors is connected to, for example, ground potential.
`The other end of each of conductor elements 12-1 to 12-4,
`and 14-1 to 14-3 is connected in turn via analogue multi-
`plexer 75 to Output line 72.
`Wherethere is significant resistance along the length of
`the conductor elements 12 and 14,
`improvements in the
`performance of the detection system can be achieved by the
`placing of the resistors 71 at
`the opposite sides of the
`conductor elements 12 and 14 to that shown in FIG. 8. In
`
`other words,the resistors are placed at the multiplexer 75 of
`the touchpad and connected to groundor an active ground as
`hereinafter described.
`Output line 72 is connected to the input of a capacitance
`controlled oscillator 85, the output of which is connected to
`a divide-by-n circuit 90, which provides the data output on
`line 92. An indexing counter 80, clocked by a remote clock
`on line 82, is operative to control the analogue multiplexer,
`and to reset capacitance controlled oscillator 85 and divide-
`by-n circuit 90. A processing means, not shown,is operative
`to receive the data from divide-by-n counter on line 92, and
`store it
`in a plurality of locations, each allocated to a
`particular one of the conductor elements 12 and 14. Divide-
`by-n circuit 90 and other components such as indexing
`counter 80 could be provided by means of a suitable
`standard microprocessor.
`The scanning system thus samples each conductor ele-
`ment
`in turn according to the analogue multiplexer
`sequence, and stores each capacitance value in memory.
`These values are compared with reference values from
`earlier scans, and with other capacitance values in the same
`scan from the other conductor elements in order to detect a
`keystroke. Keystrokes must be above a threshold value to be
`valid. By having several threshold values it is possible to
`determine the pressure of key press or distance that the
`finger is away from the key. This may be useful, for
`example, when moving a cursor across a screen and then
`making a selection by pressing harder on a selected point.
`The remaining features of the scanning mechanism are
`well described in the cited document and will not be
`discussed further here.
`Detected changes in capacitance on more than one con-
`ductor element in any one scanning sequence enables inter-
`polation of a keystroke between those conductor elements.
`In the two dimensional case, as shown in FIG. 6, conductor
`element 14-3, and conductor element 14-4 cross conductor
`elements 12-1 and 12-2. A finger or other object at position
`40 can be determined in the X-direction bytherelative effect
`on the capacitance of element 14-3 compared with element
`14-4, and in the Y-direction by the relative effect on the
`capacitance of element 12-1 compared with element 12-2. In
`a typical application, conductor elements 12-1,12-2 ...12-n
`and 14-1,14-2 .
`.
`. 14-n will be sampled by the scanning
`system in a sequential manner. Clearly, the same applies to
`the embodiment of the touchpad where the conductor ele-
`ments are arranged in groups where the interpolation is
`made betweenthe centre line 45 of each group of conductor
`elements (FIG. 4).
`It will be clear that the interpolation technique enables not
`only an analogue representation of finger position on the
`
`PETITIONERS
`
`Exhibit 1016, Page 13
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`PETITIONERS
`Exhibit 1016, Page 13
`
`

`

`6,137,427
`
`7
`touchpad to be created, but also allows the use of an
`increased number of “boxes” or predetermined key areas
`60,61 over the numberof element intersections, as indicated
`in FIG. 7. Such “boxes” or keypad areas could be arranged
`in any numberof configurations capable of being resolved
`by the system.
`In an alternative embodiment, an active backplane may be
`incorporated into the touchscreen. For example, a plastic
`sheet upon which is coated a conductive film is laminated to
`the touchscreen. The output 72 is connected to a unity gain
`non-inverting amplifier 73. The output of this amplifier 73 is
`connected to the backplane conductor (not shown) which
`may coverall or part of the keypad. The backplane will be
`active since the voltage thereon will vary with the output on
`line 72.
`The backplane could also extend to areas in front of the
`keypad to “shield” keys which are non-operative.
`The backplane potential thus created could also be suit-
`ably connected to maintain all conductors 12-n, 14-n which
`are not actively being sampled at a commonpotential equal
`to the active backplane potential rather than the common
`ground potential as previously described herein.
`This can in certain uses of the touchscreen eliminate the
`
`requirement for a completely conductive backplane film.
`In FIG. 9 there is shown an example of an appropriate
`pattern of elements for simulating a keypad configuration
`such as that normally associated with a typewriter keyboard.
`This particular embodiment comprises the horizontal con-
`ducting elements 12, vertical conducting elements 14, con-
`ducting elements 32, 34 for connection to connector 30 in
`similar manner to the embodiments described with reference
`
`to the FIGS. 1 and 2. The sensitivity of the system can be
`further enhanced by the addition of further conducting
`elements 42, 44; elements 42 being in electrical connection
`with conducting elements 12, and elements 44 being in
`electrical connection with conducting elements 14, elements
`42 being positioned such that centre of a box defined by the
`elements 42 is superimposed on the centre of a box defined
`by elements 44, the elements 12, 42 being on oneface of the
`thin dielectric film 10, and the elements 14, 44 being on the
`other face of the thin dielectric film 10. The separate
`elements 42, 44 are indicated schematically to the side of the
`drawing of FIG. 9.
`As indicated earlier, the first and second series of con-
`ductor elements 12 and 14 need not be deposited on opposite
`faces of the same dielectric membrane, but might be depos-
`ited on separate dielectric membranes, with said membranes
`being superimposed one on the other. This principle may be
`extended to include a plurality of membranes, each having
`a separate pattern of conductor elements. These could, for
`example be PCB’s (printed circuit boards) of known type.
`The conductor elements 12,14,32 and 34 could be formed
`from fine conducting wires which would preferably be
`insulated by, for example, an enamel coating. The wires
`12,14 could be allowed to touch at intersections 20, electri-
`cal contact being prevented by the insulating coating.
`Alternatively, the wires could be arranged on either side of
`a suitable membrane for mounting purposes. The wires may
`be from 10 to 25 microns in diameter thereby being invisible
`to the naked eye whenthe invention is used as a touchscreen.
`In a further embodimentof the present invention, particu-
`larly an embodiment including, for example, a plurality of
`membranes having conductor elements thereon, multiplex-
`ing techniques can be used. Duplicate sets of N small
`touchpads are arranged to form a large touchpadarray. This
`array is superimposed upon a larger touchpad with M keys
`(M could be equal to N). The position of a finger or other
`
`10
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`40
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`60
`
`65
`
`8
`object proximate to the first touchpad is interpretable by the
`system as a key stroke in any one of N possible positions.
`The second,larger grid pattern is used to determine which of
`the M possible duplicate key pads has been touched,
`enabling unambiguous determination of the position of the
`finger.
`With reference to FIG. 10, there is a first grid pattern
`comprising repeating pattern of elements A to D and W to Z;
`that is to say that all A elementsare electrically connected,
`all B elements are electrically connected, and soon.It is thus
`apparent that there will be four first grid horizontal connec-
`tions A,B,C,D, and fourfirst grid vertical connections W,X,
`Y,Z. A second grid is placed directly over the first grid, the
`second grid having four horizontal elements with four
`connections a,b,c,d, and four vertical elements with four
`connections w,x,y,z. A finger placed at the position marked
`with a square on the first grid will be indicated by the first
`grid as interference with elements A and Z. Such interfer-
`ence would be the samefor sixteen positions onthis grid, but
`the second grid will indicate interference with elements c
`and b, with c stronger than b, and interference with elements
`x and y, with x stronger than y. This enables unique
`determination of the position of the interfering object. It is
`readily apparent that 256 positions can thus be resolved by
`just 16 electrical connections. If interpolation techniques are
`used, more than 256 positions can be resolved.
`If enamel coated wires are used then because these are
`
`insulated from each other a plurality of matrix wire arrange-
`ments can be placed on top of each other without any
`separating membrane.
`More keys can be determined by duplicating or rearrang-
`ing the order of the connections and thus determining the
`unique best and secondbest values. For example, instead of
`A,B,C,D, as above the order D,A,B,C,D,B, could be used.
`If D gives the best value in the above example and C is
`the secondbestthenit is the second D that has beenselected.
`
`If D gives the best value and A is the second best then it
`is the first D that has been selected.
`This example can be accomplishedin a linearor in a grid
`pattern to provide more key positions and thus can be used
`in combination with the interpolation techniques to provide
`even more key positions.
`The grid patterns could be arranged as shown in FIG. 10
`to be evenly spaced, but equally each four by four pattern
`(A-D, W-Z) could be arranged, within reason, at any
`location on the touchpad surface or on another surface thus
`providing 16 separate and distinct four by four arrays. In the
`extreme case, each array could be constructed to be a single
`key, the example shownthus providing 256 keys at remote
`locations but not necessarily in a defined pattern.
`In a very large keyboard,it may be required to sample the
`element