Capacitive stylus

摘要

In some implementations, a stylus having a variable capacitive coupling mechanism may include a conductive stylus tip and a conductive stylus body. A spacer of resilient material may be positioned between the stylus body and the stylus tip. The spacer may be compressed when a user presses the stylus tip against a contact surface an electronic device having of a capacitive touch sensor. The compression of the spacer moves the stylus body closer to a proximal portion of the tip, which increases the capacitive coupling of the stylus with the touch sensor and provides an indication of the amount of pressure applied to the stylus tip by the user. In some examples, the stylus may further include a magnet, and the electronic device may include at least one magnetic field sensor to detect the orientation and/or angle of the magnet and, thus, the orientation and/or angle of the stylus.

主权项

1. A stylus comprising:
a body having a first end and a second end, the body being electrically conductive, at least in part, to form an electrical contact with a hand of a user; a conductive stylus tip disposed at the first end of the body; a first compressible nonconductive spacer positioned between the conductive stylus tip and the first end of the body, the first compressible nonconductive spacer being compressible to change a distance between the conductive stylus tip and the body for changing a capacitive coupling of the stylus to a touch sensor in response to a force applied to the body in a direction of the conductive stylus tip; a magnet disposed within or attached to the body, the magnet emitting a magnetic field; and a conductive stylus end disposed at the second end of the body, wherein a first capacitive coupling resulting from direct contact of the conductive stylus tip with a surface associated with a capacitive touch sensor is detected by the capacitive touch sensor to be different from a second capacitive coupling resulting from direct contact of the conductive stylus end with the surface.