JPH07230350A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To use the load information for the input processing by providing a mobile member which moves back and forth by the load produced when an input pen point is pressed onto a pressure-sensitive tablet and moving the mobile member by an extent equal to the preceding load. CONSTITUTION:A photosensor 106 is attached to the rear end of a case 102 of an input pen 101 and consists of a sensor main body 106a and a detection hole 106b. An operating rod member 104 reciprocates in response to the reciprocating movements of a pen point member 103 and can move into and out of the hole 106b at one of its both ends. Then the presence or absence is decided for the input received from the photosensor 106 of the pen 101 and it is decided whether or not the output signal of an output device 112 is equal to the coordinate data corresponding to the push of a scroll button. Then the value of the input load is decided based on the output signal of the photosensor 106. When the value of the load is small, the scroll processing is carried out on a screen for each row.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an input device having a pressure sensitive tablet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, tablets have been a popular input device in various information processing devices.
It is used as the main input device in handwriting input word processors.

By the way, in the pressure-sensitive tablet plate, the transparent resistance films arranged so as to face each other vertically are in contact with each other, so that the contact position is detected by the resistance ratio, and when a constant load is applied, the resistance film is formed. The structure is such that it makes contact, but does not make contact below that. Then, the presence / absence of input is confirmed by the presence / absence of this contact, and the contact position is recognized from the coordinate data of the contact location.

Such a tablet plate is superposed integrally with the display panel, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the coordinates of the tablet plate and the display panel. The operation menu is displayed on the display panel, and the contact point is displayed. The information corresponding to the displayed menu is recognized by the control device side.

[0005]

However, in recent information processing apparatuses, for example, the handwriting input type word processor described above, the number of operation menus is gradually increasing, and the number of operation menus is gradually increasing. It never fits.

In such a case, conventionally, it is general to switch and use the pages, but it is convenient that the commands used for one information processing are contained within one page as much as possible. good. There is also a method of reducing the occupied area per menu to fit it in one page, but there is a limit because the designation operation becomes fine and the menu screen becomes complicated.

It should be noted that after confirming the place where the machine is detecting like an electromagnetic induction type tablet (usually, the register mark (+) is displayed by a broken line, etc.), the switch is pressed to confirm the input position. In addition, since it is not possible to use the functions of the mouse buttons differently, there is a problem in that the usability is inferior to other types of tablets and mice.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a novel processing method of information obtained in connection with the operation of a pressure-sensitive tablet. .

Specifically, one purpose is to provide an input device which uses load information when the pen tip of the input pen touches the tablet plate as control information.

Another object is to provide a good method for capturing the load information.

Specifically, in addition to directly detecting the load, an object thereof is to provide a load information capturing method for converting the load into a movement amount of a movable member which moves by the load and capturing the load information. is there.

Still another object is to provide a concrete method of using the load information.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An input device of the present invention is a pressure-sensitive tablet, an input pen, and a penetrating tip of the input pen, which is retracted by the load when the pressure-sensitive tablet is pressed against the pressure-sensitive tablet. Input information having a biased movable member, load detecting means for detecting the amount of movement of the movable member, and detecting the load of the pen tip according to the amount of movement, and a function of executing a plurality of types of input processing. It is characterized by comprising processing means and execution control means for selectively executing a plurality of modes of the input information processing means based on the output of the load detection means.

The movable member can be configured as a pen tip of the input pen.

The movable member can be configured as a support mechanism for the pressure sensitive tablet.

The load detecting means can be constituted by a photo sensor.

The load detecting means can be constituted by a micro switch.

The load detecting means can be composed of a piezoelectric element.

The output signal of the load detecting means can be transmitted by either wire transmission or wireless transmission. In the case of wire transmission, the wire can constitute the transmission line. In the case of wireless transmission, it can be constituted by an optical means such as infrared rays used by a remote controller or the like, or an electric means using radio waves.

The movable member can be constituted by a tablet support base. It is desirable that the tablet support base be supported at equal intervals by a plurality of coil springs. Further, when a single coil spring is used to support the tablet support base, it is desirable to support the central portion of the tablet support base with a diameter as large as possible.

In the input device of the present invention, the first scroll processing means constituting the first input processing means for executing the scroll processing in line units and the second input processing for executing the scroll processing in page units. And a second scroll processing means that constitutes the means.

Further, the input device of the present invention is the first input processing means for designating the target data of the movement processing.
And the second movement processing means as the second input processing means for designating the movement destination position of the movement processing.

[0023]

According to the present invention, it is possible to use whether or not the pen tip of the input pen touches the tablet and the load information in addition to the coordinate information at the time of the touch for input processing.

Further, according to the present invention, a movable member which is retracted by the load when the pen tip of the input pen is pressed against the pressure-sensitive tablet and is urged to advance is provided, and the pen tip of the input pen is set to the tablet. Since the moving amount of the movable member is moved by an amount corresponding to the load when the pressing is performed and the moving amount is captured, the load information can be acquired as the moving amount.

Furthermore, the input processing means can be used to select a plurality of types of input processing according to the load of the input pen.

Furthermore, the pen tip constituent member of the input pen or the support plate of the tablet plate is constituted as a movable member,
This is provided so as to move back and forth with respect to the load detecting means, and when the movable member is pushed forward by the coil spring and the input pen is pressed against the tablet plate, the force of the spring is resisted and the pressing force is changed according to the pressing force. Since the movable member is configured to retract, the load of the pen tip can be reliably captured. In this case, if the load detecting means is composed of a photo sensor, the load can be detected in an analog or multi-valued manner. Further, if the load detecting means is composed of a micro switch, the simple structure will suffice when the load to be captured is binary.

Even if the load detecting means is composed of a piezoelectric element, the movement amount can be captured in an analog or multi-valued manner.

The output signal transmitting means of the load detecting means may be wired or wireless. In the case of wire, the transmission line can be composed of wires. In the case of wireless communication, either electrical communication or optical communication is possible.

In the movable member, the tablet support base is supported by a plurality of coil springs at equal intervals around the tablet support base, or by a single coil spring at the center thereof.

The input device of the present invention as described above can be used for switching various input processes, for example, for switching the processing unit of scroll or the processing speed of movement.

[0031]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an information processing apparatus having a pressure-sensitive tablet according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, 101 is an input pen, and 102
Is the case. An inward flange 102a is formed at the tip of the case 102, and a tip bearing hole 102b is formed at the center thereof. An inward flange 102c is also formed in the middle portion of the case 102, and an intermediate bearing hole 102d is formed in the center thereof. Tip bearing hole 10
A pen tip member 103 is slidably inserted in 2b. The pen tip member 103 is composed of a main body rod member 103a and an outward flange 103b.
a slides in the tip bearing hole 102b, the tip of the main body rod member 103a contacts the tablet, and the outward flange 103b is inside the case 102.
The pen tip member 1 is locked to the inward flange 102a at the tip.
The case 03 is prevented from coming off from the case 102. Outward flange 103b of pen tip member 103 and case 102
Between the inward flange 102c of the coil spring 105
And the pen tip member 103 is attached to the outward flange 103.
It is urged to project outward via b. Pen point member 10
One end of the operation rod member 104 is connected to the rear end portion of 3. A photo sensor 106 is attached to the rear end of the case 102. The photo sensor 106 has a sensor body 106 a and a detection hole 106 b, and the operation rod member 104.
Moves reciprocally in the direction of arrow AA 'in conjunction with the reciprocating movement of the pen tip member 103, so that the other end of the pen tip member 103 has a detection hole 106b.
You can enter and leave.

The detection signal from the photo sensor 106 is transmitted to the control circuit described below. This control circuit is bus 107
And a main control circuit 108 including an MPU, a ROM 109 for storing a control program, and a RAM 11 for storing data
0, an input device control circuit 111, an input device 112 such as a tablet, a display device control circuit 113, a display device 114, and a pen I / F circuit 115. The output signal of the photo sensor 106 is sent to the pen I through the wiring wire 116.
It is transmitted to the / F circuit 115.

The display device 114 is a display device control circuit 113.
The input device 112 is connected to the bus 107 via the input device control circuit 111. The main control circuit 108 controls the entire apparatus, the ROM 109 stores a control program and dictionary data, and the RAM 110 stores input coordinate information, various data, and display data.

FIG. 2 shows the contents of the input control program stored in the ROM 109. First, in S301, the output signal of the input device 112 is captured, and then in S302, the photo sensor 106 of the input pen 101 is captured.
It is determined whether or not there is an input from, and subsequently, in S303, it is determined whether or not the output signal of the input device 112 is the coordinate data corresponding to the pressing of the scroll button. This S303
When the determination is NO, the process branches to another function, and when the determination is YES, the process proceeds to S304. In step S304, the magnitude of the input load is determined based on the output signal of the photo sensor 106, and it is determined whether the input load is light. If the result of this determination is YES, that is, if it is light, screen scroll processing is executed in line units in S305. S304
If the determination is NO, that is, it is not light (heavy), S3
In step S306, the high-speed scrolling process for each screen is executed. And S301
Will return to.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to distinguish whether the scroll processing is performed in units of lines or screens depending on the strength of the load. Therefore, in the conventional tablet, the unit of scroll processing is switched. In this case, it was necessary to provide a menu for each processing unit, but according to this embodiment, the number of menus can be reduced to half.

FIG. 4 shows the contents of the moving process as an example of the control program stored in the ROM.
FIG. 7 is a screen explanatory view showing an example of the operation. Figure 5 below
The process of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. First, in FIG. 5, 701 is a screen, and 702 is a figure to be edited.

In FIG. 4, first, in S601, the output signal of the tablet is taken in, and in S602, the presence or absence of pen input is confirmed by the presence or absence of coordinate data. S603
Then, it is determined whether another function other than the figure movement is selected according to the coordinate data, and if the determination is YES, the process branches to another function processing. If the determination in S603 is no, the process proceeds to S604.

In step S604, it is determined whether the input load is light (heavy). If this determination is YES, that is, if the load is light, the process proceeds to S605, and this S605
It is determined whether or not the starting point has been designated by. This S60
When the determination result of 5 is YES, a so-called register mark (+) mark is displayed in a broken line in S606 (FIG. 5A).

When the determination in S605 is NO, that is, S6
If the coordinate data captured in 01 designates the end point of the movement range, the registration mark 704 indicating the end point is displayed in S607.
And a specified range display frame 7 surrounding the graphic 702 to be moved
05 and the figure 702 'in this frame 705 are displayed in broken lines (FIG. 5 (b)). As a result, the movement target is decided.

If the determination in S604 is NO, that is, if the load is heavy, it is determined that the end point is designated, the process proceeds to S608, and S6 is executed.
It is determined whether the coordinate data captured in 01 is the start point designation. If this determination is YES, that is, if the coordinate data fetched in S601 specifies the start point, the flow advances to S609, and in S609, the registration mark 706 indicating the start point.
Is displayed as a solid line (FIG. 5C).

If the determination in S608 is NO, that is, if the end point is designated, the process proceeds to S611, the registration mark indicating the end point is displayed in solid line (FIG. 5 (d)), the destination is fixed, and the graphic 702 is set to the destination. To move. Then S
Proceed to 612, and register marks 7 at the start and end points that indicate the destination.
07 is deleted (FIG. 5 (e)).

As described above, depending on the strength of the load, it is configured to determine whether the coordinate data from the tablet indicates the designated coordinates of the figure to be edited or the designated coordinates of the moving destination. , The movement command menu can be simplified.

FIG. 1B shows a modified example in which a movable member is provided in the input pen. In this figure, 20
1 is an input pen, 202 is a case, 203 is a control rod, 20
Reference numeral 4 denotes a photo sensor. Here, an infrared light emitting unit is mounted on the rear end portion of the case 202. The infrared light emitting unit 4 includes an infrared light emitting drive circuit 205 and a dry battery 2.
06 and a light emitting element 208. Reference numeral 207 is a bus, 209 is an infrared light receiving element, 210 is an infrared photoelectric conversion circuit, and the output of the photo sensor 202 is output from the infrared light emitting element 208 via the infrared light emission drive circuit 205. The light signal of the light emitting element 208 is received by the infrared light receiving element 209, and the output signal of the light receiving element 209 is input to the infrared photoelectric conversion circuit 210 and converted into an electric signal.

As described above, in this embodiment, instead of the wire transmission of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 (a), wireless transmission using infrared rays is performed, so that the flexibility of pen operation is improved. Become.

FIG. 1C shows another modification of the input pen provided with a movable member. In this figure,
Reference numeral 801 is the input pen of this embodiment, 802 is a case, and 804
Is an operating rod that reciprocates in the direction of arrow AA ′ in conjunction with the pen tip, 805 is a piezoelectric element, 806 is a piezoelectric element support member, 8
Reference numeral 07 denotes the piezoelectric element deformation allowable space, which is the piezoelectric element 80.
5 is crowned so as to cover the deformation allowable space 807. The rear end portion of the operation member 804 moves back and forth with respect to the piezoelectric element 805 by the reciprocating movement in the direction of arrow AA ′, and when the operation member 804 moves in the direction A, the piezoelectric element 805 bends by coming into contact with the piezoelectric element 805 and bending By the piezoelectric element 805 of the operating rod 804
A signal indicating the pressing pressure to the piezoelectric element 805 is output. Such an element is shown in FIG.
Unlike the embodiment shown in (a) and (b), the load is detected directly instead of the amount of movement. Therefore, the load information can be input with the same feeling as that of the handwriting. It is convenient to use it to control the height.

FIG. 2A shows the structure of the input device according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, 40
Reference numeral 1 is a tablet device, and 402 is its housing.
The housing 402 has a tubular shape, and the tablet plate 404 and its support mechanism are housed in the internal space thereof. This support mechanism is roughly composed of a tablet support plate 405 and a coil spring 406. The tablet plate 404 is mounted and fixed on the tablet support plate 404, and the back surface of the support plate 405 and the spring receiving portion 402a of the housing 402 are connected to each other. A coil spring 406 is attached between them, and the tablet board 4 is pressed by the input pen.
When 04 is pressed, the coil spring bends according to the pressure, and the support plate 405 moves up and down. A photo sensor 407 is arranged on the back surface side of the support plate 405, and an operation protrusion 405 is provided on the back surface of the support plate 405.
a is formed. The operation protrusion 405a faces the detection hole 407a of the photo sensor 407 so as to be able to advance and retreat, and the protrusion 405a moves in and out of the detection hole 407a of the photo sensor 407 by the vertical movement of the support plate 405. The output signal of the tablet 404 and the output signal of the photo sensor 407 are input to the control circuit described below. This control device includes a bus 408, a main control circuit 409 including an MPU, and an RO for storing a control program.
M410, RAM411 for storing data, and display device 4
12, display device control circuit 413, and tablet control circuit 4
14 and a load detection control circuit 415.

The main control circuit 409 executes control of the entire apparatus. The ROM 410 contains a control program including the input processing shown in FIG. 4, and the RAM 411 stores input coordinate data, processing data and display data. It

In the case of the apparatus configured as described above,
The tablet support base 405 is elastically supported by a coil spring 406 so that the tablet support base 405 can be moved up and down by the pressing load of the input pen, and a protrusion 505c is formed in the center of the back surface, and a photo sensor 507 is provided below the protrusion 505c. Since the load is detected by inserting / removing the projection 505c into / from the detection hole 507a, it is not necessary to provide the input pen with a complicated mechanism. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the coil springs are provided at the four corners of the back surface of the support 405, the support 405 can be supported in a stable state, and a stable vertical movement operation can be obtained.

FIG. 2B shows a fourth embodiment which is a modified example in which the movable member is arranged on the tablet support base. In this figure, 501 is a tablet device, 5
Reference numeral 02 is a housing, 504 is a tablet support plate, 505 is a tablet plate placed and fixed on the tablet support plate 504, 506 is a coil spring elastically supporting the tablet support plate 505, and 507 is a photo sensor. A protrusion 505c is formed on the back surface of the tablet support plate 504, and the protrusion 505c moves back and forth with respect to the detection hole 507a of the photo sensor 507 to detect the load of the pen. Here, since the tablet support base 505 is configured to be supported by one coil spring 506,
The elastic support mechanism can be simplified. Further, stopper projections 505d are formed at the four corners of the back surface of the support plate 505. By contacting the bottom surface of the housing 502 with the projection 505d, the amount of movement of the load detection projection 505c of the tablet support 505 is reliably limited, and damage to the photo sensor 507 is prevented. Note that the stopper protrusion 505d may be omitted if the movement amount of the load detection protrusion 505c can be surely limited by the thickness when the coil spring 506 is contracted most.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to use whether or not the pen tip of the input pen touches the tablet, and the load information in addition to the coordinate information at the time of the touch. It will be possible.

Further, according to the present invention, a movable member which is retracted by the load when the pen tip of the input pen is pressed against the pressure-sensitive tablet and which is urged to advance is provided, and the pen tip of the input pen is set on the tablet. Since the moving amount of the movable member is moved by an amount corresponding to the load when the pressing is performed and the moving amount is captured, the load information can be acquired as the moving amount.

Furthermore, the input processing means can be used to select a plurality of types of input processing according to the load of the input pen.

Furthermore, the pen tip constituent member of the input pen or the support plate of the tablet plate is constituted as a movable member,
This is provided so as to move back and forth with respect to the load detecting means, and when the movable member is pushed forward by the coil spring and the input pen is pressed against the tablet plate, the force of the spring is resisted and the pressing force is changed according to the pressing force. Since the movable member is configured to retract, the load of the pen tip can be reliably captured. In this case, if the load detecting means is composed of a photo sensor, the load can be detected in an analog or multi-valued manner. Further, if the load detecting means is composed of a micro switch, the simple structure will suffice when the load to be captured is binary.

Even if the load detecting means is composed of a piezoelectric element, the moving amount can be captured in an analog or multi-valued manner.

The output signal transmitting means of the load detecting means may be wired or wireless. In the case of wire, the transmission line can be composed of wires. In the case of wireless communication, either electrical communication or optical communication is possible.

In the movable member, the tablet support base is supported by a plurality of coil springs around its periphery at equal intervals, or a single coil spring supports the central portion thereof.

Such an input device of the present invention can be used to switch various input processes, for example, to switch the processing unit of scrolling or the processing speed of movement.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an input showing a configuration of a first embodiment (a), a second embodiment (b) and a third embodiment (c), which are embodiments in which a movable member is provided in an input pen of an input device of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a pen and a block diagram of a control circuit.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a tablet device and a block diagram of a control circuit showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment (a) and a fifth embodiment (b) which are embodiments in which a movable member is provided in the tablet device of the input device of the present invention. Fig.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing processing contents when scrolling is performed by the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents when a figure is moved by the device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing as a screen the flow of operations when performing the processing shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

101, 201 Stylus pen 102, 202 Case 103 Pen tip 104, 203 Control rod 105 Coil spring 106, 204 Photo sensor 107, 207, 408 Bus 108, 409 Main control circuit including MPU 109, 410 ROM 110 for storing control program 411 RAM for storing data 111 Input device control circuit 112 Input device such as tablet 113 Display device control circuit 114 Display device 115 Pen I / F circuit 116 Wiring wire 205 Light emission drive circuit 206 Battery 208 Infrared light emitting element 209 Infrared light receiving element 401, 501 tablet device 402,502 housing 404,504 tablet plate 405,505 support plate 406,506 coil spring 407,507 photo sensor 505a support plate body 505b bending Part 505c Operation protrusion 505d Stopper protrusion S301, S302, S601, S602 Coordinate data input process S303, S603, S605, S608 Coordinate data determination process S304, S604 Load data determination process S305 Line unit scrolling process S306 Screen unit scrolling process S606, S607, S609, S610, S611,
612 Coordinate data processing (screen display processing and movement control processing) 701 Screen 702 Graphic data 703 Start point registration mark mark for moving target designation 704 End point registration mark for moving target designation 705 Moving target designation area 706 Moving destination designation start point register mark 707 Moving destination designation End mark mark 708 Destination designation area

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A pressure-sensitive tablet, an input pen, a movable member retracted and urged by a load when the pen tip of the input pen is pressed against the pressure-sensitive tablet, and a movable member of the movable member. Based on the output of the load detecting means, a load detecting means for detecting the moving amount and detecting the load of the pen tip according to the moving amount, an input information processing means having a function of executing a plurality of types of input processing, An input device comprising: execution control means for selectively executing a plurality of modes of the input information processing means. 2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is configured as a pen tip of the input pen. 3. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is configured as a support mechanism of the pressure-sensitive tablet. 4. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the load detecting means is constituted by a photo sensor. 5. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the load detecting means is composed of a micro switch. 6. The load detecting means is composed of a piezoelectric element.
The input device according to the item. 7. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising signal transmission means for transmitting the output of the load detection means by wire. 8. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising signal transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the output of the load detection means. 9. The input device according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is constituted by a tablet support base. 10. The tablet supporting base is supported at equal intervals by a plurality of coil springs.
9. The input device according to any one of 9. 11. The input device according to claim 1, wherein a central portion of the tablet support base is supported by a single coil spring. 12. A first method for executing scroll processing line by line
2. A first scroll processing means that constitutes the input processing means of 1. and a second scroll processing means that constitutes the second input processing means that executes the scroll processing in page units. The input device according to any one of 1 to 11. 13. A first movement processing means as a first input processing means for designating target data of the movement processing, and a second movement as a second input processing means for designating a movement destination position of the movement processing. 13. The input device according to claim 1, further comprising a processing unit.