Control Input Device for a Capacitive Touch Screen

Abstract

A control input device and system are disclosed. The control input device has a mounting base to a capacitive touch screen; an actuator supported by and electrically insulated from the base with an electrically conducting surface and further including: an electrode that is touching, or adjacent to, the capacitive touch screen when the base is mounted, an electrical circuit between the electrode and the electrically conducting surface, the electrically conducting surface having a surface area that is selected such that the electrically conducting surface provides capacitive coupling to, or approaching, infinity whereby capacitive coupling between the electrode and the capacitive touch screen is detectable by the capacitive touch screen's controller, wherein, in use, the electrode is configured to undergo a change corresponding to a state of the actuator and the controller of the touch screen can determine the state of the actuator from the change to the electrode.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.