# US 2013/0278562 A1 · Mechanism for employing and facilitating placement of a sensor cover over a capacitive circuitry sensor at a computing device > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2013/0278562 A1 - Document ID: US20130278562A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/977,439 - Filed: 2011-09-30 - Published: 2013-10-24 - Earliest claimed: 2011-09-30 - Assignees: Intel Corporation - Inventors: David L. Graumann; Jameson H. Williams - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130278562A1 ## CPC - G06F 3/044: by capacitive means - G06F 1/169: {the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes (G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033)} - G06F 1/182: {with special features, e.g. for use in industrial environments; grounding or shielding against radio frequency interference [RFI] or electromagnetical interference [EMI]} - H03K 17/962: {Capacitive touch switches} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M) ## Abstract A mechanism is described for employing and facilitating placing a sensor cover over an external sensor of a computing device. A method of embodiments of the invention includes sensing, at a sensor of a computing device, user touches to an outer surface of an impregnated sensor cover placed over the sensor, wherein the sensor cover includes a plurality of holes through the outer surface and a plurality of conductive leads corresponding to the plurality of holes, and wherein sensing is performed through one or more of the plurality of holes and their one or more corresponding conductive leads; and facilitating an action in response to each of the sensed user touches. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method comprising: sensing, at a sensor of a computing device, user touches to an outer surface of an impregnated sensor cover placed over the sensor, wherein the sensor cover comprises a plurality of holes through the outer surface and a plurality of conductive leads corresponding to the plurality of holes, and wherein sensing is performed through one or more of the plurality of holes and their one or more corresponding conductive leads; and facilitating an action in response to each of the sensed user touches. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the sensor cover is made with a conductive material comprising plastic or electronic textile. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein placing comprises sealing, via glue, the sensor cover to a surface area surrounding the sensor such that the sensor resides entirely within a channel of the sensor cover and its conductive leads are calibrated with the conductive leads of the sensor cover. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a thumb sensor externally placed to a side of the computing device, wherein the thumb sensor is capable of being triggered when touched with a finger or a thumb of a user. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the computing device comprises a mobile computing device comprising one or more of a smartphone, a handheld computing device, a tablet computing device, and an e-reader, wherein the computing device further comprises one or more of a notebook, a netbook, and a desktop computing device. ### Claim 6 A system comprising: a host computing device having a memory to store instructions for employing and facilitating an impregnated sensor cover over an external sensor of the computing device, and a processing device to execute the instructions, wherein the instructions cause the processing device to: sense, at the sensor, user touches to an outer surface of the impregnated sensor cover placed over the sensor, wherein the sensor cover comprises a plurality of holes through the outer surface and a plurality of conductive leads corresponding to the plurality of holes, and wherein sensing is performed through one or more of the plurality of holes and their one or more corresponding conductive leads; and facilitate an action in response to each of the sensed user touches. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the sensor cover is made with a conductive material comprising plastic or electronic textile. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein placing comprises sealing, via glue, the sensor cover to a surface area surrounding the sensor such that the sensor resides entirely within a channel of the sensor cover and its conductive leads are calibrated with the conductive leads of the sensor cover. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the sensor comprises a thumb sensor externally placed to a side of the computing device, wherein the thumb sensor is capable of being triggered when touched with a finger or a thumb of a user. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The system of claim 6, wherein the computing device comprises a mobile computing device comprising one or more of a smartphone, a handheld computing device, a tablet computing device, and an e-reader, wherein the computing device further comprises one or more of a notebook, a netbook, and a desktop computing device. ### Claim 11 A machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to: sense, at a sensor of a computing device, user touches to an outer surface of an impregnated sensor cover placed over the sensor, wherein the sensor cover comprises a plurality of holes through the outer surface and a plurality of conductive leads corresponding to the plurality of holes, and wherein sensing is performed through one or more of the plurality of holes and their one or more corresponding conductive leads; and facilitate an action in response to each of the sensed user touches. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the sensor cover is made with a conductive material comprising plastic or electronic textile. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein placing comprises sealing, via glue, the sensor cover to a surface area surrounding the sensor such that the sensor resides entirely within a channel of the sensor cover and its conductive leads are calibrated with the conductive leads of the sensor cover. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the sensor comprises a thumb sensor externally placed to a side of the computing device, wherein the thumb sensor is capable of being triggered when touched with a finger or a thumb of a user. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The machine-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the computing device comprises a mobile computing device comprising one or more of a smartphone, a handheld computing device, a tablet computing device, and an e-reader, wherein the computing device further comprises one or more of a notebook, a netbook, and a desktop computing device.