Digital pen

Abstract

The invention relates to a digital pen having an elongated pen holder part (11) with a front pen holder section (12) with writing elements for writing on a base pad, such as paper or a touch screen, and a pen holder section (13) arranged further rearward than the front pen holder section (12), a rechargeable battery (14) for powering at least one electronic component of the front penholder section (12) is arranged completely or partially in the penholder section; and the digital pen has a (separable) protective cap (27). The invention is characterized in that the protective cap (27) is configured to be coupled to a rechargeable battery (14) in a charging connection state in which it is detachably fixed to the barrel part (11), therefore, charging energy transmitted to the protective cap (27) from a charging source for charging the rechargeable battery (14) is further transmitted or can be further transmitted to the rechargeable battery.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a digital pen having: an elongated pen shaft portion having a front pen shaft segment with a writing element, in particular configured as a writing tip, for writing on a substrate such as paper or a touch screen; and the pen shaft portion having a pen shaft segment arranged further back relative to the front pen shaft segment, in particular having a housing, in which an elongated rechargeable battery is fully or partially arranged for powering at least one electronic component of the front pen shaft segment; and the digital pen having a (separable) in particular elongated protective cap. Background Art

[0002] Such digital pens with rechargeable batteries are known. In order to charge the rechargeable battery, receiving means configured as electrical contacts and electrically connected to the rechargeable battery are usually provided on the elongated pen shaft portion, which receiving means can be connected, if necessary, to an external voltage source or charging source by wire (e.g., via a wire). However, when the receiving means is damaged, it is disadvantageous that often the entire digital pen together with the expensive electronic devices contained therein has to be disposed of. Summary of the Invention

[0003] It is an object of the present invention to further improve the digital pen described at the beginning.

[0004] This object is achieved by a digital pen having the features of claim 1. Thus, the present invention is characterized in that the protective cap is configured to be coupled to the rechargeable battery in a charging connection state, such that in particular charging energy transmitted to the protective cap by an electrically driven charging source is further transmitted or can be further transmitted to the rechargeable battery for charging the rechargeable battery, and in the charging connection state, the protective cap is detachably fixed to the pen shaft portion, preferably fixed in a force-locking and / or form-locking manner, e.g., by a threaded connection, a snap connection or a bayonet connection.

[0005] Preferably, the protective cap can have receiving means to which the charging energy of the charging source can be transmitted wired or wirelessly. In particular, wired by means of current transmission or wirelessly by induction, by capacitance or by electromagnetic waves.

[0006] In other words, one or the protective cap of the digital pen is used to charge the rechargeable battery located in the digital pen. This particularly has the advantage that if the receiving means is damaged, only the protective cap has to be replaced. The expensive pen shaft portion can continue to be used.

[0007] Here, the receiving device can form contacts, and in order to charge a rechargeable battery, a charging current of a power supply can be supplied to these contacts. In particular, through electrical contacts, the electrical contacts are part of an interface arranged on the protective cap, and the interface is used for detachably connecting a power cord or a power data line connected to or connectable to the power supply.

[0008] However, the receiving device can also include a unit for inductively or capacitively receiving charging energy or a unit for receiving electromagnetic waves for transmitting charging energy, so that the charging energy is transmitted to the receiving device wirelessly or without a wire connection accordingly.

[0009] In order to transfer the charging energy transmitted to the receiving device to the rechargeable battery, the receiving device of the protective cap can be wirelessly coupled to the rechargeable battery in the charging connection state of the protective cap and the pen barrel part, especially inductively, capacitively or by means of electromagnetic waves, and / or wiredly coupled.

[0010] Here, in order to (wirelessly) transfer the charging energy to the rechargeable battery, the protective cap can have a transmitting unit of an inductive energy transmission device of the digital pen, especially including a transmitting coil, and the transmitting unit is wiredly connected to the receiving device of the protective cap, especially the electrical contacts.

[0011] The pen barrel part (especially the front pen barrel section or one or the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel sections) can have a receiving unit of an inductive energy transmission device of the digital pen, especially including a receiving coil, and the receiving unit is wiredly connected to the rechargeable battery and acts inductively with the transmitting unit in order to transfer the charging energy for charging the rechargeable battery to the receiving unit.

[0012] In the charging connection state of the protective cap and the pen barrel part, the electrical contacts forming the receiving device of the protective cap can be wiredly connected to the electrical contacts arranged on the pen barrel part, especially arranged on the front pen barrel section or the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel sections, and the electrical contacts are in turn conductively connected to the rechargeable battery.

[0013] The especially more forwardly arranged electrical contacts of the receiving device of the protective cap can be wiredly connected to the additional, especially more rearwardly arranged electrical contacts of the protective cap, and the additional electrical contacts of the protective cap are in contact with the electrical contacts of the pen barrel part conductively connected to the rechargeable battery in the connected state of the protective cap and the pen barrel part.

[0014] The receiving device of the protective cap can be arranged on the (front) end side of the protective cap or on the especially circumferential outer side of the protective cap.

[0015] The electronic components that can be supplied with current by the rechargeable battery are the writing elements of the digital pen or the components for driving the writing elements.

[0016] In the charging connection state in which the protective cap is detachably fixed to the pen barrel portion, the protective cap can cover at least one sub-segment of the writing element and the front pen barrel segment, or cover one or the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel segments, preferably including the (rear) free end of the pen barrel portion.

[0017] In the case where the protective cap covers the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel segment in the charging connection state, the protective cap can be detachably fixed to the pen barrel portion in another position, and the protective cap covers at least one sub-segment of the writing element and the front pen barrel segment in the other position.

[0018] It can also be provided that, in order to remove the rechargeable battery, the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel segment is detachably fixed to another pen barrel segment, in particular the front pen barrel segment. This is preferably carried out by means of a threaded connection, a snap connection or a bayonet connection, so that in the state where the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel segment is separated from the other pen barrel segment, the rechargeable battery can be taken out of the other pen barrel segment via the opening of the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel segment facing the other pen barrel segment. Alternatively or additionally, it can be provided that, in order to remove the rechargeable battery, the rechargeable battery is detachably arranged in the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel segment.

[0019] The rechargeable battery can have at least two electrical contacts, and a charging current can be supplied to the rechargeable battery through the at least two electrical contacts.

[0020] One or both of the electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery can be arranged in the region of the front end of the rechargeable battery facing the writing element and / or adjacent to the front end. Alternatively or additionally, one or both of the electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery can be arranged in the region of the rear end of the rechargeable battery facing away from the writing element or adjacent to the rear end.

[0021] The two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery (through which a charging current can be supplied to the rechargeable battery) can be detachably electrically connected to respective electrical contacts of the front pen barrel segment that are electrically connected to the electronic components of the front pen barrel segment respectively, that is, for supplying power to the electronic components.

[0022] In the case where two electrical contacts of a rechargeable battery are arranged in a region of the rear end portion of the rechargeable battery that faces away from the writing element or adjacent to the rear end portion, in a region of the front end portion that faces the writing element and / or adjacent to the front end portion for supplying a charging current, the rechargeable battery can have two additional electrical contacts for supplying power to the electronic components of the front pen barrel section, and each of the two additional electrical contacts can be detachably electrically connected to an electrical contact of the front pen barrel section that is conductively connected to the electronic components of the front pen barrel section.

[0023] Each of the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery for supplying a charging current or each of the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery for supplying power to the electronic components can be a part of a common plug connector component, especially a part of the plug connector component, and (at least) one electrical wire preferably configured as a power supply wire is connected to the plug connector component, and the electrical wire is electrically connected to one of the two poles of the rechargeable battery.

[0024] The plug connector component or each plug connector component can be detachably connected to a plug connector mating part to form an electrical plug connection, and the plug connector mating part has an electrical contact of the front pen barrel section. In particular, the electrical contact through which a charging current can be supplied to the rechargeable battery and / or through which a power supply current from the rechargeable battery can be supplied to the electronic components of the front pen barrel section.

[0025] Each of the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery for supplying a charging current or each of the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery for supplying power to the electronic components can include a contact surface directly arranged on the rechargeable battery, especially arranged on its battery housing, preferably forming one of the poles of the rechargeable battery, or is formed by such a contact surface, especially a contact surface made of a conductive material.

[0026] One of the contact surfaces can form the positive pole of the rechargeable battery, while the other contact surface can form the negative pole of the rechargeable battery.

[0027] One or both of the contact surfaces can be arranged on an especially flat end side of the rechargeable battery, and the end side preferably extends at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the pen barrel portion, especially transversely to the longitudinal axis of the pen barrel portion, and forms the front free end portion of the rechargeable battery.

[0028] One or both of the contact surfaces can be configured in an annular surface shape, and / or one contact surface can form the surrounding inner side of the hollow cylindrical portion of the rechargeable battery.

[0029] The two annular planar contact surfaces can be arranged concentrically.

[0030] The more rearwardly arranged pen shaft section can have an accommodation cavity that is in particular elongate and preferably hollow cylindrical, in which the rechargeable battery is arranged detachably completely or partially, in particular slidingly abutting against the surrounding accommodation cavity wall that laterally delimits the accommodation cavity.

[0031] The pen shaft part, in particular the front or rear pen shaft section, can have an electronic module for managing the charging process of the rechargeable battery, in particular an electronic module for managing the charging process, which is electrically connected in a wired manner to two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery for supplying the charging current.

[0032] As for the pen's protective cap, it can be detachably fixed to the pen shaft part preferably in a force-locking and / or form-locking manner, in particular by means of a threaded connection, snap connection or bayonet connection, and / or it can be configured to protect the writing element from damage during the transportation of the digital pen, and / or it can include a clip for fixing the digital pen to an object, such as a piece of paper or clothing. Description of the Drawings

[0033] Other features of the present invention result from the appended claims, the following description of the preferred embodiments, and the drawings. In the drawings:

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram (longitudinal sectional view) showing a first embodiment of the digital pen, in which the charging energy for the rechargeable battery is supplied to the protective cap, which is placed on the front pen shaft section of the pen shaft part of the digital pen and transmits this charging energy to the pen shaft part, i.e., to the front pen shaft section, without a wired connection or wirelessly.

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram (longitudinal sectional view) showing a second embodiment of the digital pen, in which the protective cap is also placed on the front pen shaft section and transmits the charging energy to the front pen shaft section in a wired manner.

[0036] Figure 3 A schematic diagram (longitudinal sectional view) showing a third embodiment of the digital pen, in which the protective cap is placed on a more rearwardly arranged pen shaft section of the pen shaft part and transmits the charging energy to the more rearwardly arranged pen shaft section without a wired connection or wirelessly.

[0037] Figure 4 A schematic diagram (oblique view) showing a first embodiment of the removable rechargeable battery of the digital pen, having two electrical (connection) contacts connected to the poles of the rechargeable battery by a power cord, the electrical (connection) contacts being used to detachably connect the rechargeable battery to the electrical (mating) contacts of the digital pen.

[0038] Figure 5 A schematic diagram (oblique view) shows a second embodiment of a removable, rechargeable battery for a digital pen, which has two annular contact surfaces formed by battery poles for removable connection to electrical (mating) contacts of the digital pen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The accompanying drawings exemplarily illustrate various simplified, schematic embodiments of a digital pen 10 that can be implemented according to the core concept of the present invention. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

[0040] The illustrated digital pen 10 has an elongated shaft portion 11 comprising a front shaft section 12 and a further rearwardly disposed shaft section 13. According to the present invention, the digital pen 10 can be based on or utilize any known technology for such digital input pens. For example, the digital pen can be an electromagnetic, photoelectric, EMR, capacitive, inductive, or resistive digital pen.

[0041] The front shaft section 12 has a writing element 33 , designed here as a writing tip, for writing on a substrate such as paper or a touch screen.

[0042] A rechargeable (here cylindrical) battery 14 is located in a, for example, hollow-cylindrical, receiving cavity 15 of the shaft section 13 located further back. During operation of the digital pen 10, this battery 14 supplies current to at least one electronic or electrically driven component 22 (within the scope of this application, such a component may also be understood as an assembly consisting of multiple electronic / electrical components) of the digital pen 10 located in the front shaft section 12. For an electro-optical pen, this could be, for example, an LED and / or a camera to determine the pen's position; for an electromagnetic pen, this could be an electromagnetic field generator, etc.

[0043] In order to be able to replace the rechargeable battery 14 with a new rechargeable battery, for example at the end of its service life, or to be able to dispose of the rechargeable battery separately in the event of damage to the digital pen 10, the rechargeable battery 14 can be removably arranged in the pen shaft section 13 arranged further back or in the accommodating cavity 15 or supported there.

[0044] For this purpose, it can be provided that the outer contour of the rechargeable battery 14 is adapted, for example, to the accommodating chamber 15 so that the walls, protrusions or the like which define the accommodating chamber 15 ensure that the rechargeable battery is securely held in the pen shaft part 11 or in the pen shaft section 13 arranged further back, so that, for example, the rechargeable battery 14 does not have to be protected by non-detachable bonding or the like to prevent disruptive relative movements within the accommodating chamber 15.

[0045] In this respect, it can be provided that the rechargeable battery 14 rests only in a sliding and therefore easily removable manner on the surrounding wall that delimits the receiving chamber 15, so that the wall can be moved out of the pen shaft section 13 arranged further back by the user by a corresponding relative movement in the axial direction.

[0046] For this purpose, the rechargeable battery rests in a sliding manner on a housing wall 13 b of the housing 13 a of the shaft section 13 arranged further back, the housing wall 13 b defining the receiving space 15 .

[0047] Furthermore, the rearwardly arranged shaft section 13 is detachably fastened to the front shaft section 12 at its end section 13 c facing the front shaft section 12 , for example by means of a screw connection, a snap connection or a bayonet connection.

[0048] Accordingly, the further rearwardly arranged pen section 13 can be detached from the front pen section 12 when necessary, and the rechargeable battery 14 can be removed from the pen section 13 through the front opening 13d arranged on the end side of the end section 13c of the further rearwardly arranged pen section 13 or removed from the pen section.

[0049] In the present case, the further rearwardly arranged shaft segment 13 simultaneously forms the rear free end of the shaft portion 11. Theoretically, it is of course also conceivable that the further rearwardly arranged shaft segment 13 does not form a rear free end and is, for example, detachably connected to an additional shaft segment also further rearwardly arranged (in particular, including the rear free end of the shaft portion). Provision can also be made here for, in this case, the rechargeable battery 14 detachably arranged in the further rearwardly arranged shaft segment 13 to be removed via an opening in the further rearwardly arranged shaft segment 13 facing the additional shaft segment. Various variations are conceivable.

[0050] To charge the rechargeable battery 14, Figures 1 to 2 The embodiment shows a scheme in which the charging energy required for this is supplied via the front pen shaft section 12. Figure 3 In the embodiment, the charging power is supplied by the pen shaft section 13 arranged further back.

[0051] Here Figure 1 In an embodiment of , it is provided that the charging energy is first supplied to the protective cap 27 of the digital pen 10 in a wired manner, ie here by means of an (at least two-core) electrical line or power cord 16 .

[0052] Here, the protective cap 27 has a receiving device 28, which in the present case is formed by (at least two) electrical connection contacts (not shown), which are arranged on the end side of the protective cap 27 here (they could of course also be arranged on the circumferential side of the protective cap), and which can be, for example (but not necessarily), part of an interface which, if necessary, also has additional contacts, for example contacts for data transmission.

[0053] In the present case, the mating contacts 20, 21 are detachably electrically connected to the electrical connection contacts of the receiving device 28. The mating contacts can be, for example, part of a plug element and are fixed to the power line 16 leading to / leading to an unshown charging energy source that provides charging energy. The charging energy source can be, for example, a common voltage source.

[0054] The electrical connection contacts of the receiving device 28 that can be connected or are connected to the mating contacts 20, 21 are conductively or wiredly connected via connection lines 29a, 29b to the transmitting unit 30 of the protective cap 27 of the device of the digital pen 10. This transmitting unit is used to wirelessly or without wire connection transmit charging energy, and then the charging energy is transmitted from the charging energy source to the protective cap 27 via this transmitting unit, and can further be wirelessly or without wire connection transferred from the protective cap 27 to the pen shaft part 11, that is, here to the front pen shaft segment 12.

[0055] In Figure 1 In the shown charging connection state, the protective cap 27 is detachably fixed to the pen shaft part 11, that is, to the front pen shaft segment 12, more precisely, here it is plugged onto the front end of the front pen shaft segment 12.

[0056] The manner in which the protective cap 27 is detachably fixed to the pen shaft part 11 is not important here. The protective cap 27 can be fixed, for example, form - fit and / or force - fit.

[0057] In the charging connection state, the rear free end of the front pen shaft segment 12 is located in the receiving section 31 of the protective cap 27.

[0058] The transmitting unit 30 of the protective cap 27 is then arranged in the area of the receiving section 31 and surrounds the rear free end of the front pen shaft segment 12, such that the receiving unit 32 of the device for wirelessly transmitting charging energy (which is part of the pen shaft part 11 or part of the front pen shaft segment 12) is surrounded by the transmitting unit 30.

[0059] In the present case, the charging energy is inductively transmitted between the transmitting unit 30 and the receiving unit 32, but the charging energy can also be transmitted capacitively or by means of electromagnetic waves.

[0060] For inductive transmission, the transmitting unit 30 accordingly has a transmitting coil 30a known per se, and the receiving unit 32 has a receiving coil 32a known per se.

[0061] The receiving coil 32a is further connected in the pen shaft portion 11 to a rechargeable battery 14 in a wired manner such that the charging energy received by it can be transmitted as an electric current to the rechargeable battery 14. This is achieved here, by way of example, by (e.g., cable-shaped) electric conductors 23a, 23b, 24a, 24b which are detachably interconnected here via detachable (electrical) connection contacts 25 or 26.

[0062] The connection contact 26 can include, for example, a plug having connection contacts which is connected in a wired manner (here by electric conductors 24a, 24b) to an unshown charging contact of the rechargeable battery 14, in particular to a pole of the rechargeable battery 14. Figure 4 Fig. shows an example of a rechargeable battery 14 having corresponding connection contacts 26. In the present case, the charging contacts of the rechargeable battery 14 are arranged on the front end of the battery, but this is of course not necessary.

[0063] Furthermore, it is also conceivable to omit the electric conductors 24a, 24b and the connection contact 26. Thus, as Figure 4 shown, the rechargeable battery 14 can have, for example, contact surfaces 18, 19 which directly abut against the connection contact 25 at its end facing the front pen section 12.

[0064] Here, the contact surfaces 18, 19 can be formed, for example, as concentric, annular contact surfaces 18, 19 made of a conductive material. Here, these contact surfaces 18, 19 are preferably formed directly by the respective negative and positive poles of the rechargeable battery 14 and abut detachably against the electrical connection contact 25.

[0065] It should be understood that very different variants can be envisaged here.

[0066] In the present case, in addition, the charging contacts of the rechargeable battery 14 also supply current to the electrically driven component 22 at the same time. The charging contacts are accordingly also connected in a wired manner to the electrically driven component 22.

[0067] Thus, the charging contacts also serve as power supply contacts at the same time. But this is not necessarily the case. It is also conceivable that the rechargeable battery 14 has separate power supply contacts which are then conductively and preferably detachably connected to the electrical component 22.

[0068] Furthermore, the rechargeable battery 14 can also be detachably connected to the Figure 1is conductively connected to a charging management module (not shown), which optimizes the charging process and is also coupled or connected to the receiving device 28 of the digital pen 10. It should be understood that the charging management module is not essential.

[0069] To remove the rechargeable battery 14, in Figure 1 In an exemplary embodiment, the user can disassemble the more rearwardly arranged pen shaft section 13 from the front pen shaft section 12 and disconnect the connection contacts 25 from the connection contacts 26. Then, the user can remove the rechargeable battery 14 from the more rearwardly arranged pen shaft section 13.

[0070] In Figure 2 An embodiment of the digital pen 10 is shown, which is different from the Figure 1 embodiment in that the transfer of charging energy from the protective cap 27 to the front pen shaft section 12 is not carried out wirelessly or without a wire connection, which is different from the Figure 1 embodiment.

[0071] More precisely, the connection contacts forming the receiving device 28 and arranged on the protective cap 27 are continuously wired to the rechargeable battery 14 in the shown charging connection state of the protective cap 27, in particular via electrical conductors 23a, 23b or 24a, 24b. Here, the connection contacts of the receiving device 28 are first wired to additional electrical contacts 34 arranged on the protective cap 27, and the additional electrical contacts are in turn wired to the electrically contacting, oppositely arranged electrical contacts 35 on the front pen shaft section 12 in this state, in such a way that the respective opposing contacts 34 or 35 are in contact with each other.

[0072] Furthermore, in Figure 2 the intermediate-connected charging management module 17 can be seen.

[0073] Figure 3 The embodiment of Figure 1 and Figure 2 differs from the embodiments of

[0074] in that the protective cap 27 is not detachably plugged or placed on the front pen shaft section 12, but is detachably plugged or placed on the more rearwardly arranged pen shaft section 13.

[0075] In this case, the receiving unit 32, in particular the receiving coil 32a, can be wired to the charging contacts arranged on the rear end of the rechargeable battery 14 of the rechargeable battery 14.

[0076] It should be noted that the protective cap 27 is usually detachably connected to the pen barrel portion 11 not only in the position shown (in which the protective cap is plugged onto the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel section 13 in the charging connection state), but also additionally detachably connected thereto in another protective position, in which the protective cap 27 is placed on the front pen barrel section 12 and covers the writing element 33 (and at least one sub-section of the front pen barrel section 12) to protect the writing element 33 (which corresponds to the charging connection state of the protective cap 27 in the embodiments of Figure 3 and Figure 1 and Figure 2 ).

[0077] Furthermore, it should also be noted that although in all the illustrated embodiments, the charging electrical energy is transmitted from the power supply source to the corresponding receiving device 28 of the protective cap 27 of the digital pen 10 in a wired manner. However, this is obviously not necessarily the case. More precisely, the charging energy can also be transmitted wirelessly, in particular inductively, capacitively or by means of electromagnetic waves.

[0078] List of reference numerals:

[0079] 10 Digital pen

[0080] 11 Pen barrel portion

[0081] 12 Front pen barrel section

[0082] 12a Housing

[0083] 13 More rearwardly arranged pen barrel section

[0084] 13a Housing

[0085] 13b Housing wall

[0086] 13c End section

[0087] 13d Front opening

[0088] 14 Rechargeable battery

[0089] 15 Receiving cavity

[0090] 16 Power cord

[0091] 17 Charging management module

[0092] 18 Contact surface

[0093] 19 Contact surface

[0094] 20 Mating contact

[0095] 21 Mating contact

[0096] 22 Electrically driven component

[0097] 23a Electric wire

[0098] 23b Electric wire

[0099] 24a Electric wire

[0100] 24b Electric wire

[0101] 25 Connection contact

[0102] 26 Connection contact

[0103] 27 Protection cap

[0104] 28 Receiving device

[0105] 29a Connection line

[0106] 29b Connection line

[0107] 30 Sending unit

[0108] 30a Sending coil

[0109] 31 Accommodating section

[0110] 32 Receiving unit

[0111] 32a Receiving coil

[0112] 33 Writing element

[0113] 34 Contact

[0114] 35 Contact.

Claims

1. A digital pen, comprising: An elongated pen shaft portion (11), the pen shaft portion having a front pen shaft segment (12), the front pen shaft segment having a writing element particularly configured as a writing tip for writing on a base pad such as paper or a touch screen; and the pen shaft portion having a pen shaft segment (13) arranged more rearwardly relative to the front pen shaft segment (12), particularly having a housing, in which an especially elongated rechargeable battery (14) is wholly or partly arranged for powering at least one electronic component of the front pen shaft segment (12); and (Detachable) especially elongated protective cap (27), Characterized in that The protective cap (27) is configured to be coupled to the rechargeable battery (14) in a charging connection state, such that in particular the charging energy transmitted from an electrically operating power source to the protective cap (27) is further transmitted or can be further transmitted to the rechargeable battery (14) to charge the rechargeable battery. In the charging connection state, the protective cap is preferably detachably fixed to the pen shaft portion (11) of the pen in a form - fit and / or force - fit manner, particularly by a screw connection, snap connection or bayonet connection.

2. The digital pen according to claim 1, wherein The protective cap (27) has a receiving device, and the charging energy of the power source can be transmitted to the receiving device either wired or wirelessly, especially wired by means of current transmission or wirelessly by inductive or capacitive means or by electromagnetic wave transmission.

3. The digital pen according to claim 2, wherein The receiving device is formed by contacts, and the charging current of the power source can be supplied to the contacts to charge the rechargeable battery (14). The contacts are especially electrical contacts, and the electrical contacts are part of an interface arranged on the protective cap (27), and the interface is used for detachably connecting a power cord or power data line connected or connectable to the power source.

4. The digital pen according to claim 2, characterized in that The receiving device includes a unit for inductively or capacitively receiving charging energy or a unit for receiving electromagnetic waves for transmitting charging energy.

5. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The receiving device of the protective cap (27) is wirelessly coupled to the rechargeable battery (14) in the charging connection state between the protective cap (27) and the pen shaft portion (11), especially inductively, capacitively or by means of electromagnetic waves, and / or wired - coupled, so that the charging energy transmitted to the receiving device is transferred to the rechargeable battery (14).

6. The digital pen according to claim 5, characterized in that, In order to transmit charging energy to the rechargeable battery (14), the protective cap (27) has a transmitting unit of the inductive energy transmission device of the digital pen, especially including a transmitting coil, and the transmitting unit is wired - connected to the receiving device of the protective cap (27), especially the electrical contacts.

7. The digital pen according to claim 6, characterized in that, The pen barrel part (11), in particular the front pen barrel section (12) or one or the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel sections (13), has a receiving unit of the inductive energy transmission device of the digital pen, which in particular includes a receiving coil. The receiving unit is connected wired to the rechargeable battery (14) and interacts inductively with the transmitting unit in order to transmit charging energy for charging the rechargeable battery (14) to the receiving unit.

8. The digital pen according to claim 1, characterized in that, In the charging connection state of the protective cap (27) and the pen barrel part (11), the electrical contacts forming the receiving device of the protective cap (27) are connected wired to electrical contacts arranged on the pen barrel part (11), in particular on the front pen barrel section or the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel section (13), and these electrical contacts are in turn conductively connected to the rechargeable battery (14).

9. The digital pen according to claim 8, characterized in that, The electrical contacts of the receiving device of the protective cap (27), in particular the more frontwardly arranged ones, are connected wired to additional electrical contacts of the protective cap (27), in particular the more rearwardly arranged ones, wherein the additional electrical contacts of the protective cap (27) are in contact-conducting abutment against the electrical contacts of the pen barrel part (11) that are conductively connected to the rechargeable battery (14) in the connection state of the protective cap (27) and the pen barrel part (11).

10. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that The receiving device of the protective cap (27) is arranged on the (front) end side of the protective cap (27) or on the outer side of the protective cap, in particular the circumferential outer side.

11. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The electronic component that can be supplied with current by the rechargeable battery (14) is a writing element or a component for driving a writing element.

12. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, In its charging connection state, in which it is detachably fixed to the pen barrel part (11), the protective cap (27) covers at least one sub-section of the writing element and the front pen barrel section, or covers one or the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel sections (13), preferably including the (rear) free end of the pen barrel part (11).

13. The digital pen according to claim 12, characterized in that, In the case where the protective cap (27) covers the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel section (13) in the charging connection state, the protective cap (27) can be detachably fixed to the pen barrel part (11) in another position, in which the protective cap covers at least one sub-section of the writing element and the front pen barrel section.

14. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, In order to remove the rechargeable battery (14), the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel section (13) is detachably fixed to another pen barrel section, in particular the front pen barrel section (12), preferably fixed by means of a threaded connection, snap connection or bayonet connection, in particular such that in the state in which the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel section (13) is separated from the other pen barrel section, the rechargeable battery (14) can be removed from the other pen barrel section via the opening of the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel section (13) facing the other pen barrel section, and / or, in order to remove the rechargeable battery (14), the rechargeable battery (14) is detachably arranged in the more rearwardly arranged pen barrel section (13).

15. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The rechargeable battery (14) has at least two electrical contacts through which a charging current can be supplied to the rechargeable battery (14).

16. The digital pen according to claim 15, characterized in that, One or both of the electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery (14) are arranged in the region of the front end portion of the rechargeable battery (14) facing the writing element and / or adjacent to the front end portion, and / or one or both of the electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery (14) are arranged in the region of the rear end portion of the rechargeable battery (14) facing away from the writing element or adjacent to the rear end portion.

17. A digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, at least according to claim 15, characterized in that The two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery (14) are detachably electrically connected to respective electrical contacts of the front pen barrel section (12) that are each electrically connected to the electronic components of the front pen barrel section (12), that is, for supplying power to the electronic components, and a charging current can be supplied to the rechargeable battery (14) through the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery.

18. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, at least according to claim 15, characterized in that In the case where the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery (14) for supplying a charging current are arranged in the region of the rear end portion of the rechargeable battery (14) facing away from the writing element or adjacent to the rear end portion, in the region of the front end portion facing the writing element and / or adjacent to the front end portion, the rechargeable battery (14) has two additional electrical contacts for supplying power to the electronic components of the front pen barrel section (12), and each of the additional electrical contacts is detachably electrically connected to a respective electrical contact of the front pen barrel section (12) that is conductively connected to the electronic components of the front pen barrel section (12).

19. A digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, at least according to claim 15, characterized in that Each of the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery (14) for supplying a charging current or each of the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery (14) for supplying power to the electronic components is a part of a common plug connector component, in particular a part of a plug connector component, on which (at least) one electrical wire preferably configured as a power supply wire is connected, and the electrical wire is electrically connected to one of the two poles of the rechargeable battery (14).

20. The digital pen according to claim 19, characterized in that, The plug connector component or each plug connector component is detachably connected to a plug connector mating part to form an electrical plug connection, and the plug connector mating part has the electrical contacts of the front pen barrel section (12), in particular the electrical contacts that can supply a charging current to the rechargeable battery (14) and / or can supply a power supply current from the rechargeable battery (14) to the electronic components of the front pen barrel section (12).

21. A digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, at least according to claim 15, characterized in that Each of the two electrical contacts for supplying a charging current of the rechargeable battery (14) or each of the two electrical contacts for powering the electronic component of the rechargeable battery (14) includes a contact surface that is directly disposed on the rechargeable battery (14), in particular on its battery housing, preferably forming one of the poles of the rechargeable battery (14), or is formed by such a contact surface, in particular a contact surface made of a conductive material.

22. The digital pen according to claim 21, characterized in that, One of the contact surfaces forms the positive pole of the rechargeable battery (14), while the other contact surface forms the negative pole of the rechargeable battery (14).

23. The digital pen according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, One or both of the contact surfaces are disposed on an especially flat end side of the rechargeable battery (14), which preferably extends at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the pen barrel portion (11), in particular transversely to the longitudinal axis of the pen barrel portion and forms the front free end of the rechargeable battery (14).

24. The digital pen according to claim 21, 22 or 23, characterized in that, One or both of the contact surfaces are configured in an annular surface shape, and / or one contact surface forms the surrounding inner side of the hollow cylindrical portion of the rechargeable battery (14).

25. The digital pen according to claim 24, characterized in that, The two annular surface-shaped contact surfaces are concentrically arranged.

26. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, at least according to claim 15, characterized in that The more rearwardly arranged pen barrel segment (13) has an especially elongated, preferably hollow cylindrical receiving cavity, in which the rechargeable battery (14) is detachably disposed completely or partially, in particular slidingly abutting against the surrounding receiving cavity wall that laterally defines the receiving cavity.

27. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The pen barrel portion (11), in particular the front or rear pen barrel segment (12, 13), has an electronic module for managing the charging process of the rechargeable battery (14), in particular an electronic module for managing the charging process, which is electrically connected in a wired manner to the two electrical contacts of the rechargeable battery (14) for supplying a charging current.

28. The digital pen according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The protective cap (27) can be detachably fixed to the pen barrel portion (11) preferably in a form-fitting and / or force-fitting manner, in particular by means of a threaded connection, snap connection or bayonet connection, and / or the protective cap (27) is configured to protect the writing element from damage during transportation of the digital pen, and / or the protective cap includes a clip for fixing the digital pen to an object, such as paper or clothing.

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