Apple Inc. has another patent submitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and it may affect the way people swipe their devices' display.

Titled "Gesture and Touch Input Detection Through Force Sensing," the latest Apple patent is designed to detect a user's input.

"The computing device includes a processor, a touch interface in communication with the processor and configured to detect a touch signal corresponding to an object approaching or contacting a surface, and at least three force sensors in communication with the processor and configured to detect a force signal corresponding to an object exerting a force on the surface," noted Apple in the patent posted on Jan. 30. "In response to the force the at least processor determines a force centroid location and the touch signals are processed by the processor by analyzing the force centroid location."

The patent noted how buttons, key, mice, trackballs, and joysticks are a few of many gadgets used to provide input into a device but, in modern society, it is the touch screen becoming "increasingly popular" due to its "ease and versatility."

One's touchscreen can be utilized by using a finger, stylus, or other objects, and the computing system can "interpret" the specific touch and perform multiple actions based on the action.

"Touch sensor panels can be formed from a matrix of row and column traces, with sensors or pixels present where the rows and columns cross over each other while being separated by a dielectric material," the Apple patent stated. "Each row can be driven by a stimulation signal, and touch locations can be identified through changes in the stimulation signal."

The patent noted how a device's display could respond to two-finger gestures, such as when zooming in or out. But the patent further added its intention to detect three or more actions into the computing system.

According to the application, the patent's description is "broad." For example, the patent focused heavily on touch screen detection but the concept could "equally" apply to other capacitive coupling system types.

On behalf of Apple, Nima Parivar and Wane C. Westerman have been credited as the inventors of the patent originally filed on Jul. 26, 2012.

For more information and illustrations of the Apple patent, click here for the USPTO.

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