Touchpad device

Abstract

A touchpad device is adapted to be installed in an electronic device with a display panel and to be operated by a stylus. The touchpad device includes a touchpad substrate and a control unit. When a cursor on the display panel is in a handwriting area, and the stylus contacts a first contact point on the touchpad substrate and then moves from above the first contact point to above a second contact point on the touchpad substrate in a hovering mode, and the electronic device is an iPad, the control unit outputs information of mouse movement to the electronic device in a human interface device protocol. When the electronic device is not an iPad, the control unit outputs information of high-resolution absolute coordinate displacement of stylus movement to the electronic device in a human interface device protocol. Thus, the corresponding information format can be output for different electronic devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a touchpad, and more particularly to a touchpad device. Background Technology

[0002] An existing tablet computer or tablet / laptop hybrid computer with a touch screen allows users to write text or draw on the screen using a stylus. However, when the user uses the screen in laptop mode, it is quite difficult to write large amounts of text notes. The user must first lay the screen flat, write on the screen, and then stand the screen up to return to laptop mode. Therefore, switching between laptop mode and note-taking mode is quite inconvenient.

[0003] In addition, another existing external touchpad, such as Apple's Magic Trackpad, can be used with the iPad, but the Magic Trackpad does not support Apple Pencil. If a third-party external digitizer that can be used with a digitizer is used, it can be used on non-iPad electronic devices, but it cannot be used on the iPad because the iPad does not support absolute coordinate system devices. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a touchpad device that can improve upon at least one of the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0005] The touchpad device of the present invention is applicable to electronic devices with a display panel and can be operated by a stylus. The touchpad device includes a touch substrate and a control unit. The control unit is signal-connected to the touch substrate and the electronic device. When the touchpad device is in handwriting mode, the display panel displays a handwriting area. When the touchpad device is in handwriting mode and the distance between the stylus and the touch substrate is less than the floating distance and the stylus is not in contact with the touch substrate, the touchpad device is in floating mode. When the cursor on the display panel is located within the handwriting area, and the stylus touches the first contact point of the touch substrate, it moves from above the first contact point to above the second contact point of the touch substrate in floating mode. When the control unit presses down to contact the second contact point of the touch substrate, it calculates the movement vector from the first contact point to the second contact point and outputs it to the electronic device. This causes the cursor to move along the movement vector in the handwriting area, corresponding to the distance between the first and second contact points, without generating any handwriting. When the electronic device is an iPad and the touchpad is in the floating mode, the control unit outputs mouse movement information to the electronic device using a user-friendly interface protocol. When the electronic device is not an iPad and the touchpad is in the floating mode, the control unit outputs high-resolution absolute coordinate displacement stylus movement information to the electronic device using a user-friendly interface protocol.

[0006] The touchpad device of the present invention further includes a sensing unit that is signal-connected to the control unit. When the touchpad device is in scanning mode, the sensing unit detects whether the stylus is close to the touch substrate and the control unit does not output information to the electronic device. When the sensing unit detects that the stylus is close to the touch substrate, the touchpad device switches to handwriting mode.

[0007] The touchpad device of the present invention, when the touchpad device is in the scanning mode and the sensing unit detects a finger approaching the touch substrate, the touchpad device switches to a finger touch mode so that the touch substrate can be operated by the finger.

[0008] The touchpad device of the present invention, when the touchpad device is in the finger touch mode and the electronic device is a Mac or iPad, the control unit outputs information to the electronic device in the Apple Magic Trackpad format; when the electronic device is neither a Mac nor an iPad, the control unit outputs information to the electronic device in the Microsoft-defined PTP protocol format.

[0009] The touchpad device of the present invention, when the stylus touches the touch substrate, the touchpad device switches to ink output mode. When the touchpad device is in ink output mode, and the electronic device is an iPad, the control unit outputs information about pressing and holding the left mouse button to the electronic device according to the human-centered interface device protocol. When the electronic device is not an iPad, the control unit outputs high-resolution absolute coordinate displacement and information about the stylus pressure to the electronic device according to the human-centered interface device protocol.

[0010] In the touchpad device of the present invention, when the distance between the touch substrate and the stylus is less than the handwriting distance, the touchpad device switches to the handwriting mode, and the handwriting distance is greater than or equal to the floating distance.

[0011] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that the control unit can output corresponding information formats for electronic devices with different operating systems, so that the touchpad device can be used by the stylus and is applicable to electronic devices of different brands and models. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the touchpad device of the present invention installed in an electronic device;

[0013] Figure 2 This is a block diagram illustrating the connection relationship between the touchpad device and the electronic device in the first embodiment;

[0014] Figure 3 It is similar Figure 1 The view illustrates that the touchpad device of the first embodiment is in handwriting mode;

[0015] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 An incomplete side view;

[0016] Figure 5 It is a flowchart illustrating the output flow of the touchpad device in the first embodiment;

[0017] Figure 6 It is similar Figure 3 The view illustrates the state of writing on a display panel of the electronic device using a stylus;

[0018] Figure 7 It is similar Figure 4 The view illustrates the movement state of the stylus when the touchpad device of the first embodiment is in floating mode;

[0019] Figure 8 It is similar Figure 6The view illustrates the state of writing on the display panel using the stylus;

[0020] Figure 9 This is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the touchpad device of the present invention externally mounted on an electronic device; and

[0021] Figure 10 A top view of a third embodiment of the touchpad device of the present invention, wirelessly connected to an electronic device. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. Before the present invention is described in detail, it should be noted that the relative position terms used in the following description, such as "front", "back", "left", "right", "up", and "down", are based on the orientation shown in each figure and the normal use orientation.

[0023] Before the invention is described in detail, it should be noted that similar elements are represented by the same numbers in the following description.

[0024] See Figure 1 A first embodiment of the touchpad device 100 of the present invention is suitable for installation on an electronic device 4 having a display panel 41 and for touch operation by a stylus 5 or a finger (not shown).

[0025] See Figures 2 to 4 The touchpad device 100 includes a touch substrate 1, a sensing unit 2, and a control unit 3. The sensing unit 2 is used to detect whether the stylus 5 or the finger is close to the touch substrate 1. The control unit 3 is signal-connected to the touch substrate 1, the sensing unit 2, and the electronic device 4, and can control the movement of a cursor on the display panel 41.

[0026] The touchpad device 100 can switch between a scanning mode, a finger touch mode, a handwriting mode, a floating mode, and an ink output mode, and can output information in the corresponding format to the electronic device 4 for different operating systems.

[0027] When the touchpad device 100 is in the scanning mode, the sensing unit 2 continuously detects whether the stylus 5 or the finger is close to the touch substrate 1, and the control unit 3 does not output information to the electronic device 4.

[0028] When the sensing unit 2 detects that the finger is close to the touch substrate 1, the touchpad device 100 switches to the finger touch mode, so that the finger can be used to operate the cursor movement on the display panel 41 on the touch substrate 1. The resolution output by the touchpad device 100 in the finger touch mode is generally low, with a common resolution of 600 dots per inch.

[0029] When the distance between the tip of the stylus 5 and the touch substrate 1 is less than a handwriting distance D1, the sensing unit 2 detects the stylus 5, the touchpad device 100 switches to the handwriting mode, the display panel 41 displays a handwriting area 42 with the same area and shape ratio as the touch substrate 1, and the control unit 3 blocks the finger touch mode.

[0030] When the distance between the tip of the stylus 5 and the touch substrate 1 is less than a floating distance D2 and the stylus 5 is not in contact with the touch substrate 1, the sensing unit 2 detects the stylus 5, the touchpad device 100 switches to the floating mode, and the control unit 3 disables the finger touch mode. In this embodiment, the floating distance D2 is greater than or equal to 0.5 cm and less than or equal to 1.0 cm, and the handwriting distance D1 is greater than or equal to the floating distance D2 and less than or equal to 5 cm, but is not limited thereto. Since the stylus tip of the stylus 5 is close enough to the touch substrate 1 at this time, the control unit 3 can calculate the absolute coordinate position of the stylus tip of the stylus 5 corresponding to the touch substrate 1.

[0031] When the tip of the stylus 5 contacts the touch substrate 1, the touchpad device 100 switches to the ink dispensing mode. At this time, the control unit 3 can calculate the absolute coordinate position of the stylus tip on the touch substrate 1. In the ink dispensing mode, the content displayed by the stylus 5 on the display panel 41 will vary depending on the software or hardware used. When used in drawing software, lines can be displayed on the display panel 41. When using handwriting input on an iPad, the cursor will display handwriting in the handwriting area 42 when the stylus 5 moves on the touch substrate 1.

[0032] See Figure 3 and Figure 5 The output process of the touchpad device 100 includes steps S1 to S15.

[0033] In step S1: the touchpad device 100 is in the scanning mode.

[0034] In step S2: the control unit 3 determines whether the touchpad device 100 is in the handwriting mode. If yes, step S3 is executed; otherwise, step S4 is executed.

[0035] In step S3: the control unit 3 disables the finger touch mode and displays the handwriting area 42 on the display panel 41.

[0036] In step S4: the control unit 3 determines whether the touchpad device 100 is in the floating mode. If yes, step S5 is executed; otherwise, step S8 is executed.

[0037] In step S5: the control unit 3 disables the finger touch mode and determines whether the electronic device 4 is an iPad. If it is, step S6 is executed; otherwise, step S7 is executed.

[0038] In step S6: The control unit 3 outputs mouse move information to the electronic device 4 using the Human Interface Device (HID) protocol.

[0039] In step S7: The control unit 3 outputs high-resolution absolute position move information of the stylus 5 to the electronic device 4 via a user-friendly interface device protocol.

[0040] In step S8: the control unit 3 determines whether the touchpad device 100 is in the ink output mode. If yes, step S9 is executed; otherwise, step S12 is executed.

[0041] In step S9: the control unit 3 disables the finger touch mode and determines whether the electronic device 4 is an iPad. If it is, step S10 is executed; otherwise, step S11 is executed.

[0042] In step S10: The control unit 3 outputs information about moving the mouse by holding down the left mouse button to the electronic device 4 using a user-friendly interface device protocol.

[0043] In step S11: The control unit 3 outputs high-resolution absolute coordinate displacement and the stylus 5 with pen pressure information to the electronic device 4 via a user-friendly interface device protocol.

[0044] In step S12: the control unit 3 determines whether the touchpad device 100 is in the finger touch mode. If yes, step S13 is executed; otherwise, step S1 is executed.

[0045] In step S13: the control unit 3 determines whether the electronic device 4 is a Mac, iPad or iPhone. If it is, step S14 is executed; otherwise, step S15 is executed.

[0046] In step S14: the control unit 3 outputs information to the electronic device 4 in the format of Apple Magic Trackpad.

[0047] In step S15: The control unit 3 outputs information to the electronic device 4 in the Microsoft-defined PTP protocol format (Windows Precision Touchpads).

[0048] Since the iPad does not support external devices with absolute coordinates, mouse displacement is output using a user-friendly interface device protocol in steps S6 and S10 to address compatibility issues. In this embodiment, when the electronic device 4 is not an iPad, it can be a PC, Mac, Chromebook, or other device, and the high resolution refers to 4096 dots per inch or greater. In this embodiment, the sensing unit 2 consists of multiple capacitive sensing components (not shown) used to sense objects approaching the touch substrate 1, and the control unit 3 is a computer or calculator with calculation functions, but is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the stylus 5 is an Apple Pencil, but can also be other types of styluses, and is not limited thereto.

[0049] The following describes the process of converting between absolute and relative coordinates in this embodiment when the electronic device 4 is an iPad.

[0050] See Figures 6 to 8 When a user wants to use the stylus 5 to write the character "X" in the handwriting area 42, the user first brings the tip of the stylus 5 close to the touch substrate 1, so that the handwriting area 42 is generated on the display panel 41. The user can then move the cursor to the handwriting area 42 by touching the display panel 41 or operating the touch substrate 1 with their finger.

[0051] Next, the stylus 5 is brought into contact with a starting contact point P0 at the upper left of the touch substrate 1, so that the touch panel device 100 is switched to the ink output mode, and the stylus 5 is kept pressing the touch substrate 1 and moves toward a first contact point P1 at the lower right of the touch substrate 1 and draws a first diagonal line in the handwriting area 42.

[0052] At this time, the control unit 3 reports to the electronic device 4 that the cursor has moved from the position corresponding to the starting contact point P0 in the handwriting area 42 to the position corresponding to the first contact point P1 in the handwriting area 42, and the left mouse button is continuously pressed during the movement.

[0053] Next, the stylus 5 is moved slightly away from the touch substrate 1, causing the touchpad device 100 to switch to the floating mode. Then, the stylus 5 is moved from above the first contact point P1 towards the upper right of the touch substrate 1 to above a second contact point P2 on the touch substrate 1, and then the second contact point P2 is pressed down. At this time, the control unit 3 can calculate a movement vector from the first contact point P1 to the second contact point P2 based on the absolute coordinates of the first contact point P1 and the second contact point P2 on the touch substrate 1, and output it to the electronic device 4. This causes the cursor in the handwriting area 42 to move along the movement vector along the distance between the first contact point P1 and the second contact point P2 without producing any handwriting.

[0054] It is worth noting that due to the performance difference between the sensing unit 2 and the control unit 3, the signal received by the sensing unit 2 when detecting the movement of the stylus 5 in the air may be unstable. Therefore, if the handwriting generated by the movement of the stylus 5 in the air is displayed on the handwriting area 42, it may form a large jitter mark. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the touch panel device 100 is in the floating mode and the stylus 5 is moving in the air, the control unit 3 does not output information to the electronic device 4 and no handwriting is generated.

[0055] At this time, the control unit 3 reports to the electronic device 4 that the cursor has moved from the position corresponding to the first contact point P1 in the handwriting area 42 to the position corresponding to the second contact point P2 in the handwriting area 42 without pressing the left mouse button during the movement. Since outputting mouse movement using a user-friendly interface device protocol limits the displacement of a single stroke, if the distance between the first contact point P1 and the second contact point P2 is long, the control unit 3 will divide the distance of the stylus 5's floating movement into multiple segments and transmit them to the electronic device 4.

[0056] Next, the stylus 5 is brought into contact with the second contact point P2, and while keeping the touch substrate 1 pressed, it is moved toward an end contact point P3 at the lower left of the touch substrate 1 to draw a second diagonal line that intersects with the first diagonal line, thus completing the writing of the character "X".

[0057] At this time, the control unit 3 reports to the electronic device 4 that the cursor has moved from the position corresponding to the second contact point P2 in the handwriting area 42 to the position corresponding to the end contact point P3 in the handwriting area 42, and the left mouse button has been pressed continuously during the movement.

[0058] In this way, during the writing process, the absolute coordinates of the stylus 5 when it touches the touch panel 1 can be converted into relative coordinates that are acceptable to the electronic device 4, thereby solving the problem that when the electronic device 4 is an iPad, the stylus 5 cannot be blindly written on by the touch panel device 100 and displayed on the display panel 41.

[0059] See Figure 9 This is a second embodiment of the touchpad device 100 of the present invention. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, except that the touchpad device 100 is externally connected to the electronic device 4 for use.

[0060] See Figure 10 This is a third embodiment of the touchpad device 100 of the present invention. The third embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, except that the touchpad device 100 is an external drawing board that is wirelessly connected to the electronic device 4, and the area and shape of the touch substrate 1 are proportional to the area and shape of the display panel 41.

[0061] In the third embodiment, the writing or drawing process using the stylus 5 differs slightly from the first embodiment. When the stylus 5 moves away from the touch substrate 1, and more than a predetermined time has passed since the touchpad device 100 switched from the handwriting mode to the scanning mode, the control unit 3 controls the cursor to move to an initial position B0 in the upper left corner of the display panel 41. The touch substrate 1 has an initial point A0 corresponding to the initial position B0. When the stylus 5 continues to contact a predetermined contact point AP on the touch substrate 1, the control unit 3 can calculate a displacement vector from the initial point A0 to the predetermined contact point AP using the absolute coordinates of the initial point A0 and the predetermined contact point AP on the touch substrate 1, and output it to the electronic device 4, causing the cursor to move from the initial position B0 to the position in the handwriting area 42 corresponding to the predetermined contact point AP according to the displacement vector. The writing or drawing method after the cursor moves is the same as in the first embodiment.

[0062] In this embodiment, the predetermined time is 2 to 5 seconds. The predetermined time is generally adjusted according to the performance of the electronic device 4 and the distance at which the touch substrate 1 senses the stylus 5. When the handwriting distance D1 is short, the predetermined time is set to be longer, and when the handwriting distance D1 is longer, the predetermined time is set to be shorter.

[0063] In other variations of this embodiment, when the touchpad device 100 switches from the handwriting mode to the scanning mode for more than the predetermined time, the cursor can also be moved to the lower left corner, upper right corner, or lower right corner of the display panel 41 to achieve the function of initializing or resetting the position of the cursor.

[0064] In summary, the touchpad device 100 of the present invention enables writing or drawing on the iPad by converting the absolute coordinates of the contact point of the stylus 5 with the touch substrate 1 into relative coordinates that can be used by the iPad. The control unit 3 can output corresponding information formats for tablet computers or laptops with different operating systems, so that the touchpad device 100 can be used with different electronic devices 4, thus achieving the purpose of the present invention.

[0065] The above description is merely an embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims and description of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A touchpad device, suitable for installation on an electronic device having a display panel and operable by a stylus, the touchpad device comprising a touch substrate and a control unit; characterized in that: The control unit is signal-connected to the touch substrate and the electronic device. When the touchpad device is in handwriting mode, the display panel displays the handwriting area. When the touchpad device is in handwriting mode and the distance between the stylus and the touch substrate is less than the floating distance and not in contact with the touch substrate, the touchpad device is in floating mode. When the cursor on the display panel is located within the handwriting area, and the stylus touches the first contact point of the touch substrate and then moves from above the first contact point to above the second contact point of the touch substrate in floating mode, and then presses down to contact the second contact point of the touch substrate, the control unit... The movement vector from the first contact point to the second contact point is calculated and output to the electronic device, causing the cursor to move along the movement vector in the handwriting area corresponding to the distance between the first contact point and the second contact point without producing any handwriting. When the electronic device is an iPad and the touchpad is in the floating mode, the control unit outputs mouse movement information to the electronic device using a user-friendly interface device protocol. When the electronic device is not an iPad and the touchpad is in the floating mode, the control unit outputs high-resolution absolute coordinate displacement stylus movement information to the electronic device using a user-friendly interface device protocol.

2. The touchpad device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a sensing unit that is signal-connected to the control unit. When the touchpad device is in scanning mode, the sensing unit detects whether the stylus is close to the touch substrate and the control unit does not output information to the electronic device. When the sensing unit detects that the stylus is close to the touch substrate, the touchpad device switches to handwriting mode.

3. The touchpad device according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the touchpad device is in the scanning mode and the sensing unit detects a finger approaching the touch substrate, the touchpad device switches to the finger touch mode so that the touch substrate can be operated using the finger.

4. The touchpad device according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the touchpad device is in the finger touch mode and the electronic device is a Mac or iPad, the control unit outputs information to the electronic device in the Apple Magic Trackpad format. When the electronic device is not a Mac or iPad, the control unit outputs information to the electronic device in the Microsoft-defined PTP protocol format.

5. The touchpad device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the stylus touches the touch substrate, the touchpad device switches to ink output mode. When the touchpad device is in ink output mode, and the electronic device is an iPad, the control unit outputs information about pressing and holding the left mouse button to the electronic device using a user interface device protocol. When the electronic device is not an iPad, the control unit outputs high-resolution absolute coordinate displacement information and information about the stylus pressure to the electronic device using a user interface device protocol.

6. The touchpad device according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the distance between the touch substrate and the stylus is less than the handwriting distance, the touch panel device switches to the handwriting mode, and the handwriting distance is greater than or equal to the floating distance.

Images