Input touch pen

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10921909-B2
Application number	US-201816641804-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2018
Priority date	Sep 1, 2017
Publication date	Feb 16, 2021
Grant date	Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

An input touch pen includes a digitizer refill contained inside a shaft tube and including a contact tip and a stepped tip portion rearward thereof, and a knock member protruding from an opening at a rear end of the shaft tube. The contact tip can protrude and retract through an opening at a tip end of the shaft tube. The stepped tip portion has a larger diameter than the opening at the tip end. A relationship A>X>Y is satisfied, wherein X represents a knock stroke of the digitizer refill, A a distance from the stepped tip portion to an inner surface at the tip end side when the contact tip is sunken inside the opening, and Y a distance that the contact tip is moved by operation of the knock member from a state of protruding from the opening to a state of being sunken inside the opening.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An input touch pen, comprising:
a shaft tube including an opening at each of a tip end and a rear end,
a digitizer refill that is contained inside the shaft tube and includes a contact tip that can protrude and retract through the opening at the tip end; and
a knock mechanism including a knock member that protrudes from the opening at the rear end, wherein:
the knock mechanism includes a return spring that continuously urges the knock member rearward relative to the shaft tube,
a rear portion of the digitizer refill is fixed to the knock mechanism,
a stepped tip portion is formed rearward of the contact tip of the digitizer refill, the stepped tip portion having a larger diameter than an outer diameter of the contact tip and a larger diameter than the opening at the tip end of the shaft tube, and
the relationship A>X>Y is satisfied, wherein:
X represents a maximum knock stroke of the digitizer refill,
A represents a distance in an axial direction from the stepped tip portion to an inner surface at a tip end side of the shaft tube in a state in which the contact tip is retracted inside the opening at the tip end, and
Y represents a distance that the contact tip is moved by operation of the knock member from a state in which the contact tip protrudes from the opening at the tip end, to the state in which the contact tip is retracted inside the opening at the tip end.

2. An input touch pen, comprising:
a shaft tube including an opening at each of a tip end and a rear end,
a digitizer refill that is contained inside the shaft tube and includes a contact tip that can protrude and retract through the opening at the tip end; and
a knock mechanism including a knock member that protrudes from the opening at the rear end, wherein:
the knock mechanism includes:
the knock member,
a rotary member that is disposed at a tip end side of the knock member and is rotatable in a predetermined circumferential direction in association with pressing of the knock member,
a cam mechanism provided at an inner peripheral surface in a vicinity of the rear end of the shaft tube, and
a return spring that continuously urges the rotary member rearward,

the knock member includes a sliding projection protruding from an outer surface of the knock member,
the rotary member includes a sliding ridge protruding from an outer surface of the rotary member, the sliding ridge extending in an axial direction, and a rear end edge of the sliding ridge being inclined in an opposite direction from a rotation direction of the rotary member,
the cam mechanism includes:
a plurality of engaging ridges protruding inward from the inner peripheral surface in the vicinity of the rear end of the shaft tube, the engaging ridges extending in the axial direction and being equally distributed, and
a cam groove formed as a groove between the plurality of engaging ridges,

the sliding projection and the sliding ridge are slidable forward and rearward in the axial direction in the cam groove,
a portion of a tip edge of the engaging ridge that is disposed at a rotation direction side of the cam groove is formed as an engaging edge that is inclined toward the rear end in the rotation direction and that is engageable with a rear end edge of the sliding ridge,
a portion of a tip edge of the engaging ridge that is disposed at an opposite side from the rotation direction side of the cam groove is formed as a guide edge that is closer to the tip end than the engaging edge, that is inclined toward the rear end in the rotation direction, and that guides the sliding ridge into the cam groove,
a stepped tip portion is formed in a vicinity of a tip end of the digitizer refill, the stepped tip portion having a larger diameter than an outer diameter of the contact tip and a larger diameter than the opening at the tip end of the shaft tube, and
the relationships A>X and B>L are satisfied, wherein:
L represents a distance from a rear end of the engaging edge to a tip end of the guide edge,
X represents a maximum knock stroke of the digitizer refill,
A represents a distance in the axial direction from the stepped tip portion to an inner surface at a tip end side of the shaft tube in a state in which the contact tip is retracted inside the opening at the tip end, and
B represents a distance in the axial direction from the stepped tip portion to the inner surface at the tip end side of the shaft tube in a state in which the contact tip protrudes from the opening at the tip end.

3. The input touch pen according to claim 1 , wherein:
the digitizer refill is to be used for input by an electromagnetic induction system,
the electromagnetic induction system includes a ferrite core disposed at an axial center, an electromagnetic induction coil disposed at an outer periphery of the ferrite core, the contact tip mounted at a tip end of the ferrite core, and a pressure sensor that senses pressure applied to the contact tip, and
the stepped tip portion is a tip end of the electromagnetic induction coil.

4. The input touch pen according to claim 1 , wherein:
a stabilizing member is interposed in the shaft tube between an outer surface of the digitizer refill and an inner surface of the shaft tube, the stabilizing member reducing an amplitude of lateral swaying of the digitizer refill inside the shaft tube, and
the stabilizing member is attached to the shaft tube side.

5. The input touch pen according to claim 1 , wherein the digitizer refill is formed replaceably.

6. The input touch pen according to claim 1 , wherein the digitizer refill can be replaced in the shaft tube with a writing refill of substantially the same size as the digitizer refill.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Pencil Co

Inventors

• Ushiku Shinichi
• Nishida Tsuyoshi
• Nakayama Kyo
• Okabe Satoru

Classifications

• G06F3/03545 Primary

  Pens or stylus · CPC title

• G06F3/046

  by electromagnetic means · CPC title

• B43K24/08

  operated by push-buttons · CPC title

• B43K24/084

  with saw-like or analogous cams · CPC title

• B43K5/005

  Pen barrels · CPC title