OBJECT ORIENTATION DETECTION WITH A DIGITIZER

• US 20130088465A1
• Filed: 06/09/2011
• Published: 04/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: N-Trig Ltd (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Geller, Ilan, Kalmanovich, Alex, Stern, Yuval
• Granted Patent: US 9,864,440 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/179
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• 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 3/033 Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user , e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks; Accessories therefor digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041
• 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 3/046 by electromagnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

A digitizer system includes a stylus comprising a plurality of transmitters for transmitting signals, wherein each of the plurality of transmitters are distanced from one another by a defined distance, a digitizer sensor operable for sensing signals transmitted by the plurality of transmitters, and circuitry associated with the digitizer sensor for tracking a projected location on the digitizer sensor of each of the plurality of transmitters based on the signals sensed, and for tracking a geometric relationship between the projected locations.

Claims

1-36. -36. (canceled)

37. A digitizer system comprising:

a stylus comprising a plurality of transmitters for transmitting signals, wherein the plurality of transmitters are distanced from one another by a defined distance;

a digitizer sensor operable for sensing signals transmitted by the plurality of transmitters over a sensing surface of the digitizer sensor;

circuitry associated with the digitizer sensor for tracking a projected location on the digitizer sensor of each of the plurality of transmitters based on the signals sensed; and

a processing unit for tracking positions of a writing tip of the stylus based on a projected location of one of the plurality of transmitter and for tracking a parameter for characterizing at least one of a tilt of the stylus with respect to a sensing surface and a rotation of the stylus around a longitudinal axis of the stylus, based on the projected location on the digitizer sensor of each of the plurality of transmitters.

38. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein the digitizer sensor is a grid based sensor spread over the sensing surface.

39. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein each of the projected locations is an area on the digitizer sensor from where signals from one of the plurality of transmitters are sensed.

40. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein each of the projected locations is a point on the digitizer sensor from where signals from one of the plurality of transmitters are sensed.

41. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein the parameter that is tracked is a distance between projected locations of two transmitters of the plurality of transmitters.

42. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein the parameter that is tracked is an angle of a line defined between projected locations of two transmitters of the plurality of transmitters and an axis of the digitizer sensor.

43. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein the circuitry is operable to differentiate between a signal transmitted by the one of the plurality of transmitters and a signal transmitted from another transmitter of the plurality of transmitters.

44. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein at least two transmitters of the plurality of transmitters are aligned along the longitudinal axis of the stylus.

45. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein at least one of the transmitters of the plurality of transmitters is positioned off the longitudinal axis of the stylus.

46. The digitizer system according to claim 37, wherein the plurality of transmitters is configured to transmit signals simultaneously.

47. The digitizer system according to claim 37, comprising a look-up-table relating the parameter to an orientation of the stylus.

48. A method for tracking orientation of a stylus interacting with a digitizer sensor, the method comprising:

tracking projected locations of each of two transmitting elements comprised in the stylus, wherein each of the two transmitting elements transmit a signal while the stylus is interacting with the digitizer sensor and wherein the two transmitting elements are displaced from each other;

tracking the position of a tip of the stylus based on projected locations of one of the two transmitting elements;

tracking at least one parameter for characterizing at least one of;

a tilt of the stylus with respect to a sensing surface of the digitizer sensor, and a rotation of the stylus around a longitudinal axis of the stylus, wherein the characterizing is based on the projected location of each of the two transmitting elements.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the at least one parameter tracked includes distances between the projected locations of the two transmitting elements.

50. The method of claim 48, wherein the at least one parameter tracked is an angle between an axis of the digitizer sensor and a line defined by the projected locations of two transmitting elements.

51. The method of claim 48, comprising differentiating between a signal transmitted from the one of the two transmitting elements and another of the two transmitting element.

52. The method of claim 48, comprising identifying areas on the digitizer sensor in which a signal from one of the two transmitting elements is received and determining a feature of spatial patterns of the signals received in the areas identified.

53. The method of claim 52, comprising estimating a height of the transmitting element based on the feature determined

54. The method of claim 48, comprising tracking orientation of the stylus with respect to an axis of the digitizer sensor based on the at least one parameter.

55. The method of claim 48, comprising tracking projected location of each of three transmitting elements embedded in a stylus, wherein one of the three transmitting elements transmits a signal around a tip of the stylus and wherein another of the three transmitting elements transmits a signal from a position off a longitudinal axis of the stylus.

56. The method of claim 55 comprising:

defining a first line between the projected locations of the other two of the three transmitting elements;

defining a second line between the projected location of the transmitter around the tip and the first lines; and

tracking at least one of length of the first line, length of the second lines and angle between the first and second lines.

57. The method of claim 63, wherein the at least one geometric relationship is characterized while the specified user provides a signature with the stylus.

58. The method of claim 61, comprising identifying the specified user responsive to comparing the parameters stored with the parameters determined during the subsequent session.

59. The method of claim 48 comprising interpreting user input with the stylus responsive to both the positions of the tip and the at least one parameter.

60. The method of claim 48 comprising recognizing a gesture performed with the stylus responsive to the positions of the tip and the at least one parameter.

61. The method of claim 48 comprising:

characterizing the at least one of the tilt and rotation of the stylus for a specified user over a first session;

storing at least one user specific parameter for the characterizing of the at least one of tilt and rotation of the stylus;

characterizing the at least one of the tilt and the rotation during a subsequent session; and

comparing the at least one user parameter stored with the at least one parameter determined during a subsequent session.

62. The method of claim 61, comprising interpreting user input with the stylus during the subsequent session responsive to the comparing.

63. The method of claim 48 comprising reporting both the positions of the tip and the at least one parameter for characterizing the at least one of the tilt and rotation of the stylus.