DEFORMABLE INPUT DEVICE

• US 20160231833A1
• Filed: 10/08/2013
• Published: 08/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Jiawei Gu, Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Gu, Jiawei, Liu, Xin
• Granted Patent: US 10,191,568 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus

Abstract

An input device include a deformable tip that is adjustable to define a shape tip configuration. Exemplary tip shapes may include multiple types of oil brushes or a Chinese brush, among other alternatives. In some cases, the deformable tip may be more rigid in a jammed tip configuration in which solid particles in a membrane are jammed together using a vacuum pump. In some examples, at least a portion of the deformable tip may be illuminated in a color to be used in the digital painting application.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

a deformable tip that is adjustable from a first tip configuration to a second tip configuration that is more rigid than the first tip configuration; and

a hardness adjusting component to transition the deformable tip between the first tip configuration and the second tip configuration.

2. The input device as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the deformable tip comprises a membrane and a plurality of solid particles disposed within the membrane;

the first tip configuration includes an unjammed tip configuration in which the plurality of solid particles are arranged within the membrane such that the deformable tip is adjustable;

the second tip configuration includes a jammed tip configuration in which the plurality of solid particles are more tightly packed within the membrane than in the unjammed configuration.

3. The input device as recited in claim 2, wherein the hardness adjusting component includes a vacuum pump to remove a gas from within the membrane to transition the deformable tip from the unjammed tip configuration to the jammed tip configuration.

4. The input device as recited in claim 1, wherein the hardness adjusting component includes at least one of a magnetic component that is actuatable to adjust the rigidity of the deformable tip, a mechanical component that is actuatable to adjust the rigidity of the deformable tip, or a robotic component that is actuatable to adjust the rigidity of the deformable tip.

5. The input device as recited in claim 1, wherein the deformable tip is manually deformable.

6. The input device as recited in claim 1, wherein the second tip configuration is an oil brush tip configuration.

7. The input device as recited in claim 6, wherein the oil brush tip configuration includes:

a first oil brush tip shape to create a first stroke pattern in a first input device orientation; and

a second oil brush tip shape to create a second stroke pattern in a second input device orientation, wherein the second stroke pattern is different from the first stroke pattern.

8. The input device as recited in claim 7, wherein the first stroke pattern is wider than the second stroke pattern.

9. The input device as recited in claim 1, wherein the second tip configuration is a crayon tip configuration.

10. The input device as recited in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of light sources to illuminate at least a portion of the deformable tip, each respective light source associated with a particular color.

11. The input device as recited in claim 10, wherein the plurality of light sources include at least a red light source, a green light source, and a blue light source.

12. A method comprising:

under control of one or more processors,

receiving, at an input device including a deformable tip, an input to adjust a hardness of the deformable tip;

in response to receiving the input, adjusting the hardness of the deformable tip from a first tip configuration to a second tip configuration that is more rigid than the first tip configuration.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the input to adjust the hardness of the deformable tip includes actuation of a switch of the input device to activate a vacuum pump.

14. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein adjusting the hardness of the deformable tip includes removing a gas from within a membrane that includes a plurality of solid particles within the membrane such that the plurality of solid particles are more tightly packed within the membrane.

15. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, at the input device, a second input to adjust the hardness of the deformable tip from the second tip configuration to a third tip configuration; and

in response to receiving the second input, adjusting the hardness of the deformable tip from the second tip configuration to a third tip configuration that is more rigid than the second tip configuration.

16. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, at the input device, a second input to adjust a color of the deformable tip to a first color; and

in response to receiving the second input, illuminating at least a portion of the deformable tip in the first color.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the second input is received from a computing device via a wireless connection or a wired connection in response to selection of the first color by the input device via a user interface displayed on the computing device.

18. One or more computer readable media maintaining instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

receiving, via a user interface of a digital painting application, a selection of a color to be used in the digital painting application;

determining a first contact area associated with a first touch input received from an input device that includes a deformable tip, the first touch input including a first stroke pattern associated with a first tip shape of the input device in a first input device orientation;

displaying, via the user interface, the first stroke pattern in the selected color;

determining a second contact area associated with a second touch input received from the input device, the second touch input including a second stroke pattern associated with a second tip shape of the input device in a second input device orientation; and

displaying, via the user interface, the second stroke pattern in the selected color.

19. The one or more computer readable media as recited in claim 18, wherein the first contact area and the second contact area are determined using one or more infrared cameras.

20. The one or more computer readable media as recited in claim 18, the acts further comprising:

displaying, via the user interface of the digital painting application, a color palette including a plurality of selectable colors,

wherein the selected color includes one or more colors selected from the color palette via one or more touch inputs received from the input device.