# US 12,216,867 B2 · Electronic pen, input system, and pen pressure adjustment method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,216,867 B2 - Document ID: US12216867B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/361,581 - Filed: 2023-07-28 - Published: 2024-04-04 - Granted: 2025-02-04 - Earliest claimed: 2022-09-30 - Assignees: Wacom Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Wacom Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Takeshi Koike - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12216867B2 ## CPC - G06F 3/0441: {using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for receiving changes in electrical potential transmitted by the digitiser, e.g. tablet driving signals} - G06F 3/03545: {Pens or stylus} - G06F 3/041: Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means - G06F 3/04162: {for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware} - G06F 3/0418: {for error correction or compensation, e.g. based on parallax, calibration or alignment} - G06F 3/0383: {Signal control means within the pointing device} - G06F 3/0442: {using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser} - G06F 2203/04108: Touchless 2D- digitiser, i.e. digitiser detecting the X/Y position of the input means, finger or stylus, also when it does not touch, but is proximate to the digitiser's interaction surface without distance measurement in the Z direction - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract An electronic pen is provided which indicates a position on a plane-shaped sensor through communication with an electronic device including the plane-shaped sensor. The electronic pen includes a reception circuit configured to receive a signal transmitted from the electronic device, a pen pressure sensor configured to output a detection signal correlated with an amount of pen pressure exerted on a pen tip of the electronic pen, and a value conversion circuit configured to convert, according to a conversion rule, a detection value indicated by the detection signal output from the pen pressure sensor, into a conversion value indicating a magnitude of the amount of pen pressure. The value conversion circuit adjusts, according to a strength of the signal received by the reception circuit, rising sensitivity at which the amount of pen pressure transitions from zero to non-zero on a conversion characteristic curve identified by the conversion rule. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An electronic pen that indicates a position on a plane-shaped sensor through communication with an electronic device including the plane-shaped sensor, the electronic pen comprising: a reception circuit configured to receive a signal transmitted from the electronic device; a pen pressure sensor configured to output a detection signal correlated with an amount of pen pressure exerted on a pen tip of the electronic pen; and a value conversion circuit configured to convert, according to a conversion rule, a detection value indicated by the detection signal output from the pen pressure sensor, into a conversion value indicating a magnitude of the amount of pen pressure, wherein the value conversion circuit adjusts, according to a strength of the signal received by the reception circuit, rising sensitivity at which the amount of pen pressure transitions from zero to non-zero on a conversion characteristic curve identified by the conversion rule, where the conversion characteristic curve is expressed on a coordinate system with the detection value as a first axis and the conversion value as a second axis. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The electronic pen according to claim 1, wherein the value conversion circuit relatively increases the rising sensitivity as the strength of the received signal increases, while relatively decreasing the rising sensitivity as the strength of the received signal decreases. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The electronic pen according to claim 1, wherein the value conversion circuit adjusts the rising sensitivity by moving, along the first axis, a position of an inflection point at which the amount of pen pressure transitions from zero to non-zero. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The electronic pen according to claim 1, wherein the value conversion circuit adjusts the rising sensitivity by changing a slope at an inflection point at which the amount of pen pressure transitions from zero to non-zero. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The electronic pen according to claim 1, wherein the conversion value is defined such that the amount of pen pressure increases linearly as the conversion value increases. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The electronic pen according to claim 1, further comprising: a characteristic update circuit configured to update the conversion characteristic curve, wherein the value conversion circuit adjusts the rising sensitivity on the conversion characteristic curve updated by the characteristic update circuit. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The electronic pen according to claim 6, wherein the characteristic update circuit acquires a plurality of sample values, each of which is a sample of the detection value, and determines and updates the conversion characteristic curve based on statistics related to the plurality of sample values. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The electronic pen according to claim 7, wherein the conversion characteristic curve is determined such that the detection value corresponding to an inflection point at which the amount of pen pressure transitions from zero to non-zero is equal to or greater than a maximum value of the plurality of sample values, regardless of the strength of the received signal. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The electronic pen according to claim 7, wherein the conversion characteristic curve is determined based on a maximum value of the strength of the received signal acquired by the reception circuit in a past. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The electronic pen according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of sample values represent a set of detection values each indicated by the detection signal sequentially output from the pen pressure sensor while the strength of the received signal is smaller than a threshold value. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The electronic pen according to claim 7, wherein the plurality of sample values represent a set of detection values each indicated by the detection signal sequentially output from the pen pressure sensor upon a start of a communication session with the electronic device. ### Claim 12 (depends on 6) The electronic pen according to claim 6, wherein the characteristic update circuit updates the conversion characteristic curve for each communication session with the electronic device. ### Claim 13 An input system comprising: an electronic device including a plane-shaped sensor; and an electronic pen that indicates a position on the plane-shaped sensor through communication with the electronic device, wherein the electronic pen includes: a reception circuit configured to receive a signal transmitted from the electronic device, a pen pressure sensor configured to output a detection signal correlated with an amount of pen pressure exerted on a pen tip of the electronic pen, and a value conversion circuit configured to convert, according to a conversion rule, a detection value indicated by the detection signal output from the pen pressure sensor, into a conversion value indicating a magnitude of the amount of pen pressure, and the value conversion circuit adjusts, according to a strength of the signal received by the reception circuit, rising sensitivity at which the amount of pen pressure transitions from zero to non-zero on a conversion characteristic curve identified by the conversion rule, where the conversion characteristic curve is expressed on a coordinate system with the detection value as a first axis and the conversion value as a second axis. ### Claim 14 A pen pressure adjustment method related to an electronic pen that indicates a position on a plane-shaped sensor through communication with an electronic device including the plane-shaped sensor, the pen pressure adjustment method comprising: by the electronic pen, receiving a signal transmitted from the electronic device; outputting a detection signal correlated with an amount of pen pressure exerted on a pen tip of the electronic pen; converting, according to a conversion rule, a detection value indicated by the output detection signal into a conversion value indicating a magnitude of the amount of pen pressure; and adjusting, according to a strength of the received signal, rising sensitivity at which the amount of pen pressure transitions from zero to non-zero on a conversion characteristic curve identified by the conversion rule, where the conversion characteristic curve is expressed on a coordinate system with the detection value as a first axis and the conversion value as a second axis.