Patent attributes
A pen or stylus for use with a finger activated computer touchpad uses capacitively coupled voltage signals to simulate the capacitive effect of a finger on the touchpad. In addition, the pen has buttons that can be utilized to capacitively couple control signals to the touchpad that are interpreted by application software as specific user-defined inputs. The pen has a conductive tip that is placed into contact with the touchpad. By biasing the touchpad electrodes with a properly timed voltage signal, the pen alters the charging time of the electrodes in the touchpad. This alteration in charging time is interpreted by the touchpad as a change in capacitance due to the presence of a user's finger. Thus, the pen can be used with touchpads that were designed to only detect finger movements.
