Combination touch and transducer input system and method

摘要

A combination touch and transducer input system is provided, which facilitates user input into an electronic system with a finger and/or a transducer (e.g., a stylus). The system includes a transducer configured to generate an electric field, and a sensor including an array of electrodes and a controller. The transducer is configured to transmit digital data, such as pen pressure data and switch status data, to the sensor. The sensor controller operates both in a touch sensing mode and in a transducer sensing mode. During the touch sensing mode, the controller determines a position of a proximate object (e.g., a finger) by capacitively sensing the object with the array of electrodes. During the transducer sensing mode, the controller determines a position of the transducer based on a signal received by the array of electrodes from the transducer, and also receives and decodes the digital data encoded in the received signal.

主权项

1. A combination pen and touch input system, comprising:
a pen-shaped transducer; and a sensor including an array of electrodes and a sensor controller connected to the array of electrodes, the array of electrodes including first electrodes disposed along a first direction and second electrodes disposed along a second direction different from the first direction; wherein the pen-shaped transducer includes a pressure sensor configured to detect pressure applied to a tip of the pen-shaped transducer, a transducer controller configured to generate a signal corresponding to a pressure value detected by the pressure sensor, and an antenna configured to transmit the signal corresponding to the pressure value to the sensor, wherein the transducer controller is further configured to format the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor in a data frame and encode the data frame pursuant to a defined encoding method, and to transmit the encoded data frame via the antenna to the sensor, wherein the sensor controller connected to the array of electrodes is configured: (i) to perform touch detection by supplying defined signals to the first electrodes disposed along the first direction and measuring attributes of signals detected by the second electrodes disposed along the second direction, to thereby capacitively detect an object on or near the array of electrodes, (ii) to perform transducer detection by measuring attributes of signals transmitted from the pen-shaped transducer and respectively detected by the first and the second electrodes, to thereby detect the pen-shaped transducer on or near the array of electrodes, and (iii) to time-divisionally control the array of electrodes to respectively detect the object and the pen-shaped transducer; and wherein the sensor controller connected to the array of electrodes is further configured to, during the transducer detection, repeatedly detect attributes of the signals transmitted from the pen-shaped transducer to the sensor, to thereby decode said encoded data frame based on change in the repeatedly detected attributes of the signals transmitted from the pen-shaped transducer.