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. 03, 2012
Filed:
Jun. 23, 2005
Paul Beard, Milipitas, CA (US);
Ryan Winfield Woodings, Boise, ID (US);
Paul Beard, Milipitas, CA (US);
Ryan Winfield Woodings, Boise, ID (US);
Abstract
A system to generate a wakeup signal for a low power device: The system includes a capacitor, the capacitance of which changes when a user touches the device by placing a finger or hand near a certain location on the device. The capacitor is cyclically charged to a pre-established value and then discharged. The time required to charge and discharge the capacitor is a function of the capacitor size and thus, a function of whether or not the operator is touching the device. The number of charge-discharge cycles that occur in a certain period of time is counted. If the number is relatively small, it indicated that a user is touching the device and a wake signal is generated. If the number is relatively large, it means that the user is not touching the device and no wake signal is generated. Thus, in the embodiments shown, a wake signal is generated when the operator touches the device.