iPhone Multi-touch patent question

[iObject]

hi all, i'm new here

so, apple has multi-touch technology that steve said was patented

then how could these other smart phones like the pre the android, etc.. have the same swipe and zoom?

is it just different technology but does the same thing? if so, does apple have a "look and feel" patent?

and finally, what's the difference between the iphone tech and microsoft's surface tech?

thanks

 

[kdarling]

Hi. Good questions.

1) Apple does NOT have a patent on multi-touch.

What happened was that they got a patent on a certain way of recognizing if the user wanted to scroll just in a single direction. That's it.

In the patent, they threw in a hundred pages of fluff examples which were not patented. This confused most so-called "technical reporters" into believing the patent covered far more than it did.

Anyone who actually read and understood the claims knew right away that it was a relatively tiny patent.

2) Apple can only copyright their exact look and feel, such as icons and specific UI elements. However, they can attempt to patent certain ways of detecting user gestures.

3) Apple tried to trademark the name "Multi-Touch", but the last I saw, the US trademark office had given a final denial to that, even though Apple tried to file an extension. Not sure what the outcome is now.

4) Microsoft Surface uses cameras underneath an IR side-lit panel, to detect touches (your fingers reflect the light down to the cameras). You can find DIY instructions on the web to build a similar table.

(A newer version called Second Light is in development... it has multiple projectors and can also detect hand gestures above the table.)

The iPhone uses a capacitive touchscreen. This is a semi-transparent conductive grid that has a constant waveform applied. When your finger gets near enough, your body draws away a bit of current and onboard circuits detect where.

 

[iObject]

Hi kdarling

thanks but some questions below....

Hi. Good questions.

1) Apple does NOT have a patent on multi-touch.

What happened was that they got a patent on a certain way of recognizing if the user wanted to scroll just in a single direction. That's it.

In the patent, they threw in a hundred pages of fluff examples which were not patented. This confused most so-called "technical reporters" into believing the patent covered far more than it did.

Anyone who actually read and understood the claims knew right away that it was a relatively tiny patent.

i'm not a programmer... so apple's patent is scrolling, let's say, left or right... right? if so, how does the pre do the same thing?

also about multi touch, so the droid does not have multitouch in the us even though android does have mt... is this the "same" mt apple has? if so how could google do this legally? or is it another technology.... sorry if this sounds lame... i really do not understand all this

2) Apple can only copyright their exact look and feel, such as icons and specific UI elements. However, they can attempt to patent certain ways of detecting user gestures.

could apple say that before the iPhone, all smart phones looked like this (A)...after the intro of the iPhone, a lot of these new touch screen smart phones looks kinds like the iPhone.... icons, dock, virtual keyboards... not to mention the mt stuff.... could apple say, hey we developed this look and feel....damnit

3) Apple tried to trademark the name "Multi-Touch", but the last I saw, the US trademark office had given a final denial to that, even though Apple tried to file an extension. Not sure what the outcome is now.

multi touch seems like a term destined to be like band-aid, ipod, magic markers

4) Microsoft Surface uses cameras underneath an IR side-lit panel, to detect touches (your fingers reflect the light down to the cameras). You can find DIY instructions on the web to build a similar table.

(A newer version called Second Light is in development... it has multiple projectors and can also detect hand gestures above the table.)

The iPhone uses a capacitive touchscreen. This is a semi-transparent conductive grid that has a constant waveform applied. When your finger gets near enough, your body draws away a bit of current and onboard circuits detect where.

to an everyman, it looks like surface is a big version of the iPhone.... and the other way around...

thanks man for the info

 

[thelatinist]

i'm not a programmer... so apple's patent is scrolling, let's say, left or right... right? if so, how does the pre do the same thing?

Obviously, they do it differently. Apple can only patent their specific way of doing it, not the very act of scrolling.

could apple say that before the iPhone, all smart phones looked like this (A)...after the intro of the iPhone, a lot of these new touch screen smart phones looks kinds like the iPhone.... icons, dock, virtual keyboards... not to mention the mt stuff.... could apple say, hey we developed this look and feel....damnit

They can swear all they want and say anything they want, but that doesn't mean they can copyright some sort of generic "look and feel." They can only copyright specific elements, as Kdarling said.

to an everyman, it looks like surface is a big version of the iPhone.... and the other way around...

That's why we have patent attorneys do these things.

 

[iObject]

Obviously, they do it differently. Apple can only patent their specific way of doing it, not the very act of scrolling.



They can swear all they want and say anything they want, but that doesn't mean they can copyright some sort of generic "look and feel." They can only copyright specific elements, as Kdarling said.



That's why we have patent attorneys do these things.

hi

i assume there are many ways to do scrolling ... why is apple's better (or not)? thx

 

[FSMBP]

hi

i assume there are many ways to do scrolling ... why is apple's better (or not)? thx

It locks in the orientation that you're scrolling. For example, if you scroll in a certain way downwards, the screen won't go to the side- it will lock the movement to downwards/upwards.

It's convenient when you're reading an article and you're scrolling down and you don't accidentally move the screen to the left/right. Thats why it's better.

 

[iObject]

It locks in the orientation that you're scrolling. For example, if you scroll in a certain way downwards, the screen won't go to the side- it will lock the movement to downwards/upwards.

It's convenient when you're reading an article and you're scrolling down and you don't accidentally move the screen to the left/right. Thats why it's better.

oh i see... yes i agree that is great... so what's the difference between that and other smart phones's scrolling?

thanks

 

[outphase]

Is the patent even issued? Anyone have the patent #?