| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 341034000 | Pressure sensitive actuation | 22 |
| 20080211700 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INPUTTING CHARACTER IN A TERMINAL - A method and apparatus for inputting a character in a terminal are provided, in which a key input portion has at least one multi-key for use in inputting a plurality of characters, and when an other key is pressed while one of the at least one multi-key is pressed, a controller determines that one of characters following a first character among a plurality of characters mapped to the pressed multi-key has been input according to the distance between the pressed multi-key and the pressed other key. | 09-04-2008 |
| 20080309522 | Keyboard with touch sensitive zones and corresponding computer user interface - A keyboard key has a key portion that forms a cantilevered beam pivotable about an axis. A switch is disposed relative to the cantilevered beam, such that rotation of the cantilever beam about the axis causes depression of the switch. The switch is offset from an applied force-receiving portion of the key portion. A touch sensitive key also includes a touch sensor detecting contact with the key portion of the key. The invention can be extended such that the key portion is formed of transparent or semi-transparent material. The invention can also be extended to include touch sensitive areas on any portion of an upper case of the computer keyboard. | 12-18-2008 |
| 20090015440 | Computer keyboard mat - The invention is a flexible mat that can be placed on a floor or other large flat surface for the purpose of serving as a fully functional, oversized membrane computer keyboard with enlarged characters and keypad area. Each character depicted on the keyboard indicates a particular letter, numeral, function or symbol for input. Thereby, its user can enter information into a computer or electronic device through the keyboard by using alternative methods of input to traditional finger keystrokes. Rather, the user may utilize feet, knees, hands or other body parts and non-body parts instead of only fingers. | 01-15-2009 |
| 20090109068 | Touch control input device, and computer apparatus including the same - A touch control input device includes a flexible dielectric touch plate disposed above a dielectric substrate. A conducting unit includes first conductive membrane patterns formed on a top surface of the substrate and spaced apart from each other, and second conductive membrane patterns formed on a bottom surface of the touch plate and corresponding respectively to the first conductive membrane patterns. A spacer is disposed between the substrate and the touch plate for spacing each first conductive membrane pattern apart from the corresponding second conductive membrane pattern. Pressing of the touch plate so that at least one first conductive membrane pattern electrically contacts the corresponding second conductive membrane pattern results in outputting of an input signal by the conducting unit. One of the substrate and the touch plate is formed with a predetermined pattern that is visible from above the touch plate. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090128375 | Control Apparatus Having at Least One Pushbutton Switch and Domestic Appliance Having a Control Apparatus - A control apparatus having at least one pushbutton switch can be used, for example, in a control panel of an electronic domestic appliance. The control apparatus includes a mount element, a piezo-film having at least one sensor field corresponding to the at least one pushbutton switch, a first adhesive layer connecting the piezo-film to the mount element, a cover layer facing a user side, a second adhesive layer connecting the cover layer to the piezo-film, and at least one attachment element for attachment of the control apparatus to the control panel. An electronic domestic appliance having a control apparatus is also provided. | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090128376 | Method and Apparatus for Controlling a Keypad of a Device | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090195418 | DATA INPUT DEVICE - A data input device is disclosed. In one embodiment, the data input device includes a plurality of input keys in which a one-stage input for inputting a first character and a two-stage input for inputting a second character are independently performed, a sensor for sensing the one-stage input and the two-stage input to the input keys, and a controller for extracting the first character or the second character redundantly assigned to the corresponding input key based on the sense result of the sensor from a memory to input the first character or the second character. | 08-06-2009 |
| 20090207054 | DEVICE PROVIDING AN IMPROVED KEYPAD ASSEMBLY FOR A PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE - A keypad assembly for a wireless device is provided. The keypad assembly comprises a circuit board, a keypad portion, a light guide, and at least one friction device. The keypad portion has a number of keys for physical actuation, each of the keys having an actuator post attached to a back side of the key. The circuit board has one or more electrical switches, the electrical switches corresponding to keys of the keypad. The light guide is located between the keypad portion and the circuit board. The light guide has a number of holes formed therein. The holes provide paths for respective actuator posts of the keys to travel through to contact the respective electrical switches on the circuit board. The at least one friction device is located in at least one of the holes of the light guide. The friction device provides a physical barrier limiting movement of the actuator post in a direction normal to the direction of actuation and the friction device applies friction to the side of the actuator post, thereby resisting movement of the actuator post in the direction of actuation. | 08-20-2009 |
| 20090207055 | METHOD FOR PROCESSING DATA QUANTIFYING FORCE APPLIED TO ONE OR MORE KEYS OF A COMPUTER KEYBOARD - A computer receives data from a keyboard having one or more keys which cause generation of keyboard data that quantitatively describe the relative force applied to those keys. The keyboard data are transmitted in an HID report containing identifiers for one or more keys that have been pressed and force data for each key. The force data may be a multi-bit value quantifying the key force, or a null indicator signaling that the key is not force-sensing. Keyboard data messages are then prepared which identify keys pressed, contain force data, and may indicate whether the force data updates previous force data. Force updates are only provided to application programs registering for key force data. In other aspects of the invention, key repeat messages are automatically generated for a key held pressed by a user. The key repeat messages are generated at a rate controlled by the amount of force applied to the key. | 08-20-2009 |
| 20100007531 | CONTROL MECHANISM FOR AN ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE AND EVALUATION METHOD FOR THE CONTROL MECHANISM - A control mechanism for an electrical appliance comprises a deformable or elastic control panel, for example, embodied as a frame of an electric cooking hob. Several piezo sensor elements are arranged under the control panel. The piezo sensor elements are arranged on the rear side of a printed circuit board, the opposite front side of said printed circuit board being arranged or fastened to the underside of the control panel in a planar manner. By determining the difference of the signals of the sensor elements arranged next to each other, it is possible to accomplish an extremely good and safe evaluation of a location where a finger is placed with light pressure on the control panel. | 01-14-2010 |
| 20100066572 | RESISTIVE SWITCH MATRIX - Architecture for a keyboard that supports the n-key rollover feature, while being compatible with well established, high volume, inexpensive manufacturing techniques. The design is a matrix design that uses resistors at each key rather than diodes, and employs novel circuits which allow any combination of simultaneous key presses to be detected using this resistive matrix. The resistors can be screen printed on the flexible sheets in a manner similar to the conductors. A resistive keyboard matrix employs circuit techniques that eliminate phantom key presses. The resistors can be created by screen-printing carbon ink. Additionally, various implementations of the decoder circuits can be employed to provide the n-key rollover feature on flexible sheets for inexpensive production. | 03-18-2010 |
| 20100085217 | INPUT KEY SUBASSEMBLY FOR MINIMIZING EMISSION OF LIGHT FROM UNINTENDED PATHS - An input key subassembly for a handheld communication device is dislosed herein. The input key subassembly includes a dome overlay panel and a lightguide panel. The dome overlay panel includes a dome overlay layer and a dome switch having a peak facing frontally. The dome overlay layer has a front face located adjacent to the backside of the lightguide panel. The lightguide panel has at least one keystem and is located above a respective dome switch. A recessed perimeter region about the keystem has a height relative to the backside of the lightguide panel that is less than a height between the front side of the lightguide panel and the backside of the lightguide panel. | 04-08-2010 |
| 20100109921 | Dome sheet and key pad - A dome sheet, a key pad and a method of manufacturing a dome sheet are disclosed. The key pad comprises a dome sheet with a top sheet, a bottom sheet and a dome. The dome sheet forms a switch arrangement when mounted to a contact layer. | 05-06-2010 |
| 20100148999 | Keyboard with user configurable granularity scales for pressure sensitive keys - Systems and methods are disclosed for user configurable pressure sensitive keys and techniques for controlling these keys for keyboards. User configuration information, including information for user configurable granularity scales for pressure levels, can be communicated from a host system to the keyboard and stored for later use by a keyboard controller to control the operation of the pressure sensitive keys. In this way, greater control of the pressure sensitive keys can be provided. This configurability is of particular use for applications such as where the keyboard is being used for gaming by a user running a gaming application on an information handling system. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100149000 | OPERATOR CONTROL APPARATUS HAVING AT LEAST ONE PRESSURE-OPERATED SWITCH - An operator control apparatus has at least one pushbutton switch, and can be used, for example, in an operator control panel for an electronic domestic appliance. The operator control apparatus further has a support element, a pressure-sensitive transmission element with at least one sensor area which corresponds to the at least one pushbutton switch and is connected to the support element by a first adhesive layer, and a covering layer which faces the user side. The covering layer is connected to the transmission element by a second adhesive layer, with the second adhesive layer being soft and having an adhesive layer region in the region of the at least one sensor area of the transmission element. The adhesive layer region is smaller than the sensor area and is at least partially separated from the rest of the second adhesive layer by at least one cutout. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100265108 | KEY ASSEMBLY AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE USING SAME - A key assembly includes a touching portion, and a detecting unit. The detecting unit includes a power source, a first detector, a second detector, a processor, a first resistor layer, and a second resistor layer parallel spaced from the first resistor layer. The first resistor layer includes a first end and a second end. The second resistor layer includes a third end and a fourth end. The first end is connected to a first electrode of the power source via the first detector, and the fourth end is connected to the first electrode of the power source via the second detector. The second and the third ends are connected to a second electrode of the power source. The processor electrically connected to the first detector and the second detector performs a predetermined function of the electronic device in response to electrical signals from the first and second detectors. | 10-21-2010 |
| 20110006930 | TACTILE-SURFACE CONTROL MODULE, IN PARTICULAR FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE - The present invention relates to a tactile-surface control module comprising: a flexible protection layer ( | 01-13-2011 |
| 20110032127 | Low touch-force fabric keyboard - A very low touch force keyboard, employing soft conductors, preferably conductive fabric, disposed in a keyboard grid. The grid rests upon a soft substrate, and has soft spacers separating the two axes of the grid, arranged to allow conducting portions of the grid to contact each other when soft, fabric-like keys are pushed. The grid conductors are electrically connected to a keyboard controller. | 02-10-2011 |
| 20110063142 | KEYBOARD PROVIDING POWER CONTROL - A keyboard includes a plug communicating with an external input device, a printed circuit board (PCB), and a base. The PCB includes a first power pad and a second power pad electrically connected to the plug via a cable. The PCB outputs a control signal to the plug via the cable in response to the first power pad and the second power pad being electrically connected. The base includes a control and at least one positioning element for positioning the control on the base. The control includes a pushbutton, a first pin electrically connected to the first power pad, and a second pin electrically connected to the second power pad. The first pin and the second pin are electrically connected in response to the pushbutton being pressed. | 03-17-2011 |
| 20110285555 | PRESSURE-SENSITIVE KEYBOARD AND ASSOCIATED METHOD OF OPERATION - An apparatus is provided that includes a processor to at least perform or cause the apparatus to at least perform a number of operations. These operations include receiving pressure-measurement signals from a keyboard including an arrangement of keys, and a plurality of pressure sensors associated with a respective plurality of the keys. In this regard, the pressure sensors are configured to measure a pressure applied to the respective plurality of the keys, and produce the pressure-measurement signals representative of the measured pressure. The operations also include predicting one or more next keystrokes on the keyboard as a function of the pressure-measurement signals, and determining one or more commands or instructions for directing performance of one or more operations of an apparatus or software operating on the apparatus, where the command(s) or instruction(s) are determined as a function of the predicted next keystroke(s). | 11-24-2011 |
| 20120038496 | GESTURE-ENABLED KEYBOARD AND ASSOCIATED APPARATUS AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM - A keyboard is provided that includes an arrangement of keys, circuitry and a first processor configured to generate a signal in response to a keystroke in which a respective key of the arrangement of keys is depressed, and determine how to interpret the keystroke. The keyboard also includes a plurality of proximity sensors and a second processor configured to measure the proximity of an object to the respective proximity sensors, determine a position and/or movement of the object relative to the proximity sensors based on the respective signal, and produce a gesture signal representative of the determined position and/or movement. This gesture signal is interpretable into one or more commands or instructions for directing performance of one or more operations of an apparatus or software operating on the apparatus. A related apparatus and computer-readable storage medium are also provided. | 02-16-2012 |
| 20130300590 | Audio Feedback - Audio feedback techniques are described. In one or more implementations, a signal is received from a pressure sensitive key of an input device and audio feedback is determined, from the signal, which is to be output as corresponding to the pressure sensitive key. The determined audio feedback is then caused to be output. | 11-14-2013 |
