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:
Jan. 29, 2008
Filed:
Feb. 13, 2006
Applicant:
Masahiro Soma, Fukushima-ken, JP;
Inventor:
Masahiro Soma, Fukushima-ken, JP;
Assignee:
Alps Electric Co., Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H03M 11/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
An input device includes a plurality of input keys arranged in a matrix of three or more rows and three or more columns; electrodes facing parts of or all surfaces of the input keys that surround intersection of rows and columns formed by the arrangement of the input keys; and an input key detecting unit that identifies operated input keys among the plurality of input keys by combinations of the electrodes having a change in electrostatic capacitance. With this structure, the number of electrodes can be less than that of the input keys.