IP Library Granted Patent US 10,747,340
Granted Patent B2
US 10,747,340 · App. 16/420,001 · Granted Aug 18, 2020

Touch pad and electronic apparatus

Inventors: Fumio Tamura (Yokohama, JP); Hidetoshi Mori (Yokohama, JP)
Assignee: LENOVO (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.
G06F3/03547G06F1/169G06F3/0416
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,747,340
App. No.
16/420,001
Granted
Aug 18, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

A touch pad includes: a center button region; a first button region disposed adjacent to the center button region; a second button region disposed adjacent to the center button region on the opposite side of the first button region; a load sensor configured to detect load at least at the center button region, the first button region and the second button region; and a controller configured to determine a detection by the load sensor of load of a first upper-limit value or higher at least at one of the first and second button regions as a depressed state, and determine a detection by the load sensor of load of a second upper-limit value or higher at the center button region as a depressed state. The second upper-limit value and the first upper-limit value are different. Particularly, the second upper-limit value is larger than the first upper-limit value.

Claims (33)

1. A touch pad comprising:

a center button region;

a first button region disposed adjacent to the center button region;

a second button region disposed adjacent to the center button region and on an opposite side of the first button region;

a load sensor configured to detect load at least in the center button region, the first button region and the second button region; and

a controller configured to determine a detection by the load sensor of load of a first upper-limit value or higher at least in one of the first button region and the second button region as a depressed state, and determine a detection by the load sensor of load of a second upper-limit value or higher at a corner region of the center button region as a depressed state,

wherein the second upper-limit value is larger than the first upper-limit value;

wherein the center button region has the corner region close to a boundary line of at least one of the first button region and the second button region, and

when load of the second upper-limit value or higher is detected at the corner region, the controller determines that the center button region is depressed, and when load of the first upper-limit value or higher is detected at a part of the center button region other than the corner region, the controller determines that the center button region is depressed.

2. The touch pad according to claim 1 , wherein depressing of the first button region corresponds to clicking of a main button of a mouse, depressing of the second button region corresponds to clicking of a sub button of the mouse, and depressing of the center button region corresponds to depressing of a middle button of the mouse.

3. The touch pad according to claim 1 , wherein after the load detected in at least one of the first button region and the second button region reaches the first upper-limit value or more, to turn the at least one of the first button region and the second button region to a depressed state, the controller keeps the depressed state until the load decreases to a first lower-limit value or lower, the first lower-limit value being smaller than the first upper-limit value, and after the load detected at the center button region reaches the second upper-limit value or more, to turn the center button region to a depressed state, the controller keeps the depressed state until the load decreases to a second lower-limit value or lower, the second lower-limit value being smaller than the second upper-limit value.

4. The touch pad according to claim 3 , wherein a decrease rate of the second lower-limit value to the second upper-limit value is larger than a decrease rate of the first lower-limit value to the first upper-limit value.

5. The touch pad according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first button region, the center button region, and the second button region has an index including a protrusion close to a boundary of the button regions.

6. The touch pad according to claim 5 , wherein the index in at least one of the first button region and the second button region has a shape different from a shape of the index at the center button region.

7. The touch pad according to claim 1 , wherein when a maximum load detected in at least one of the first button region and the second button region, and a maximum load detected at the center button region, are the corresponding upper-limit values or more at the same time, and when positions of the detected maximum loads are away from each other by a predetermined distance or more, the controller determines that the button regions are depressed at the same time.

8. A touch pad comprising:

a center button region;

a first button region disposed adjacent to the center button region;

a second button region disposed adjacent to the center button region and on an opposite side of the first button region;

a load sensor configured to detect load at least in the center button region, the first button region and the second button region; and

a controller configured to determine a detection by the load sensor of load of a first upper-limit value or higher at least in one of the first button region and the second button region as a depressed state, and determine a detection by the load sensor of load of a second upper-limit value or higher at a part of the center button region other than a corner region as a depressed state,

wherein the second upper-limit value is larger than the first upper-limit value;

wherein the center button region has the corner region close to a boundary line of at least one of the first button region and the second button region, and

when load of a third upper-limit value or higher, the third upper-limit value being larger than the second upper-limit value, is detected at the corner region, the controller determines that the center button region is depressed.

9. A touch pad comprising:

a center button region;

a first button region disposed adjacent to the center button region;

a second button region disposed adjacent to the center button region and on an opposite side of the first button region;

a load sensor configured to detect load at least in the center button region, the first button region and the second button region; and

a controller configured to determine a detection by the load sensor of load of a first upper-limit value or higher at least in one of the first button region and the second button region as a depressed state, and determine a detection by the load sensor of load of a second upper-limit value or higher at the center button region as a depressed state,

wherein a direction to place the first button region, the center button region, and the second button region side by side is a first direction, and a direction orthogonal to the first direction on the face of the touch pad is a second direction,

the first upper-limit value has slope characteristics of increasing toward one end in the second direction, and

the second upper-limit value has slope characteristics of increasing toward the other end in the second direction.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 10, 2025
From: LENOVO PC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
To: LENOVO SWITZERLAND INTERNATIONAL GMBH
Reel/Frame 069870/0670 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 14, 2022
From: LENOVO (SINGAPORE) PTE LTD
To: LENOVO PC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Reel/Frame 060651/0634 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 22, 2019
From: TAMURA, FUMIO; MORI, HIDETOSHI
To: LENOVO (SINGAPORE) PTE. LTD.
Reel/Frame 049259/0555 →