JP2000043485A - Electronic whiteboard system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the usage of a hand-written character recognizing software in an electronic whiteboard system, and improve the convenience. SOLUTION: This electronic whiteboard system is equipped with a PDP for the display of characters and images, a touch input device which is arranged on the front face of the PDP, and a computer 104 which performs a display control of the PDP based on an input from the touch input device, and a display face and a writing face of the electronic whiteboard are constituted of the PDP and the touch input device. The computer 104 is loaded with an electronic whiteboard software 506 to provide electronic whiteboard functions, a character recognizing softward 514 which recognizes hand-written characters being input through the touch input device 102 and forms character information, and an OS 505 having a multi-window function, and the electronic whiteboard software 506 displays tool bars for which icons to start the hand-written character recognizing software are integrated, on the display screen.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic blackboard system, and more particularly, to an electronic blackboard system for improving convenience when inputting handwritten characters on an electronic blackboard.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been an electronic blackboard device that reads handwritten information written on a writing surface such as a whiteboard or a writing sheet using a writing implement with a dedicated scanner and outputs it on recording paper with a dedicated printer. Known,
This type of electronic blackboard device is used as a so-called copy board.

There is also provided an electronic blackboard system in which a touch panel is arranged on a writing surface of an electronic blackboard and information written by hand on the writing surface is input in real time. For example, a soft board manufactured by Microfield Graphics, Inc. (Microfield Graphics, Inc.) has an optical touch panel on a whiteboard that is a writing surface, and displays visuals such as characters and pictures written on this whiteboard. This is a touch input device that can capture data in real time into a connected personal computer (personal computer). In an electronic blackboard system using this software board, visual data captured by the software board is input to a personal computer and displayed on a CRT, displayed on a large screen using a liquid crystal projector, or printed on a recording paper by a printer. It is possible to output.
It is also possible to project the screen of the personal computer to which the software board is connected on the software board with a liquid crystal projector, and operate the personal computer screen on the software board using a dedicated pen.

Further, a display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel surface disposed on the front surface of the display device, and a control for controlling display of the display device based on an input from the touch input device There is also provided an electronic blackboard system that includes a display device and a touch input device and configures a display surface and a writing surface of the electronic blackboard. For example, Smart Technologies (SMAR
T Technologies Inc.) uses a liquid crystal projector connected to a personal computer to project images of characters, pictures, figures, and graphics onto a panel, which is arranged in front of the projection surface (display surface) of the panel. Using a pressure-sensitive touch panel (writing surface), the handwritten information is taken into a personal computer, the handwritten information and the image information are combined in the personal computer, and can be displayed again in real time via a liquid crystal projector.

[0005] As described above, in such an electronic blackboard system, an image input using the touch input device can be displayed as an overwrite image on an image on the screen displayed by the display device. It has already been widely used for meetings, presentations, education, etc., and its use effect has been highly evaluated.

Further, by activating handwritten character recognition software on a personal computer equipped with a multitasking OS having a multiwindow function, handwritten characters input using a touch input device are recognized, and the generated character information is displayed. Can also be displayed.

[0007]

However, according to the above-described conventional electronic blackboard system, the handwritten character recognition software is installed in a personal computer to recognize handwritten characters and display the generated character information on a display device. However, even if the electronic blackboard function is being used, if the handwritten character recognition software is used, it is necessary to return to the multitask OS screen and start the handwritten character recognition software. However, there is a problem that the operation is complicated and the convenience is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has as its object to facilitate the use of handwritten character recognition software in an electronic blackboard system and improve convenience.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic blackboard system comprising a display device for displaying characters and images, and a touch panel surface provided in front of the display device. A touch input device provided, and a control device that performs display control of the display device based on an input from the touch input device, and a display surface and writing of an electronic blackboard using the display device and the touch input device. In an electronic blackboard system constituting a surface, the control device controls the display device and a touch input device to provide an electronic blackboard function, and handwritten characters input via the touch input device. Handwriting recognition software that recognizes and generates character information;
A personal computer equipped with a multitasking OS having a multi-window function, wherein the electronic blackboard software displays, on a display screen thereof, a toolbar integrating icons for activating the handwritten character recognition software. It is.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic whiteboard system according to the first aspect, when the handwritten character recognition software is started from the toolbar, the handwritten characters are displayed on a display screen of the electronic blackboard software. An input window is displayed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic whiteboard system according to the first or second aspect, the display screen of the electronic whiteboard software is displayed while the window for inputting handwritten characters is displayed. When an area is specified, character information recognized by the handwritten character recognition software is displayed in the specified area.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an electronic blackboard system according to the present invention will be described. 1. System configuration Operation 3. The effects will be described in detail in order of effects with reference to the accompanying drawings. The electronic blackboard system according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the use of handwritten character recognition software is facilitated to improve convenience, and this point is mainly described in “2. Operation”. By the way, it will be explained.

1. System Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic blackboard system according to the present embodiment. Electronic blackboard system 100 shown in FIG.
Are mainly a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as “PDP”) 101 for displaying an image, and a PDP 1
01 and a touch input device 102 capable of inputting a character or a figure by touching a touch surface (writing surface) with a fingertip or a touch pen, and a coordinate position on the touch surface touched by the fingertip or the touch pen. A controller for a touch input device (hereinafter referred to as a “controller”) 103 for performing calculations and the like, coordinate position information is input from the controller 103, and is input via the touch input device 102 based on the input coordinate position information. A computer 104 (personal computer) that controls the entire system, such as processing for drawing characters and graphics on the PDP 101, is provided.

Various peripheral devices can be connected to the computer 104 of the electronic blackboard system 100. FIG. 1 shows, as an example, a state in which a computer 105 is connected to a scanner 105 for reading an image of a document and a printer 106 for outputting image data to recording paper. Further, the electronic blackboard system 100 can be connected to the network 107 via the computer 104. Data created by another computer connected to the network 107 can be displayed on the PDP 101, or data created by the electronic blackboard system 100 can be displayed. Can be transferred to another computer.

Although not shown, the PD
The P101 is provided with a video input terminal and a speaker. The PDP 101 can be used as a large-screen monitor by connecting various information devices and AV devices such as a laser disk player, a DVD player, and a video camera, in addition to the video player 108. Can be.

Here, as the PDP 101, a large screen type such as 40 inches or 50 inches which can be used as an electronic blackboard is used. Plasma displays include:
Since it is possible to increase the size, it is not necessary to darken the room as in the case of using a projector with high brightness, and it has a wide viewing angle unlike liquid crystal displays, and it also has the feature that it can smoothly play moving images, In the present embodiment, a plasma display is adopted as the display. Since a plasma display is used as described above, the display device in this embodiment can be reduced in thickness (size).

As the touch input device 102, an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type touch input device is used. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a touch input device used in the electronic blackboard system; This touch input device 102
And a transmitting transducer 202 for transmitting a surface acoustic wave to one surface of a substrate 200 which has a transparent substrate 200 and serves as a touch surface (writing surface) 201 for writing characters and graphics with a fingertip or a touch pen. , A receiving transducer 203 for receiving a surface acoustic wave transmitted from the transmitting transducer 202, and a reflection array 204 for reflecting the surface acoustic wave transmitted from the transmitting transducer 202 and guiding the surface acoustic wave to the receiving transducer 203. Similarly, 205, a transmitting transducer 206 for transmitting a surface acoustic wave, a receiving transducer 207 for receiving a surface acoustic wave transmitted from the transmitting transducer 206, and a surface acoustic wave transmitted from the transmitting transducer 206. To the receiving transformer. And a reflective array 208, 209 for guiding a surface acoustic wave inducer 207. Note that the touch surface 201 has a size corresponding to the screen size of the PDP 101.

In FIG. 2, the transmitting transducer 2
02.206 and receiving transducer 203.2
07 is a cable 210 and a connector 211, respectively.
Is connected to the controller 103 via the. The cable 210 is preferably routed along the edge of the substrate 200 so as to pass through the shortest distance to the transmitting transducers 202 and 206 and the receiving transducers 203 and 207, but is not shown here.

When the cable 210 and the receiving transducers 203 and 207 are connected, the cable 2
10 shield layer is peeled off and the receiving transducer 2
03.207 must be connected. Therefore, the portion of the cable 210 from which the shield layer has been removed becomes an antenna and picks up electromagnetic waves generated from the PDP 101 as noise. Therefore, a shielding member, for example, a copper shield tape (copper foil tape) is provided between the PDP 101 and the substrate 200. ). This shield tape is
The present inventors have found that when the PDP 101 is combined with the ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type touch input device 102, the touch input device 102 does not function with high accuracy due to the influence of the electromagnetic waves generated from the PDP 101. It is provided based on the result.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the shield tape. FIG. 3 shows a state in which a portion where the receiving transducers 202 and 206 are provided on the substrate 200 is viewed from the touch surface 201.
PDP 1 of substrate 200 with masking tape 301 interposed
01 (the surface opposite to the touch surface 201). The shield tape 300 shown in FIG. 3 has an L-shaped shape, and as a result of the experiment, the width is 35 mm ± 3 m.
m, length in the vertical direction with respect to the substrate 200 is 70 mm ± 20
mm, the horizontal length with respect to the substrate 200 is 130 mm ±
A size of 20 mm has been found to be optimal.

In FIG. 3, a shield tape 30 is provided so as to cover the receiving transducers 203 and 207.
0 is provided between the PDP 101 and the substrate 200, but by further providing a similar shield tape on the touch surface 201 side, noise countermeasures can be strengthened. In this case, the receiving transducers 203 and 207 may be covered with one shield tape. However, when a shield tape is provided on the touch surface 201 side, care must be taken so that the shield tape does not contact the reflective arrays 205 and 209.

As the substrate 200, any type of material such as glass and plastic may be used as long as it is transparent and capable of transmitting surface acoustic waves. Further, for example, when the substrate 200 is a glass substrate, the reflection arrays 204, 205, 208, and 209 screen-print a glass paste,
0 is formed by firing at a predetermined temperature.

Next, an outline of a method for specifying the coordinates of the touch position when the user touches the touch surface with a fingertip or a touch pen will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the process of specifying the coordinates of the touch position. In FIG. 4, the transmitting transducer 202 and the receiving transducer 203 are used to detect the position of the touch position in the X-axis direction, and the transmitting transducer 206 and the receiving transducer 207 detect the touch position in the Y-axis direction. Used to Here, for convenience of explanation, the description will focus on the processing for detecting the position in the X-axis direction.

The process of specifying the coordinates of the touch position is executed by the touch input device 102 and the controller 103. The transmitting transducer 202 receives an electric signal from the controller 103 and converts the inputted electric signal into mechanical vibration. As a result, a surface acoustic wave that propagates along the surface or interface of the touch surface 201 of the substrate 200 is generated.

The surface acoustic waves generated by the transmitting transducer 202 are sequentially reflected by the reflecting elements constituting the reflecting array 204 at 90 degrees from the side closer to the transmitting transducer 202, and propagate on the touch surface 201. become. That is, the phenomenon that a part of the surface acoustic wave is reflected and a part of the surface acoustic wave is repeated by each of the reflective elements constituting the reflective array 204 is repeated.
Surface acoustic wave propagates over the entire surface of. The surface acoustic waves reflected by each reflective element constituting the reflective array 204 propagate in the touch surface 201 in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the touch surface 201 and with a time difference based on the position of the reflected reflective element. Go. Then, the reflection array 205
Reflects the surface acoustic wave propagating through the touch surface 201 by 90 degrees, and guides the reflected surface acoustic wave to the receiving transducer 203.

The receiving transducer 203 receives the surface acoustic wave, converts it into an electric signal,
To enter. After amplifying the input electric signal, the controller 103 performs rectification and A / D conversion processing. Then, the controller 103 processes the A / D-converted signal along the time axis so that the position on the touch surface 201 in the X-axis direction corresponds to time.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the user touches an arbitrary position on the touch surface 201 with a fingertip. In this case, the surface acoustic wave propagating at the touch position is absorbed or scattered by the fingertip, and is greatly attenuated. By specifying the point at which such attenuation has occurred based on the result of the above-described signal processing, the position of the touch position in the X-axis direction can be specified. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a solid line crossing the touch surface 201 is specified as the position of the touch position in the X-axis direction.

As for the position of the touch position in the Y-axis direction,
It can be specified by performing the same processing as the processing for specifying the position in the X-axis direction using the transmitting transducer 206, the receiving transducer 207, and the reflection arrays 208 and 209. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a dotted line crossing the touch surface 201 is specified as the position of the touch position in the Y-axis direction.

In this way, the controller 103
The positions in the axial direction and the Y-axis direction are specified, and are input to the computer 104 shown in FIG. 1 as coordinate position information. Based on the input coordinate position information, the computer 104 executes various processes described later, such as displaying the mouse cursor on the position touched by the user on the touch surface 201 on the PDP 101, and the like.

The receiving transducer 203.2
07, the surface acoustic wave is attenuated by the reflection by each reflection array and the propagation of the touch surface 201,
The electric signals output from the receiving transducers 203 and 207 are very small. Therefore, when noise such as an electromagnetic wave generated from the PDP 101 is mixed, it becomes impossible to detect the attenuation of the surface acoustic wave due to the touch of the touch surface 201 due to the influence of the noise. The shield tape 300 shown in FIG. 3 is provided to prevent such a situation from occurring.
In the present embodiment, the coordinate detection of the touch position with high accuracy can be performed due to the presence of. In other words, the shield tape 300 has a large role to enable a plasma display to be employed as a display device used with the ultrasonic elastic wave touch input device 102.

Subsequently, the computer 104 shown in FIG.
Will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the computer 104. Computer 104 shown in FIG.
Is a personal computer, a CPU 500 for controlling the entire system, a ROM 501 storing a boot program and the like, a RAM 502 used as a work area of the CPU 500, and a keyboard for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, and the like. 503, a mouse 504 for moving a cursor, selecting a range, and the like, and a multitasking operating system having a multiwindow function.
A system (OS) 505, electronic blackboard software 506 for causing the electronic blackboard system 100 to function as an electronic blackboard, character recognition software 514 for recognizing handwritten characters input through the touch input device 102 and generating character information, and a touch input device 102 And a hard disk 509 storing various application programs 508 such as a touch panel driver 507 and a word processor / spreadsheet software for operating the controller 104 as a coordinate input device on the computer 104;
A graphics board 510 for controlling the display of an image on the DP 101; and a network card 511 (or a modem) for connecting the electronic blackboard system 100 to the network 107 via the computer 104.
And the controller 103, the scanner 105, and the printer 1
Interface (I / F) 5 for connecting to a device such as 06
12 and a bus 513 for connecting the above components.

In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, an interface for connecting a peripheral device to the computer 104 is shown by one block called I / F 512. Specifically, the I / F 512 is, for example, a controller 1
03, a serial interface such as RS-232C for connecting the printer 106, a parallel interface such as Centronics for connecting the printer 106,
It is composed of SCSI or the like for connecting a scanner.

Although the controller 103 is independent of the computer 104 as shown in FIG. 1, the controller 103 may be built in the computer 104. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the computer 104 includes a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, an MO drive, and the like.

The devices constituting the electronic blackboard system 100 described above are housed in a housing unit and integrated, so that the overall system can be reduced in size, operability, handling, and convenience. The storage of the electronic blackboard system 100 in the housing unit in this manner is performed by the electronic blackboard system 100.
Is composed of a plurality of devices as shown in FIG.
If these are managed separately, a large installation space is required, and there is a problem that it takes time to move.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the housing unit containing the electronic blackboard system 100 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the housing unit as viewed from the rear side. A housing unit 600 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 includes a panel unit 601 containing the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102 and a controller 10.
3 and a panel storage 6
And a stand 603 for supporting the controller housing portion 602 at a predetermined height.
04, a scanner 105, a printer 106, a device storage unit 604 that stores a video player 108 and the like.

PDP 101 and Touch Input Device 102
Are integrated so that the touch input device 102 is located on the front surface of the PDP 101, and as shown in FIG.
Are stored in the panel unit 601 so that the As described above, the panel unit 601 houses the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102, and forms the display surface and the writing surface (touch surface 201) of the electronic blackboard.

As shown in FIG. 7, the controller 103 is housed in a controller housing 602 provided on the back of the panel section 601. Then, the panel unit 601
Is the image display surface of the PDP 101 and the touch input device 1
01 so that the touch surface 201 is located at a predetermined height,
The stand 60 of the device storage unit 604 is provided via the stay 605.
3 and supported. Further, the controller storage section 602 is similarly attached to the stand 603.

On the front side of the panel section 601 shown in FIG. 6, reference numeral 606 denotes a speaker, and 607 denotes a PDP 101.
Are shown. Although a detailed description is omitted, in the electronic blackboard system 100 according to the present embodiment, switching of image output sources for the PDP 101 such as the computer 104 and the video player 108, volume adjustment, and the like can be operated by a remote controller. It is possible, and 608 corresponds to a remote control light receiving unit that receives light from the remote control.

On the rear side of the panel unit 601 shown in FIG. 7, reference numeral 609 denotes a moving handle of the electronic blackboard system 100, 610 denotes an operation panel for setting the brightness, contrast, etc. of the PDP 101, and 611 will be described later. The angle adjustment lever for adjusting the angle of the panel unit 601 is shown. Although not shown, the computer 104,
A connector panel for connecting the video player 108 and the like to the PDP 101, the controller 103 and the like is provided.

That is, the image output cable and the audio output cable of the computer 104 are connected to the PDP 101 via this connector panel, and the computer 104 and the controller 103 are connected via this connector panel. In addition, video player 1
Various information devices such as 08 and AV devices are also connected to the PDP 101 via this connector panel.

Device storage section 604 of housing unit 600
Is a computer storage unit 612 for storing the computer 104 from below in the vertical direction, a video player 108, a laser disk player, a DV
A video storage unit 613 for storing various information devices and AV devices such as a D player, and a printer storage unit 614 for storing the printer 106 are provided. As described above, by arranging heavy equipment from below in the vertical direction, even when the board unit 601 having the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102 exists above, even when the board unit 601 is moved and installed, The stability of the body unit 600 can be ensured. Note that the device storage unit 604 is not provided with a storage portion for storing the scanner 105 illustrated in FIG. 1, but as long as a condition that a heavy device is arranged from below in the vertical direction is maintained, the scanner A storage section for the storage 105 may be provided.

Doors are provided on both sides of the computer housing 612 so that a floppy disk or a CD-ROM can be inserted and removed. The front of the video storage unit 613 is a door so that a video tape, a laser disk, or the like can be inserted and removed. Further, the front of the printer housing 614 is also a door, which allows the user to operate the printer 106. The door has a touch pen (not shown) for touching the touch surface 201 of the touch input device 102. Can be stored. In addition, the back of the printer housing 614 is not covered by the housing, and the printer 106 can be housed so that the paper feed tray is located outside the housing unit 600 (see FIG. 8), thereby improving operability. Have been.

On the front side of the device storage section 604 shown in FIG. 6, reference numeral 615 denotes a keyboard base on which the keyboard 503 of the computer 104 can be always used, and 616 denotes the electronic blackboard system 100 in the housing unit 6.
The casters for moving every 00 are shown. Further, on the rear side of the device storage unit 604 shown in FIG. 7, 617 is a power tap for supplying power to the PDP 101, the controller 103, the computer 104, and the like.
Reference numeral 18 denotes a cable guide for wiring various cables, and reference numeral 619 denotes a main power switch of the electronic blackboard system 100.

As described above, by storing the electronic whiteboard system 100 in the housing unit 600, the electronic whiteboard system 100 can be easily moved and installed simply by moving the housing unit 600. In addition, the device storage section 604 of the housing unit 600 has a gravity direction (vertical direction).
Since the heavy devices are arranged in order from the bottom, the stability of the housing unit 600 at the time of moving and setting can be ensured.

Further, in consideration of the possibility that light of, for example, a fluorescent lamp directly enters the display surface of the PDP 101 and the image displayed on the PDP 101 becomes difficult to see, An angle adjustment mechanism for adjusting the angle of the display 601 (display surface and writing surface of the electronic blackboard) is provided. Therefore, a configuration example of the angle adjusting mechanism will be described.

FIG. 8 shows the housing unit 60 viewed from the right side.
FIG. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 800 denotes a rotation fulcrum;
01 denotes a rotation guide, respectively, and the board unit 601 includes
It is rotatably attached to the stunts 603 existing on the left and right sides of the housing unit 600 via the stay 605 with the rotation fulcrum 800 as a fulcrum. In other words, the board unit 601 can be turned around the turning fulcrum 800 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8 so that the head is swung up and down, so that the light of the fluorescent lamp is not reflected on the PDP 101. It can be adjusted. Here, the rotation guide 801 regulates the angle of the board part 601 that rotates about the rotation fulcrum 800. The angle adjustment lever 611 is
The angle is adjusted by rotating the board unit 601 via a mechanism described later.

In the present embodiment, the angle of the board 601 is changed from 0 degree (in a state where the board 601 stands upright) to 5 degrees (the board 6 is operated) by operating the angle adjusting lever 611.
01 is tilted downward). The rotation fulcrum 800, the rotation guide 801,
The angle adjusting mechanism 802 is configured by the angle adjusting lever 611 and the components described below.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 803 denotes a tray of the printer 106 housed in the printer housing 614. As shown in FIG. 8, an angle adjustment lever 611 for adjusting the angle of the board unit 601 is provided at a position where the angle adjustment lever 611 does not hinder the feeding of recording paper to the tray 803.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views showing the configuration of the angle adjusting mechanism 802 as viewed from above, and FIG.
10 shows a state where the angle is set to 5 degrees, and FIG. 10 shows a state where the angle is set to 0 degrees. FIG. 11 is similar to FIG. 9 and FIG.
FIG. 11 is a side view of the angle adjustment mechanism 802 shown in FIG. 10 and corresponds to a state where the angle of the board unit 601 shown in FIG.

9 to 11, reference numeral 900 denotes a stay 6
The PDP angle 902 is rotatably mounted by a PDP fulcrum 901 during the time 05, and the 902 is rotatably mounted by a stand fulcrum 903 between the stands 603, and is used together with the angle adjustment lever 611 when adjusting the angle of the board unit 601. The stunt stay to which the lever receiving base 904 is attached is shown.

The angle adjusting lever 611 has such a shape as to sandwich the PDP angle 900 and the stand stay 902, and has a lever fulcrum 905 on the PDP angle 900 side.
Is mounted to be rotatable. In addition, the angle adjusting lever 611 has a flat portion 906 and a slope portion 907 of a lever receiving base 904 attached to the stand stay 902.
And a bearing 908 that rotates with the rotation of the angle adjustment lever 611 is provided.

Here, it is assumed that the state of the angle adjusting mechanism 802 is in the state shown in FIG. 9 and the angle of the board part 601 is 5 degrees. When the user operates the angle adjustment lever 611 to the left (in the direction of the arrow in the figure), the angle adjustment lever 611 rotates around the lever fulcrum 905, and the bearing 908 of the angle adjustment lever 611 is accordingly moved to the lever receiving position. As a result of moving the flat portion 906 of the base 904 and climbing the slope of the slope portion 907, the PDP angle 9
00 is generated. That is, the lever receiving base 904 is connected to the stand 6 via the stand stay 902.
03, the PDP angle 900 is fixed to the board portion 60 at the rotation fulcrum 800 and the rotation guide 801.
1 is attached to the stay 605 that supports the PDP 1 rotatably.
The board unit 601 can be rotated together with the angle 900 (the lower end of the board unit 601 can be pushed forward).

By operating the angle adjusting lever 611, the angle adjusting mechanism 802 changes from the state shown in FIG. 9 to the state shown in FIG. 10, and the angle of the board 601 changes from 5 degrees to 0 degrees. Can be. That is, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, by increasing the interval between the PDP angle 900 and the stand stay 902 from L1 to L2, the angle of the board part 601 can be changed from 5 degrees to 0 degrees.

Similarly, from the state shown in FIG. 10, the user moves the angle adjustment lever 611 rightward (in the direction of the arrow in the figure).
The angle of the board part 601 can be changed from 0 degree to 5 degrees by operating the above.

Although not shown, the angle of the angle adjusting lever 611 shown in FIG. 11 also changes as the angle of the board 601 changes. However, the PDP stay 900 and the stand stay 90
2 are rotatably fixed, so that they are not affected by an angle change of the board unit 601.

As shown in FIG. 12, by providing one or a plurality of springs 1200 between the PDP angle 900 and the stand stay 902, the operability of the angle adjusting lever 611 can be improved. This is because the weight of the board unit 901 and the angle adjustment lever 611
This takes into account that the operation of the angle adjustment lever 611 becomes heavy depending on the length of the angle adjustment lever 611. Therefore,
The operability can be further improved by adjusting the number of springs 1200 and the spring force according to the weight of the board portion 601.

The lever receiving base 904 is fixed to the stand stay 902 by, for example, a screw or the like, and a hole (not shown) of the stand stay 902 through which the screw is passed may be formed as a long hole like a rectangle. preferable. As a result, since the fixing position of the lever receiving base 904 can be changed as desired, the angle range of the adjustable board portion 601 can be changed.

Further, as shown in FIG.
04 is provided on the PDP stay 900, and the lever fulcrum 905 is provided on the stand stay 902, so that the angle of the board 601 can be adjusted in the same manner as the angle adjustment mechanism 802 shown in FIGS. It can be carried out.

The configuration of the angle adjusting mechanism 802 described above is merely an example, and various designs and changes can be made. For example, the constituent members of the angle adjustment lever 611 may be provided on the upper side of the board unit 601, and the positions of the rotation fulcrum 800 and the rotation guide 801 may be reversed.

As described above, by providing the housing unit 600 with the angle adjusting mechanism 802 for adjusting the angle of the board unit 601, it is possible to make disturbance light incident on the PDP 101, particularly, light from a lighting fixture such as a fluorescent lamp on the ceiling. Can be avoided. Therefore, the screen is easy to see, and the convenience of the electronic blackboard system 100 can be improved.

[0061] 2. Operation Next, the electronic blackboard system 100 having the above-described configuration will be described.
(1) Overview (2) When using the system as an electronic blackboard (3) When using the system as a computer (4) Adjustment of touch input device (5) Use of AV equipment (6) Network connection It will be described in order. The point that the use of the handwritten character recognition software, which is a feature of the electronic blackboard system according to the present embodiment, is facilitated and the convenience is improved will be described in “(2) When the system is used as an electronic blackboard”. I do.

(1) Overview The electronic blackboard system 100 according to the present embodiment fuses a large-screen PDP 101 and a touch input device 102 of an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave method, and uses a large screen like a projector, Free writing on the screen with a touch pen,
This is a communication tool that enables clear display of computer data and can be used for meetings and meetings.

Specifically, the user operates the touch input device 10
By writing characters and figures on the touch surface 201 of the second screen with a fingertip or a touch pen, the written characters and figures
01 can be displayed. In addition, the screen of a word processor or spreadsheet software can be captured, characters and figures can be written on the captured screen, and a part of the screen can be emphasized with a pen tool.

In the system, since the screen displayed on the PDP 101 is one page and the written information is managed on a page basis, editing processing such as displaying a list of all pages, rearranging pages, adding and deleting pages, and the like is performed. It can be carried out. Each created page can be saved as a file, and when a meeting of the same agenda is held several times, it can be called and used as many times as necessary. Then, the called file can be processed and reused for creating new material.

A file created by another computer using the presentation software is transferred to the network 1.
07, etc., and it is also possible to give a presentation using the file. Since the presentation can be performed using the data of the file, the OHP film required for the presentation using the projector is unnecessary. As described above, while performing the presentation, the touch input device 1 is displayed on the screen on which the file created by the presentation software is opened.
02, and a more effective presentation can be made.

Further, the computer can be used as a normal computer, and can be used for education of a method of operating the computer by using the large-screen PDP 101.

(2) When using the system as an electronic blackboard Subsequently, when using the electronic blackboard system 100 as an electronic blackboard, 1) electronic blackboard software 2) writing of characters and figures by handwriting 3) handwritten characters and figures 4) Drawing of figures 5) Character input by handwritten character recognition 6) Creation of new page 7) Open file created before 8) Import screen of word processor, spreadsheet software, presentation software 9) During creation A list of pages is displayed. 10) Save the created page. 11) Print processing. 12) Others. In the above “5) Character input by handwritten character recognition”, a specific description will be given of the point that the use of handwritten character recognition software, which is a feature of the electronic blackboard system according to the present embodiment, is facilitated to improve convenience. I do.

1) Electronic Whiteboard Software When the electronic whiteboard software 506 shown in FIG. 5 is executed by the CPU 500, the electronic whiteboard system 100 can be operated as an electronic whiteboard. The electronic blackboard software 506 is similar to various application programs 508 such as a word processor and a spreadsheet software.
505 is a type of application program that operates under the control of 505. In this embodiment, when the main power switch 619 of the system shown in FIG.
It is preferable in terms of workability to set the electronic blackboard software 506 to be activated immediately after the activation of the electronic blackboard 505. However, the desktop screen provided by the OS 505 may be displayed when the system is started, and the electronic blackboard software 506 may be started by selecting an icon displayed on the desktop screen.

When the electronic blackboard software 506 is started, an electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG.
Displayed above. The electronic blackboard screen 1400 corresponds to, for example, a writing surface of a whiteboard. Touch surface 201 of touch input device 102 located in front of PDP 101 displaying electronic blackboard screen 1400
When the user draws a character or figure on top with a fingertip or touch pen,
The electronic blackboard screen 140 on the PDP 101 displays the characters and graphics written by the user on the touch surface 201 as if the characters and graphics were written on the whiteboard with the pen via the touch input device 102, the controller 103, and the computer 104.
0 is drawn.

The electronic blackboard software 506 is configured to manage information on a page basis, and the electronic blackboard screen 1400 corresponds to an information writing area for one page managed by the electronic blackboard software 506. The user can operate the electronic blackboard software 506 to create a plurality of pages, and display any page among them on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.
Can be displayed as

Further, the electronic blackboard software 506 is provided in FIG.
23, a toolbar 1401 including a plurality of buttons for performing various operations is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400. Here, an outline of functions assigned to each button in the toolbar 1401 will be described. As will be described later, the toolbar displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 includes an extended toolbar (see FIG. 15) and a graphic drawing toolbar (see FIG. 16) in addition to the toolbar 1401.

Computer screen button 1402: PD
The display on P101 is switched to a computer screen (a desktop screen or a screen of another application program). Pen button 1403: A character or line can be written on PDP 101 by handwriting (use of pen tool is specified). -Eraser button 1404: A handwritten character or line can be erased. -Previous page button 1405: Displays the previous page.・ Page number window 1406: Current electronic blackboard screen 1
The number of pages displayed as 400 is displayed. Next page button 1407: Displays the next page. Print button 1408: Prints the page of the file currently being created by printer 106. Thumbnail button 1409: Displays a list of pages making up the file currently being created. Exit button 1410: Terminates the electronic blackboard software 506. Extension button 1411: Extension toolbar 1 shown in FIG.
Display 500. When an extension button 1411 in the extension toolbar 1500 is touched, the screen returns to the toolbar 1401 shown in FIG. A handwritten character recognition input button 1412: A handwritten input board (see FIG. 28) described later is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400. Characters input by handwriting on the handwriting input board can be recognized, and the recognized characters can be displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

The function assigned to each button in the extension toolbar 1500 displayed when the extension button 1411 is touched will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same buttons as those in the toolbar 1401 shown in FIG. 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

File button 1501: A new page can be opened or a previously created file can be opened. Save button 1502: Saves the currently created file. Display button 1503: Switches between thumbnail display, whole display, and window display, and can set zoom (enlarge) display. Graphic drawing button 1504: A graphic drawing toolbar 1600 shown in FIG. 16 is displayed, and a line, a rectangle, and an ellipse can be drawn (use of a graphic drawing tool is designated). Each button in the graphic drawing toolbar 1600 will be described later. Background setting button 1505: A background color of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 displayed on the PDP 101 can be set. Option button 1506: display of the electronic blackboard software 506 at the time of power-on and at the time of termination, and setting of page insertion when capturing another screen described later can be performed. In addition, a setting for changing a work folder can be made. Help button 1507: A help screen on which operation and function descriptions are described can be displayed.

Further, a graphic drawing toolbar 1600 displayed when the graphic drawing button 1504 is touched
The function assigned to each of the buttons inside will be described with reference to FIG.

Selection button 1601: When editing a created figure, a figure to be edited can be selected. Straight line button 1602: A straight line can be drawn. -Square button 1603: A square can be drawn. Ellipse button 1604: An ellipse can be drawn. Edit button 1605: Edits the created figure.

The electronic blackboard software 506 can know which button the user has touched based on the coordinate position information input from the controller 103.

Further, the user can move the toolbar to a desired place by touching a predetermined position of each toolbar shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 with the fingertip and moving the fingertip as it is.

The electronic blackboard screen 140 shown in FIG.
0 is a display form called so-called full-screen display
It is displayed on the entire display area 101. The user touches the display button 1503 in the extension toolbar 1500 and performs a predetermined operation, so that the electronic blackboard screen 14 is displayed.
00 can be switched to window display. Further, since the electronic blackboard software 506 is a type of application program that operates on the OS 505, the display of the PDP 101 is displayed by touching a computer screen button 1402 in the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500) as described later. It is possible to easily switch from the electronic blackboard screen 1400 to a desktop screen or a display screen of a word processor or the like.

Further, the operation of the touch input device 102 (touch on the touch surface 201) includes not only a fingertip and a touch pen but also
The operation may be performed using any material that can attenuate surface acoustic waves. Therefore, in the following description, for example, “touch with a fingertip”
Is described, the same operation can be performed by touching with a touch pen or another object.

2) Writing of Characters and Figures by Handwriting Next, various operations using the above-described electronic blackboard software 506 will be described in order. Here, a method of writing characters and figures by handwriting will be described.

The electronic blackboard software 506 has a pen tool for writing characters and figures on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 by hand using a user's fingertip or touch pen like a real pen. The pen tool is used when the user operates the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 150).
By touching the pen button 1403 in 0), it becomes available. The user can display a corresponding character or line on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 by writing a character on the blackboard or whiteboard by handwriting and writing a character or line on the touch surface 201 with a fingertip or a touch pen. it can. With this pen tool, the user's fingertip or touch pen becomes like a real pen, and it is also possible to set the color and line thickness of characters and figures that can be written with the fingertip.
FIG. 17 shows that the result of writing characters and lines by hand is PDP10.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state displayed on an electronic blackboard screen 1400 above the first electronic blackboard;

Here, referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5,
Processing for displaying characters on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 will be briefly described. When the user writes a character on the touch surface 201 with a fingertip, the surface acoustic wave propagating on the touch surface 201 is attenuated. As a result, the controller 103 can obtain coordinate position information corresponding to the trajectory of the fingertip based on the attenuation of the surface acoustic wave, and sequentially input the obtained coordinate position information to the computer 104. In the computer 104, when the coordinate position information is input from the controller 103, the electronic blackboard software 506 and the OS 505 generate drawing information for drawing a line in a preset color and thickness, and adjust the drawing information to the corresponding coordinate position. To the video memory (not shown) of the graphics board 510. The graphics board 510 transmits an image signal to the PDP 101 according to the contents of the video memory, and controls a process of displaying the same character as the character written on the touch surface 201 by the user on the PDP 101.

[0086] In short, the computer 104 recognizes the touch input device 102 and the controller 103 as a pointing device such as a mouse, so that the computer 104 writes characters using a mouse on drawing software. Will be performed. It should be noted that the following processes such as erasing characters and drawing graphics are also performed in the process described above.

3) Erasing Handwritten Characters / Figures By touching the eraser button 1404, the user can erase characters and figures written by hand on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 by erasing them. When the user touches the eraser button 1404, the user's fingertip or touch pen can be used like a real eraser, and the size of the eraser, that is, the range in which characters and figures can be erased at one time can be set. FIG. 18 shows an eraser 1 for erasing the handwritten characters and lines shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state when erasing is performed at 800.

In the handwritten character erasing mode,
As shown in FIG. 19, a handwritten character or line
The characters and lines in the frame 1900 can be erased at a time by enclosing with 900 (enclosing).

4) Drawing of Graphic The electronic blackboard software 506 is provided with a graphic drawing tool for drawing a graphic such as a straight line, a rectangle or an ellipse.
This graphic drawing tool can be used via the drawing toolbar 1600 shown in FIG. The user touches the extension button 1411 of the toolbar 1400 (see FIG. 14) to open the extension toolbar 1500.
Is displayed (see FIG. 15), and the extended toolbar 1500 is displayed.
By touching the drawing button 1504 of FIG.
The drawing toolbar 1600 shown in FIG.
Can be displayed above.

Drawing a Straight Line When drawing a straight line, the user touches a straight line button 1602 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, and then touches an arbitrary point on the touch surface 201 which is a start point of the straight line with the fingertip to directly set an end point. The fingertip may be moved to a certain location, and the fingertip may be separated from the touch surface 201. As a result, as shown in FIG. 20, a straight line is drawn on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

Drawing a Rectangle When drawing a rectangle, the user must use the drawing toolbar 1600.
After touching the middle square button 1603 with the fingertip, the user touches an arbitrary place on the touch surface 201 with the fingertip, moves the fingertip in any direction as it is, and separates the fingertip from the touch surface 201. As a result, a rectangle is drawn on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG.

In the electronic blackboard software 506,
A function is provided for easily creating a table using the rectangle drawn as described above. First, the user touches a background setting button 1505 in the extended toolbar 1500 to display a setting screen (not shown).
A setting is made to display a grid on the background of 0. At this time, the vertical and horizontal intervals of the grid, the left start position, and the upper start position can be specified. In addition, for convenience in creating a table using a grid, a setting is provided for displaying the drawn rectangle so that it matches the grid.

When the settings relating to the grid are made, the grid is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG. Then, by repeatedly drawing the rectangle as described above, a table as shown in FIG. 23 can be created. Note that, when the grid is set, if the setting is made so that the drawn rectangle is displayed so as to match the grid, the electronic blackboard software 506 executes a process of drawing the rectangle along the grid.

Drawing an Ellipse When drawing an ellipse, the user touches an elliptical button 1604 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, then touches an arbitrary location on the touch surface 201 with the fingertip, and moves the fingertip in any direction as it is. The fingertip may be separated from the touch surface 201. As a result, an ellipse is drawn on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG.

Deformation of a Drawn Graphic When deforming a drawn graphic, the user touches a selection button 1601 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, and then touches a line of the graphic to be deformed to select the graphic. As a result, as shown in FIG.
0 is displayed.

When the user touches one of the handles 2500 with the fingertip and moves the fingertip as it is, the size and shape of the figure can be changed in accordance with the movement. FIG. 25B shows a state in which the lower right handle 2500 of the handles 2500 shown in FIG. 25A is moved to enlarge the figure.

Moving the Draw Graphic When moving the drawn graphic, the user touches the selection button 1601 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, and then touches the line of the graphic to be transformed to select the graphic. As a result, as shown in FIG. 26A, the handle 2500 is displayed diagonally above, below, left, and right of the selected figure.

When the user touches the line of the figure with the fingertip and moves the fingertip as it is, the figure can be moved in accordance with the movement. FIG.
FIG. 7A illustrates a state in which the graphic illustrated in FIG.

Editing of a drawn figure Here, editing of a drawn figure means cutting or copying of the figure. First, when cutting and pasting a drawn figure at an arbitrary position, the user touches a selection button 1601 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, and then touches a line of the figure to be cut to select a figure. When an edit button 1605 in the drawing toolbar 1600 is touched with a fingertip, an edit menu 2700 shown in FIG. 27 is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.
Thereafter, when the user touches “Cut” in the edit menu 2700, the selected figure is cut.

To paste the cut figure, display the edit menu 2700 again, touch “Paste”, and then touch an arbitrary place on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 to place the cut figure in the place touched. Pasted.

If the user wants to paste the cut figure on another page instead of the currently displayed page, the user can click the previous page button 140 in the extended toolbar 1600.
After touching 5 or the next page button 1407 to display a desired page, the above-described pasting operation may be performed.

[0100] When the drawn figure is copied and pasted at an arbitrary location, the same operation as in the above-described cutting may be performed except for touching "copy" in the edit menu 2700.

Next, a case where a drawn figure is deleted will be described. As explained in the cut operation for shapes,
A figure to be deleted is selected, and an edit menu 2700 is displayed. Then, when "delete" is touched on edit menu 2700, the selected figure is deleted.

If you want to select all the drawn figures and cut / copy / delete them, use the edit menu 27
When the user touches “select all” of 00, all the drawn figures are selected, and cut, copy, and delete operations can be performed on all the figures. Note that when "select all" is touched, handles are displayed on all the figures, so that all the figures can be moved with a fingertip.

5) Character Input by Handwritten Character Recognition The electronic blackboard software 506 has already been shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 for facilitating use of the character recognition software 514 in the electronic blackboard system 100 and improving convenience. As described above, the handwritten character recognition input button 1412 for enabling the character recognition software 514 to be activated on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 is integrated and displayed in the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500). Therefore, unlike a conventional electronic blackboard system, it is not necessary to perform the complicated work of returning to the screen of the OS 505 and launching the character recognition software once during a meeting using the electronic blackboard. Become.

When the user touches handwritten character recognition input button 1412 in toolbar 1401 (or extended toolbar 1500), character recognition input button 1412 is displayed.
The character recognition software 514 associated with is activated,
A handwriting board (character input window) 2850 as shown in FIG. 28 is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400. The handwriting board 2850 includes a handwriting area 2852 for handwriting one character, a recognition character area 2853 for displaying a result of character recognition, and a recognition character area 253.
And an input button 2854 for displaying the recognition character displayed on the screen 853 on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.
The other configuration of the handwriting board 2850 will be described later.

When the handwriting board 2850 is displayed, the user designates a display area 2851 at an arbitrary position on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 for displaying a recognition character of an arbitrary size as a result of the handwritten character recognition.

Then, the user enters the handwriting area 2852
One of the characters is handwritten with a fingertip or a touch pen. For example, in each handwriting area 2852, the characters "ken"
When the characters "" and "" are sequentially handwritten, the character recognition software 514 inputs coordinate position information corresponding to the user's handwriting via the touch input device 102 and the controller 103, and responds to the input coordinate position information. In addition to displaying the characters handwritten by the user in the corresponding handwritten area 2852, the character recognition process is performed and the result is displayed in the recognized character area 2853.

After that, the user presses the input button 285
When 4 is touched, the electronic blackboard software 506 receives the character code of the recognized character from the character recognition software 514,
The recognition character is displayed in the display area 2851 specified by the user.

Note that, in the handwriting board 2850, 2
Reference numeral 855 denotes a conversion button that, when the recognized character is Hiragana, passes the Hiragana recognized character to a Kana-Kanji conversion engine (not shown) to perform Kana-Kanji conversion. Therefore, if the kanji is not known, by inputting the hiragana by handwriting and touching the conversion button 2855, the recognition character converted into the kanji can be obtained in the recognition character area 2853.

Reference numeral 2856 denotes a symbol button for inputting a symbol, 2857 denotes a clear button for clearing a recognized character in a recognized character area, and 2858 denotes a display area.
Cursor buttons for moving the cursor displayed in 51 are displayed, 2859 is an edit button for editing characters displayed in display area 2851, and 2860 is a 10 key for directly inputting characters in display area 2851. And the like, and keyboard display buttons for displaying various keys such as on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

As described above, the electronic blackboard software 506 sets the handwritten character recognition input button 1412 for enabling the character recognition software 514 to start on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 in the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500). The toolbar 1401 is displayed even when the electronic blackboard software 506 is being used.
Can easily activate the character recognition software 514. In other words, use of the character recognition software 514 in the electronic blackboard system 100 is facilitated, and convenience can be improved.

Note that the handwritten character recognition input button 1412
, An icon for scanning is provided in the toolbar 1401, and when this icon is touched,
The original is read by the scanner, and the characters in the read original are recognized and processed by the character recognition software 514 to display the electronic blackboard screen 14.
It can also be displayed on 00.

6) Creation of New Page When creating a new page other than the page currently displayed as the electronic blackboard screen 1400, the user touches the next page button 1407 of the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500). good. When the next page button 1407 is touched, the electronic blackboard software 506
A new page is generated and displayed as the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

If a plurality of pages are currently created, touch the next page button 1407 to display the last page, and then touch the next page button 1407 again to create a new page. Can be.

When the user wants to open the previous page, the user can use the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 150).
What is necessary is just to touch the previous page button 1405 of 0). When the previous page button 1405 is touched, the electronic blackboard software 506 displays the corresponding page as the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

7) Opening a previously created file To open a previously created file, use the extended toolbar 1
The user touches a file button 1501 of 500 to display a file menu (not shown), and touches "Open" in the file menu to display a dialog box 2800 shown in FIG. Then, by touching and selecting a desired file name and touching an “open” button 2801, the page of the corresponding file is displayed as the electronic blackboard screen 1400. The file can also be opened by touching the file name twice consecutively (hereinafter, referred to as “double touch”), as in a so-called “double click”.

When the contents of a previously created file are lost, a file list is displayed by using the file thumbnail function, the contents are confirmed, and an operation of opening a target file is performed. be able to. To use the file thumbnail function, a “thumbnail” button 2802 in the dialog box 2800 is used.
By touching, a thumbnail dialog box 2900 is displayed as shown in FIG. 30, in which a list of files is displayed as thumbnails. The thumbnail image displayed here is the first page of each file.
Then, by touching and selecting a desired thumbnail and touching an “open” button 2901 or by double-touching a desired thumbnail image, a page of a corresponding file is displayed as an electronic blackboard screen 1400.

To create a new file, touch the file button 1501 on the extension toolbar 1500 to display a file menu (not shown), and touch “New” in the file menu to open a new page. It is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

8) Capture screen of word processor / spreadsheet / presentation software (capture function) The electronic blackboard software 506 captures the contents of a file created by the word processor / spreadsheet / presentation software as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400. For "capture" function. Below, using this capture function, word processor, spreadsheet software,
The process of capturing the screen of the presentation software will be described.

First, when the user touches the computer screen button 1402 of the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500), the display of the PDP 101 is switched from the electronic blackboard screen 1400 to the computer screen 3000 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 31, reference numeral 3001 denotes a capture toolbar displayed when the screen is switched to the computer screen 3000.
The functions of each button in the capture toolbar 3001 are as follows.

Electronic blackboard screen button 3002: Switches from the computer screen 3000 to the electronic blackboard screen 1400. -Capture button 3003: Computer screen 300
Capture the screen displayed on 0. Mouse button 3004: Assigned to the right mouse button in an environment where the right button of a two-button mouse can be used (for example, when Microsoft Windows (registered trademark) is used as the OS). Make the feature available.

Then, the user operates the computer screen 3000 shown in FIG.
After touching (double-touching) the icon of the program or the icon of the desired file to start the corresponding application program, and displaying the target file on the PDP 101, the capture button 300 is displayed.
Touch 3. As a result, the electronic blackboard software 506
The currently displayed screen is captured, the display of the PDP 101 is switched to the electronic blackboard screen 1400, and the captured screen is displayed as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400, as shown in FIG.

Then, as shown in FIG. 33, the user can write characters and graphics on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 by the above-described method. Thus, a word processor
Since screens such as spreadsheet software and presentation software can be easily captured as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400, an effective presentation can be performed using the electronic blackboard system 100.

That is, when a presentation is made using the presentation software in the electronic blackboard system 100 and the user wants to write something on the screen and touch it, touch the capture button 3003 to immediately capture the current screen. The screen is switched to the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG. 32, and desired items can be written on the screen. When the user wants to return to the presentation software, the user immediately touches the computer screen button 1402 to immediately switch to the presentation software screen (computer screen 3000). The screen on which the characters and the like are captured and written can be saved as described later.

Here, the computer screen 3
000 is displayed, and a desired screen is captured after the application program is started. However, by specifying a file of a word processor or a spreadsheet software directly from the electronic blackboard software 506, the electronic blackboard screen 1400 is directly displayed. The specified file can also be opened by starting the corresponding application program. Then, when it is desired to capture the screen of the application program, the same operation as described above may be performed. Further, when another screen of the application program is captured, by touching a next page button 1407, the screen of the application program can be displayed on the PDP 101 again.

9) Displaying a List of Pages Under Creation In the electronic blackboard software 506, all pages currently being created can be displayed as thumbnails. When displaying the page list by the thumbnail display, the user can use the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500).
Touch the thumbnail button 1409 of. When the thumbnail button 1409 is touched on the electronic blackboard software 506, the thumbnail display dialog box 3300 displaying the page being created as a thumbnail as shown in FIG.
Is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

This thumbnail display dialog box 3
At 300, 3301 is an open button, 3302 is a close button, 3303 is a forward button, 330
4 is the next move button, 3305 is the insert button before,
3306 indicates an insert button, 3307 indicates a delete button, and 3308 indicates a print button.

[0127] Thumbnail display dialog box 330
When 0 is displayed, the user can perform the following operation.

Specifying and Opening a Page Touching and selecting a desired thumbnail (page) in the thumbnail display dialog box 3300, and touching an open button 3301 can display the selected page as the electronic blackboard screen 1400. it can. Also,
By double-touching a desired page, the page can be similarly displayed as the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

Move Page Touch and select a page to be moved in the thumbnail display dialog box 3300, and when moving before the current page, touch the move forward button 3303 to move the page after the current page. When moving, a move button 3304 is touched next. By moving the page in this way, a page switching operation can be performed.

Insert New Page In the thumbnail display dialog box 3300, touch and select the previous or next page of the page to be newly inserted, and insert it before inserting the selected page. If the user touches the button 3305 and inserts it after the selected page, the user touches the insert button 3306 next. By such an operation, a new page can be inserted at a desired position.

By selecting the last page and then touching the insert button 3306, it is possible to perform the same operation as touching the above-described next page button 1407 to create a new page.

Deleting a Page By touching and selecting a page to be deleted in the thumbnail display dialog box 3300 and touching a delete button 3307, the selected page can be deleted.

Printing a Page By touching and selecting a page to be printed in the thumbnail display dialog box 3300 and touching a print button 3308, the selected page can be printed. Various settings can be made when printing is performed. The print settings will be described later.

10) Saving the created page As described above, the page created on the electronic blackboard software 506 can be saved as a file. To save, click the save button 150 on the extended toolbar 1500.
Touch 2 to select overwrite save or save as. When “Save as” is selected, the electronic blackboard software 506 presents, as a default, a file name including the current date and the serial number of the day. The user can save the created page as a file by inputting a file name and specifying a folder as necessary, and instructing to save. The file name can be input using the keyboard 503 (see FIG. 5).

On the other hand, when the overwrite save is selected, the electronic blackboard software 506 overwrites and saves the corresponding file.

The electronic blackboard software 506 manages the electronic blackboard screen 1400 in a plurality of layers. For example, a background layer that manages the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 (including the captured screen: bitmap data), a grid layer that manages grid lines (vector data), and a figure (vector data) drawn by a figure drawing tool are managed. And a character information layer for managing recognized characters (character codes) which are the result of character recognition processing. Then, when the above-described storage is designated, the electronic blackboard software 506 generates one file while maintaining these layers. Therefore, when the data is read again, the contents of each page can be easily processed. Depending on the setting, it is also possible to convert data of a plurality of layers into one bitmap data and save it as a bitmap file.

11) Printing Process To print a page currently being created, the user touches a print button 1408 on the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500) and touches "print" on a print menu (not shown). The electronic blackboard software 506 displays a print dialog box 3400 shown in FIG. 35 according to the operation of the user. When the user specifies a print range and the number of copies in a printer setting column 3401, a print range setting column 3402, and a print copy number setting column 3403 in the print dialog box 3400, and touches an OK button 3404, the set printer (printer 10
The printing is executed according to 6). To stop printing, the user touches a cancel button 3405.

Here, the electronic blackboard screen 1400 can be printed with the background color set to a white background. When executing such a printing process, the user touches and selects a “print background color in white” check box 3406 and then clicks OK.
What is necessary is just to touch the button 3401. Electronic blackboard software 5
06 is a “print background color in white” check box 340.
When 6 is selected, the printing process is executed assuming that the background color of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 is a white background. By providing such settings, it is possible to reduce the amount of ink or toner consumed by the printer.

[0139] Further, it is also possible to print the line drawn by hand in black. When performing such a printing process,
The user touches and selects the “Print freehand line in black” checkbox 3407 and then presses the OK button 34.
Just touch 01. Electronic blackboard software 506
"Print freehand lines in black" checkbox 340
When 7 is selected, the print processing is executed assuming that the line drawn by hand is black.

Although detailed description is omitted,
It is also possible to set the size and margin of the recording paper to be printed, and to display a print image.

12) Others By touching the display button 1503 of the extension toolbar 1500 to open the menu, the electronic blackboard screen 1400 is displayed.
Of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 at the time of displaying a window or the like, and the display magnification of the characters and the like displayed in the window can be set.

By touching the background setting button 1505 of the extension toolbar 1500 to open the menu, the background color of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 can be set using a color palette.

Further, by touching the option button 1506 of the extended toolbar 1500 to open the menu, it is possible to set a work folder in which files used by the electronic blackboard software 506 are collectively stored.

(3) When Using the System as a Computer To use the electronic blackboard system 100 as a computer, touch the computer screen button 1401 on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as in the case of using the above-described capture function. Or electronic blackboard software 506
Is switched to the computer screen 3000 as shown in FIG. By switching the display of the PDP 101 to the computer screen 3000, the electronic blackboard system 100 can be used as a computer. The electronic blackboard system 100 is a large-screen PD
Since it has P101, it can be effectively used for computer operation education and the like.

Since the touch input device 102 can be used as a pointing device such as a mouse, various application programs can be operated on the screen. Further, the mouse button 300 shown in FIG.
By touching 4, the function assigned to the right button of the mouse can be used with a fingertip or a touch pen in an environment where the right button of a two-button mouse can be used.

(4) Adjustment of Touch Input Device The touch panel driver 507 shown in FIG.
01 and the display position of the mouse cursor on the touch surface 201
A tool is provided to match a fingertip or a touch position touched with a touch pen. Hereinafter, a position correction operation for matching the display position of the mouse cursor with the touch position will be described.

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting screen of the touch input device 102. As shown in FIG. Setting screen 3 shown in FIG. 36
When the user touches the calibrate button 3501 in 500, a display screen of the PDP 101 and a correction screen for adjusting the coordinates of the touch surface 201 of the touch input device 102 are displayed on the PDP 101. This display screen is, for example, P
The three correction points are displayed at the upper left, upper right, lower right, etc. of the DP 101. The user only has to touch three points on the PDP 101 with a fingertip or a touch pen.

When three correction points are touched by the user, the touch panel driver 507 executes a position correction process for matching the display position of the mouse cursor with the touch position based on the touched positions, and the position correction result is obtained. To a predetermined file.

However, since the position correction operation described above is performed in advance when the electronic blackboard system 100 is actually shipped as a product, there is no need for the user to perform the position correction operation unless the resolution or the like is changed. .

An outline of other setting items on the setting screen 3500 will be described. A mouse button emulation mode setting column 3502 is used to set what processing is performed when the touch surface 201 is touched with a fingertip or a touch pen. Mouse button
In the emulation mode setting column 3502, for example, a setting that is considered as a click when the touch surface 201 is touched with a fingertip or a touch pen, a setting that is considered as a click when the touch surface 201 is touched and released with a fingertip or a touch pen, A setting that considers moving when touched with a fingertip or a touch pen as a drag. When touching the touch surface 201 twice (double touch) with a fingertip or a touch pen, it is regarded as a double click, and the touch surface 201 is touched with a fingertip or a touch pen. A setting can be made such that a movement when touched and moved is regarded as a drag (when the electronic blackboard software 506 is used, this setting is used).

Reference numeral 3503 denotes a touch sound output setting check box.
Is checked, a beep sound is output each time the touch surface 201 is touched. Reference numeral 3504 denotes a setting button. When the user touches the setting button 3504, a screen for setting a connection method of the controller 103 is displayed. Further, reference numeral 3505 denotes an information button for displaying information on the controller 103 and the touch panel driver 507, reference numeral 3506 denotes a help button for displaying a help screen, reference numeral 3507 denotes an OK button for validating items set in the setting screen 3500, and reference numeral 3508 denotes A cancel button for invalidating items set in the setting screen 3500 is shown.

(5) Use of AV Equipment As shown in FIG.
Various information devices and AV devices such as a laser disk player, a DVD player, and a video camera, as well as a video player 108, are connected to the 101 so that video and audio can be reproduced. Further, an external speaker can be connected to the PDP 101 via an amplifier, and powerful sound can be enjoyed on a large-screen display. The information device, the AV device, or the computer 104
Can be easily switched using a remote controller or the like (not shown).

As described above, various information devices and AV devices can be connected to and operated on the PDP 101 without using the computer 104, and the PDP 101 can be used as a large-screen monitor. Not
The operability, handling, and convenience of the electronic blackboard system 100 can be improved.

(6) Network Connection Further, as shown in FIG.
Can be connected to a network such as a LAN or the Internet. Therefore, the electronic blackboard software 506
Transmitting the materials of the meeting created in the above to another computer, reading data created by the other computer and using it for the meeting, connecting a plurality of electronic whiteboard systems 100 to conduct a remote meeting, The application range of the electronic blackboard system 100, such as application to a system, can be expanded. In addition, the electronic blackboard system 100 can be connected to a network wirelessly using a PHS.

[0155] 3. Effects As described above, according to the electronic blackboard system according to the present embodiment, the electronic blackboard software 506 is replaced with the character recognition software 514.
Is integrated into the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500) so that the handwritten character recognition input button 1412 can be launched on the electronic blackboard screen 1400, so that even when the electronic blackboard software 506 is used. The character recognition software 514 can be easily activated from the toolbar 1401. In other words, use of the character recognition software 514 in the electronic blackboard system 100 is facilitated, and convenience can be improved.

According to the electronic blackboard system of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the above effects. That is, a board unit 601 that forms a display surface and a writing surface of an electronic blackboard using the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102, and a device storage unit 604 that stores the computer 104, the video player 108, and the printer 106 in order from below vertically. Since the electronic blackboard system 100 is configured using the housing unit 600 having the
The system can be easily moved and installed. Further, since the heavy devices are arranged in order from the bottom in the direction of gravity (vertical direction), the stability of the housing unit 600 at the time of moving and installation can be ensured. further,
In the touch input device 102 of the ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type, the shield tape 300 that shields electromagnetic waves is provided on the surface on the PDP 101 side, so that the PDP 101 can be used as a display device, and the display device can be made thinner (smaller) and the display screen can be made smaller. Can be improved. That is, according to the electronic blackboard system 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the size and integration of the entire electronic blackboard system 100 and to improve operability, handling, and convenience.

Further, since an angle adjusting mechanism 802 for adjusting the angle of the board unit 601 accommodating the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102 is provided, incidence of disturbing light on the display surface of the PDP 101, in particular, such as a fluorescent lamp on the ceiling, etc. Light from lighting equipment can be avoided, the screen can be easily viewed, and convenience can be improved.

Furthermore, the PDP 101 can be used as a large-screen monitor by using a plurality of connection terminals for connecting various information devices such as digital cameras, DVD players, and video devices, and AV devices.
It is possible to provide an electronic blackboard system 100 that allows connection and operation of various information devices and AV devices without the intervention of the electronic device 4.

Each of the processes in the present embodiment described above is realized by executing a prepared program on a computer. This program includes hard disk, floppy disk, CD-ROM, MO,
The program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. This program also
It can be distributed via the recording medium or via a network.

[0160]

As described above, according to the electronic blackboard system of the present invention, the control device controls the display device and the touch input device to provide an electronic blackboard function, and the touch input device. Character Recognition Software for Recognizing Handwritten Characters Input via PC and Generating Character Information, and Multitask OS Having Multi-Window Function
The electronic blackboard software displays a toolbar on the display screen that integrates icons for activating handwritten character recognition software. In addition, the handwriting recognition software can be easily activated from the toolbar. In other words, it is possible to easily use handwritten character recognition software in the electronic blackboard system, and to improve convenience.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic blackboard system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a touch input device included in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a shield tape provided between the PDP and a substrate of the touch input device in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of specifying coordinates of a touch position in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer (personal computer) constituting the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a housing unit storing the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the front side.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the housing unit that houses the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the rear side.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the housing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the right side.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram when the angle adjustment mechanism unit according to the embodiment of the present invention is viewed from above the housing unit (the angle of the board unit is 5 degrees).

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram when the angle adjustment mechanism unit according to the embodiment of the present invention is viewed from above the housing unit (the angle of the board unit is 0 degree).

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram when the angle adjustment mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention is viewed from the side of the housing unit.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a modified example of the angle adjustment mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram showing a modification of the angle adjustment mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an electronic blackboard screen and a toolbar displayed on a PDP in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an extended toolbar displayed on a PDP in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a drawing toolbar displayed on a PDP together with an extended toolbar in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which the result of writing characters and lines by hand on the touch surface is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen on the PDP in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention. .

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state when a handwritten character or line displayed on the electronic blackboard screen is erased with an eraser in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows a state in which a handwritten character or line displayed on the electronic blackboard screen is surrounded by a frame in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the character or line in the frame is erased at a time. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a straight line is drawn on an electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a rectangle is drawn on an electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a grid is displayed as a background of the electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a table is created on an electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an ellipse is drawn on an electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

25A is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a graphic to be transformed is selected in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 25B is a state in which the graphic to be transformed is transformed; FIG.

26A is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a graphic to be moved is selected in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 26B is a state in which the selected graphic is moved; FIG.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an edit menu displayed when editing a drawn figure in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a handwriting board for performing character input using character recognition software in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of opening a created file in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of opening a created file using a thumbnail image in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a computer screen and a capture toolbar displayed on a PDP in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which a screen of a captured application program is displayed as a background of the electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which a captured application program screen is displayed as a background of the electronic blackboard screen, and characters and the like are written thereon, in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention. is there.

FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a thumbnail display dialog box displaying a list of pages being created is displayed in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a print dialog box for printing a page being created is displayed in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting screen of the touch input device in the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram illustrating network connection of the electronic blackboard system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Electronic blackboard system 101 Plasma display panel (PDP) 102 Touch input device 103 Controller for touch input device 104 Computer 105 Scanner 106 Printer 107 Network 108 Video player 200 Substrate 201 Touch surface (writing surface) 202, 206 Transmitting transducer 203, 207 Transducers for reception 204, 205, 208, 209 Reflective array 210 Cable 300 Shield tape 505 OS 506 Electronic blackboard software 507 Touch panel driver 514 Character recognition software 600 Housing unit 601 Panel unit 602 Controller storage unit 603 Stand 604 Equipment storage unit 612 Computer storage Unit 613 Video storage unit 614 Printer storage unit 615 Keyboard 802 angle adjusting mechanism unit 1400 display board screen 1401 toolbar 1412 handwriting recognition input button 1500 extended toolbar 2850 handwriting input board 2851 display area

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C071 CA02 CA04 CD09 DB02 5B068 AA05 AA15 AA22 BD17 BE11 CC01 CC06 CC19 CD01 CD04 5B087 AA09 AE02 DD09 DD14 DD17 DE03 DE05 5C062 AA07 AA14 AA17 AB18 AB23 AB38 AC05 AC07 AF04

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel surface provided in front of the display device, and display control of the display device based on an input from the touch input device. And an electronic blackboard system comprising at least a display surface and a writing surface using the display device and the touch input device, wherein the control device controls the display device and the touch input device. Electronic blackboard software for providing an electronic blackboard function, a handwritten character recognition software for recognizing handwritten characters input via the touch input device and generating character information, and a multitask OS having a multi-window function
The electronic blackboard system is characterized in that the electronic blackboard software displays, on a display screen thereof, a toolbar integrating icons for activating the handwritten character recognition software. 2. The electronic blackboard according to claim 1, wherein when the handwritten character recognition software is started from the toolbar, a window for inputting handwritten characters is displayed on a display screen of the electronic blackboard software. system. 3. When an area is designated on the display screen of the electronic blackboard software in a state where the handwritten character input window is displayed, character information recognized by the handwritten character recognition software is displayed in the designated area. The electronic blackboard system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein is displayed.