Apple's Next Patent Is For Smart Pen or 'Communicating Stylus'

Apple has been granted a stylus design patent. The design patent describes a smart pen that can detect hand movements for translation into digital line drawings and text.

The granted U.S. Patent No. 8,922,530 is for a "Communicating stylus" outlining a smart writing utensil that leverages accelerometers, wireless communication hardware and onboard storage to transfer hand-written notes and drawings onto the display of a digital device.

The device is expected to carry out wireless communication with any iOS device for transmitting drawings on paper to other device. It can also be used to enter data directly onto any computer device without any touching or interacting. It also might not need a certain kind of paper or special equipment to function

The patented design describes the stylus using the efficient accelerometers/motion-sensing hardware. The smart pen would only activate when picked up, the nib is pressed to paper or withdrawn from a dock.

The stylus also provides option to sending out the collected data to multiple devices. This feature might come handy for sharing meeting notes.

The company also mentioned that a user can transmit data to a computer device residing inside the pocket or bag.

The patent for the communicating stylus was first filed in January 2010 and has been credited to Aleksandar Pance as its inventor.