How it works

Other Hardware General Electronics
1

May be, this topic doesn't belong here. However, I thought there r many geeks who can help me out

Have a look at the image. I am not sure of the names of these hot keys (probably called haptic buttons or touch buttons). They are found in laptops, keyboards, Induction herds and ...
Unable to google for right stuff without knowing the right search words (results are only related to touch devices like phones and tablets).

How are they pronounced? and How they work (I mean what's the technology involved)?

Are there any projects performed using them with arduino?

Touch buttons.jpg

2

Are you referring to the type of a button that has no moving parts and reacts to the touch (as opposed to a push)?
If that's the case, then it's capacitive sensor.
http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/CapacitiveSensor?from=Main.CapSense

3

I think the words you're looking for are membrane keypads.

4

Are those actually controls? Or just LEDs that light up behind an outline to provide status?

5

Hi, try googling tactile buttons

Tom....... :slight_smile:

6

My Samsung 7000 LCD TV has those. I don't the answer to your question.

7

Haptic as a word is usually reserved for touch-feedback devices, not touch-sensitive
ones.

8

Your laptop has a flux capacitor? Cool!

9

Thanks for the tons of replies. Sorry for getting back late

@Shpaget you hit the nail. No push or physical buttons. Just touching the surface of the laptop

@KenF but don't the membrane pads have micro push buttons (I assumed they got to have one)

@CrossRoads They are actually controls. LEDs just indicate the responsiveness when they are touched

@MarkT thanks for correcting me. Like I mentioned, I wasn't sure as how they were pronounced

@polymorph you mean the time travel one. I wish I had one

Yet unable to understand on how (far) the capacitance can penetrate a protective glass (I mean how they are calculated). Have to look into brushing up my skills on basic electronics and physics

10

Funny thing about capacitive touch stuff, is that you don't even have to touch them. They work (depending on the resistors you use) even if you just approach them with your finger. It's better than magic.

11

not a new technology. already used in 1987 for the beocenter 9000
VIDEO
Beocenter 9000
Yes I have two of them at home with the first tangential optical feedback LP player (1972!), I love vintage electronic because it's reliable and you have all the schematics :wink:

For the Beocenter 9000 they use only AC column signal and transistor with capacitive effect of the glass with your finger

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later this technology comes more easy to use with the Quantum technology QT110 Kirchhoff current law capacitive sensor (I've used this one for some projects though milky white acrylic backlighted glass).
Original QT110

This brand was later bought by atmel with their patents. (world company system xD)
And now the function is added direclty in some of their microcontrollers
The QT110 is obsolete but some parts exist to have the capacitive switch function without a microcontroller. I'm successfully using the AT42QT1010 (from atmel but they ket Quantum Tech QT in the ref xD) for a barcode reader

other technic works now like "projected capacitive sensor" for touch panel