Executing gestures with active stylus

• US 10,599,234 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2015
• Issued: 03/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Original Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Inventors: Yilmaz, Esat, Pedersen, Trond Jarle, Logan, John, Bakken, Vemund Kval, Sundara-Rajan, Kishore, Um, Joo Yong, Polishchuk, Igor
• Primary Examiner(s): Xavier, Antonio
• Application Number:
  US14/832,049
• Publication Number:
  US 20160091992A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,677 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0381 Multimodal input, i.e. interface arrangements enabling the user to issue commands by simultaneous use of input devices of different nature, e.g. voice plus gesture on digitizer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0384 Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices
• 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 2203/04106 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 2203/04808 Several contacts: gestures triggering a specific function, e.g. scrolling, zooming, right-click, when the user establishes several contacts with the surface simultaneously; e.g. using several fingers or a combination of fingers and pen
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• 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 3/04164 Connections between sensors and controllers, e.g. routing lines between electrodes and connection pads
• 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 3/046 by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

In one embodiment, a stylus with one or more electrodes and one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media embodying logic for transmitting signals wirelessly to a device through a touch sensor of the device has one or more sensors for detecting movement of the stylus.

Claims

1. A stylus comprising:

one or more electrodes operable to wirelessly transmit signals to a touch sensor of a device; and

one or more sensors operable to detect a plurality of stylus movements,

wherein the stylus or the device determines a plurality of functionalities of the stylus or the device based at least in part on;

a first stylus location during a first stylus movement, the first stylus location being a first distance from the device,

wherein the first stylus location during the first stylus movement is determined by the one or more sensors and transmitted to the device; and

a second stylus location during a second stylus movement, the second stylus location being a second distance from the device,

wherein the second stylus location during the second stylus movement is determined by electronics coupled to the touch sensor,

wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance,

wherein the first stylus movement is the same as the second stylus movement and results in two different functionalities of the stylus or the device, and

wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based on a vertical orientation or a horizontal orientation of the stylus or the device.

2. The stylus of claim 1, wherein the sensors comprise an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a global positioning system (GPS), or a gyroscope.

3. The stylus of claim 1, wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based at least in part on one or more of:

a shaking of the stylus; and

stylus rotation.

4. The stylus of claim 1, wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based at least in part on a vibration of the stylus resulting from an object tapping the stylus.

5. The stylus of claim 1, wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based at least in part on:

data stored by the stylus; and

a specific order of a sequence of movements of the stylus.

6. The stylus of claim 5, wherein at least one movement in the sequence of movements of the stylus comprises shaking, rotation, or vibration.

7. The stylus of claim 1, wherein a functionality of the stylus or the device comprises one or more of:

modifying content displayed by a display of the device;

authenticating a user of the stylus to the stylus or the device;

altering a power setting of the stylus or the device;

transferring data between the stylus and the device;

accessing menus or commands specific to data stored by the stylus or the device; and

accessing menus or commands specific to content displayed by the display of the device.

8. The stylus of claim 7, wherein modifying content displayed by the display of the device comprises one or more of:

adding content displayed by the display of the device;

removing content displayed by the display of the device;

altering characteristics of content displayed by the display of the device; and

moving content displayed by the display of the device.

9. The stylus of claim 1, wherein determining the second stylus location comprises determining that the stylus is either within the first distance from the device or is not within the first distance from the device.

10. The stylus of claim 9, wherein:

determining that the stylus is within the first distance from the device comprises determining that the touch sensor of the device detects the stylus; and

determining that the stylus is not within the first distance from the device comprises determining that the touch sensor of the device does not detect the stylus.

11. The stylus of claim 1, wherein the first stylus movement and the second stylus movement result from rotation of the stylus, or from a gesture performed with the stylus.

12. The stylus of claim 1, wherein the second stylus movement results from positioning the tip on the device.

13. A method comprising:

detecting, by one or more sensors in or on a stylus, a plurality of stylus movements,

wherein the stylus comprises one or more electrodes that wirelessly transmit signals to a touch sensor of the device; and

determining, by the stylus or the device, a plurality of functionalities of the stylus or the device based at least in part on;

a first stylus location during a first stylus movement, the first stylus location being a first distance from the device,

wherein the first stylus location during the first stylus movement is determined by the one or more sensors and transmitted to the device; and

a second stylus location during a second stylus movement, the second stylus location being a second distance from the device,

wherein the second stylus location during the second stylus movement is determined by electronics coupled to the touch sensor,

wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance,

wherein the first stylus movement is the same as the second stylus movement and results in two different functionalities of the stylus or the device, and

wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based on a vertical orientation or a horizontal orientation of the stylus or the device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based at least in part on one or more of:

a shaking of the stylus; and

stylus rotation.

15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media embodying logic that is operable when executed to:

determine, by one or more sensors in or on a stylus, a plurality of stylus movements,

wherein the stylus comprises one or more electrodes that wirelessly transmit signals to a touch sensor of the device; and

determine a plurality of functionalities of the stylus or the device based at least in part on;

a first stylus location during a first stylus movement, the first stylus location being a first distance from the device,

wherein the first stylus location during the first stylus movement is determined by the one or more sensors and transmitted to the device; and

a second stylus location during a second stylus movement, the second stylus location being a second distance from the device,

wherein the second stylus location during the second stylus movement is determined by electronics coupled to the touch sensor,

wherein the first distance is greater than the second distance,

wherein the first stylus movement is the same as the second stylus movement and results in two different functionalities of the stylus or the device, and

wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based on a vertical orientation or a horizontal orientation of the stylus or the device.

16. The media of claim 15, wherein the sensors comprise an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a global positioning system (GPS), or a gyroscope.

17. The media of claim 15, wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based at least in part on a shaking of the stylus.

18. The media of claim 15, wherein the functionalities of the stylus or the device are determined based at least in part on a vibration of the stylus resulting from an object tapping the stylus.

19. The media of claim 15, wherein a functionality of the stylus or the device comprises one or more of:

modifying content displayed on a display of the device;

authenticating a user of the stylus to the stylus or the device;

altering a power setting of the stylus or the device;

transferring data between the stylus and the device;

accessing menus or commands specific to data stored by the stylus or the device; and

accessing menus or commands specific to content displayed on the display of the device.