Abstract: The present invention is a form of a digitizer and absolute position determination device for indicating the instantaneous position and movement of a stylus on a surface. It proposes the use of a data surface (e.g., paper) formatted with a position-related code for indicating X-Y coordinates capable of reflecting a frequency of light. The stylus FIG. 6 comprising a writing element 9 in FIG. 6 has a light source 17 in FIG. 6 of a frequency for illuminating the position-related code. The frequency of light is absorbed by the data surface but reflected by the position-related code onto a charge-coupled device (CCD) 13 in FIG. 6 located within the stylus. The coordinate information from the CCD is sent to a computer for processing and finally the desired information output to the user. The frequency(s) of light to be used depends on the application. For example, an infrared light source and infrared light reflecting position-related code can be used for hand writing on paper.

Abstract: This invention relates to a coordinate sensor for detecting the position of a moveable detector relative to a data space coded with coordinate information by detecting and processing the coordinate information. It may be used for obtaining both two and three dimensional position related information, such as might be used for determining the position of a pen/pencil on paper for handwriting data input. It also may be used for detecting angular, rotational, and linear motion. The coordinate sensor provides an apparatus for precisely locating the position of a movable element within a space. More particularly, it provides an input/output apparatus for use with a computer that includes a movable element, whose exact position within a space can be determined without any physical connection between the movable element and the space.