Surface pressure input panel

Claim 1

A surface pressure input panel comprising: a flexible thin film sheet having a conductive layer; and a circuit plate coupled to the thin film sheet and comprising an insulating base plate with a thin film formed thereon, the thin film comprising intersecting first and second groups of electrode lines, conductive contact plates associated with intersection points formed by the electrode lines and facing the conductive layer, and switches operatively coupling the contact plates with the associated electrode lines for generating electrical signals for contact plates that are touched by the conductive layer and applying the electrical signals to the first group of electrode lines so that the second group of electrode lines can be used for determining a relative location of each contact plate, the electrical signals representing contact resistance between the thin film sheet and the contact plates.

Claim 10

An apparatus for use in mapping physical surface irregularities of an object, the apparatus comprising: a thin film sheet adapted to deflect locally in substantial conformity with the surface irregularities when the object is pressed against a first side of the sheet, a second side of the sheet including an electrically conductive layer which deflects with the sheet; an insulating base plate facing the film; a multiplicity of electrically conductive plates carried by the base plate and located between the base plate and the film, the conductive surfaces being spaced from the film when overlying portions of the film are not subjected to pressure; means, carried on the base plate, for detecting an analog signal when pressure applied to the sheet causes respective overlying portions of the film to contact corresponding conductive surfaces; and means for use in determining the relative locations of the conductive surfaces; whereby the surface irregularities can be mapped on the basis of the analog signals and the relative locations of the conductive surfaces.

Claim 11

An apparatus for use in mapping physical surface irregularities of an object, the apparatus comprising: a thin film sheet adapted to deflect locally in substantial conformity with the surface irregularities when the object is pressed against a first side of the sheet, a second side of the sheet including an electrically conductive layer which deflects with the sheet; an insulating base plate facing the film; a multiplicity of electrically conductive plates carried by the base plate and located between the base plate and the film, the conductive surfaces being spaced from the film when overlying portions of the film are not subjected to pressure; means, carried on the base plate, for detecting an analog signal when pressure applied to the sheet causes respective overlying portions of the film to contact corresponding conductive surfaces; and means for use in determining the relative locations of the conductive surfaces; whereby the surface irregularities can be mapped on the basis of the analog signals and the relative locations of the conductive surfaces.

Claim 18

An apparatus for use in mapping physical surface irregularities of an object, the apparatus comprising: a touch panel including a thin film sheet adapted to deflect locally in substantial conformity with the surface irregularities when the object is pressed against a first side of the sheet, a second side of the sheet including an electrically conductive layer which deflects with the sheet, an insulating base plate attached to the sheet and comprising intersecting first and second groups of electrode lines forming intersection points where the electrode lines cross, conductive contact plates associated with the intersection points and facing the conductive layer, and analog switches operatively coupling the contact plates with the electrode lines associated with the contact plates for generating an analog current when electric potentials are applied to corresponding electrode lines of the first and second groups, the analog switches applying the analog current to the first group of electrode lines when the contact plates are touched by the conductive layer; first and second registers, coupled to the first and second groups of electrode lines, respectively, for applying an electric potential to the first and second groups of electrode lines; and a detector operatively coupled to the first and second groups of electrode lines for sensing the electric signals in the first group of lines and determining the locations of the contact plates to thereby enable a reconstitution of the surface irregularities of the object.

Claim 19

An apparatus for use in mapping physical surface irregularities of an object, the apparatus comprising: a touch panel including a thin film sheet adapted to deflect locally in substantial conformity with the surface irregularities when the object is pressed against a first side of the sheet, a second side of the sheet including an electrically conductive layer which deflects with the sheet, an insulating base plate attached to the sheet and comprising intersecting first and second groups of electrode lines forming intersection points where the electrode lines cross, conductive contact plates associated with the intersection points and facing the conductive layer, and analog switches operatively coupling the contact plates with the electrode lines associated with the contact plates for generating an analog current when electric potentials are applied to corresponding electrode lines of the first and second groups, the analog switches applying the analog current to the first group of electrode lines when the contact plates are touched by the conductive layer; first and second registers, coupled to the first and second groups of electrode lines, respectively, for applying an electric potential to the first and second groups of electrode lines; and a detector operatively coupled to the first and second groups of electrode lines for sensing the electric signals in the first group of lines and determining the locations of the contact plates to thereby enable a reconstitution of the surface irregularities of the object.

Claim 22

A method for detecting a fingerprint pattern from a fingertip comprising the steps of: providing a flexible pressure sheet with a conductive layer coupled to a circuit base plate, the circuit base plate having a multiplicity of contact plates facing the conductive layer; pressing the fingertip against the conductive layer such that the conductive layer generally conforms to contours of the fingertip and touches a group of the contact plates; generating an analog signal from each contact plate that has been touched by the conductive layer, the analog signal being proportional to an area of each contact plate touched by the conductive layer; detecting the electrical signals; and determining a relative location of the contact plates; whereby the fingerprint pattern can be recreated by correlating the electrical signals with the location of the contact plates.

Claim 23

A method for detecting a fingerprint pattern from a fingertip comprising the steps of: providing a flexible pressure sheet with a conductive layer coupled to a circuit base plate, the circuit base plate having a multiplicity of contact plates facing the conductive layer; pressing the fingertip against the conductive layer such that the conductive layer generally conforms to contours of the fingertip and touches a group of the contact plates; generating an analog signal from each contact plate that has been touched by the conductive layer, the analog signal being proportional to an area of each contact plate touched by the conductive layer; detecting the electrical signals; and determining a relative location of the contact plates; whereby the fingerprint pattern can be recreated by correlating the electrical signals with the location of the contact plates.