Data steering flip pen system

• US 7,102,628 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2001
• Issued: 09/05/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LinkedIn Corporation (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Karidis, John Peter, Inoue, Ken, Dumarot, Dan Peter, Kesavarapu, Sreenivasulu, Seminara, Mary R., LeKuch, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, CHANH DUY
• Application Number:
  US09/854,979
• Publication Number:
  US 20020040817A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,940 Days
• Field of Search: 345/179, 345/180, 345/182, 345/183, 345/173, 345/174, 345/175, 178/19.05, 178/19.06, 178/19.04, 178/18.01, 178/18.04, 178/19.02
• US Class Current: 345/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1616 with folding flat displays, e.g. laptop computers or notebooks having a clamshell configuration, with body parts pivoting to an open position around an axis parallel to the plane they define in closed position
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/165 the additional display being small, e.g. for presenting status information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/169 the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03545 Pens or stylus

Abstract

A computing system includes a handwriting input device and a computing device, the handwriting input device including an electronic pen input device having a first tip that emits a signal having a first characteristic and second tip that emits a signal having second characteristic; a detector for detecting the characteristic of the emitted signal; and a controller, interfaced with the computing device, for selectively interpreting the emitted signal as handwriting or as control information for the computing device based on the detected characteristic of the emitted signal.

Claims

1. A computing system, said computing system comprising:

an input device and a computing device, said input device including a memory, a controller having a first CPU and an electronic pen input device operative to emit a first signal having a first characteristic and a second signal having a second characteristic, said computing device including a second CPU;

a detector for detecting said characteristics of the emitted signals; and

wherein said controller is interfaced with said detector so that said first CPU selectively interprets the emitted signals as one of information to be stored by said input device and information to be forwarded to said computing device and that routes (a) to said memory the information to be stored therein and (b) to the computing device the information to be forwarded thereto for processing by said second CPU.

2. The computing system of claim 1 comprising a switch wherein the characteristic of said emitted signal is determined by operation of said switch.

3. The computing system of claim 1, wherein said electronic pen input device comprises first and second tips that emit said first and second signals, respectively, and wherein which of said first and second signals is emitted depends on which one of said first and second tips is selected by a user.

4. The computing system of claim 1 wherein said memory comprises Flash RAM type memory.

5. The computing system of claim 1, wherein said second CPU of said computing device responds to said information forwarded thereto based on detection of said second signal to control a display of said computing device.

6. The computing system of claim 1, wherein said second CPU of said computing device responds to said information forwarded thereto based on detection of said second signal to control a function of said computing device.

7. The computing system of claim 1, wherein said first CPU interprets said first signal as information to be stored in said memory and the second signal as information to be forwarded to said second CPU.