JP3166647B2 - Handwriting input device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a handwriting input device, and more particularly to a device suitable for handwriting input in a personal computer, a portable terminal device or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, devices and methods for handwriting input include, for example, (1) a handwriting input using a mouse, (2) or a dedicated tablet in which sensors for detecting the position of a pen tip are embedded in an array. Using a pen, (3) or a handwriting input pen composed of an elastic body and a membrane switch as described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-139637, to detect pressing applied to the pen tip A method of estimating a stroke by using such a method is known. (4) For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-121
In Japanese Patent No. 292, a specific pattern is drawn on a movable ball placed on the pen tip, and the movement of the pattern caused by the rotation of the movable ball is detected by using a sensor to detect the movement amount of the pen tip. A method is described.

[0003]

However, the above-described conventional handwriting input technique has the following problems.

(1) First, a conventional handwriting input pen using a dedicated tablet can be used only on the dedicated tablet, which is a restriction when copying figures or inputting handwritten characters. Was.

(2) Although a mouse does not require a dedicated tablet, it is not suitable for inputting fine characters and figures.

(3) And the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 63-13963
In a handwriting input pen composed of an elastic body and a membrane switch as proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-1995, etc., a stroke is set by detecting a push applied to the pen tip. Although it is not necessary, the accuracy of detecting the pen tip movement amount cannot be said to be high, and there is still a problem in inputting fine characters and figures.

(4) Further, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-112292
Publication No. 08/07/27, a specific pattern is drawn on a movable ball installed on the pen tip, and the movement of the pen tip is detected by using a sensor to detect the movement of the pattern caused by the rotation of the movable ball, thereby reducing the movement amount of the pen tip. The detection method does not require a dedicated tablet, and is a method that can detect the amount of movement of the pen tip with higher accuracy than a mouse or the like.
Only an example of detecting the movement of a pattern using an optical sensor is described. In this case, there is a problem that it is difficult to compactly mount the pattern. Furthermore, in this method, if the pen tip is moved while being lifted from the paper or the like, the movement cannot be detected, which is also a serious problem as a handwriting input device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to eliminate the need for a dedicated tablet, and more preferably to detect movement even when the pen tip is lifted from the paper or the like. It is to provide a handwriting input device.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a handwriting input device according to the present invention provides a pen-shaped movable ball magnetized in a specific direction and a change in a magnetic force line caused by the rotation of the movable ball. And a sensor for detecting.

That is, the present invention provides a movable ball, supporting means for rotatably supporting the movable ball, a sensor for detecting rotation of the movable ball, and the movable ball based on a signal detected by the sensor. Means for calculating the amount of movement of the movable ball while rotating, wherein the movable ball is made of a magnetic material magnetized in a specific direction, and the sensor detects a change in a magnetic line of force caused by the rotation of the movable ball. , Characterized in that.

Further, a handwriting input device according to the present invention includes a movable ball having a pen point having anisotropy in electric conductivity, and a sensor for detecting a change in electric conductivity caused by rotation of the movable ball. It is a thing.

That is, the present invention provides a movable ball, supporting means for rotatably supporting the movable ball, a sensor for detecting the rotation of the movable ball, and the movable ball based on a signal detected by the sensor. Means for calculating the amount of movement while rotating and moving, the movable ball is made of an insulator having a core made of a good conductor, and the sensor determines whether there is conduction between the electrodes caused by the rotation of the movable ball. Detecting.

In the handwriting input device according to the present invention, the shape of the movable ball is a spheroid slightly shifted from the sphere.

Further, in the handwriting input device according to the present invention, the movable ball for detecting the movement amount of the pen tip and the movable ball for the support portion for detecting the movement of the pen with the pen tip raised are provided. Provided.

Further, a switch for designating a state where the pen tip is raised and a state where the pen tip is lowered may be provided.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a movable ball (pen tip movable ball 1 in FIG. 1) made of a magnetic material magnetized in a specific direction, and a support means (FIG. 1) for rotatably supporting the movable ball 2), a sensor (3 in FIG. 1) for detecting a change in the line of magnetic force caused by the rotation of the movable ball to detect the rotation of the movable ball, and a movable ball (FIG. 1) based on a signal detected by this sensor. 1)
And means (4 in FIG. 1) for calculating the amount of movement while rotating.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a second movable ball (5 in FIG. 1) and supporting means (6 in FIG. 1) for rotatably supporting the second movable ball are provided.
A second sensor for detecting rotation of the second movable ball (8 in FIG. 1); and a second movable ball based on a signal detected by the second sensor (8 in FIG. 1). Means (9 in FIG. 1) for calculating the amount of movement of the device while rotating, so that the amount of movement of the apparatus can be calculated even when the pen tip (pen tip movable ball 1 in FIG. 1) is raised. . Also, the second
The support means for rotatably supporting the movable ball is pressed downward by the biasing force of an elastic member (10 in FIG. 1) provided in the support portion (7 in FIG. 1).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the preferred embodiment, the movable ball has a spheroidal shape, and the support means has a shape for restraining the major axis of the spheroid to always be the rotational axis. (See FIG. 3).

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the movable ball comprises an insulator (21 in FIG. 4) having a core (22, 23 in FIG. 1) made of a good conductor,
The sensor detects the presence or absence of conduction between the electrodes (n1, m1, etc. in FIG. 5) generated by the rotation of the movable ball, and thereby detects the rotation of the movable ball.

[0020]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, a movable ball (also referred to as a “pen tip movable ball”) 1 that functions as a pen tip for handwriting input is a minute ball made of a magnetic material and magnetized in a specific direction. Have been. In the present embodiment, the shape of the pen tip movable ball 1 is a spheroid having a major axis in a direction perpendicular to the direction of magnetization. The pen tip movable ball 1 is fixed to the pen tip by a support 2 so that when handwriting input is performed, the pen tip movable ball 1 rotates just in accordance with the movement of the pen tip, just like the ball of the pen tip of a ballpoint pen.

The sensor section 3 is composed of a plurality of magnetic sensors, and each sensor detects a change in a magnetic line of force caused by the rotation of the movable ball 1. The sensor unit 3 is a support 2
It is provided on the tip side. The motion calculation unit 4 includes the sensor unit 3
Receives the outputs from the plurality of magnetic sensors sent from the computer, calculates the rotation of the pen tip movable ball 1, and outputs the result to an information processing device such as a personal computer.

The movable ball 5 is also a minute ball made of a magnetic material magnetized in a specific direction. The movable ball 5 can be rotated by the support 6 according to the movement of the support 7. It is supported. The movable ball 5 also
It also has a spheroidal shape slightly shifted from a sphere.

The movable ball 5 is always in contact with a paper surface or a sheet at the time of handwriting input.
Regardless of whether the pen tip is raised or lowered, the pen tip rotates with the movement of the support part 7. The elastic body 10 presses the support 6 from one side to the paper side by its urging force in order to keep the support 6 in contact with the paper surface or the like at all times. The outer periphery of the end of the support 6 opposite to the side supporting the movable ball 5 is expanded in the radial direction, and is accommodated in the space inside the support 7 together with the elastic body 10. The expanding portion is pressed by the biasing force of the elastic body 10 to a position where the expanding portion comes into contact with the circumferential shoulder of the support portion 7.

The sensor section 8 is composed of a plurality of magnetic sensors, like the sensor section 3, and the output from the sensor section is sent to a motion calculating section 9, which calculates the motion of the supporting ball, and outputs the result. It is also output to a personal computer or the like.

Next, the operation of the handwriting input device of this embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described. In the present embodiment, each of the sensor units 3 and 8 is configured by a magnetic sensor including four pickup coils. Sensor unit 3,
8 are the same, the operation will be described below by taking the sensor unit 3 as an example.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the structure of the sensor section 3 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional view of the support 2, and FIG.
(B) is a figure which shows a cross section.

Referring to FIG. 2B, in this embodiment, four magnetic sensors a, b, c, and d are separated from each other by 90 degrees in a plane perpendicular to the long axis of the handwriting input device. It is arranged. Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, this surface (the surface on which the four magnetic sensors are provided) is
Is located slightly above the plane x including the rotation axis of

Here, a case is considered where the movable ball 1 rotates with the rotation axis being the direction created by the magnetic sensors (for example, a and c in FIG. 2) positioned opposite to each other and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface.

When the movable ball 1 rotates in the direction A from the arrangement shown in FIG. 2A, the N pole first crosses the magnetic sensor a, so that an electromotive force is generated in the magnetic sensor a by electromagnetic interaction ( In the following description, the voltage change that occurs in this case is defined as positive). Furthermore, immediately following this, S
Since the pole crosses the magnetic sensor c, a negative electromotive force is generated in the magnetic sensor c.

After a while, a negative electromotive force is generated at a because the S pole crosses the magnetic sensor a, and immediately thereafter, a positive electromotive force is generated at c.

Therefore, when the movable ball rotates in the direction A in FIG. 2A, an electromotive force is first generated in the magnetic sensor a, and subsequently, an electromotive force in the opposite direction is generated in the magnetic sensor c. Will be.

Conversely, when the movable ball rotates in the direction B in FIG. 2A, the magnetic sensor c first detects the electromotive force,
Subsequently, the electromotive force in the opposite direction is applied to the magnetic sensor a.
Will be detected, and the reverse sequence will occur.

Therefore, it is possible to calculate the rotation direction and the number of rotations of the movable ball from the sequence of the electromotive force generated in each magnetic sensor. Note that a Hall element or the like may be used as the magnetic sensor.

If the movable ball rotates about the direction created by the magnetic sensors a and c, the same electromotive force sequence as described above occurs in the magnetic sensors b and d.

When the rotation axis of the movable ball is neither in the ac direction nor in the bd direction (see FIG. 2B) but is located in the middle thereof, all of the four sensors In this case, a weak electromotive force is generated, but in that case, the direction of the rotation axis is also determined from the ratio of the magnitude of the electromotive force generated in each pair, and ac, b- It is possible to calculate the direction of rotation and the number of rotations from the sequence of the electromotive force generated in each of d.

By the way, if the shape of the movable ball is a perfect sphere, the direction of the axis of rotation may coincide with the direction of magnetization of the movable ball while the movable ball is rotating. . In that case, even if the movable ball rotates, the magnetic moment does not rotate, and as a result, there arises a problem that no electromotive force is generated.

In order to avoid such inconvenience, in the present embodiment, the shapes of the movable ball 1 and the movable ball 5 are spheroids slightly deviated from the spheres. Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 3, the shapes of the support 2 and the support 6 are such that the major axis of the spheroid of the movable ball 1 is always perpendicular to the axis of the handwriting input device. It is configured to be bound in the plane. In FIG. 3, 33
Is the direction in which the major axis of the spheroid can rotate, 34 is the direction in which the movable ball can rotate with the major axis of the spheroid as the rotation axis,
Is shown.

As a result, when the handwriting input device of this embodiment is moved in a specific direction, first, the major axis of the spheroid is rotated so as to be perpendicular to the moving direction. The movable ball rotates around the long axis of the body as a rotation axis.

Therefore, by setting the direction of magnetization of the movable ball in a direction perpendicular to the major axis, the rotation axis of the movable ball and the direction of magnetization of the movable ball are always orthogonal to each other. It is possible to avoid.

The output from the sensor unit 3 is sent to a motion calculation unit 4, which amplifies the voltage as necessary, detects the electromotive force sequence, and Calculate direction, direction of rotation and number of rotations. Various known methods can be applied as a method of realizing the motion calculation unit 4. In the present embodiment, after amplifying the voltage,
Performs analog-to-digital conversion (A / D conversion), converts an input signal into a digital signal, and digitally calculates and executes an algorithm necessary for calculating the direction of the rotation axis, the rotation direction, and the number of rotations. It is composed of a circuit. The output 11 from the motion calculator 4 is sent to a device such as a personal computer.

The operations of the movable ball 5, the sensor unit 8, and the motion calculation unit 9 in the support unit 7 are described above.
Nib movable ball 1, sensor unit 3, and motion calculation unit 4
The operation is exactly the same as that described above, and the direction of the axis of rotation of the movable ball, the direction of rotation, and the number of rotations in the support unit 7 are calculated in the motion calculation unit 9 and output to a device such as a personal computer.

However, since the support 6 is pressed from above onto the paper surface by the elastic body 10 composed of a spring or the like, the support ball (that is, the movable ball 5) can be held even when the pen tip is raised. Even when the pen is moved in this state, the movable ball 5
Rotates, so that the pen movement amount can be calculated even when the pen tip is raised.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment of the present invention.

The configuration of the handwriting input device of this embodiment is shown in FIG.
However, as shown in FIG. 1, the movable nib ball 1 and the movable ball 5 of the support portion are made of an insulator having two cores of a good conductor as shown in FIG. They differ in that they are composed of spheres. FIG.
, 21 is an insulator, 22 is a first core, and 23 is a second core.
Is the core.

Correspondingly, the sensor section 3 and the sensor section 8 are paired with each other (electrodes nl, m).
l), (n2, m2),... (n2j, m2j) in FIG.
The core of a good conductor is arranged so as to be able to communicate and conduct between the electrodes forming the pair by rotation of the nib movable ball 1 or the movable ball 5. I have.

For example, when the movable ball rotates in the direction A in FIG. 5A, the electrodes (nl, ml) conduct first, and immediately thereafter, the electrodes (nl, j, ml +
j) conducts. The movable ball moves in the opposite direction,
In (A), when the ball rotates in the direction B, the sequence of this conduction is reversed, so that the direction of rotation of the movable ball can be identified from this sequence of conduction. FIG.
In (A), only one of the two cores is shown for simplicity.

As shown in FIG. 5B, since a plurality of electrodes are arranged along the supporting portion, the direction of the rotation axis of the movable ball can be identified based on which pair of electrodes is conductive. In FIG. 5B, the electrodes ml to m2j are:
Although not shown because they are hidden by the electrodes nl to n2j, for example, the electrode ml is located immediately below the electrode nl.
2 is directly below n2, and the corresponding subscripted electrodes are arranged in two upper and lower stages.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, two cores made of good conductors are embedded in the movable ball.
Hereinafter, this will be described. Here, assuming that there is only one core, if the rotation axis of the movable ball coincides with the direction of the core while the movable ball is rotating, the movable ball rotates. However, this core does not cross between any of the electrodes, and as a result, the rotation of the movable ball may not be detected.

Therefore, in order to avoid such inconvenience, in the present embodiment, the second core 23 is embedded in the movable ball in a direction different from that of the first core 22, and in the above-described case, Also, the configuration is such that the rotation of the movable ball can be detected by the second core.

In this embodiment, conductors are connected to the electrodes of the sensor units 3 and 8, respectively, and these are connected to the motion calculation units 4 and 9, respectively. Is calculated. In the motion calculation units 4 and 9, a voltage is applied between each pair of electrodes via a standard resistor, and when the electrodes are electrically connected, a current flows through the corresponding standard resistance in accordance with the conduction.

Then, by detecting the voltage at both ends of each standard resistor, the presence or absence of conduction between the corresponding electrodes is detected. This voltage is A / D converted and converted into a digital signal, and then the direction, rotation direction, and number of rotations of the movable ball are calculated by a circuit that digitally calculates the rotation calculation algorithm described above. The result is sent to a device such as a personal computer.

Also in this embodiment, the supporting portion 7 is pressed from above onto the paper surface by an elastic body 10 composed of a spring or the like, as in the case of the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. Even when the pen is moved with the tip raised, the movement amount can be calculated.

In FIG. 1, the movable ball 5, the support 6, the support 7, the sensor 8, and the motion calculator 9, which are the mechanisms for detecting the movement of the support, are omitted. It is also possible to provide a switch for simulating the "up" state and the "down" state of the pen tip.

In this case, in practice, the input is performed while the movable ball of the pen tip is always in contact with the paper or the like. However, the pen tip is "up" or "down" by turning on or off the above-mentioned switch. The state is specified in a pseudo manner. In this case, the on / off state of the switch is sent to a device such as a personal computer together with the output of the motion calculation unit 4.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the rotation of the movable ball is detected by the sensor, there is an effect that a dedicated tablet is not required and the device can be made compact.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the movement of the handwriting input device even when the pen tip is lifted up from the paper or the like by the movable ball provided on the supporting portion, thereby improving operability and accuracy. This has the effect of being particularly improved.

Further, according to the present invention, since the movable ball has a shape of a spheroid slightly deviated from the sphere, and the direction of magnetization of the movable ball is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the spheroid, the direction of magnetization or The direction of the core of the good conductor does not coincide with the direction of the rotation axis of the movable ball, and the rotation of the movable ball can be detected stably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a longitudinal sectional view showing an arrangement of each movable ball and a sensor unit in FIG. 1; (B) is a transverse sectional view showing the arrangement of the magnetic sensors.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing shapes of a movable ball and a support in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a configuration of a movable ball made of an insulator having a core of a good conductor as viewed from one direction. (B) is a diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram of the movable ball as viewed from another direction.

FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing an arrangement of electrodes on a support.
(B) is a diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view showing an arrangement of electrodes.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Movable ball 2 Support body 3 Sensor part 4 Motion calculation part 5 Movable ball 6 Support body 7 Support part 8 Sensor part 9 Motion calculation part 10 Elastic body 11 Output signal 12, 13 Sensor output signal 21 Insulator 22 First core 23 Second wick

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A a first movable ball, said first support means for rotatably supporting the movable ball, the first cell <br/> capacitors for detecting rotation of the first movable ball includes a section, means for the first of said movable ball from the signal detected by the sensor unit to calculate an amount of movement that has moved while rotating, and the movable ball comprises a spheroidal shape, said support means However, the handwriting input device is characterized in that the handball input device has a shape in which the major axis of the spheroid of the movable ball is always restricted to be the rotation axis. 2. A first movable ball and supporting means for rotatably supporting the first movable ball.
And a first cell for detecting rotation of the first movable ball.
Capacitors portion and the first from the signal detected by the first sensor unit
The amount of movement of the movable ball while rotating
Means , wherein the first movable ball is magnetized in a specific direction.
From now, with the rotation of the first sensor portion is the first movable ball
Handwriting input device that detects changes in magnetic field lines that occur
Te, the first movable ball has a spheroidal shape, said support means has a shape which major axis of the spheroid of the first movable ball restrains always such that the axis of rotation, said A handwriting input device characterized in that the first movable ball is magnetized in a direction perpendicular to the major axis of the spheroid. A first movable ball; supporting means for rotatably supporting the first movable ball; a first sensor unit for detecting rotation of the first movable ball; From the signal detected by the first sensor unit.
Means for calculating the amount of movement of the movable ball while rotating , further comprising: a second movable ball; a support means for rotatably supporting the second movable ball; A second sensor for detecting the rotation of the ball; and a second sensor based on a signal detected by the second sensor.
Means for calculating the amount of movement of the movable ball while rotating, the part of the first movable ball functioning as a pen tip and the part functioning as a support part even when the first movable ball is lifted from the paper surface or the like. A handwriting input device, wherein a movement amount of the device can be calculated by rotation of the second movable ball. 4. A support means for rotatably supporting said second movable ball is urged in the direction of the paper surface via an elastic member.
4. The handwriting input device according to claim 3, wherein: 5. The handwriting input device according to claim 3 , further comprising a switch for designating two states corresponding to a raised state and a lowered state of the pen tip. 6. The pen tip is magnetized in a specific direction, or
Rotates the first movable ball with anisotropic electrical conductivity
While freely supporting, the magnetic force from the first movable ball
By detecting changes in force lines or electrical conductivity,
A detecting means for detecting a rotating state of the first movable ball;
In addition to the pen tip movement amount detection means, a second portion magnetized in a specific direction is provided on a support portion branched from the pen tip.
And a second means for rotatably supporting the movable ball and detecting a rotation state of the second movable ball by detecting a change in a magnetic line of force from the second movable ball. Even when the second movable ball of the front support portion is in contact with the paper even when the second movable ball is lifted from the paper surface, the information of the amount of movement due to the rotation of the second movable ball is calculated. Characteristic handwriting input device. 7. The pen tip is magnetized in a specific direction, or
Rotates the first movable ball with anisotropic electrical conductivity
While freely supporting, the magnetic force from the first movable ball
By detecting changes in force lines or electrical conductivity,
A detecting means for detecting a rotating state of the first movable ball;
A second movable ball having anisotropy in electrical conductivity is rotatably supported on a support portion formed separately from the pen tip separately from the pen tip movement amount detecting means, A second means for detecting a rotation state of the second movable ball by detecting a change in electric conductivity of the second movable ball, even when the pen tip is lifted from the paper surface, A handwriting input device, wherein information on a movement amount due to rotation of the second movable ball is calculated by contacting the second movable ball of the front support portion with the paper surface. 8. The movable balls are arranged in directions different from each other.
Having a plurality of cores of good conductors placed between the movable balls.
The electrode pair is disposed at a position facing and sandwiched between,
3. The handwriting input device according to claim 1, wherein: