Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7522158?dq=5893120
Timestamp: 2016-09-25 19:51:16
Document Index: 296246744

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 300', 'art 300', 'art 300', 'art 300', 'art 500', 'art 500', 'art 500']

Patent US7522158 - Systems, methods, and media for determining the location of a stylus for a ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsMethods for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic device are disclosed. One embodiment provides a method for determining at a first time that a stylus was not returned to a stylus receiver of the portable electronic device and determining last usage information relating to a...http://www.google.com/patents/US7522158?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7522158 - Systems, methods, and media for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic deviceAdvanced Patent SearchTry the new Google Patents, with machine-classified Google Scholar results, and Japanese and South Korean patents.Publication numberUS7522158 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/232,740Publication dateApr 21, 2009Filing dateSep 22, 2005Priority dateSep 22, 2005Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS8059108, US20070063994, US20080179113Publication number11232740, 232740, US 7522158 B2, US 7522158B2, US-B2-7522158, US7522158 B2, US7522158B2InventorsMichael P. Carlson, Linda A. Lisle, Herman RodriguezOriginal AssigneeInternational Business Machines CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (7), Referenced by (8), Classifications (13), Legal Events (4) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetSystems, methods, and media for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic device
US 7522158 B2Abstract
Methods for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic device are disclosed. One embodiment provides a method for determining at a first time that a stylus was not returned to a stylus receiver of the portable electronic device and determining last usage information relating to a last usage of the stylus at a second, earlier time. The method may further include storing by the portable electronic device the determined last usage information and determining stylus location information based on the last usage information. The method may further include providing an indication of the stylus location information to a user. Stylus location information may include one or more of a physical location, a geographic location, a calendar event associated with a last usage, directions to a place of last usage, an application being used at last usage of the stylus, or a user identity.
determining by the portable electronic device at a first time that a stylus was not returned to a stylus receiver of the portable electronic device, determining that a stylus detector did not detect a stylus for a specified period of time;
receiving by the portable electronic device a request for a location of the stylus;
in response to receiving the request for the location of the stylus, determining by the portable electronic device stylus location information based on the last usage information;
The present invention is in the field of portable electronic devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic device.
The problems identified above are in large part addressed by methods for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic device. One embodiment provides a method for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic device. One embodiment provides a method in a data processing system for determining at a first time that a stylus was not returned to a stylus receiver of the portable electronic device and determining last usage information relating to a last usage of the stylus at a second, earlier time. The method may further include storing by the portable electronic device the determined last usage information and determining stylus location information based on the last usage information. The method may further include providing an indication of the stylus location information to a user. Stylus location information may include one or more of a physical location, a geographic location, a calendar event associated with a last usage, directions to a place of last usage, an application being used at last usage of the stylus, or a user identity.
Generally speaking, methods for determining the location of a stylus for a portable electronic device are disclosed. One embodiment provides a method for determining at a first time that a stylus was not returned to a stylus receiver of the portable electronic device and determining last usage information relating to a last usage of the stylus at a second, earlier time. The method may further include storing by the portable electronic device the determined last usage information and determining stylus location information based on the last usage information. The method may further include providing an indication of the stylus location information to a user. Stylus location information may include one or more of a physical location, a geographic location, a calendar event associated with a last usage, directions to a place of last usage, an application being used at last usage of the stylus, or a user identity. (293)removable computer disks, as well as distributed electronically over the Internet or over other networks, including wireless networks. Data structures and transmission of data (including wireless transmission) particular to aspects of the invention are also encompassed within the scope of the invention.
As described previously, a user may provide input to the portable electronic device 100 using a stylus 120 to touch the display 104. Stylus 120 may be any shape or design and made of any material, and may typically be of a cylindrical design similar in shape to a pencil or pen to be ergonomically desirable to a user. In the depicted embodiment, the portable electronic device 100 includes a stylus receiver 106 for holding the stylus 120 when it is not in use. The stylus receiver 106 may be any size depending on the size and shape of the stylus 120 it holds and the available space inside the portable electronic device 100. In one embodiment, the stylus receiver 106 has a friction latch or other device to hold the stylus 120 in place during handling of the portable electronic device 100. The portable electronic device 100 may also have a stylus detector 108 to detect whether or not the stylus 120 is positioned within the stylus receiver 106. In one embodiment, the stylus detector 108 includes a electrical switch that is closed when the stylus 120 is in the stylus receiver 106, completing a circuit and providing a signal when the stylus 120 is properly stored. In this embodiment, the switch would remain open when no stylus 120 is in the stylus receiver 106, breaking the circuit. One skilled in the art will recognize that other mechanisms for determining whether a stylus 120 is in the stylus receiver 106 may also be used. For example, the stylus 120 could have a wireless transmitter and the stylus detector 108 a wireless receiver that allows the stylus detector 108 to detect how close the stylus 120 is to the portable electronic device. Other examples may include visual sensors, a light or laser sensor triggered by a stylus 120 when it crosses the light or laser path, or any other technology.
The stylus location module 212 may determine stylus location information based on the last usage information by translating the last usage information, as necessary, to information which a user may use to find a missing stylus 120. Accordingly, stylus location information may be any information which may provide a user an indication of the location of the stylus 120, such as a physical location (e.g., coordinates), a geographical location (e.g., conference room number, city name, building name, street intersection, etc.), directions from a present location, a calendar entry from the time the stylus 120 was lost (e.g., stylus 120 was lost during dentist appointment, etc.), an application (e.g., stylus 120 was lost while using particular application, etc.), etc.
The stylus location module 212 may interface with other application such as a location determining module 218, a calendar application 220, or a user application 222 in determining stylus location information. The location determining module 218 may use information from the location determining device 114 to determine a location of the portable electronic device 100 at a particular time. If, for example, the last usage information included coordinates of the location where the stylus 120 was last used, the location determining module 212 may convert those coordinates to a format more accessible by a user, such as a city, building, street name, or the like, or may simply use those coordinates. If, on the other hand, the last usage information include a time and date the location determining module 218 may determine stylus location information based on a saved record of locations from the location determining device 114 or other information. A log of last usage information may be kept in an alternative embodiment. In this embodiment, the log may be reset upon the occurrence of certain conditions, such as the reinsertion of the stylus 120 into the stylus receiver 106.
The stylus location module 212 may also interface with other user applications 222 to help it determine stylus location information. User applications 222 may include any type of applications. In one embodiment, the identification of the particular user application 222 being used may prove useful to a user in remembering where a stylus 120 was misplaced. If the stylus location information included a reference to an amateur astronomy program the user had been using the night before with the portable electronic device 100, the user may begin their search in their astronomy equipment or in the area in which they had set up their telescope. In other embodiments, specific information from the user application 222 may help the user in finding their stylus 120. A program used by factory employees on PDAs, for example, may record which assembly line they are working on at a particular time (such as by tying the time of entries to the subject matter of entries). A user provided with stylus location information from a user application 222 that told them that the stylus 120 became missing while they were near assembly line-15, for example, could prove useful in finding the stylus 120 as the area of assembly line-15 likely contains the missing stylus 120. In another example, the stylus location module 212 may interface with a mobile phone (such as via Bluetooth™ or other wireless protocol) to determine the time and identity of a caller from a telephone call at or near the time of last usage. A user could be reminded, for example, that they last used the stylus 120 around the time they talked to their spouse, which they may associate with their ride at home in their car (making their car a likely location for a missing stylus 120). The stylus location module 212 may interface with any type of user application 222 in performing its tasks.
FIG. 3 depicts an example of a flow chart for determining last usage information and providing stylus location information to a user according to one embodiment. The portable electronic device 100 or any of its components, alone or in combination, may perform the method of flow chart 300. Flow chart 300 begins with element 302, determining that the stylus 120 has not been returned to the stylus receiver 106. In one embodiment, the stylus detector module 208 may determine that the stylus 120 has not been returned to the stylus receiver 106 when it should have based on the stylus detector 108 reading as well as other factors, such as passage of a certain amount of time or user actions such as power cycling the portable electronic device 108 on or off. After determining that the stylus 120 may be missing, the stylus usage determiner 210 may determine last usage information at element 304 and then store an indication of the last usage information at element 306. As described previously, last usage information may be any information which provides an indication of the last usage of stylus 120 by the user. Examples of the use of different types of last usage information are described in relation to FIGS. 4 and 5.
To determine the stylus location information, the stylus location module 212 may first access the stored indication of the last usage information at element 314 and then continue to element 316, where the stylus location module 212 determines the stylus location information based on the last usage information. As described previously, the stylus location module 212 may use different methodologies to determine the stylus location information depending on the nature of the last usage information. After determining the stylus location information, flow chart 300 may continue to element 318, where the user output module 216 may provide an indication of the stylus location information to a user via the display 104, playing the information over a speaker 112, printing the information using a printer, or using any other output device. After providing the stylus location information to the user at element 316, flow chart 300 may either terminate or return to element 302 for further processing.
FIG. 5 depicts an example of a flow chart for determining last usage information and providing stylus location information to a user based on a calendar application according to one embodiment. The portable electronic device 100 or any of its components, alone or in combination, may perform the method of flow chart 500. Flow chart 500 begins with element 502, determining that the stylus 120 has not been returned to the stylus receiver 106. Element 502 may be substantially similar to element 302 of FIG. 3 and the discussion will not be repeated. After determining that the stylus 120 may be missing, the stylus usage determiner 210 may determine last usage information at element 504 by determining the time of last usage of the stylus 120 with the portable electronic device 100, which may be the last time the stylus 120 was used to make an entry before the determination that the stylus 120 was not returned at element 502. After determining the time of last usage, flow chart 500 may continue to element 506 where the stylus usage determiner 210 may store the time as last usage information.
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