Granted Patent B2

US 12,517,596 · App. 18/830,449 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Inventors: Kishore Sundara-Rajan (San Jose, CA); Shahrooz Shahparnia (Campbell, CA)

Assignee: Wacom, Co., Ltd.

G06F3/03545

Abstract

Claims (27)

1 . An active stylus configured to communicate with an external device, the active stylus comprising:

a controller; and

a pen tip including a plurality of electrodes,

wherein each of the plurality of electrodes is configured as one of a drive electrode to transmit signals, a sense electrode to receive signals, a ground electrode, or a guard electrode, such that the plurality of electrodes include at least one drive electrode, at least one sense electrode, at least one ground electrode, and at least one guard electrode.

2 . The active stylus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more mechanical switches operable to switch connectivity of one or more of the plurality of electrodes to the controller.

3 . The active stylus of claim 1 , further comprising a multiplexer included in the pen tip.

4 . The active stylus of claim 3 , wherein the multiplexer is configured to receive signals from the plurality of electrodes.

5 . The active stylus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes are formed of vertical segments that extend along a central vertical axis of the pen tip.

6 . The active stylus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes are formed of horizontal segments that extend not in parallel with a central vertical axis of the pen tip.

7 . The active stylus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes are disposed along a radial circumference of the pen tip as a ring surrounding a central vertical axis of the pen tip.

8 . A system comprising:

a device; and

an active stylus configured to communicate with the device, the active stylus including:

a controller; and

a pen tip including a plurality of electrodes,

wherein each of the plurality of electrodes is configured as one of a drive electrode to transmit signals, a sense electrode to receive signals, a ground electrode, or a guard electrode, such that the plurality of electrodes include at least one drive electrode, at least one sense electrode, at least one ground electrode, and at least one guard electrode.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the active stylus further includes one or more mechanical switches operable to switch connectivity of one or more of the plurality of electrodes to the controller.

10 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the active stylus further includes a multiplexer.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the multiplexer is configured to receive signals from the plurality of electrodes.

12 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the plurality of electrodes are disposed along a radial circumference of the pen tip as a ring surrounding a central vertical axis of the pen tip.

13 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the active stylus is synchronized to the device based on signals transmitted from the device to the active stylus.

14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the stylus is synchronized to the device based on a bit sequence transmitted from the device to the active stylus.

15 . A method executed between an active stylus and a device, wherein the active stylus includes a controller and a pen tip including a plurality of electrodes, the method comprising:

configuring each of the plurality of electrodes as a drive electrode to transmit signals, a sense electrode to receive signals, a ground electrode, or a guard electrode, such that the plurality of electrodes include at least one drive electrode, at least one sense electrode, at least one ground electrode, and at least one guard electrode; and

performing communication between the device and the active stylus using the configured plurality of electrodes of the active stylus.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

switching connectivity of one or more of the plurality of electrodes to the controller of the active stylus.

Continuity (7)

References Cited (67)