The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 02, 2019
Filed:
Apr. 26, 2013
Alsentis, Llc, Holland, MI (US);
David W. Caldwell, Holland, MI (US);
William D. Schaefer, Grand Rapids, MI (US);
Robert G. Bos, Grand Haven, MI (US);
Stefan G. Kurek, Grand Rapids, MI (US);
Alsentis, LLC, Holland, MI (US);
Abstract
A capacitive sensor for detecting a stimulus. The capacitive sensor includes first and second electrodes defining a capacitive coupling, and a processing unit electrically coupled to the first and second electrodes to determine the presence of a stimulus based on the rate of change of the capacitive coupling. A substrate is positioned adjacent the first and second electrodes, wherein the stimulus corresponds to the placement of an object against the substrate. The processing unit is operative to determine a time rate of change based on successive measurements of the capacitive coupling and in response to the capacitive coupling being greater than a predetermined reference value.