Capacitive stylus
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- TW · TW
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- BENQ CORP
- Filing Date
- 2025-01-03
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-16
AI Technical Summary
Traditional capacitive styluses can only provide a single capacitive sensing change to output operation commands, requiring manual selection on the touch panel to change the nature of the command, which is inconvenient.
A capacitive stylus with a conductive module featuring a first and second end, a pen body, and a control unit, allowing for different operation commands by varying the contact and separation of these components with the touch panel, utilizing capacitive sensing changes without needing panel settings.
Enables diverse operation commands without requiring panel settings, providing a more intuitive and efficient user experience by allowing capacitive sensing changes through the stylus's design.
Smart Images
Figure TWG2TA001067735_001 
Figure TWG2TA001067735_002 
Figure TWG2TA001067735_003
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention provides a capacitive stylus, and more particularly a capacitive stylus capable of applying a variety of operation commands. [Previous Technology]
[0002] Traditional capacitive styluses utilize the capacitive sensing change generated when the stylus tip contacts the touch panel to calculate the precise position and movement trajectory of the stylus tip on the touch panel, thereby translating this precise position and movement trajectory into operation commands to control the touch panel applications. However, traditional capacitive styluses can only simply calculate the precise position and movement trajectory of the stylus tip on the touch panel to write text or draw patterns; to change it to an erase function, the corresponding program needs to be selected on the touch panel to erase text or patterns according to the stylus tip's movement trajectory. In other words, traditional capacitive styluses can only provide a single capacitive sensing change to output operation commands; if the nature of the operation command needs to be changed (e.g., from writing to erasing), the relevant settings must be made on the touch panel, which is extremely inconvenient to use. [Summary of the Invention]
[0003] The present invention provides a capacitive stylus capable of applying various operation commands to solve the above-mentioned problems.
[0004] The scope of this patent application discloses a capacitive stylus applied to a touch panel. The capacitive stylus includes a stylus body and a conductive module. The stylus body has an opening structure, a stylus tip, and a stylus tail. The opening structure is located between the stylus tip and the stylus tail. The conductive module includes a first end portion, a stylus body portion, and a control portion. The first end portion is disposed at the stylus tip or the stylus tail end and is used to contact the touch panel to generate an operation command. The stylus body portion is movably disposed within the stylus body. The control portion is disposed at the opening structure and connected to the stylus body portion, and is used to control the stylus body portion to contact or separate from the first end portion.
[0005] The capacitive stylus of the present invention has a first end, a second end, a pen body, and a control unit placed at different positions on the pen body. The first end and the second end are fixed to the pen tip and pen tail of the pen body, respectively, and the pen body can contact or separate from the first end and the second end along with the control unit. The first end and the second end of the capacitive stylus can contact the touch panel respectively, generating different operation commands due to their material properties; the pen body can selectively contact or separate from the first end and the second end, or an external object can contact or separate from the control unit, using the resulting capacitive sensing changes to further provide more types of operation commands.
Implementation Method
[0006] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the capacitive stylus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 2 is an exploded view of the components of the capacitive stylus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The capacitive stylus 10 is applied to a touch panel and can be used to write text, draw patterns, or control applications on the touch surface of the touch panel; touch panels are common touch devices and are therefore not shown in the figures. The capacitive stylus 10 may include a pen body 12 and a conductive module 14. The conductive module 14 is disposed within the pen body 12 and can provide touch interfaces at both ends and the middle of the pen body 12, so that the capacitive stylus 10 can provide various operation command variations.
[0007] The pen body 12 may have an opening structure 16, a pen tip 18, and a pen tail 20. The opening structure 16 is located between the pen tip 18 and the pen tail 20; generally, the opening structure 16 is located where the user's thumb rests when holding the pen body 12, but practical applications are not limited to this. The conductive module 14 may optionally include a first end 22, a second end 24, a pen body 26, and a control unit 28. The first end 22 may be the pen tip 18 or the pen tail 20. The second end 24 may be the pen tip 18 or the pen tail 20. In one embodiment, the first end 22 and the second end 24 are preferably respectively disposed at the pen tip 18 and the pen tail 20; the positions of the first end 22 and the second end 24 can be interchanged, and their shapes will be determined according to the corresponding shape of the placement position (such as placed at the pen tip 18 or the pen tail 20).
[0008] The pen body 26 is movably disposed in a hollow area within the pen body 12, while the control unit 28 is disposed in the opening structure 16 and connected to the pen body 26. In other words, the pen body 26 can be disposed or hidden within the pen body 12; the control unit 28 can be partially exposed within the opening structure 16 for user pressing operation, while another part of the control unit 28 is disposed or hidden within the pen body 12 to connect with the pen body 26 to achieve a linkage function. Among them, the first end 22, the pen body 26, and the control unit 28 can be selectively made entirely or partially of conductive material, while the second end 24 is preferably made of conductive material according to the design requirements of the capacitive stylus 10, but can still be made of non-conductive material depending on the application requirements.
[0009] In this invention, the first end 22 and the second end 24 are the operating contact surfaces of the capacitive stylus 10, and therefore can be made of rubber, preferably conductive rubber, such as silicone, nanofiber, graphene compound, ABS conductive composite material, or other materials with conductor or semiconductor properties; the pen body 26 and the control part 28 can be made of metal, such as pure metals or metal compound materials like silver, annealed copper, and aluminum alloy, but practical applications are not limited to these. Correspondingly, due to the characteristics of the rubber material, the conductivity of the first end 22 and the second end 24 is preferably lower than the conductivity of the metal material of the pen body 26 and / or the control part 28; however, practical applications are not limited to these. In addition, the user mainly operates the capacitive stylus 10 by pressing the control part 28. Therefore, the hardness of the control part 28 is preferably greater than that of the pen body 26 to provide a comfortable feel. The hardness of the pen body 26 is preferably greater than that of the first end 22 and / or the second end 24, so that the pen body 26 can generate appropriate force feedback when it is pushed against the first end 22 or the second end 24.
[0010] Please refer to Figures 3 to 8, which are schematic diagrams of the capacitive stylus 10 of the present invention at different operation stages. In a preferred embodiment, the first end 22 may be disposed at the pen tip 18, used to contact the touch panel to generate operation commands when the user holds the capacitive stylus 10 in a forward-facing position; the second end 24 is disposed at the pen tail 20, and the user may hold the capacitive stylus 10 in a reverse-facing position so that the second end 24 contacts the touch panel to generate other operation commands. The user may push the control unit 28 to cause the pen body 26 to contact or separate the first end 22 and the second end 24, thereby generating diverse operation commands.
[0011] The present invention configures a first end 22, a second end 24, a pen body 26, and a control unit 28 in the conductive module 14 of the capacitive stylus 10, and provides different capacitive sensing changes by changing their positions. For example, the capacitive stylus 10 of the present invention can provide at least the following sensing examples, but the actual application is not limited to these. As shown in Figure 3, when the user holds the capacitive stylus 10 in a forward position and pushes the control unit 28 forward (i.e., close to the pen tip 18), the first end 22 contacts the touch panel, the pen body 26 remains in the position of contacting the first end 22, and the control unit 28 is not pressured by external objects (such as the user's finger). In this sensing example, the touch panel will generate corresponding operation commands under the influence of the first end 22, the pen body 26, and the control unit 28 for writing text, drawing patterns, and / or controlling applications.
[0012] As shown in Figure 4, the user still holds the capacitive stylus 10 upright and pushes the control unit 28 forward. At this time, the first end 22 contacts the touch panel, the pen body 26 remains in the position of contacting the first end 22, and the control unit 28 is continuously pressed by an external object (such as the user's finger). In this sensing example, the touch panel will generate corresponding operation commands due to the influence of the first end 22, the pen body 26, the control unit 28, and the external object. As shown in Figure 5, the user holds the capacitive stylus 10 upright so that the first end 22 contacts the touch panel, and the control unit 28 is positioned in the middle of the opening structure 16 so that the pen body 26 separates from the first end 22. In this sensing example, the touch panel generates corresponding operation commands due to the influence of the first end 22. In the sensing example in Figure 5, the user can also quickly push the control unit 28 back and forth so that the pen body 26 quickly separates after contacting the first end 22. The corresponding operation commands generated in this sensing example can achieve the effect of a mouse click.
[0013] As shown in Figure 6, when the user holds the capacitive stylus 10 in reverse and pushes the control unit 28 towards the end 20 of the stylus, the second end 24 contacts the touch panel, the stylus body 26 remains in the position of contacting the second end 24, and the control unit 28 is not subjected to pressure from external objects (such as the user's finger). In this sensing example, the touch panel generates corresponding operation commands due to the influence of the second end 24, the stylus body 26, and the control unit 28. As shown in Figure 7, when the user still holds the capacitive stylus 10 in reverse and pushes the control unit 28 towards the end 20 of the stylus, the second end 24 contacts the touch panel, the stylus body 26 remains in the position of contacting the second end 24, and the control unit 28 is subjected to continuous pressure from external objects (such as the user's finger). In this sensing example, the touch panel generates corresponding operation commands due to the influence of the second end 24, the stylus body 26, the control unit 28, and the external object.
[0014] As shown in Figure 8, the user holds the capacitive stylus 10 in reverse so that the second end 24 contacts the touch panel. The control unit 288 is positioned in the middle of the opening structure 16, causing the pen body 26 to separate from the second end 24. In this sensing example, the touch panel generates corresponding operation commands based on the influence of the second end 24. In the sensing example in Figure 8, the user can also quickly push the control unit 28 back and forth, causing the pen body 26 to quickly separate after contacting the second end 24. The corresponding operation commands generated in this sensing example can achieve the effect of a mouse click.
[0015] In summary, the capacitive stylus of the present invention has a first end, a second end, a pen body, and a control unit placed at different positions on the pen body. The first end and the second end are fixed to the pen tip and pen tail of the pen body, respectively, and the pen body can contact or separate from the first end and the second end along with the control unit. The first end and the second end of the capacitive stylus can respectively contact the touch panel, generating different operation commands due to their material properties; the pen body can selectively contact or separate from the first end and the second end, or an external object can contact or separate from the control unit, using the resulting capacitive sensing changes to further provide more types of operation commands. Compared with the prior art, the capacitive stylus of the present invention does not require related settings on the touch panel; it can provide various capacitive sensing changes to generate diverse operation commands simply by using the operation of the control unit. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and all equivalent changes and modifications made within the scope of the claims of the present invention should be included in the scope of the present invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]
[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the capacitive stylus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded view of the components of the capacitive stylus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 3 to 8 are schematic diagrams of the capacitive stylus according to an embodiment of the present invention at different operation stages.
Claims
1. A capacitive stylus for use in a touch panel, the capacitive stylus comprising: a stylus body having an open structure, a stylus tip and a stylus tail, the open structure being located between the stylus tip and the stylus tail; and a conductive module comprising: a first end portion disposed at the stylus tip or the stylus tail for contacting the touch panel to generate an operation command; a stylus body movably disposed within the stylus body; and a control unit disposed at the open structure and connected to the stylus body for controlling the stylus body to contact or separate from the first end portion.
2. The capacitive stylus as described in claim 1, wherein the control portion, and / or the first end portion, and / or the pen body are made of a conductive material.
3. The capacitive stylus as described in claim 1, wherein the conductive module further includes a second end portion disposed at a position different from the first end portion between the pen tip end and the pen tail end.
4. The capacitive stylus as described in claim 3, wherein the first end is disposed at the tip end and the second end is disposed at the tail end.
5. The capacitive stylus as described in claim 3, wherein the control unit is further configured to control the pen body to contact or separate from the second end.
6. The capacitive stylus as described in claim 3, wherein the hardness of the stylus body is greater than the hardness of the first end and / or the second end; and / or the hardness of the control portion is greater than the hardness of the stylus body.
7. The capacitive stylus as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the first end contacts the touch panel, the stylus body remains in a position contacting the first end, and the control unit is not subjected to pressure from an external object; and / or when the first end contacts the touch panel, the stylus body remains in a position contacting the first end, and the control unit is subjected to continuous pressure from the external object; and / or when the first end contacts the touch panel, the control unit holds the stylus body in a position away from the first end; and / or when the first end contacts the touch panel, the control unit drives the stylus body to switch back and forth between the two positions of contacting and separating from the first end.
8. The capacitive stylus as described in claim 3, wherein when the second end contacts the touch panel, the stylus body remains in a position of contact with the second end, and the control unit is not subjected to pressure from an external object; and / or when the second end contacts the touch panel, the stylus body remains in a position of contact with the second end, and the control unit is subjected to continuous pressure from the external object; and / or when the second end contacts the touch panel, the control unit holds the stylus body in a position of separation from the second end; and / or when the second end contacts the touch panel, the control unit drives the stylus body to switch back and forth between the two positions of contact with and separation from the second end.
9. The capacitive stylus as described in claim 3, wherein the stylus body and / or the control part are made of metal; and the first end and / or the second end are made of rubber.
10. The capacitive stylus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the conductivity of the first end portion is less than the conductivity of the pen body and / or the control portion; and / or the conductivity of the second end portion is less than the conductivity of the pen body and / or the control portion.