David Gutierrez

US Patent:

20100289759, Nov 18, 2010

Filed:

Sep 16, 2009

Appl. No.:

12/560846

Inventors:

Joseph Fisher - San Jose CA, US
Erturk Kocalar - Sunnyvale CA, US
Steven Hotelling - San Jose CA, US
David Gutierrez - Fresno CA, US

Assignee:

Apple Inc. - Cupertino CA

International Classification:

G06F 3/041

US Classification:

345173

Abstract:

An input device is disclosed that can improve input detection associated with sensor elements that exhibit a weaker response at the lower end of their dynamic range than their counterparts. This can be advantageous when implementing input reporting rules that rely on a sufficient response at the lower end of a sensor element's dynamic range. The input device can compensate for a weak sensor element at the low end of its dynamic range by increasing its sensitivity in certain situations, such as when an adjacent sensor provides a strong input signal, or after the weak sensor element provides a signal level exceeding a noise threshold for example. The sensitivity of the weak sensor element can be increased in a variety of ways, such as by reducing a noise threshold associated with the sensor element or boosting a signal level associated with the sensor element for example.