Patent Document ID: 20020030666
Application ID: 09940006
Patent Flag: 0

Claim One:
1 ) A capacitive sensor for sensing a position of an object adjacent a sensing region comprising a portion of a resistive layer having a sheet resistivity of at least ten Ohms per square, the sensor comprising: a predetermined number, greater than one, of electrodes contacting the resistive layer and spaced apart about a periphery of the sensing region so that none of the electrodes extend within the sensing region; the predetermined number of charge detectors, each charge detector respectively associated with one of the electrodes; means for transferring electrical charge from a voltage source to at least one of the electrodes so as to charge the resistive layer to a selected voltage; and the predetermined number of charge transferring switches, each of the charge transferring switches respectively associated with one of the electrodes, each of the charge transferring switches having a closed state wherein it electrically connects the electrode associated therewith to a respective charge detector, each of the charge transferring switches having an open state wherein it does not connect the electrode associated therewith to the respective charge detector associated therewith, and wherein each of the charge detectors has a respective output.