PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9575573-B2
Application Number: US-201414575740-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Stylus with touch sensor

Abstract:
A stylus may have an elongated body with opposing ends. Electronic equipment may have a touch sensor that receives electromagnetic signals from one or more electrodes. The stylus may have a touch sensor on the elongated body. The touch sensor on the body may have electrodes that gather touch input and optional force input when the fingers of a user touch the stylus. The touch input may include touch gestures in which a user&#39;s fingers move along the length of the stylus and may include rotational information indicative of how the stylus is being rotated between the user&#39;s fingers. The stylus may have a force sensor that monitors how firmly the stylus is being pressed against external surface and may have other input-output devices. The stylus may transition between operating modes based on signals from the force sensor and other input-output devices in the stylus.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A stylus that controls electronic equipment that includes a touch sensor and a display, comprising:
 a body with first and second opposing ends and a tip at the first end that supplies input to the touch sensor in the electronic equipment; 
 a touch sensor that extends along at least some of the body, wherein the body extends along a longitudinal axis and has a circumference, wherein the touch sensor on the body measures finger touch positions around the circumference, wherein the touch sensor includes a first set of electrodes that run parallel to the longitudinal axis and a second set of electrodes that extend around the circumference perpendicular to the first set of electrodes, wherein the first and second sets of electrodes are coupled to touch sensor circuitry in the body, wherein the second set of electrodes gather touch gestures involving finger movements along the longitudinal axis, wherein the first set of electrodes gather touch gestures involving finger movements along the circumference, and wherein the stylus is configured to rotate an image of an object on the display in response to the finger movements along the circumference; and 
 wireless circuitry that includes a radio-frequency transceiver and an antenna, wherein the wireless circuitry wirelessly transmits touch sensor input from the touch sensor on the body to the electronic equipment. 
 
     
     
       2. The stylus defined in  claim 1  further comprising control circuitry that operates the stylus in a first mode in which the touch sensor on the body is enabled and a second mode in which the touch sensor on the body is disabled. 
     
     
       3. The stylus defined in  claim 2  wherein the second set of electrodes measure finger touch positions along the longitudinal axis. 
     
     
       4. The stylus defined in  claim 1 , wherein each electrode in the second set of electrodes extends completely around the circumference. 
     
     
       5. The stylus defined in  claim 4 , wherein each electrode in the first set of electrodes has a length and a width, wherein the length is parallel to the longitudinal axis, wherein the width is parallel to the circumference, and wherein the length is longer than the width. 
     
     
       6. A stylus that provides input to electronic equipment, comprising:
 an elongated body with first and second opposing ends; 
 an electrode at the first end that emits electromagnetic signals that are detected by a touch sensor in the electronic equipment; 
 a touch sensor that extends along at least some of the elongated body, wherein the elongated body extends along a longitudinal axis and has a circumference, wherein the touch sensor has an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes that sense finger movements along the longitudinal axis and finger movements along the circumference, and wherein the finger movements along the circumference are indicative of how the stylus is being rotated; and 
 wireless circuitry that includes a radio-frequency transceiver and an antenna, wherein the wireless circuitry wirelessly transmits touch sensor input from the touch sensor on the elongated body to the electronic equipment. 
 
     
     
       7. The stylus defined in  claim 6  further comprising a force sensor that measures force signals when the first end is pressed against the touch sensor in the electronic equipment. 
     
     
       8. The stylus defined in  claim 7  further comprising control circuitry that, in response to the force signals, switches between a first mode in which the touch sensor on the body is inactive and a second mode in which the touch sensor on the body is active. 
     
     
       9. The stylus defined in  claim 6  wherein the touch sensor comprises at least one force sensor.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to styluses, and, more particularly, to styluses that provide input to external equipment such as equipment with touch screen displays and other touch sensitive devices. 
     Touch sensors are used in equipment such as tablet computers, cellular telephones, and drawing tablets. In many situations, a user may provide touch input by pressing a finger against the surface of a touch sensor. By moving the finger across the sensor, the user may manipulate displayed objects and may provide other input. 
     Touch input may also be provided using computer styluses. A stylus may have an elongated shape with a pointed tip to facilitate drawing and other activities. An electronic device can use a touch sensor to monitor the position of the tip of the stylus. The device can then draw a line on a display or take other suitable action in response to movement of the stylus tip across the sensor. 
     It can be challenging for a user to interact with electronic equipment using a computer stylus. In some situations, a display is not sufficiently large to contain all of a user&#39;s work, so scrolling to different portions of a screen becomes necessary. Scrolling using stylus scrolling wheels or scrolling wheels in other devices such as computer mice can be cumbersome. It can also be difficult use a stylus to perform complex operations such as object rotations, zooming operations, and other operations without requiring a large number of interactions between the stylus and the touch sensor. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide an improved stylus for providing input to electronic equipment. 
     SUMMARY 
     A stylus may have an elongated body with opposing first and second ends. The first end may form a tip that is used in drawing lines and providing other input to a touch sensor in a touch screen display or other electronic equipment. The touch sensor in the electronic equipment may receive electromagnetic signals from one or more electrodes at the first end. 
     The stylus may have a touch sensor on the elongated body. The touch sensor may be a capacitive touch sensor having capacitive touch sensor electrodes. The capacitive touch sensor electrodes may gather touch input when the fingers of a user touch the stylus. The touch input may be wirelessly transmitted to the electronic equipment. The touch input may include touch gestures and other touch input in which a user&#39;s fingers move along the length of the stylus and may include rotational information indicative of how the stylus is being rotated between the user&#39;s fingers. 
     The stylus may have a force sensor that monitors how firmly the stylus is being pressed against an external surface and may have other input-output devices. The stylus may transition between operating modes based on signals from the force sensor and the other input-output devices. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative stylus and electronic equipment with a touch sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a diagram of an illustrative display screen that may be scrolled and used to draw and manipulate on-screen objects using a stylus in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an illustrative stylus and external equipment in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a diagram of a touch sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of a portion of an illustrative stylus body that has been provided with a touch sensor that extends along the length of the stylus and that wraps around the circumference of the stylus in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative stylus touch sensor of the type shown in  FIG. 5  in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is cross-sectional end view of an illustrative stylus with a touch sensor in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a portion of an illustrative stylus having a touch sensor with an electrode pattern that provides longitudinal touch position information in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a portion of an illustrative stylus having a touch sensor with an electrode pattern that provides longitudinal touch position information and information on the position of touch input around the circumference of the stylus in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in gathering and analyzing stylus input to determine whether to transition between operating modes for the stylus and electronic equipment in accordance with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in using stylus input to operate electronic equipment in accordance with an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A stylus may be used to provide input to a touch sensor. The touch sensor may be, for example, a capacitive touch sensor having an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes. The stylus may be a passive stylus having a tip whose position is detected by the touch sensor using the capacitive touch sensor electrodes or may be an active stylus having one or more electrodes that emit electromagnetic signals that are detected using the capacitive touch sensor electrodes. 
     The stylus may have an elongated body. The tip may be located at one end of the body. A passive or active eraser may be located at an opposing end of the body. The stylus may have input-output devices such as buttons, may have force sensors to detect tip and eraser press events, may have an accelerometer to detect motion of the stylus, and may have other input-output devices. 
     A touch sensor may be located on the elongated body. The touch sensor may be a capacitive touch sensor or a touch sensor based on other touch technologies. The touch sensor may have an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes that extend along the length of the body. The electrodes may be patterned to obtain information on the location or locations at which a user is touching the stylus along the length of the body. If desired, the electrodes may also be patterned to obtain information on the location or locations around the circumference of the body at which a user is touching the stylus. In some arrangements, both longitudinal location information and circumferential location information can be gathered. 
     Touch data from the touch sensor on the body of the stylus may be used to gather touch gesture commands from a user (e.g., flicks of the user&#39;s finger along the length of the stylus), may be used to gather information on how the stylus is being rotated between the fingers of the user, and may be used to gather other touch input from the user. 
     Touch input that is gathered from the touch sensor in the stylus may be wirelessly transmitted to external electronic equipment. The electronic equipment may receive the wireless touch sensor input from the stylus and may use the received input to control operation of a drawing application or other software running on the equipment 
     In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 1 , stylus  10  is being used to provide input to external equipment  40 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , equipment  40  may have a front surface such as surface  42 . Surface  42  may include a touch sensor (e.g., an array of capacitive touch screen electrodes or other touch sensor). If desired, surface  42  may also include a display. In some configurations, equipment such as equipment  40  of  FIG. 1  may be an electronic device that does not contain a display (i.e., a device such as a drawing tablet with a touch sensor but no visual output capabilities). In this type of configuration, the touch sensor device may gather touch input, whereas corresponding visual output for the user may be provided using additional electronic equipment such as a separate device with a display. 
     Stylus  10  may have an elongated shape. For example, stylus  10  may have a cylindrical body such as body  12  or may have a body with other suitable shapes (e.g., body  12  may have one or more planar sides, may have an oval cross-sectional shape, etc.). Body  12  may extend along longitudinal axis  24  between opposing ends  14  and  16 . End  14  can be used for supplying touch input to device  40  in connection with performing drawing tasks in a drawing application or performing other touch sensor input tasks. End  14  may sometime be referred to as the drawing end of stylus  10 . End  16  of stylus  10  may be used for providing eraser input to a drawing application or other touch sensor tasks and may sometimes be referred to as the eraser end of stylus  10 . 
     Stylus tip  18  may be formed at end  14  of stylus  10 . Stylus tip  18  may be used to provide touch sensor input to the touch sensor on surface  42  of electronic equipment  40 . For example, stylus tip  18  may be an active tip that provides electromagnetic signals to the touch sensor of equipment  40  using one or more electrodes such as electrodes  20 . The electromagnetic signals supplied by electrodes  20  may be modulated using an amplitude modulation scheme or other suitable modulation scheme. The touch sensor of device  40  may receive the modulated electromagnetic signal using an array of capacitive electrodes and may process the received signals to identify the position of tip  18  on surface  42  in lateral dimensions X and Y. End  16  of stylus  10  may also have an active touch sensor electrode or may have a passive component such as a conductive element that is used in providing eraser touch input when end  16  is adjacent to the touch sensor on surface  42 . 
     Stylus  10  may have force sensors such as force sensors  22  and  30 . Sensors  22  and  30  may be used to detect stylus press events. To provide this type of force-based input, a user may press end  14  or end  16  of stylus  10  against surface  42 . For example, when tip  18  of stylus  10  is resting against surface  42 , the user may move stylus  10  in direction  26  along longitudinal axis  24 . This presses tip  18  against surface  42  and creates a detectable force input to force sensor  22 . Sensor  30  may be activated in the same way by pressing end  16  against surface  42 . 
     Force sensor input may be provided in the form of single press events (e.g., single clicks), may be provided in the form of multiple presses (e.g., double clicks, triple clicks, quadruple clicks, etc.), may be used to provide continuous analog input (e.g., a force signal that varies continuously as a function of applied user force to control audio volume, line width in a drawing application, or other adjustable parameters for device  40 ), or may be combined with other user input to generate commands or other input for stylus  10 . 
     Stylus  10  may include buttons such as button  36 . A user may press button  36  to supply stylus  10  with button press input. If desired, buttons such as button  36  may be omitted from stylus  10  to avoid cluttering the exterior surface of stylus  10 . The use of button  36  in the configuration for stylus  10  that is shown in  FIG. 1  is merely illustrative. 
     Stylus  10  may have one or more motion sensors such as accelerometer  28 . Motion sensors may be located at end  14 , at end  16 , or elsewhere in the body of stylus  10 . In the example of  FIG. 1 , accelerometer  28  is located at end  16  of stylus  10 . 
     Touch sensor  50  may be provided on the surface of body  12  and may be used to detect the position of one or more fingers of the user. Touch sensor  50  may have capacitive sensor electrodes  52 . Electrodes  52  may be patterned in an array along the length of body  12  and/or may be in a circumferential array so that touch sensor  50  provides longitudinal touch position information (touch data such as longitudinal finger position information indicating where sensor  50  is being touched by one or more fingers of a user along longitudinal axis  24 ) and/or circumferential touch position information (touch data such as circumferential finger position information indicating where sensor  50  is being touched around the circumference of stylus  10  by one or more fingers of a user). Single-touch events and multitouch events can be detected using touch sensor  50 . Touch input may be used to manipulate on-screen objects, to change settings within equipment  40 , to supply input to application programs (e.g., drawing applications, games, business presentation programs, etc.), to supply input to an operating system, or to provide input to other software running on equipment  40 . 
     In addition to providing near-field electromagnetic signals from electrodes  20 , stylus  10  may be used to provide external equipment such as equipment  40  with wireless signals  32 . Wireless signals  32  may include Bluetooth® signals, wireless local area signals such as IEEE 802.11 signals, or other radio-frequency wireless signals. Wireless signals  32  may be used to convey touch sensor information from touch sensor  50 , motion information from accelerometer  28 , force information from sensors  22  and/or  30 , information from other sensors, button press information from button  36 , and information from other input-output devices in stylus  10  to external equipment such as equipment  40 . This data may be processed internally by control circuitry in stylus  10  and may be used in adjusting the operation of stylus  10  in addition to controlling external equipment  40 . 
     In general, any software running on stylus  10  and/or external equipment  40  may be controlled using input from stylus  10  (e.g., input gathered by placing tip  18  on a touch sensor in equipment  40 , input gathered from input-output devices in stylus  10 , etc.) Consider, as an example, a situation in which electronic equipment  40  contains a display such as display  54  of  FIG. 2 . Electronic equipment  40  may contain a touch sensor. The touch sensor may be a part of display  54  (i.e., display  54  may be a touch screen display) or the touch sensor may be a stand-alone device. 
     Equipment  40  may gather input from electrodes  20  in tip  18  of stylus  10  using the touch sensor. As shown in  FIG. 2 , this allows tip  18  to be used to draw lines on display  54  such as line  70 . Tip  18  may also be used to interact with selectable on-screen options. For example, display  54  may contain on-screen options  82  (e.g., options to select paint brushes or other drawing tools in a drawing application, options to zoom in and out, etc.). A user may select a desired paint brush or may make other menu selections by using tip  18  to select an appropriate one of options  82  (as an example). 
     Objects such as object  76  may be drawn by tip  18 , may be selected from an on-screen menu, or may be produced by other interactions with the drawing application running on equipment  40 . If desired, object  76  may be rotated about rotational axis  78  or other rotational axis. For example, object  76  may be rotated in directions  80  about axis  78 . With one suitable arrangement, tip  18  may be dragged along the surface of the touch sensor to rotate a portion of object  76  about axis  78 . 
     With another suitable arrangement, touch sensor input from stylus touch sensor  50  may be used to rotate object  76 . For example, touch sensor  50  may be used to gather information on the rotational position of stylus  10  about axis  24  while stylus  10  is being held between an opposing pair of fingers by a user. The rotation of stylus  10  may then be used as an input to control the rotation of object  76  by a corresponding amount. Stylus rotation can also be used as an input to control zooming, brush width, line width or other parameters in a drawing application or other program running on equipment  40 . 
     Stylus touch sensor input from touch sensor  50  may also be used to control scrolling operations for display  54  and other functions for equipment  40 . For example, a user may move a finger up or down the length of body  12 . As the finger passes over touch sensor  50 , the screen that is displayed for the user on display  54  may be scrolled up in direction  72  or down in direction  74  by an amount corresponding to the amount by which the finger was moved. Longitudinal finger movements on stylus  10  (i.e., finger movements along the length of touch sensor  50  parallel to axis  24 ) may be used to control any suitable operation in a drawing application or other program running on equipment  40 . The use of longitudinal finger movements to control scrolling is merely illustrative. 
     If desired, touch sensor  50  may receive touch gestures from a user. For example, gestures such as flicks of the finger up or down the length of sensor  50  may be used to impart scrolling motion to the screen being displayed on equipment  40 . The scrolling motion imparted by a flick gesture may be different than the scrolling motion that is produced when moving the user&#39;s finger slowly and continuously along the length of sensor  50 . For example, a flick gesture may cause the screen to scroll at a rate that is initially fast until slowing to a stop without further input from the user. When a user slowly adjusts the longitudinal position of the user&#39;s finger on sensor  50 , however, the screen may scroll up or down as appropriate and may come to a stop as soon as the finger is removed from the sensor. 
     Sensor  50  (or other portions of stylus  10 ) may incorporate a force sensor. Touch input and/or force input may be used to control operations such as zoom operations. For example, applied force may be measured and used to control how much a displayed image or part of an image is zoomed during drawing. When stylus  10  detects that a user has pinched or gripped stylus  10  tightly (e.g., when applied squeezing force to sensor  50  is detected by a force sensor structure in sensor  50 ), the amount of drawing precision that is provided to the user may be adjusted. A user may also zoom in or out by exerting more or less force on the force sensor structures of sensor  50 . Force sensor input and/or touch input may, if desired, be used to implement an invisible button for turning on/off a hover mode or for enabling functionalities such as a spray air pen function. Force sensor and/or touch input may also be used to perform click and pinch operations (e.g., clicking and pinching operations can be used to “pick up” an object and when combined with the inertial sensor data (e.g., from a sensor such as sensor  28 ), this input may be used for manipulating objects off screen. 
     Other operating parameters may be adjusted using gestures and/or other touch sensor inputs if desired (e.g., audio volume, screen brightness, hue/contrast settings, or any other setting in a program operating on equipment  40 ). The use of touch sensor gestures to adjust screen position (scrolling, etc.) is merely illustrative. 
     A schematic diagram of an illustrative stylus with a touch sensor is shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , stylus  10  may have control circuitry  60 . Control circuitry  60  may include storage and processing circuitry for supporting the operation of stylus  10 . The storage and processing circuitry may include nonvolatile memory (e.g., flash memory or other electrically-programmable-read-only memory configured to form a solid state drive), volatile memory (e.g., static or dynamic random-access-memory), etc. Processing circuitry in control circuitry  60  may be used to control the operation of stylus  10 . The processing circuitry may be based on one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, baseband processors, power management units, audio chips, application specific integrated circuits, etc. 
     Input-output circuitry  62  in stylus  10  may include input-output devices  64  and wireless circuitry  71 . 
     Input-output devices  64  may be used to allow data to be supplied to stylus  10  and to allow data to be provided from stylus  10  to external devices. Input-output devices  64  may include buttons such as buttons  36 . Buttons  36  may include mechanical buttons and non-mechanical buttons and may be used in gathering button press information from a user. Input-output devices  64  may also include status indicators  77  such as light-emitting diodes and other devices that provide status output to a user. Active stylus electrodes  20  may be used to provide near-field electromagnetic signals to a capacitive touch sensor in external equipment. 
     Input-output devices  64  may include sensors  66 . Sensors  66  may include force sensors  68 . Force sensors  68  may include a force sensor at end  14  of stylus  10  such as force sensor  22  and/or a force sensor at end  16  of stylus  10  such as force sensor  30 . Sensors  66  may also include a motion sensor such as accelerometer  28  or other sensor that can sense the motion and position of stylus  10 . Touch sensor  50  may be used to gather touch input from a user&#39;s finger or other external objects. Touch sensor  50  may be a capacitive touch sensor having an array of capacitive touch sensor electrodes  52  or may be a touch sensor based on other touch technologies (e.g., resistive touch, force-based touch, light-based touch, acoustic touch, etc.). If desired, touch sensor  50  may incorporate force sensing (pressure sensing structures). For example, piezoelectric force sensor structures may be included in touch sensor  50  or in the vicinity of touch sensor  50 , strain-gauge force sensor structures such as force sensors based on resistive strain gauges may be incorporated into touch sensor  50  or stylus  10  in the vicinity of touch sensor  50 , electrodes in touch sensor  50  may be configured to flex inward under pressure (e.g., so that capacitance changes can be measured that are reflective of how much force is being applied to touch sensor  50 ), or other force sensor structures may be incorporated into stylus  10  (e.g., as part of touch sensor  50 , in a portion of stylus  10  that is overlapped by touch sensor  50 , or elsewhere in stylus  10 ). 
     Sensors  66  may also include additional sensors such as a temperature sensor, an ambient light sensor, a light-based proximity sensor, a magnetic sensor, pressure sensor, and/or other sensors. Input-output devices  64  may, if desired, include microphones, speakers, tone generators, vibrators, cameras, data ports, and other equipment. A user can control the operation of stylus  10  and the external equipment with which stylus  10  interacts by supplying commands through input-output devices  64  and may receive status information and other output from stylus  10  using the output resources of input-output devices  64 . 
     Control circuitry  60  may be used to run software on stylus  10  that controls the operation of stylus  10 . During operation of stylus  10 , the software running on control circuitry  60  may process sensor input, button input, and input from other devices  64  to monitor touch sensor input from touch sensor  50 , and other user input. The software running on control circuitry  60  may detect user commands and may communicate with external equipment. 
     To support wireless communications with external equipment  40  using wireless signals  44 , stylus  10  may include active stylus electrodes  20  and wireless circuitry  71 . Wireless circuitry  71  may include a radio-frequency transceiver such as transceiver  75 . Wireless circuitry  71  may also include one or more antennas such as antenna  73 . Transceiver  75  may transmit and/or receive wireless signals using antenna  73 . The wireless signals may be Bluetooth® signals, IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network signals, long range signals such as cellular telephone signals, near-field communications signals, or other wireless signals. 
     External equipment  40  may include one or more electronic devices having components such as touch sensor  84  and display  54 . Touch sensor  84  may be a capacitive touch sensor, a resistive touch sensor, an acoustic touch sensor, a force-based touch sensor, an optical touch sensor, a touch sensor that uses other touch technologies, or a touch sensor that uses two or more of these types of touch sensor structures. Display  54  may be a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode display, an electrophoretic display, an electrowetting display, or any other suitable type of display. Display  54  may be a touch screen display (e.g., a display that incorporates touch sensor  84 ) or may be insensitive to touch. 
     In some configurations, touch sensor  84  and display  54  may be implemented in separate devices. For example, touch sensor  84  may form part of a drawing tablet without a display and display  54  may form part of a computer monitor or other equipment without a touch sensor. Configurations in which equipment  40  includes other combinations of touch sensors and displays may also be used. For example, stylus  10  may be used to provide input to a tablet computer, cellular telephone, or computer through a touch screen display while also providing wireless input to control a computer or other device with a display with an optional touch sensor or while providing input to the tablet computer, cellular telephone, or computer with the touch screen display. 
     Stylus  10  may be provided with sufficient capabilities to gather multiple different types of input. For example, tip  18  of stylus  10  may be used to provide input to a touch sensor for drawing lines on display  54  and otherwise controlling equipment  40 , whereas touch sensor  50  may be used to gather touch input from a user&#39;s fingers (e.g., to receive touch gestures or other touch input). A user of a drawing program may use tip  18  of stylus  10  to draw lines that form on-screen objects. When it is desired to rotate or tilt the object, the user can use touch sensor  50  in stylus  10  to perform appropriate on-screen object rotation and/or tilt operations. Touch sensor  50  may also be used to scroll a displayed screen of content on equipment  40 , etc. 
       FIG. 4  is a top view of an illustrative array of touch sensor electrodes  52 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , touch sensor  50  may include touch sensor circuitry  90 . Touch sensor circuitry  90  may operate touch sensor  50  in a self-capacitance configuration or a mutual capacitance configuration. For example, touch sensor  50  may be a mutual capacitance touch sensor in which drive signals are applied to a first set of electrodes and in which corresponding sense signals are monitored on a second set of electrodes. The first and second sets of electrodes may have elongated strip shapes that extend perpendicular to each other (as shown by illustrative electrodes  52 - 1  and  52 - 2 ) or may have other patterns (crosses, diamonds, arrays of squares, interspersed lines and rectangles, etc.). In some configurations electrodes  52  are formed on upper and lower layers of a dielectric substrate. In other configurations, electrodes  52  are formed on a single surface of a substrate. 
     A touch sensor array formed from electrodes  52  of  FIG. 4  may be implemented on a flexible substrate that is wrapped around the surface of body  12 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . Electrodes  52 - 1  (e.g., metal electrodes) may run along the length of body  12 . Electrodes  52 - 2  may be rings of metal or other conductive material that extend around the circumference of body  12 . Arrangements of the type shown in  FIG. 5  allow touch sensor  50  to sense the position of a user&#39;s finger(s)  100  both along axis  24  and around the circumference of body  12 . 
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional side view of a portion of stylus  10  in the vicinity of sensor  50 . In the illustrative configuration of  FIG. 6 , sensor  50  has overlapping electrodes  52 - 1  and  52 - 2 . Electrodes  52 - 1  run parallel to axis  24 . Electrodes  52 - 2  extend around the circumference of stylus  10  perpendicular to electrodes  52 - 1 . Dielectric layer  102  (e.g., plastic, etc.) may be used to separate electrodes  52 - 1  and  52 - 2 . Body  12  may be formed from plastic or other materials that serve as a support structure for touch sensor  50 . 
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional end view of stylus  10  taken through sensor  50  showing how electrodes  52 - 2  may be used to measure the position of finger(s)  100  around the circumference of stylus  10 , (circumferential distance  104 ). The positions of two fingers may be simultaneously gathered and used to determine how a user is rotating stylus  10  about axis  24 . As described in connection with  FIG. 2 , measurement of the rotation of stylus  10  about axis  24  with sensor  50  allows stylus  10  to control the rotation of on-screen objects and to otherwise control equipment  40 . 
     Another illustrative pattern for touch sensor electrodes  52  of touch sensor  50  of stylus  10  is shown in the perspective view of  FIG. 8 . In the example of  FIG. 8 , touch sensor electrodes  52 - 1  and  52 - 2  both run around the entire circumference of stylus  10 , so no rotational position information is being gathered. Rather, electrodes  52 - 1  and  52 - 2  of  FIG. 8  are used to gather longitudinal position information (i.e., information on the location of the user&#39;s fingers along axis  24 ). 
     In the example of  FIG. 9 , touch sensor  50  has an array of electrodes  52  that include cross-shaped electrodes  52 - 2  and square electrodes  52 - 1 . Electrodes  52 - 1  and  52 - 2  of  FIG. 9  are interspersed with each other in an array. This type of pattern allows both longitudinal position information and circumferential position information to be gathered. Other types of pattern may be used if desired. If desired, the spacing of the touch sensor electrodes may vary as a function of length along axis  24  (e.g., to increase touch sensor accuracy in certain locations of sensor  50 ), etc. The examples of  FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9  are merely illustrative. 
     It may be desirable to operate stylus  10  and equipment  40  in multiple operating modes. For example, it may be desirable to suppress touch input touch sensor  50  when tip  18  is being used to draw lines on equipment  40 . In other situations, it may be desirable to disable touch sensor input from tip  18  to touch sensor  84  in equipment  40  while touch gestures are being supplied to touch sensor  50  or when touch sensor  50  is being used to gather rotational commands or longitudinal touch data. 
     Any suitable mode switching criteria may be used to determine whether to transition between operating modes. For example, stylus  10  and equipment  40  may be directed to transition between modes when the user presses tip  18  against equipment  40 . Stylus  10  may also transition out of drawing mode whenever tip  18  is lifted from touch sensor  84 . Modes may also be switched based on other criteria such as button presses from button  36 , presses of eraser end  16  of stylus  10  against a surface to actuate force sensor  30 , detected shakes of stylus  10  (to provide input to accelerometer  28 ), etc. Mode switching may also be performed when environmental criteria are satisfied (e.g., when a predetermined time and date are reached, when ambient light levels, temperature levels, pressure levels, or other environmental parameters fall within predetermined limits, or when other mode switching criteria are satisfied). Combinations of user input and environmental factors may also be used. 
     Illustrative steps involved in gathering user input and in analyzing the gathered input to determine whether or not to switch operating modes for stylus  10  are shown in  FIG. 10 . 
     At step  200 , control circuitry  60  of stylus  10  is used to gather input to stylus  10  and to analyze the gathered input to determine whether or not to change the operating mode of stylus  10 . 
     During the operations of step  202 , stylus  10  may monitor force sensors such as sensors  22  and  30 . In some situations, a user will be holding stylus  10  between the user&#39;s fingers. In this type of situation, it may be convenient for the user to press tip  18  or end  16  of stylus  10  against equipment  80  or other object. When pressed in this way, the force sensor signal may exceed a predetermined amount, indicating that a mode change is desired. A single press on tip  18  (or end  16 ) may be used to invoke a mode change or other patterns of tip presses may be used (e.g. one pattern of presses may be used to invoke a first mode of operation and another pattern of presses may be used to invoke a distinct second mode of operation). 
     At step  204 , stylus  10  may monitor button activity. For example stylus  10  may use control circuitry  60  to determine whether button  36  of  FIG. 1  has been pressed and/or has been pressed in a particular pattern. 
     At step  206 , stylus  10  may monitor sensor  28  to determine whether stylus  10  has been moved by more than a particular amount or in a particular pattern. As an example, stylus  10  may use sensor  28  to determine whether a user has shaken stylus  10  by more than a predetermined amount and/or may use sensor  28  to monitor for a predetermined pattern of shakes (e.g., three rapid shakes in succession, a circular motion, a flick of end  16  in the air, or other movement pattern that is indicative of a mode change command). 
     At step  208 , stylus  10  may use circuitry  60  to monitor for input from touch sensor  50  and other input-output devices  64 . 
     At step  210 , information gathered from input-output devices  64  may be analyzed to determine whether the user of stylus  10  is directing stylus  10  to change its operating mode. Control circuitry  60  may be configured to recognize patterns in the inputs gathered during steps such as steps  202 ,  204 ,  206 , and  208 . For example, a pattern of force sensor signals arising from a particular pattern of presses against stylus tip  18  (or end  16 ) may be associated with a predetermined operating mode, a pattern of movements of end  16  (e.g. by waving stylus  10  in the air in with a particular motion) may be associated with a predetermined operating mode, button presses of particular patterns and information from other input-output devices, touch sensor inputs to touch sensor  50  such as particular touch gestures may be associated with a predetermined operating mode, or patterns of two or more of these inputs may be associated with a command to enter a particular operating mode. 
     At step  212 , control circuitry  60  may change the operating mode of stylus  10  and/or equipment  40  based on the inputs analyzed during the operations of step  210 . Mode change commands may be mode specific. For example, a user may enter a touch sensor mode in which touch sensor  50  is in active use by pressing down on tip  18  once, may enter a drawing mode in which tip  18  is active and sensor  50  is disabled by pressing down on tip  18  twice, etc. Mode change commands may also be generic. For example, whenever a double press on tip  18  is detected, stylus  10  may switch to another operating mode. 
       FIG. 11  is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in operating stylus  10  and equipment  40 . 
     At step  300 , stylus  10  and equipment  40  may be operated in a first mode. Input device signals in stylus  10  such as accelerometer signals, touch sensor signals, button press signals, force sensor signals, and other signals from input-output devices  64  may be monitored and these signals may be wirelessly transmitted to equipment  40  to serve as an input to control equipment  40 . During the first operating mode, touch sensor  50  may be enabled and may gather touch input from a user&#39;s fingers. If desired, some functions may be suppressed. For example, touch input by touch sensor  84  and/or signal emission by electrodes  20  may be suppressed to avoid inadvertent input to equipment  40  with tip  18  while touch commands are being supplied to touch sensor  50 . During the first mode of operation, input-output devices  64  may be monitored to determine whether or not predetermined mode switching criteria have been satisfied, as described in connection with  FIG. 10 . 
     In response to a determination by control circuitry  60  that the operating mode should be switched, touch sensor  50  may be disabled, electrodes  20  may be activated, and other adjustments to the operating settings of stylus  10  and/or equipment  40  may be made (step  302 ). 
     Following the operations of step  302 , stylus  10  and equipment  40  may be operated in a second operating mode (step  304 ). Input-output devices  64  may gather signals that are wirelessly transmitted to equipment  40  to serve as input for controlling equipment  40 . During the operations of step  304 , touch sensor  50  may be disabled but other resources such as electrodes  20  may be enabled. Electrodes  20  may emit signals that are detected by touch sensor  84  in equipment  40 , which allows a user to draw lines on display  54  and perform other actions using tip  18 . Mode switching criteria may be monitored using the operations of  FIG. 10 . 
     In response to a determination by control circuitry  60  that the operating mode should be switched away from the second mode, touch sensor  50  may be enabled, electrodes  20  may be disabled, and/or other operating settings for stylus  10  and/or equipment  40  may be adjusted (step  306 ). Operation may then return to the first mode (step  300 ). 
     If desired, stylus  10  and/or equipment  40  may operate in three or more different operating modes. The example of  FIG. 11  in which stylus  10  toggles between a first state in which touch sensor  50  is active and a second state in which touch sensor  50  is inactive is merely illustrative. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The foregoing embodiments may be implemented individually or in any combination.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20141218
Publication Date: 20170221
Grant Date: 20170221
Priority Date: 20141218
Inventors: CHANG RAY L.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "G06F3/0383", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1694", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/0384", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/03545", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/03545", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1694", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/03545", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0383", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/0384", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1694", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0383", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F3/0442", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F2203/0384", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 55519558