JP2016021104A - Electronic pen, touch panel device, and input display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic pen, a touch panel device, and an input display device that have a pointer function and a spray drawing function actualized without providing an acceleration sensor.SOLUTION: There is provided an electronic pen 30 including an enclosure 34 to be held by a user, a pen tip 37 provided atop of the enclosure, and at least three drive electrodes 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d for coordinate detection provided at the pen tip. Two of the three drive electrodes are provided at asymmetrical positions with respect to the center axis of the electronic pen.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic pen, a touch panel device, and an input display device, and more particularly to an input display device including an electronic pen and a touch panel device that form a digitizer.

  This type of touch panel device is widely used for presentations, meetings, and the like. For example, the touch panel device has a touch panel provided integrally with a display panel that displays video. When the display panel is touched with a user's finger or a pen-type input device (also referred to as an electronic pen), a figure such as a handwritten line or a handwritten character or symbol corresponding to the touch position can be displayed on the display panel.

  A touch panel has a capacitance method that detects a position by detecting a change in capacitance between a fingertip and a conductive film. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that when a finger or the tip of an electronic pen is brought close to a touch panel. A technique for detecting a touch position (also referred to as a hover operation) is disclosed.

JP2011-164801A

  By the way, in the hover operation of the electronic pen, it is desired to use a pointer function that points to one point such as a drawing or a spray drawing function that indicates the expansion of a circular shape. Since the position where the tip and the touch panel are connected at the shortest distance is detected, there is a problem that the pointer function and the spray drawing function are different from the real world behavior.

For example, if you want to use the pointer function to point to a drawing that is farther away from the position directly under the electronic pen, the pointer will be directly under the electronic pen even if you tilt the electronic pen with respect to the display panel and point the pen toward the drawing. In order to point to this drawing, the electronic pen must be moved immediately above the drawing.
In this case, in order to detect the tilt of the electronic pen, an acceleration sensor may be provided in the electronic pen to realize a pointer function. However, this cannot reduce the manufacturing cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic pen, a touch panel device, and an input display device that can realize a pointer function and a spray drawing function without providing an acceleration sensor.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first technical means of the present invention includes a casing that is gripped by a user, a pen tip provided at a tip of the casing, and at least three tips provided in the pen tip. An electronic pen provided with a drive electrode for coordinate detection, wherein two of the drive electrodes are provided at asymmetric positions with respect to the central axis of the electronic pen.

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the drive electrode includes four drive electrodes, and the drive electrodes are symmetrically positioned with respect to the intersection of the coordinate axes on a coordinate axis orthogonal to the central axis of the electronic pen. Are provided respectively.

  A third technical means is the first technical means, wherein the drive electrode is composed of three, and one of the drive electrodes is provided in alignment with the central axis of the electronic pen, and the remaining two The drive electrodes are provided at equidistant positions on the coordinate axes orthogonal to the central axis of the electronic pen from the intersection of the coordinate axes.

  A fourth technical means includes a touch panel that is touch-inputted with an electronic pen, and an arithmetic unit that calculates position coordinates of each drive electrode on the touch panel based on signals from at least three drive electrodes provided on the electronic pen. The operation unit obtains an inclination angle of the electronic pen with respect to the touch panel from position coordinates of the drive electrodes.

  A fifth technical means includes a display panel which displays the input content of the electronic pen on a display screen in the fourth technical means, and the display panel is centered on an intersection with an extension line of a central axis of the electronic pen. The predetermined image is displayed on the display screen.

  According to a sixth technical means, a predetermined image is displayed by touching the touch panel device according to the fourth or fifth with the electronic pen according to any one of the first to third. It is.

  According to the present invention, since the tilt angle of the electronic pen with respect to the touch panel can be calculated from the position of each drive electrode with respect to the central axis of the electronic pen, a pointer function and a spray drawing function can be realized without providing an acceleration sensor.

It is a figure which shows the example of an external appearance structure of the input display apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structural example of the touchscreen apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram of the electronic pen by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the drive system of the electrode by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the process in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the detection of the nib coordinate and rotation angle by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the detection of the inclination angle by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the detection of the inclination angle by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the detection of the inclination angle by this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation example by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structural example of the electronic pen by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the electronic pen by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an electronic pen, a touch panel device, and an input display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration example of an input display device according to the present invention. The input display device includes an electronic pen and a touch panel device, and the liquid crystal monitor 1 corresponds to the touch panel device of the present invention. The liquid crystal monitor 1 is, for example, a flat type (also referred to as a horizon style) in which the angle between the display screen and the ground plane of the liquid crystal monitor is about 0 °, or a standing style or pen writing style using the stand 2 on the back of the liquid crystal monitor. Is also applicable. In addition, the touch panel device according to the present invention may be a thin display device other than the liquid crystal monitor 1 or may use an organic EL panel, a plasma display, or a liquid crystal television as a monitor.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the touch panel device according to the present invention.
The liquid crystal monitor 1 includes a control unit 10, a touch panel 11, a display panel 12, a touch panel control unit 13, a video processing unit 14, a synthesis unit 15, a storage unit 16, and the like, which are connected by a bus 17.
The control unit 10 is composed of a CPU for controlling the operation of the liquid crystal monitor 1, and loads various programs and data stored in, for example, the ROM of the storage unit 16 into the RAM. Execute.

The display panel 12 includes, for example, a rectangular display screen 12a configured with a liquid crystal panel.
The touch panel 11 is provided integrally with the display panel 12, and inputs the touch position (also referred to as touch coordinates) when the user touches the display screen 12a with the user's finger or the electronic pen 30 shown in FIG. It is a sensor for. As this sensor, for example, a capacitance type sensor that detects a position by detecting a change in capacitance between the fingertip and the conductive film can be adopted. For example, the electrode pattern is arranged on the X axis and the Y axis. They are divided and arranged in a matrix (also called a projection-type capacitance method).

  The touch panel control unit 13 includes a drive / detection unit 13a, a calculation unit 13b, and a processing unit 13c. When touching the touch panel 11 with a fingertip, the driving / detecting unit 13a drives one electrode on the touch panel 11 and detects touch coordinates with the other electrode. Further, when touching the touch panel 11 with the electronic pen 30, the driving / detecting unit 13 a can drive the drive electrode in the electronic pen 30 as will be described later, and detects touch coordinates with both electrodes on the touch panel 11. it can. These detection results are output to the calculation unit 13b. Even when the tip of the drive electrode of the electronic pen is brought within, for example, about 15 mm from the touch panel (also called hover operation), the position where the tip and the touch panel are connected at the shortest distance can be detected as the touch coordinates of the electronic pen. is there.

  The calculation unit 13b performs predetermined calculation processing on the detection result of the fingertip or the electronic pen 30 touching the touch panel 11, and obtains the tilt angle of the electronic pen 30 in addition to the touch coordinates of the fingertip or the electronic pen 30. The obtained touch coordinates, inclination angle, and the like are sent to the processing unit 13c, and information on the touch operation is created. The generated touch operation signal is output to the combining unit 15. Note that writing pressure information and information on the side switches 35 and 36 of the electronic pen 30 shown in FIG. 3 can be input to the processing unit 13c.

The video processing unit 14 performs image processing such as resolution conversion and gamma correction on the video signal input to the liquid crystal monitor 1 and outputs the processed video signal to the combining unit 15.
The synthesizer 15 synthesizes the input video signal and the touch operation signal, and performs a process of superimposing the touch operation information on the input video. In the case where the touch operation information is not displayed, only the input video image processed by the video processing unit 14 is displayed on the display screen 12a.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the electronic pen according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3A, the electronic pen 30 of the present embodiment is a wired system using a cord 33, and has a cylindrical casing 34 that is gripped by a user's finger, for example. It is pulled out from the rear end of the housing 34. On the other hand, a pen tip 37 used for input to the liquid crystal monitor 1 is provided at the tip of the housing 34, and the tip of the pen tip 37 is tapered and formed in a circular cross section, for example.

  Side switches 35, 36 that can be pressed down are provided on the surface of the housing 34, and by pressing the side switches 35, 36, the touch operation of the pen tip 37 functions as, for example, a right mouse click or an eraser, for example. Can do. In addition, it is possible to shift to each input mode such as a pointer or spray drawing, which will be described later, by long pressing one of the side switches 35 and 36 in the hover state, for example.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3B, for example, four drive electrodes 40a, 40b, 40c, and 40d for detecting the position of the pen tip in the liquid crystal monitor 1 are provided in the pen tip 37. ing. Specifically, each of the drive electrodes 40a to 40d is on a coordinate axis (corresponding to an x ′ axis and a y ′ axis described with reference to FIG. 6 and the like) orthogonal to the central axis of the pen tip 37 at a symmetrical position with respect to the intersection of the coordinate axes. Each is provided.

As described above, since the four drive electrodes 40a to 40d are arranged at symmetrical positions with respect to the intersection of the orthogonal coordinate axes, the calculation for obtaining the tilt angle of the electronic pen 30 is facilitated.
Each drive electrode 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d is connected to an amplifier 39a, 39b, 39c, 39d in the housing 34, respectively. The amplifiers 39a, 39b, 39c, and 39d are connected to the touch panel control unit 13 described with reference to FIG. 2 via the cord 33, the pen stand 31 and the cord 32 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an electrode driving method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The drive electrodes 40a and 40b will be described as an example. When the touch panel 11 is touched with the electronic pen 30 (including the hover operation, the same applies hereinafter), the two drive electrodes 40a and 40b are separately driven (sequentially, for example). Also called drive system). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 (A), one drive electrode 40a is first driven to detect the position of this drive electrode 40a, and then, as shown in FIG. 4 (B), the other drive electrode 40a is detected. The position of this drive electrode 40b is detected by driving 40b.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6 to 9 are diagrams for explaining detection of an inclination angle and the like according to the present invention.
First, the drive / detection unit 13a separately drives, for example, the drive electrode 40a, the drive electrode 40b, the drive electrode 40c, and the drive electrode 40d in this order (step S10 in FIG. 5), and the drive / detection unit 13a drives the drive electrodes 40a to 40d. Can be detected (YES in step S11), the calculation unit 13b determines that the pen tip coordinate (also referred to as a direct point) M of the electronic pen 30 is M, the height h, the rotation angle θ _r , the inclination θ _x in the x′-axis direction, The inclination θ _y in the y′-axis direction is obtained, and the projection destination coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) corresponding to the projection point on the touch panel 11 are obtained (step S12).

  Specifically, in the case of a hover operation, as shown in FIG. 6A, the coordinate A is a position connecting the tip of the drive electrode 40a and the touch panel 11 with the shortest distance. Similarly, coordinate B is the shortest distance between the tip of the drive electrode 40b and the touch panel 11, coordinate C is the tip of the drive electrode 40c and the touch panel 11, and coordinate D is the shortest distance between the tip of the drive electrode 40d and the touch panel 11. It becomes the position tied in.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the drive electrodes 40a and 40b are located on the x ′ axis and are equidistant from the central axis of the pen tip 37 passing through the intersection of the x ′ axis and the y ′ axis. Assuming a case where the drive electrodes 40c and 40d are arranged side by side and are located on the y ′ axis and are arranged at the same distance from the central axis of the pen tip 37, the coordinates A ( x _x'1, y _x'1), the coordinates B (x _x'2 drive electrode 40b, y _x'2), the coordinates C (x _y'1 drive electrodes 40c, y _y'1), the drive electrode 40d The coordinates D (x _y'2 , y _y'2 ) are obtained.

Subsequently, the calculation unit 13b obtains the pen tip coordinate M based on signals from the drive electrodes 40a to 40d. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6B, the pen point coordinate M (X _UND , Y _UND ) corresponds to the intersection of the x ′ axis and the y ′ axis, so (X _UND , Y _UND ) = ((X _x'1 + x _x'2 + x _y'1 + x _y'2 ) / 4, (y _x'1 + y _x'2 + y _y'1 + y _y'2 ) / 4) .

Moreover, the calculating part 13b calculates | requires hover height from the strength of the signal of drive electrodes 40a-40d. For example, an average value of four hover heights is obtained, and a height h from the pen tip 37 to the pen tip coordinates (X _UND , Y _UND ) is obtained.
Next, the calculation unit 13b obtains the rotation angle θ _r of the pen tip 37 by trigonometry. As shown in FIG. 6C, the rotation angle θ _r is, for example, an x ′ axis connecting the coordinates A and B of the drive electrodes 40a and 40b, and a predetermined reference position (for example, the X axis) on the touch panel 11. Θ _r = tan ⁻¹ ((y _x′2 −y _x′1 ) / (x _x′2 −x _x′1 )) based on the angle formed by A relationship with the X axis is obtained.

Then, the arithmetic unit 13b obtains triangulate the inclination theta _x of x 'axis direction. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the electronic pen 30 is inclined with respect to the touch panel 11, and the tip of the drive electrode 40a is farther from the touch panel 11 than the tip of the drive electrode 40b, for example, the signal strength from the drive electrode 40a is strong. Becomes weaker than the drive electrode 40b. For this reason, the inclination θ _{x in} the x′-axis direction is based on the distance d between the drive electrodes 40a and 40b and the distance P _{x ′} between the coordinates A and B, θ _x = cos ⁻¹ (P _{x ′} / d ). Note that the distance P _{x ′} is obtained as in Equation 1.

Similarly, the calculation unit 13b obtains the inclination θ _y in the y′-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 7B, for example, when the tip of the drive electrode 40d is farther from the touch panel 11 than the tip of the drive electrode 40c, the inclination θ _y in the y′-axis direction is equal to the distance d between the drive electrodes 40c and 40d. Based on the distance P _{y ′} between the coordinates C and D, θ _y = cos ⁻¹ (P _{y ′} / d) can be obtained. Note that the distance P _{y ′} is obtained as shown in Equation 2.

Subsequently, the calculation unit 13b obtains the projection distance P from the pen point coordinates (X _UND , Y _UND ) to the projection point coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ). As shown in FIG. 8A, the x′-axis direction component x _SHIFT of the projection distance P is x _SHIFT = h · tan θ _x based on the height h and the inclination θ _{x in the} x′-axis direction. Further, y in the projection distance P 'axial component y _SHIFT also the height h, y' from the axis direction of inclination theta _y, a _{y SHIFT} = h · tanθ y.

Thereby, as shown in FIG. 8B, the projection distance P can be obtained as shown in Equation 3. Further, when an angle θ _xy formed by the projection distance P and the x ′ axis is given, it can be obtained as θ _xy = tan ⁻¹ (y _SHIFT / x _SHIFT ).

Then, the calculation unit 13b obtains projection destination coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) on the X axis and the Y axis (step S12).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, X _PRJ corresponds to the X-axis direction component of the projection distance P, and based on the projection distance P and the angle θ _xy and the rotation angle θ _r formed as described above, Can be sought. Similarly, Y _PRJ corresponding to the Y-axis direction component of the projection distance P can be obtained from the projection distance P, the formed angle θ _xy, and the rotation angle θ _r as shown in Equation 5. A line connecting the tip of the electronic pen 30 and the projection destination coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ), and the projection destination coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) and the pen tip coordinates (X _UND , Y _UND ) are connected. The angle formed with the line corresponds to the tilt angle of the electronic pen of the present invention.

After _{obtaining the} projection destination coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) in step S12 of FIG. 5, the calculation unit 13b determines that the projection destination coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) are within the display screen 12a (step S13). YES), pen point coordinates (X _UND , Y _UND ), projection point coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ), etc., are output to the processing unit 13c (step S14), and a series of routines are exited.
As described above, since the tilt angle of the electronic pen 30 with respect to the touch panel 11 is known from the pen tip coordinates (X _UND , Y _UND ) and the projection tip coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ), the touch panel 11 does not include an acceleration sensor. The pointer function and spray drawing function can be brought close to real-world behavior.

Specifically, when the pointer function is used to point to a drawing farther from the position directly below the electronic pen 30, if the electronic pen 30 is tilted with respect to the display screen 12a and the pen tip is directed to the drawing, the pen axis A pointer is displayed at the projection destination coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) located on the extension line, and the drawing can be pointed out.
When the spray drawing function is used, if the directivity is set, as shown in FIG. 10A, the electronic pen 30 is not the pen tip coordinates (X _UND , Y _UND ) but the projection destination coordinates. An image diffused around (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) can be displayed on the display screen 12a. Further, as shown in FIG. 10B, if the height of the electronic pen 30 is increased, the range of diffusion can be expanded.

When the drive electrodes 40a to 40d cannot be detected (NO in step S11 in FIG. 5), or when the projection destination coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) are not within the display screen 12a (NO in step S13). ), It is determined that the drive electrodes 40a to 40d are out of the detection range (step S15), and that effect is output to the processing unit 13c.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of an electronic pen according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The electronic pen 30 of this embodiment is a wireless system that does not use the cord 33 and is driven by the power of a battery (not shown) in the electronic pen 30.
Further, for example, four drive electrodes 40a to 40d are arranged in parallel inside the pen tip of the electronic pen 30 and are driven separately, but in this embodiment, the touch panel 11 is provided. In order to recognize which of the fingertip or the electronic pen 30 is detected, a synchronization signal is output from the touch panel 11 to the electronic pen 30.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the electronic pen 30 includes a pen processing unit 38 and a synchronization signal detection unit 41. The synchronization timing with the pen processing unit 38 is generated by the calculation unit 13b described with reference to FIG. 2, and the synchronization signal transmitted from the touch panel 11 via the drive / detection unit 13a passes through the drive electrodes 40a to 40d. Are received by the synchronization signal detection unit 41 and output to the pen processing unit 38.

  The pen processing unit 38 outputs a drive signal based on the frequency of the synchronization signal to the drive electrodes 40a to 40d via the amplifiers 39a to 39d. Accordingly, the drive electrodes 40 a to 40 d are driven, and the drive / detection unit 13 a described with reference to FIG. 2 can detect the position of the electronic pen 30 by using both electrode patterns on the touch panel 11. The pen processing unit 38 can also input pen pressure information and information on the side switches 35 and 36 of the electronic pen 30 shown in FIG. 3, and these information can be transmitted to the processing unit 13c wirelessly, for example. .

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of an electronic pen according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In each of the above embodiments, four drive electrodes are provided on the pen tip. However, if the two drive electrodes are arranged so as not to be aligned on the same axis with respect to the central axis of the electronic pen, 3 You may comprise with a drive electrode of a book.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12A, three drive electrodes 40 a, 40 b, and 40 c are provided inside the pen tip 37, and one drive electrode 40 a is the center of the pen tip 37. It is provided in line with the axis.

The remaining two drive electrodes 40b and 40c are provided at positions equidistant from the intersection of the coordinate axes on the coordinate axes (corresponding to the above-mentioned x ′ axis and y ′ axis) orthogonal to the central axis of the pen tip 37, respectively. It has been.
For this reason, as shown in FIG. 12B, the coordinate A of the drive electrode 40a is located at the intersection of the x ′ and y ′ axes, and the coordinate B of the drive electrode 40b is on the x ′ axis. The coordinates C are respectively located on the y ′ axis, and the distance between the coordinates A and B is equal to the distance between the coordinates A and C.

Then, the calculation unit 13b obtains the pen tip coordinates (X _UND , Y _UND ) from the coordinates A, and calculates the rotation angle θ _r and the inclination θ _x in the x′-axis direction from the coordinates A, B, etc. from the coordinates A, C, etc. The projection coordinates (X _PRJ , Y _PRJ ) can be obtained by obtaining the inclination θ _{y in} the y′-axis direction, respectively.
As described above, since the three drive electrodes 40a to 40c are sufficient, the inclination angle of the electronic pen 30 can be easily obtained and can be achieved with a simple structure.

  In each of the above embodiments, the drive electrode is described in the vicinity of the tip of the pen tip. However, when the hover operation is possible at a high position, the drive electrode can be provided closer to the housing. It is. Thereby, the distance d between drive electrodes can be set large, and it contributes to the improvement of resolution.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Liquid crystal monitor, 2 ... Stand, 10 ... Control part, 11 ... Touch panel, 12 ... Display panel, 12a ... Display screen, 13 ... Touch panel control part, 13a ... Drive / detection part, 13b ... Calculation part, 13c ... Processing part , 14 ... Video processing unit, 15 ... Composition unit, 16 ... Storage unit, 17 ... Bus, 30 ... Electronic pen, 31 ... Pen stand, 32, 33 ... Code, 34 ... Housing, 35, 36 ... Side switch, 37 ... nib, 38 ... pen processing unit, 39a, 39b, 39c, 39d ... amplifier, 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d ... drive electrode, 41 ... synchronization signal detection unit.

Claims (6)

An electronic pen comprising a housing held by a user, a pen tip provided at the tip of the housing, and at least three coordinate detection drive electrodes provided on the pen tip,
Two of the drive electrodes are provided at asymmetric positions with respect to the central axis of the electronic pen. The electronic pen according to claim 1,
An electronic pen comprising four drive electrodes, wherein each drive electrode is provided on a coordinate axis orthogonal to the central axis of the electronic pen at a symmetrical position with respect to the intersection of the coordinate axes. The electronic pen according to claim 1,
The drive electrode is composed of three, and one of the drive electrodes is provided so as to coincide with the central axis of the electronic pen, and the remaining two drive electrodes are orthogonal to the central axis of the electronic pen. An electronic pen provided on each coordinate axis at a position equidistant from the intersection of the coordinate axes. A touch panel device comprising: a touch panel that is touch-inputted with an electronic pen; and a calculation unit that calculates the position coordinates of each drive electrode on the touch panel based on signals from at least three drive electrodes provided on the electronic pen. There,
The touch panel device, wherein the calculation unit obtains an inclination angle of the electronic pen with respect to the touch panel from position coordinates of the drive electrodes. The touch panel device according to claim 4,
A display panel for displaying the input content of the electronic pen on a display screen;
The display panel displays a predetermined image centered on an intersection with an extended line of a central axis of the electronic pen on the display screen.   An input display device that displays a predetermined image by touching the touch panel device according to claim 4 or 5 with the electronic pen according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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