METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DIGITAL PEN ASSEMBLY

• US 20110096043A1
• Filed: 01/05/2011
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: EPOS Development Limited (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: ALTMAN, Nathan, KOKAREV, Michael, RAIF, Ran, KEDEM, Noam, GOTMAN, Max
• Application Number:
  US12/984,618
• Publication Number:
  US 20110096043A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/179
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04809 Textured surface identifying touch areas, e.g. overlay structure for a virtual keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0483 Interaction with page-structured environments, e.g. book metaphor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49826 Assembling or joining

Abstract

A receiving unit for receiving an acoustic signal from a digital pen, comprises: at least two ultrasound receivers, for receiving ultrasound signals from the digital pen; an electric circuit connected to said ultrasound receivers, and configured to extract ultrasound signals received by said ultrasound receivers, to enable tracking a position of said pen, and a biased clip for holding paper in fixed relationship to said ultrasound receivers. The clip may be metal, and alignment and location features may be provided for fitting sheets of paper for writing.

Claims

1. A receiving unit for receiving an acoustic signal from a digital pen, comprising:

at least two ultrasound receivers, for receiving ultrasound signals from the digital pen;

an electric circuit connected to said ultrasound receivers, and configured to extract ultrasound signals received by said ultrasound receivers, to enable tracking a position of said pen, and

a biased clip for holding paper in fixed relationship to said ultrasound receivers, the biased clip comprising a metal clip.

2. The receiving unit of claim 1, further comprising a depression for accurate location of said paper.

3. The receiving unit of claim 2, wherein said depression is for accurate location of one member of the group consisting of a corner of said paper and the middle of an edge of said paper.

4. The receiving unit of claim 1, wherein said clip comprises a release-extension for opposing said bias to release said clip.

5. The receiving unit of claim 1, wherein said extraction comprises referencing a reference model comprising data pertaining to expected reference signals.

6. The receiving unit of claim 1, further comprising friction pads located in association with said clip to improve grip of said paper.

7. The receiving unit of claim 1, wherein a surface of said receiving unit opposite said clip is shaped to cause deformation of the paper held by said clip to improve grip of said paper.

8. The receiving unit of claim 1, further comprising elongated grips located to hold said paper at an oblique angle.

9. The receiving unit of claim 1, wherein said ultrasound receivers are at least one of the group consisting of electret microphones and MEMS microphones.

10. The receiving unit of claim 1, further comprising at least one attachment device, for removably attaching the receiving unit to another item.

11. The receiving unit of claim 1, wherein said at least two ultrasound receivers are positioned less than 65 mm apart from each other.

12. The receiving unit of claim 1, wherein said receiving unit further comprises a housing, configured to house said ultrasound receiver and having a changeable receiving unit cover element.

13. The receiving unit of claim 12, being used with a digital pen comprising a skeleton and a removable skin:

the skeleton holding together in fixed relationship;

an electric circuit;

an acoustic transmitter, detached from said electric circuit, and configured to transmit acoustic signals; and

the removable skin comprising a pen housing fitting over said skeleton.

14. The receiving unit of claim 13, wherein said pen housing and said receiving unit cover element correspond.

17. A digital pen system, comprising:

a digital pen having an elongated body terminating in a writing tip, a writing element protruding from said writing tip, and an acoustic signal transmitter deployed adjacent to said writing tip and configured to transmit an acoustic signal;

at least one receiving unit according to claim 1;

a processor, associated with said at least one receiving unit, configured to process said received acoustic signal, for determining presence of said digital pen in a predefined area, and to trigger a predefined functionality upon said determining presence; and

a map, configured to graphically map said predefined area, so as to assist a user in positioning the digital pen in said predefined area.

18. The digital pen system of claim 17, wherein:

the digital pen comprises an electric circuit, an acoustic transmitter configured to transmit acoustic signals, detached from said electric circuit, and a resilient holder, configured to press said electric circuit into contact with said transmitter upon applying a mechanical pressure to said resilient holder, so as to electrically connect said electric circuit and said transmitter.

19. A digital pen system of claim 17, wherein

the digital pen comprises an acoustic transmitter, configured to transmit acoustic signals and a switch assembly having two switching points for pressing said assembly to achieve first and second switching modes respectively, said assembly further having a third mode selectable upon said two switching points being pressed substantially simultaneously.

20. The digital pen system of claim 19, wherein said processor is further configured to detect a mode of said digital pen.

21. The digital pen system of claim 17, wherein:

said digital pen comprises an acoustic transmitter, configured to transmit acoustic signals, and a smooth contact switch configured to actuate the digital pen upon applying a pressure on said smooth contact switch; and

said smooth contact switch comprises a resilient element, mounted on a first side of an open electric circuit and disconnected from a second side of said electric circuit, said resilient element being compressible into a position where said resilient element contacts said second side of said electric circuit, thereby closing said electric circuit, upon applying a writing pressure compressing said resilient element into said position.

22. The digital pen system of claim 21, wherein said processor is further configured to detect said actuation of the digital pen.

23. The digital pen system of claim 17, wherein:

said digital pen comprises an acoustic transmitter, configured to transmit acoustic signals; and

said processor, is associated with said at least one receiving unit, and wherein said processing of said ultrasound signals, is for dynamically extracting a location of said digital pen, said extraction comprising referencing a reference model comprising data pertaining to expected reference signals.

24. The digital pen system of claim 23, further comprising at least one attachment device, for removably attaching said receiving unit to another item.

25. The digital pen system of claim 17, wherein:

said digital pen comprises an acoustic transmitter, configured to transmit acoustic signals;

the receiving unit further comprising a housing, and wherein said two acoustic signal receivers are positioned inside said housing, less than 60 mm apart from each other, and configured to receive an acoustic signal from said digital pen; and

wherein the processor is associated with said receiving unit, and is configured to process said acoustic signal, for determining location of said digital pen.

26. The digital pen system of claim 25, wherein said housing comprises a changeable cover element.

15. A receiving unit for receiving an acoustic signal from a digital pen, comprising:

at least two ultrasound receivers, for receiving ultrasound signals from the digital pen;

an electric circuit connected to said ultrasound receivers, and configured to extract ultrasound signals received by said ultrasound receivers, to enable tracking a position of said pen,

a biased clip for holding paper in fixed relationship to said ultrasound receivers, the biased clip comprising a metal clip, a depression for accurate location of said paper and wherein said depression is for accurate location of a corner of said paper.

16. A receiving unit for receiving an acoustic signal from a digital pen, comprising:

at least two ultrasound receivers, for receiving ultrasound signals from the digital pen;

an electric circuit connected to said ultrasound receivers, and configured to extract ultrasound signals received by said ultrasound receivers, to enable tracking a position of said pen,

a biased clip for holding paper in fixed relationship to said ultrasound receivers, the biased clip comprising a metal clip, a depression for accurate location of said paper and wherein said depression is for accurate location of a middle of a side of said paper.