According to a list recently announced by the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office, Apple was approved for a design patent for “Controller with Multi-Touch Surface”. The patent suggests that iPhones and iPads can be better in the future by supporting multi-touch functions. The patent states that in a computer system, there are a large number of input devices that can be used to perform various operations. These input devices include mice, trackballs, touch pads, joysticks, touch screens, etc. They can also move the cursor or interact with an element on the screen.
Controller with Multi-Touch Surface Patent Summary
In the patent description, Apple said
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“This patent discloses a multi-touch surface controller. The controller includes integrated circuitry that can be used to drive the output circuitry of the capacitive multi-touch sensor and the input circuitry for reading the sensor. This patent also discloses various noise suppression and dynamic range enhancement techniques that allow the controller to be used with a variety of sensors under a variety of conditions without requiring hardware reconfiguration.”
Apple said that trackpads and touch screens are becoming more popular with consumers due to their ease of operation and versatility, as well as their declining costs. A touch surface allows the user to make selections and move the cursor by simply touching the surface (which can be a pad or a display) with a finger, stylus, etc.
After integrating multi-touch technology, the screen’s response to tasks will be in two aspects of work. One is to collect signals generated by multi-touch at the same time. The other is to judge the meaning of each signal. This way, the device will be able to make correct analysis and response. This will enable the screen to recognize clicks and touches made by five fingers at the same time.
Apple says the problem with most current touchscreens is that they report a single point. Even if multiple touches are on the sensing surface, they will only recognize one or none. That is, they cannot track multiple touchpoints simultaneously.
