Transmitting data
View Patent ↗A substantially spherical hand-held input device which provides manual data input for navigating a virtual environment and other kinds of user interface, includes a capacitive touch sensor responsive to touch events anywhere on its surface, the touch sensor including a propagation-enhancing portion so that gestural radio signals can be transmitted through the touch-sensitive surface of the input device to a computer system during use, the propagation-enhancing portion being in the form of a spiral-shaped conductor that is also used for capacitance-sensing, and a multi-touch array includes multiple spiral-shaped touch-sensing conductors to provide the propagation-enhancing portion, and the propagation-enhancing portion is a metamaterial at a transmission frequency of the gestural radio signals.
1. An apparatus for manual data input, comprising:
a substantially spherical touch-sensitive outer surface arranged to be supported within the hands of a user;
a capacitive touch sensor configured to generate surface touch signals for touched areas at substantially any location on said outer surface in response to a touch-responsive capacitance formed between capacitance-sensing elements of said touch sensor;
a device processor for generating gestural data in response to said surface touch signals; and
a radio transmitter for generating gestural radio signals from said gestural data and arranged to transmit said gestural radio signals through said outer surface;
wherein said touch sensor includes a propagation-enhancing portion for enhancing propagation of said gestural radio signals through said touch-responsive capacitance.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said propagation-enhancing portion is functionally part of a said capacitance-sensing element.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of said capacitance-sensing elements has a spiral shape and said propagation-enhancing portion is functionally part of said at least one capacitance-sensing element that has a spiral shape.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said propagation-enhancing portion is a metamaterial effective at a carrier frequency of said gestural radio signals.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said touch sensor is a multi-touch sensor that includes an array of touch-sensing elements, and each said touch-sensing element includes two said capacitance-sensing elements.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said array of touch-sensing elements includes inductive elements arranged to provide reactance between neighboring said touch-sensing elements, said reactance being effective at a carrier frequency of said gestural radio signals, and said propagation-enhancing portion includes said inductive elements.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein each said inductive element is a functional part of a said touch-sensing element.
8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein a plurality of said inductive elements each takes the form of a spiral.
9. The apparatus of claim 6 ,
wherein each said inductive element is a functional part of one said touch-sensing element, and
wherein a plurality of said inductive elements each takes the form of a spiral.
10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein each said touch-sensing element includes two of said spiral-shaped inductive elements.
11. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein a majority of said touch-sensing elements in said array are triangularly-shaped, and said touch sensor is a sphere tiled with said touch-detecting elements.
12. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said array of touch-sensing elements is a metamaterial at a carrier frequency of said gestural radio signals.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 ,
wherein a majority of said touch-sensing elements in said array are triangularly-shaped, and said touch sensor is a sphere tiled with said touch-detecting elements.
14. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein said touch sensor includes two said arrays arranged to detect touch on respective hemispheres of said outer surface.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a rotation-detector arranged to generate rotation-signals in response to a user manipulation of said outer surface, wherein said device processor is configured to generate said gestural data in response to said surface touch signals with said rotation-signals.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein at least one of said capacitance-sensing elements has a spiral shape and said propagation-enhancing portion is functionally part of said at least one capacitance-sensing element that has a spiral shape.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein said propagation-enhancing portion is a metamaterial effective at a carrier frequency of said gestural radio signals.
18. The apparatus of claim 15 ,
wherein said touch sensor is a multi-touch sensor that includes an array of touch-sensing elements,
wherein said array of touch-sensing elements includes inductive elements arranged to provide reactance between neighboring said touch-sensing elements, said reactance being effective at a carrier frequency of said gestural radio signals, and said propagation-enhancing portion includes said inductive elements.
19. A method of transmitting data through a substantially spherical outer surface supported within the hands of a user; said outer surface enclosing a radio transmitter, a device processor and a capacitive touch sensor responsive to touched areas at substantially any location on said outer surface; comprising the steps of:
generating surface touch signals in response to a touch-responsive capacitance formed between a first capacitance-sensing element of said touch sensor and a second capacitance-sensing element of said touch sensor;
providing said surface touch signals to said device processor;
processing said surface touch signals to generate gestural data;
supplying said gestural data to said radio transmitter to generate gestural radio signals; and
transmitting said gestural radio signals through said touch-responsive capacitance.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein said step of transmitting said gestural radio signals through said touch-responsive capacitance further includes transmitting said gestural radio signals through a metamaterial effective at a carrier frequency of said radio transmitter.