JP2001243003A - Coordinate inputting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coordinate inputting device capable of efficiently facilitating a countermeasure even to a large-scaled whiteboard, and operating not only the writing of data in the whiteboard face but also the erasure of the written data. SOLUTION: This coordinate inputting device for irradiating the plane face of a whiteboard 11 with lights, and for inputting position coordinates on the plane face based on the reflected lights of the lights is composed of an instructor 13 having a site 10 formed of a reflecting member for reflecting lights to an incident direction, an optical unit 14 having a light source part for irradiating the plane face with lights and a light receiving part for receiving the reflected lights from the instructor 13, and a processing part 15 for calculating the position coordinates of the instructor 13 on the plane face based on the reflected lights received by the light receiving part of the optical unit 14.

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 for irradiating light onto a predetermined flat plate surface and detecting position coordinates on the flat plate surface based on reflected light of the light. The present invention relates to a coordinate input device capable of efficiently coping with a whiteboard surface or the like and performing not only writing on the whiteboard surface or the like but also deleting the written data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the past, it was common to physically write characters and figures on a blackboard or whiteboard using a pen or marker, but recently, characters and figures have been written using an electronic pen. A technology for displaying on a whiteboard or the like is known.

For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-91094, a light source unit and a detection unit are installed at different positions on a touch panel, and a reflection unit that folds a light beam from the light source unit is installed on the touch panel. There is disclosed a touch panel coordinate detecting device configured to detect the coordinates of a contact point on a touch panel from the angle when the reflection of a light beam is blocked by a pen or the like.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a conventional touch panel coordinate input device represented by this prior art. The coordinate input device includes a frame 2 having a reflecting member 1 for reflecting light in an incident direction on one surface, an optical unit 4 for emitting and receiving light, a pen 5 for writing on a whiteboard 3, and a pen 5 for writing. A calculation unit 6 for calculating the position coordinates of the pen 5. The optical unit 4
Has a light source unit that irradiates substantially parallel light onto a flat plate of the whiteboard 3 and a light receiving unit that receives light reflected by the reflecting member 1.

When writing is performed on the writing surface of the whiteboard 3 by the pen 5, substantially parallel light emitted from the light source unit is blocked by the pen 5, and the light receiving unit receives reflected light from the direction of the pen 5. Since no light is received, the position where the reflected light is blocked by the pen 5 can be calculated by the calculation unit 6.

[0006]

However, according to such a conventional coordinate input device, since the pen 5 detects the position on the whiteboard by blocking the reflected light, the reflected light is uniform over the entire surface of the whiteboard. Must be distributed, but it is actually difficult to distribute such homogeneous reflected light. In particular, as the area of the whiteboard increases, it becomes more difficult to homogenize the distribution of the reflected light.
It is necessary to take measures such as increasing the amount of light, which results in an increase in the price of the device.

According to the prior art, it is premised that the frame 2 provided with the reflecting member 1 capable of reflecting light in the incident direction is provided on three sides of the writing surface of the whiteboard 3. As the writing surface of the board 3 becomes larger, more reflecting members are required, and there is a problem that the price of the device itself is increased.

Further, according to this prior art, since the coordinates are detected only by blocking the light emitted from the light source, whether writing is performed on the whiteboard 3 by the pen 5 or an eraser (not shown) There is also a problem that it is not possible to judge whether or not the data is erased by the method ()).

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can efficiently cope with a large whiteboard or the like. It is another object of the present invention to provide a coordinate input device that can also erase the written data.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, a coordinate input device according to a first aspect of the present invention irradiates a predetermined flat surface with light, and based on reflected light of the light. In a coordinate input device for inputting position coordinates on the flat surface, an indicating means having a portion formed by a reflecting member for reflecting light in an incident direction, a light source unit for irradiating light on the flat surface, and the instruction An optical unit having a light receiving unit for receiving the reflected light from the means, and calculating means for calculating the position coordinates of the indicating means on the flat plate surface based on the reflected light received by the light receiving unit of the optical unit, It is characterized by having.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coordinate input device for irradiating light on a predetermined flat plate surface and inputting position coordinates on the flat plate surface based on the reflected light of the light. Has a portion formed of a reflecting member that reflects light in the incident direction, the optical unit has a light source unit that irradiates light on the flat plate surface and a light receiving unit that receives reflected light from the indicating means, The calculating means calculates the position coordinates of the pointing means on the flat plate surface based on the reflected light received by the light receiving portion of the optical unit, so that the position coordinates are substantially on the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device. A kind of touch panel surface is formed by irradiating parallel light, and position coordinates at which light forming the touch panel surface is reflected can be detected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the coordinate input device according to the first aspect, the calculating means is configured to calculate the position on the flat surface based on the reflected light received by the light receiving section of the optical unit. The calculation of the position coordinates and the determination of writing or erasing are performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the calculating means calculates the position coordinates on the flat plate surface and determines writing or erasing based on the reflected light received by the light receiving section of the optical unit. By doing so, the position coordinates can be detected in consideration of writing or erasing on the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the coordinate input device according to the first or second aspect, the coordinates calculated by the calculating means and / or data relating to the type of writing or erasing is stored. The storage device further comprises:

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the storage means stores the coordinates calculated by the calculation means and / or the data relating to the type of writing or erasing, so that the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display device of the display device is stored. The position coordinates can be stored in consideration of the fact that writing or erasing has been performed on the display surface.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the coordinate input device according to the third aspect, the storage means is formed of a flash memory.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the storage means is formed by a flash memory.
Specific position coordinates with respect to the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device can be stored in advance.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the coordinate input device according to the third or fourth aspect, further comprising an output unit for outputting the data stored in the storage unit to an external device. Features.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, by outputting the data stored in the storage means to an external device, the data is written or written on the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device by the storage means. The position coordinates stored in consideration of the erasure can be output to the external device.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a coordinate input device according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a whiteboard will be described.

Embodiment 1 First, the configuration of a coordinate input device according to Embodiment 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the coordinate input device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG.
It comprises one optical unit 14, an indicator 13, and a processing unit 15.

The indicator 13 includes a reflecting portion 10 for reflecting light in the incident direction and a contact portion 1 for contacting the white board 11.
2 is a pointing member having at least an optical unit 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes an optical device having a light source unit that irradiates light substantially parallel to the whiteboard 11 and a light receiving unit that receives light reflected by the reflecting unit 10 of the indicator 13. The processing unit 15 is a processing unit that calculates coordinates and the like based on the detection result of the optical unit 14. Hereinafter, these specific configurations and operations will be described in detail.

(Structure and Operation of Indicator 13) The indicator 13 shown in FIG. 1 is a reflecting section 10 for reflecting light in the incident direction.
And a contact portion 12 that comes into contact with the whiteboard 11 and plays a role of instructing position coordinates with respect to the whiteboard 11. The reflecting section 10 is formed by a reflecting member that reflects light in the incident direction, and the optical unit 14
Plays a role of reflecting light emitted from the light source unit to the light receiving unit of the optical unit 14.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing components of a reflecting member forming the reflecting portion 10 of the indicator 13 shown in FIG. Since this reflecting member reflects light emitted from the light source unit to the light receiving unit (incident direction), a corner cube reflector shown in FIG. 2A can be used. This corner cube reflector is shown in Fig. 2.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the conical shape has an apex angle of 90 degrees, and a material having a high reflectivity (for example, aluminum) is disposed on its inner surface. (Reflection to light).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the reflection members forming the reflection section 10 of the indicator 13 shown in FIG. 1 and the arrangement position of the reflection section 10. As shown in FIG.
0 are arranged so that the light emitted from the light source unit of the optical unit 14 can be recursively reflected to the light receiving unit of the optical unit 14. Here, the cylindrical surface is formed by the reflecting member 20. The case where they are arranged so as to form them is shown. By arranging in this manner, light can be reflected more reliably than when the reflecting members 20 are arranged in points or circles, and the calculation processing of the reflected light can be performed more easily than when the reflecting members 20 are arranged in a polyhedron. It becomes possible.

The reflecting section 10 is provided on the indicator 13 so that the light emitted from the light source section of the optical unit 14 can be reflected on the light receiving section of the optical unit 14.
Here, a case where the reflection unit 10 is disposed at a position close to the contact unit 12 of the indicator 13 is shown. With this arrangement, the contact portion 12 of the indicator 13 is
Since the light can be reflected only when the whiteboard 11 is in contact, the light receiving unit can reliably recognize whether or not the writing has been performed on the whiteboard 11.

In this embodiment, the reflecting portion 10
Is shown integrated with the indicator 13, but the reflector 10 may be configured to be attached to the indicator 13 via an attachment member such as a magnet, a suction cup, a fitting shape, or a seal. With such an attachment member,
Existing whiteboard pens can also serve as indicators.

The contact portion 12 is a portion that directly contacts the whiteboard 11, and the coordinate input device detects the position coordinates at which the contact portion 12 contacts the whiteboard 11. Also, by providing the contact portion 12 with functions such as a pen and an eraser, the whiteboard 1
It is also possible to have a role as a tool for writing and erasing 1.

(Structure and Operation of Optical Unit 14) The optical unit 14 includes a light source unit that irradiates light substantially parallel to the whiteboard 11 and a light receiving unit that receives light reflected by the reflecting unit 10. It has a function of detecting the direction of the indicator 13. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the optical unit 14 shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, FIG. 4A shows a side view thereof, and FIG. 4B shows a front view thereof. I have.

As shown in the figure, the light source section includes a light emitting diode 30 that oscillates light, a diffusion lens 31 that diffuses the light oscillated by the light emitting diode 90 by 90 degrees, and a light that is diffused by the diffusion lens 31. Half mirror 32 which deflects light and irradiates it substantially parallel to whiteboard 11
And plays a role of forming a kind of touch panel surface on the whiteboard 11.

On the other hand, the light receiving section is a reflecting section 10 of the indicator 13.
Mirror 32 that transmits the reflected light reflected by
A condenser lens 33 for condensing the light transmitted through the half mirror 32, a photodiode 34 for detecting the light condensed by the condenser lens 33, and a detection result of the photodiode 34 for the processing unit 15 Transmitter 3 for sending to
5 and serves to detect the direction of the reflected light.

The light emitting diode 30 emits infrared light having a wavelength of 890 nm, but may emit visible light. By emitting such infrared rays, the apparatus can be used even when the room is darkened in a conference room or the like, and the attention of the user is prevented from being shifted to the visible light emitted from the light source unit. it can.
However, in order to prevent excessive heating of the optical unit 14 and erroneous detection due to other infrared rays, it is necessary to use appropriate wavelengths and emission intensities.

The diffusion lens 31 is a lens for diffusing the light oscillated by the light emitting diode 30, and an appropriate combination of lenses is appropriately used. Here, a combination of a plano-concave lens is shown. I have. In this embodiment, two optical units 1 are used in principle.
Since 4 is used, the diffusion lens 31 needs a combination that diffuses light to at least 90 degrees.

The half mirror 32 deflects the diffused light and irradiates the white board 11 with the light substantially in parallel. This makes it possible to form a touch panel surface. In addition, the half mirror 32 includes the reflecting unit 1.
0 transmits the reflected light recursively reflected.

The condensing lens 33 is for condensing the reflected light transmitted through the half mirror 32 on the photodiode 34, and an appropriate combination of lenses is used as appropriate. By condensing the light with the condenser lens 33 in this manner,
The light intensity can be increased and the photodiode 34
Can easily detect light.

The photodiode 34 includes a condenser lens 33
The direction of the reflected light is detected by detecting the reflected light condensed in the above. A CCD line sensor can be cited as an example of this.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the concept of detecting the direction of reflected light by the CCD line sensor. FIG.
In the case of the reflected light 40 as shown in (a), the CCD line sensor forms a straight line toward the center point of the indicator 13 (hereinafter, referred to as “reflection point 41”) as shown in FIG. Since the peak value of the light amount appears at the angle θ, the direction (angle) of the reflection point 41 can be detected.

Since such light reaches the photodiode 34 via various optical systems, the wavelength of the strongest light can be effectively detected in consideration of the absorption and attenuation of the light by the optical systems. A photodiode 34 must be used. Further, since light containing various noises is mixed in the light emitted from the light emitting diode 30 into the photodiode 34, the light emitting diode which can finally distinguish the light passing through the condenser lens 33 from the noise. It is necessary to use 30.

As a method of improving the detection accuracy of the photodiode 34, a filter is provided immediately before the condenser lens 33, so that it does not depend on the direction of the reflected light, in addition to the method of increasing the light emission intensity of the light emitting diode 30. A method in which reflected light having a constant intensity is incident on the photodiode 34, or a frame in which non-reflective members are provided on four sides of the whiteboard 11 is provided so that light other than the light emitted from the light emitting diode 30 is hardly incident. Methods are also conceivable. Note that the photodiode 34 is not limited as long as it can detect the direction of the reflected light. For example, a rotating slit is provided in a portion of the optical unit 14 that receives the reflected light, thereby detecting the direction of the reflected light. You may.

The transmitting section 35 uses the detection result of the direction of the light reflected by the photodiode 34 as an angle signal as the angle signal.
It is for sending to. For this reason, the processing unit 15
Can perform processing based on the angle signal received from the transmission unit 35. Note that such an angle signal is transmitted via a wire, wireless, infrared, or the like.

In the present embodiment, the optical unit 1
4 and the whiteboard 11 are integrally formed, but the optical unit 14 is connected to the whiteboard 11.
It is also possible to detachably dispose the light source and to adjust the light irradiation direction.

FIG. 6 is an external configuration diagram showing an example of an optical unit that is detachably adjustable. FIG. 6 (a) shows a case where a screw can be attached to and detached from a whiteboard, and FIG. 6 (b) shows a case where a magnet can be attached and detached to and from a whiteboard.
FIG. 6 (c) shows a case where it can be attached to and detached from a whiteboard by a suction cup, and in any case, it can be adjusted by a universal joint. According to this detachable and adjustable optical unit, it can be applied to existing whiteboards and display devices.
It is also possible to select an irradiation direction of the light so that the detection accuracy of the reflected light is the best.

In this embodiment, the case where two optical units 14 are arranged at both ends of the bottom of the whiteboard 11 is shown. The two optical units 14 are arranged at both ends of the bottom side of the whiteboard 11 in order to detect the position coordinates corresponding to the size of the whiteboard 11 by performing calculations from the distance between the light receiving units of the optical units 14. However, if the number of the optical units 14 is increased, the accuracy of detecting the position coordinates can be improved. Further, the two optical units 14 are connected to the whiteboard 1.
By arranging it on the upper side of 1, it is possible to reduce defective light emission and light reception due to chalk dust and dust.

(Structure and Operation of Processing Unit 15) Processing Unit 1
Reference numeral 5 plays a role in performing various processes such as calculation of position coordinates based on the angle signal. FIG. 7 shows the processing unit 15 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment. As shown in the figure, the processing unit 15 includes a receiving unit 50 and a first storage unit 51.
An input command unit 52, a calculation unit 53, an output unit 54,
And a control unit 55.

The receiving section 50 receives the angle signal a from the light receiving section of the optical unit 14 and transmits it to the control section 55. Therefore, the processing unit 15 can perform a process based on the angle signal a. Since this angle signal a is required for the arithmetic processing in the arithmetic section 53, the angle signal a
Can be directly input to the arithmetic unit 53 without passing through the receiving unit 50 or the control unit 55.

The first storage unit 51 includes two optical units 1
The distance information b between the light receiving units 4 is stored, and the distance signal b is transmitted to the control unit 55. For this reason, the processing unit 15 can perform processing based on the distance signal b. Since the distance signal b is required for the arithmetic processing in the arithmetic unit 53, the distance signal b can be directly input to the arithmetic unit 53 without passing through the control unit 55.

The input command section 52 includes two optical units 1
Receiving the input of the user such as the distance between the light receiving units of No. 4,
The distance signal b is transmitted to the control unit 55. Optical unit 14
Is integrated with the whiteboard 11, and when the distance between the light receiving units is stored in the first storage unit 51 in advance, the input command unit 52 is not required. 11, the distance between the light receiving units is stored in the first storage unit 51.
, An input command unit 52 is required. In addition, by making the input command unit 52 also accept a user's input such as turning on / off the activation of the optical unit 14, it is possible to make the device highly convenient for the user.

The operation unit 53 outputs an indicator 13 to the whiteboard 11 based on the angle signal a and the distance signal b.
The position coordinates of the center point (reflection point 41) are calculated, and the coordinate signal c is transmitted to the control unit 55. Therefore, the first embodiment
Can serve as a coordinate input device. In FIG. 7, the coordinate signal c is transmitted to the control unit 55, but the coordinate signal c may be transmitted to the output unit 54. Also, if necessary, the arithmetic unit 53
It is also conceivable to add a function of converting the calculated position coordinates into integer values as grid values of the display surface. Hereinafter, the principle of calculating the position coordinates of the reflection point 41 will be described.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a positional relationship for calculating the reflection point 41. In the case where the X axis and the Y axis are considered as shown in the figure, the distance between the light receiving units of the optical unit 14 is W, and the angles formed by the light receiving units with the reference line 60 and the reflected light 40 are θL and θR, respectively. The position coordinates (X, Y) of the point 41 with respect to the whiteboard 11 can be uniquely expressed as follows: X = (W · tan θR) / (tan θL + tan θR) Y = X · tan θL

The value calculated from this equation is usually a number with a decimal point. However, if the decimal point calculation is performed, the load on the calculation unit 53 increases, and the whiteboard 1
Considering the purpose of simple and readable input of the contents written in 1, accurate values with decimal points are not required. When an accurate value with a decimal point is not required, a virtual X-axis, a Y-axis, and a grid are provided on the touch panel surface of the whiteboard 11 to calculate the reflection point (X, Y) once. Is performed and then replaced with the integer value on the corresponding grid, the subsequent processing can be easily performed.

The output unit 54 outputs the coordinate signal c calculated by the calculation unit 53 to an external device. As a result, since the processing based on the coordinate signal c can be performed in the external device, the drawing contents such as characters and figures written on the whiteboard 11 can be easily stored, recorded, and printed.

As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 55 performs transmission / reception of the angle signal a, transmission / reception of the distance signal b, transmission / reception of the coordinate signal c, on / off control of activation of the optical unit 14, and the like.

As described above, according to the coordinate input device of the first embodiment, the writing surface of the whiteboard 11 is irradiated with substantially parallel light to form the touch panel surface, and the touch panel surface is formed. Large whiteboard 1 because the position of the reflected light can be detected.
1, the content of writing by the indicator 13 on the whiteboard 11 can be recorded smoothly without increasing the size of the apparatus.

Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, only points for inputting coordinates using a pen are described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Can be erased by the eraser. Therefore,
In the second embodiment, a coordinate input device that targets both writing with a pen and erasing the written content with an eraser will be described.

First, the configuration of the coordinate input device according to the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the coordinate input device according to the second embodiment. As shown in the drawing, the coordinate input device includes a writing indicator 70 having a reflecting portion 10 for reflecting light in an incident direction and a contact portion 12 for contacting a white board 11, and a reflecting device for reflecting light in an incident direction. An erasure indicator 71 having a contact portion 12 that contacts the portion 10 and the white board 11, a light source portion that irradiates light substantially parallel to the white board 11, and a light receiving portion that receives light reflected by the reflection portion 10 And two processing units 15 for performing various processes. It is to be noted that the same reference numerals are given to the portions having the same functions as the respective portions described in the above embodiment, and the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Configuration and Operation of Write Indicator 70 and Erase Indicator 71) The write indicator 70 and the erase indicator 71 are
Each of them has a reflecting portion 10 that reflects light recursively and a contact portion 12 that contacts the whiteboard 11, and plays a role of instructing position coordinates with respect to the whiteboard 11.
However, the size of the reflection unit 10 is different between the writing indicator 70 and the erasing indicator 71.

More specifically, the contact portion 12 of the write indicator 70
Has a function as a pen, and the contact portion 12 of the erasure indicator 71 has a function as an eraser.
By changing the size of the reflecting portion 10, the amount of the reflected light 40 corresponding to the size of the reflecting portion 10 is reflected. Is determined to be the device 71. This eliminates the need for a user input or a special signal to determine whether the instruction is the writing instruction 70 or the erasing instruction 71, and can perform processing that takes into account whether the pen is an eraser or an eraser. it can.

In this embodiment, the reflected light 4
In order to cause a difference in the amount of light of 0, the size of the reflecting portion 10 is changed. However, the reflecting members 20 forming the reflecting portion 10 may be configured to have different densities,
Can be changed.

In the present embodiment, two indicators, ie, the write indicator 70 and the erase indicator 71, are provided. However, three or more indicators having different sizes of the reflector 10 are provided. You can also.

FIG. 10 is an external view showing indicators having different sizes of the reflecting portion. The indicator shown in FIG.
The size of the reflecting portion 10 is small, and the size of the reflecting portion 10 shown in FIG. Also, FIG.
3 (d), the size of the reflecting portion 10 is large.
3 shows a case where the size of the reflecting section 10 is extra large. If these four types of indicators are provided, not only the processing in consideration of whether the contact portion 12 of the indicator is a pen or an eraser, but also whether the contact portion 12 is a black pen, a red pen, or a blue pen It is also possible to perform processing taking into account the addition, processing taking into account the thickness of the pen, and processing taking into account the size of the eraser.

(Structure and Operation of Optical Unit 14) The optical unit 14 includes a light source unit that irradiates light substantially parallel to the whiteboard 11 and a light receiving unit that receives light reflected by the reflecting unit 10. It is configured to perform not only the role of detecting the direction of the indicator 13 but also the role of detecting the amount of the reflected light 40.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the concept of detecting the amount of reflected light by the CCD line sensor. 11 (a1) and (b2) when the reflection unit 10 of the erasure indicator 71 shown in FIG. 11 (b1) is made larger than the reflection unit 10 of the write indicator 70 shown in FIG. 11 (a1). As shown, the peak value of the light quantity of the erase indicator 71 is larger than the peak value of the light quantity of the write indicator 70.

By detecting the peak value of the amount of the reflected light 40 as described above, it is possible to determine whether it is the write indicator 70 or the erase indicator 71. Therefore,
If the signal of the light amount is transmitted to the processing unit 15, it is possible to perform processing in consideration of whether it is a pen or an eraser. Note that the same processing can be performed when three or more indicators having different sizes of the reflection unit 10 are used.

In this embodiment, not only one photodiode 34 is made to detect the direction of the indicator 13 but also the amount of the reflected light 40. 34 may be provided.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the concept of detecting the amount of reflected light by a plurality of CCD line sensors. Reflector 10 of write indicator 70 shown in FIG.
The reflection unit 10 of the erasure indicator 71 shown in FIG.
Are increased, the values in FIGS. 12 (a2) and (b2)
As shown in the figure, the light quantity of the erase indicator 71 is
It appears on more CCD line sensors than the zero light quantity. By detecting the number and position of the CCD line sensors that have detected the amount of the reflected light 40 in this manner, it is possible to determine whether it is the write indicator 70 or the erase indicator 71.

(Structure and Operation of Processing Unit 15) Processing Unit 1
Numeral 5 performs various processes such as calculation of position coordinates based on an angle signal and storage of position coordinates based on a light amount signal. FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the processing unit 15 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
Has a second storage unit 75, an expansion slot 76, and a display unit 77, in addition to the reception unit 50, the first storage unit 51, the input command unit 52, the calculation unit 53, the output unit 54, and the control unit 55. . Hereinafter, these will be described with reference to FIG.

The receiving section 50 receives the light quantity signal b from the light receiving section of the optical unit 14 in addition to the angle signal a, and transmits it to the control section 55. For this reason, the processing unit 15 can perform processing based on not only the angle signal a but also the light amount signal b. Since the light amount signal b is required when comparing with the information of the indicator 13 stored in the first storage unit 51, the light amount signal b is directly transmitted without passing through the receiving unit 50 or the control unit 55. It is also possible to configure so as to input to the first storage unit 51.

The first storage unit 51 has two optical units 1
In addition to storing the distance information between the light receiving units of No. 4 and information of the indicator associated with the magnitude of the light amount, the indicator information signal c is transmitted to the control unit 55. Therefore, the light amount signal b
It is possible to determine whether it is the writing indicator 70 or the erasing indicator 71 according to the difference in the light amounts of
Processing can be performed in consideration of whether the contact portion 12 of the indicator is a pen or an eraser. Hereinafter, a method of storing the information of the indicator will be described.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a method of storing the information of the indicator. As shown in FIG.
Light amount A,
Indicator information such as function B and size C is stored. Since the light intensity A is stored with different widths in the write indicator 70 and the erase indicator 71, the type of the indicator 13 is determined by comparing the light intensity signal b received by the receiver 50. be able to.

Since information of writing or erasing is stored in the function B, the information is transmitted to the control unit 55 to determine whether the contact unit 12 of the indicator is a pen or an eraser. Can be performed.
Further, since information on the size of the contact portion 12 is stored in the size C, by transmitting this information to the control portion 55, a process considering the size of the pen and the size of the eraser is performed. Can be. When another indicator is used in addition to the write indicator 70 and the erase indicator 71,
In addition to the light amount A, the function B, and the size C, color information such as black, red, and blue are also stored, and processing may be performed in consideration of whether the pen is a black pen, a red pen, or a blue pen. it can.

The input command section 52 includes two optical units 1
In addition to the distance between the light receiving units 4, the input of the user such as the information of the indicator is received, and the indicator information signal c is transmitted to the control unit 55. The reflection unit 10 is formed integrally with the indicator 13,
In the case where the information of the indicator 13 is stored in the first storage unit 51 in advance, the input command unit 52 is not required, but in the case where the reflecting unit 10 is detachably attached to the indicator 13, The information of the indicator 13 is stored in the first storage unit 51.
, An input command unit 52 is required.

It should be noted that the input command section 52 is provided in the second storage section 7.
5. On / off of activation of expansion slot 76 and display unit 77
By accepting the user's input such as turning off or temporarily saving and batch output of the coordinate data stored in the second storage unit 75, it is possible to make the device highly convenient for the user.

Further, in the present embodiment, the input command section 52 is provided to accept the user's input. However, the input command is distributed to arbitrary position coordinates on the whiteboard 11 so that the user can specify the input command. Input can also be made via a container. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of distribution of input commands. Thus, the user can issue an input command via the indicator 13 on the whiteboard 11 without using the input command unit 52.
It is possible to make the device highly convenient for the user.

The operation unit 53 calculates the position coordinates of the center point (reflection point 41) of the indicator 13 with respect to the whiteboard 11 based on the angle signal a and the distance signal, as in the first embodiment. The signal d is transmitted to the control unit 55. The controller 55 writes / writes this coordinate signal d.
The coordinate data e to which information of the indicator such as erasure, size, and color is added is created, and the created coordinate data is stored in the second storage unit 7.
5 and the output unit 54.

The second storage unit 75 stores the coordinate data e created by the control unit 55 and transmits the stored storage data f to the control unit 55 and the expansion slot 76. Therefore, the whiteboard 1 can be used without using an external device.
The drawing contents such as characters and figures written in No. 1 can be recorded.

For example, when the position coordinates are replaced with grid values, each point is represented by a bit with writing (black display) = 1 and erasing (white display or no display) = 0. × 768 = 7
Since it is about 86432 bits, information on the entire surface of the whiteboard 11 can be stored as a frame memory using a memory of less than 100 Kbytes. In the case where the history is stored not as a frame memory but as a history over time, for example, if it is stored for each frame at one second intervals, 90 minutes of information can be stored in a 500M storage medium. .

The storage format may be a format that is not compressed at all, such as a BMP file.
It may be a compression format such as JPEG and GIF.
Further, according to a general-purpose storage format such as the AVI file format, a history can be left with time.

The expansion slot 76 stores a floppy disk, a card memory (ATA flash memory card, P
CMCIA hard disk card, etc.), CD-RW, D
The connection of a storage medium such as a VD is received, and the storage data f is transmitted / received to / from the second storage unit 75 via the storage medium.

Therefore, when a specific format such as a schedule is displayed on the whiteboard 11 in advance, and this specific format is stored in advance in a flash memory or the like, the flash memory is used. The contents displayed in advance on the whiteboard 11 can be stored in the second storage unit 75 without the intervention of the indicator 13, and the drawing contents such as characters and figures written on the whiteboard 11 can be easily overwritten. Can be recorded.

On the other hand, since the coordinate data stored in the second storage unit 75 can be taken out of the processing unit 15 by the storage medium connected to the expansion slot 76, the coordinate data can be managed safely. Further, such coordinate data can be independently processed by an external device.

The output section 54 outputs the coordinate data e created by the control section 55 and the storage data f stored in the second storage section 75 to an external device. For this reason, since processing based on the coordinate signal e can be performed in the external device, it is possible to easily save, record, and print colored drawing contents such as characters and figures written or erased on the whiteboard 11. . Also, by outputting the stored data f to an external device such as a printer, the second storage unit 75 is output.
Can be stored, recorded and printed more easily.

Based on the device information g transmitted from the control unit 55, the display unit 77 displays the on / off state of the activation of the second storage unit 75, the expansion slot 76, and the output unit 54, and the indicator of the used indicator. Display information. For this reason, the user can know the use state of the apparatus, and it is possible to prevent malfunction of the apparatus. In the present embodiment, the display unit 7 is provided to inform the user of the use state of the apparatus.
Although the configuration is provided with 7, it is also possible to notify through auditory sense using a speaker or the like.

As shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 55 transmits and receives the angle signal a and the light amount signal b, transmits and receives the distance signal and the indicator information signal c, receives the coordinate signal d, and outputs the coordinate data e.
, Transmission and reception of storage data f, transmission of device information g, on / off of activation of the optical unit 14, on / off of activation of the second storage unit 75, and on / off control of activation of the expansion slot 76. And so on.

As described above, according to the coordinate input device according to the second embodiment, it is determined whether the write indicator 70 or the erase indicator 71 based on the difference in the amount of the reflected light 40. Therefore, the contents of writing and erasing by the indicator on the whiteboard 11 can be smoothly recorded.

In the first and second embodiments, the coordinate input device for the writing surface of the whiteboard is shown. However, the coordinate input device for the display surface of a display device such as a CRT or a liquid crystal display is applied. You can also.

[0086]

As described above, the coordinate input device according to the present invention (claim 1) irradiates substantially parallel light onto the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device to form a kind of touch panel surface. Since it is possible to detect the position coordinates where the light that forms the touch panel surface is reflected, it can efficiently cope with a large whiteboard or a display device, and can write on the whiteboard or the display surface of the whiteboard. This has the effect of providing a coordinate input device capable of smoothly recording the contents of writing on the display surface of the device.

Further, the coordinate input device of the present invention (Claim 2)
Is a pen for writing or erasing, since the position coordinates can be detected in consideration of writing or erasing on the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device. There is an effect that a coordinate input device capable of performing a process in consideration of whether or not the eraser is used can be obtained.

A coordinate input device according to the present invention (claim 3)
Can store the position coordinates in consideration of the fact that writing or erasing has been performed on the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device, so that the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device can be stored. There is an effect that a coordinate input device capable of not only writing data to the memory device but also erasing the written data is obtained.

Further, the coordinate input device of the present invention (Claim 4)
Can pre-store specific position coordinates for the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device, so that the contents written in advance on the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device can be indicated. This has the effect of providing a coordinate input device that can be stored in the device without the intervention of a container.

Also, the coordinate input device of the present invention (Claim 5)
Since the storage means can output the stored position coordinates to an external device in consideration of the fact that writing or erasing has been performed on the writing surface of the whiteboard or the display surface of the display device, An external input device such as a computer or a display device can provide a coordinate input device capable of printing or displaying the contents of writing or erasing stored in the storage means.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a coordinate input device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing components of a reflection member forming a reflection unit 10 of the indicator 13 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement of reflecting members forming a reflecting portion of the indicator shown in FIG. 1 and an arrangement position of the reflecting portion;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an optical unit 14 shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the concept of detecting the direction of reflected light by a CCD line sensor.

FIG. 6 is an external configuration diagram illustrating an example of a detachable and adjustable optical unit.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a processing unit 15 shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a positional relationship for calculating a reflection point 41;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the coordinate input device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an external view showing indicators having different sizes of the reflection unit 10;

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the concept of detecting the amount of reflected light by a CCD line sensor.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a concept of detecting the amount of reflected light by a plurality of CCD line sensors.

13 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of a processing unit 15 illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a method of storing information of an indicator.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of distribution of input commands.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall configuration of a conventional touch panel coordinate input device represented by the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Reflection part 11 White board 12 Contact part 13 Indicator 14 Optical unit 15 Processing part 20 Reflection member 40 Reflected light 41 Reflection point 50 Receiving part 51 First storage part 52 Input command part 53 Calculation part 54 Output part 55 Control part 70 Writing Read indicator 71 erase indicator 75 second storage unit 76 expansion slot 77 display unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B068 AA05 AA15 AA22 AA32 BB20 BC05 BC08 BD02 BD09 BD17 BD25 BE03 BE06 BE12 BE15 CC11 CC12 5B087 AA09 AE02 BC03 BC12 BC26 BC32 CC01 CC05 CC11 CC24 CC33 DD10 DD11 DJ01 DJ03

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A coordinate input device for irradiating light on a predetermined flat plate surface and inputting position coordinates on the flat plate surface based on the reflected light of the light, wherein the reflecting member reflects the light in the incident direction. An indicating unit having a portion to be formed; a light source unit for irradiating light on the flat plate surface; and an optical unit having a light receiving unit for receiving reflected light from the indicating unit; and a light receiving unit of the optical unit. Calculating means for calculating the position coordinates of the indicating means on the flat plate surface based on the reflected light. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating unit calculates position coordinates on the flat plate surface and determines writing or erasing based on reflected light received by a light receiving unit of the optical unit. 2. The coordinate input device according to 1. 3. The coordinate input device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit that stores the coordinates calculated by the calculation unit and / or data related to a type of writing or erasing. 4. The coordinate input device according to claim 3, wherein said storage means is formed by a flash memory. 5. The coordinate input device according to claim 3, further comprising an output unit that outputs data stored in the storage unit to an external device.