Stylus, sensor controller, and methods performed thereby

By working in concert with the stylus and sensor controller, uplink signals are periodically sent and reception continues even after reception failure, solving the writing interruption problem caused by stylus reception failure and achieving continuous pen position detection and pairing maintenance.

CN113918034BActive Publication Date: 2026-06-09WACOM CO LTD
View PDF 3 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
WACOM CO LTD
Filing Date
2021-04-20
Publication Date
2026-06-09

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

When the stylus fails to receive uplink signals, it causes downlink signal transmission to stop, and the sensor controller cannot detect the pen position, resulting in writing interruption.

Method used

The stylus and sensor controller periodically send uplink signals. After receiving the uplink signal, the stylus determines the schedule for sending and receiving downlink signals and continues to receive uplink signals after a reception failure. The sensor controller records the reception time of the downlink signal through a counter and resets the counter after determining that the signal content is consistent.

Benefits of technology

This reduces the possibility of uplink signal reception failure, avoids writing interruptions, ensures that the sensor controller can continuously detect the stylus position, and prevents pairing loss.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure CN113918034B_ABST
    Figure CN113918034B_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

The present invention provides a stylus, a sensor controller, and a method executed by them, which avoids the occurrence of a phenomenon in which writing suddenly becomes impossible during writing. The method of the present invention is a method executed by a sensor controller (20) and a stylus (S), the sensor controller (20) periodically transmitting an uplink signal (US), the stylus (S) deciding a downlink signal and a transmission / reception schedule of the uplink signal (US) based on a reception timing of the uplink signal (US) in a case where the uplink signal (US) is received, wherein the stylus (S) includes the steps of: executing a reception operation of the uplink signal (US) for a prescribed time (P1) based on the transmission / reception schedule; and in a case where the prescribed time (P1) elapses without the uplink signal being received through the reception operation, continuing the reception operation of the uplink signal (US) for a prescribed time (P2) instead of transmitting the downlink signal based on the transmission / reception schedule.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Claims

1. A method executed by a sensor controller and a stylus, wherein the sensor controller periodically transmits an uplink signal, and the stylus, upon receiving the uplink signal, determines the transmission and reception schedule of a downlink signal and the uplink signal based on the reception timing of the uplink signal, wherein... The method includes the following steps: The stylus, based on the transmit / receive schedule, performs the uplink signal reception action within a first predetermined time period; and If the stylus fails to receive the uplink signal through the receiving action and the first predetermined time has elapsed, it replaces the transmission of the downlink signal based on the transmission and reception schedule and continues the receiving action of the uplink signal within a second predetermined time.

2. The method according to claim 1, If the stylus fails to receive the uplink signal through the receiving action and the second predetermined time has elapsed, the stylus shall begin the next receiving action to receive the uplink signal before the start timing of the receiving action of the uplink signal determined based on the transmission and reception schedule.

3. The method according to claim 2, Includes the following steps: If the stylus does not receive the uplink signal through the receiving action and the second predetermined time has elapsed, it sends a frequency modulation signal regardless of the content of the unreceived uplink signal.

4. The method according to claim 3, The stylus repeatedly performs the following actions: after receiving the uplink signal within the second specified time period, it sends the frequency modulation signal within the third specified time period, and further receives the uplink signal within the fourth specified time period. The total of the second to fourth specified times is equal to the transmission period of the uplink signal represented by the transmission and reception schedule.

5. The method according to claim 3, The stylus repeatedly performs the following actions: after receiving the uplink signal within the second specified time period, it sends the frequency modulation signal within the third specified time period, and further receives the uplink signal within the fourth specified time period. The total of the second to fourth specified times is different from the transmission period of the uplink signal represented by the transmission and reception schedule.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, The stylus includes a pressure sensor that acquires a pen pressure value representing the pressure applied to the pen tip. In the step of sending the frequency modulation signal, if the pen pressure value indicates that the pen tip is not in contact with the touch surface, the uplink signal reception action is performed instead of the frequency modulation signal transmission action.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, The sensor controller has a counter representing the elapsed time since the last reception of the downlink signal, configured to depair with the stylus if the value of the counter exceeds a predetermined time. The method includes the following steps: The sensor controller determines whether the content of the downlink signal received from the stylus is the content requested by the uplink signal; and If the sensor controller determines that the content of the downlink signal received from the stylus is different from the content required by the uplink signal, the sensor controller resets the counter.

8. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 7, The sensor controller derives the position of the stylus based on the frequency modulation signal, and outputs the position, along with the pen pressure value obtained before receiving the frequency modulation signal, to the host processor.

9. A method executed by a sensor controller and a stylus, wherein the sensor controller periodically transmits an uplink signal, and the stylus, upon receiving the uplink signal, determines the transmission and reception schedule of a downlink signal and the uplink signal based on the reception timing of the uplink signal, wherein... The method includes the following steps: The stylus begins receiving the uplink signal based on the transmit / receive schedule; and If the stylus does not receive the uplink signal through the receiving action and a first predetermined time has elapsed, it sends a frequency modulation signal regardless of the content of the unreceived uplink signal.

10. The method according to claim 9, After the stylus fails to receive the uplink signal through the receiving action and a first predetermined time has elapsed, it continues the receiving action. If the uplink signal is not received and a second predetermined time has elapsed, it begins to transmit the frequency modulation signal.

11. The method according to claim 10, The stylus repeatedly performs the following actions: after receiving the uplink signal within the second specified time period, it sends the frequency modulation signal within the third specified time period, and further receives the uplink signal within the fourth specified time period. The total of the second to fourth specified times is equal to the transmission period of the uplink signal represented by the transmission and reception schedule.

12. The method according to claim 11, The uplink signal reception operation within the fourth specified time period begins before the start timing of the uplink signal reception operation determined based on the transmission and reception schedule.

13. The method according to claim 10, The stylus repeatedly performs the following actions: after receiving the uplink signal within the second specified time period, it sends the frequency modulation signal within the third specified time period, and further receives the uplink signal within the fourth specified time period. The total of the second to fourth specified times is different from the transmission period of the uplink signal represented by the transmission and reception schedule.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, The stylus includes a pressure sensor that acquires a pen pressure value representing the pressure applied to the pen tip. In the step of sending the frequency modulation signal, if the pen pressure value indicates that the pen tip is not in contact with the touch surface, the uplink signal reception action is performed instead of the frequency modulation signal transmission action.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, The sensor controller has a counter representing the elapsed time since the last reception of the downlink signal, configured to depair with the stylus if the value of the counter exceeds a predetermined time. The method includes the following steps: The sensor controller determines whether the content of the downlink signal received from the stylus is the content requested by the uplink signal; and If the sensor controller determines that the content of the downlink signal received from the stylus is different from the content required by the uplink signal, the sensor controller resets the counter.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, The sensor controller derives the position of the stylus based on the frequency modulation signal, and outputs the position, along with the pen pressure value obtained before receiving the frequency modulation signal, to the host processor.

17. A stylus, upon receiving an uplink signal from a sensor controller that periodically transmits uplink signals, determines the transmission and reception schedule of a downlink signal and the uplink signal based on the reception timing of the uplink signal, wherein, Based on the aforementioned transmit / receive schedule, the uplink signal reception action is executed within the first specified time period. If the uplink signal is not received through the receiving action and the first predetermined time has elapsed, the uplink signal receiving action continues for a second predetermined time, replacing the transmission of the downlink signal based on the transmission and reception schedule.

18. A stylus, upon receiving an uplink signal from a sensor controller that periodically transmits uplink signals, determines the transmission and reception schedule of a downlink signal and the uplink signal based on the reception timing of the uplink signal, wherein, The uplink signal reception operation begins based on the aforementioned transmit / receive schedule. If the uplink signal is not received through the receiving action and a first predetermined time has elapsed, a frequency modulation signal is transmitted regardless of the content of the unreceived uplink signal.

19. A sensor controller that periodically transmits the uplink signal to a stylus that determines the transmission and reception schedule of the downlink signal and the uplink signal based on the reception timing of the uplink signal, wherein, It has a counter that represents the elapsed time since the last reception of the downlink signal, and is configured to release pairing with the stylus if the value of the counter exceeds a predetermined time. Determine whether the content of the downlink signal received from the stylus is the content requested by the uplink signal. If it is determined that the content of the downlink signal received from the stylus is different from the content required by the uplink signal, the counter is reset.