JP6999014B2 - Handwritten data recording device, handwritten data drawing method, and handwritten data synthesis method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pen tablet, a handwritten data recording device, a handwritten data drawing method, and a handwritten data synthesis method.

A pen tablet is known that supplies a computer with a pointer pointing position. A pen tablet is a kind of human-interface device (HID) that provides input data of the current user to a computer to be input like a mouse or a keyboard. The pen tablet has a function to periodically acquire the position coordinates of the stylus and the operation state (pressed state of the side switch) of the operation unit based on the method such as the electromagnetic induction method or the active electrostatic method. Generates report data including the position coordinates and operation status, and uses a computer device driver (predetermined OS standard HID device driver or pen tablet device) via a communication interface such as USB ⁽ Universal Serial Bus) or I2C. It is configured to supply to the device driver of the tablet depending on each company to be supplied, hereinafter collectively referred to as "device driver"). The computer uses the supplied report data for various purposes. For example, the position coordinates included in the report data can be used as the position of the arrow-shaped cursor displayed on the desktop of the operating system running on the computer, or the pressed state of the side switch included in the report data can be clicked by the mouse. It is used for processing such as associating with the mouse and supplying it as event data to an application such as a drawing application that is focused on the desktop.

Also, in recent years, a user has drawn with ink or pencil powder on a paper medium using a stylus that uses an electromagnetic induction method and is capable of writing on a paper medium such as an ink pen or pencil, which is a stationery. Handwritten data recording devices that can record handwritten data corresponding to handwriting (hereinafter referred to as stroke data) are on the market. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a computer to which such a handwritten data recording device and a handwritten data recording device are connected. The handwriting data recording device is intended to supply stroke data corresponding to the handwriting left on the paper medium to an external computer, and is not intended to operate the computer. Therefore, it is a device that can be used independently even if it is not connected to a computer. The handwritten data recording device is used like an underlay of a paper medium, and keeps accumulating stroke data every time a handwriting is left on the paper medium, and then when it is connected to a computer having a display device such as a smartphone, it accumulates. The stroke data is supplied by communication.

In the handwritten data recording device, it is necessary to record the stroke data separately for each digital page corresponding to the page of the paper medium. This is because the handwriting written on each of the plurality of pages of the paper medium will be overlapped and displayed on one page on the screen in the handwriting data drawing device.

In this regard, Patent Document 1 appropriately pages the handwritten data by a light process for the handwritten data drawing device that draws the handwritten data supplied from the handwritten data recording device without causing a heavy burden on the user. The technology for making it possible to classify by each is disclosed.

Patent No. 600480

The inventor of the present application is considering one device in which a pen tablet has a function as a handwritten data recording device. In the following, the mode in which the pen tablet operates to supply report data in real time to the device driver of an external computer in the same way as the conventional pen tablet is referred to as tablet mode, and is based on (2) position coordinates. The operation mode for generating and recording stroke data is called a paper mode. By realizing a pen tablet that operates in these two operation modes, the pen tablet previously used by the user as a peripheral device of the computer can be used as a handwritten data recording device as described in Patent Document 1 and becomes independent of the computer. It can be used alone (for example, by carrying it).

While studying a pen tablet that operates in two operation modes, tablet mode and paper mode, it became clear that there are various problems. Each issue will be described below.

The first is the issue of the storage capacity of the pen tablet. In order to enable the pen tablet to operate in the paper mode, a storage device for recording stroke data is required inside the pen tablet. Here, the controller of the pen tablet is in a state where the tip of the stylus is in contact with an object such as a paper medium and leaves a handwriting (hereinafter referred to as a contact state), or is in a state of moving over the paper medium (hereinafter, a contact state). Regardless of whether it is in the hover state (hereinafter, hover state), the operation of generating tens to hundreds of report data per second is performed. The hover state position coordinates (hereinafter, hover coordinates) are data that cannot be discarded in the tablet mode that supplies report data in real time to the device driver of the computer, while the hover coordinates are the contact state position coordinates (hereinafter, hover coordinates). If all the data is recorded in the same way as (contact coordinates), the storage capacity of the storage device will be compressed.

The second is the problem of the pen tablet when using the pen tablet in the paper mode. Many conventional pen tablet users are professional illustrators who draw digitally using drawing software. Many drawing software can separate layers such as a layer for drafting and a layer for drawing lines, but for users who are accustomed to drawing in layer units like this, the actual paper medium In order to give the same operation feeling as the layer in the drawing software, it is desired to be able to hold the stroke data in a unit like the layer of the drawing software as much as possible. However, while the pen tablet is operating in paper mode, the pen tablet may not be connected to the display device (computer). In such a case, which layer the drawing process is currently performing is displayed. It is difficult for the user to understand. Therefore, even when the tablet is operated without the display device, it is necessary to record the stroke data by a method that can be associated with the page and the layer later on the drawing software side.

The third is when the pen tablet has a function to update the page and provisional layer to which stroke data is associated to a new page and provisional layer according to the type of operation in order to solve the second problem. In addition, it is a problem that arises on the side of the computer that draws the stroke data supplied from this pen tablet. When the user operates the pen tablet without a display device, the user updates the provisional layer every time he / she leaves a handwriting to be distinguished. The number of provisional layers generated in this way is larger than the number of layers used in the drawing application, and for example, dozens of provisional layers may occur on one page. If one provisional layer is treated as one layer on the computer side that executes the handwriting data drawing method, it is assumed that there are N layers in one page, and when trying to edit the nth layer among them, the nth layer. Every time an operation is applied to the layer of, N-1 layer composition operation is required. This arithmetic processing is heavy, and the processing load of the computer becomes excessive. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the load when processing the handwritten data having the layer structure.

The fourth issue is also on the computer side. The handwritten data classified by page or provisional layer cannot be combined again into one page or layer. Classification by page or provisional layer is realized by the user pressing the hard button while handwriting on the pen tablet side, but the composition of the page or provisional layer cannot be confirmed at the stage of pressing the hard button. , The provisional layer delimiter may be inserted in a place that is not originally suitable as a layer in drawing software. For such a case, it is desired that the computer can combine the handwritten data associated with the plurality of provisional layers into one original layer by a simple method.

An object of the present invention is to realize the provision of a pen tablet having a function as a handwritten data drawing device by solving the above problems.

The pen tablet according to the first aspect of the present invention is a pen tablet capable of detecting the position of a stylus and supplying position coordinates to an external computer, and identifies whether the stylus is in a hover state or a contact state. To detect and generate the hover coordinates, which are the position coordinates in the hover state, and the contact coordinates, which are the position coordinates in the contact state, and a device executed by the external computer. It is determined whether or not communication is requested between the communication unit that executes communication between the driver and a predetermined application, the storage device, and the device driver that the communication unit executes on the external computer. , It operates in the first mode of supplying the hover coordinates and the contact coordinates to the device driver when communication with the device driver is requested, and communication with the device driver is requested. A pen tablet comprising a controller operating in a second mode that discards at least a portion of the hover coordinates and records stroke data generated based on the contact coordinates in the storage device if not.

The handwritten data recording device according to the second aspect of the present invention is a handwritten data recording device used together with a stylus, detects whether or not the stylus is in a contact state, and is a stylus when the stylus is in the contact state. A detector that generates contact coordinates indicating a position, a storage device, a first operation that updates a group, and an operation unit that accepts a second operation that updates a subgroup that is a subset of the group, and so on. Stroke data with the contact coordinates as one unit is generated, and the generated stroke data is stored in the storage device in association with the current group and the subgroup, and the operation unit is the first. A processor that updates the current group and subgroup to a new group and subgroup when an operation is accepted, and updates the subgroup when the operation unit accepts the second operation. It is a handwritten data recording device including.

The handwritten data drawing method according to the third aspect of the present invention is handwriting performed by a computer that executes a drawing method based on coordinate data corresponding to the position of the stylus based on stroke data supplied from the handwritten data recording device. In the data drawing method, the handwritten data recording device includes a detection unit that detects a coordinate data group corresponding to a designated position from when the stylus approaches to a distance, a non-volatile memory, and the coordinate data group. An operation unit that accepts a first operation corresponding to a group of stroke data as a unit and a second operation corresponding to a subgroup that is a subset of the group, and the coordinate data group detected by the detection unit. With the first stroke data belonging to the first group and the first subgroup which is a subset of the first group based on the coordinate data group stored in the non-volatile memory. , A processor that sequentially generates the second stroke data, and the processor is used by the operation unit after the start of generation of the first stroke data and before the start of generation of the second stroke data. When neither of the second operations is accepted, the second stroke data is associated with the first group and the first subgroup, and after the generation of the first stroke data is started, the second stroke data is generated. When the first operation is accepted by the operation unit before the start of generation of the stroke data, the second stroke data is a part of a second group different from the first group and a portion of the second group. Corresponding to the second subgroup which is a set, the first operation is not accepted by the operation unit after the generation of the first stroke data is started and before the generation of the second stroke data is started, and the first operation is not accepted. When the operation 2 is accepted, the second stroke data is associated with the first group and a third subgroup that is a subset of the first group and is different from the first subgroup. The handwritten data drawing method includes a step of establishing communication between the computer and the handwritten data recording device, and the computer uses the communication to obtain the first and second stroke data and the first stroke data. The step of acquiring the group and the subgroup associated with each of the first and second stroke data from the handwritten data recording device, and the computer. A step in which the data generates the first image data by rendering the first stroke data, and a step in which the computer generates the second image data by rendering the second stroke data. When the first and second stroke data both belong to the first group, the computer performs drawing processing so that the second image data is overlaid on the first image data, while the first image data is overlaid. When the stroke data of 1 belongs to the first group and the second stroke data belongs to the second group, the step of drawing only one of the first and second image data is performed. The handwritten data drawing method includes, further, the first group is a page, the first subgroup is a layer, and the handwritten data drawing method is the first generated in time. A step of acquiring a stroke data group belonging to each of the Nth layers from the layer to the Nth layer generated most recently in time, and a step of accepting the designation of the nth layer among the Nth layers. And the first aggregation step of generating the first composite image data by rendering the stroke data group included in all the layers generated before the nth layer, and the nth layer. The second aggregation step to generate the second composite image data by rendering the stroke data group contained in all the layers generated after the second layer in time, and the editing for the nth layer. Each time an operation is detected, the rendering step includes a rendering step of rendering the N layers, and the rendering step executes the detected editing operation on the stroke data group belonging to the nth layer. The N layers by the step of generating the edited image data, overlaying the edited image data on the first composite image data, and overlaying the second composite image data on the resulting image. It is a handwritten data drawing method including a step of drawing.

The method for synthesizing handwritten data according to the fourth aspect of the present invention belongs to each of the N layers from the first layer generated most in time to the Nth layer generated most recently in time. A step for acquiring a stroke data group, a layer designation step for accepting the designation of the nth layer among the N layers, a merge operation acceptance step for accepting a merge operation, and a stroke included in the nth layer. The data group and the stroke data group included in the n-1st layer of the N layers are either the n-1th layer or the nth layer while maintaining an order relationship. It is a handwritten data composition method including a layer composition step of associating with one and deleting the other.

According to the present invention, the pen tablet is based on (1) a tablet mode in which report data is supplied in real time to a device driver of an external computer in the same manner as a conventional pen tablet, and (2) position coordinates. Since it operates in two operation modes, a paper mode in which stroke data is generated and recorded, a user can use a pen tablet previously used as a peripheral device of a computer as described in Patent Document 1. As a handwritten data recording device, it can be used independently (for example, carried) independently of a computer.

Further, according to the pen tablet according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether or not the communication unit is requested to communicate with the device driver executed by the external computer, and the communication unit with the device driver is determined. Operates in a first mode that supplies hover coordinates and contact coordinates to the device driver when communication is required, and discards at least part of the hover coordinates when communication with the device driver is not requested. Since it operates in the second mode of recording the stroke data generated based on the contact coordinates in the storage device, the pen tablet as before also operates as a handwritten data recording device that supplies handwritten data to the computer. It is possible to prevent the capacity of the storage device from being squeezed by the hover coordinates.

According to the pen tablet according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to record stroke data by distinguishing continuous strokes for each subgroup (provisional layer) in the group (page). Therefore, the straw data group can be recorded in a finer classification than the page. For example, in a computer that receives the supply of this stroke data and executes the handwritten data drawing method, the stroke data included in a predetermined subgroup is collectively recorded. It is possible to realize operations convenient for the user, such as deleting by performing and merging stroke data groups belonging to two or more subgroups to generate a layer.

According to the handwritten data drawing method according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the first and second composite image data are generated prior to the editing operation for the nth layer, the handwritten data having a layer structure is processed. The load on the computer is reduced.

According to the handwritten data synthesis method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the handwritten data can be combined into one page or layer on the computer side.

(A) is a figure which shows the use state of the pen tablet 1 in the tablet mode by the embodiment of this invention, and (b) is the paper mode (when used alone) of the pen tablet 1 by the embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3C is a diagram showing a usage state of the pen tablet 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention in the paper mode (when connected to a computer). It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the pen tablet 1, the electronic pens 5a, 5b, and the computer 10, 20, shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the touch sensor 2 and the sensor controller 40 shown in FIG. It is a processing flow diagram which shows the operation of the control unit 67 shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the coordinate data group stored in the memory 43 shown in FIG. It is a process flow diagram which shows the detail of the coordinate recording process shown in FIG. It is a processing flow diagram which shows the coordinate recording processing by the 1st modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the coordinate data group stored in the memory 43 in the 2nd modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a processing flow diagram which shows the coordinate recording processing by the 2nd modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a process flow diagram which shows the drawing process performed by the processor 55 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the process in step S105 shown in FIG. It is a processing flow diagram which shows the layer editing process performed by the processor 55 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the layer editing process shown in FIG. It is a process flow diagram which shows the layer merge process performed by the processor 55 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the layer merge process shown in FIG. It is a process flow diagram which shows the layer merge process by the 3rd modification of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the layer merge process shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the configuration of each device used in the present invention will be described first, and then the configuration characteristic of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a usage state of the pen tablet 1 (handwritten data recording device) in the tablet mode according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a pen according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the use state in the paper mode (when used alone) of the tablet 1, and FIG. 1 (c) shows the use state in the paper mode (when connected to a computer) of the pen tablet 1 by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure. As shown in these figures, the pen tablet 1 according to the present invention is configured to operate in one of two modes, a tablet mode (first mode) and a paper mode (second mode). Further, regarding the paper mode, different operations are performed depending on whether the paper mode is used alone or connected to an external computer.

First, the configuration of each device shown in FIG. 1 will be briefly described. First, the pen tablet 1 includes a touch sensor 2 constituting a touch surface and a push button 3. Further, the electronic pens 5a and 5b are both pen-type terminals (styluses). The difference between the electronic pen 5a and the electronic pen 5b is whether or not it has a writing function on a paper medium. The electronic pen 5b has an ink bleeding function like a ballpoint pen, whereas the electronic pen 5a does so. Does not have any function.

The pen tablet 1 is configured to be able to detect coordinates indicating the positions of the electronic pens 5a and 5b on the touch surface by a capacitance method or an electromagnetic induction method. Further, the electronic pens 5a and 5b have a stylus stored in advance, such as a pen pressure value indicating a force applied to each pen tip and side switch information indicating an on / off state of a side switch (not shown) provided for each. It is configured so that various data such as an ID can be transmitted to the pen tablet 1. Data may be configured to be able to be transmitted from the pen tablet 1 to the electronic pens 5a and 5b. In this case, for example, a command for designating the data to be transmitted by the electronic pens 5a and 5b is issued from the pen tablet 1. It is transmitted to the electronic pens 5a and 5b.

The computers 10 and 20 are both general-purpose computers having a storage device (not shown) and a central processing device (not shown) configured to be able to execute various processes according to a program stored in the storage device. Yes, typically, as shown in FIG. 1, the computer 10 is a notebook personal computer having an output device including a display 11 and an input device including a keyboard 12 and a mouse pad 13. , A tablet terminal (electronic device) including a touch screen 21. In the following, the description will be continued on the premise of this typical example, but the computers 10 and 20 may be configured by other types of computers. Specifically, the computers 10 and 20 can be configured by a computer such as a desktop personal computer, a notebook personal computer, a server computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone.

The computer 10 is connected to the pen tablet 1 by, for example, the USB cable 14 shown in FIG. 1 (a). Further, the computer 20 is connected to the pen tablet 1 by, for example, the wireless connection 22 shown in FIG. 1 (c) (for example, the wireless connection by Bluetooth (registered trademark)). However, the connection between the pen tablet 1 and the computers 10 and 20 may be realized by a method other than these connections. For example, the computer 10 and the pen tablet 1 may be connected by a wireless connection such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), or may be connected by another type of cable such as a PS / 2 cable. Further, the computer 20 and the pen tablet 1 may be connected by wire using a cable such as a USB cable.

Next, the connection and operation of each terminal when the pen tablet 1 operates in each mode shown in FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (c) will be described.

First, the tablet mode shown in FIG. 1A is typically a mode for using the electronic pen 5a as a pointing device of the computer 10. The pen tablet 1 in the tablet mode periodically detects the coordinates indicating the position of the electronic pen 5a on the touch surface, and transmits the coordinate data including the detected coordinates to the computer 10 each time via the USB cable 14. It is configured as follows. The coordinate data transmitted at this time also includes a pen pressure value and side switch information received from the electronic pen 5a. Each time the coordinate data is received, the computer 10 determines the position of the mouse cursor C in the display 11 based on the coordinates included in the received coordinate data, performs a process of moving the mouse cursor C to that position, and at the same time. Based on at least one of the pen pressure value and the side switch information included in the coordinate data, processing for accepting mouse button operations such as click, press, and drag is performed. As a result, the electronic pen 5a can be used as a pointing device of the computer 10.

Although the pointing device is mentioned here as a typical use of the pen tablet 1 in the tablet mode, it can also be used for other purposes. As a specific example, the pen tablet 1 in the tablet mode may be used to input lines to the drawing software running on the computer 10.

Next, in the paper mode shown in FIGS. 1 (b) and 1 (c), a series of coordinate data indicating a line drawn on the paper medium PA by the user using the electronic pen 5b is stored in the pen tablet 1. It is a mode to do. When the pen tablet 1 in the paper mode is connected to the computer 20, it also performs a process of transmitting the series of coordinate data to the computer 20 in real time.

The paper medium PA is, for example, a vertically open report paper, and is used in a state of being placed on the touch surface of the pen tablet 1 as shown in FIGS. 1 (b) and 1 (c). The pen tablet 1 periodically detects coordinates indicating the position of the electronic pen 5b on the paper medium PA, and only when the pen tip of the electronic pen 5b is in contact with the paper medium PA, coordinates including the detected coordinates. It is configured to accumulate data. If it is connected to the computer 20, it is configured to transmit the detected coordinate data to the computer 20 each time it is detected. The coordinate data stored or transmitted by the pen tablet 1 includes a pen pressure value and side switch information received from the electronic pen 5b as well as the coordinate data transmitted to the computer 10 in the tablet mode.

Whether or not the pen tip of the electronic pen 5b is in contact with the paper medium PA is determined by the pen tablet 1 by checking the pen pressure value received from the electronic pen 5b. That is, if the pen pressure value is zero, it is determined that the pen tip of the electronic pen 5b is not in contact with the paper medium PA, and if the pen pressure value is larger than zero, the pen tip of the electronic pen 5b is in contact with the paper medium PA. Judge that they are in contact. Hereinafter, the state of the electronic pen 5b in which the pen tip is not in contact with the paper medium PA is referred to as a “hover state”, and the state of the electronic pen 5b in which the pen tip is in contact with the paper medium PA is referred to as a “contact state”. ..

When the computer 20 receives a series of coordinate data from the pen tablet 1 in real time, the computer 20 sequentially renders the received coordinate data and corresponds to the line drawn on the paper medium PA by the user using the electronic pen 5b. The process of drawing the line to be drawn on the touch screen 21 is performed. Rendering involves interpolating a set of coordinates represented by a set of coordinate data by an interpolation curve such as a Bezier curve or a Catmar-Rom curve. The interpolation curve obtained by this interpolation processing is drawn on the touch screen 21. As a result, the user can confirm the line on the touch screen 21 while drawing the line on the paper medium PA.

The computer 20 also performs a process of generating ink data including one or more stroke data based on a series of coordinate data received from the pen tablet 1 and storing the ink data in a storage device (not shown). The stroke data is data in which continuous contact coordinates (coordinates detected when the electronic pen 5b is in the contact state) are one unit, and more specifically, the user puts the electronic pen 5b on a paper medium PA. It is data including a series of coordinate data detected between the time of contact and the time when the electronic pen 5b is separated from the paper medium PA. In the following, the action of bringing the electronic pen 5b into contact with the paper medium PA is referred to as pen-down, the action of separating the electronic pen 5b from the paper medium PA is referred to as pen-up, and the electronic pen 5b is referred to as a paper medium between pen-down and pen-up. The operation of moving on the PA is called a pen move. The computer 20 is configured to render the accumulated stroke data in the order of accumulation when it becomes necessary to draw the accumulated ink data on the touch screen 21 according to a user's instruction or the like. This makes it possible to draw the ink data on the touch screen 21 while maintaining the vertical positional relationship of each stroke data.

In addition to transmitting a series of coordinate data to the computer 20 in real time, the pen tablet 1 can also collectively transmit a series of coordinate data stored in its own storage device to the computer 20 by batch processing. Will be done. This transmission is executed when the computer 20 and the pen tablet 1 are newly connected, or when the user gives an explicit instruction while the computer 20 and the pen tablet 1 are connected.

The computer 20 that has received the series of coordinate data transmitted collectively is configured to generate the above-mentioned ink data based on the received series of coordinate data and store it in a storage device (not shown). The drawing of the ink data stored in this way is as described above.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the internal configurations of the pen tablet 1, the electronic pens 5a and 5b, and the computers 10 and 20. Hereinafter, the internal configurations of the pen tablet 1, the electronic pens 5a and 5b, and the computers 10 and 20 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

First, the electronic pens 5a and 5b are configured to have an LC resonance circuit including a capacitor 30 and an inductor 31, respectively. The inductor 31 plays a role of generating an induced voltage according to the magnetic field supplied from the touch sensor 2 of the pen tablet 1 and charging the capacitor 30. After the supply of the magnetic field from the touch sensor 2 is stopped, the inductor 31 transmits a reflected signal to the pen tablet 1 by using the voltage accumulated in the capacitor 30. The reflected signal transmitted in this way includes a continuous signal for position detection, a start signal indicating the end of the continuous signal, and a part of data transmitted by the electronic pens 5a and 5b to the pen tablet 1 (specifically, , Side switch information and stylus ID) are included in this order.

The capacity of the capacitor 30 is configured to change depending on the force (= writing pressure) applied from the writing surface (touch surface of the pen tablet 1 or the surface of the paper medium PA) to the pen tips of the electronic pens 5a and 5b. .. Since the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit changes when the capacitance of the capacitor 30 changes, the frequency of the reflected signal transmitted as described above also changes depending on the writing pressure. The above-mentioned pen pressure value is transmitted from the electronic pens 5a and 5b to the pen tablet 1 by this change in frequency.

Next, the pen tablet 1 includes a sensor controller 40, an operation unit 41, a communication unit 42, and a memory 43 in addition to the touch sensor 2 and the push button 3 described above.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the internal configurations of the touch sensor 2 and the sensor controller 40. As shown in the figure, the touch sensor 2 has a configuration in which a plurality of loop coils LC are arranged in a rectangular plane region. One end of each loop coil LC is grounded and the other end is connected to the sensor controller 40. In FIG. 3, as an example of a plurality of loop coils LC, 40 loop coils X ₁ to X ₄₀ extending in the y direction and 40 Y ₁ to extending in the x direction orthogonal to the y direction are shown. _Y40 is illustrated. Hereinafter, the description will be continued on the premise of these 80 loop coils X ₁ to X ₄₀ and Y ₁ to Y ₄₀ , but the number of loop coils LC to be provided in the touch sensor 2 is not limited to this.

As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor controller 40 includes a selection circuit 60, a switch circuit 61, an amplifier 62, a detection circuit 63, a low-pass filter (LPF) 64, a sample hold circuit (S / H) 65, and the like. It includes an analog-to-digital conversion circuit (A / D) 66, a control unit 67, an oscillator 68, and a current driver 69.

The other end of each loop coil LC is connected to the selection circuit 60. The selection circuit 60 is a circuit that selects _one or more of the loop coils X1 to _X40 and Y1 to _Y40 according to the control from the control unit 67, and connects the selected _one to the switch circuit 61. Is.

The switch circuit 61 is a switch having one common terminal and two selection terminals, and is configured so that the selection terminals connected to the common terminals can be switched according to the control from the control unit 67. The selection circuit 60 is connected to the common terminal of the switch circuit 61, the input end of the amplifier 62 is connected to one selection terminal, and the output end of the current driver 69 is connected to the other selection terminal.

The amplifier 62 is a circuit that amplifies the voltage signal supplied from the selection circuit 60 via the switch circuit 61 and outputs the voltage signal to the detection circuit 63. The detection circuit 63 is a circuit that generates an envelope signal by performing an envelope detection on the voltage signal output from the amplifier 62 and outputs the envelope signal to the low-pass filter 64. The low-pass filter 64 plays a role of removing high frequency components from the envelope signal generated by the detection circuit 63. The sample hold circuit 65 is configured to perform a sample operation and a hold operation of the envelope signal from which the high frequency component has been removed by the low-pass filter 64 at predetermined time intervals. The analog-to-digital conversion circuit 66 generates a digital signal by performing analog-digital conversion on the signal held by the sample hold circuit 65, and outputs the digital signal to the control unit 67.

The control unit 67 is a processor that operates according to a program stored in a storage device (not shown), and is connected to the operation unit 41, the communication unit 42, and the memory 43 shown in FIG. The control unit 67 controls the selection circuit 60, the switch circuit 61, the sample hold circuit 65, and the analog / digital conversion circuit 66, and identifies whether the electronic pens 5a and 5b are in the contact state or the hover state. To generate hover coordinates, which are the position coordinates of the electronic pens 5a, 5b in the hover state, and contact coordinates, which are the position coordinates of the electronic pens 5a, 5b in the contact state (detection). Part), processing to acquire various data (pen pressure value, side switch information, stylus ID, etc.) transmitted by the electronic pens 5a and 5b is configured to be executed.

The oscillator 68 is configured to generate an AC signal of a predetermined frequency. The current driver 69 plays a role of converting the AC signal output from the oscillator 68 into a current signal and supplying it to the switch circuit 61.

The acquisition of the coordinates of the electronic pens 5a and 5b and the various data transmitted by the electronic pens 5a and 5b by the control unit 67 will be specifically described. First, the control unit 67 connects the other selection terminal (selection terminal connected to the current driver 69) of the switch circuit 61 to the common terminal, and loop coils _X1 to _X40 , Y to the selection circuit 60. Have them select one of ₁ to Y ₄₀ . Then, a magnetic field is generated in the selected loop coil LC by the current signal output from the current driver 69. Although one loop coil LC is selected here, for example, one is selected from the loop coils X1 to _X40 , and _one is selected from the loop coils Y1 to _Y40 , for _a total of two. It may be that. Further, apart from the loop coils X ₁ to X ₄₀ and Y ₁ to Y ₄₀ , a loop coil dedicated to magnetic field generation is arranged along the outer circumference of the touch sensor 2, and only this dedicated loop coil is selected at this stage. May be good.

When the electronic pens 5a and 5b enter the magnetic field generated in the loop coil LC, an induced voltage is generated in the inductor 31 (FIG. 2) of the electronic pens 5a and 5b as described above, and the capacitor 30 (FIG. 2) is generated. Charges are accumulated. The control unit 67 has elapsed a predetermined time after connecting the other selection terminal of the switch circuit 61 to the common terminal, and then this time, the control unit 67 has one selection terminal of the switch circuit 61 (selection terminal connected to the amplifier 62). To the common terminal. Then, the generation of the magnetic field from the loop coil LC ends. In response to this, the electronic pens 5a and 5b start transmitting the above-mentioned reflected signal.

The control unit 67 is configured to determine the content of the reflected signal transmitted by the electronic pens 5a and 5b by decoding the digital signal supplied from the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 66. Then, while the electronic pens 5a and 5b are transmitting continuous signals, the loop coils LC selected by the selection circuit 60 are continuously switched, so that the loop coils _X1 to _X40 and _Y1 to _Y40 are connected. Scan the voltage generated in each. The voltage detected in this way increases as the distance between the loop coil LC and the pen tips of the electronic pens 5a and 5b becomes shorter. The above-mentioned hover coordinates or contact coordinates) can be obtained.

In order to shorten the scanning time, it is only the first time to scan all the loop coil LCs and perform position detection as described above (in this case, in the first position detection, the electronic pens 5a and 5b are the start signals and data. Even while the signals are being transmitted, these are regarded as continuous signals and the position is detected), and from the second time onward, only the loop coil LC located near the previously detected position may be scanned. ..

On the other hand, while the electronic pens 5a and 5b are transmitting the data signal, the control unit 67 receives any one loop coil LC (usually, detection) according to the position of the detected electronic pens 5a and 5b. The selection circuit 60 selects the one closest to the positions of the electronic pens 5a and 5b. Then, the side switch information or stylus ID transmitted by the electronic pens 5a and 5b is configured to be acquired from the decoding result of the signal obtained through the loop coil LC thus selected.

Further, the control unit 67 is configured to detect the frequency of the reflected signal transmitted by the electronic pens 5a and 5b and acquire the pen pressure value transmitted by the electronic pens 5a and 5b from the detected frequency. The control unit 67 is configured to identify and detect whether the electronic pens 5a and 5b are in the hover state or the contact state described above based on the pen pressure value thus acquired.

Return to FIG. The push button 3 is an automatic return type switch arranged on the surface of the pen tablet 1, and the operation unit 41 is configured to be able to detect a user operation according to a method of pressing the push button 3 by the user. The user operation detected by the operation unit 41 in the present embodiment includes at least a first operation and a second operation. The first operation is, for example, an operation of pressing the push button 3 only once within a predetermined time (so-called single-click operation), and corresponds to a page break operation (group update operation) described later. The second operation is, for example, an operation of pressing the push button 3 twice within a predetermined time (so-called double-click operation), and corresponds to a layer break operation (a subgroup update operation which is a subset of a group) described later.

The communication unit 42 is a communication interface for executing communication with an external computer. Specifically, the USB communication unit 42a (first communication unit) that realizes wired communication by a USB cable and Bluetooth (registration). It includes a BT communication unit 42b (second communication unit) that realizes wireless communication by the trademark).

The USB communication unit 42a is a functional unit that bears an interface for USB communication, and performs USB communication with the USB communication unit 52 of the computer 10 according to the control of the control unit 67 (see FIG. 3) in the sensor controller 40. Configured to establish. After the USB communication is established, it is between the control unit 67 and the processor 50 of the computer 10 (more specifically, the device driver (DD) 50a and the processor 50 operating based on a predetermined application). Then, the communication by USB is executed.

The BT communication unit 42b is a functional unit that serves as an interface for communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark), and is connected to the BT communication unit 57 of the computer 20 under the control of the control unit 67 (see FIG. 3) in the sensor controller 40. It is configured to establish communication with Bluetooth®. After the Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication is established, the control unit 67 and the processor 55 of the computer 20 (more specifically, the processor 55 operating based on the handwritten data drawing program) Communication by Bluetooth® is performed.

The memory 43 is a storage device that stores coordinate data including various data such as coordinates and pen pressure values acquired by the control unit 67 (see FIG. 3) in the sensor controller 40 by an append method, and is, for example, a non-volatile memory. It is composed. Each time the control unit 67 acquires the coordinates of the electronic pens 5a and 5b, the acquired coordinates are the hover coordinates and the acquired coordinates from the state (hover state or contact state) of the electronic pens 5a and 5b detected based on the pen pressure value. It is determined which of the contact coordinates it is, and if the result of the determination is the contact coordinates, information indicating the type of movement of the electronic pens 5a and 5b (either pen-down, pen-move, or pen-up) is further provided. get. Then, coordinate data including information indicating the type of movement of the acquired electronic pens 5a and 5b, acquired contact coordinates, the latest pen pressure value, side switch information, and the like is generated and stored in the memory 43. In this way, the coordinate data is sequentially stored in the memory 43, and by recording a series of coordinate data from pen-down to pen-up, the control unit 67 generates stroke data with continuous contact coordinates as one unit. Further, the control unit 67 displays stroke data composed of a series of coordinate data recorded in the memory 43 according to the contents of the operations (first and second operations described above) detected by the operation unit 41. It also performs processing associated with (group) and layer (subgroup). The details of the processing of the control unit 67 and the storage contents of the memory 43 will be described later.

Next, the computer 10 includes a processor 50, a memory 51, and a USB communication unit 52 in addition to the display 11 described above. In the figure, the description of the keyboard 12 and the mouse pad 13 shown in FIG. 1A is omitted.

The processor 50 is configured to be able to execute a program stored in a storage device (not shown). The program executed by the processor 50 includes the operating system of the computer 10 as well as the device driver 50a that provides an interface to the pen tablet 1. By executing the device driver 50a, the processor 50 is configured to establish and execute USB communication with the pen tablet 1. In the present specification, the device driver 50a may be expressed as the subject of communication, which means communication by the processor 50 operating according to the device driver 50a. Further, each time the coordinate data is received from the pen tablet 1, the processor 50 determines the position of the mouse cursor C (see FIG. 1A) in the display 11 based on the coordinates included in the received coordinate data. A process of moving the mouse cursor C to that position is performed, and a process of accepting mouse button operations such as click, press, and drag is performed based on at least one of the pen pressure value and the side switch information included in the coordinate data.

The memory 51 is a storage device that stores coordinate data received from the pen tablet 1. When the pen tablet 1 in the tablet mode is used for input to drawing software instead of a pointing device, the processor 50 sequentially renders the coordinate data received from the pen tablet 1 and corresponds to the locus of movement of the electronic pen 5a. The line to be drawn is drawn on the display 11, and ink data including one or more stroke data is generated based on a series of coordinate data received from the pen tablet 1 and stored in the memory 51.

The USB communication unit 52 is a functional unit that serves as an interface for USB communication, and is configured to establish USB communication with the USB communication unit 42a of the pen tablet 1 under the control of the processor 50. After the USB communication is established, the processor 50 (more specifically, the device driver 50a and the processor 50 operating based on a predetermined application) and the control unit 67 of the pen tablet 1 (see FIG. 3). Communication with and from is executed by USB.

Next, the computer 20 includes a processor 55, a memory 56, and a BT communication unit 57 in addition to the touch screen 21 described above.

The processor 55 is configured to be able to execute a program stored in a storage device (not shown). The program executed by the processor 55 includes, in addition to the operating system of the computer 20, a handwritten data drawing program for performing drawing processing according to coordinate data sequentially supplied from the pen tablet 1. By executing this handwritten data drawing program, the processor 55 is configured to establish and execute Bluetooth communication with the pen tablet 1. In the present specification, the handwritten data drawing program may be expressed as the main body of communication, which means communication by the processor 55 operating according to the handwritten data drawing program.

The memory 56 is a storage device that stores coordinate data received from the pen tablet 1. By operating according to the handwritten data drawing program, the processor 55 sequentially renders the coordinate data received from the pen tablet 1 and draws a line corresponding to the movement trajectory of the electronic pen 5b on the touch screen 21. , A process of generating ink data including one or more stroke data based on a series of coordinate data received from the pen tablet 1 and storing the ink data in the memory 56 is performed.

The BT communication unit 57 is a functional unit that serves as an interface for communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark), and establishes communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark) with the BT communication unit 42b of the pen tablet 1 under the control of the processor 55. It is configured to do. After the communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark) is established, the processor 55 (more specifically, the processor 55 operating based on the handwritten data drawing program) and the control unit 67 of the pen tablet 1 (see FIG. 3). ), Communication by Bluetooth® is executed.

The configuration of each device used in the present invention has been outlined above. Next, the configuration characteristic of the present invention will be described in detail. The configuration characteristic of the present invention appears particularly in the processing performed by the control unit 67 shown in FIG. 3 and the processing performed by the processor 55 shown in FIG. Therefore, in the following, the former will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9, and then the latter will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 17. In the following description, the electronic pens 5a and 5b may be collectively referred to as a "stylus".

FIG. 4 is a processing flow diagram showing the operation of the control unit 67 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the control unit 67 first determines whether or not USB communication is established (step S1). In short, this determination is a process of determining whether or not the communication unit 42 shown in FIG. 2 is requested to communicate with the device driver 50a executed by the computer 10.

When it is determined in step S1 that USB communication is established, the control unit 67 determines whether or not there is a communication request for coordinate data by USB communication (step S2). This communication request is made, for example, by the processor 50 (see FIG. 2) operating according to the device driver 50a. If it is determined in step S2 that there is a communication request, the control unit 67 enters the tablet mode and starts the operation in the tablet mode (steps S10 to S13). However, the operation of step S2 is optional, and the control unit 67 may immediately enter the tablet mode when it is determined in step S1 that USB communication is established.

When it is determined in step S1 that the USB communication is not established, and when it is determined in step S2 that there is no communication request, the control unit 67 determines whether or not there is a coordinate data recording request (step S3). ). This recording request is made by, for example, a user operation. If it is determined in step S3 that there is a recording request, the control unit 67 enters the paper mode and starts the operation in the paper mode (steps S20 to S27). When it is determined in step S3 that there is no recording request, the control unit 67 returns to step S1 and continues the process. However, the operation of step S3 is also an option, and the control unit 67 may immediately enter the paper mode when it is determined in step S1 that USB communication is not established.

The control unit 67 that has entered the tablet mode first waits until the stylus (for example, the electronic pen 5a shown in FIG. 1) is detected (step S10). The control unit 67 detects the stylus depending on whether or not the above-mentioned reflected signal is received by the touch sensor 2.

When the stylus is detected, the control unit 67 acquires the state (hover state or contact state) based on the pen pressure value received from the stylus, and detects the coordinates indicating the position (step S11). .. Then, a report (coordinate data) including the latest pen pressure value and side switch information received from the stylus and the detected coordinates is transmitted to the processor 50 operating according to the device driver 50a (step S12). .. The coordinates transmitted here include both the hover coordinates and the contact coordinates described above. As described above, the processor 50 that received the report determines the position of the mouse cursor C (see FIG. 1) in the display 11 based on the coordinates included in the report, and moves the mouse cursor C to that position. At the same time, the process of accepting mouse button operations such as click, press, and drag is performed based on at least one of the pen pressure value and the side switch information included in the report.

The control unit 67 that has transmitted the report determines whether or not the USB communication status has been changed (step S13). If it is determined that the change has not been made, the control unit 67 returns to step S10 and continues the process. As a result, the above report is periodically transmitted from the pen tablet 1 to the computer 10 while the stylus is detected. On the other hand, when it is determined that the change has been made, the control unit 67 returns to step S1 and continues the process.

Next, the control unit 67 that has entered the paper mode first waits until the stylus (for example, the electronic pen 5b shown in FIG. 1) is detected (step S20). This process is the same as the process in step S10.

When the stylus is detected, the control unit 67 acquires the state (hover state or contact state) based on the pen pressure value received from the stylus, and detects the coordinates indicating the position (step S21). .. Then, it is determined whether the stylus is in the hover state or the contact state (step S22).

If it is determined in step S22 that the hover state is reached, the control unit 67 discards the detected coordinates (step S23). In this case, neither the accumulation of the coordinate data in the memory 43 nor the transmission of the coordinate data to the computer 20 is performed.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S22 that the contact state is reached, the control unit 67 performs a coordinate recording process for recording the coordinate data in the memory 43 (step S24). The details of the coordinate recording process will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The control unit 67 that has performed the coordinate recording process subsequently determines whether or not there is a communication request by Bluetooth (registered trademark) (step S25). Specifically, this communication request is made by the processor 55 (see FIG. 2) operating according to the above-mentioned handwriting data drawing program, and is a request for causing the pen tablet 1 to transmit coordinate data in real time. .. When it is determined in step S25 that there is a communication request, the control unit 67 performs a process of transmitting the coordinate data recorded in the memory 43 in step S24 to the computer 20 (step S26). When it is determined that there is a communication request, the control unit 67 does not perform the process of step S26. The operation of steps S25 and S26 is optional, and the control unit 67 may not perform real-time transmission of coordinate data regardless of the presence or absence of a communication request from the processor 55.

When the coordinates are discarded in step S23, or when the coordinate data is transmitted in step S26 (when the operations of steps S25 and S26 are not performed, the coordinate recording process of step S24 is completed), the control unit. 67 determines whether or not the USB communication state has been changed (step S27). If it is determined that the change has not been made, the control unit 67 returns to step S20 and continues the process. As a result, the coordinate data is periodically recorded in the memory 43 while the stylus is detected. Further, when the operations of steps S25 and S26 are performed, the coordinate data is periodically transmitted from the pen tablet 1 to the computer 20. On the other hand, when it is determined that the change has been made, the control unit 67 returns to step S1 and continues the process.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a group of coordinate data stored in the memory 43 in step S24. Each coordinate data is recorded in the memory 43 in chronological order, and as shown in the figure, each coordinate data typically contains information indicating the type of stylus movement (pen down DN, pen move MV, pen up). It is configured to include any of UP), coordinates X and Y, pen pressure value PR, first and second side switch information SW1 and SW2, time stamp information T, page P, and layer L. Will be done. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the stylus ID or a part of the stylus ID or a hash value may be included in the coordinate data.

As described above, the pen-down DN indicates an operation of bringing the electronic pen 5b into contact with the paper medium PA, the pen-up UP indicates an operation of moving the electronic pen 5b away from the paper medium PA, and the pen move MV indicates a pen-down and a pen. The operation of moving the electronic pen 5b on the paper medium PA during the up is shown. Therefore, one stroke data is composed of a series of coordinate data corresponding to each of the pen-down DN, the pen-up UP, and the pen move MV located between them. FIG. 5 illustrates eight stroke data ST1 to ST8.

The coordinates X and Y are the coordinates of the stylus on the touch surface detected by the control unit 67. The pen pressure value PR is a pen pressure value transmitted from the stylus to the pen tablet 1. The first and second side switch information SW1 and SW2 are side switch information transmitted from the stylus to the pen tablet 1, respectively. Since some styluses have two side switches, the coordinate data is configured to be able to store the two side switch information SW1 and SW2. The time stamp information T is information indicating the time when the coordinate data is generated. Instead of the time stamp information T, a sequence number indicating the generation order of a series of coordinate data may be included in the coordinate data.

Page P and layer L are information indicating the page to which the stroke data belongs and the provisional layer, respectively. In the pen tablet 1, in order to enable appropriate management of stroke data, continuous strokes (a series of coordinate data) are divided into groups (pages) and subgroups (provisional) that are subsets of groups (pages). Stroke data is recorded separately for each layer). As a specific means of this distinction, in the example of FIG. 5, the page P and the layer L are included in the individual coordinate data. The reason why "provisional" is added to the beginning of the layer is that the layer recorded by the pen tablet 1 is likely to be corrected by the layer merge process described later after the stroke data is drawn by the computer 20. However, there is no structural difference between the layer and the provisional layer.

FIG. 6 is a processing flow diagram showing details of the coordinate recording process (step S24) shown in FIG. Regarding this coordinate recording process, the control unit 67 stores the page P and the layer L as variables in advance. The initial values of page P and layer L are both 1.

As shown in FIG. 6, first, the control unit 67 saves the coordinate data including the contact coordinates detected in step S21 of FIG. 4, the current page P, and the current layer L in the memory 43 (step S30). .. As shown in FIG. 5, the coordinate data includes information other than these, but the description is omitted in FIG. As the control unit 67 performs the process of step S30 in this way, the coordinate data including the contact coordinates are accumulated in the memory 43 in time series.

Subsequently, the control unit 67 determines whether or not the operation unit 41 has detected the operation of the push button 3 (step S31), and if it is determined that the operation unit 41 has detected the operation, the content of the detected operation is the first described above. (Step S32), it is determined whether the operation (page break operation) or the second operation (layer break operation) is performed. As a result, if the first operation (page break operation) is detected, the control unit 67 updates the page P by adding 1 (P = P + 1) and sets the layer L to 1 (most). Set to (old layer) (step S33). On the other hand, if the second operation (page break operation) is detected, the control unit 67 updates the layer L by adding 1 (L = L + 1) (step S34). In this case, page P is not changed.

The control unit 67 when it is determined in step S31 that it has not been detected, or when the process of step S33 or step S34 is completed, ends the coordinate recording process. Subsequent processing is as described with reference to FIG.

By the above processing, the control unit 67 can accumulate the coordinate data including the detected contact coordinates in the memory 43, and appropriately set the page P and the layer L to be included in the coordinate data according to the user operation. It will be possible to update.

Here, various modifications other than those described so far can be considered for the configuration of the coordinate data group stored in the memory 43 and the coordinate recording process performed by the control unit 67. Therefore, in the following, a first modification, which is a modification of the coordinate recording process, and a second modification, which is a modification of the configuration of the coordinate data group, will be described.

FIG. 7 is a processing flow diagram showing a coordinate recording process according to the first modification of the present embodiment. In this modification, even if a page break operation or a layer break operation is performed by the user, the update of the page P or the layer L is suspended during the formation of the stroke data, and the page P or the layer L is updated after the stroke data is completed. It is different from the example shown in FIG. 6 in that the above is performed. Hereinafter, it will be described in detail.

First, the control unit 67 saves the coordinate data including the contact coordinates detected in step S21 of FIG. 4, the current page P, and the current layer L in the memory 43 (step S40). The process of step S40 is substantially the same as the process of step S30 shown in FIG. Next, the control unit 67 determines whether or not the first operation (page break operation) has been detected by the operation unit 41 (step S41), and only when it is determined that the first operation (page break operation) has been detected, the occurrence of the page break event is temporarily generated. Store (step S42). Further, the control unit 67 determines whether or not the second operation (break layer operation) has been detected by the operation unit 41 (step S43), and only when it is determined that the second operation (break layer operation) has been detected, the occurrence of the break layer event is temporary. (Step S44).

Next, the control unit 67 determines whether or not the stroke data is completed (step S45). This determination may be performed by determining whether or not the coordinate data saved in the memory 43 in step S40 includes the pen-up UP.

When it is determined in step S45 that the stroke data is completed, the control unit 67 determines whether or not a page break event has occurred during the formation of the stroke data (step S46). The result of this determination is affirmative when the step S42 is executed during the formation of the stroke data, and negative when the step S42 is not executed. When it is determined in step S46 that a page break event has occurred, the control unit 67 updates the page P by adding 1 (P = P + 1) and sets the layer L to 1 (step S47).

When it is determined in step S46 that the page break event has not occurred, the control unit 67 then determines whether or not a layer break event has occurred during the formation of the stroke data (step S48). The result of this determination is affirmative when the step S44 is executed during the formation of the stroke data, and negative when the step S44 is not executed. When it is determined in step S48 that the layer break event has occurred, the control unit 67 updates the layer L by adding 1 (L = L + 1) (step S49). In this case, page P is not changed.

When it is determined in step S45 that the stroke data has not been completed, or when the process of step S47 or step S49 is completed, the control unit 67 ends the coordinate recording process. Subsequent processing is as described with reference to FIG.

According to the process of FIG. 7, the control unit 67 belongs to, for example, a first page (first group) and a first layer (first subgroup) which is a subset of the first page. Assuming that the stroke data and the second stroke data are sequentially generated, the operation unit 41 performs the first and second operations after the start of the generation of the first stroke data and before the start of the generation of the second stroke data. If neither is accepted, the second stroke data is associated with the first page and the first layer, and after the generation of the first stroke data is started and before the generation of the second stroke data is started, the operation unit 41 When the first operation is accepted by, the second stroke data is the second page (second group) different from the first page and the second layer which is a subset of the second page (the second layer (2nd group). Corresponding to the second subgroup), the first operation is not accepted and the second operation is accepted by the operation unit 41 after the generation of the first stroke data is started and before the generation of the second stroke data is started. If so, the second stroke data will be associated with the first page and a third layer (third subgroup) that is a subset of the first page and is different from the first layer. Here, the second page is a new group different from any group existing before the control unit 67 associates the second stroke data, and in the second layer, the control unit 67 has the second stroke data. The third layer is a new layer different from any layer existing before the second stroke data is associated with the second stroke data. .. Therefore, it is possible to assign appropriate pages P and layer L to each of the first and second stroke data according to the user operation.

As described above, according to this modification, the update of the page P and the layer L can be suspended until the stroke data is completed, so that the page P or the layer L is updated in the middle of the stroke data. Can be prevented.

Next, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a group of coordinate data stored in the memory 43 in the second modification of the present embodiment. Further, FIG. 9 is a processing flow diagram showing the coordinate recording processing according to this modification. This modification is different from the example shown in FIG. 5 in that the data structure of the coordinate data group in the memory 43 is obtained. Further, the coordinate recording process of FIG. 9 is basically the same as the coordinate recording process shown in FIG. 7, but the coordinate recording shown in FIG. 7 is caused by the difference in the data structure of the coordinate data group in the memory 43. There are some differences from processing. Hereinafter, the differences will be mainly described.

As shown in FIG. 8, the coordinate data according to this modification does not include the page P and the layer L. Instead, an event EVENT (Page) indicating a page break and an event EVENT (Layer) indicating a layer break are arranged in time series in the coordinate data group, and these indicate the page and layer break. There is.

As shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 67 according to this modification performs the same processing as in FIG. 7 from step S40 to step S46. If it is determined in step S46 that a page break event has occurred, the control unit 67 writes the page break event EVENT (Page) to the memory 43 (step S47a). On the other hand, when it is determined in step S46 that the page break event has not occurred, the control unit 67 determines whether or not the layer break event has occurred during the formation of the stroke data, as in the example of FIG. (Step S48). Then, when it is determined that the layer break event has occurred in step S48, the control unit 67 writes the break layer event EVENT (Layer) to the memory 43 (step S49a).

When it is determined in step S45 that the stroke data has not been completed, or when the process of step S47a or step S49a is completed, the control unit 67 ends the coordinate recording process. Subsequent processing is as described with reference to FIG.

According to the process of FIG. 9, when the control unit 67 receives the first operation by the operation unit 41 after, for example, after the start of generation of the first stroke data and before the start of generation of the second stroke data, the first operation is performed. The first event (page break event EVENT (Page)) corresponding to the operation 1 is a series of contact coordinates corresponding to the first stroke data in the memory 43 and a series of contact coordinates corresponding to the second stroke data. Will be recorded during. Thereby, the second stroke data is associated with a page and a layer different from the first stroke data.

Further, when the control unit 67 does not accept the first operation and the second operation is accepted by the operation unit 41, for example, after the generation of the first stroke data is started and before the generation of the second stroke data is started. , A second event corresponding to the second operation (revised layer event EVENT (Layer)) is a series of contact coordinates corresponding to the first stroke data in the memory 43 and a series of contacts corresponding to the second stroke data. It will be recorded between the coordinates. Thereby, the second stroke data is associated with a different layer in the same page as the first stroke data.

As described above, according to this modification, it is possible to embed the events EVENT (Page) and EVENT (Layer) in the coordinate data group. Therefore, since the location of the page break and the layer break is stored, it is possible to acquire the page and the layer in the computer 20 even by this modification. Further, according to this modification, since it is not necessary to include the page P and the layer L in each coordinate data, it is possible to reduce the data amount of the coordinate data.

As described above, the process performed by the control unit 67 shown in FIG. 3 has been described in detail with reference to the first and second modifications of the present embodiment. Next, the processing performed by the processor 55 (see FIG. 2) of the computer 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 17.

First, FIG. 10 is a processing flow diagram showing drawing processing performed by the processor 55. This processing flow shows the basic drawing processing performed by the computer 20 that has received the coordinate data group from the pen tablet 1.

As shown in FIG. 10, the processor 55 first establishes communication with the pen tablet 1. As described above, this communication is, for example, communication by Bluetooth (registered trademark). Then, the processor 55 receives the coordinate data group from the pen tablet 1 and writes it in the memory 56 via the established communication (step S101). The data structure of the coordinate data group in the memory 56 may be the same as that shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 8, or may be different.

Subsequently, the processor 55 waits for the occurrence of the page designation operation by the user (step S102). The page designation operation is an operation performed by, for example, a user tapping a page designation icon (not shown) displayed on the touch screen 21. When a page designation operation occurs, the processor 55 first generates image data by rendering all stroke data contained in the oldest layer in the designated page in the order of generation (step S103). In this rendering, as described above, interpolation processing using an interpolation curve such as a Bezier curve or a Catmull-Rom curve is performed. Further, when the pen pressure value PR is included in the coordinate data, a process of changing the line width is performed according to the pen pressure value PR. Further, when the stylus ID is included in the coordinate data, it is also possible to perform a process of changing the line color according to the stylus ID.

After the completion of step S103, the processor 55 performs the process of step S105 for each of all the layers (excluding the oldest layer) in the designated page (step S104). For example, if the designated page is page 2 shown in FIG. 8, the processor 55 first renders all stroke data (stroke data ST3, ST4) included in layer 2-1 in the order of generation to obtain image data. Is generated, and then the process of step S105 is executed for each of the other layers 2-2 and 2-3. The process of step S105 is executed in the order of layer generation.

In step S105, the processor 55 renders all the stroke data included in the layer in the order of generation, and the rendered stroke data is generated as the generated image data (the one generated in step S103, or the second and subsequent stroke data). In step S105, the image data is updated by performing a compositing operation for overlaying the image data (updated in the previous step S105) in the order of generation.

After the iterative process of step S104 is completed, the processor 55 displays the finally obtained image data on the touch screen 21 (step S106). As a result, the user can confirm the content of the page designated by the page designation operation on the touch screen 21.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the process in step S105. In the example shown in the figure, three provisional layers 2-1 to 2-3 are included in one page 2. Although the number of provisional layers in one page is set to three for the sake of simplicity of explanation here, it is usual that a larger number of provisional layers (for example, 1000 or more) are included. Further, although the provisional layers 2-1 to 2-3 are drawn assuming that each of them contains one stroke data STa to STc, in reality, each of them may contain a larger number of stroke data.

The provisional layers 2-1 to 2-3 are generated in this order. The processor 55 first generates image data by rendering the stroke data STa on the oldest provisional layer 2-1 and then renders the stroke data STb on the second oldest provisional layer 2-2 to image data. And finally, the stroke data STc applied to the newest provisional layer 2-3 is rendered and overlaid on the image data. As a result, as shown in the figure on the right side of FIG. 11, all of the three stroke data STa to STc included in the page 2 are superimposed and displayed on the same pixel area, and the stroke is displayed on the stroke data STa. The stroke data STa to STc are drawn so that the data STb is located and the stroke data STc is located on the stroke data STb.

In FIG. 11, the stroke data (for example, stroke data STc) located on the relatively upper side hides the stroke data (for example, stroke data STb) located on the relatively lower side, but each stroke data has a hidden stroke data. Transparency may be added so that the stroke data located relatively lower can be seen through. The synthesis operation in this case is preferably performed using a known alpha blending technique.

Return to FIG. The processor 55 that has completed the process of step S105 returns to step S102 and waits for the occurrence of the page designation operation by the user again. As a result, every time the user performs a page designation operation, all the layers included in the page are newly drawn on the touch screen 21.

Next, FIG. 12 is a processing flow diagram showing a layer editing process performed by the processor 55. The processor 55 has a function of accepting editing by the user for the layer drawn by the process of FIG. 11. At this time, in the past, it was necessary to perform a synthesis operation for all layers each time an editing operation was performed. However, if the number of layers or the number of stroke data contained in each layer is large, this calculation processing is used. The processing load of the computer 20 becomes excessive. According to the layer editing process shown in FIG. 12, it is possible to prevent such an increase in processing load. Hereinafter, it will be described in detail.

First, the processor 55 draws a page containing N layers 1 to N (step S110). This drawing process is a process executed in step S105 of FIG. With the process of step S110 completed and the page displayed on the touch screen 21, the processor 55 waits for the user to generate a layer n (1 ≦ n ≦ N) designation operation (step S111). This designation operation is an operation performed by, for example, a user tapping a layer designation icon (not shown) displayed on the touch screen 21.

When the layer n designation operation occurs, the processor 55 generates the first composite image data by rendering the stroke data group included in the layers 1 to n-1 (step S112, the first aggregation step). ). More specifically, the processor 55 renders the stroke data group included in all the layers generated before the layer n in the order of generation of the stroke data in each layer. Generates the composite image data of 1.

The processor 55 also generates a second composite image data by rendering the stroke data group included in the layers n + 1 to N (step S113; second aggregation step). More specifically, the processor 55 renders the stroke data group included in all the layers generated after the layer n in time, in each layer in the order of stroke data generation, so that the second stroke data group is rendered. Generates composite image data of.

Next, the processor 55 waits for the occurrence of a specific editing operation of layer n (step S114). The editing operation detected here includes processing of either deleting the stroke data included in the stroke data group included in the layer n or adding new stroke data to the layer n. Then, the processor 55 re-renders layers 1 to N each time an editing operation occurs (rendering step). Specifically, the processor 55 generates edited image data by executing the detected editing operation on the stroke data group belonging to the layer n after editing (step S115), and further, the first synthesis. By overlaying the edited image data on the image data and overlaying the second composite image data on the resulting image, the page including the layers 1 to N is redrawn (step S116).

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the layer editing process shown in FIG. On the left side of the figure, N layers 1 to N included in one page are shown. When the user edits the layer n, the processor 55 generates the first composite image data by aggregating the layers 1 to n-1 located below the layer n in advance, and at the same time, the upper side of the layer n. The second composite image data is generated by aggregating the layers n + 1 to N located in. By doing so, at the time of redrawing that occurs each time the layer n is edited, the first composite image data, the edited image data obtained by editing the layer n, and the second composite image data Since it is only necessary to combine three layers, the processing load of the computer 20 is significantly reduced as compared with the case where the composition operation of N layers is performed every time.

Next, FIG. 14 is a processing flow diagram showing a layer merge process performed by the processor 55. Conventionally, it has not been possible to combine a plurality of provisional layers formed by the operation of the push button 3 (see FIG. 1) into one layer, but the pen tablet 1 is particularly independent as shown in FIG. 1 (b). When using it, the user cannot press the push button 3 while checking the configuration of the provisional layer. As a result, the provisional layer delimiter may be inserted in an inappropriate place. According to the layer merge process shown in FIG. 14, even if the provisional layer delimiter is inserted in an inappropriate place, the delimiter is deleted by a convenient method after the fact (that is, the provisional layer is deleted). Can be combined). Hereinafter, it will be described in detail.

First, the processor 55 executes steps S110 and S111 described with reference to FIG. The processor 55 that has detected the designated operation of the layer n in step S111 assigns 1 to the variable k (step S120) and waits for the occurrence of the merge operation (step S121). The merge operation is an operation performed by the user tapping, for example, a merge operation icon (not shown) displayed on the touch screen 21.

When the merge operation occurs, the processor 55 merges the layer nk + 1 with the layer nk and redraws (step S122; layer synthesis step). Specifically, the merge process executed here maintains the order relationship between the stroke data group included in the layer n-k and the stroke data group included in the layer n-k + 1. This is a process associated with the layer nk. After executing step S122, the processor 55 deletes the layer n−k + 1 (step S123), increments the variable k by 1 (step S124), and returns to step S121.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the layer merge process shown in FIG. On the left side of the figure, N layers 1 to N included in one page are shown. When the user specifies the layer n and executes the merge operation, the processor 55 executes steps S122 and S123 shown in FIG. 14 under the condition that the variable k = 1. As a result, the layer n is merged into the layer n-1, and the layer n is deleted. Subsequently, when the user executes the merge operation again, the processor 55 executes steps S122 and S123 shown in FIG. 14 under the condition that the variable k = 2. As a result, the layer n-1 is merged into the layer n-2, and the layer n-1 is deleted. In this way, in the second and subsequent merge operations, the user can join the layers down by simply performing the merge operation without designating the layers. Therefore, it becomes possible to combine layers by a simple method after the fact.

Although FIGS. 14 and 15 have described an example of joining layers downward, it is also possible to adopt a joining method other than this method. Therefore, in the following, a third modification example, which is a modification example of the layer merge process, will be described.

FIG. 16 is a processing flow diagram showing a layer merge process according to a third modification of the present embodiment. The difference between this modification and the example shown in FIG. 14 is that steps S122 and S123 are replaced with steps S122a and S123a. Hereinafter, the differences will be described in detail focusing on the differences.

The processor 55 according to this modification detects the merge operation in step S121, then merges the layers n—k into the layer n and redraws (step S122a; layer synthesis step). Specifically, the merge process executed here is the layer n while maintaining the order relationship between the stroke data group included in the layer n and the stroke data group included in the layer n−k. It is a process associated with. After executing step S122a, the processor 55 deletes the layer nk (step S123a). Subsequent processing is as described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the layer merge process shown in FIG. On the left side of the figure, N layers 1 to N included in one page are shown. When the user specifies the layer n and executes the merge operation, the processor 55 executes steps S122a and S123a shown in FIG. 16 under the condition that the variable k = 1. As a result, the layer n-1 is merged into the layer n, and the layer n-1 is deleted. Subsequently, when the user executes the merge operation again, the processor 55 executes steps S122a and S123a shown in FIG. 16 under the condition that the variable k = 2. As a result, layer n-2 is merged into layer n, and layer n-2 is deleted. In this way, in the second and subsequent merge operations, the user can combine the layers upward by simply performing the merge operation without designating the layers. Therefore, even with this modification, it is possible to combine layers by a simple method after the fact.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to solve various problems related to the pen tablet 1 that operates in two operation modes, the tablet mode and the paper mode. Therefore, it becomes possible to provide a pen tablet 1 that operates in two operation modes, a tablet mode and a paper mode.

Specifically, the communication unit 42 shown in FIG. 2 determines whether or not communication is requested with the device driver 50a executed by the external computer 10, and communicates with the device driver 50a. It operates in a tablet mode that supplies hover coordinates and contact coordinates to the device driver 50a when requested, and discards at least part of the hover coordinates and contacts when communication with the device driver 50a is not requested. Since it operates in the paper mode in which the stroke data generated based on the coordinates is recorded in the memory 43, the pen tablet 1 can also be operated as a handwritten data recording device for supplying handwritten data to the computer 10 by the hover coordinates. It is possible to prevent the capacity of the memory 43 from being squeezed.

In addition, since it is possible to record stroke data by distinguishing continuous strokes for each subgroup (provisional layer) in the group (page), it becomes possible to record the straw data group in a finer classification than the page. Therefore, in the computer 20 that receives the supply of this stroke data and executes the handwriting data drawing method, the stroke data included in a predetermined subgroup is collectively deleted, or the stroke data group belonging to two or more subgroups is merged. It becomes possible to realize operations that are convenient for the user, such as creating a layer.

Further, according to the layer editing process according to the present embodiment, the first and second composite image data are generated prior to the editing operation for the layer n, so that the computer 20 when processing the handwritten data having the layer configuration is used. The load is reduced.

Further, according to the layer merge process according to the present embodiment, the handwritten data can be combined into one page or layer on the computer 20 side.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented in various embodiments without departing from the gist thereof. Of course.

For example, the pen tablet 1 according to the above embodiment decides to discard all hover coordinates in the paper mode (step S23 in FIG. 4), but for example, when the storage capacity of the memory 43 is sufficient. May record some or all hover coordinates.

Further, in the pen tablet 1 according to the above embodiment, the detected coordinates X and Y themselves are recorded in the memory 43 as a part of the coordinate data. That is, although the stroke data is composed of a set of contact coordinates, the pen tablet 1 may perform interpolation processing and record the control points obtained as a result in the memory 43 instead of the coordinates X and Y themselves. good. The stroke data in this case is a set of data obtained by processing a set of a series of contact coordinates.

1 Pen tablet 2 Touch sensor 3 Push button 5a, 5b Electronic pen 10, 20 Computer 11 Display 12 Keyboard 13 Mouse pad 14 USB cable 21 Touch screen 22 Wireless connection 30 Capacitor 31 inductor 40 Sensor controller 41 Operation unit 42 Communication unit 42a USB communication Part 42b BT communication part 43, 51, 56 Memory 50, 55 Processor 50a Device driver 52 USB communication part 57 BT communication part 60 Selection circuit 61 Switch circuit 62 Amplifier 63 Detection circuit 64 Low pass filter 65 Sample hold circuit 66 Analog digital conversion circuit 67 Control unit 68 Oscillator 69 Current driver C Mouse cursor L Layer LC Loop coil P Page PA Paper medium PR Pen pressure value SW1, SW2 Side switch information ST1 to ST8 Stroke data T Time stamp information X, Y Coordinates

Claims (14)

A handwritten data recording device used with a stylus.
A detection unit that detects whether or not the stylus is in a contact state and generates contact coordinates indicating the position of the stylus when the stylus is in the contact state.
With storage
An operation unit that accepts a first operation for updating a group and a second operation for updating a subgroup that is a subset of the group.
Generates stroke data with the continuous contact coordinates as one unit,
The generated stroke data is stored in the storage device in association with the current group and subgroup, and is also stored.
When the operation unit accepts the first operation, the current group and the subgroup are updated to a new group and the subgroup.
When the operation unit accepts the second operation, the subgroup is updated.
Including processor,
Handwritten data recording device. The processor
The first stroke data belonging to the first group and the first subgroup which is a subset of the first group and the second stroke data are sequentially generated.
If neither the first operation nor the second operation is accepted by the operation unit after the start of generation of the first stroke data and before the start of generation of the second stroke data, the second stroke data is input. Corresponding to the first group and the first subgroup,
When the first operation is accepted by the operation unit after the start of generation of the first stroke data and before the start of generation of the second stroke data, the second stroke data is referred to as the first group. Corresponds to a different second group and a second subgroup that is a subset of the second group.
When the first operation is not accepted by the operation unit and the second operation is accepted after the generation of the first stroke data is started and before the generation of the second stroke data is started, the second operation is accepted. Stroke data is associated with a third subgroup that is a subset of the first group and the first group and is different from the first subgroup.
The handwritten data recording device according to claim 1. The second group is a new group different from any group that existed before the processor associated the second stroke data.
The second subgroup is a new subgroup that is different from any subgroup that existed before the processor associated the second stroke data.
The third subgroup is a new subgroup that is different from any subgroup that existed before the processor associated the second stroke data.
The handwritten data recording device according to claim 2. The group is a page
The subgroup is a layer
The first operation is a page break operation.
The second operation is a layer break operation.
The handwritten data recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. When the second stroke data is associated with the first group by the processor, the first and second stroke data are displayed superimposed on the same pixel area on an external computer.
When the second stroke data is associated with the second group by the processor, the first and second stroke data are displayed in different pixel areas in the external computer.
The handwritten data recording device according to claim 3. When the second stroke data is associated with the third subgroup by the processor, the second stroke data is generated by the external computer based on the first stroke data. By executing a compositing operation for overlaying the second stroke data on the image of the above, the image is superimposed and displayed on the same pixel area on the external computer.
The handwritten data recording device according to claim 5. The processor
The contact coordinates are stored in the storage device in chronological order.
When the first operation is accepted by the operation unit after the start of generation of the first stroke data and before the start of generation of the second stroke data, the first event corresponding to the first operation is performed. By recording between a series of contact coordinates corresponding to the first stroke data in the storage device and a series of contact coordinates corresponding to the second stroke data, the second stroke data is recorded in the second stroke data. Corresponding to 2 groups and the 2nd subgroup,
When the first operation is not accepted by the operation unit and the second operation is accepted after the generation of the first stroke data is started and before the generation of the second stroke data is started, the second operation is accepted. By recording a second event corresponding to the operation in the storage device between a series of contact coordinates corresponding to the first stroke data and a series of contact coordinates corresponding to the second stroke data in the storage device. , The second stroke data is associated with the first group and the third subgroup.
The handwritten data recording device according to claim 2. The operation unit is composed of one button.
The processor determines whether the operation unit has accepted the first or second operation according to the method of pressing the button by the user.
The handwritten data recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The processor is configured to store the contact coordinates in the storage device in association with time stamp information indicating the time when the contact coordinates are generated or a sequence number indicating a series of generation order of the contact coordinates. Ru,
The handwritten data recording device according to claim 1. The stroke data is a set of a series of the contact coordinates, or a set of data obtained by processing the set.
The handwritten data recording device according to claim 1. A handwriting data drawing method executed by a computer that executes a drawing method based on the coordinate data corresponding to the position of the stylus based on the stroke data supplied from the handwriting data recording device.
The handwritten data recording device is
A detector that detects the coordinate data group corresponding to the indicated position from the stylus's proximity to the stylus's distance.
With non-volatile memory
An operation unit that accepts a first operation corresponding to a group of stroke data having the coordinate data group as one unit, and a second operation corresponding to a subgroup that is a subset of the group.
The coordinate data group detected by the detection unit is stored in the non- volatile memory, and is a subset of the first group and the first group based on the coordinate data group stored in the non -volatile memory. Includes a processor that sequentially generates first stroke data belonging to the first subgroup and second stroke data.
The processor
If neither the first operation nor the second operation is accepted by the operation unit after the start of generation of the first stroke data and before the start of generation of the second stroke data, the second stroke data is input. Corresponding to the first group and the first subgroup,
When the first operation is accepted by the operation unit after the start of generation of the first stroke data and before the start of generation of the second stroke data, the second stroke data is referred to as the first group. Corresponds to a different second group and a second subgroup that is a subset of the second group.
When the first operation is not accepted by the operation unit and the second operation is accepted after the generation of the first stroke data is started and before the generation of the second stroke data is started, the second operation is accepted. The stroke data of is associated with the first group and a third subgroup that is a subset of the first group and is different from the first subgroup.
The handwritten data drawing method is
A step of establishing communication between the computer and the handwritten data recording device,
The computer uses the communication to record the first and second stroke data and the group and the subgroup associated with each of the first and second stroke data. And the steps to get from
A step in which the computer generates the first image data by rendering the first stroke data.
A step in which the computer generates the second image data by rendering the second stroke data.
When the first and second stroke data both belong to the first group, the computer performs drawing processing so that the second image data is overlaid on the first image data, while the first. When the stroke data of the above belongs to the first group and the second stroke data belongs to the second group, the step of drawing only one of the first and second image data is performed. ,
Handwritten data drawing method including. The group is a page
The subgroup is a layer
The handwritten data drawing method is
A step to acquire a stroke data group belonging to each of the N layers from the first layer generated in the oldest time to the Nth layer generated in the latest time, and
The step of accepting the designation of the nth layer among the N layers, and
The first aggregation step of generating the first composite image data by rendering the stroke data group included in all the layers generated before the nth layer in time,
The second aggregation step of generating the second composite image data by rendering the stroke data group included in all the layers generated after the nth layer in time, and the second aggregation step.
Each time it detects an edit operation on the nth layer, it includes a rendering step that renders the N layers.
The rendering step
A step of generating edited image data by executing the detected editing operation on the stroke data group belonging to the nth layer, and
The step includes drawing the N layers by overlaying the edited image data on the first composite image data and overlaying the second composite image data on the resulting image.
The handwritten data drawing method according to claim 11. In the first aggregation step, the stroke data group included in all the layers generated before the nth layer in time is rendered in each layer in the order in which the stroke data is generated. Generate the first composite image data and
In the second aggregation step, the stroke data group included in all the layers generated after the nth layer in time is rendered in each layer in the order in which the stroke data is generated. Generate 2 composite image data,
The handwritten data drawing method according to claim 12. The step of generating the edited image data includes either processing of deleting the stroke data included in the stroke data group included in the nth layer or adding new stroke data to the nth layer. ,
The handwritten data drawing method according to claim 13.

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