Greensteel, Inc.

Microtouch Systems, Inc.

Polyvision Corporation

Stephen P Atwood

Bernard O Geaghan

Brendan J Crowley

Michael Woolstrum

Stephen Richard Robsky

Steven J Buelte

James Sprague

An eraser for use on an electronic whiteboard with a protrusion area on the erasing surface forming a convex area on the erasing surface for establishing a positive point of contact with the whiteboard; an electronic whiteboard system including such an eraser, a controller for storing data relating to information written on and erased from the whiteboard data, and a filter for preventing the storage of digital data relating to contacts with the whiteboard not attributable to normal writing or erasing actions.

Electronic whiteboard system eraser

A technique for building touch-sensitive panels which permits construction of large, low-cost electronic whiteboards with improved feel. The electronic whiteboards are of the resistive membrane type, in which a touch on a flexible membrane causes the membrane to come into contact with a surface and that in turn changes the resistances across the membrane and the surface, permitting determination of the location of the touch. A gap between the flexible membrane and the surface is maintained primarily by the use of relatively large spacing structures located between the membrane and the surface, instead of by tension on the membrane. The use of large spacing structures permits the surface to be made using relatively irregular and therefore low-cost material. The spacing structures are backed by an elastic layer, which permits the spacing structures to yield to a touch on the screen. The spacing structures consequently do not interfere with writing on the screen and the combination of yielding spacing structures and low tension on the membrane provides a surface with a better &ldquo;feel&rdquo;.

Spacing structures for large touch panels

Electronic whiteboard system and method

A digitizer including a support structure defining a digitizer area and a spacer element; a tensioned membrane disposed in spaced relationship to the support structure on the spacer element; and a peripheral flexible member extending from the support structure and including at least two independently flexible sections attached to the membrane and pretensioned counter to the tension of the membrane for deflecting and maintaining tension on the membrane to sustain the spaced relationship with the membrane relative to the structure.

Self-tensioning membrane touch screen

An electronic whiteboard is coupled to a computer which receives information from the whiteboard indicative of graphical user inputs entered via a writing region of the whiteboard and control inputs entered via a control region of the whiteboard. A driver executing on the computer receives the information transmitted by the whiteboard, performs certain actions on the received information and causes an application program to retrieve the information and store the information to a session file. The application provides a user interface which allows a user to view images generated on the whiteboard, store such images, view previously stored images and to manipulate the images in a variety of ways.

Growing community of inventors

Worcester, MA, United States of America

Stephen P Atwood