Patents by Inventor J. Winfield Hill

J. Winfield Hill has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Keyboard having touch sensor keys for conveying information electronically
    Patent number: 5341133
    Abstract: A keyboard for an electronic device includes a first key having a touch surface which, in one mode, is responsive to pressing by a user's finger to indicate a selection associated with the first key, and an array of sensors exposed at the touch surface to detect, in another mode, the location where a finger is positioned on the touch surface as an indication of information to be conveyed by a user. The keyboard also includes a second key having an array of sensors which are exposed at a touch surface of the second key and which are sensitive to manipulations of a finger on the touch surface to provide signals used for switching the first key from the one mode to the other mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 23, 1994
    Assignee: The Rowland Institute for Science, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert L. Savoy, J. Winfield Hill