Capacitive keyswitch technologies
AssigneePacinian Corporation
InventorsCody G. Peterson, Douglas M. Krumpelman, Andrew P. Huska
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Abstract
Described herein are techniques related to capacitance-based keyswitch technologies. According to one implementation, an apparatus includes a key with a floating electrode. The floating electrode pairs with a fixed electrode and a capacitance may be generated between them. The apparatus has a controller configured to measure the capacitance as the electrodes move relative to each other as the key is depressed and released. This Abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
Claims25
A capacitance-based keyboard apparatus comprising:
- a key configured to be depressed by a user;
- a floating electrode, the floating electrode being configured to move with the key as the key is depressed and released by a user, the floating electrode including magnetic material;
- a fixed electrode lower than the key, the fixed electrode being configured participate in a capacitive relationship with the floating electrode, the floating and fixed electrodes being configured to generate a changing capacitance in response to movement of the floating electrode relative to the fixed electrode;
- a controller configured to measure capacitance between the floating and fixed electrodes as the floating electrode moves relative to the fixed electrode and to determine whether the key has been depressed and/or released based on the measured capacitance.
An apparatus comprising:
- a capacitance-based keyswitch configured to sense a user input of a keyboard based on one or more capacitance measurements when a floating electrode associated with the keyswitch is moved in a direction toward or away from a fixed electrode associated with the keyswitch;
- a capacitance-based touchpad configured to sense user input based on one or more capacitance measurements associated with the touchpad when the user touches a surface of the touchpad;
- a controller configured to monitor one or more signals representing the capacitance of the capacitance-based keyswitch and of the capacitance-based touchpad and to determine what user input the one or more signals represent based on the capacitance.
An apparatus comprising:
- at least one touchsurface configured to be depressed by a user, the touchsurface including a floating electrode;
- a fixed electrode configured to produce a capacitance based on the position of the floating electrode relative to the fixed electrode, the fixed electrode and floating electrode configured to operate as an analog switch;
- a controller configured to measure capacitance between the floating electrode and fixed electrode as the floating electrode moves relative the fixed electrode.
A keyboard comprising:
- a key configured to be depressed by a user;
- a keyswitch configured to generate one or more signals that are indicative of whether the user has depressed the key;
- a single membrane positioned under the key, the single membrane including:
- a light plate positioned under the key and configured to illuminate the key;
- and
- one or more components of the keyswitch that participate in the generation of the one or more key-depressed indicative signals;
- a controller configured to receive the one or more key-depressed indicative signals and to determine whether the key has been depressed based on the one or more key-depressed indicative signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.