Electrically erasable writing surface
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An electronic device comprising:
- a display layer comprising electrically and mechanically sensitive display material having at least two stable optical states, wherein each of the two stable optical states are maintained without the application of an electrical excitation, and wherein said layer changes optical states of a portion of said display material to create an image corresponding to mechanical pressure;
a touch pad physically coupled to the display layer, the touch pad configured to convert said mechanical pressure into an electrical output; and
a processor configured to cause said device to;
blank said display layer prior to receiving said mechanical pressure;
apply character recognition to said image;
display a corresponding character on a second output display in response to successful recognition of said image; and
remove said image from said portion of said display material at a predetermined amount of time after said successful recognition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electrically erasable writing surface is provided. The writing surface includes a bistable display layer that responds to electrical and mechanical inputs. A touch pad is located above or below the display layer. The writing surface facilitates writing complex characters and increases accuracy by displaying a user input created by a passive stylus.
45 Citations
28 Claims
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1. An electronic device comprising:
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a display layer comprising electrically and mechanically sensitive display material having at least two stable optical states, wherein each of the two stable optical states are maintained without the application of an electrical excitation, and wherein said layer changes optical states of a portion of said display material to create an image corresponding to mechanical pressure; a touch pad physically coupled to the display layer, the touch pad configured to convert said mechanical pressure into an electrical output; and a processor configured to cause said device to; blank said display layer prior to receiving said mechanical pressure; apply character recognition to said image; display a corresponding character on a second output display in response to successful recognition of said image; and remove said image from said portion of said display material at a predetermined amount of time after said successful recognition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An electronic device comprising:
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an optical output section; a mechanical input section comprising; a display layer comprising electrically and mechanically sensitive display material having at least two stable optical states, wherein each of the two stable optical states are maintained without the application of an electrical excitation, and wherein said layer changes display states at locations where a passive stylus contacts said display layer during user input; a transparent and flexible touch pad physically coupled to the display layer and positioned in an overlapping relationship with the display layer, the touch pad configured to convert mechanical pressure received by the display layer from a passive stylus into an electrical output; and a processor configured to cause said device to; display a prompt on said optical output section requesting said user input; receive said user input via said passive stylus on said mechanical input section; and display a corresponding character in said optical output section and apply a second blanking field to erase said display layer in response to recognizing said user input as a character. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A mobile terminal comprising:
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an output display; and a mechanical input device comprising; a display layer comprising electrically and mechanically sensitive display material having at least two stable optical states, wherein each of the two stable optical states are maintained without the application of an electrical excitation, wherein said layer changes display states at locations on said layer where mechanical pressure user input is received; a touch pad physically coupled to the display layer, the touch pad configured to convert said mechanical pressure into an electrical output; and a processor configured to cause said mobile terminal to; display a prompt on said output display requesting user input; apply a first blanking field to erase data from said display layer of said mechanical input device; and display a corresponding character in said output display and apply a second blanking field to erase said display layer in response to recognizing said user input as a character. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of operating an input device having an electrically and mechanically sensitive display layer having at least two stable optical states and physically coupled to a touch pad, the method comprising:
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(a) receiving at the display layer and the touch pad a mechanical pressure; (b) in response to (a) changing an optical state of the display layer and maintaining the optical state without applying an excitation to the display layer; (c) at the touch pad, in response to (a), converting the mechanical pressure to an electrical output; (d) performing character recognition to determine whether said mechanical pressure defined a character; and (e) in response to successful character recognition, displaying a corresponding character on a second display area of said input device and applying a blanking field to reset said changed optical state of the display layer.
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Specification