Fail safe design for a stylus that is used with a touch sensor
First Claim
1. A method for enabling a tethered stylus to activate an inking function even if an inking switch has failed in an open mode or a closed mode, said method comprising:
- 1) providing a touch sensor and a tethered stylus that is detectable by the touch sensor;
2) providing touch sensor circuitry that receives input from the touch sensor and the tethered stylus and that determines a position of the tethered stylus in proximity of or in contact with the touch sensor;
3) providing an inking switch in the tethered stylus that can activate or deactivate an inking function;
4) activating the inking function when the inking switch is closed when the tethered stylus makes contact with the touch sensor, and deactivating the inking function when the tethered stylus is lifted off the touch sensor and the inking switch is opened; and
5) activating the inking function when the inking switch has failed by detecting when the tethered stylus has closed to within a Z threshold of the touch sensor, and deactivating the inking function when the tethered stylus has moved beyond the Z threshold.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for enabling a stylus to be used with a touch sensor even after it has failed in an open mode or a closed mode, wherein the tethered stylus activates the inking function when the stylus is in contact with the touch sensor and deactivates the inking function when the stylus is lifted off the surface of the touch sensor when the switch is functioning properly, but when there is a failure of the switch in the open mode or the closed mode, enabling the tethered stylus to continue functioning by using a timer to activate the inking function when the tethered stylus is close enough to be detected by a touch sensor, and to deactivate the inking function when the tethered stylus is no longer detectable by the touch sensor.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for enabling a tethered stylus to activate an inking function even if an inking switch has failed in an open mode or a closed mode, said method comprising:
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1) providing a touch sensor and a tethered stylus that is detectable by the touch sensor; 2) providing touch sensor circuitry that receives input from the touch sensor and the tethered stylus and that determines a position of the tethered stylus in proximity of or in contact with the touch sensor; 3) providing an inking switch in the tethered stylus that can activate or deactivate an inking function; 4) activating the inking function when the inking switch is closed when the tethered stylus makes contact with the touch sensor, and deactivating the inking function when the tethered stylus is lifted off the touch sensor and the inking switch is opened; and 5) activating the inking function when the inking switch has failed by detecting when the tethered stylus has closed to within a Z threshold of the touch sensor, and deactivating the inking function when the tethered stylus has moved beyond the Z threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. The method as defined in step 3 wherein the method further comprises using the following algorithm when the inking switch may have failed open:
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1) determining if the Z threshold has been reached; 2) tracking the location of the tethered stylus if the Z threshold has been crossed; 3) determining that the inking switch is open; 4) determining if the variable XTIME is less than the current time if the switch is still open, and repeating steps 1 through 4 until the variable XTIME is not less than the current time; and 5) activating the inking function. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for enabling a tethered stylus to activate an inking function even if an inking switch has failed in an open mode or a closed mode, said system comprised of:
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a touch sensor; a tethered stylus that is detectable by the touch sensor; touch sensor circuitry that receives input from the touch sensor and the tethered stylus and that determines a position of the tethered stylus in proximity of or in contact with the touch sensor; an inking switch in the tethered stylus that can activate or deactivate an inking function, wherein the inking function is activated when the inking switch is closed when the tethered stylus makes contact with the touch sensor, and wherein the inking function is deactivated when the tethered stylus is lifted off the touch sensor and the inking switch is opened, and wherein the inking function is activated when the inking switch has failed by detecting when the tethered stylus has closed to within a Z threshold of the touch sensor, and wherein the inking function is deactivated when the tethered stylus has moved beyond the Z threshold.
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Specification