Transmitter and transmitting method thereof

• US 9,632,617 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2014
• Issued: 04/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eGalax_eMPIA Technology Inc.
• Original Assignee: eGalax_eMPIA Technology Inc.
• Inventors: Chang, Chin-Fu
• Primary Examiner(s): Elahi, Towfiq
• Application Number:
  US14/537,265
• Publication Number:
  US 20150130732A1
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 345173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04101 2.5D-digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface and also measures the distance of the input means within a short range in the Z direction, possibly with a separate measurement setup
• 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 3/03545 Pens or stylus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0383 Signal control means within the pointing device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04162 for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0442 using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes

Abstract

The present invention provides a transmitter which is configured to transmit an electrical signal to a touch sensitive device according to a transmitter status. After analyzing the electrical signal, the touch sensitive device is able to find out the transmitter status and a relative position of the transmitter with respect to the touch sensitive device. The electrical signal is mixed from a plurality of signals having different frequencies.

Claims

1. A transmitter for transmitting an electrical signal to a touch sensitive device according to a transmitter status, so that after analyzing the electrical signal, the touch sensitive device is able to find out the transmitter status and a relative position of the transmitter with respect to the touch sensitive device, the transmitter comprising a processing module and a sensor module including at least a pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensor is used for sensing a contact pressure level between the transmitter and the touch sensitive device, when the pressure sensor senses a contact pressure, it corresponds to a first electrical signal, when the pressure sensor does not sense any contact pressure, it corresponds to a second electrical signal, the first electrical signal includes a signal of a first frequency and does not include a signal of a second frequency, and the second electrical signal includes the signal of the second frequency and does not include the signal of the first frequency, wherein the electrical signal is mixed from a plurality of signals having different frequencies concurrently, wherein the signal strength of the electrical signal corresponds to a status of a first sensor having x possible statuses in the sensor module, wherein a ratio of the signal strengths of a first frequency to a third frequency mixed in the electrical signal corresponds to a status of a second sensor having y possible statuses in the sensor module.

2. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the processing module generates the transmitter status according to a status of the sensor module.

3. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the sensor in the sensor module includes one of the following:

a button;

a knob;

the pressure sensor;

an accelerometer; and

a gyroscope.

4. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein when the sensor module includes a plurality of sensors, a number of possible statuses of the transmitter status is a sum of the number of possible statuses of every one of the plurality of sensors.

5. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein the status representations of the sensor in the sensor module is a n multiple of two, wherein n is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

6. The transmitter of claim 5, wherein when the sensor module includes a plurality of sensors, the transmitter status representation is one of arbitrary combinations of the status representation of every one of the plurality of sensors.

7. The transmitter of claim 1, wherein one or more modulation factors of the electrical signal includes one or a combination of the following:

frequency; and

strength.

8. A transmitting method for a transmitter comprising:

generating a transmitter status according to a status in a sensor module included in the transmitter, wherein the sensor module includes a pressure sensor for sensing a contact pressure level between the transmitter and a touch sensitive device; and

transmitting an electrical signal to a touch sensitive device according to the transmitter status, so that after analyzing the electrical signal, the touch sensitive device is able to find out the transmitter status and a relative position of the transmitter with respect to the touch sensitive device, wherein when the pressure sensor senses a contact pressure, it corresponds to a first electrical signal, when the pressure sensor does not sense any contact pressure, it corresponds to a second electrical signal, the first electrical signal includes a signal of a first frequency and does not include a signal of a second frequency, and the second electrical signal includes the signal of the second frequency and does not include the signal of the first frequency, wherein the electrical signal is mixed from a plurality of signals having different frequencies concurrently, wherein the signal strength of the electrical signal corresponds to a status of a first sensor having x possible statuses in the sensor module, wherein a ratio of the signal strengths of a first frequency to a third frequency mixed in the electrical signal corresponds to a status of a second sensor having y possible statuses in the sensor module.

9. The transmitting method of claim 8, wherein the sensor in the sensor module includes one of the following:

a button;

a knob;

the pressure sensor;

an accelerometer; and

a gyroscope.

10. The transmitting method of claim 8, wherein when the sensor module includes a plurality of sensors, a number of possible statuses of the transmitter status is a sum of the number of possible statuses of every one of the plurality of sensors.

11. The transmitting method of claim 8, wherein the status representations of the sensor in the sensor module is a n multiple of two, wherein n is an integer greater than or equal to 0.

12. The transmitting method of claim 11, wherein when the sensor module includes a plurality of sensors, the transmitter status representation is one of arbitrary combinations of the status representation of every one of the plurality of sensors.

13. The transmitting method of claim 8, wherein one or more modulation factors of the electrical signal includes one or a combination of the following:

frequency; and

strength.