JP2010146587A - Information input/output device, control method of the same, and computer-readable recording medium with control program of the information input/output device stored thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the problem such as an erroneous operation and a malfunction in a host device caused by wrong coordinate input in a state where display is not normally performed on a display means, in an information input/output device including the display means and a coordinate input means for inputting/outputting information to/from the host device. <P>SOLUTION: An information input/output device includes a display means connected to a host device for displaying information output from the host device and a coordinate input means including a coordinate input face for detecting coordinates of an input point optionally instructed on the coordinate input face and outputting coordinate data to the host device. In such a case, in the state where the display is not normally performed on the display means, the coordinate input mode of the host device is controlled to output a command for changing into a gesture mode during which a pattern of coordinate data to be continuously input is determined and an operation corresponding the pattern is executed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information input / output device that inputs / outputs information to / from a host device such as a computer. More specifically, the present invention relates to a display unit that is connected to the host device and displays information output from the host device, and a coordinate input screen. The present invention relates to an information input / output device having coordinate input means for detecting the coordinates of an input point arbitrarily designated on the coordinate input surface and outputting coordinate data to the host device.

  Currently, it has a display device that displays various information output by the computer and a coordinate input surface. On this surface, the coordinates of the input point arbitrarily designated with a pen or a finger are detected and the coordinate data is output to the computer. There are information input / output devices composed of coordinate input devices, which are used in various applications because of their ease of input.

  Display devices constituting this information input / output device include CRT, LCD, PDP, projector, etc. In recent years, flat panels such as LCD, PDP, etc. have been developed from the viewpoint of improvement of liquid crystal display performance technology and installation area. The share of the display device market is growing at a considerable rate.

  On the other hand, the coordinate input device is called a touch panel or a tablet, and when an arbitrary input point in the input possible area of the coordinate input surface is designated using a finger or a pen-type input device, the coordinates of the input point are detected and connected. This is a device that can output coordinate data to a computer and display the input point on a display device. As a method for detecting the coordinates of the input point (indicating point), a resistive film method, an electromagnetic induction method, an ultrasonic wave Methods are particularly known and are diversifying so that users can make choices that match their price and application.

  As the configuration of this type of information input / output device, there are a coordinate input device configured separately from the display device, and a configuration in which the coordinate input device is integrated with the display device, and in particular, a coordinate input surface and a display device of the coordinate input device. In the configuration in which the display surface is integrated, it is possible to provide an apparatus that has excellent visibility and operability and enables intuitive input.

  However, in the conventional information input / output device described above, input to the coordinate input device is possible even when the display device is not displaying, and the input coordinates are output to the host device side such as a personal computer. Therefore, the following problems occurred.

  Possible causes of the display device not displaying are some failure, disconnection of the cable connected to the host device (disconnection), power shutdown, and the like. At that time, the output from the coordinate input device (the coordinates of the designated point) cannot be confirmed by the display device, but is input and processed as coordinate data on the host device side. As a result, file operations and applications can be executed in response to coordinate input on the host device side, and inadvertent coordinate input may cause file deletion or software defects that are not intended by the operator. There is.

  There are many scenes where such problems occur in coordinate input devices that operate with a finger or pen rather than a mouse. When a general mouse is simply moved, it does not perform operations such as icon selection or button operation. When a mouse button is clicked, icon selection or button operation is performed for the first time, and processing corresponding to that is performed. Executed. On the other hand, in many pen input type coordinate input devices, touching the pen with the coordinate input surface is equivalent to clicking the mouse, so even if there is no display on the screen of the display device, the pen is not prepared. In many cases, the file is manipulated by touching the coordinate input surface. This causes a problem such as a file being deleted on the host device side against the operator's intention.

  In addition, the display device suddenly malfunctions during operation, the icon displayed on the screen disappears, and the operation cannot be performed, and thus the host computer may not be terminated. In that case, the power supply had to be forcibly disconnected. Then, after replacing or repairing the display device, after turning the power on again, the computer system was not terminated by normal operation, so a problem such as having to check the system file occurred. .

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in an information input / output device composed of the display means and coordinate input means, a control method thereof, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the control program. It is to solve the problem and improve the reliability of the information input / output device.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, according to the present invention, a display unit connected to a host device and displaying information output from the host device and a coordinate input surface is arbitrarily designated on the coordinate input surface. In an information input / output device having coordinate input means for detecting the coordinates of the input point and outputting coordinate data to the host device, the host when the display means is not normally displaying Control means for controlling to output a command for changing the coordinate input mode of the apparatus to a gesture mode for determining a pattern of coordinate data continuously input and executing an operation corresponding to the pattern. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, when the display on the display device is not normal, the input mode of the host computer is changed to the gesture mode, and the output of the coordinate data from the coordinate input device is used for pattern matching with gesture patterns corresponding to various commands. It is done. Therefore, since the host computer is operated only with the pre-registered gesture pattern, the host computer can be operated safely even when nothing is displayed on the screen of the display device, and malfunction of the host computer can be prevented. it can.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an information input / output device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the vibration input pen of the same apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the arithmetic control circuit of the apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the signal waveform detection circuit of the same apparatus. It is a timing chart explaining the detection waveform supplied to the same signal waveform detection circuit and signal processing for detecting the vibration arrival timing based thereon. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the coordinate calculation method of the input point of the same apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the output control procedure with respect to the host computer by the microcomputer of the arithmetic control circuit of the apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of the host computer according to reception of the coordinate data or command from an information input / output device in the embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the whole structure of the information input / output device in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the output control procedure with respect to the host computer by the controller of the coordinate detector of the apparatus. It is a flowchart figure which shows the output control procedure with respect to the host computer by the control part of the coordinate input device in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the process sequence of the host computer according to reception of the coordinate data or mode change command from an information input / output device in the embodiment. It is a table | surface figure which shows the example of the pattern by a gesture command and its coordinate input.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the information input / output device according to the first embodiment. However, it goes without saying that the host computer 12 in FIG. 1 is not included in the configuration of this apparatus.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an arithmetic control circuit, which controls the components of the apparatus as an ultrasonic vibration input type coordinate input apparatus, calculates the coordinates of the position of the input point, and sends a serial cable to the host computer 12. Communicate through etc.

  A light detection circuit 2 detects an optical signal emitted from a light emitting element 22 of a vibration input pen 21 described later.

  A signal processing circuit 3 processes an optical signal detected by the light detection circuit 2.

  8 is a vibration transmission plate made of a transparent member such as acrylic or glass plate that forms a coordinate input surface, and a film (laminate) made of PET or the like that prevents scattering when it is broken is attached to the upper surface via an adhesive layer. Are combined. Coordinate input by the vibration input pen 21 is performed by touching the vibration transmission plate 8. Actually, an arbitrary input point in the coordinate input effective area indicated by a solid line A in the drawing is indicated by the vibration input pen 21 on the upper surface serving as the coordinate input surface of the vibration transmission plate 8 and the tip of the input point is brought into point contact. Do that.

  A vibration isolating material 7 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the vibration transmitting plate 8 to prevent (attenuate) the vibration reflected from the outer peripheral edge from returning to the central portion. Furthermore, vibration sensors 6 a to 6 d that convert mechanical vibrations into electrical signals, such as piezoelectric elements, are fixed to the four corners of the rectangular vibration transmission plate 8.

  9 is a signal waveform detection that processes the output signals of the vibration sensors 6a to 6d and outputs to the arithmetic control circuit 1 vibration arrival timing signals (tg signal and tp signal described later) indicating that each sensor has detected vibration. Circuit.

  A vibration input type coordinate input device is constituted by the above components.

  On the other hand, reference numeral 11 denotes a display capable of displaying dot units, such as a liquid crystal display device, and is disposed behind the vibration transmission plate 8.

  The display drive circuit 10 drives the display 11 and notifies the operation control circuit 1 of the operation state of the display 11 by an operation state notification signal described later.

  In the above configuration, the coordinates of the position of the input point on the coordinate input surface of the vibration transmission plate 8 touched with the vibration input pen 21 are detected as described later, and the coordinate data is sent from the arithmetic control circuit 1 to the host computer 12. Entered. The host computer 12 outputs display data including coordinate data to the display driving circuit 10, and the display driving circuit 10 drives the display 11 in response thereto. As a result, dots are displayed at positions traced by the vibration input pen 21 on the display screen of the display 11 superimposed on the vibration transmission plate 8, and the dots are displayed through the transparent vibration transmission plate 8 together with other display data. It is possible to see.

<Description of vibration input pen (FIG. 2)>
Next, FIG. 2 explains the configuration of the vibration input pen. In FIG. 2, the vibrator 26 built in the vibration input pen 21 is driven by the vibrator driving circuit 25. The electrical drive signal output from the circuit 25 is converted into mechanical ultrasonic vibration by the vibrator 26 and transmitted to the pen tip 27, and the pen tip 27 comes into contact with the vibration transmission plate 8 to vibrate. Vibration is incident on the transmission plate 8.

  Here, the vibration frequency of the vibrator 26 is selected to a value that can generate a plate wave in the vibration transmission plate 8 such as glass. Note that the apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the one using a plate wave. For example, when a surface wave propagating through the vibration transmission plate 8 is used as a detection wave, the frequency of vibration generated by the vibration input pen 21 is set as vibration transmission. What is necessary is just to set to a value sufficiently high with respect to the thickness of the plate (a state in which the wavelength λ of the wave propagating through the vibration transmitting plate 8 is sufficiently small with respect to the thickness of the plate).

  The vibrator driving circuit 25 transmits a light emission timing signal to the light emitting element driving circuit 24 simultaneously with driving of the vibrator 26, and the light emitting element driving circuit 24 drives the light emitting element 22 with a driving signal modulated at a predetermined frequency. The light emitting element 22 is selected according to the peak wavelength of the spectral sensitivity of the light receiving element described later. The frequency to be modulated may be the same as the frequency for driving the vibrator 26 in order to simplify the circuit.

  Note that the power of all circuits in the vibration input pen 21 is supplied by a power circuit 23 including a battery, a power IC, a capacitor, and the like.

<Description of start timing signal generation by optical signal detection>
As described above, the vibrator driving circuit 25 in the vibration input pen 21 transmits a signal to that effect to the light emitting element driving circuit 24 at the same time as the vibrator 26 is driven. At the same time, a signal modulated at a predetermined frequency is output as an optical signal. The optical signal is detected by the photodetection circuit 2 provided on the information input / output device body side, and after the detection signal of the optical signal is processed by the signal processing circuit 3, the arithmetic control circuit 1 will be described later. Is input as a start timing signal for starting the time measurement of vibration transmission time from the vibration input point on the vibration transmission plate 8 to the vibration sensors 6a to 6d.

<Description of Arithmetic Control Circuit (FIG. 3)>
The arithmetic control circuit 1 starts measuring the vibration transmission time by a counter that constitutes an internal timer, based on the start timing signal output from the signal processing circuit 3 described above. The vibration generated from the vibration input pen 21 arrives with a delay in accordance with the distance from the input point of the vibration transmission plate 8 to the vibration sensors 6a to 6d.

  The signal waveform detection circuit 9 performs a waveform detection process, which will be described later, on detection signals from the vibration sensors 6a to 6d, thereby generating a signal indicating a vibration arrival timing to each vibration sensor. The arithmetic control circuit 1 inputs this vibration arrival timing signal for each sensor, detects the vibration transmission time to each of the vibration sensors 6a to 6d, and based on this, the vibration by the vibration input pen 21 on the vibration transmission plate 8 is detected. Calculate the coordinates of the position of the input point. Then, the arithmetic control circuit 1 outputs the calculated coordinate data of the input point to the host computer 12.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of the configuration of the arithmetic control circuit 1, and the components and operations thereof will be described below.

  In the figure, reference numeral 31 denotes a microcomputer for controlling the arithmetic control circuit 1 and the entire coordinate input device portion of this apparatus. The CPU 311 is a main body for performing the control processing, the ROM 312 storing the control program, and the calculation as a working area. The RAM 313 to be used and a nonvolatile memory (not shown) for storing constants and the like are configured. The control program stored in the ROM 312 includes a control program for performing control according to the flowchart of FIG. The ROM 312 corresponds to an embodiment of a computer-readable recording medium that stores a control program for the information input / output device according to the present invention.

  Reference numerals 32a to 32d are counters that count a reference clock (not shown) and measure the vibration transmission time, and a signal for causing the vibrator driving circuit 25 to start driving the vibrator 26 in the vibration input pen 21. At the same time, when an optical signal output from the light emitting element 22 is detected by the light detection circuit 2, processed by the signal processing circuit 3, and input as a start timing signal, the time measurement starts. As a result, the start of timing is synchronized with the vibration detection by the vibration sensors 6a to 6d, and the delay time (transmission time) until the vibration is detected by the vibration sensors 6a to 6d can be measured.

  The vibration arrival timing signals from the vibration sensors 6 a to 6 d output from the signal waveform detection circuit 9 are input to the counters 32 a to 32 d via the detection signal input circuit 34. Each of the counters 32a to 32d corresponds to each of the vibration sensors 6a to 6d, and each of the counters 32a to 32d is connected to a latch circuit (not shown) to which a time value of vibration transmission time at the time when each vibration arrival timing signal is input is attached. Latched.

  When the determination circuit 33 determines that the vibration arrival timing signals have been received from all the four vibration sensors 6 a to 6 d in this way, a signal to that effect is output to the microcomputer 31. When the microcomputer 31 receives the signal from the determination circuit 33, the microcomputer 31 reads the vibration transmission time from each latch circuit of the counters 32a to 32d to each vibration sensor, performs a predetermined calculation described later, and performs vibration transmission plate. The coordinates of the position of the vibration input point by the vibration input pen 21 on 8 are calculated. Then, the calculated coordinate data is output to the host computer 12 via the I / O port 35.

  When the host computer 12 outputs display data including coordinate data to the display drive circuit 10, dots or the like can be displayed at positions corresponding to vibration input points on the display screen of the display 11.

  In the configuration of FIG. 3, an operation state notification signal for notifying the display operation state of the display 11 (to be described later) is input from the display drive circuit 10 to the microcomputer 31 via the I / O port 35, and the microcomputer is responded accordingly. 31 controls the output of coordinate data and the output of commands to the host computer 12. The coordinate data and command output control corresponding to the acquisition of the operation state notification signal will be described in detail later.

<Description of vibration arrival timing detection (FIGS. 4 and 5)>
Next, the configuration of the signal waveform detection circuit 9 that detects the vibration arrival timing to the vibration sensors 6a to 6d and the signal processing thereof will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the signal waveform detection circuit 9. FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining a detection waveform input to the signal waveform detection circuit 9 and signal processing for detecting a vibration arrival timing based thereon. In the following, the case of the vibration sensor 6a will be described, but the same applies to the other vibration sensors 6b to 6d.

  It has already been described that the measurement of the vibration transmission time to the vibration sensor 6a starts simultaneously with the output of the start timing signal from the signal processing circuit 3 to the arithmetic control circuit 1. At this time, the drive signal 51 shown in FIG. 5 is applied from the vibrator drive circuit 25 in the vibration input pen 21 to the vibrator 26. The drive signal 51 is a short (for example, two) rectangular pulses. The ultrasonic vibration transmitted from the vibration input pen 21 driven by the signal 51 to the vibration transmitting plate 8 travels over a time corresponding to the distance from the vibration input point to the vibration sensor 6a, and then as a short detection waveform. It is detected by the vibration sensor 6a. The reason why the drive signal 51 is a short pulse is to prevent erroneous detection due to interference (superimposition) between unnecessary reflection components mainly on the end face of the vibration transmission plate 8 and vibration to be detected, and to reduce the size of the entire apparatus. is there. A signal indicated by 52 in FIG. 5 indicates a signal waveform detected by the vibration sensor 6a.

  The signal waveform 52 detected by the vibration sensor 6a is processed by the procedure described below for the group signal indicated by 521 and the phase signal indicated by 522, respectively.

  First, for the group signal 521, the signal after passing through the high-pass filter 402 is processed in order to remove unnecessary vibration. Since the processing of the group signal 521 is easily affected by the reflected wave, the detection signal that remains short after passing through the high-pass filter 402 is used only for envelope detection.

  The detection signal after passing through the high-pass filter 402 is input to the envelope detection circuit 403, from which the envelope 53 is extracted. The extracted envelope signal 53 is input to the gate signal generation circuit 406. The gate signal generation circuit 406 attenuates the input envelope signal 53 to an appropriate amplitude and adds a certain offset to generate a reference level signal 531. The gate signal generation circuit 406 also receives a second-order differential output waveform 54 obtained by second-order differentiation of the envelope signal 53 by the envelope inflection point detection circuit 404, and outputs a gate generation signal 55 by comparing it with the reference level signal 531. To do.

  The second-order differential output waveform 54 output from the envelope inflection point detection circuit 404 is also input to the Tg comparator 405.

  The monostable multivibrator 407 generates a gate signal 56 having a predetermined pulse width from the rising timing of the gate generation signal 55 input from the gate signal generation circuit 406 and outputs it to the Tg comparator 405 and the Tp comparator 410.

  The Tg comparator 405 receives the gate signal 56 and the second-order differential output waveform 54 as input, detects the zero-cross point of the second-order differential output waveform 54 while the gate signal 56 is open as an inflection point of the envelope, and detects the tg signal. (Envelope delay time signal) 59 is generated. The obtained tg signal is supplied to the arithmetic control circuit 1 as the first vibration arrival timing signal. The time from the timing of the start timing signal to the timing of the tg signal is measured as the envelope vibration transmission time tg.

  On the other hand, with respect to the phase signal, the waveform 522 is converted into a signal having a frequency component with a predetermined width by a narrow band-pass filter 408, and the waveform is sliced to a predetermined amplitude level or less by the slice circuit 409 (waveform level compression). The When the output phase signal 57 and gate signal 56 are input to the Tp comparator 410, the Tp comparator 410 outputs a predetermined phase signal (the output signal 58 of the slice circuit 409) while the gate signal 56 is open. The rising zero-cross point corresponding to the order is detected, and the tp signal (phase delay time signal) as the detection signal is supplied to the arithmetic control circuit 1 as the second vibration arrival timing signal. In the example of FIG. 5, the tp signal is a signal at the second rising zero-cross point. The time from the timing of the start timing signal to the timing of the tp signal is counted as the phase vibration transmission time tp.

  By the way, the reference level signal 531 for outputting the gate generation signal 56 may be a variable level synchronized with the drive pulse 51 according to the distance between the vibration input pen 21 and the vibration sensor 6a, and the fluctuation range of the detection level depending on the distance. If it is large, it is more effective because the detection point is stabilized by setting the variable level.

<Description of distance calculation between vibration input pen and vibration sensor>
Next, calculation of the distance between the vibration input pen and the vibration sensor, strictly speaking, the distance between the vibration input point where the vibration input pen 21 is brought into contact with the vibration transmission plate 8 and the vibration sensors 6a to 6d will be described.

  Since the vibration used in the apparatus of this embodiment is a plate wave, the relationship between the envelope 521 and the phase 522 of the detected waveform in FIG. 5 with respect to the transmission distance in the vibration transmission plate 8 is It changes according to the transmission distance. Here, the speed at which the envelope 521 travels, that is, the group speed is Vg, and the speed at which the phase 522 travels, that is, the phase speed is Vp. The distance between the vibration input pen 21 and the vibration sensor 6a can be detected from the group velocity Vg and the phase velocity Vp.

First, focusing only on the envelope 521, the speed is Vg. When a point on a specific waveform (for example, an inflection point) is detected, the distance between the vibration input pen 21 and the vibration sensor 6a is the vibration of the envelope. Let tg be the transmission time (group delay time).
d = Vg · tg (1)
Given in. Although this equation relates to one vibration sensor 6a, the distance between the other three vibration sensors 6b to 6d and the vibration input pen 3 can be similarly expressed by the same equation.

Furthermore, in order to determine coordinates with higher accuracy, processing based on detection of the phase signal is performed. From the phase vibration transmission time tp obtained from the phase waveform signal 522 as described above, the distance between the vibration sensor and the vibration input pen is
d = n · λp + Vp · tp (2)
It becomes. Here, λp is the wavelength of the elastic wave, and n is an integer.

From the expressions (1) and (2), the integer n can be obtained by the following expression (3).
n = int [(Vg · tg−Vp · tp) / λp + 1/2] (3)
As described above, in this embodiment, a plate wave is used as the detection wave. Therefore, it cannot be said that the linearity with respect to the distance of the group delay time tg is good. This is why. The necessary and sufficient condition for obtaining the exact integer n is shown in the following equation (5) derived from the following equation (4):
n * = (Vg · tg−Vp · tp) / λp (4)
ΔN = n * −n ≦ 0.5 (5)
It is.

  That is, if the generated error amount is within ± 1/2 wavelength, the integer n can be accurately determined even if the linearity of the group delay time tg is not good. By substituting n obtained as described above into the equation (2), the distance d between the vibration input pen 21 and the vibration sensor 6a can be accurately measured.

  The circuit described above is for the vibration sensor 6a, and the same circuit is provided for the other vibration sensors.

<Explanation of coordinate calculation (FIG. 6)>
Next, calculation of the position coordinates of the vibration input point based on the distance between the vibration input point of the vibration input pen and the vibration sensor calculated as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

Now, when the four vibration sensors 6a to 6d are provided at the positions of the four corners Sa to Sd on the rectangular vibration transmission plate 8 shown in FIG. Linear distances da to dd from the position P of the vibration input point to the positions of the respective vibration sensors 6a to 6d can be obtained. Furthermore, the calculation control circuit 1 can obtain the coordinates (x, y) of the position P of the input point from the three-square theorem as shown in the following equations (6) and (7) based on the linear distances da to dd. it can.
x = (da + dd) · (da−dd) / 2X (6)
y = (da + db). (da-db) / 2Y (7)
Here, X and Y are the distance between the vibration sensors 6a and 6d and the distance between the vibration sensors 6a and 6b, respectively, and the position coordinates of the input point of the vibration input pen 21 can be detected in real time as described above. .

  In the above calculation, the distance information to the three vibration sensors is used for calculation. However, in this embodiment, four sensors are installed, so the output coordinates are obtained using the distance information of the remaining one sensor. It can be used to verify the certainty. Of course, for example, the distance information of the sensor where the distance L between the vibration input pen and the vibration sensor is the largest (the distance L increases, so the detection signal level decreases and the probability of being affected by noise increases) and the remaining information is not used. The coordinates may be calculated by three sensors. In this embodiment, four sensors are arranged, and coordinates are calculated by three sensors. Geometrically, coordinates can be calculated by two or more sensors. It goes without saying that the number of sets is set.

<Explanation Regarding Coordinate Data Output Control (FIGS. 7 and 8)>
Next, coordinate data and command output control according to the operation state of the display 11 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The coordinate data calculated as described above is output to the host computer 12 via the I / O port 35 of the arithmetic control circuit 1. The arithmetic control circuit 1 is output from the display driving circuit 10 to be described later. The operation state notification signal is acquired, and coordinate data and command output are controlled in accordance with this signal. The control processing is performed as follows in the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 according to the control program stored in the ROM 312 of the microcomputer 31 with the microcomputer 31 of the arithmetic control circuit 1 as the main control.

  First, in step 701, the vibration arrival timing signals from the four vibration sensors 6a to 6d are input to the counters 32a to 32d via the detection signal input circuit 34 as described above.

  In step 702, the microcomputer 31 determines whether or not the vibration arrival timing signals from all four sensors have been received by the input from the determination circuit 33. If not all signals have been received, the microcomputer 31 returns to step 701 and returns to the rest. Wait for reception of vibration arrival timing signal from sensor. When reception from all four sensors is made, the process proceeds to step 703.

  In step 703, an operation state notification signal is input from the display driving circuit 10 to the microcomputer 31 via the I / O port 35. Here, this operation state notification signal is a signal for notifying whether or not the display 11 can be normally displayed. For example, the operation state notification signal is determined from an RGB signal or a synchronization signal output from the host computer 12 to the display drive circuit 11. This is a signal generated. The operation state notification signal represents a normal operation state and other states. The normal operation state indicates a state in which data output from the host computer 12 is normally displayed. This indicates a state in which the display is not normal (including a state in which the display is not performed) due to disconnection, circuit failure, or the like.

  In step 704, the microcomputer 31 determines whether the operation state notification signal is in the normal operation state or in any other state. If the normal operation state is determined, the coordinate data is output to the host computer 12 via the I / O port 35 in step 705, and then the processing of this routine is terminated and the process returns to the main routine (not shown). .

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step 704 that the state is other than the normal operation state, in step 706, a command signal for notifying the host computer 12 that the display 11 is in a state other than the normal operation state is output. The host computer 12 executes processing described later by this command signal. Subsequently, in step 707, the microcomputer 31 disables the output of coordinate data, thereafter ends the processing of this routine, and returns to the main routine (not shown).

  Next, FIG. 8 shows a processing procedure of the host computer 12 for a command output from the arithmetic control circuit 1.

  In step 801, it is determined whether a command signal output from the arithmetic control circuit 1 has been received. If no command signal has been received, it is determined in step 802 whether coordinate value data has been received. If coordinate value data has not been received, the process returns to step 801, the operations of steps 801 and 802 are repeated, and reception of a command signal or coordinate value data is awaited.

  If coordinate value data is received in step 802, in step 803, the coordinate value data is transmitted to the display drive circuit 11 to display corresponding to the coordinates, and then this routine is terminated, not shown. Return to the main routine.

  On the other hand, when a command signal is received in step 801, a program corresponding to the received command signal is started in step 804. If the command signal received here is the command signal transmitted from the microcomputer 31 to the host computer 12 in step 706 of FIG. 7 and indicates that the display 11 is in a state other than the normal operation state, the host computer When 12 performs the following operations, the operator can be notified that the display 11 is not in the normal operation state, and accidents such as malfunctions can be prevented.

  For example, when the above command signal is received, a program that performs voice output is executed, and a message that the display is not normally operating for some reason is notified to the operator, and a pen input operation is performed. Stop it. Also, input using voice recognition technology may be permitted. In particular, since there is no display on the display screen, the host computer 12 can be operated if there is an interactive input system using voice input. For example, the host computer 12 is turned off. If assigned to the voice input command, the power of the display 11 can be safely turned off and the state of the display 11 can be confirmed safely.

  According to the present embodiment as described above, output of coordinate data from the arithmetic control circuit 1 to the host computer 12 is prohibited in a state where the display 11 is not normal (including a state where no display is made). Even if the operator inadvertently performs coordinate input operation with the vibration input pen 21 in a state where the display of 11 is not normal, the coordinate data is not input to the host computer 12, so erroneous input of the coordinate and erroneous operation and malfunction caused by the coordinate data are not input. It can be surely prevented.

  Further, when the display on the display 11 is not normal, the host computer 12 is notified to that effect, so that the host computer 12 can take measures, for example, by notifying the operator of a message as described above.

  In the apparatus of this embodiment, the coordinate input method is an ultrasonic vibration method, but it is needless to say that other methods such as an electromagnetic induction method, an electromagnetic transfer method, and a resistance film method may be used.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment described above, the coordinate input method of the information input / output device is a method using ultrasonic vibration, and the display is a liquid crystal display device or the like. On the other hand, as a second embodiment, an information input / output device in which the coordinate input method is an optical method and the display is configured as a projection display device will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the configuration of the information input / output device in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This apparatus is roughly classified into a screen 910 that forms a coordinate input surface, an indicator 904 for inputting a light spot 905 on the screen 910, and coordinates of the position of the light spot 905 on the screen 910. A coordinate input device including a coordinate detector 901 to be detected, and a projection display device 908 that displays an image, the coordinate information, or the like on a screen 910 as an output device.

  The pointing tool 904 includes a semiconductor laser that emits a light beam or a light emitting element such as an LED, a light emission control means that controls the light emission, and a power supply means such as a battery, and is provided with a plurality of operation switches. . The light emission control means performs light emission control on which the control signal is superimposed by turning on and off the light emission and modulating the light emission according to the operation state of the operation switch. When the switch of the indicator 904 is turned on, light emission is started, and as the light emission signal, a reader part consisting of a relatively long continuous pulse train, followed by a header part consisting of a code (such as a manufacturer ID) is output, Thereafter, a transmission data string including a pen ID and a control signal is sequentially output according to a predefined order and format.

  A coordinate detector 901 includes a coordinate detection sensor unit 902 composed of a CCD or the like, a controller 903 composed of a microcomputer that performs control and coordinate calculation of the sensor unit 902 and output control of coordinate data described later, and a control signal composed of a light receiving element. A detection sensor 906 and a signal processing unit 907 that processes the detection signal are obtained, and a difference signal is obtained by separately integrating signals when the light spot 905 blinking at a predetermined cycle is turned on and off. The position of the peak pixel is accurately determined, and the coordinates of the position of the light spot 905 on the screen 910 and the control signal corresponding to the state of each operation switch of the pointing tool 904 are detected, The controller 903 communicates the information to a host computer (not shown) connected to the outside of the apparatus. That.

  The projection display device 908 illuminates the image signal processing unit 81 that processes an image signal input from an external host computer (not shown) as a display signal source, a liquid crystal panel 82 that is controlled thereby and displays an image. An illumination optical system including a lamp 83, a mirror 84, and a condenser lens 85, and a projection lens 86 that projects an image of the liquid crystal panel 82 onto the screen 910, can display desired image information on the screen 910.

  Since the screen 910 has an appropriate optical abundance in order to widen the observation range of the projected image, the light beam emitted from the indicator 904 is also diffused at the position of the light spot 905, and the position on the screen Regardless of the direction of the light beam, a part of the light diffused at the position of the light spot 905 is configured to enter the coordinate detector 901.

  The coordinate data of the irradiation position of the light spot detected as described above is output from the controller 903, processed by an external host computer, and input to the image signal processing unit 81. In addition, an operation state notification signal is output from the image signal processing unit 81 of the projection display device 908 to the controller 903 of the coordinate detector 901.

  This operation state notification signal is the same signal as the operation state notification signal described in the first embodiment, and indicates whether the operation state of the projection display device 908 is the normal operation state or the other operation state. Indicates a state in which the data output from the host computer connected to the outside is normally displayed, and the other states indicate a state in which the display is not normal due to a cable disconnection or a circuit failure.

  When the operation state notification signal is a signal indicating that the projection display device 908 is not in a normal operation state, the controller 903 executes an output prohibition process that does not output coordinate data to an externally connected host computer.

  However, when there is a case where it is desired to perform an operation such as turning off the power by terminating the system of the host computer, the coordinate data can be outputted urgently by performing the following operation. That is, although not shown in detail, the indicator 904 is provided with a plurality of operation switches, and by pressing these switches in a specific combination, the output of coordinate data from the indicator 904 is not prohibited. An optical signal on which a command signal for canceling output prohibition is superimposed is output, so that the output of coordinate data is not prohibited, and the input coordinate data can be transmitted to the host computer. .

  Control processing of the controller 903 of the coordinate detector 901 for this purpose will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This control processing is performed as follows according to a control program stored in the ROM 903a in the controller 903.

  First, in step 1001, the controller 903 determines whether coordinate data has been detected. If coordinate data is not detected, the operation of step 1001 is repeated to wait for detection of coordinate data.

  If coordinate data is detected, an operation state notification signal output from the image signal processing unit 81 of the projection display device 908 is detected in step 1002.

  Next, in step 1003, it is determined whether or not the projection display device 908 is in the normal operation state based on the operation state notification signal.

  In the normal operation state, in step 1006, the coordinate data is output to a host computer or the like connected to the outside.

  If it is determined that the state is other than the normal operation state, it is determined in step 1004 whether or not the above-described command for canceling the prohibition of output of coordinate data has been received. This command signal is set so as not to be transmitted unless the operator consciously presses it during normal use, for example, by pressing all the operation switches of the indicator 904.

  If the command is received, the coordinate data is output in step 1006, and then this routine is terminated, and the process returns to the main routine (not shown) for processing.

  If the command has not been received, the output of the coordinate data is prohibited at step 1005, and then the process returns to step 1001 to repeat the processing from step 1001 described above.

  According to the present embodiment as described above, output of coordinate data from the coordinate detector 901 to the host computer is prohibited when the display of the projection display device 908 is not normal (including a state where display is not performed). Even if the operator inadvertently performs coordinate input operation with the pointing tool 904 in a state where the display of the projection display device 908 is not normal, the coordinate data is not input to the host computer. Thus, it is possible to reliably prevent malfunction. Further, as described above, even when the display of the projection display device 908 is not normal and the output of coordinate data is prohibited, the coordinate data output prohibition is canceled by pressing a plurality of operation switches of the indicator 904 in a specific combination. If the command signal is input, the prohibition of the output of the coordinate data is released, and the input coordinate data can be output to the host computer. Accordingly, the operator can recognize that the display on the projection display device 908 is not normal and the output of the coordinate data is prohibited, and can input the coordinates appropriately by canceling the prohibition.

  In the above description, the operation state notification signal is a signal output from the image signal processing unit 81 of the projection display device 908. However, the projection display device is an off-the-shelf device, which is combined with a coordinate detector. When configuring an information input / output device, the coordinate detector is provided with an optical sensor for detecting the optical signal of the projection display device, the operation state of the projection display device is determined according to the output value, and coordinate data is output. May be controlled.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is a modification of the configuration of the first or second embodiment described above, and when the display device (display 11 to projection display device 908) is not in the normal operation state, that is, when the display is not normal. The control unit (calculation control circuit 1 to controller 903) of the coordinate input device transmits a command for changing the coordinate input mode to the gesture mode to the host computer. Here, the gesture mode is a mode in which a pattern of coordinate data continuously input is determined and an operation corresponding to the pattern is executed. As a result, the host computer can be operated even when the display device is not operating (not displayed).

  For this purpose, the control processing of the control unit of the coordinate input device is performed as follows in accordance with the control program stored in the memory (ROMs 312 to 903a) according to the procedure shown in FIG.

  First, in step 1101, it is determined whether or not coordinate data has been detected. If not detected, step 1101 is repeatedly executed to wait for detection of coordinate data.

  If coordinate data is detected, an operation state notification signal output from the display device is detected in step 1102.

  In step 1103, it is determined whether or not the display device is in a normal operation state based on the operation state notification signal. If the normal operation state is determined, the coordinate data is output in step 1104. Thereafter, this routine is terminated and the process returns to the main routine (not shown).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the state is other than the normal operation state, output of coordinate data is stopped (prohibited) in step 1105, and then a command for changing the coordinate input mode to the gesture mode described above is given to the host computer in step 1106. Send. The host computer (not shown) that has received this changes the input mode to the gesture mode, and after this change, determines the pattern of coordinate data that is continuously input, thereby executing various operations corresponding to the pattern.

  Next, in step 1107, it is determined whether or not a command indicating that the input mode has been changed has been received from the host computer. If not received, step 1107 is repeated to wait for reception of the command.

  If the command is received, it is determined in step 1108 whether coordinate data has been detected. If coordinate data is not detected, step 1108 is repeatedly executed to wait for detection of coordinate data.

  If coordinate data is detected, the coordinate data is output to the host computer in step 1109, and then this routine is terminated and the process returns to the main routine. The coordinate data output here is used for pattern matching executed by the host computer.

  Next, the processing of the host computer when the host computer receives a command signal for changing the coordinate input mode output to the host computer in step 1106 of FIG. 11 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, in step 1201 of FIG. 12, it is determined whether or not a command signal for changing the input mode output from the control unit of the coordinate input device described above has been received. If the command signal is not received, the coordinate data is received in step 1202, and the coordinate data is output to the display device in step 1203. Thereafter, this routine is terminated, and the process returns to the main routine (not shown).

  On the other hand, if the command signal is received, the input mode is changed to the gesture mode in step 1204. In the gesture mode, normal file operations are invalid, and only the gesture input by the coordinate data pattern determination described above is accepted.

  Next, in step 1205, a voice guidance message for notifying the operator that the input mode has been changed is output. Subsequently, in step 1206, a command for notifying that the change to the gesture mode is completed is transmitted to the control unit of the coordinate input device.

  Here, the operator performs continuous coordinate input using gestures corresponding to various operation commands after the voice guidance in step 1205. Thereby, the coordinate data is detected by the coordinate input device and transmitted to the host computer. The host computer receives the coordinate data in step 1207.

  Next, so-called pattern matching is performed by matching the pattern of coordinate data continuously received in step 1208 with gesture patterns corresponding to various pre-registered commands, and a gesture pattern that matches the input pattern is determined. . In step 1209, a command corresponding to the gesture pattern that matches the input pattern is executed. Thereafter, this routine is terminated and the process returns to the main routine.

  Here, an example of the gesture command is shown in FIG. It is desirable that the pattern of coordinate data used for pattern matching be as simple as possible in consideration of the fact that the trace of the pattern is not displayed on the display device. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the coordinate input of the pattern “S” of the alphabet is performed, that is, “S” is written on the coordinate input surface, so that “save” of the data is executed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the display on the display device is not normal, the input mode of the host computer is changed to the gesture mode, and the output of the coordinate data from the coordinate input device is the same as the gesture pattern corresponding to various commands. Used for pattern matching. Therefore, since the host computer is operated only with the pre-registered gesture pattern, the host computer can be operated safely even when nothing is displayed on the screen of the display device, and malfunction of the host computer can be prevented. it can.

Claims (3)

Display means for displaying information output from the host device connected to the host device, and a coordinate input surface. The coordinates of the input point arbitrarily designated on the coordinate input surface are detected to obtain the coordinate data. In an information input / output device having coordinate input means for outputting to the device,
When the display means is not in a normal display state, the coordinate input mode of the host device is determined, a pattern of coordinate data continuously input is determined, and an operation corresponding to the pattern is executed. An information input / output device comprising control means for controlling to output a command for changing to a gesture mode. Display means for displaying information output from the host device connected to the host device, and a coordinate input surface. The coordinates of the input point arbitrarily designated on the coordinate input surface are detected to obtain the coordinate data. In a control method of an information input / output device having coordinate input means for outputting to the device,
When the display means is not in a normal display state, the coordinate input mode of the host device is determined, a pattern of coordinate data continuously input is determined, and an operation corresponding to the pattern is executed. And a control process for controlling to output a command for changing to the gesture mode. Display means for displaying information output from the host device connected to the host device, and a coordinate input surface. The coordinates of the input point arbitrarily designated on the coordinate input surface are detected to obtain the coordinate data. In a computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for an information input / output device having coordinate input means for outputting to the device,
When the display means is not in a normal display state, the coordinate input mode of the host device is determined, a pattern of coordinate data continuously input is determined, and an operation corresponding to the pattern is executed. A recording medium storing a control program for controlling to output a command for changing to a gesture mode.

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