Dual pen: OS/application pens

• US 8,115,733 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2010
• Issued: 02/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Promethean Limited (Best Assistant Education Group Co.)
• Original Assignee: Promethean Limited (Best Assistant Education Group Co.)
• Inventors: Pearce, Nigel, Unsworth, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): OSORIO, RICARDO
• Application Number:
  US12/845,619
• Publication Number:
  US 20100289741A1
• Time in Patent Office: 566 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345173-175, 345/179, 345/157, 178 1801- 1807, 178 1901- 1905, 715856-859, 715/862, 715/754
• US Class Current: 345/156
• 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 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

There is disclosed an interactive display system comprising an interactive surface for displaying an image and for receiving inputs from remote devices, the system being adapted to detect the presence of at least two remote devices proximate the interactive surface.

Claims

1. An interactive display system comprising an interactive surface for displaying an image, the interactive surface being adapted for detecting the positions of a plurality of pointing devices relative to the interactive surface, wherein one pointing device is configured to control the operating system and at least one further pointing device is configured to interact with an application.

2. The interactive display system according to claim 1 in which data received from at least one pointing device configured to interact with an application displayed in a transparent window.

3. The interactive display system of claim 1 wherein the at least one further pointing device is for interacting with an application which is configured for multi-pointing device use.

4. The interactive display system of claim 3 wherein the one pointing device is further adapted to interact with one or more applications.

5. The interactive display system of claim 3 wherein the one pointing device can be used in any standard application and applications supporting multiple pointing devices.

6. The interactive display system of claim 3 wherein the application pointing device can be used to interact only with applications supporting multiple pointing devices.

7. The interactive display system of claim 3 wherein a pointing device is configurable as a system pointing device or an application pointing device by a user.

8. The interactive display system of claim 3 wherein the interactive display system includes an interactive board device driver adapted to interpret and process data from each pointing device separately.

9. The interactive display system of claim 8 wherein data is interpreted as system data or application data.

10. An interactive display system according to claim 8 wherein an application adapted to detect multiple pointing devices receives the data associated with the application pointing devices on a communication interface directly, and receives data associated with a system pointing device on a communication interface from a mouse driver.

11. The interactive display system according to claim 8 wherein a mouse driver provides data from a system pointing device to a system application.

12. The interactive display system of claim 8 wherein one user can use a system pen to interact with any standard application whilst another user can use an application pen in order to simultaneously annotate or manipulate over the top of the standard application.

13. The interactive display system of claim 1 comprising a drive grid signal generator for driving a drive grid for a period of time at each of a plurality of frequencies associated with each of the plurality of pointing devices, wherein the system adapts the period of time for a given frequency to optimize said period of time for particular devices.

14. A method in an interactive display system comprising an interactive surface for displaying an image, the interactive surface being adapted for detecting the positions of a plurality of pointing devices relative to the interactive surface, the method comprising configuring one pointing device to control the operating system and at least one further pointing device to interact with an application.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein data from an application pointing device is transmitted on one communication interface.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein data from a system pointing device is provided on another communication interface.

17. The method according to claim 14 wherein data received from the system pointing device is forwarded to a mouse driver.

18. The method according to claim 14 wherein data received from an application pointing device is passed to all applications adapted to detect multiple application pointing devices.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein data from each pointing device is processed separately.

20. The method according to claim 14 further comprising driving a drive grid for a period of time at each of a plurality of frequencies associated with each of the plurality of pointing devices, and adapting the period of time for a given frequency to optimize said period of time for particular devices.