Electronic device having automatically ejectable input pen

• US 10,091,338 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2014
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Amit, Aggarwal, Singh, Rathore Pranveer, Oh, Tae-Keun
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gupta, Parul
• Application Number:
  US14/554,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20150156290A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1632 Pen holder integrated in the computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/026 Details of the structure or mounting of specific components
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041

Abstract

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a input pen including at least one magnet, a housing including a pen guide path for inserting the input pen, at least one electromagnet installed around the pen guide path, wherein the at least one electromagnet is installed to react to the magnetism of the magnet while the input pen is completely inserted into the pen guide path, and at least one processor supplying power having the same polarity as the magnet to the electromagnet according to an automatic ejection event of the input pen to push the magnet out of the electronic device.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

an input pen comprising at least one pen magnet;

a housing comprising a pen guide path and pen hole into which the input pen is insertable;

a first electromagnet configured to react to magnetism of the at least one pen magnet when the input pen is completely inserted into the pen guide path;

a second electromagnet disposed at a certain distance from the first electromagnet in the outward direction of the electronic device; and

at least one processor configured to provide power to the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet to supply magnetism having a same polarity as the at least one pen magnet to the first electromagnet to push the at least one pen magnet toward the pen hole and magnetism having a different polarity as the at least one pen magnet to the second electromagnet to pull the at least one pen magnet according to an automatic ejection event of the input pen,

wherein the input pen is partially ejected from the electronic device by the first electromagnet reacting to magnetism of the at least one pen magnet of the input pen, and then the partially ejected state of the input pen is maintained by the second electromagnet reacting to magnetism of the at least one pen magnet of the input pen, and

wherein the at least one processor is configured to switch, when a re-insertion event occurs while the input pen is kept in the partially ejected state even after a pre-defined time has elapsed, polarities of the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet so that the input pen is automatically drawn into the electronic device.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising at least one detection sensor configured to sense the input pen around the pen guide path.

3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the at least one detection sensor comprises:

a first detection sensor configured to sense whether the input pen is completely inserted into the pen guide path; and

a second detection sensor configured to sense whether the input pen is partially ejected from the electronic device by the second electromagnet.

4. The electronic device of claim 3,

wherein, when the input pen is sensed for the pre-defined time by only the second detection sensor, the at least one processor is further configured to output related notification information, and

wherein the related notification information comprises at least one of visual information output through a display module, auditory information output through a speaker module, and tactile information output using vibration.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the automatic ejection event of the input pen includes at least one of a gesture having a specific shape input to a display module of the electronic device, a motion of the electronic device, a user'"'"'s voice command, a change to an input mode of the input pen, and entrance into a program for an input of the input pen.

6. The electronic device of claim 1,

wherein at least one of the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet comprises a metallic material attracted to a magnetism of the at least one pen magnet, and

wherein, after one of an automatic ejection of the input pen and an insertion of the input pen, a location of the input pen is maintained even if a power supply to one of the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet is cut off.

7. The electronic device of claim 6, further comprising:

a locker installed around the pen guide path and comprising a protrusion at an end of the locker,

wherein the protrusion of the locker is engaged with a groove formed on an external circumferential surface of the input pen to provide a confinement related force.

8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein a force pushing the at least one pen magnet by one of the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet is set to be larger than the confinement related force that the locker applies to confine the input pen.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising a pen detection sensor configured to detect state information indicating whether the input pen is at least one of inserted into, partially inserted into, ejected from, and partially ejected from the electronic device.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the pen detection sensor is further configured to provide the detected state information to the at least one processor.

11. An electronic device comprising:

an input pen comprising at least one pen magnet;

a housing comprising a pen guide path into which the input pen is insertable;

a first electromagnet disposed around the pen guide path and configured to react to magnetism of the at least one pen magnet while the input pen is completely inserted into the pen guide path;

a second electromagnet disposed at a certain distance from the first electromagnet in the outward direction of the electronic device;

a first detection sensor configured to sense whether the input pen is completely inserted into the pen guide path;

a second detection sensor configured to sense whether the input pen is partially ejected from the electronic device by the second electromagnet; and

at least one processor configured to provide power to the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet to supply magnetism having a same polarity as the at least one pen magnet to the first electromagnet to push the at least one pen magnet toward a pen hole and magnetism having a different polarity as the at least one pen magnet to the second electromagnet to pull the at least one pen magnet according to an automatic ejection event of the input pen,

wherein the input pen is partially ejected from the electronic device by the first electromagnet reacting to magnetism of the at least one pen magnet of the input pen, and then the partially ejected state of the input pen is maintained by the second electromagnet reacting to magnetism of the at least one pen magnet of the input pen, and

wherein the at least one processor is configured to switch, when a re-insertion event occurs while the input pen is kept in the partially ejected state even after a pre-defined time has elapsed, polarities of the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet so that the input pen is automatically drawn into the electronic device.

12. A method of ejecting an input pen of an electronic device for automatically ejecting, by a first electromagnet and a second electromagnet, the input pen comprising at least one pen magnet, the method comprising:

determining whether an input pen automatic ejection event occurs;

supplying power to the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet to supply magnetism having a same polarity as the at least one pen magnet to the first electromagnet to push the at least one pen magnet outward of the electronic device and magnetism having a different polarity as the at least one pen magnet to the second electromagnet to pull the at least one pen magnet when the automatic ejection event occurs, wherein the input pen is partially ejected from the electronic device by the first electromagnet reacting to magnetism of the at least one pen magnet of the input pen, and then the partially ejected state of the input pen is maintained by the second electromagnet reacting to magnetism of the at least one pen magnet of the input pen; and

switching, when a re-insertion event occurs while the input pen is kept in the partially ejected state even after a pre-defined time has elapsed, polarities of the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet to automatically draw the input pen into the electronic device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising, when the input pen is partially exposed from the electronic device:

determining whether the pre-defined time elapses; and

outputting related notification information when the pre-defined time has elapsed.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the related notification information comprises at least one of visual information output through a display module, auditory information output through a speaker module, and tactile information output using vibration.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the automatic ejection event of the input pen includes at least one of a gesture having a specific shape input to a display module of the electronic device, a motion of the electronic device, a user'"'"'s voice command, a change to an input mode of the input pen, and entrance into a program for an input of the input pen.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising cutting off a power supply to one of the first electromagnet and the second electromagnet after the input pen is automatically ejected.