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US 10,061,411 B2Granted
Dual-function switch for stylus tail eraser
AssigneeMicrosoft Technology Licensing, LLC
InventorsAhia Peretz, Vadim Mishalov
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The systems, methods, and techniques described herein provide for an improved stylus incorporating a dual-function switch as part of the tail eraser mechanism. A conductive resilient body, when compressed, deforms to contact one or more pairs of electrodes on a printed circuit board, thus creating electrical continuity between the electrodes. A first force causes electrical continuity between a first pair of electrodes which may initiate a first mode of the stylus, such as erase mode. A second force, greater than the first force, causes electrical continuity between a second pair of electrodes which may initiate a second mode of the stylus, such as causing a microcontroller unit to issue a command to a computing device to launch one or more applications or services.
Claims21
A stylus for operating a computing device, comprising:
- a barrel having a writing end and a tail end, the tail end further comprising:
- a printed circuit board (PCB) fixedly mounted within the barrel, the printed circuit board having a first electrode and a second electrode disposed thereon, wherein the first electrode is discontinuous and the second electrode is discontinuous;
- a cap configured for slidable engagement within the barrel;
- an eraser electrode disposed within the cap;
- a conductive resilient body disposed within the cap and separated from the eraser electrode by an insulator, the conductive resilient body moveable with the cap to make surface contact with the first electrode in response to a first slidable movement of the cap into the barrel and to make surface contact with the second electrode in response to a second slidable movement of the cap into the barrel, wherein the second slidable movement moves the cap farther into the barrel than the first slidable movement;
- and
- a microcontroller unit configured to:
- detect an electrical continuity of the first electrode and an electrical discontinuity of the second electrode;
- output an erase signal in response to detecting the electrical continuity of the first electrode while detecting the electrical discontinuity of the second electrode;
- and
- output a wireless signal in response to detecting the electrical continuity of the second electrode.
8 more elements
A dual-function tail eraser button for a stylus, comprising:
- a circuit disposed within a barrel of the stylus, the circuit having at least a first electrode and a second electrode disposed thereon, wherein the first electrode comprises a first pair of electrical traces separated by a first gap and the second electrode comprises a second pair of electrical traces separated by a second gap;
- a conductive polymer disposed within a tail end of the stylus and positioned adjacent to the circuit, the conductive polymer moveable with the eraser button to make surface contact with the first electrode in response to a first slidable movement of the eraser button into the barrel and to make surface contact with the second electrode in response to a second slidable movement of the eraser button into the barrel, wherein the second slidable movement moves the eraser button farther into the barrel than the first slidable movement;
- and
- a microcontroller disposed within the barrel of the stylus, the microcontroller configured to:
- detect an electrical continuity of the first electrode and an electrical discontinuity of the second electrodes;
- output a first signal in response to detecting the electrical continuity between the first pair of electrical traces while detecting the electrical discontinuity of the second pair of electrical traces;
- and
- output a second signal in response to detecting the electrical continuity between the second pair of electrical traces.
5 more elements
A stylus tail eraser, comprising:
- a dual-function button disposed in a tail end of a stylus;
- a microcontroller disposed within the stylus, the microcontroller configured with instructions that cause the microcontroller to:
- output a first signal in response to a first force being applied to the dual function button;
- output a second signal in response to a second force, greater than the first force, being applied to the dual-function button;
- a circuit disposed within the stylus, the circuit having a first electrode that is discontinuous across a first gap, and a second electrode that is discontinuous across a second gap;
- and
- a conductive polymer coupled to the dual-function button that, in response to the first force on the dual-function button, causes the conductive polymer to contact the circuit and create a first conductive bridge across the first gap, the conductive polymer further configured to, in response to the second force on the dual-function button, create a second conductive bridge across the second gap.
4 more elements
A stylus for operating a computing device, comprising:
- a barrel having a writing end and a tail end, the tail end further comprising:
- a printed circuit board (PCB) fixedly mounted within the barrel, the printed circuit board having a first electrode and a second electrode disposed thereon, wherein the first electrode is discontinuous and the second electrode is discontinuous;
- a cap configured for slidable engagement within the barrel;
- an eraser electrode disposed within the cap;
- a conductive resilient body disposed within the cap and separated from the eraser electrode by an insulator, the conductive resilient body moveable with the cap to make surface contact with the first electrode and the second electrode in response to slidable movement of the cap into the barrel;
- and
- a microcontroller unit configured to detect electrical continuity of the first electrode and the second electrode and further configured to output an erase signal in response to detecting electrical continuity of the first electrode and output a wireless signal in response to detecting electrical continuity of the second electrode;
- wherein the electrical continuity of the first electrode occurs in response to a first plunging force on the cap that causes the conductive resilient body to make surface contact with the first electrode and bridge a gap in the first electrode;
- and
- wherein the electrical continuity of the second electrode occurs in response to a second plunging force, greater than the first plunging force, on the cap that causes the conductive resilient body to make surface contact with the second electrode and bridge a gap in the second electrode.
7 more elements
A dual-function tail eraser button for a stylus, comprising:
- a circuit disposed within a barrel of the stylus, the circuit having at least a first electrode and a second electrode disposed thereon, wherein the first electrode comprises a first pair of electrical traces separated by a first gap and the second electrode comprises a second pair of electrical traces separated by a second gap;
- a conductive polymer disposed within a tail end of the stylus and positioned adjacent to the circuit;
- a microcontroller disposed within the barrel of the stylus, the microcontroller configured to detect an electrical continuity of the first electrode and the second electrode, the microcontroller further configured to output a first signal in response to detecting the electrical continuity between the first pair of electrical traces and output a second signal in response to detecting the electrical continuity between the second pair of electrical traces;
- and
- a tail assembly comprising the conductive polymer, the tail assembly configured to move axially relative to the barrel in a plunging direction and a retracting direction, wherein a first plunging force applied to the tail assembly causes the conductive polymer to bridge the first gap thereby creating the electrical continuity between the first pair of electrical traces.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.