JP2000163218A - Indicating tool for coordinate input, and coordinate input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a wearing or damage due to the contact with the coordinates input surface of a light emitting element for light spot irradiation of an indicating tool in an indicating tool for coordinates input while irradiating an optional position on an optical coordinates input device and its coordinates input surface with a light spot and inputting coordinates. SOLUTION: A cap which covers a light emitting element 41 and is made of translucent material is attachably and detachably mounted on the front end part of an indicating tool 4 and its mounting and unmounting are detected by a cap detecting means 48. A light emitting controlling part 42 receives the detection results and allows or prohibits the light emission of the element 41. Or, it performs light emission control for reporting the detection results to the main body side of a coordinates input device. For instance, the detection results are reported by an output of a control signal obtained by modulating the light emission by a prescribed method. Or, it is reported by making a period when the light emitting element is turned on and off different. The mounting and unmounting of the cap reported to the main body side of the coordinate input device is further reported to an external device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coordinate input device and a coordinate input pointing device, and more particularly, to an optical type device for detecting a coordinate of an irradiation position of a light spot irradiated on a coordinate input surface and performing coordinate input. The present invention relates to a coordinate input device, and a coordinate input indicator used for inputting coordinates by designating an arbitrary position on the coordinate input surface of the device and irradiating the light spot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned optical coordinate input device is used, for example, in a large display system capable of inputting coordinates.
In this case, an arbitrary position on the display screen configured as a coordinate input surface of the large display is designated by a coordinate input indicator (hereinafter, simply referred to as an indicator) provided with a light emitting element, and the light emitting element is designated. Irradiates a light spot by luminescence,
By inputting the coordinates of the irradiation position, an externally connected computer is controlled, and characters and figures are input by writing.

The optical type coordinate input device is CC
A device that captures a light spot on a coordinate input surface using a D area sensor or a linear sensor, performs image processing such as using barycentric coordinates or pattern matching, and calculates and outputs a coordinate value of the position of the light spot. And a device using a position detecting element (an analog device capable of obtaining an output voltage corresponding to the position of a light spot) called a PSD.

[0004] For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-76902 discloses that a light spot formed by a parallel beam of visible light is imaged by a video camera to detect the coordinates of the irradiation position of the light spot, and at the same time, a control signal is transmitted using infrared diffused light. An apparatus for transmitting and receiving is disclosed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-274266 discloses an apparatus for detecting coordinates using a linear CCD sensor and a special optical mask. Patent No. 25
No. 03182 discloses a configuration of a device using a PSD and a method of correcting output coordinates.

[0005] In these pointing devices of the conventional optical coordinate input device, a light emitting element of a light emitting portion which emits light of a light spot, for example, an LED, a semiconductor laser or the like, has a specially defined structure around the element. Instead, the light emitting element is exposed at the tip of the pointing device, and irradiates light from the light emitting element directly to the coordinate input surface without passing through other members. When writing a character or a figure as a so-called input pen, a coordinate input is performed by directly touching a light emitting element on a coordinate input surface.

[0006]

However, especially when the pointing tool is used as an input pen to make contact with the coordinate input surface to perform coordinate input, the light-emitting element, for example, the transparent sealing resin of the LED is used as the input pen. Wear and damage due to the friction of the sealing resin, the shape of the sealing resin as a lens changes,
Inconveniences such as a decrease in the irradiation amount of the light emitted from D and a change in the light emission distribution, resulting in a decrease in coordinate detection accuracy, and the like occurred.

Conventionally, a configuration in which a filter is provided in a light emitting portion has been proposed in some parts. However, the filter itself is an optical component which is not allowed to be worn or scratched. No configuration is presented for measures against wear, scratches, and the like.

When the wear or damage of the light emitting element or the filter progresses, it is necessary to replace the light emitting element or the filter and further replace the entire indicator.

Another problem is that repeated contact with the coordinate input surface while the light emitting element or the filter is worn or damaged may cause damage to the coordinate input surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and has as its object the construction of an indicator and a coordinate input device capable of preventing wear or damage of a light emitting element which emits light for irradiating the light spot. Is to provide.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a coordinate input pointing device of the above-mentioned optical coordinate input device, which is detachably attached to a distal end portion of the pointing device. And a cap made of a translucent material for covering the light emitting element for irradiating the light spot of the indicator with the cap attached. When the cap is attached, light emission of the light emitting element is permitted, and the cap is attached. In the absence state, light emission of the light emitting element is prohibited.

More specifically, a configuration is provided which comprises a detecting means for detecting whether the cap is mounted or not, and a control means for permitting and prohibiting light emission of the light emitting element in accordance with the detection result of the detecting means. Alternatively, a configuration is adopted in which the power of the indicator is turned on and off in accordance with the mounting and non-mounting of the cap, so that light emission of the light emitting element is permitted and prohibited.

According to this configuration, since the light emitting element is covered by the cap, the light emitting element does not directly contact the coordinate input surface, and wear or damage of the light emitting element due to the contact can be prevented. . Furthermore, since the light emission of the light emitting element is prohibited when the cap is not mounted, the user may erroneously use the pointing tool to input coordinates in a state where the coordinate detection accuracy is reduced in the state where the cap is not mounted. ,
Further, it is possible to prevent the light emitting element from being worn or damaged.

According to the present invention, in the coordinate input pointing device of the optical coordinate input device, the pointing device is detachably attached to a tip portion of the pointing device and is made of a translucent material that covers the light emitting element. A configuration having a cap, detection means for detecting the mounting and non-wearing of the cap, and control means for controlling light emission of the light emitting element for notifying the detection result of the detection means to the main body of the coordinate input device. Adopted.

The control means controls the light emission of the light emitting element so as to notify the detection result of the detection means by outputting a control signal obtained by modulating the light emission of the light emitting element by a predetermined method, or The light emission control of the light emitting element is performed so as to notify the detection result of the detection means by changing a cycle of blinking the light emitting element according to the detection result of the detection means.

An optical coordinate input device using the coordinate input pointing device constructed as described above, wherein the optical input device is detected by the detection means of the coordinate input pointing device and is notified to the body of the coordinate input device. A configuration having means for notifying an external device (for example, a computer using a coordinate input device) of the mounting or non-mounting of the cap is adopted.

According to such a configuration, since the light emitting element is covered with the cap in the coordinate input pointing device, wear or damage of the light emitting element can be prevented. Further, the result of detecting whether the cap is attached or not can be reported from the pointing device to the main body of the coordinate input device. Then, it is possible to notify the external device of the attachment / non-attachment of the cap notified to the main body side of the coordinate input device, and in response to this, a display warning the user of, for example, the non-attachment of the cap in the external device is displayed. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the user from accidentally using the pointing tool to input coordinates in a state where the coordinate detection accuracy has been reduced while the cap is not mounted, and to prevent the light emitting element from being worn or damaged.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, an embodiment of an optical coordinate input device used in a large display system capable of inputting coordinates and an indicator thereof will be described.

<Description of Schematic Configuration of Large Display System Including Coordinate Input Device> First, the schematic configuration of a large display system including a coordinate input device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG.
This will be described below.

The coordinate input device included in the display system shown in FIG. 2 is roughly divided into a screen 10 constituting a display screen together with a coordinate input surface, and a light beam 45 is emitted to irradiate the light spot 5 with the screen. The pointing tool 4 includes a coordinate detector 1 for detecting the coordinates of the irradiation position of the light spot 5 on the screen 10. The display system is provided with a projection-type display device 8 that displays an image or the above-described coordinate information on a screen 10 as an output device in addition to these components.

The pointing tool 4 is formed in a pen shape as a whole as a so-called input pen. The details will be described later.

The coordinate detector 1 comprises a coordinate detection sensor unit 2, a controller 3 for controlling the sensor unit 2 and calculating coordinates, a light receiving element 6 as a control signal detection sensor, and a signal processing unit 7. The control unit 3 detects the coordinates of the irradiation position of the light spot 5 on the screen 10 and the control signal corresponding to the state of each operation switch of the pointing tool 4 described later, and detects the signal from an external connection device such as a computer (not shown) by the controller 3. The information of the coordinate and the control signal is transmitted.

The projection type display device 8 includes an image signal processing section 81 to which an image signal is input from an external connection device such as a computer (not shown) as a display signal source, and an image signal controlled by the image signal processing section 81 and corresponding to the image signal. Liquid crystal panel 82 to be formed
And a lamp 83 for illuminating the lamp, a mirror 84 for reflecting the illuminating light, and a condenser lens 85 for collecting the direct illuminating light from the lamp 83 and the reflected light from the mirror 84
, And a projection lens 86 for projecting the illuminated image of the liquid crystal panel 82 onto the screen 10, and a desired image can be displayed on the screen 10.

Since the screen 10 has an appropriate light diffusing property in order to widen the observation range of the projected image, the light beam 45 emitted from the pointing tool 4 is also diffused at the position of the light spot 5, and 10 position and light beam 45
Is configured such that a part of the light diffused at the position of the light spot 5 enters the coordinate detector 1 regardless of the direction of the light spot 5.

With such a configuration, a desired position on the screen 10 is designated by the indicator 4 and the light spot 5 is designated.
Is input by inputting the coordinates, moving the irradiation position, and continuously inputting the coordinates of the locus of the movement, thereby inputting the character information and the line drawing information, and inputting the information on the screen 10 by the projection display device 8. , It is possible to input and output information in a relationship like “paper and pencil”. Also, buttons and icons are displayed on the screen 10,
By irradiating these with the light spot 5 and inputting a control signal to be described later together with the coordinates, input operations such as button operation and icon selection determination can be freely performed.

<Detailed Description of Pointing Tool 4> Next, the details of the pointing tool 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the pointing tool 4. As shown in the figure, the pointing device 4 includes a light emitting element 41 formed of a semiconductor laser or an LED or the like, which is provided at the distal end thereof and emits a light beam for irradiating a light spot, a light emission control unit 42 for controlling the light emission, It has a power supply unit 44 and four operation switches 43A to 43D. In addition, a cap 46 is detachably attached to the tip of the pointing tool 4 so as to cover the light emitting element 41. Further, a cap detecting means 48 (see FIG. 1) for detecting whether or not the cap 46 is attached to the indicator 4 is provided in the indicator 4. The details of the cap 46 and the cap detecting means 48 will be described later. The operation switch 43B includes the cap 46 as an operation member.

The light emission control unit 42 operates the four operation switches 43A to 43D and the cap detecting means 48.
In response to the detection result, on / off of light emission and light emission control for modulating the light emission by a pulse modulation method described later and outputting a light emission signal and a control signal as an optical pulse signal are performed.

FIG. 4 is a table showing the operation mode (drive mode of the light emitting element 41) of the pointing device 4 under the control of the light emission control unit 42 in accordance with the operation of the operation switches 43A to 43D. And switches A to D are operation switches 43.
A to 43D. In FIG. 4, "light emission" indicates a light emission signal (coordinate signal) to be described later, and "pen down" and "pen button" refer to pen down in character and line drawing input and button selection, menu call, and the like, respectively. The control signal corresponding to each of the pen buttons for performing is shown. In addition, ○ indicates a state in which each switch is pressed (operated), and × indicates a state in which the switches are released (not pressed).

The operator holds the pointing device 4 and holds the light emitting element 41.
Is directed toward the screen 10. At this time, the switch 43A is arranged at a position where the thumb naturally touches. When the switch 43A is pressed, the light emitting element 41 is driven and the light beam 45 is emitted. Note that the light emitting element 41 blinks at a predetermined cycle described later. This flashing light emitting element 4
The light spot 45 is irradiated on the screen 10 by the light beam 45 from 1 and a light emission signal (coordinate signal) starts to be output by a modulation method described later. In this state, the pen down and pen button control signals are off. is there. Therefore, on the screen 10, only the indication of the designated position to the operator by the movement of the cursor in accordance with the movement of the light spot 5 or the switching of the highlight of the button is performed.

By pressing switches 43C and 43D arranged at positions where the index finger and the middle finger naturally touch, a control signal for pen down and pen button is output as a signal superimposed on the light emission signal as shown in FIG. Is done. That is, by pressing the switch 43C, a pen-down state is established, and input of characters and line drawings is started,
Screen control such as selecting and deciding a button can be executed. Further, by pressing the switch 43D, the state of the pen button is established, and it is possible to input another function such as calling a menu. Thus, the operator can operate lightly and quickly by drawing and inputting characters and figures at an arbitrary position on the screen 10 with one hand and selecting buttons and menus.

The switch 43B is provided at the distal end of the pointing device 4 using the cap 46 as an operating member as described above, and presses the distal end of the pointing device 4 against the screen 10, that is, by pressing the cap 46. Operate. In a state where the operator grasps the indicator 4 and does not press the switch 43A, the tip of the indicator 4 is
By pressing the switch to 0, the switch 43B is turned on, the light-emitting signal and the pen-down signal are superimposed and output, and the pen-down state is set. Further, when the switch 43A is pressed in this state, a pen button signal is output. That is, in this state, the switch 43A has a role of a pen button. When the switch 43A is released and the tip of the pointing device 4 is released from the screen 10, the switch 43B is also turned off.
It goes without saying that the light emission signal is turned off, the light emission of the light emitting element 41 is stopped, and the output of the pen down or pen button control signal is also stopped.

By the way, if the switch 43A is pressed, the light emitting element 41 emits light and the light spot 5 is illuminated without pressing the tip of the pointing tool 4 against the screen 10, and the cursor can be moved by moving it. it can. However, in practice, input of characters and graphics is performed much more easily and accurately when the tip of the pointing tool 4 is in contact with the input surface than in a space away from the input surface.

As described above, in this embodiment, natural and comfortable operation can be performed using the four switches 43A to 43D even if the user is away from the screen 10 on the input surface or immediately before. It can be used properly depending on the case. Furthermore, if it is only for direct input (not used as a pointer), the light emitting element 41 does not emit a parallel light beam but may be a diffused light source. Is also possible.

However, when the pointing tool 4 is used away from the screen 10 as a pointer, there are two cases:
The projection characteristic of the light from the pointing device 4 is different from that in the case where the input is made by touching 0.

When the tip of the pointing tool 4 is used so as to directly contact the screen 10,
This is a problem related to abrasion of the tip of the pointing tool 4 due to friction with the screen 10 and the like. For this purpose, in the present embodiment, the cap 46 is provided, but details thereof will be described later.

In addition, two types of pointing tools 4 are used, one for proximity using LED as the light emitting element 41 and the other for remote control using a semiconductor laser, or a plurality of operators are operated simultaneously by a plurality of operators. Alternatively, a plurality of pointing tools 4 having different attributes such as the color and thickness of a line to be input may be used. In these cases, the light emission control unit 42
Is transmitted together with the control signal. In addition, attributes such as the thickness and color of the line displayed on the screen 10 are determined by software or the like on the externally connected device in accordance with the transmitted ID number. The setting of these attributes can be changed using buttons, menus, and the like on the screen 10. For this operation, a separate operation button or the like may be provided on the indicating tool 4 and a change instruction signal may be transmitted by the operation. With respect to these settings, it is also possible to hold the state in the pointing device 4 or the coordinate detector 1 and to transmit not the ID number but the attribute information to the externally connected device.

Further, such additional operation buttons can be set so that other functions such as blinking of a display device, switching of a signal source, operation of a recording device, and the like can be performed. Further, by providing a pressure detecting means in one or both of the switches 43A and 43B, pen pressure detection is performed, and various useful signals such as transmitting this pen pressure data together with a control signal can be transmitted. is there.

Next, the details of the emission signal and the control signal output in response to the operation of the switches 43A to 43D will be described.

As described above, the switch 43A of the pointing device 4
Alternatively, when the switch 43B is turned on, light emission of the light emitting element 41, more specifically, output of a light pulse by blinking of the light emitting element 41 at a predetermined period is started, and a light emission signal pulse-modulated with respect to the light pulse is output. A control signal is superimposed (added) on the light emission signal in accordance with the operation of the switches 43C, 43D and the like. An example of an optical output signal composed of a light emission signal and a control signal is shown in FIG. 8 as an LSG signal. Here, as a light emission signal, a reader section composed of a relatively long continuous light pulse train of the predetermined period, First, a header portion including a plurality of bits of a code (such as a maker ID) composed of a short optical pulse train having the predetermined period is output,
Thereafter, an optical pulse train of transmission data including data such as a pen ID, a pen down control signal, and a pen button control signal is sequentially output according to a predefined order and format.

In this embodiment, in each data bit, a data encoding method is used in which the "1" bit has an interval twice as long as the "0" bit.
Various encoding systems can be used. However, as will be described later, it is desirable that the average amount of light emitted from the light emitting element 41 is constant for detecting coordinates, and that the clock component is sufficiently large for tuning the PLL. In consideration of the fact that there is no problem even if the redundancy is relatively high in view of the power data amount, in the present embodiment, 6-bit (64) data is converted to 1 and 0 of a 10-bit length code. Are the same and 1 or 0
Are encoded by a method of allocating to 108 codes whose number of continuations is 3 or less. By adopting such an encoding method, the average light amount becomes constant and a sufficient clock component is included, so that a stable synchronization signal can be easily generated at the time of demodulation.

Although the above-mentioned pen down and pen button control signals are 2 bits, other long data such as an ID must also be transmitted. Therefore, in the present embodiment, 24 bits are regarded as one block, the first two bits are a control signal, and the next two bits are a content identification code (for example,
The writing pressure signal is 00, the ID is 11, etc.), the next 2 bits are these parities, and then 16 bits of data and 2 bits of parity are arranged to form one block of data.

When such data is encoded by the above-described method, a signal having a length of 40 bits is obtained. A 10-bit sync code is added to the head of the code. This sync code is distinguished from a data word by using a special code of 4 0s, 5 consecutive 1s, or an inverted pattern thereof (switching depending on whether the end of the previous block is 1 or 0). It is easy to identify the position even in the middle of the data string and restore the data. Therefore, one block becomes a transmission signal having a length of 50 bits, which means that the control signal and data such as a 16-bit ID or writing pressure are transmitted.

In this embodiment, 1/8 of the first frequency of 60 kHz corresponding to the period of the pulse train is 7.5.
kHz is set as the second frequency, and the cycle is set as the cycle of the “0” bit, and the encoding method as described above is adopted. Therefore, the average transmission bit rate is ／ of the second frequency.
Of 5 kHz. Further, since one block is 50 bits, 24 bits of data are transmitted at 100 Hz. Therefore, the effective bit rate excluding parity is 2000 bits / second. As described above, although the redundancy is high, it is a method that can prevent erroneous detection and facilitate synchronization with a very simple configuration. In addition, by using a phase synchronization signal for sensor control described later and a check for a repetition period of a sync code, even if a short dropout occurs in the signal, the signal can be followed. The discrimination from the case where a quick operation such as double tap is performed can be surely performed by the presence or absence of the header signal.

<Description of Light Emission Control According to Cap and Its Attached State> Next, details of light emission control of the light emitting element 41 according to the cap 46 and its attached state will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows the tip of the pointing device 4 in the case where the operation switch 43B as the tip switch described above is not provided, and the cap 46 is not an operation member of the operation switch but merely covers the light emitting element 41. 2 shows the configuration of the unit.

As shown in FIG. 1, a light emitting element 41 is provided in a tip of a holder 47 which is a main body of the pointing tool 4, and a cap 46 made of a translucent material is provided so as to cover the light emitting element 41. The holder 47 is detachably attached to the distal end.

The cap 46 is a member that comes into contact with the screen 10 when inputting coordinates by directly touching the tip of the pointing tool 4 to the screen 10. The cap 46 covers the light emitting element 41. Does not directly contact the screen 10. Further, since the cap 46 is mounted on the holder 47 while being separated from the light emitting element 41, an external force generated by directly pressing the tip of the pointing tool 4, that is, the cap 46 against the screen 10 is reduced.
I don't join in one. Therefore, the light emitting element 41 is not worn or damaged by friction with the screen 10 and does not affect the light emitting state.

In order to project the light from the light emitting element 41 onto the screen without attenuating the light as much as possible, the cap 46 is required to have a light transmitting property to transmit the light. For example, PMMA (methacrylic resin), AS (Styrene, acrylonitrile copolymer), PS (polystyrene), P
It is formed from a transparent resin material such as C (polycarbonate) and epoxy resin. Of course, other materials may be used as long as they are light-transmitting materials, or they may be colored.

Further, the cap 46 is mounted so as to be present in the range of contact with the screen 10 at the tip of the pointing device 4, and is fixed so as to cope with inputting coordinates by tilting the pointing device 4. It has a generally hemispherical dome shape with a thickness.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, when a filter member is attached to the light emitting element 41, the cap 4
Reference numeral 6 further covers the filter member.

As described above, the cap 46 is detachably attached to the tip of the holder 47 of the pointing tool 4. That is, by pushing the cap 46 into the opening at the tip of the cylindrical holder 47, the projection 46 a formed on the outer periphery of the rear end of the cap 46 elastically fits into the recess 47 a formed inside the opening of the holder 47. And FIG. 1 (b)
The cap 46 is attached to the tip of the holder 47 as shown in FIG. In this state, when the coordinate is input by directly pressing the cap 46 against the screen 10, the rear end face of the cap 46 abuts on the inner end face of the recess 47 a due to the pressing force, and the cap 46 is stably fixed. You. On the other hand, when the cap 46 is pulled in a direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 1B with a certain force or more, the projection 46a and the recess 47a are disengaged from each other, and as shown in FIG. Can be pulled out of the holder 47 and removed.

Since the cap 46 is detachable as described above, the cap 46 can be easily replaced with a new cap 46 when the cap 46 becomes inconvenient for inputting coordinates due to wear or damage. And, due to the presence of the cap 46,
By exchanging the cap 46, high-precision coordinate input can always be performed in a favorable state without causing any inconvenience such as wear or damage to the light emitting element 41, and the life of the present apparatus can be extended.

By the way, in order to replace the cap 46,
With the cap 46 removed, that is, the cap 46
When the light-emitting element 41 emits light in the state where is not mounted, there is a possibility that the operator performs coordinate input to the screen 10 in this state.

In this case, the light emitting element 4 by the cap 46
1 is adjusted in advance so that an optimal light spot 5 can be obtained on the screen 10 in a standard state through attenuation, diffusion, and refraction of light emission. And its distribution is different from the standard state, and the coordinate detection accuracy is reduced.

In particular, when inputting coordinates in a mode in which the tip of the pointing tool 4 is directly in contact with the screen 10, inputting coordinates with the cap 46 not mounted may cause the light emitting element 41 to be worn or damaged. There is.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in addition to the above-described configuration, the light emission of the light emitting element 41 is prohibited when the cap 46 is not attached when the cap 46 is replaced. The configuration will be described below.

As described above with reference to FIG. 3, the operation switch 4 having the cap 46 as an operation member is provided at the tip of the pointing tool 4.
When the light emitting switch such as the operation switch 43A is provided, whether the light emitting switch 3B is provided as the tip switch or not, the light emitting switch is pressed by pressing the light emitting switch with the cap 46 not mounted. The element 41 may emit light. Even if no other light-emitting switch is provided, if the light-emitting element 41 is configured to always emit light, the light-emitting element 41 emits light with the cap 46 not attached. Therefore, as described above, the configuration according to the present invention in which light emission of the light emitting element 41 is prohibited when the cap 46 is not mounted, even when the cap 46 is an operation member of the tip switch, the tip switch is not provided and the cap 4 is not provided.
The same may be applied to the case where 6 merely covers the light emitting element 41. FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the latter cap 46 merely covers the light emitting element 41.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the opening of the tip of the holder 47 which is the main body of the pointing device 4 where the cap 46 is mounted, the recess 47a with which the rear end of the cap 46 abuts when the cap 46 is mounted. A cap detecting means 48 composed of a tact (micro) switch or the like is provided in the portion. The cap detecting means 48 detects whether or not the cap 46 has been mounted on the holder 47, as shown in FIG.
It is connected to the light emission control unit 42 inside.

When the cap 46 is mounted on the holder 47, that is, in a normal use state of the pointing tool 4, the cap detecting means 48 is in a pressed ON state.
2 permits the light emitting element 41 to emit light upon receiving an ON signal indicating that the cap is attached from the cap detecting means 48. That is, in this state, the light emitting element 41 is turned on in response to the turning on of the operation switch 43A and other light emitting switches (including the operation switch 43B at the tip) in the configuration of the pointing tool 4 shown in FIG. Flash. The light emitting element 41 also emits light when the light emitting switch is not provided and the light emitting element 41 emits light constantly.

On the other hand, when the cap 46 is removed from the holder 47 and is not mounted, the cap detection means 48 is turned off, and the light emission control unit 42 sets the cap detection means 48
, The light emission of the light emitting element 41 is prohibited. That is, in this state, in the configuration in which the light emitting switch is provided, the light emitting element 41 does not emit light even when the light emitting switch is turned on. Further, even in a configuration in which the light-emitting switch 41 is not provided and the light-emitting element 41 emits light at all times, the light emission is always performed only when the cap is mounted and stopped when the cap is not mounted.

Note that the cap detecting means 48 may be a power switch directly connected to the power supply section 44 instead of being connected to the light emission control section 42. At this time, when the cap 46 is mounted, the power of the pointing tool 4 is turned on by turning on the cap detecting means 48 as a power switch, and the light emission of the light emitting element 41 is permitted. In a state where the cap 46 is not mounted, the power of the pointing device 4 is turned off, and the light emission of the light emitting element 41 is prohibited.

Further, although not shown in the drawing, the rear end of the cap 46 and the recess 47a of the holder 47 for receiving the rear end.
Are provided with contacts made of conductors, and a switch as the cap detecting means 48 is constituted by the two contacts, and the switch is turned on when the cap 46 is mounted and turned off when the cap 46 is not mounted. Good.

With the above-described configuration of the indicating tool 4, when the cap 46 is removed from the holder 47 in order to replace the cap 46 with a new one due to abrasion or breakage of the cap 46, the light emitting element 41 can be reliably connected. Can be stopped, and it is possible to prevent the operator from performing erroneous coordinate input for a long time with the detection accuracy lowered, and at the same time, to prevent wear or damage of the light emitting element 41 due to the input operation. Can be prevented. Further, it goes without saying that power consumption is saved.

In the embodiment described above, the light emission control unit 42 controls the permission and prohibition of light emission in accordance with the on / off state of the cap detection means 48. However, the light emission control unit 42 does not do so. Reference numeral 42 denotes a cap mounting state control signal indicating whether or not the cap 46 is mounted or not according to the on / off state of the cap detecting means 48, when the light emitting signal is output, together with a control signal such as a pen ID or a pen button. The light emission control may be performed so that the cap 46 is output in a superimposed manner, whereby the attachment / non-attachment of the cap 46 may be notified to the coordinate detector 1 side, that is, the body side of the coordinate input device.

In this case, as described above, when the light emitting switch such as the operation switch 43A is turned on, the light emitting element 41 is turned on.
Is started, a light emission signal and a control signal, specifically, an optical output signal LSG of FIG. 8 are output, and the transmission data string is output according to a predefined order and format. According to the on / off state of the cap detecting means 48 due to the mounting / non-mounting, the data of the cap mounting state control signal indicating the mounting / non-mounting of the cap 46 is included in the transmission data string and output.

On the other hand, in the coordinate detector 1 having received the light output signal LSG, the coordinate detection is performed, and the control signal including the cap mounting state control signal is restored from the light output signal LSG. Although the details will be described later, in the configuration of the coordinate detector 1 of FIG. 5, the modulation signal CMD is detected from the optical output signal LSG by the frequency detection unit 71, and the modulation signal CMD is detected by the control signal detection unit 72 together with other control signals. The cap mounting state control signal is restored, and the communication control unit 33
To the display control device such as an external host computer together with the coordinate data.

The external display control device performs a display for performing various operations on the normal screen 10 and, based on the cap mounting state control signal, on the screen 10 or the screen 10 when no cap is mounted. A warning display indicating that the cap is not attached is displayed at a predetermined display location of the apparatus other than 10 to call attention to the operator.

Further, the communication control unit 33 may transmit a display signal indicating the cap non-mounting state based on the cap mounting state control signal from the control signal detection unit 72.

Further, in order to limit the use of the light emitting element 41 with the cap 46 removed, when the cap detecting means 48 is off (cap is not attached), the light emission control unit 42 automatically turns off the light emitting element 41 after a certain period of time. It is desirable to add a function of stopping light emission.

According to the above-described embodiment, when the pointing tool 4 is inconvenient for inputting coordinates due to breakage of the cap 46 or the like, for example, even if the new cap 46 is not at hand, the operator can remove the cap. It is possible to perform a minimum required end menu point operation or the like for emergency evacuation in a state where it is removed. At the same time, a warning is displayed to the operator, and long-term use with the cap removed is also restricted, so that wear or damage of the light emitting element 41 can be prevented.

As described above, instead of informing the coordinate detector 1 (coordinate input device main body) of the mounting or non-mounting of the cap 46 detected by the cap detecting means 48 by outputting the cap mounting state control signal, The notification may be performed by changing the cycle of blinking when the light emitting element 41 emits light, that is, the cycle of the pulse of the pulse train of the light output signal LSG in FIG. That is, the above-mentioned blinking cycle is set to a predetermined first cycle in accordance with the ON state of the cap detecting means 48 (cap-mounted state), and the above-described blinking cycle is set in accordance with the OFF state of the cap detecting means 48 (cap-unmounted state). The light emission control unit 42 may perform light emission control so that the blinking period of is a second period different from the first period.

In this case, the coordinate detector 1 determines whether the cycle of the blinking, that is, the cycle of the pulse of the pulse train of the received light output signal LSG is the first cycle or the second cycle. A means for determining whether the cap is attached or not attached based on the detection result of the detection means 48 is provided, and the determined cap attachment or non-attachment is notified by the communication control unit 33 to an external display control device such as a host computer. Even in this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

<Description of Configuration of Coordinate Detector 1> Next, the configuration of the coordinate detector 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the coordinate detector 1 includes a light receiving element 6 for detecting a light amount with a high sensitivity by a condensing optical system described later for detecting the control signal described above, and a coupling device described later for detecting the coordinate. Two linear sensors 20 </ b> X and 20 </ b> Y (corresponding to the coordinate detection sensor unit 2 in FIG. 2) for detecting the direction of arrival of light by the image optical system are provided. The diffused light from the light spot 5 applied to the screen 10 is received. The coordinate detector 1 is provided with a frequency detector 71 and a control signal detector 72 as a component of the signal processor 7 in FIG. 2, and a sensor as a component of the controller 3 in FIG. A control unit 31, an AD conversion unit 31A, a coordinate calculation unit 32, and a communication control unit 33 are provided. With these, the light output signal of the light receiving element 6 is processed to detect the above-described control signal, the linear sensors 20X and 20Y are controlled, the output signals are processed, and the coordinates are calculated.
Hereinafter, a signal processing system that processes an output signal of the light receiving element 6 to detect a control signal and the like, configurations and signal processing systems of the linear sensors 20X and 20Y, and details of coordinate value calculation will be sequentially described.

<Description of signal processing system of light receiving element 6>
The details of the signal processing system of the light receiving element 6 will be described. Light receiving element 6
Has a condenser lens 6a as a condenser optical system (see FIG. 2).
Is mounted, and detects the amount of light of a predetermined wavelength with high sensitivity from the entire range on the screen 10. This detection output is shown in FIG.
After being detected by the frequency detector 71 in the configuration described above, a digital signal including data such as a control signal (a control signal superimposed on the light emission signal by the light emission controller 42 of the indicator 4 described above) is output by the control signal detector 72. Demodulated.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of restoring the control signal. The light output signal from the indicator 4 including the data consisting of the bit string as described above is
The light output signal LSG is detected by the light receiving element 6 and detected by the frequency detector 71. The frequency detector 71 is configured to tune to the pulse period of the highest first frequency in the optical output signal LSG, and is used in combination with an optical filter to perform modulation without being affected by disturbance light. Demodulate the signal CMD. This detection method is similar to a widely used infrared remote controller, and is a highly reliable wireless communication method.

In the present embodiment, for example, the first frequency is set to 60 KHz, which is a higher band than that of a generally used infrared remote controller, and is configured so as not to malfunction even when used at the same time. Shall be. However, the first frequency can be set to the same band as that of a generally used infrared remote controller. In such a case, malfunction is prevented by identifying the first frequency with an ID or the like.

The modulated signal CMD detected by the frequency detector 71 is interpreted as digital data by the control signal detector 72, and the control signals such as the pen down, pen button, and cap mounting state control signals described above are restored. You. The restored control signal is transmitted to the communication control unit 33.
Sent to

The code modulation period, which is the second frequency included in the modulation signal CMD, is detected by the sensor control unit 31, and this signal is used to detect the period of the linear sensor 20X, 2.
0Y will be controlled. That is, the sensor control unit 31
Then, the reset is performed at the timing of the header section shown in FIG. 8, and thereafter, a signal LCK synchronized with the falling edge of the modulation signal CMD is generated. Therefore, the generated signal LCK is a signal of a constant frequency synchronized with the presence or absence of light emission of the pointing device 4.

From the modulation signal CMD, a signal LON indicating the presence or absence of an optical input and a sensor reset signal RCL activated by the signal LON are generated. While the sensor reset signal RCL is at a high level, the two linear sensors 20X and 20Y are reset, and a synchronous integration operation described later is started at the falling timing of the sensor reset signal RCL synchronized with the rising of the signal LCK.

On the other hand, the control signal detecting section 72 detects the header section and confirms that the input from the pointing device 4 has been started, not other equipment or noise, and a signal indicating this confirmation is transmitted to the communication control section 33. Is transmitted to the sensor control unit 31, the signal CON indicating the validity of the operation of the linear sensors 20X and 20Y is set to a high level, and the operation of the coordinate calculation unit 32 is started.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart of the signals when the light output signal LSG is lost and the above-described series of restoration operations is completed. As shown here, when the modulation signal CMD detected from the optical output signal LSG keeps the low level for a certain period of time or more, the signal LON indicating the presence or absence of the optical input becomes low level, and further, the signal CON indicating the sensor operation validity. Also goes low, which results in the linear sensor 2
The output operation of the coordinates by 0X and 20Y ends.

<Description of Configuration of Linear Sensor and Signal Processing System> Next, the configuration of the linear sensors 20X and 20Y and the details of the signal processing system will be described. First, FIG. 6 shows an arrangement relationship between the linear sensors 20X and 20Y and the imaging optical system. As shown here, the image of the light spot 5 on the screen 10 is formed by the cylindrical lenses 90X and 90Y as the image forming optical system on the photosensitive portions (sensor arrays) 21X and 21Y of the linear sensors 20X and 20Y. An image is formed as 91Y. By arranging these two sensors 20X and 20Y and the lenses 90X and 90Y accurately at right angles, an output having a peak at a pixel reflecting the X coordinate and the Y coordinate is obtained.

Then, these two sensors 20X, 20X
Y is controlled by the sensor control unit 31 in the configuration of FIG. 5, and each output signal is converted into a digital signal by the AD conversion unit 31A connected to the sensor control unit 31 and sent to the coordinate calculation unit 32. The output coordinate values are calculated, and the result is transmitted to an external device such as a computer (not shown) by a predetermined communication method via the communication control unit 33 together with data such as a control signal from the control signal detection unit 72. Further, in order to perform an unusual operation (for example, setting of a user calibration value) such as adjustment, a mode switching signal is sent from the communication control unit 33 to the sensor control unit 31 and the coordinate calculation unit 32.

In this embodiment, the focus is adjusted so that the image of the light spot 5 has an image width several times as large as the pixels of the linear sensors 20X and 20Y, and blur is intentionally generated. For example, according to an experiment using a 1.5 mm diameter plastic cylindrical lens, a pixel pitch of about 15 μm, a linear CCD of effective 64 pixels, and an infrared LED, the sharpest image is formed, and the entire angle of view of about 40 degrees is obtained. , The image width becomes 15 μm or less, and it is found that in such a state, the result of the inter-pixel division operation is distorted stepwise. Then, when the position of the lens was adjusted so that the image width was about 30 to 60 μm, very smooth coordinate data was obtained. Of course, if the image is largely blurred, the peak level will be reduced. Therefore, an image width of about several pixels is optimal. The use of a CCD with a small number of pixels and a moderately blurred optical system is one of the points of the present embodiment. By using such a combination, the amount of operation data is small, and a small sensor and optical system can be used. Very high resolution, high precision,
A high-speed and low-cost coordinate input device can be realized.

The X-coordinate detecting linear sensor 20X and the Y-coordinate detecting linear sensor 20Y arranged in an array have the same configuration, and the internal configuration is shown in FIG.

The sensor array 21 serving as a light receiving section is composed of N pixels (for example, 64 pixels), and charges corresponding to the amount of received light are stored in the integrating section 22. The N integrating units 22 can be reset by applying a voltage to the gate ICG, so that the electronic shutter operation can be performed. The electric charge stored in the integration unit 22 is transferred to the storage unit 23 by applying a pulse voltage to the electrode ST. The storage section 23 is composed of 2N pieces, and charges are separately stored corresponding to H (high level) and L (low level) of the signal LCK synchronized with the light emission timing of the indicator 4. Thereafter, the charges separately accumulated in synchronization with the blinking of the light are transferred to the 2N linear CCD units 25 via the 2N shift units 24 provided for simplifying the transfer clock. Is done.

Thus, the linear CCD section 25 has N
The electric charges corresponding to the blinking of the light output from the sensor output of the pixel are stored adjacent to each other. These linear CCDs
The charges arranged in the part 25 are 2N ring CCs.
The data is sequentially transferred to the D unit 26. This ring CCD 26
After being emptied by the CLR unit 27 by the signal RCL, the charges from the linear CCD unit 25 are sequentially accumulated.

The charges thus accumulated are transferred to the amplifier 2
9 is read. This amplifier 29 is non-destructive and outputs a voltage proportional to the accumulated charge amount. In practice, the difference between adjacent charge amounts, that is, the light emitting element 41
The value obtained by subtracting the charge amount at the time of non-lighting from the charge amount at the time of lighting is amplified and output.

The linear sensors 20X, 20 obtained at this time
FIG. 10 shows an example of the Y output waveform. In FIG. 10, a waveform B is a waveform when only a signal when the light emitting element 41 is lit is read, and a waveform A is a waveform when the light emitting element 41 is not lit, that is,
This is a waveform of only disturbance light (as shown in FIG. 7, charges of pixels corresponding to the waveforms of A and B are adjacently arranged on the ring CCD 26). The amplifier 29 non-destructively amplifies and outputs the difference value (the waveform of B-A) of the adjacent charge amount, whereby a signal of only the light from the indicator 4 can be obtained. Thus, stable coordinate input can be performed without being affected by disturbance light (noise).

If the maximum value of the waveform B-A shown in FIG. 10 is defined as the PEAK value, if the accumulation time during which the sensor functions with respect to light is increased, the PEAK value is changed according to the time.
The value increases. In other words, the time corresponding to one cycle of the signal LCK is defined as the unit accumulation time, and the accumulation count n
Is defined, the PEAK is increased by increasing the number of accumulations n.
The value increases, and by detecting that the PEAK value has reached a predetermined value TH1, it is possible to always obtain an output waveform of a constant quality.

On the other hand, when the disturbance light is very strong, the ring CC may be used before the peak of the differential waveform BA becomes sufficiently large.
The transfer charge of D26 may be saturated. In consideration of such a case, the sensor is provided with a skim portion 28 having a skim function. The skim unit 28 monitors the level of the non-lighting signal, and in FIG.
When the signal level exceeds a predetermined value (indicated by a dashed line in the figure), a fixed amount of charge is extracted from each of the pixels A and B. Thus, in the next (n + 1) -th time, An + 1
By repeating this, even if there is extremely strong disturbance light, signal charges can be continuously accumulated without being saturated. Therefore, even if the light amount of the blinking light is weak, by continuing the integration operation many times, a sufficiently large signal waveform can be obtained. In particular, when a light source in the visible light range is used for the indicator 4,
Since the display image signal is superimposed, a sharp waveform with very little noise can be obtained by using the above-described skim function and difference output.

Next, FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a series of operations of sensor control of the linear sensors 20X and 20Y by the sensor control section 31. As shown here, the sensor control unit 31 first starts a sensor control operation in step S101, and in step S102, outputs a signal CO.
Monitor N. When the signal CON goes high, the flag pon is set to 1 in step S103, the number of accumulations n is reset to 0, and the PEAK value (peak level) of the sensor output is set to a predetermined value TH in step S104.
It is determined whether it is greater than one.

If less than TH1, step S10
At 5, it is determined whether the number of accumulations n exceeds a first predetermined number n0. If not, the process proceeds to step S106, and the number of accumulations n is incremented by one, and the process proceeds to step S10
Return to 4. If the PEAK value is greater than TH1 or if n exceeds n0, the process proceeds to step S107, where the integration stop signal RON is set to a high level (H) to stop the integration operation. Then, the coordinate value calculation process by the coordinate calculation unit 32 is started.

Thereafter, step S108 and step S1
When n exceeds the second predetermined number n1 in the loop of counting of 09, the integration stop signal RON is set to the low level, and at the same time, the sensor reset signal RCL is set to several times (two times in FIG. 9) the cycle of the signal LCK. High level, step S
Proceed to 112 to determine whether the signal CON is at a high level,
While the signal is at the high level, the operations of steps S103 to S112 are repeated, and the coordinate value calculation is performed in each cycle determined by the predetermined number n1.

If the signal CON is at low level in step S112 so as to maintain the state only once even if the signal CON drops due to the influence of dust or the like, the signal CON is determined by the predetermined number n1. Step S111 for waiting for a period of time is provided, and thereafter, step S10
Proceed to 2. If the signal CON is at the low level for two consecutive periods, the process proceeds from step S102 to step S1.
In step 13, the flag pon is reset to 0, a state of waiting for a sync signal is returned, and the process returns to step S101.

The drop-out countermeasure portion can be longer than one cycle and can be longer if the disturbance is small. Note that the same operation can be performed by setting one cycle here as a natural number multiple of the above-described data block cycle to match the sync code timing and using a sync code detection signal instead of the signal CON.

The light of the indicator 4 reaching the coordinate detector 1 varies due to the consumption of the power supply (battery) 44 incorporated in the indicator 4 and also varies depending on the attitude of the indicator 4. In particular, when the light diffusing property of the screen 10 is small, the front luminance of the displayed image is improved, but the fluctuation of the amount of light input to the sensor due to the posture of the pointing tool 4 is increased.
However, in the present embodiment, even in such a case, since the number of integrations automatically follows and an always stable output signal can be obtained, an excellent effect of enabling stable coordinate detection can be obtained. . In the case where the pointing tool 4 uses a semiconductor laser as a light emitting element and is configured as a laser pointer that irradiates a light spot from a place away from the coordinate input surface, and the light beam enters the sensor without being scattered much. Means that very strong light enters, but it is clear that stable coordinates can be detected even in such a case.

Also, LE used by directly touching the screen
When a pen-type pointing device using D and a pointing device as a laser pointer are used together, LEDs having a larger light amount can be used.
It is also possible to determine whether 0 or n1 is a pen or a pointer by an ID signal and switch between them. In the case of a pen, sampling can be performed at high speed, and in the case of a pointer, sampling can be performed at low speed. In fact, a delicate drawing operation like character input is impossible with a pointer, but it is more convenient to draw a smooth line by low-speed sampling, and it is effective to perform such switching.

As described above, a high-frequency carrier is added to the blinking light, and the timing of the integration operation is controlled by a demodulated signal having a predetermined period obtained by frequency-detecting the carrier. It is possible to synchronize the imaging unit with the cordless device, and to realize a convenient coordinate input device. Further, by using a laser beam, an excellent advantage that an operation can be easily performed at a position away from a display screen (coordinate input surface) can be obtained. Further, since the integration control means for detecting that the peak level in the difference signal from the integration means has exceeded a predetermined level and stopping the integration operation is provided, the signal of the light spot image having a substantially constant level even if the light amount changes. Can be created,
Thereby, a stable and high-resolution coordinate calculation result can always be obtained.

<Description of Coordinate Value Calculation> Next, the coordinate calculation unit 3
2 will be described in detail.

The output signals (difference signals from the amplifier 29) of the two linear sensors 20X and 20Y obtained as described above are converted into digital signals by an AD conversion unit 31A provided in the sensor control unit 31, and are used as coordinate calculation units. 32,
Coordinate values are calculated. First, the coordinate values are calculated using the X coordinate,
For output data in each direction of the Y coordinate, coordinate values (X1, Y1) on the sensor are obtained. The arithmetic processing is
Since X and Y are the same, only X will be described below.

FIG. 13 shows the flow of the coordinate calculation process. As shown here, the process starts in step S201, and in step S202, difference data Dx which is a difference signal of each pixel at an arbitrary coordinate input point (a predetermined point whose coordinates are known in a reference point setting mode described later). (N) (in the present embodiment, the number of pixels n = 64) is read and stored in the buffer memory.

Next, in step S203, the difference data Dx (n) is compared with a preset threshold V to derive a data value Ex (n) that is equal to or larger than the threshold. Using this data, a coordinate X1 on the sensor is calculated in step S204. In the present embodiment, the center of gravity of the output data is calculated by the centroid method. Needless to say, there are a plurality of calculation methods such as a method of obtaining the peak value of the output data Ex (n) (for example, by a differential method).

Next, in step S205, the mode of the coordinate calculation process is determined. In order to calculate coordinates from the center of gravity X1 of the output data, it is necessary to obtain a predetermined value in advance, and a method of deriving the predetermined value (reference point setting mode)
Is described.

Similarly, only the X direction will be described. If the X and Y coordinates on the screen 10 are known (α1, β
In 1) and (α2, β2), position the indicating tool 4 and
Run each of the foregoing steps S202 to S204, the centroid value of the X-direction sensor obtained at each point X1 _1, X1 derived as _2, its value, and the known coordinate values alpha _1, alpha ₂ each step S210 Remember. Using this stored value, the X coordinate of the coordinate input point to be derived in step S206 can be calculated during normal coordinate calculation. In step S207, in order to provide a higher-performance coordinate input device, coordinate values are corrected as necessary (for example, the distortion is corrected by a software operation to correct the lens aberration of the optical system, etc.). ) To determine the coordinate values.

It is needless to say that the determined coordinates can be output as it is in real time, or data can be thinned out according to the purpose (for example, only one data is output for every ten determined coordinates). However, it is important when the following specifications are assumed.

The stability of the user's hand is different between the case where the pointing tool 4 is used in contact with the screen (coordinate input surface) like a pen and the case where the pointing tool 4 is used away from the screen as a pointer. When used as a pointer, the cursor on the screen will tremble finely, so it is easier to use such a fine movement. On the other hand, when used like a pen, it is required to follow as quickly as possible. Especially when writing characters, if you can not do small quick operations,
You will not be able to type correctly.

In this embodiment, since the ID is transmitted by the control signal, it is possible to determine whether or not the pointing tool 4 is a pointer type and whether or not the operation switch 43B at the tip is pressed by the ID. Thereby, it can be determined whether or not the pointing tool 4 is used as a pointer or a pen. If it is a pointer, for example, the output coordinate values (X-1, Y-1) and (X-2, Y-
If the moving average is calculated using 2) to obtain the current output coordinate values (X, Y), a configuration with less blur and good operability is obtained. In the present embodiment, a simple moving average is used. However, as a function used for such smoothing processing, other than the above, a difference absolute value is nonlinearly compressed according to a magnitude, or a predicted value based on a moving average is used. Various methods such as non-linear compression of the difference from the lever can be used. The point is that when used as a pointer, it is possible to increase the level of smoothing; otherwise, it is possible to switch to a modest level by using a control signal. Is big.

Further, the pointer 4 is used as the cap 46 so that the pointer-dedicated cap and the pen-dedicated cap can be exchanged, and means for determining which dedicated cap is mounted is provided by the dedicated cap or the indicator 4.
May be provided on the main body side to determine whether the pointing tool 4 is used as a pointer or a pen.

Note that the above-described coordinate calculation processing may be completed within 10 msec when the coordinate sampling frequency is 100 Hz as described above, and the original data is 64 bytes.
Pixel x 2 (x and y) x 8 bits of the AD conversion unit, which is very small and does not require convergence operation, so low-speed 8-bit 1
A chip microprocessor can perform sufficient processing.
This is advantageous not only in terms of cost but also in that specifications can be easily changed, development time can be shortened, and development of various derivative products can be facilitated. In particular, a dedicated LS for performing high-speed image data processing, such as when an area sensor is used.
The development of I is unnecessary, and the advantages such as development cost and development period are very large.

The data signal indicating the coordinate value (X, Y) obtained by the above-described arithmetic processing is sent from the coordinate arithmetic unit 32 to the communication control unit 33. The data signal and the control signal from the control signal detection unit 72 are input to the communication control unit 33. The data signal and the control signal are both converted into a communication signal of a predetermined format,
It is sent to a display control device such as an external computer. Thus, various operations such as input of a cursor, a menu, characters and line drawings on the screen 10 can be performed. As described above, even when a 64-pixel sensor is used, 1
Obtain a coordinate input device that can achieve a resolution of more than 000 and sufficient accuracy, can have a small and low-cost configuration for both the sensor and the optical system, and can have a very small configuration for the arithmetic circuit. Can be.

When the sensor is configured as an area sensor, doubling the resolution requires four times the number of pixels and calculation data. On the other hand, when the sensor is configured as a linear sensor, Only needs to double the number of pixels in each of the X and Y coordinates. Therefore, it is easy to increase the number of pixels to achieve higher resolution.

[0113]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in the coordinate input pointing device of the optical coordinate input device, the pointing device is detachably attached to the distal end of the pointing device. It has a cap made of a translucent material that covers the light emitting element for light spot irradiation, so that light emission of the light emitting element is permitted when the cap is mounted, and light emission is prohibited when the cap is not mounted. And a configuration for performing light emission control of the light emitting element for detecting attachment / non-attachment of the cap and notifying a result of the detection to the main body of the coordinate input device, and further adopting an optical coordinate system. Since the input device is configured to notify the external device of the attachment / non-attachment of the cap notified to the main body side, since the light emitting element is covered by the cap, the contact of the light emitting element with the coordinate input surface of the light emitting element is achieved. Wear to prevent damage,
Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the user from inputting coordinates in a state where the coordinate detection accuracy is reduced by using the pointing tool by mistake while the cap is not mounted, and to prevent the light emitting element from being worn or damaged. Further, it is possible to improve the durability of the coordinate input pointing tool, prevent the coordinate detection accuracy from lowering, and improve the performance of the coordinate input device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing attachment and detachment of a cap and a cap detecting means at a tip portion of a coordinate input pointing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an entire configuration of a large-sized display system including a coordinate input device using the pointing device of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of the pointing device.

FIG. 4 is a table showing operation modes according to operation of four operation switches of the pointing device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a coordinate detector in FIG. 2 in more detail;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an arrangement relationship between two linear sensors and a cylindrical lens of the coordinate detector.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a linear sensor.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart of each signal illustrating an operation of restoring a control signal from an output signal of a light receiving element of a coordinate detector.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart at the end of a series of operations for restoring a control signal from an output signal of the light receiving element.

FIG. 10 is a waveform chart showing an example of an output waveform of the linear sensor.

FIG. 11 is a waveform diagram showing a skim operation of the linear sensor.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the operation of the linear sensor.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a coordinate calculation process in the coordinate detector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 coordinate detector 2 coordinate detection sensor unit 3 controller 4 coordinate input indicator 5 light spot 6 light receiving element 7 signal processing unit 10 screen 20X, 20Y linear sensor 32 coordinate calculation unit 41 light emitting element 42 light emission control unit 43A to 43D Switch 44 Power supply unit 46 Cap 47 Holder 48 Cap detecting means

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Katsuyuki Kobayashi, Inventor 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Jun Tanaka 3-30-2, Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside the Company (72) Inventor Isao Kobayashi Within Canon Inc. 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside (72) Inventor Masaaki Kinpu Inside 30-3-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. F term (reference) 5B087 AA04 AB14 AE03 BC16 CC09 CC20 CC26 CC33 CC34 DD10 DG06

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A coordinate input pointing device of an optical coordinate input device for detecting a coordinate of an irradiation position of a light spot irradiated on a coordinate input surface and inputting a coordinate, wherein a light emitting element is provided at a tip portion. A coordinate input indicator used to indicate an arbitrary position on the coordinate input surface and irradiate the light spot with light emission of the light emitting element to input coordinates; A cap made of a light-transmitting material that is detachably attached and covers the light-emitting element; light emission of the light-emitting element is permitted when the cap is attached; and light-emission is performed when the cap is not attached. An indicator for inputting coordinates, wherein light emission of an element is prohibited. 2. A device according to claim 1, further comprising: detecting means for detecting whether or not the cap is mounted, and control means for controlling permission and prohibition of light emission of the light emitting element according to a detection result of the detecting means. The coordinate input pointing device according to claim 1. 3. The light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the power of the indicator is turned on and off according to whether the cap is mounted or not, so that light emission of the light emitting element is permitted or prohibited. The pointing device for coordinate input described in. 4. A coordinate input pointing device of an optical coordinate input device for detecting a coordinate of an irradiation position of a light spot irradiated on a coordinate input surface and inputting a coordinate, wherein a light emitting element is provided at a tip portion. A coordinate input indicator used to indicate an arbitrary position on the coordinate input surface and irradiate the light spot with light emission of the light emitting element to input coordinates; A cap which is detachably mounted and is made of a translucent material covering the light emitting element; a detecting means for detecting whether or not the cap is mounted or not; And a control means for controlling light emission of the light emitting element for performing a coordinate input operation. 5. The light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls light emission of the light emitting element so as to notify a detection result of the detecting unit by outputting a control signal obtained by modulating light emission of the light emitting element in a predetermined method. Item 4. The coordinate input indicator according to Item 4. 6. The control means controls the light emission of the light emitting element so as to notify the detection result of the detection means by making a cycle of blinking the light emitting element different according to the detection result of the detection means. The pointing device for inputting coordinates according to claim 4, wherein the operation is performed. 7. An optical coordinate input device for detecting a coordinate of an irradiation position of a light spot illuminated on a coordinate input surface and performing coordinate input, wherein the optical coordinate input device is any one of claims 5 to 7. A coordinate input device using the coordinate input indicator of the coordinate input device, the mounting of the cap detected by the detection means of the coordinate input indicator and notified to the body side of the coordinate input device,
A coordinate input device having means for notifying an external device of non-attachment.