PEER-TO-PEER DATA TRANSFER USING NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION (NFC)-ENABLED STYLUSES
Peer-to-peer data transfer techniques using near field communication (NFC)-enabled styluses are disclosed. The styluses are intended for use with an electronic touch sensitive device. A first data transfer technique is through stylus NFC sharing, where the NFC wireless connection is used to allow peer-to-peer data transfer between the NFC-enabled stylus and another NFC-enabled device. A second data transfer technique is through stylus NFC pairing, where the NFC-enabled stylus is used to establish a more capable wireless connection Bluetooth-based or Wi-Fi-based), which can then be used to allow peer-to-peer data transfer with another NFC-enabled device. The stylus NFC pairing may pair the other NFC-enabled device to either the stylus or a related touch sensitive device. These techniques allow for peer-to-peer transfer of data such as documents, presentations, lectures, notes, or photos, for example.
1 . A stylus comprising:
an elongated body portion having a stylus tip for interacting with an electronic touch sensitive device; and
a near field communication (NFC) module capable of establishing a wireless connection with another NFC-enabled device, wherein the wireless connection allows peer-to-peer data transfer.
2 . The stylus of claim 1 wherein the wireless connection allows peer-to-peer transfer of documents, presentations, lectures, notes, messages, photos, audio files, videos, contact information, applications, games, uniform resource locators (URLs), website links, and/or stylus customizations.
3 . The stylus of claim 1 wherein the wireless connection is NFC-based, Bluetooth-based, or Wi-Fi-based.
4 . The stylus of claim 1 wherein the wireless connection is established by at least bringing the stylus within 4 centimeters of the other NFC-enabled device and/or physically touching the stylus to the other NFC-enabled device.
5 . The stylus of claim 1 further comprising storage accessible during peer-to-peer data transfer.
6 . The stylus of claim 1 wherein the other NFC-enabled device is a stylus, computer, tablet, smart phone, eReader, projector, printer, camera, or game controller.
7 . A system comprising:
a touch sensitive computing device; and
a stylus for interacting with the touch sensitive computing device, the stylus having near field communication (NFC) capabilities for establishing a wireless connection with another NFC-enabled device, wherein the wireless connection allows peer-to-peer data transfer.
8 . The stylus of claim 7 wherein the other NFC-enabled device is a stylus, computer, tablet, smart phone, eReader, projector, printer, camera, or game controller.
9 . The system of claim 7 wherein the touch sensitive computing device is configured to wirelessly communicate with the stylus to facilitate peer-to-peer data transfer between the stylus and the other NFC-enabled device.
10 . The system of claim 7 wherein the stylus is capable of establishing a wireless connection between the touch sensitive computing device and the other NFC-enabled device to allow peer-to-peer data transfer between the touch sensitive computing device and the other NFC device.
11 . The system of claim 7 wherein the system is user-configurable.
12 . The system of claim 7 wherein the wireless connection is NFC-based, Bluetooth-based, or Wi-Fi-based.
13 . The system of claim 7 wherein the stylus and/or touch sensitive computing device provides visual, aural, and/or haptic feedback when the stylus detects the other NFC-enabled device, the wireless connection is established, data is transferred, and/or the wireless connection is disconnected.
14 . A computer program product comprising a plurality of instructions non-transiently encoded thereon to facilitate operation of an electronic device according to the following process, the process comprising:
in response to a near field communication (NFC)-enabled stylus used for interacting with an electronic touch sensitive device entering a near-field range of another NFC-enabled device, establish a wireless connection; and
allow peer-to-peer data transfer via the wireless connection.
15 . The computer program product of claim 14 wherein the wireless connection allows peer-to-peer transfer of documents, presentations, lectures, notes, messages, photos, audio files, videos, contact information, applications, games, uniform resource locators (URLs), website links, and/or stylus customizations.
16 . The computer program product of claim 14 wherein the near-field range is within 4 centimeters.
17 . The computer program product of claim 14 wherein the wireless connection is NFC-based, Bluetooth-based, or Wi-Fi-based.
18 . The computer program product of claim 14 wherein the wireless connection is established between the NFC-enabled stylus and the other NFC-enabled device.
19 . The computer program product of claim 18 , the process further comprising:
pair the NFC-enabled stylus with the touch sensitive device to facilitate peer-to-peer data transfer between the stylus and other NFC-enabled device.
20 . The computer program product of claim 14 wherein the wireless connection is established between a touch sensitive computing device associated with the NFC-enabled stylus and the other NFC-enabled device.