TW202111489A - Stylus and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A stylus and an operation method thereof are provided. The stylus includes a touch display panel, a communication circuit and a control circuit. The touch display panel is disposed on the pen body of the stylus. The communication circuit is configured to establish a communication connection with a host. The control circuit is coupled to the touch display panel to receive the touch detection result. The control circuit controls the touch display panel to display at least one control menu. The control circuit transmits the selection result corresponding to the touch detection result to the host via the communication circuit.

Description

Stylus and its operation method

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and particularly relates to a touch pen and an operation method thereof.

A stylus (stylus or stylus pen) is a pen-shaped tool used to input commands to a host, such as a computer screen, a mobile device, a graphics tablet, or other devices with a touch screen. The user can click on the touch screen of the main unit with a stylus to select files, or move the tip of the stylus point on the touch screen (touch panel) of the main unit to draw. When the user writes or draws on the touch panel of the host, sometimes it is necessary to change the type of pen (such as signature pen, fountain pen, watercolor pen, eraser, etc.), pen color, or other pen attributes. At this time, the user needs to perform a selection operation on the control panel of the host to set pen attributes.

Different applications running on the host often have different operating interfaces. When the user wants to change the pen attribute, the user needs to find the control panel from the operating interface of the application. Furthermore, usually the control panel occupies a large (or even all) area of the display window of the application program. In the process of changing pen attributes, the user needs to operate the application to switch screens multiple times (for example, open the control panel and close the control panel in the display window of the application). It is conceivable that the user needs to perform more procedures to complete the change/setting of pen attributes.

It should be noted that the content of the "prior art" paragraph is used to help understand the present invention. Part of the content (or all of the content) disclosed in the "Prior Art" paragraph may not be the conventional technology known to those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field. The content disclosed in the "prior art" paragraph does not mean that the content has been known to those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field before the application of the present invention.

The present invention provides a touch pen and an operation method thereof, so as to provide a control menu on the touch display panel of the pen body for the user to choose.

A touch pen of the present invention includes a touch display panel, a communication circuit, and a control circuit. The touch display panel is arranged on the body of the stylus pen. The communication circuit is configured to establish a communication connection with the host. The control circuit is coupled to the touch display panel to receive the touch detection result. The control circuit controls the touch display panel to display at least one control menu. The control circuit transmits the selection result corresponding to the touch detection result to the host via the communication circuit.

An operating method of a stylus pen of the present invention includes: establishing a communication connection with a host by a communication circuit; controlling a touch display panel by a control circuit to display at least one control menu, wherein the touch display panel is configured on the stylus Pen body; the control circuit receives the touch detection result of the touch display panel; and the control circuit transmits the selection result corresponding to the touch detection result to the host via the communication circuit.

Based on the above, the body of the stylus according to the embodiments of the present invention has a touch display panel. The touch display panel can display control menus for the user to choose, so the user can feedback the selection result by touching the touch display panel. When the user touches the touch display panel, the control circuit can receive the touch detection result of the touch display panel. The control circuit can transmit the selection result corresponding to the touch detection result to the host via the communication circuit.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The term "coupling (or connection)" used in the full text of the specification of this case (including the scope of the patent application) can refer to any direct or indirect connection means. For example, if it is described in the text that the first device is coupled (or connected) to the second device, it should be interpreted as that the first device can be directly connected to the second device, or the first device can be connected through other devices or some This kind of connection means is indirectly connected to the second device. The terms "first" and "second" mentioned in the full text of the description of this case (including the scope of the patent application) are used to name the element (element), or to distinguish different embodiments or ranges, and are not used to limit the number of elements The upper or lower limit of is not used to limit the order of components. In addition, wherever possible, elements/components/steps with the same reference numbers in the drawings and embodiments represent the same or similar parts. Elements/components/steps that use the same reference numerals or use the same terms in different embodiments may refer to related descriptions.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a stylus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that FIG. 1 shows an example of the appearance of the stylus 100, but the implementation of the stylus of the present invention should not be limited to this. The appearance of the stylus 100 can be appropriately changed according to design requirements.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the stylus 100 has a pen tip 110 and a pen body 120. The pen tip 110 can perform touch operations on a touch panel (not shown) of the host. Depending on the function of the application running on the host (not shown), the touch operation may be writing, drawing, or other operations. The stylus 100 further includes a touch display panel 130. The touch display panel 130 is disposed on the body 120 of the stylus. According to design requirements, the touch display panel 130 may be a flat panel type, a curved surface type, a flexible type, or other types of touch display panels. This embodiment does not limit the touch detection method of the touch display panel 130. According to design requirements, in some embodiments, the touch detection method of the touch display panel 130 may be capacitive touch detection technology, optical touch detection technology, or other touch detection technologies.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a circuit block of a touch pen 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2. The stylus 100 also includes a communication circuit 140 and a control circuit 150. The communication circuit 140 is configured to establish a communication connection with the host 10. According to application requirements, the host 10 can be a computer, a mobile device, a graphics tablet, or other devices with a touch panel. According to design requirements, the communication circuit 140 can establish a communication connection with the host 10 through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and/or other wireless communication technologies. Alternatively, the communication circuit 140 may establish a communication connection with the host 10 through cable communication technology.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for operating a stylus according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3. In step S310, the communication circuit 140 may establish a communication connection with the host 10. The control circuit 150 is coupled to the communication circuit 140 to communicate with the host 10. The control circuit 150 is coupled to the touch display panel 130 to receive the touch detection result.

In step S320, the control circuit 150 may control the touch display panel 130 to display at least one control menu. The control menu displayed on the touch display panel 130 can be set according to design requirements. As an example, in the application scenario shown in FIG. 1, the touch display panel 130 displays control menus M1, M2, and M3. The control menu M1 is a pen category menu, and the control menu M2 is a stroke thickness menu, and a control menu M3 is the pen color menu. The user's finger can slide on the control menu M1 to browse different categories (such as signature pen, fountain pen, watercolor pen, eraser, etc.). The user can click on the category of interest in the control menu M1 (or double click, or long press, or other operation gestures) to select/set the pen category. The other control menus M2 and M3 can be deduced by referring to the related description of the control menu M1, so they will not be repeated.

In step S330, the control circuit 150 may receive the touch detection result of the touch display panel 130. In step S340, the control circuit 150 may transmit the selection result corresponding to the touch detection result to the host 10 via the communication circuit 140. According to the selection result returned by the control circuit 150, the host 10 can correspondingly set the pen attributes. Compared with the conventional technology, when the user wants to change the pen attribute, the user does not need to bother to find the control panel from the operating interface of the application program of the host computer 10. Furthermore, in the process of changing the pen attributes, the user does not need to operate the application program of the host 10 to switch the screen multiple times. Compared with the prior art, the user can quickly complete the modification/setting of pen attributes by touching the touch display panel 130 of the stylus pen 100.

Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2. According to design requirements, the stylus 100 can also be selectively configured with a lock button 160, a power switch 165, a connector 170, a charging circuit 180, and/or a battery 190. The user can turn the power switch 165 to make the stylus 100 enter the on state or the off state. For example, when the user pushes the power switch 165 in a clockwise direction, the stylus 100 enters the power-on state. When the user pushes the power switch 165 counterclockwise, the stylus 100 enters the shutdown state.

The lock button 160 is coupled to the control circuit 150. The control circuit 150 may determine whether to ignore the touch detection result of the touch display panel 130 based on the operation of the lock button 160. For example, after the touch operation (selection/setting related operation) on the touch display panel 130 is completed, the user can press the lock button 160 to avoid accidental touches on the touch display panel 130. When the user wants to operate the touch display panel 130 again, the user can press the lock button 160 again.

According to design requirements, the connector 170 may include a micro USB connector or other connectors. The external power source can charge the battery 190 through the connector 170 and the charging circuit 180. In addition, the external electronic device can update the firmware (or update the software) of the stylus 100 through the connector 170.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for operating a stylus according to another embodiment of the present invention. For step S410 shown in FIG. 4, reference may be made to the related description of step S310 shown in FIG. Please refer to Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 4. In step S420, the control circuit 150 may receive the control menu configuration information from the host 10 via the communication circuit 140. In step S430, according to the control menu configuration information of the host 10, the control circuit 150 can control the touch display panel 130 to display at least one control menu (for example, the menu M1, the menu M2, the menu M3 or other menus shown in FIG. 1). For steps S440 and S450 shown in FIG. 4, reference may be made to the related descriptions of steps S330 and S340 shown in FIG.

According to different design requirements, the block of the control circuit 150 can be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination of more of the three.

In terms of hardware, the blocks of the control circuit 150 described above can be implemented in a logic circuit on an integrated circuit. The above-mentioned related functions of the control circuit 150 can be implemented as hardware using hardware description languages (for example, Verilog HDL or VHDL) or other suitable programming languages. For example, the related functions of the aforementioned control circuit 150 can be implemented in one or more controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and digital signal processors ( Digital signal processor, DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and/or various logic blocks, modules and circuits in other processing units.

In terms of software form and/or firmware form, the related functions of the above-mentioned control circuit 150 can be implemented as programming codes. For example, general programming languages (such as C, C++, or assembly language) or other suitable programming languages are used to implement the above-mentioned control circuit 150. The programming code may be recorded/stored in a recording medium, which includes, for example, a read-only memory (Read Only Memory, ROM), a storage device, and/or a random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM). . A computer, a central processing unit (CPU), a controller, a microcontroller, or a microprocessor can read and execute the programming code from the recording medium, so as to achieve related functions. As the recording medium, a "non-transitory computer readable medium" can be used. For example, tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, and non-transitory computer readable medium can be used. Programming logic circuits, etc. Furthermore, the program may also be provided to the computer (or CPU) via any transmission medium (communication network or broadcast wave, etc.). The communication network is, for example, the Internet, wired communication, wireless communication, or other communication media.

In summary, the body 120 of the touch pen 100 according to the embodiments of the present invention has a touch display panel 130. The touch display panel 130 can display a control menu for the user to choose, so the user can feedback the selection result by touching the touch display panel 130. When the user touches the touch display panel 130, the control circuit 150 can receive the touch detection result of the touch display panel 130. The control circuit 150 can transmit the selection result corresponding to the touch detection result to the host 10 via the communication circuit 140. Compared with the conventional technology, when the user wants to change the pen attribute, the user does not need to bother to find the control panel from the operating interface of the application program of the host computer 10. Furthermore, in the process of changing the pen attributes, the user does not need to operate the application program of the host 10 to switch screens multiple times. Compared with the prior art, the user can quickly complete the change/setting of pen attributes by touching the pen body (touch display panel 130) of the stylus pen 100.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

10: host 100: stylus 110: nib 120: Pen body 130: Touch display panel 140: communication circuit 150: control circuit 160: Lock button 165: Power switch 170: Connector 180: charging circuit 190: battery M1, M2, M3: Control menu S310～S340, S410～S450: steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of a touch pen according to the present invention. 2 is a schematic diagram of a circuit block of a stylus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for operating a stylus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a method for operating a stylus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

100: stylus

110: nib

120: Pen body

130: Touch display panel

160: Lock button

165: Power switch

170: Connector

M1, M2, M3: Control menu

Claims (10)

A stylus, including: A touch display panel arranged on the body of the stylus; A communication circuit configured to establish a communication connection with a host; and A control circuit coupled to the touch display panel to receive a touch detection result, wherein the control circuit controls the touch display panel to display at least one control menu, and the control circuit corresponds to the touch detection A selection result of the result is transmitted to the host via the communication circuit. The stylus as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application further includes: The tip of a stroke is configured to perform a touch operation on a touch panel of the host. The stylus as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application further includes: A lock button is coupled to the control circuit, wherein the control circuit determines whether to ignore the touch detection result of the touch display panel based on the operation of the lock button. For example, the stylus of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to receive a control menu configuration information from the host via the communication circuit, and the control circuit controls the touch according to the control menu configuration information. The display panel is controlled to display the at least one control menu. According to the stylus of claim 1, wherein the at least one control menu includes at least one of a pen category menu, a pen color menu, and a stroke thickness menu. An operating method of a stylus includes: Establish a communication connection with a host by a communication circuit; A control circuit controls a touch display panel to display at least one control menu, wherein the touch display panel is arranged on the body of the stylus pen; Receiving a touch detection result of the touch display panel by the control circuit; and The control circuit transmits a selection result corresponding to the touch detection result to the host via the communication circuit. The operation method described in item 6 of the scope of patent application further includes: A touch operation is performed on a touch panel of the host by the tip of the stylus pen. The operation method described in item 6 of the scope of patent application further includes: Based on the operation of a lock button of the stylus, the control circuit determines whether to ignore the touch detection result of the touch display panel. The operation method described in item 6 of the scope of patent application further includes: Receiving a control menu configuration information from the host via the communication circuit; and The control circuit controls the touch display panel according to the control menu configuration information to display the at least one control menu. According to the operation method described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, the at least one control menu includes at least one of a pen category menu, a pen color menu, and a stroke thickness menu.

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