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:
Aug. 31, 2010
Filed:
Oct. 30, 2007
Applicant:
David W. Proctor, Bellevue, WA (US);
Inventor:
David W. Proctor, Bellevue, WA (US);
Assignee:
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G06F 3/044 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
A circular touch sensor has three or more sensors arranged in an iris pattern. Each pad is defined by continuous edges that spiral outward about a center point. The unique geometric shape allows measurement of relative amounts of contact on adjoining sensors. In one implementation, the sensors measure relative capacitance of two or more sensors, thereby enabling high precision identification of the point of contact. With as few as three pads, the circular touch sensor is less expensive than traditional 12-pad to 16-pad circular sensors.