Apparatus, methods and computer programs for enabling information to be read from an apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10915713-B2
Application number	US-201916293832-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2019
Priority date	Aug 1, 2014
Publication date	Feb 9, 2021
Grant date	Feb 9, 2021

Abstract

An apparatus and method and electronic device, the apparatus comprising: a memory element configured to store information; a switching element coupled to the memory element; wherein the switching element is configured to be switched from a first state to a second state in response to an input signal provided by a capacitive touch screen and wherein when the switching element is in the second state the information can be read from the memory element by the capacitive touch screen.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a memory element configured to store information; and
a switching element coupled to the memory element,
wherein the switching element is configured to be switched from a first state to a second state in response to an input signal from a capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus and wherein when the switching element is in the second state, the memory element is configured to provide at least part of the information in the memory element to the capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the memory element is configured to store identification information.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the memory element comprises a sensor element and is configured to store information obtained by the sensor element.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the apparatus comprises a plurality of memory elements and a plurality of switching elements.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the memory element and the switching element are configured to activate areas of the capacitive touch screen underneath the plurality of switching elements sequentially.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 , wherein activating areas of the capacitive touch screen comprises activating pixels in a region of the capacitive touch screen underneath the plurality of switching elements.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the switching element is configured to be switched from the first state to the second state by light from the capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein a plurality of switching elements are provided and different switching elements may be configured to be switched from the first state to the second state by different wavelengths of light.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the switching element comprises a transistor and a switching component.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least one reference electrode wherein the reference electrode is configured to enable the capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus to determine the positions of the switching elements.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the apparatus is transparent so that the data obtained by the external capacitive touch screen may be displayed on the capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus and viewed through the apparatus.

12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the apparatus is part of an identification tag.

13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the memory element and the switching element are configured to enable an electrode to be connected and disconnected to ground.

14. A method comprising:
providing an apparatus comprising a memory element configured to store information; and
coupling a switching element to the memory element;
wherein the switching element is configured to be switched from a first state to a second state in response to an input signal from a capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus and wherein when the switching element is in the second state the memory element is configured to provide at least part of the data in the memory element to the capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus.

15. An electronic device comprising:
processing circuitry;
memory circuitry including computer program code; and
a capacitive touch screen;
the memory circuitry and the computer program code configured to, with the processing circuitry, cause the electronic device at least to perform:
detecting an apparatus external to the electronic device overlaying the capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus;
determining a position of at least one reference electrode of the apparatus;
using the determined position of the at least one reference electrode of the apparatus to determine a position of a switching element within the apparatus; and
activating the capacitive touch screen in a region underneath the switching element to enable data to be read from the apparatus by the capacitive touch screen, wherein the switching element is configured to be switched from a first state to a second state by light from the capacitive touch screen external to the apparatus.

16. An electronic device as claimed in claim 15 wherein a plurality of switching elements are provided and different switching elements may be configured to be switched from the first state to the second state by different wavelengths of light.

Assignees

• Nokia Technologies Oy

Inventors

• Allen Mark
• Bower Chris
• Cotton Darryl
• Liu Yinglin

Classifications

• G06F1/1684

  Constructional details or arrangements related to integrated I/O peripherals not covered by groups G06F1/1635 - G06F1/1675 · CPC title

• G06F3/002

  Specific input/output arrangements not covered by G06F3/01 - G06F3/16 (other optical apparatus G02B27/00) · CPC title

• G06K19/07707

  the visual interface being a display, e.g. LCD or electronic ink · CPC title

• G06F3/04162

  for exchanging data with external devices, e.g. smart pens, via the digitiser sensing hardware · 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