Combination touch and transducer input system and method

• US 10,303,303 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2018
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Original Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Inventors: King-Smith, Oliver P., Smit, Bernardus H., Hadizad, Peyman
• Primary Examiner(s): Pardo, Thuy N
• Application Number:
  US16/164,276
• Publication Number:
  US 20190050109A1
• Time in Patent Office: 222 Days
• Field of Search: 345156, 345173, 345174, 345179, 345180, 345183, 178 1904
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04104 Multi-touch detection in digitiser, i.e. details about the simultaneous detection of a plurality of touching locations, e.g. multiple fingers or pen and finger
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04105 Pressure sensors for measuring the pressure or force exerted on the touch surface without providing the touch position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04106 Multi-sensing digitiser, i.e. digitiser using at least two different sensing technologies simultaneously or alternatively, e.g. for detecting pen and finger, for saving power or for improving position detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04108 Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0416 Control or interface arrangements specially adapted for digitisers
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04166 Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0418 for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0441 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for receiving changes in electrical potential transmitted by the digitiser, e.g. tablet driving signals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

A combination touch and transducer input system is provided, which facilitates user input into an electronic system with a finger and/or a transducer (e.g., a stylus). The system includes a transducer configured to generate an electric field, and a sensor including an array of electrodes and a controller. The transducer is configured to transmit digital data, such as pen pressure data and switch status data, to the sensor. For example, the transducer comprises electronic circuitry configured to encode the digital data in a signal for transmission to the sensor. The sensor controller is configured to operate both in a touch sensing mode and in a transducer sensing mode. During the touch sensing mode, the controller determines a position of a proximate object (e.g., a finger) by capacitively sensing the object with the array of electrodes. During the transducer sensing mode, the controller determines a position of the transducer based on a signal received by the array of electrodes from the transducer, and also receives and decodes the digital data encoded in the received signal. Digital data can be encoded in a signal using any suitable digital modulation techniques, such as a Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK) technique.

Claims

1. A sensor controller coupled with sensing electrodes and comprising:

a communication processor configured to;

establish a wireless link with a pen-shaped stylus, wherein the pen-shaped stylus is operable to generate an electric field for signal transmission to the sensing electrodes, and the signal transmission includes transmission of a pressure signal indicative of a pen pressure applied to a tip of the pen-shaped stylus;

transmit, over the wireless link to the pen-shaped stylus, information that configures the pen-shaped stylus to start the signal transmission from the pen-shaped stylus; and

detect the electric field generated by the pen-shaped stylus and receive the pressure signal transmitted from the pen-shaped stylus, through the sensing electrodes; and

a calculation processor configured to;

calculate a position indicated by the pen-shaped stylus based on the electric field generated by the pen-shaped stylus and detected through the sensing electrodes; and

determine a pen pressure value based on the received pressure signal,

wherein the information that configures the pen-shaped stylus to start the signal transmission from the pen-shaped stylus is encoded with digital data, and the signal transmission is started in response to the pen-shaped stylus receiving and decoding the digital data, and

wherein the pressure signal transmitted from the pen-shaped stylus is digitally encoded.

2. The sensor controller of claim 1, wherein the wireless link is a capacitive coupling link or an RF channel link between the sensor controller and the pen-shaped stylus, over which the sensor controller receives the pressure signal from the pen-shaped stylus.

3. The sensor controller of claim 1, wherein the communication processor is configured to receive the pressure signal, which is formatted in a data frame and encoded pursuant to a defined encoding method with a start signal indicative of a start of the encoded data frame.

4. The sensor controller of claim 3, wherein the defined encoding method is selected from a group consisting of a Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK) method, Amplitude-Shift Keying (ASK) method, Phase-Shift Keying (PSK) method, and Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) method.

5. The sensor controller of claim 1, wherein the wireless link is a capacitive coupling link between the sensing electrodes that are coupled with the sensor controller and the pen-shaped stylus, over which the sensor controller receives the pressure signal from the pen-shaped stylus.

6. The sensor controller of claim 1, wherein the wireless link is an RF channel link pursuant to a defined wireless communication protocol.

7. The sensor controller of claim 6, wherein the defined wireless communication protocol is a Bluetooth®

protocol.

8. The sensor controller of claim 1, wherein the communication processor is configured to transmit, over the wireless link to the pen-shaped stylus, operational mode information indicative of whether the sensing electrodes are in a mode to capacitively detect the pen-shaped stylus.

9. A method of bi-directional communication between a pen-shaped stylus and a sensor controller coupled with sensing electrodes, the method comprising:

establishing a wireless link between the pen-shaped stylus and the sensor controller, wherein the pen-shaped stylus is operable to generate an electric field for signal transmission to the sensor, and the signal transmission includes transmission of a pressure signal indicative of a pen pressure applied to a tip of the pen-shaped stylus;

controlling the sensor controller to transmit, over the wireless link to the pen-shaped stylus, information that configures the pen-shaped stylus to start the signal transmission from the pen-shaped stylus;

controlling the sensing electrodes to detect the electric field generated by the pen-shaped stylus;

calculating a position indicated by the pen-shaped stylus based on the electric field generated by the pen-shaped stylus and detected through the sensing electrodes; and

controlling the sensor controller to receive the pressure signal transmitted from the pen-shaped stylus,

wherein the information that configures the pen-shaped stylus to start the signal transmission from the pen-shaped stylus is encoded with digital data, and the signal transmission is started in response to the pen-shaped stylus receiving and decoding the digital data, and

wherein the pressure signal transmitted from the pen-shaped stylus is digitally encoded.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the wireless link is a capacitive coupling link or an RF channel link between the sensor controller and the pen-shaped stylus, and the method comprises controlling the sensor controller to receive the pressure signal from the pen-shaped stylus over the wireless link.

11. The method of claim 9, comprising controlling the sensor controller to receive the pressure signal, which is formatted in a data frame and encoded pursuant to a defined encoding method with a start signal indicative of a start of the encoded data frame.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the defined encoding method is selected from a group consisting of a Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK) method, Amplitude-Shift Keying (ASK) method, Phase-Shift Keying (PSK) method, and Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) method.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the wireless link is a capacitive coupling link between the sensing electrodes that are coupled with the sensor controller and the pen-shaped stylus, over which the sensor controller receives the pressure signal from the pen-shaped stylus.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the wireless link is an RF channel link pursuant to a defined wireless communication protocol.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the defined wireless communication protocol is a Bluetooth®

protocol.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

controlling the sensor controller to transmit, over the wireless link to the pen-shaped stylus, operational mode information indicative of whether the sensing electrodes are in a mode to capacitively detect the pen-shaped stylus on the sensor.

17. A pen-shaped stylus for use with an input system including sensing electrodes that are coupled with a sensor controller, the pen-shaped stylus comprising:

signal generation circuitry configured to generate a driving signal;

an antenna configured to emit an electric field to the sensing electrodes capacitively based on the driving signal;

a pressure sensor configured to generate a pressure signal indicative of a pen pressure applied to a tip of the pen-shaped stylus;

a transmitter configured to transmit the pressure signal generated by the pressure sensor to the input system;

a receiver configured to receive information that is transmitted from the input system and that configures the pen-shaped stylus to start signal transmission to the input system; and

a controller, which, in operation,

establishes a wireless link with the input system;

establishes a capacitive coupling link between the antenna and the sensing electrodes, wherein the capacitive coupling link is based on the electric field emitted from the antenna and is used to indicate a position of the pen-shaped stylus;

controls the receiver to receive the information from the input system over the wireless link; and

controls the transmitter to transmit the pressure signal to the input system,

wherein the information configures the pen-shaped stylus to start the signal transmission from the pen-shaped stylus and is encoded with digital data, and the signal transmission is started in response to the pen-shaped stylus receiving and decoding the digital data, and

wherein the pressure signal transmitted from the pen-shaped stylus is digitally encoded.

18. The pen-shaped stylus of claim 17, wherein the wireless link is the same as the capacitive coupling link.

19. The pen-shaped stylus of claim 17, wherein the wireless link is an RF channel link, according to a defined wireless communication protocol, established between the input system and at least one of the transmitter and the receiver.

20. The pen-shaped stylus of claim 19, wherein the defined wireless communication protocol is a Bluetooth®

protocol.

21. The pen-shaped stylus of claim 17, wherein the controller, in operation,

formats the pressure signal in a data frame;

encodes the data frame pursuant to a defined encoding method; and

controls the transmitter to transmit the encoded data frame with a start signal indicative of a start of the data frame.

22. A method of bi-directional communication between a pen-shaped stylus and an input system including sensing electrodes that are coupled with a sensor controller, the method comprising:

emitting an electric field from an antenna of the pen-shaped stylus to establish a capacitive coupling link between the antenna and the sensing electrodes;

generating a pressure signal indicative of a pen pressure applied to a tip of the pen-shaped stylus;

establishing a wireless link between the pen-shaped stylus and the input system; and

receiving, at the pen-shaped stylus, information over the wireless link from the input system,

wherein the information configures the pen-shaped stylus to start signal transmission from the pen-shaped stylus and is encoded with digital data, and the signal transmission is started in response to the pen-shaped stylus receiving and decoding the digital data, and

wherein the pressure signal transmitted from the pen-shaped stylus is digitally encoded.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the wireless link is the same as the capacitive coupling link.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the wireless link is an RF channel link, according to a defined wireless communication protocol, established between the pen-shaped stylus and the input system.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the defined wireless communication protocol is a Bluetooth®

protocol.

26. The method of claim 22, comprising:

formatting the pressure signal in a data frame;

encoding the data frame pursuant to a defined encoding method; and

transmitting the encoded data frame with a start signal indicative of a start of the data frame.