A portable computer includes a display portion comprising a display and a base portion pivotally coupled to the display portion. The base portion may include a bottom case and a top case, formed from a dielectric material, coupled to the bottom case. The top case may include a top member defining a top surface of the base portion and a sidewall integrally formed with the top member and defining a side surface of the base portion. The portable computer may also include a sensing system including a first sensing system configured to determine a location of a touch input applied to the top surface of the base portion and a second sensing system configured to determine a force of the touch input.

A system includes a robot having contact surfaces and a sensor array having a spatially distributed touch sensors disposed on the contact surfaces. Each touch sensor has an identifier and outputs an analog signal at a set of frequencies associated with the identifier The sensor array outputs a combined analog signal representative of a combination of the analog signals outputted by the touch sensors. The system includes an analog-to-digital converter that generates a digital signal in a time domain based on the combined analog signal. The system includes one or more processing units that transforms the digital signal from the time domain to a frequency domain and detects locations of touch within the sensor array based on frequencies observed the frequency domain and the identifiers of the touch sensors.

Disclosed is a system for allowing a user to control electrical items. The system includes self-powered contactless one or more switches for controlling the electronic items, and a hub unit capacitively coupled to identify the user operating the one or more switches. The hub unit includes a frequency generator, a first impedance unit, a controller, a first electrode, a modulator, and an interface unit. The switch includes a second electrode, a rectifier, a buffer, a second impedance unit, a logic block, a shift register, and a second modulator. The user interacts with the second electrode to operate the connected electrical items. The interaction results in the change of a variable payload data. The controller identifies the interaction on decoding the change in the variable payload data and further the controller operates the connected electrical items.

Disclosed is a system for allowing a user to control electrical items. The system includes self-powered contactless one or more switches for controlling the electronic items, and a hub unit capacitively coupled to identify the user operating the one or more switches. The hub unit includes a frequency generator, a first impedance unit, a controller, a first electrode, a modulator, and an interface unit. The switch includes a second electrode, a rectifier, a buffer, a second impedance unit, a logic block, a shift register, and a second modulator. The user interacts with the second electrode to operate the connected electrical items. The interaction results in the change of a variable payload data. The controller identifies the interaction on decoding the change in the variable payload data and further the controller operates the connected electrical items.

A portable computer includes a display portion comprising a display and a base portion pivotally coupled to the display portion. The base portion may include a bottom case and a top case, formed from a dielectric material, coupled to the bottom case. The top case may include a top member defining a top surface of the base portion and a sidewall integrally formed with the top member and defining a side surface of the base portion. The portable computer may also include a sensing system including a first sensing system configured to determine a location of a touch input applied to the top surface of the base portion and a second sensing system configured to determine a force of the touch input.

A portable computer includes a display portion comprising a display and a base portion pivotally coupled to the display portion. The base portion may include a bottom case and a top case, formed from a dielectric material, coupled to the bottom case. The top case may include a top member defining a top surface of the base portion and a sidewall integrally formed with the top member and defining a side surface of the base portion. The portable computer may also include a sensing system including a first sensing system configured to determine a location of a touch input applied to the top surface of the base portion and a second sensing system configured to determine a force of the touch input.

The present invention relates to automotive interface systems and methods. In one embodiment, an automotive interface system includes a steering wheel and an integrated interpolated variable impedance array that comprises a grid of sensing elements. The sensing elements are configured to power on simultaneously and to simultaneously generate multiple currents along multiple current paths in response to sensing a touch wherein the amount of current generated by a sensing element of the grid is directly proportional to the force applied by the touch. The automotive interface system also includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a processor communicatively coupled to the interpolated variable impedance array that are configured to receive the multiple currents along multiple current paths and determine a location, a duration, an area, and a force of the touch from the multiple currents along multiple current paths.

Provided is a system that includes: a plurality of touch sensors sharing a signal medium, each touch sensor in the plurality being configured to output set of frequencies on the signal medium responsive to being touched, each touch sensor in the plurality being configured to output a different set of frequencies; an analog to digital converter electrically coupled to the signal medium and configured to receive the sets of frequencies from the touch sensors and convert the sets of frequencies to digital representations of the sets of frequencies in the time domain; a processor communicatively coupled to the analog to digital converter and configured to execute a fast Fourier transform of the digital representations from the time domain into digital representations in the frequency domain; and an address decoder operative to transform the digital representations in the frequency domain into identifiers of touch sensors among the plurality of touch sensors.

Provided is a metal touch sensing apparatus in which recognition performance thereof is improved, a plurality of touch parts are successively manipulated to enter into a specific mode, thereby preventing a refrigerator from being malfunctioned, and touch sensitivity of the refrigerator to be touched for the manipulation is visually adjusted, and a home appliance including the touch apparatus and a method for controlling the same.

An apparatus and method wherein the apparatus comprises; a sensor arrangement comprising a plurality of sensor cells wherein a sensor cell comprises a transistor and a sensor coupled to the transistor; first selection circuitry configured to sequence a subset of sensor cells to which a gate input signal is provided, wherein the gate input signal is provided to the gate of the transistors within the sensor cells; second selection circuitry configured to sequence a subset of sensor cells from which an output signal is received; sensing signal circuitry configured to provide a sensing signal, wherein the sensors are provided between the sensing signal circuitry and the second selection circuitry such that the output signal provides an indication of the impedance of the sensors.