JP7135650B2 - Input device, program and method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an input device, program and method.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a system has been developed in which a screen displayed on a personal computer terminal or the like is displayed on a large display, and the display is operated to input handwritten characters and operate the terminal. Such a system is also called an electronic blackboard or an IWB (Interactive White Board).

The systems described above typically include a pen-shaped input device, referred to as an electronic pen, stylus pen, or the like, for manipulation on the display. Such an input device is equipped with a power supply such as a battery as well as various circuits.

By the way, as a method of notifying the remaining amount of the battery in various devices, a method of notifying the user by providing an indicator in the device is well known. On the other hand, since the input device as described above is operated by hand, it is preferable that the device be small.

In this regard, Japanese Patent No. 6256097 (Patent Document 1) discloses an electronic terminal device that determines the rate of change in amplitude or frequency of a received signal based on electromagnetic waves transmitted from a pen device. According to Patent Document 1, the electronic terminal device determines whether the rate of change in the amplitude or frequency of the received signal is greater than a predetermined value, thereby indicating that the battery level of the pen device is low. can be notified by voice or screen display.

However, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100001, the notification is made by the electronic terminal device, which is inconvenient when the user wants to know the remaining battery power by activating the pen device alone. In addition, since the change in the amplitude of the received signal or the like is used as a trigger to notify by voice or screen display, there is a risk of hindering the progress of presentations, meetings, and the like.

Therefore, there has been a demand for a technology that uses the user's operation as a trigger to notify the user of the remaining battery level in an intuitive and easy-to-understand manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an input device, a program, and a method that make it possible to easily grasp the remaining battery level.

That is, according to the present invention, an input device for operating an information processing device,
a plurality of vibrating means for generating mechanical vibration;
detection means for detecting movement of the input device;
determination means for acquiring battery information of the input device and determining the remaining amount of the battery when the detection means detects movement of the input device;
and a control means for controlling the vibrating means according to a vibration pattern corresponding to the remaining battery level determined by the determining means.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, according to the present invention, an input device, a program, and a method are provided that make it possible to easily grasp the remaining battery level.

Schematic diagram of the hardware configuration of a typical electronic blackboard system. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration included in the input device of the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of software included in the input device of the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation for requesting notification of remaining battery level in the embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of virtual ink movement according to the orientation of the input device; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between the motion of virtual ink and the motion of the vibrator according to the present embodiment; 4 is a flow chart showing a process of notifying the remaining battery level by the input device according to the embodiment; 4 is a table showing an example of operating parameters of the vibrator corresponding to the remaining battery level of the input device according to the present embodiment; 4 is a timing chart of vibration of each vibrator according to the embodiment; The timing chart which each vibrator vibrates in other preferable embodiment.

The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described later. In addition, in each figure referred to below, the same reference numerals are used for common elements, and description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the hardware configuration of a typical electronic blackboard system. The electronic blackboard system shown in FIG. 1 includes an information processing device referred to as an electronic blackboard 15 and an input device 10 . In the electronic blackboard system of this embodiment, various images are displayed on the screen of the electronic blackboard 15, and by using the input device 10, operations such as input, drawing, and selection can be performed on the screen. The electronic blackboard 15 may be configured to be connected to another information processing device such as a personal computer terminal, and the input device 10 may be configured to operate a personal computer terminal or the like.

The input device 10 is a device called a stylus pen or an electronic pen that operates an electronic blackboard 15 . The input device 10 of the present embodiment can perform an input operation of designating a position on the screen by bringing the tip of the input device 10 into contact with the screen of the electronic blackboard 15 . Further, the input device 10 can be configured to control the thickness of the line to be drawn based on the force with which the tip portion is likened to the tip of a pen and pressed on the screen. Furthermore, the input device 10 may be configured with buttons, similar to a pointing device such as a mouse, and may be configured to enable operations such as clicking with the buttons.

The input device 10 is configured to be able to communicate with the electronic blackboard 15 , and can control the operation of the electronic blackboard 15 and the display of the screen by transmitting the various operations described above to the electronic blackboard 15 . A typical input device 10 performs wireless communication with the electronic blackboard 15 from the viewpoint of convenience. The input device 10 of the present embodiment described below also performs wireless communication with the electronic whiteboard 15 .

Further, in the following description, it is assumed that the input device 10 has a pen-like shape as shown in FIG. 1 for convenience of explanation. For the sake of convenience, one of the longitudinal ends of the input device 10 will be referred to as a "pen tip", and the opposite end to the pen tip will be referred to as a "pen butt".

Next, the hardware configuration of the input device 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration included in the input device 10 of this embodiment. The input device 10 includes a control unit 201, a battery 202, a sensor 203, a vibrator 204, a communication I/F 205, and an operation I/F 206. Each piece of hardware is connected via a bus. ing.

The control unit 201 is a device that executes a program that controls the operation of the input device 10 and performs predetermined processing. The control unit 201 can process, for example, button operations of the input device 10 and transmit operation signals to the electronic blackboard 15 . Further, as will be described later, the control unit 201 can perform processing for determining the remaining amount of the battery 202, processing for notifying the user of the determination result, and the like.

The battery 202 is a power source that supplies power to various hardware that configures the input device 10 . In a preferred embodiment, the battery 202 is a rechargeable battery provided in the input device 10 and can be used repeatedly by charging. However, the type of battery 202 is not particularly limited, and it may be removable and replaceable, such as a dry battery.

The sensor 203 is a sensor for detecting the tilt, posture, motion, etc. of the input device 10, and is configured by, for example, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or a combination thereof. A triaxial acceleration sensor can detect triaxial acceleration components. Also, a triaxial gyro sensor can detect triaxial angular velocities. By obtaining a temporal change in the posture of the input device 10 detected by the sensor 203, it is possible to detect the rocking motion, reciprocating linear motion, and the like of the input device 10. FIG.

The vibrator 204 is a device that generates vibration by converting electrical energy or an electrical signal into mechanical motion, and constitutes the vibrating means of this embodiment. Vibrator 204 may be referred to as, for example, a vibration motor, vibrator, linear vibration actuator, or the like. The magnitude of vibration of the vibrator 204 can be controlled by the magnitude of the input voltage, the frequency of the electrical signal, and the like. The input device 10 in this embodiment includes a plurality of vibrators 204 .

The communication I/F 205 is an interface for communicating with the electronic blackboard 15 by infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like. The input device 10 transmits to the electronic whiteboard 15 via the communication I/F 205 information signals related to contact and pressure of the pen tip, button operations, and the like.

The operation I/F 206 is an interface that receives operations of the input device 10 . Examples of operations performed on the input device 10 include pressing a button included in the input device 10 and pressing the pen tip portion of the input device 10 in contact with the screen of the electronic blackboard 15 .

The hardware configuration included in the input device 10 of this embodiment has been described above. Next, functional means executed by each piece of hardware in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a software block diagram included in the input device 10 of this embodiment.

The input device 10 includes functional units such as a device orientation detection unit 301 , a battery level determination unit 302 , a vibration control unit 303 , an operation reception unit 304 , a signal transmission unit 305 and a vibration pattern storage unit 306 . The details of each functional unit will be described below.

The device orientation detection unit 301 detects a three-dimensional orientation such as tilt of the input device 10 based on the acceleration and angular velocity detected by the sensor 203, and constitutes the detection means of this embodiment. The device orientation detection unit 301 can also detect a movement state such as shaking or rocking of the input device 10 based on temporal changes in the orientation of the input device 10 .

The remaining battery level determination unit 302 detects the remaining amount of the battery 202, evaluates and determines the remaining amount in stages, and constitutes the determination means of the present embodiment. For example, when the remaining battery level of the battery 202 is 70% or more, the remaining battery level determination unit 302 determines that the remaining battery level is "high", and the remaining battery level of the battery 202 is 20% to 69%. , it is determined that the remaining battery level is "medium", and if the remaining amount of the battery 202 is less than 20%, it is determined that the remaining battery level is "low". can do. Note that the remaining battery level determined by the remaining battery level determining unit 302 described above does not limit the embodiment, and can be arbitrarily set without being limited to the categories as described above.

The vibration control unit 303 controls the vibrator 204 to vibrate in a predetermined vibration pattern, and constitutes control means of this embodiment. Note that the vibration control unit 303 can independently control the vibrations of the plurality of vibrators 204 included in the input device 10 , thereby notifying the user of the status of the input device 10 .

The operation reception unit 304 receives an operation input via the operation I/F 206, and constitutes reception means of the present embodiment. The operation reception unit 304 performs signal processing on the received operation and transfers it to the signal transmission unit 305 . The signal transmission unit 305 controls the communication I/F 205, transmits various operation signals output by the operation reception unit 304 to the electronic blackboard 15, etc., and constitutes transmission means of the present embodiment.

The vibration pattern storage unit 306 stores the remaining battery level and the vibration pattern of the vibrator 204 in association with each other, and constitutes the storage means of the present embodiment. Operation parameters of the vibrator 204 can be stored in the vibration pattern storage unit 306, and the vibration control unit 303 can appropriately operate the vibrator 204 by reading each parameter.

Note that the above-described software blocks correspond to functional means realized by causing each piece of hardware to function when the control unit 201 executes the program of the present embodiment. Moreover, the functional means shown in each embodiment may be implemented entirely in software, or part or all of them may be implemented as hardware that provides equivalent functions.

In the input device 10 of this embodiment, the remaining battery level is notified by a predetermined vibration in response to a request from the user of the device. Although there are various forms of request by the user, for example, it is possible to use a configuration in which the remaining battery level is notified by giving a predetermined movement to the input device 10 as a trigger. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an operation for requesting notification of the remaining battery level (hereinafter referred to as "remaining amount notification request operation") in this embodiment.

FIGS. 4A and 4B respectively show a first example and a second example of the remaining amount notification request operation. FIG. 4(a) shows the motion of reciprocating the pen tip portion and the pen butt portion in the circumferential direction with the grip portion as the rotation axis. Further, FIG. 4B shows an operation of reciprocating the input device 10 in the longitudinal direction. The operation shown in FIG. 4 is the same operation that can generally be performed as an operation for checking the amount of liquid content, and may be performed, for example, when checking the remaining amount of ink in a writing instrument.

It is assumed that the input device 10 of the present embodiment contains virtual ink in an amount corresponding to the remaining battery level. Then, by performing the operation shown in FIG. 4, the input device 10 is vibrated as if the ink is shaking within the input device 10 . Thereby, the user of the input device 10 can intuitively grasp the remaining battery level of the input device 10 . In addition, it is possible to provide an interesting notification method in which the remaining battery level can be notified by an analog operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of movement of virtual ink (hereinafter referred to as “virtual ink 11”) according to the orientation of the input device 10. As shown in FIG. 5(a) shows the input device 10 tilted with the pen point downward, FIG. 5(b) shows the input device 10 almost horizontally, and FIG. 5(c) shows the pen end of the input device 10. The figure which turned the part downward and inclined is illustrated, respectively. Note that the virtual ink 11 described in the following description is not an actual item included in the actual input device 10, but is assumed for convenience of description.

As shown in FIG. 5A, when the pen tip portion of the input device 10 is tilted downward, it can be considered that the virtual ink 11 gathers on the pen tip side due to gravity. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the input device 10 is placed substantially horizontally, the virtual ink 11 can be regarded as gathering on the lower side of the input device 10 . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the input device 10 is tilted with the pen tail side downward, it can be considered that the virtual ink 11 gathers on the pen tail side due to gravity.

Here, when the input device 10 is shaken as shown in FIG. 4, the virtual ink 11 can be regarded as continuously moving inside the input device 10 . Therefore, the input device 10 receives the remaining amount notification request operation, determines the remaining battery amount, sets the virtual ink amount corresponding to the remaining battery amount, and vibrates the virtual ink 11 inside the input apparatus 10 so as to sway. By controlling , it is possible to notify the remaining battery level. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence between the movement of the virtual ink 11 and the operation of the vibrator 204 in this embodiment.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which the input device 10 includes four transducers 204a to 204d arranged in the longitudinal direction. 6 shows an example in which the attitude of the input device 10 is shifted from the horizontal state of FIG. ) to (d). Note that the number and arrangement of the transducers 204 included in the input device 10 in this embodiment are not limited to those shown in FIG. As another example of the arrangement of the transducers 204, the transducers 204 may be arranged to be shifted in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis of the input device 10, or the like.

FIG. 6A illustrates the state of the virtual ink 11 immediately after the tip of the pen of the input device 10 in the horizontal state is tilted downward. When the input device 10 is in a horizontal state, it can be assumed that the virtual liquid surface of the virtual ink 11 is substantially horizontal. It is assumed that the virtual ink 11 on the side moves to the pen tail side due to gravity. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, the vibrator 204a on the pen tip side vibrates.

After that, as time elapses, the virtual ink 11 moves further from the state shown in FIG. 6A toward the pen tail portion side. In FIG. 6B, the vibrator 204b in the area where the virtual ink 11 moves a large amount vibrates. Similarly, as time passes, the vibrating vibrator 204 moves toward the pen butt portion, as shown in FIGS. 6(c) and 6(d). Then, in the state shown in FIG. 6D, the vibrator 204d stops vibrating after operating for a predetermined period of time.

In this way, the user of the input device 10 can be notified of the remaining amount of the battery 202 by vibrating the input device 10 in accordance with the movement of the virtual ink 11 that is considered to be inside the input device 10 . can. It should be noted that the vibrating strength of each of the vibrators 204a to 204d and the duration of vibrating can be appropriately set. In the above example, each vibrator vibrates separately. However, by vibrating a plurality of vibrators at the same time, it is possible to express a state closer to the actual movement of the liquid. may Furthermore, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which vibration is controlled so that the virtual ink 11 waves due to inertia caused by performing the remaining amount notification request operation, or a configuration in which vibration is controlled considering the influence of gravity. It is possible to express the movement of liquids with a sense of reality.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process of notifying the remaining battery level by the input device 10 of this embodiment. The input device 10 starts processing from step S700. It is assumed that the input device 10 is used in a normal manner, and performs processing for operating the electronic blackboard 15 separately from the processing shown in FIG.

In step S701, the device orientation detection unit 301 determines whether or not there is a remaining amount notification request operation to the input device 10, and branches the processing. Based on the orientation of the input device 10 detected by the sensor 203 , the device orientation detection unit 301 can determine whether or not the operation performed on the input device 10 is the remaining amount notification request operation. If it is determined in step S701 that the remaining amount notification request operation has not been performed (NO), the process of step S701 is repeated and the remaining amount notification request operation is waited. If it is determined that it has been performed (YES), the process proceeds to step S702.

The remaining battery level determination unit 302 acquires the remaining amount of the battery 202 in step S702, and determines the level of the remaining battery level in subsequent step S703. The remaining battery level determination unit 302 can determine the level of the remaining battery level, for example, in three stages: "high", "middle", and "low". The above-described remaining battery level does not limit the embodiment, and does not have to be determined in three steps. Therefore, determination may be made in stages other than three stages.

If it is determined in step S703 that the remaining battery level is "high", the process proceeds to step S704. In step S704, the vibration control unit 303 reads the parameter corresponding to the remaining battery level "high" from the vibration pattern storage unit 306, and sets the vibration pattern. After that, the process proceeds to step S707.

If it is determined in step S703 that the remaining battery level is "medium", the process proceeds to step S705. In step S705, the vibration control unit 303 reads the parameter corresponding to the remaining battery level of "middle" from the vibration pattern storage unit 306, and sets the vibration pattern. After that, the process proceeds to step S707.

If it is determined in step S703 that the remaining battery level is "low", the process proceeds to step S706. In step S706, the vibration control unit 303 reads the parameter corresponding to the remaining battery level of "low" from the vibration pattern storage unit 306, and sets the vibration pattern. After that, the process proceeds to step S707.

In step S707, the vibration control unit 303 vibrates each vibrator 204 according to the vibration pattern set in steps S704 to S706. After step S707, the input device 10 terminates the process of notifying the remaining battery level in step S708.

By the processing shown in FIG. 7, the user holding the input device 10 can determine the amount of the virtual ink 11 based on the movement of the virtual ink 11 represented by the vibration pattern. This allows the user of the input device 10 to know the remaining battery level.

Next, parameters for controlling the operation of the vibrator 204 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a table showing an example of operating parameters of the vibrator 204 corresponding to the remaining battery level of the input device 10 in this embodiment. Similar to FIG. 7, FIG. 8 shows a table that divides the remaining battery level into three levels and sets the vibration pattern corresponding to each level. The table shown in FIG. 8 is stored in the vibration pattern storage unit 306 and read by the vibration control unit 303 as appropriate.

For example, if the remaining battery level is 70% or more, the remaining battery level is set to "high", if the remaining battery level is 20% to 69%, the remaining battery level is set to "medium" If it is less than 20%, the remaining battery level is set to "low". In such a case, the amount of virtual ink 11 is set such that the higher the remaining battery level, the greater the amount, and the lower the remaining battery level, the smaller the amount. In order to represent the viscosity of the liquid, the moving speed of the virtual ink 11 is set to be slower as the remaining battery level is higher and faster as the battery remaining level is lower.

In order to express the amount and movement of the virtual ink 11 as described above, the operation of each oscillator 204 is controlled by parameters according to the remaining battery level. The vibration amount field of the vibrator 204 shown in FIG. 8 stores a parameter of the strength of vibration of each vibrator. Also, in the switching standby time field of the oscillator 204 shown in FIG. 8, a parameter of the time at which the operation of each oscillator is switched is stored. In this embodiment, the following vibration parameters are set for each remaining battery level.

That is, when the remaining battery level is "high", the "vibration amount" is set to be "large" and the "switching waiting time" is set to be "long". Further, when the remaining battery level is "medium", "vibration amount" and "switching standby time" are set to "medium". Furthermore, when the remaining battery level is "low", the "vibration amount" is set to be "small" and the "switching waiting time" is set to be "short". By setting the amount and moving speed of the virtual ink 11 and vibrating the vibrator 204 in this manner, the user can perceive the virtual ink 11 with a weight corresponding to the remaining battery level. .

The operation of each vibrator 204 when the above vibration pattern is set will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a timing chart of vibration of each vibrator 204 in this embodiment. Note that the input device 10 in FIG. 9 has the same configuration as in FIG. 6, and illustrates the vibration pattern when the virtual ink 11 moves toward the pen tail portion. The following description will be made with appropriate reference to FIG.

First, FIG. 9A will be described. FIG. 9A shows an example of a vibration pattern when the remaining battery level is high, that is, when the amount of virtual ink 11 is large and the moving speed is slow.

When the input device 10 shifts from the horizontal state to the state in which the pen tail portion is lowered, the vibrating vibrator 204 moves from the pen tip side toward the pen tail portion side as shown in FIGS. sequentially. After vibrating for a certain period of time, the vibrator 204a stops vibrating, and the vibrator 204b starts vibrating. At this time, since the amount of the virtual ink 11 is large, the amount of vibration is controlled to be large. Further, since the moving speed of the virtual ink 11 is slow, the vibrator 204b starts vibrating after the switching standby time Tab has elapsed after the vibrator 204a stops. When the vibrator 204b vibrates for a certain period of time and then stops vibrating, the vibrator 204c similarly starts vibrating after the switching standby time Tbc has passed. Thereafter, while repeating the same processing, the vibrating vibrator 204 sequentially shifts to the pen tail portion side.

Such a vibrating motion can give the user a feeling of holding a pen with a large amount of ink. Thereby, the user can grasp that the remaining battery level of the input device 10 is high.

Next, FIG. 9B will be described. FIG. 9(b) shows an example of a vibration pattern when the remaining battery level is medium, that is, when the amount of virtual ink 11 is medium and the moving speed is also medium.

When the input device 10 shifts from the horizontal state to the state in which the pen tail portion is lowered, the vibrating vibrator 204 sequentially shifts from the pen tip side toward the pen tail portion side, as in FIG. 9A. . At this time, since the amount of the virtual ink 11 is medium, the amount of vibration is controlled to be medium. Further, since the moving speed of the virtual ink 11 is also moderate, the switching standby time Tab until the vibration shifts to the next vibrator 204 is controlled to be shorter than that shown in FIG. be done. After that, the vibrating oscillator 204 is sequentially shifted to the pen tail side by the same control.

Such a vibrating operation can give the user a feeling as if he or she is holding a pen with a medium amount of ink. This allows the user to know that the remaining battery level of the input device 10 is medium.

Next, FIG. 9(c) will be described. FIG. 9(c) shows an example of a vibration pattern when the remaining battery level is low, that is, when the amount of virtual ink 11 is small and the moving speed is fast.

When the input device 10 shifts from the horizontal state to the state in which the pen tail portion is lowered, the vibrating vibrator 204 moves from the pen tip side toward the pen tail portion side as in FIGS. 9A and 9B. sequentially. At this time, since the amount of the virtual ink 11 is small, the amount of vibration is controlled to be small. Further, since the moving speed of the virtual ink 11 is high, the switching waiting time Tab until the vibration shifts to the next vibrator 204 is controlled to be shorter than that shown in FIG. 9B. . After that, the vibrating oscillator 204 is sequentially shifted to the pen tail side by the same control.

Such a vibrating motion can give the user a feeling as if he or she is holding a pen with a small amount of ink. Thereby, the user can grasp that the remaining battery level of the input device 10 is low. It should be noted that when the remaining battery power is exhausted, the power for vibrating the vibrator 204 cannot be supplied. You can recognize that there is no quantity.

An example of a typical operation in this embodiment has been described with reference to FIG. However, the operation of FIG. 9 is an example and does not limit the embodiment, and the input device 10 may be controlled with vibration patterns other than those shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a timing chart for vibrating each vibrator 204 in another preferred embodiment.

FIG. 10(a) shows an example in which adjacent transducers 204 are operated simultaneously during a time corresponding to the switching standby time in FIG. In such an operation, the vibrator 204a and the vibrator 204b on the Tab are made to vibrate at the same time with a smaller vibration amount than usual. Further, by operating the other oscillators 204 in the same manner, the movement of the virtual ink 11 can be represented as smoother.

Further, FIG. 10B shows an example of controlling the magnitude of the vibration amount by the frequency of vibrating the vibrator 204 . That is, when each transducer 204 operates individually, it operates at a high frequency, and during the time (Tab, etc.) corresponding to the switching waiting time in FIG. control. By operating as shown in FIG. 10(b), the movement of the virtual ink 11 can be represented as smoother as in the case of FIG. 10(a).

Furthermore, FIG. 10(c) shows an example in which the magnitude of the vibration amount of each transducer is controlled for each transducer. For example, as shown in FIG. 10(c), when the vibration shifts in the order of the vibrators 204a, 204b, 204c, and 204d with the lapse of time, control can be performed to gradually increase the vibration amount. With such an operation, the virtual ink 11 accelerated by gravity can be expressed, and the movement of the liquid can be expressed more realistically.

So far, control of the vibration pattern of the input device 10 of the present embodiment has been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. However, the above is just an example and does not limit the embodiment, that is, the operation of the input device 10 may be controlled to be closer to the movement of the actual liquid. For example, if the remaining amount notification request operation is such that the pen tip side faces downward, the vibrator 204 operates in the order opposite to that shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the remaining amount notification request operation is an operation such that the input device 10 reciprocates, the operation may be such that each vibrating transducer 204 reciprocates. Furthermore, it is also possible to control a plurality of vibrators 204 to operate simultaneously while adjusting the amount of vibration. In this way, by vibrating each vibrator 204 in various patterns, the user can perceive more realistic movement of the liquid, and the remaining battery level can be notified with an interesting effect.

According to the embodiments of the present invention described above, it is possible to provide an input device, a program, and a method that make it possible to easily grasp the remaining battery level.

Each function of the embodiment of the present invention described above can be realized by a device-executable program written in C, C++, C#, Java (registered trademark), etc. It can be distributed by being stored in a device-readable recording medium such as ROM, MO, DVD, flexible disk, EEPROM, EPROM, etc., and can be transmitted via a network in a format compatible with other devices.

As described above, the present invention has been described with embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and within the scope of embodiments that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, as long as the actions and effects of the present invention are exhibited. , are within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Input device, 11... Virtual ink, 15... Electronic blackboard, 201... Control part, 202... Battery, 203... Sensor, 204... Vibrator, 205... Communication I/F, 206... Operation I/F, 301... Apparatus Posture detection unit 302 Battery level determination unit 303 Vibration control unit 304 Operation reception unit 305 Signal transmission unit 306 Vibration pattern storage unit

Japanese Patent No. 6256097

Claims (8)

An input device for operating an information processing device,
a plurality of vibrating means for generating mechanical vibration;
detection means for detecting movement of the input device;
determination means for acquiring battery information of the input device and determining the remaining amount of the battery when the detection means detects movement of the input device;
setting the time required for the plurality of vibrating means to vibrate from one end of the input device to the other in the longitudinal direction according to the remaining battery level determined by the determining means; An input device comprising: a control means for controlling; 2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls the operation of said vibration means according to a vibration pattern corresponding to the movement detected by said detection means. 3. The input device according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls the amount of vibration of said vibration means. The input device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that said input device is pen-shaped. A program executed by an input device for operating an information processing device, comprising a plurality of vibration means for generating mechanical vibrations, wherein the input device comprises:
detection means for detecting movement of the input device;
determining means for acquiring battery information of the input device and determining the remaining amount of the battery when the detecting means detects movement of the input device;
setting the time required for the plurality of vibrating means to vibrate from one end of the input device to the other in the longitudinal direction according to the remaining battery level determined by the determining means; A program that functions as a control means to control. 6. The program according to claim 5 , wherein said control means controls the operation of said vibration means according to a vibration pattern corresponding to the movement detected by said detection means. A method for controlling the operation of an input device for operating an information processing device, comprising a plurality of vibration means for generating mechanical vibrations, comprising:
detecting movement of the input device;
a step of acquiring battery information of the input device and determining the remaining amount of the battery when movement of the input device is detected in the detecting step;
setting a time for vibration to shift from one end of the input device to the other end in the length direction of the plurality of vibrating means according to the remaining amount of the battery determined in the determining step; A method, comprising: controlling 8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein said controlling step controls the operation of said vibrating means according to a vibration pattern corresponding to the movement detected in said detecting step.

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