International Business Machines Corporation

Annapolis Micro Systems, Inc.

Robert L Donaldson

Evon C Greanias

Guy F Verrier

Frank L Stein

Michael S Gray

Francis Fado

Michael N Gray

Victor S Moore

Tin-Lup Wong

Alan Richard Tannenbaum

C Richard Guarnieri

James J Tout, Jr

Gordon W Arbeitman

Thomas K Pate

David J Brigida

Marvin K Brown

James J Sullivan

James B Peterson

Patrick F Camilleri

Teresa G Smith

Paul D Kowalewski

Michael P Klewin

John J Seeland, Jr

Rhett D Hudson

Dennis M Hawver

Lawrence M Marshall, Jr

In hardware, performing computations on a stream typically requires handshaking signals to provide flow control. Many different handshaking protocols are available, and they are typically implemented in an ad hoc manner suited to the current design. An approach according to the invention uses a subset of the possible flow-control protocols in an effort to achieve a maximum amount of flexibility and reusability, while requiring only a moderate level of overhead when compared to manually-designed systems.

Method and apparatus for modeling dataflow systems and realization to hardware

Improvements in the art of sensor and display technology now make the implementation of a workpad concept feasible. While prior art touch displays are acceptable for short, casual use tasks, they may not be feasible or suited for intensive use tasks. Recent improvements in the optical qualities (brightness, contrast, viewing cone) of flat panel displays, such as LCDs, allow implementing a touch screen for use in a horizontal orientation. This greatly improves the human factors for applications involving extensive pointing, drawing, or writing.

Flat touch screen workpad for a data processing system

A stylus assembly in which a stylus is mounted in a housing for movement relative thereto. An electrical circuit is provided for sensing contact of the stylus with a writing surface and measuring the pressure exerted on the surface by the stylus.

Digitizing stylus having capacitive pressure and contact sensing

An improved touch overlay for the viewing surface of a display for detecting both finger touch and stylus location is disclosed. An upper and a lower set of transparent conductors are disposed on at least one transparent flexible insulating substrate and are oriented orthogonally with respect to each other. Depending on the orientation of the transparent conductors, top and bottom cover layers may be added to the overlay. The separation between the upper and lower conductors and a separation from the user's finger on the top surface of the overlay from the upper conductors is optimized. To speed finger touch sensing, the ambient capacitance of the overlay is reduced by increasing the separation between the upper and lower conductors layers. For improved operation, the present invention features a separation of at least 3 mils between upper and lower conductors. The separation between the top surface and the upper conductors is held to a minimum consistent with the preservation of integrity of the upper conductors when stylus pressure is applied. Means are also included in the overlay to improve the durability of the overlay with respect to repeated stylus pressure on top surface.

Touch overlay for improved touch sensitivity

An architecture for communication of remote devices to a digitizing display includes a contact sensing mechanism and a position sensing mechanism whose outputs are multiplexed for transmission from the stylus to an antenna located proximate to the digitizing display. The digitizing display also includes a transmitter for transmitting information from a pen-based computer system to the stylus for storage or utilization in the stylus.

Architecture for communication of remote devices to a digitizing display

A portable paperless parcel tracking system capable of reading bar codes on packages, capturing signatures and alphanumeric data related to the parcels when entered into a touch panel display, disabling manual or finger touch entry when a stylus is near the surface of the display, storing the parcel related data electronically and transmitting the data to a host at a convenient time.

Paperless parcel tracking system

An improved stylus detection system for use on the surface of a display device. An overlay having horizontal and vertical transparent conductors is coupled to other elements of the systems through a bus having a minimal number of bus wires. A control processor issues command signal which selectively couple transparent conductors to a radiative measuring device to determine stylus position accurately. The system includes a radiative pickup stylus having a spherical antenna which receive the overlay signal independent of the angle at which it is held. Further, a contact detecting mode has been added to eliminate spurious contact position measured between strokes, when the stylus is proximate to but not in contact with the overlay.

Stylus sensing system

An improved finger touch and stylus detection system for use on the surface of a display device is disclosed. An overlay having horizontal and vertical transparent conductors is coupled to the other elements of the system through a bus having a minimum number of bus wires. A control processor issues command signals which selectively couples the transparent conductors to a capacitive measuring device and a radiative measuring device to determine finger and stylus position respectively. The improvements to the system include a radiative stylus having a spherical antenna which receives the overlay signal independent of the angle at which it is held. Further, a contact detecting mode has been added to eliminate spurious stylus positions measured between strokes, when the stylus is proximate to but not in contact with the overlay.

A data processing system is disclosed which is equipped with a secure user friendly input system. The input system comprises an array of horizontal and vertical conductor supported on a flexible, transparent overlay membrane secured to the viewing surface of the display of an individual workstation and a remotely sensed personal stylus. The stylus is equipped to receive electromagnetic signals from the array and transmit signals containing information concerning the stylus position on the overlay and stylus ID to a receiver at the workstation. The input system also includes a control processor operating in stored program instructions which control the detection and log-on procedures for the remotely sensed personal stylus.

Remotely sensed personal stylus

A combined finger touch and stylus detection system is disclosed for use on the viewing surface of the visual display device. Transparent conductors arranged in horizontal and vertical grid are supported on a flexible, transparent overlay membrane which is adaptable to a variety of displays. A unique interconnection pattern is provided between the transparent conductors in the array and buses which interconnect the conductors with the supporting electronics, whereby a minimum number of bus wires can be employed to service the array conductors and yet both unique finger touch location sensing and unique stylus location sensing can be accomplished. The system includes a control processor which operates on stored program instructions which, in a first embodiment provides for the alternate detection of either finger touch location or stylus location and, in a second embodiment, provides for the simultaneous detection of both finger touch location and stylus location. The resulting system provides the unique function of combined finger touch and stylus detection, is adaptable to a variety of display surfaces, is provided with a structure which is easily manufacturable, and which has an inherent long-term reliability.

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Annapolis, MD, United States of America

Robert L Donaldson