Patent · US Expired

Electronic sketch pad

US4639720A · kind A · utility

248Cited by
9References
30Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 12, 1981
Grant dateJan 27, 1987
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 12, 2001

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG09G3/3685
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A graphics input/output device contains a graphics input pad having an array of transparent capacitive pixels the capacitance characteristics of which are changed in response to the passing of a conductive-tipped stylus over the surface of the pad. This change in capacitance is sensed by sense buffers disposed along the columns of the matrix, as the rows are scanned at a prescribed scanning rate. The sensed data is read out of the sense buffer and loaded into a RAM. An array of display pixels formed of an LCD matrix is addressed by a scan sequence control unit, and the energization of the display pixels is multiplexed with the read-out scanning of the sensed data, so as to present to the user a real time generated image of the graphics created by the stylus. As a result, it appears to the user that the stylus is actually "writing" on the display pad.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.