14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has been granted a patent for inventing a “multipoint touchscreen,” a touch panel featuring a transparent capacitive sensing medium configured to detect multiple touches or near touches that occur at the same time, at distinct locations. Such a screen would produce distinct signals representative of the location of the touches, Apple claims. The company has indeed secured the invention, but this seldom means end users are to benefit from it very soon.
“The present invention relates generally to an electronic device having a touch screen,” the background of the invention reads. “More particularly, the present invention relates to a touch screen capable of sensing multiple points at the same time.”
In one embodiment, the invention relates to a touch panel having a transparent capacitive sensing medium that has been configured to detect multiple touches, as well as near touches that occur at the same time, at distinct locations on the touch panel. This embodiment talks about producing “distinct signals representative of the location of the touches on the plane of the touch panel for each of the multiple touches.”
In another embodiment, Apple talks of a display arrangement. The company explains, “The display arrangement includes a display having a screen for displaying a graphical user interface. The display arrangement further includes a transparent touch panel allowing the screen to be viewed therethrough and capable of recognizing multiple touch events that occur at different locations on the touch sensitive surface of the touch screen at the same time and to output this information to a host device.”
In yet another embodiment, Apple would see the technology implemented in a computer. “The method includes receiving multiple touches on the surface of a transparent touch screen at the same time. The method also includes separately recognizing each of the multiple touches. The method further includes reporting touch data based on the recognized multiple touches,” the description reads.