JPH03225518A - Data input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a data input device and to improve its portability by constituting this data input device in ball-point pen type structure, detecting the density or flow velocity of ink at the periphery of a ball in four directions with four sensors, and transferring X-axial and Y-axial motion components to an outside. CONSTITUTION:The four sensors Xa and Xb, and Ya and Yb detect the density of the ink 11 between a shaft 10 and the ball 12. When the ball is in a stationary state, the density of the ink detected by the sensors at four positions are uniform. When the device is moved, the ball 12 in contact with the surface of paper is rotated o draw a line. At this time, the four sensors detect the density of the ink and sends their outputs to an arithmetic means 1. The means 1 calculates the motion components in both the X-axial and Y-axial directions of the motion of the data input device according to the density data. Then a transfer means 2 converts the arithmetic data to format which enables an external device such as a computer to recognize the data and then transfers the converted data. Consequently, the device is miniaturized and improved in portability.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a data input device such as a computer, and particularly to a small portable data input device.

(Latest technology) Conventionally, as data input devices for computers and the like, a keyboard is mainly used as a surname data input device, and a mouse is mainly used as a position data input device.

There is a limit to how compact a keyboard can be made because it is necessary to line up as many keys as there are input items.

There are also two types of mice: mechanical and optical. The mechanical type converts the movement of the mouse into the movement of a ball inside the mouse, and further converts the movement of the ball into the movement of gears attached to the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and detects the motion components in each direction. . Since there are so many moving parts, there is a limit to how much it can be made smaller.

The optical type has one pair of light emitting elements and one light receiving element in the X-axis direction and one pair of light-receiving elements in the Y-axis direction, and by moving the mouse on a special pad with a checkered pattern, intermittent reflected light can be obtained. This is used to detect motion components in both directions. This has no moving parts, so it can be made smaller, but it requires a dedicated underlay, which poses a problem in portability.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, the conventional data input device described above has problems with respect to miniaturization and portability.

The present invention was made in order to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data-powered device that is small and highly portable.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The data human-powered device of the present invention that achieves the above-mentioned conventional object has the following features:
It has a ballpoint pen-like structure with a rotatable ball at the tip of a shaft filled with ink, and has four sensors that detect the concentration or flow rate of ink in four directions around the ball, and two sensors facing each other. From the output data,
It is characterized by comprising a calculation means for determining motion components in the X and Y axis directions, and a transfer means for converting the calculation results into a format that can be recognized by an external device such as a computer and transferring the results.

(Function) In the data input device of the present invention, when a sentence T or a figure is drawn, the sensor detects a change in the concentration or flow rate of ink around the ball, and the operation direction is determined based on the data output from the sensor. The motion component of is calculated by the calculation means, and the calculation result is converted by the transfer means into a format that can be recognized by an external computer or the like and then transferred.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a data input device of the present invention.

FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) show cross-sectional views of the tip of the data input device.

The data input device of this embodiment has a ballpoint pen type structure, and as shown in FIG. 2, ink 11 is sealed in a spatial shaft 10, and a ball 12 can be rotated at the tip of the shaft 10. It will be incorporated into. When the ball 12 rotates, the shaft 10
The ink 11 inside is supplied onto the paper surface from the gap between the ball 12 and the ball 12.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, four sensors Xa, Xb, Ya, and Yb are provided at the tip of the shaft 10 to detect the concentration of ink between the shaft 10 and the ball 12. These sensors Xa, Xb, Ya.

Yb is arranged at four locations in the X and Y axis directions. That is, the sensors Xa and Xb are located at opposite positions along the X-axis direction with the ball 12 in between.
are provided at opposing positions along the Y-axis direction with the ball 12 in between.

The data input device further includes the opposing sensor Xa,
A calculation means 1 that calculates the motion component in the direction in which the data input device is moved from the density data of the ink 11 outputted from two of Xb, Ya, and Yb, and a format that allows an external device such as a computer to recognize the calculation result. Transfer means 2 is provided for converting and transferring the data.

Next, the operation of the data input device will be explained.

In the stationary state shown in Fig. 2(a), there are four sensors Xa, X
The degrees a of the ink 11 detected by b, Ya, and Yb are uniform.

When the data input device is moved from the left to 71 as shown in FIG. 2(b), the ball 12 in contact with the paper rotates clockwise, supplying ink 11 to the paper to draw a line. At this time, as can be seen from the figure, the concentration of the ink 11 is high on the right side of the ball 12, and the concentration of the ink 11 is low on the left side. Further, when the data input device is stopped, the density becomes the same on both sides due to the surface tension of the ink 11.

The concentration of the ink 11 on the left and right sides of the ball 12 is determined by the sensor Xa,
It is detected by Xb, Ya, and Yb and sent to the calculation means 1 as density data.

The calculation means 1 calculates motion components of the motion of the data manipulator in both the X-axis and Y-axis directions based on the sent concentration data. Then, the calculation data of this motion component is transferred to the transfer means 2.
The data is converted into a format that can be recognized by external devices such as computers, and then transferred.

In addition, as a sensor, a pressure sensor that measures pressure,
An optical sensor or the like that emits light toward the ball 12 and measures the concentration based on the intensity of the reflected light can be used.

Moreover, instead of placing the sensor directly around the ball 12, as shown in FIG. 3, pipes 15 for transmitting pressure or light are provided at four locations, and the sensors are provided at the ends of the pipes 15. Good too.

Furthermore, the same effect can be obtained by providing a current meter for measuring the flow rate of ink in place of the concentration sensor as the sensor shown in FIG. In FIG. 2(b), the ink flows on the right side of the poll 12, and the ink stagnates on the left side, so no flow occurs. This difference can be detected by two current meters. Note that the current meter can be realized with a thermal lightning pair made of platinum.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a data input device that does not require a special underlay and is small and highly portable.

Furthermore, since it is a ball-ben type, the characters and figures created by hand remain on the paper, so it can be used without a display device to confirm the input data.

By using straight or curved rulers or by tracing already drawn shapes, complex figures can be easily drawn manually.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the data input device of the present invention, FIGS. 2(a) and (b) are sectional views showing the operation of the data input device, and FIG. 3 is a data input device of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the device. 1 calculation means, 2 transfer means, ]0... axis, 11...
Ink, 12. , ball, Xa, Xb, Ya, Yb...
sensor, ]5...pipe.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] It has a ballpoint pen type structure in which a ball is rotatably provided at the tip of a shaft filled with ink, and four sensors detecting the concentration or flow velocity of ink in four directions around the ball; From the data output from two opposing sensors,
A data input device comprising a calculation means for determining a motion component in the Y-axis direction, and a transfer means for converting the calculation result into a format that can be recognized by an external device such as a computer and transmitting the result.