Electronic device having a position sensor

• US 7,903,085 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2004
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Original Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Inventors: Tozer, Andrew, Oda, Yasuo, Yamamoto, Sado, Scholey, Ian, Ito, Masamitsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh; Duc Q
• Application Number:
  US11/662,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20080136793A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,356 Days
• Field of Search: 345/156, 345173-181
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1613 for portable computers cooling arrangements therefor G06F1/203; constructional details or arrangements for pocket calculators, electronic agendas or books G06F15/0216; constructional details of portable telephone sets: with several bodies H04M1/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

The present invention provides an electronic device comprising: —a position sensor (102; 302; 502), —a first integrated circuit component (106; 306; 506) coupled to the position sensor for acquisition of position data (112; 312), —a memory (114; 314) for storing the position data, a second integrated circuit component (108; 308), wherein the first integrated circuit component comprises means (110; 348) for signalling the acquisition of the position data to the second integrated circuit component, the second integrated circuit component comprising means (108; 364, 374) for reading the position data from the memory in response to the signalling.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising:

a position sensor,

a first integrated circuit component coupled to the position sensor for acquisition of position data,

a memory for storing the position data, and

a second integrated circuit component,

wherein the first integrated circuit component comprises;

control means for repetitively performing the acquisitions to provide position data sets,

generator means for generating an identifier for each position data set,

means for signalling the acquisition of the position data to the second integrated circuit component,

the second integrated circuit component comprising;

means for reading the position data from the memory in response to the signalling.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the position sensor comprises a touch screen.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the position sensor is an inductive sensor.

4. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the position sensor has at least one conductor for electromagnetic coupling with an entry pen.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the position sensor is positioned behind a display.

6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first integrated circuit component comprises analogue circuitry for driving the position sensor and receiving a position sensor signal, and logic circuitry for processing the position sensor signal in order to provide the position data.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the generator means has a counter, the counter being adapted to change its counter value with each acquisition, the counter value providing the identifier for the acquired position data set.

8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the memory has a first memory location for storing the identifier and second memory locations for storing the position data set.

9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first integrated circuit component is adapted to overwrite the position data stored in the memory after a consecutive acquisition of new position data.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the first integrated circuit component is adapted to write an identifier of an acquired position data set and the position data set to the memory in a predefined sequential order starting with the identifier of the position data set.

11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the means for signalling is adapted to generate a first interrupt for the second integrated circuit component.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the second integrated circuit component is adapted to receive a second interrupt from an application, the second integrated circuit component comprising means for handling the first and second interrupts.

13. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the first and second integrated circuit components are coupled by a data bus.

14. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the data bus is an SPI, an IIC and/or an UART bus.

15. The electronic device of claim 8, wherein the second integrated circuit component has means for reading the memory by sequentially reading the first memory location, the second memory locations and re-reading the first memory location.

16. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a portable, battery powered device.

17. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is one of a computer, a mobile phone, a personal handy phone system (PHS), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telecommunication device, a navigation system, an electronic organizer or another portable electronic device.