Electronic device including input module

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10401982-B2
Application number	US-201715721037-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 29, 2017
Priority date	Sep 29, 2016
Publication date	Sep 3, 2019
Grant date	Sep 3, 2019

Abstract

An electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a housing including at least one receiving hole exposed to an outside, a magnet disposed inside the housing and adjacent to the at least one receiving hole, an input module configured to be insertable into the at least one receiving hole and including a ferrite core configured to block or redirect part of a magnetic field generated from the magnet, a sensor unit disposed inside the housing and configured to sense the magnetic field generated from the magnet, and a controller configured to sense whether the input module is inserted into the at least one receiving hole by a signal according to a strength of the magnetic field sensed by the sensor unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device, comprising:
a housing including at least one receiving hole exposed to an outside;
a magnet disposed inside the housing and adjacent to the at least one receiving hole;
an input module configured to be insertable into the at least one receiving hole and including a ferrite core configured to block or redirect part of a magnetic field generated from the magnet;
a sensor unit disposed inside the housing and configured to sense the magnetic field generated from the magnet; and
a controller configured to sense whether the input module is inserted into the at least one receiving hole by a signal according to a strength of the magnetic field sensed by the sensor unit.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein when the input module is seated in the at least one receiving hole, the ferrite core is disposed on a path along which the magnetic field is delivered from the magnet to the sensor unit.

3. The electronic device of claim 2 , wherein the sensor unit is disposed adjacent to the ferrite core, and when the sensor unit senses a magnetic field varied by the ferrite core which is magnetized to output a signal, the sensor unit is further configured to deliver the output signal to the controller.

4. The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the magnet and the sensor unit are disposed facing each other with the at least one receiving hole disposed therebetween, and wherein when the input module is seated in the at least one receiving hole, the ferrite core which is disposed inside a front end portion of the input module is disposed in line with the magnet and the sensor unit.

5. The electronic device of claim 3 , wherein the magnet is disposed in a first direction of the at least one receiving hole, and the sensor unit is disposed in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction with respect to the at least one receiving hole, and when the input module is seated in the at least one receiving hole, the sensor unit is disposed facing a lengthwise end portion of the ferrite core disposed inside the front end portion of the input module.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the input module includes a stylus pen, wherein the stylus pen includes a body configured to receive a circuit unit, a tip formed at an end portion of the body, and the ferrite core disposed adjacent to the tip inside the body and configured to be magnetized by the magnetic field generated from the magnet corresponding to whether the body is inserted into the at least one receiving hole.

7. The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the stylus pen is insertable into the at least one receiving hole in a lengthwise direction, and wherein the ferrite core inside the stylus pen is disposed on a path of the magnetic field generated from the magnet between the magnet and the sensor unit.

8. The electronic device of claim 7 , wherein the ferrite core is configured to absorb at least part of the magnetic field generated from the magnet to reduce a density of the magnetic field around the sensor unit.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein when the stylus pen is not seated in the at least one receiving hole, the sensor unit is configured to sense a strength of the magnetic field generated from the magnet to output a first signal.

10. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein when the stylus pen is seated in the at least one receiving hole, a strength of the magnetic field generated from the magnet is varied while the magnetic field passes through the ferrite core, and wherein the sensor unit is further configured to sense the varied strength of magnetic field to output a second signal.

11. The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the stylus pen is configured to be insertable into the at least one receiving hole in a lengthwise direction, and wherein the magnet is disposed facing a first surface of the at least one receiving hole, and the sensor unit is disposed facing a second surface of the at least one receiving hole.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the first surface and the second surface of the at least one receiving hole are perpendicular to each other.

13. The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the ferrite core is configured to change a path of the magnetic field generated from the magnet to increase a strength of the magnetic field around the sensor unit.

14. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein when the stylus pen is not seated in the at least one receiving hole, the sensor unit is configured to sense the strength of the magnetic field generated from the magnet to output a third signal.

15. The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein when the stylus pen is seated in the at least one receiving hole, the path of the magnetic field generated from the magnet is varied while the magnetic field passes through the ferrite core, and wherein the sensor unit is further configured to sense the varied path of magnetic field to output a fourth signal.

16. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one receiving hole includes a first surface disposed in a lengthwise direction of a stylus pen and a second surface disposed in a direction of an end portion of the stylus pen, and wherein the sensor unit includes a first sensor unit disposed facing the first surface in line with the magnet and a second sensor unit disposed facing the second surface.

17. The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein the first sensor unit and the second sensor unit are configured to sense different strengths of magnetic fields to output different strengths of signals depending on whether a ferrite core in the stylus pen is seated on a side of the at least one receiving hole.

18. The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the input module includes a camera module, wherein the camera module is configured to slide into the at least one receiving hole, and wherein a ferrite core in the camera module is disposed facing the magnet or the sensor unit.

19. The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein a path of the magnetic field generated from the magnet is varied while the magnetic field passes through the ferrite core, and wherein the sensor unit is further configures to sense the varied path of the magnetic field.

20. An electronic device including an input module, the electronic device comprising:
a receiving hole formed in a side of a housing;
the input module including a ferrite core and configured to be insertable into the receiving hole and to work with a magnetic field generated inside the housing to generate a varied magnetic field;
a sensor unit configured to sense a strength of the varied magnetic field delivered from the ferrite core; and
a controller configured to control an active state of the input module corresponding to a signal sensed from the sensor unit.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Seo Bo-Woong
• Kim Min-Soo
• An Jin-Wan
• Lee Ji-Woo

Classifications

• G06F3/046

  by electromagnetic means · CPC title

• G06F1/169

  the I/O peripheral being an integrated pointing device, e.g. trackball in the palm rest area, mini-joystick integrated between keyboard keys, touch pads or touch stripes (G06F1/1643 takes precedence; constructional details of pointing devices G06F3/033) · CPC title

• G01R33/07

  Hall effect devices · CPC title

• G06F1/1643

  the display being associated to a digitizer, e.g. laptops that can be used as penpads (details related to the relative motion of the display enclosure with respect to the body enclosure, e.g. to move between laptop and tablet PC configuration G06F1/1615) · CPC title

• H01F7/0294

  Detection, inspection, magnetic treatment · CPC title