Electronic pen and cartridge-type electronic pen main body including an conductive center electrode and a peripheral electrode

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11874977-B2
Application number	US-202217690633-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 9, 2022
Priority date	Oct 16, 2019
Publication date	Jan 16, 2024
Grant date	Jan 16, 2024

Abstract

A cartridge-type electronic pen main body includes a conductive center electrode and a peripheral electrode disposed around the center electrode. The peripheral electrode includes a tapered part on a pen tip side and a cylindrical shaped part on an opposite side along an axial direction. When the cartridge-type electronic pen main body is in use, one end of the center electrode forming a pen tip is projected to the outside from an opening of a cylindrical housing of an electronic pen, and a portion of the tapered part of the peripheral electrode is also projected to the outside such that both the one end of the center electrode and the portion of the tapered part of the peripheral electrode are projected beyond a distal end of the cylindrical housing to capacitively couple with a sensor surface while the cylindrical shaped part of the peripheral electrode remains within the cylindrical housing.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic pen having a cylindrical housing with an opening on one end thereof forming a pen tip side in an axial direction, the cylindrical housing holding at least one cartridge-type electronic pen main body inside, the cartridge-type electronic pen main body comprising:
a conductive center electrode of which one end in the axial direction forms a pen tip; and
a peripheral electrode disposed around the center electrode except at least for the pen tip, the peripheral electrode being insulated from the center electrode, wherein the peripheral electrode includes a tapered part on a pen tip side and a cylindrical shaped part on an opposite side along the axial direction;
wherein, when the one end of the center electrode forming the pen tip is projected to the outside from the opening of the cylindrical housing upon use, a portion of the tapered part of the peripheral electrode is also projected to the outside from the opening, such that both the one end of the center electrode and the portion of the tapered part of the peripheral electrode are projected beyond a distal end of the cylindrical housing of the electronic pen to capacitively couple with a sensor surface while the cylindrical shaped part of the peripheral electrode remains within the cylindrical housing of the electronic pen.

2. The electronic pen according to claim 1 ,
wherein a diameter of the center electrode of the cartridge-type electronic pen main body and a diameter of the portion of the tapered part of the peripheral electrode projected from the opening are each equal to or smaller than a diameter of a pen tip part of a ballpoint refill, the cartridge-type electronic pen main body having substantially a same length as that of the ballpoint refill.

3. The electronic pen according to claim 2 ,
wherein the cylindrical housing includes a knock type ballpoint pen mechanism that corresponds to the cartridge-type electronic pen main body or to the ballpoint refill.

4. The electronic pen according to claim 1 ,
wherein the cylindrical housing is configured to hold a ballpoint refill inside and to function as a ballpoint pen.

5. The electronic pen according to claim 4 ,
wherein the cylindrical housing includes a knock type ballpoint pen mechanism that corresponds to the cartridge-type electronic pen main body or to the ballpoint refill.

6. The electronic pen according to claim 1 ,
wherein the cylindrical housing holds inside a plurality of the cartridge-type electronic pen main bodies and a knock type multicolor ballpoint pen mechanism allowing one of the cartridge-type electronic pen main bodies to be selected in such a manner that one end of the selected cartridge-type electronic pen main body is projected to the outside from the opening.

7. The electronic pen according to claim 6 ,
wherein the cylindrical housing holds inside one or a plurality of refills of the ballpoint pen mechanism in place of one or more of the plurality of the cartridge-type electronic pen main bodies, in such a manner that the electronic pen functions as a knock type multicolor ballpoint pen.

8. A cartridge-type electronic pen main body allowing at least a pen tip of an electronic pen to be housed in a cylindrical housing of the electronic pen in such a manner as to be projectable from one opening of the cylindrical housing in an axial direction, the cartridge-type electronic pen main body comprising:
a conductive center electrode of which one end in the axial direction forms the pen tip; and
a peripheral electrode disposed around the center electrode except at least for the pen tip, the peripheral electrode being insulated from the center electrode, wherein the peripheral electrode includes a tapered part on a pen tip side and a cylindrical shaped part on an opposite side along the axial direction,
wherein, when the one end of the center electrode forming the pen tip is projected to the outside from the opening of the cylindrical housing of the electronic pen upon use, a portion of the tapered part of the peripheral electrode is also projected to the outside from the opening of the cylindrical housing of the electronic pen, such that both the one end of the center electrode and the portion of the tapered part of the peripheral electrode are projected beyond a distal end of the cylindrical housing of the electronic pen to capacitively couple with a sensor surface while the cylindrical shaped part of the peripheral electrode remains within the cylindrical housing of the electronic pen.

9. The cartridge-type electronic pen main body according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a main body cylindrical part incorporating a signal transmission circuit generating a signal supplied at least to the center electrode,
wherein the cylindrical shaped part of the peripheral electrode is coupled with a pen tip side of the main body cylindrical part in the axial direction, and
the main body cylindrical part is not projected to the outside from the opening of the cylindrical housing of the electronic pen.

10. The cartridge-type electronic pen main body according to claim 9 ,
wherein the peripheral electrode and the main body cylindrical part coupled with each other form a hollow space therein in which a fitting part for the center electrode is disposed, and
the center electrode is detachably fitted to the fitting part.

11. The cartridge-type electronic pen main body according to claim 9 ,
wherein the tapered part of the peripheral electrode has a diameter smaller than that of the main body cylindrical part.

12. The cartridge-type electronic pen main body according to claim 9 ,
wherein the main body cylindrical part includes a battery that supplies a supply power voltage to the signal transmission circuit.

13. The cartridge-type electronic pen main body according to claim 9 ,
wherein the main body cylindrical part includes an electrical storage element and a terminal conductor, the electrical storage element supplying a supply power voltage to the signal transmission circuit, the terminal conductor allowing the electrical storage element to be charged from the outside.

14. The cartridge-type electronic pen main body according to claim 9 ,
wherein the peripheral electrode is configured to be grounded so as to function as a shield electrode when the signal is supplied from the signal transmission circuit to the center electrode.

15. The cartridge-type electronic pen main body according to claim 9 ,
wherein the peripheral electrode is configured to function as a tilt detection electrode when the signal is supplied from the signal transmission circuit to the peripheral electrode.

16. The cartridge-type electronic pen main body according to claim 9 ,
wherein the main body cylindrical part is configured to be bendable in a direction intersecting with the axial direction.

Assignees

• Wacom Co Ltd

Inventors

• Aoki Shinya
• Hashimoto Yoshiyuki
• Kaneda Takenori

Classifications

• G06F3/03546 Primary

  using a rotatable ball at the tip as position detecting member · CPC title

• G06F3/0383

  Signal control means within the pointing device · CPC title

• G06F3/03545 Primary

  Pens or stylus · CPC title

• G06F3/0442

  using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for transmitting changes in electrical potential to be received by the digitiser · CPC title

• G06F2203/0384

  Wireless input, i.e. hardware and software details of wireless interface arrangements for pointing devices · CPC title