PATENT OF THE WEEK – CAPACITIVE SENSING ARRANGEMENT

The invention pertains to methods and apparatuses for data input, specifically a method and apparatus for integrating manual input. The invention discloses apparatuses and methods that can track multiple finger and palm contacts simultaneously as hands approach, touch, and slide across a proximity-sensing, multi-touch surface. This identification and classification of intuitive hand configurations and motions enables the integration of typing, resting, pointing, scrolling, 3D manipulation, and handwriting into a versatile and ergonomic computer input device.

The invention was created by Wayne Carl Westerman and John G. Elias and was patented by the USPTO on July 27th, 2010, with the serial number US7764274B2. The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a system and method for integrating different types of manual input, such as typing, multiple degree-of-freedom manipulation, and handwriting on a multi-touch surface.

Additionally, the invention aims to distinguish different types of manual input, such as typing, multiple degree-of-freedom manipulation, and handwriting on a multi-touch surface, through various hand configurations that are easy for the user to learn and the system to recognize. Lastly, the invention provides an improved capacitance-transducing apparatus that is inexpensively implemented near each electrode. This allows two-dimensional sensor arrays of any size and resolution to be built without a decrease in signal-to-noise ratio.