Validated touchscreen stylus interaction method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9335874-B2
Application number	US-201314066149-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 29, 2013
Priority date	Mar 12, 2013
Publication date	May 10, 2016
Grant date	May 10, 2016

Abstract

A system and method are provided for validating a signature on a touchscreen using a smart stylus. Software residing on a touchscreen device disables touch input from sources other than the stylus. In one embodiment, the stylus wirelessly transmits a stylus identifier to the touchscreen device to identify the stylus to the device. The stylus may also have a stylus tip that produces an encoded voltage pulse sequence that is used to identify the stylus to the device. A stylus ID is associated with an encoded voltage pulse. The touchscreen device can look up the stylus ID in a database, determine the encoded voltage pulse associated with the stylus ID, and determine that a voltage pulse transmitted by the stylus tip is the pulse associated with the stylus ID, thus validating the source of data input on the touchscreen.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A touchscreen input validation system comprising:
a) a touch-enabled device having
i) a display screen,
ii) a touchscreen input interface for receiving touch input data,
iii) a device wireless data receiver,
iv) a device processor, and
v) a tangible, non-transitory device memory;

b) a touchscreen stylus having
i) a stylus tip,
ii) a stylus wireless data transmitter transmitting a first stylus identifier for the touchscreen stylus,
iii) a pulse generator outputting a first voltage pulse pattern to the stylus tip; and

c) computer software logic residing on the device memory, the computer software logic programming the device processor to
i) receive the first stylus identifier via the device wireless data receiver,
ii) receive the first voltage pulse pattern from the stylus tip via the touchscreen input interface,
iii) query stylus data records to verify that the first stylus identifier is associated with the first voltage pulse pattern,
iv) receive touch input data from the stylus tip via the touchscreen input interface, and
v) store validation information validating that the received touch input data was received from the stylus.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the stored validation information includes one of an image of the received touch input data and a document of the received touch input data.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the validation information is stored on the device memory.

4. A method for validating a signature from a touchscreen stylus, the method comprising:
a) restricting touch input on a touch input interface of a touch-enabled device by not recognizing touch interaction on a first area of the touch input interface;
b) wirelessly receiving a stylus identifier sent from a wireless transmitter in the touchscreen stylus;
c) determining a signature voltage pulse pattern associated with the stylus identifier;
d) enabling the touch input interface to recognize voltage pulse input on the first area of the touch input interface;
e) receiving a first voltage pulse pattern from a stylus tip at an end of the touchscreen stylus;
f) determining that the first voltage pulse pattern is the signature voltage pulse pattern associated with the stylus identifier; and
g) in response to determining that the first voltage pulse pattern is the signature voltage pulse pattern, storing stylus validation information in a tangible, non-transitory computer memory.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
h) receiving touch input data from the stylus tip at the touch input interface; and
i) storing the touch input data with the stylus validation information in the computer memory.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the stylus validation information comprises the stylus identifier and the touch input data.

7. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
h) receiving an electronic request, via a data network, to view the stylus validation information; and
i) sending the stylus validation information over the data network in response to the electronic request.

8. The method of claim 4 , wherein the step of determining a signature voltage pulse pattern associated with the stylus identifier includes using the stylus identifier as a query term to query a database containing a plurality of different stylus identifiers, and further wherein each of the plurality of stylus identifiers in the database is associated with a different signature voltage pulse pattern.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the computer memory storing the stylus validation information is located on a remote server accessible over a data network, and further wherein the database containing the plurality of stylus identifiers is stored on the computer memory.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
h) determining that the stylus identifier received in step b) is not contained within the database;
i) storing the stylus identifier as a new record in the database; and
j) associating the first voltage pulse pattern with the stylus identifier in the database.

11. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first voltage pulse pattern is a time-dependent voltage transition pattern that is continuously repeated.

12. A method for validating a touchscreen stylus comprising:
a) receiving a stylus identifier;
b) determining a signature voltage pulse pattern associated with the stylus identifier;
c) receiving a first voltage pulse pattern from a tip of the touchscreen stylus;
d) matching the first voltage pulse pattern to the signature voltage pulse pattern associated with the stylus identifier; and
e) in response to the matching step, validating the stylus.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of receiving the first voltage pulse pattern from the tip of the touchscreen stylus further comprises simultaneously receiving touchscreen input data from the tip of the stylus.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the step of validating the stylus further comprising generating validation information, and further comprising storing the validation information along with touchscreen input data in a digital data store.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the validation information comprises a stylus identifier and an image formed by the touchscreen input data.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising receiving a write signal when the tip of the touchscreen stylus is contacting a surface.

Assignees

• Buelow Todd M
• Nourbakhsh Farhad
• Bby Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Buelow Todd M
• Nourbakhsh Farhad

Classifications

• G06F3/044 Primary

  by capacitive means · CPC title

• G06F3/03545 Primary

  Pens or stylus · CPC title

• G06F3/0441

  using active external devices, e.g. active pens, for receiving changes in electrical potential transmitted by the digitiser, e.g. tablet driving signals · 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