Force sensitive touch panel
US5241308A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 23, 1992 |
| Grant date | Aug 31, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 23, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F3/0414
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A touch panel generates any of a plurality of different signals that are selected by touching different specific areas of a panel member. Spaced apart supports at the edges of the touch sensitive area hold a panel member in spaced apart relationship to the underlying surface. Force sensitive circuit elements, such as strain gauges or pressure sensitive resistors, sense the force which the panel member exerts on each support when finger pressure is applied to the member. Additional circuit components compare the forces exerted on each support to determine the location on the panel that is being touched and generate the particular signal that correlates with that location. The touch panel may be used to enter instructions and other data into a computer or the like or to transmit selected control signals to other types of equipment. The panel may be transparent and be attached to the screen of a visual data display enabling entry of menu selections or other data by simply touching the screen.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.