TWI817864B - Stylus and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a stylus and an operation method thereof. The stylus includes a pen tip roller, a roller driving part and a processor. The pen tip roller is arranged on the tip of the stylus to contact a touch panel. The roller driving part is coupled to the pen tip roller to drive the rotation of the pen tip roller and selectively lock the rotation angle of the pen tip roller. The processor is coupled to the roller driving part. The processor controls the roller driving part to dynamically adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller to change the surface area of the pen tip roller that contacts the touch panel.

Description

Stylus and how to operate it

The present invention relates to a touch device, and in particular to a stylus that can be adjusted/changed on a pen tip roller for contacting the surface area of a panel and an operating method thereof.

The movement of the stylus on the touch panel can achieve the pen-and-paper writing function. However, the writing feel of a stylus on a touch panel is still quite different from that of writing on physical paper. How to improve the writing feel of a stylus on a touch panel is one of the many issues in this technical field.

The present invention provides a stylus and an operating method thereof to change the writing feel of the stylus on a touch panel.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned stylus includes a pen tip roller, a roller driving part and a processor. The pen tip roller is disposed on the pen tip of the stylus to contact the touch panel. The roller driving part is coupled to the pen tip roller to drive the rotation of the pen tip roller and selectively lock the rotation angle of the pen tip roller. The processor is coupled to the roller driving part to control the roller driving part to dynamically adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller to change the surface area of the pen tip roller that contacts the touch panel.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the above operation method includes: driving the rotation of the nib roller of the stylus by the roller driving part of the stylus, wherein the nib roller is disposed on the nib of the stylus to contact the touch panel; The processor of the stylus controls the roller drive unit to dynamically adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller to change the surface area of the pen tip roller contacting the touch panel; and the roller drive unit selectively locks the rotation angle of the pen tip roller.

Based on the above, the stylus pen according to the embodiments of the present invention can rotate the rotation angle of the pen tip roller based on the actual application to adjust the friction force between the pen tip part and the touch panel to the friction force that the user is accustomed to. After adjustment, the roller driving part can lock the rotation angle of the pen tip roller to maintain the friction force of the pen tip roller contacting the touch panel. Therefore, the stylus can maintain the feeling of writing on the touch panel.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above through embodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field may make some modifications and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the appended patent application scope.

The word "coupling (or connection)" used throughout the specification of this case (including the scope of the patent application) can refer to any direct or indirect connection means. For example, if a first device is coupled (or connected) to a second device, it should be understood that the first device can be directly connected to the second device, or the first device can be connected through other devices or other devices. A connection means is indirectly connected to the second device. The terms "first" and "second" mentioned in the full text of the specification of this case (including the scope of the patent application) are used to name elements or to distinguish different embodiments or scopes, and are not used to limit the number of elements. The upper or lower limits are not used to limit the order of components. In addition, wherever possible, elements/components/steps with the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and embodiments to represent the same or similar parts. Elements/components/steps using the same numbers or using the same terms in different embodiments can refer to the relevant descriptions of each other.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vertical cross-section of the operating situation of the stylus pen 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 illustrates an operation scenario in which one end (pen tip) of the stylus pen 100 moves on the touch panel 10 . The direction in which the stylus pen 100 moves on the touch panel 10 is assumed to be the movement direction D1 shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit block diagram of a stylus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the stylus 100 includes a pen tip roller 110 , a roller driving part 120 and a processor 130 . The pen tip roller 110 is provided on the pen tip portion of the stylus pen 100 . When the user uses the stylus pen 100 to write/move on the touch panel 10 , the pen tip roller 110 contacts and rolls on the touch panel 10 . The roller driving part 120 is coupled to the pen tip roller 110 . The roller driving part 120 and the processor 130 are located in the housing 150 of the stylus 100 .

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a stylus pen operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention. See Figure 2 and Figure 3. In step S310, the roller driving part 120 may drive the rotation of the pen tip roller 110. By driving the rotation of the nib roller 110 by the roller driving part 120 (dynamically adjusting the rotation angle of the nib roller 110), the user can select/change one of the surface areas on the nib roller 110 to contact the touch panel 10.

The processor 130 is coupled to the roller driving part 120 . In step S320 , the processor 130 may control the roller driving part 120 to dynamically adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller 110 to change the surface area of the pen tip roller 100 for contacting the touch panel 100 . Therefore, the user can select one of the surface areas on the pen tip roller 110 to make contact with the touch panel 10 . In step S330 , the roller driving part 120 may also selectively lock the rotation angle of the pen tip roller 110 to fix the surface area of the pen tip roller 110 for contacting the panel 10 . Therefore, when the user uses the stylus 100, the pen tip roller 110 can move on the touch panel 10 in the same surface area. The processor 130 is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), or other programmable general-purpose or special-purpose micro control unit (MCU), microprocessor, or digital signal processing unit. Digital signal processor (DSP), programmable controller, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), graphics processing unit (GPU), image signal processor (ISP) ), image processing unit (IPU), arithmetic logic unit (ALU), complex programmable logic device (CPLD), field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array) , FPGA) or other similar components or a combination of the above components.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the roller driving part 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The driving gear 123 is fixed on both ends of the rotation axis RA4 of the pen tip roller 110 . That is, the drive gear 123 is used as both ends of the rotation axis RA4. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , the roller driving part 120 includes a transmission shaft 121 and a motor 122 . One end of the transmission shaft 121 is coupled to the rotation axis RA4 of the nib roller 110 . In more detail, the transmission shaft 121 is connected to the rotation axis RA4 of the nib roller 110 through the driving gear 123 . Therefore, the transmission shaft 121 can drive the rotation of the nib roller 110 through the driving gear 123 . In addition, the transmission shaft 121 can also selectively lock the rotation angle of the nib roller 110 through the driving gear 123 . The other end of the transmission shaft 121 is coupled to the motor 122 . The processor 130 can execute operation commands to control the motor 122 to dynamically adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller 110 . Based on the control of the processor 130, the motor 122 can drive the transmission shaft 121. The motor 122 can rotate the nib roller 110 through the transmission shaft 121 (dynamically adjust the rotation angle of the nib roller 110). For example (but not limited to this), the user can select the rotation angle of the pen tip wheel 110 through the user setting interface of the touch panel 10 , and then the touch panel 10 can transmit the operation command corresponding to the rotation angle selected by the user. To the processor 130 of the stylus 100 . The processor 130 can control the motor 122 to rotate the pen tip roller 110 according to the operation command. Based on the control of the processor 130 , the motor 122 can selectively lock the rotation angle of the nib roller 110 through the transmission shaft 121 and the driving gear 123 . When the rotation angle of the pen tip roller 110 is locked, the pen tip roller 110 moves on the touch panel 10 in a sliding manner.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the detailed structure of the pen tip roller 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The pen tip roller 110 shown in FIG. 5 can be used as an implementation example of the pen tip roller 110 shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 or FIG. 4 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the nib roller 110 may include multiple candidate surface areas with different coefficients of friction. The processor 130 may select a target surface area from the candidate surface areas based on the operation command. The processor 130 may control the roller driving part 120 to adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller 110 so that the target surface area of the pen tip roller 110 is suitable for contacting the touch panel 10 .

For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 , the plurality of candidate surface areas of the pen tip roller 110 include a first friction coefficient area 111 , a second friction coefficient area 112 and a third friction coefficient area 113 . The first friction coefficient area 111 , the second friction coefficient area 112 and the third friction coefficient area 113 respectively include surfaces with different friction coefficients. When the processor 130 executes the operation command, the processor 130 controls the roller driving part 120 to adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller 110 according to the friction coefficient area indicated by the operation command. Thereby, the pen tip roller 110 contacts the touch panel 10 in the friction coefficient area indicated by the operation command. In other embodiments, the entire surface of the nib roller 110 has the same friction coefficient. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the pen tip roller 110 may also include two candidate surface areas with different friction coefficients, or include more than four candidate surface areas with different friction coefficients.

This embodiment does not limit the source of the aforementioned operation commands. For example, the user can set the friction coefficient of the pen tip roller 110 through the user setting interface of the touch panel 10 . The setting method includes the user using the control bar displayed on the touch panel 10 to adjust the friction coefficient of the pen tip roller 110, or the user floating the stylus 100 in the setting area displayed on the touch panel 10 to adjust the friction coefficient. After the user confirms the friction coefficient, the touch panel 10 records the friction coefficient as the preset friction coefficient of the stylus 100. The touch panel also records the preset rotation angle of the pen tip roller 110 corresponding to the friction coefficient. Then, the touch panel 10 can transmit the operation command corresponding to the friction coefficient (rotation angle) selected by the user to the processor 130 of the stylus pen 100 . The processor 130 can control the roller driving part 120 to rotate the pen tip roller 110 according to the operation command to adjust the friction coefficient. Implementers of the present invention can adjust the method of obtaining the preset friction coefficient according to actual needs. In other embodiments, the preset friction coefficient and the preset rotation angle can be recorded through the memory of the stylus 100. The present invention does not limit the method of recording the preset friction coefficient and the preset rotation angle.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a stylus 600 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the stylus 600 includes a pen tip roller 110 , a roller driving part 120 , a processor 130 and a haze detector 140 . As shown in FIG. 6 , the stylus 600 , the nib roller 110 , the roller driving part 120 and the processor 130 may refer to the stylus 100 , the nib roller 110 , the roller driving part 120 and the processor shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 or FIG. 4 130 related explanations and analogies, which will not be repeated here. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the haze detector 140 is coupled to the processor 130 . The haze detector 140 can detect the haze on the surface of the pen tip roller 110 .

In some embodiments, the surface of nib roller 110 may include multiple candidate surface areas with different coefficients of friction. In other embodiments, even though the entire surface of the nib roller 110 has a single friction coefficient when it has not been used, different surfaces of the nib roller 110 have different friction coefficients due to wear during use. The haze detector 140 can detect the surface haze of the pen tip roller 110 . Based on the surface haze provided by the haze detector 140, the processor 130 calculates the friction coefficient corresponding to the surface haze. Calculation methods include (but are not limited to) querying a lookup table of surface haze versus friction coefficient. This embodiment does not limit the method of "surface haze conversion friction coefficient".

Taking the nib roller 110 shown in FIG. 5 as an example, the surface of the nib roller 110 may include multiple candidate surface areas with different friction coefficients. The roller driving part 120 can drive the pen tip roller 110 to rotate, so that the haze detector 140 detects a first surface haze of a first surface area among the candidate surface areas. Depending on whether the first surface haze meets the friction coefficient requirements of the operation command, the processor 130 may decide whether to select the first surface area as the target surface area, so that the target surface area of the pen tip roller 110 is suitable for contacting the touch panel. 10. When the first surface haze (first friction coefficient) of the first surface area meets the friction coefficient requirement of the operation command, the processor 130 can control the roller driving part 120 to drive the pen tip roller 110 to rotate, so that the pen tip roller 110 The first surface area (target surface area) is suitable for contacting the touch panel 10 . The roller driving part 120 locks the pen tip roller 110 so that the pen tip roller 110 continues to contact the touch panel with the first surface.

When the first surface haze (first friction coefficient) of the first surface area does not meet the friction coefficient requirement of the operation command, the processor 130 can control the roller driving part 120 to drive the pen tip roller 110 to rotate for haze detection. The meter 140 detects a second surface haze of a second one of the candidate surface areas of the nib roller 110 . Depending on whether the second surface haze (second friction coefficient) meets the friction coefficient requirement, the processor 130 may decide whether to select the second surface area as the target surface area. When the second surface haze (second friction coefficient) of the second surface area meets the friction coefficient requirement of the operation command, the processor 130 may control the roller driving part 120 to rotate the pen tip roller 110 so that the pen tip roller 110 The second surface (target surface area) is suitable for contacting the touch panel 10 . When the second surface haze (second friction coefficient) of the second surface area does not meet the friction coefficient requirement of the operation command, the roller driving part 120 continues to drive the pen tip roller 110 to rotate, and repeats the aforementioned operation.

If the processor 130 determines that the haze detector 140 has detected all surfaces of the pen tip roller 110 but cannot obtain a surface haze that matches the friction coefficient of the operation command, the processor 130 may issue a prompt through the touch panel 10 to The user is informed that the surface of the pen tip roller 110 does not have a friction coefficient requirement that can match the operation command. The processor 130 may also prompt the user through other methods such as a buzzer (not shown). This embodiment does not limit the method of prompting the user in the foregoing situation. .

In other embodiments of the present invention, the stylus 100 or 600 may perform self-detection during power-on initialization. The self-test includes confirming whether the surface friction coefficient of the nib roller 110 is the same as the preset friction coefficient. During the power-on initialization period, the roller driving part 120 drives the nib roller 110 to rotate to change the detection target area of the nib roller 110 by the haze detector 140 . The haze detector 140 detects the detection target area of the pen tip roller 110 to obtain the surface haze. The processor 130 then obtains the friction coefficient of the detection target area according to the surface haze of the detection target area. The processor 130 may compare and detect whether the friction coefficient (surface haze) of the target area and the preset friction coefficient (or the friction coefficient requirement of the operation command) are the same. When the surface haze (friction coefficient) of the detection target area does not meet the preset friction coefficient (or friction coefficient requirement), the roller driving part 120 continues to rotate the pen tip roller 110 to change the detection target area. When the surface haze (friction coefficient) of the detection target area meets the preset friction coefficient (or friction coefficient requirement), the roller driving part 120 stops changing the detection target area. Next, the roller driving part 120 drives the pen tip roller 110 to rotate so that the detection target area that meets the preset friction coefficient (or friction coefficient requirement) is suitable for contacting the touch panel 10 . Then, the roller driving part 120 locks the pen tip roller 110 to end the self-test and power-on initialization period.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a stylus pen operating method according to another embodiment of the present invention. Here, it is assumed that the pen tip roller 110 includes a plurality of candidate surface areas with different friction coefficients, such as the first friction coefficient area 111 , the second friction coefficient area 112 and the third friction coefficient area 113 shown in FIG. 5 . Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7 , in step S710 , the haze detector 140 of the stylus pen 600 detects the surface haze of the pen tip roller. In step S720 , the roller driving part 120 drives the pen tip roller 110 to rotate, so that the haze detector 140 detects the first surface haze of the first surface area in the candidate surface area. In step S730, it is determined whether to select the first surface area as the target surface area based on whether the first surface haze meets the friction coefficient requirement of the operation command. When the first surface haze (first friction coefficient) of the first surface area meets the friction coefficient requirement of the operation command, the processor 130 may select the first surface area as the target surface area, and control the roller driving part 120 The pen tip roller 110 is driven to rotate so that the target surface area of the pen tip roller 110 is suitable for contacting the touch panel 10 , and then the roller driving part 120 locks the pen tip roller 110 . When the first surface haze (first friction coefficient) does not meet the friction coefficient requirement, the roller driving part 120 drives the pen tip roller 110 to rotate so that the haze detector 140 detects the third haze in the candidate surface area. According to the second surface haze of the two surface areas, the processor 130 determines whether to select the second surface area as the target surface area based on whether the second surface haze meets the friction coefficient requirement.

To sum up, the stylus 600 described in the above embodiments can record the writing friction coefficient set by the user. After each power-on, the stylus 600 can confirm whether the friction coefficient (surface haze) of the surface area where the pen tip roller 110 contacts the touch panel 10 is the same as the writing friction coefficient set by the user. Therefore, the stylus 600 can maintain the contact surface area of the pen tip roller 110 at the writing friction coefficient set by the user, so as to provide the user with a good experience.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above through embodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field may make some modifications and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the appended patent application scope.

10:Touch panel 100, 600: stylus 110: Pen tip roller 111: First friction coefficient area 112: Second friction coefficient area 113: The third friction coefficient area 120:Roller drive part 121: Drive shaft 122: Motor 123:Driving gear 130: Processor 140:Haze detector 150: Shell D1:Moving direction RA4: Rotation axis S310, S320, S330, S710, S720, S730: steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a longitudinal cross-section of an operating situation of a stylus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a circuit block of a stylus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for operating a stylus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the roller driving part according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the detailed structure of the pen tip roller according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a stylus according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a stylus pen operating method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

100:Stylus

110: Pen tip roller

120:Roller drive part

130: Processor

Claims (13)

A stylus includes: a nib roller, which is arranged on the nib of the stylus to contact a touch panel; a roller driving part, coupled to the nib roller, for driving the rotation of the nib roller and selecting Sexually locking a rotation angle of the pen tip roller; a processor, coupled to the roller drive part, configured to control the roller drive part to dynamically adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller to change the contact angle of the pen tip roller with the touch panel a surface area; and a haze detector coupled to the processor and configured to detect a surface haze of the pen tip roller. The stylus of claim 1, wherein the roller driving part includes: a transmission shaft having a first end coupled to a rotating shaft of the pen tip roller; and a motor coupled to a second end of the transmission shaft. end, wherein the motor drives the transmission shaft to rotate the nib roller based on control of the processor, wherein the processor executes an operation command to control the motor to dynamically adjust the rotation angle of the nib roller. The stylus of claim 1, wherein the pen tip roller includes a plurality of candidate surface areas with different friction coefficients, the processor selects a target surface area from the candidate surface areas based on an operation command, and the processor The roller driving part is controlled to adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller so that the target surface area of the pen tip roller is suitable for contacting the touch panel. The stylus according to claim 1, wherein the pen tip roller includes a plurality of candidate surface areas with different friction coefficients, and the roller driving part drives the pen tip roller to rotate so that the haze detector detects the candidate surfaces. a first surface haze of a first surface area in the area, and the processor determines whether to select the first surface area as a target surface based on whether the first surface haze meets a friction coefficient requirement of an operation command area, so that the target surface area of the pen tip roller is suitable for contacting the touch panel. The stylus according to claim 4, wherein when the first surface haze does not meet the friction coefficient requirement, the roller driving part drives the pen tip roller to rotate so that the haze detector detects the a second surface haze of a second surface area among the candidate surface areas, and the processor determines whether to select the second surface area as the target surface area based on whether the second surface haze meets the friction coefficient requirement . The stylus according to claim 4, wherein when the first surface haze meets the friction coefficient requirement, the roller driving part drives the pen tip roller to rotate so that the first surface area is suitable for contacting the touch pen. The control panel, and the roller driving part locks the pen tip roller. The stylus as claimed in claim 1, wherein during a power-on initialization period of the stylus, the roller driving part drives the nib roller to rotate to change a detection target of the haze detector on the nib roller. area, when the surface haze of the detection target area does not meet a friction coefficient requirement of an operation command, the roller driving part continues to rotate the pen tip roller; and When the surface haze of the detection target area meets the friction coefficient requirement, the roller driving part stops changing the detection target area, and the roller driving part drives the pen tip roller to rotate so as to meet the friction coefficient requirement. The detection target area is suitable for contacting the touch panel, and the roller driving part locks the pen tip roller to end the power-on initialization period. A method of operating a stylus, including: driving the rotation of a nib roller of the stylus by a roller driving part of the stylus, wherein the nib roller is disposed on the nib of the stylus to contact a touch Control panel; a processor of the stylus controls the wheel driving part to dynamically adjust a rotation angle of the pen tip wheel to change a surface area where the pen tip wheel contacts the touch panel; the wheel driving part selectively The rotation angle of the pen tip roller is locked; and a haze detector of the stylus detects a surface haze of the pen tip roller. The operation method of claim 8, wherein the pen tip roller includes a plurality of candidate surface areas with different friction coefficients, the operation method further includes: selecting a target from the candidate surface areas by the processor based on an operation command Surface area; and the processor controls the roller driving part to adjust the rotation angle of the pen tip roller so that the target surface area of the pen tip roller is suitable for contacting the touch panel. The operating method of claim 8, wherein the pen tip roller includes a plurality of candidate surface areas with different friction coefficients, and the operating method further includes: driving the pen tip roller to rotate by the roller driving part, so that the haze detector test The meter detects a first surface haze of a first surface area among the candidate surface areas; and determines whether to select the first surface area based on whether the first surface haze meets a friction coefficient requirement of an operation command. As a target surface area, the target surface area of the pen tip roller is suitable for contacting the touch panel. The operation method as described in claim 10, further comprising: when the first surface haze does not meet the friction coefficient requirement, the roller driving part drives the pen tip roller to rotate so that the haze detector detects A second surface haze of a second surface area among the candidate surface areas is measured, and the processor determines whether to select the second surface area as the second surface area based on whether the second surface haze meets the friction coefficient requirement. target surface area. The operating method of claim 10, further comprising: when the haze of the first surface meets the friction coefficient requirement, driving the pen tip roller to rotate by the roller driving part so that the first surface area is suitable for contact The touch panel, and the pen tip roller are locked by the roller driving part. The operation method of claim 8 further includes: during a power-on initialization period of the stylus, the roller driving part drives the pen tip roller to rotate to change the response of the haze detector to the pen tip roller. a detection target area; when the surface haze of the detection target area does not meet a friction coefficient requirement of an operation command, the roller driving part continues to rotate the pen tip roller; and in the detection target area When the surface haze meets the friction coefficient requirements, The detection target area is stopped by the roller driving part, and the pen tip roller is driven by the roller driving part to rotate so that the detection target area that meets the friction coefficient requirement is suitable for contacting the touch panel, and the roller driving part Lock the nib roller to end the power-on initialization period.

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