JPH08263212A - Coordinate input device and information processor using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide the coordinate input device and information processor using the same with which a coordinate input for plotting or the image of a displayed point or line can be easily instructed to be erased. CONSTITUTION: Two coordinate instruction parts 5d and 5i are provided one plane 5j of an almost parallelopiped eraser 5 for instructing the erasure of image such as the line or point displayed on a display screen. When that plane 5j is abutted to the coordinate input panel of the information processor, at the information processor, a rectangular area having the coordinate instruction parts 5d and 5i as both the ends of a diagonal is recognized as an erasable area. This eraser 5 is abutted to the coordinate input panel and freely and continuously moved so that the area regulated by the track of that movement can become the erasable area and the already displayed image included in that area can be erased from the screen.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a coordinate input device and an information processing device using the device, and more particularly, to a pen-type or mouse-type pointing device positioned on a predetermined input surface. The present invention relates to a coordinate input device for detecting position coordinates and an information processing device using the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional pen input type information processing apparatus, for example, as shown in FIG. 20, is composed of a main body 101 and a pen 102 each having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. On the upper surface of the main body 101, a coordinate input unit and a display unit are overlapped and integrally provided. Therefore, on the upper surface of the main body 101, the input plate 103 for indicating the position of the pen 102 is indicated.
Is provided. On the back surface of the input plate 103, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD; not shown) is provided.

The input plate 103 has various configurations according to the coordinate input method. For example, when the method is a so-called resistance film method (pressure-sensitive method), two or more glass plates or resin films having transparent resistors are stacked. In the case of the so-called capacitance coupling method or the electromagnetic induction method, the input plate 103 is a transparent line or loop coil in the X direction (horizontal direction of the input plate) and the Y direction (longitudinal direction of the input plate). 1 with electrode pattern
It is a plate made of one piece or two or more pieces of glass or resin. Further, in the case of a so-called ultrasonic system in which the position coordinates of the pen 102 are derived by detecting elastic wave vibration propagating in the input plate 103, the input plate 103 is a plate made of simple glass or resin.

There are various sizes of the information processing apparatus having the above-described structure, such as a small portable size for individuals who can carry in a bag or the like, and a large size so-called electronic blackboard size. Next, the operation of the information processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described. When the operator brings the pen 102 close to or touches the input plate 103, the pen 1
The position coordinate of 02, that is, the input point is detected by the coordinate input unit, and the detected coordinate is C stored in the information processing device.
It is output to PU (not shown). Based on the output result of the position coordinates of the input point, the CPU executes a predetermined function, for example,
The command corresponding to the menu displayed on the LCD is executed. Further, a point corresponding to the position of the pen 102 can be displayed on the LCD by an LCD drive circuit (not shown). Further, when the input by the pen 102 is continuously performed, that is, when the pen 102 is moving on the input plate 103, the input point groups detected by a predetermined sampling grade are connected by a line, The trajectory of the operation of 102 can be displayed on the LCD. Further, by discriminating and determining the locus, the character or the figure is recognized, or the command (gesture command) represented by the recognized character or figure is executed.

In an information processing apparatus having the above-described structure and operating, normally, there is only one location for coordinate designation, and the coordinate information of one input point is handled by one sampling. Therefore, when a point cloud obtained by continuous sampling is displayed as a line on the LCD as pen trajectory information, the thickness of the line is incorporated in the information processing device so that the line connecting the point clouds has a predetermined width. Program C
It is set by the PU executing. Alternatively, by detecting the force with which the pen is pressed against the input surface, that is, the pen pressure,
A method of changing the thickness of the line according to the writing pressure has also been proposed (see, for example, JP-A-63-113720, JP-A-3-41572, and JP-A-3-171321).

On the other hand, the LCD using the input coordinate information of the pen
When erasing a point or line already drawn above, the erasable area corresponding to one input point is a circle of a predetermined size centered on the input point, or a rectangle, It is set by the CPU executing the program.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the device operator sets the line thickness before or after the pen input, the line thickness is continuously set for continuous pen input. The problem is that it is difficult to change. Further, in the method in which the device detects the pen pressure of the pen and changes the line thickness, the device operator must be familiar with the characteristics of the device in order for the device operator to grasp the correlation between the pen pressure and the line thickness. Further, there is a drawback that a trial and error input operation is required to draw a line having a desired change in thickness even after learning.

On the other hand, when erasing existing points or lines on the LCD, even if an erasable area of a predetermined size is set around the pen input point, an instruction to the first point or line to be erased is given. Usually, it is done with a needle-shaped pen tip, so the area of the pen tip is much smaller than the erasable area, and it is difficult to grasp the actual size of the erasable area until the erase instruction is completed. However, when pointing the input plate directly with the pen, there is the problem that points or lines that you want to keep will be erased. In order to solve such a problem, a method of erasing an area surrounded by the pen trajectory or a rectangular area having a line connecting two input points as a diagonal line is conceivable. The operator is required to perform a complicated procedure of selecting an input mode for performing the operation, then performing the area instruction as described above, and then erasing after confirming the area instruction, resulting in poor operability of the apparatus. There are drawbacks.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and a coordinate input device capable of changing the thickness of a line displaying the result of the coordinate input by a simple operation with respect to continuous coordinate input. An object is to provide an information processing device using the device. Another object of the present invention is to provide a coordinate input device capable of easily grasping the size of an erasable area and easily and accurately erasing a line or a point displayed as a result of easy coordinate input. An object is to provide an information processing device using the device.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the coordinate input device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the input instruction means having a plurality of input members capable of simultaneous input, the detection means for detecting the coordinates of the plurality of input points by the input instruction means on the input surface, and the predetermined coordinates from the coordinates of the plurality of input points A coordinate input device comprising: a first calculating means for calculating a straight line or a two-dimensional area; and an output means for outputting a calculation result of the first calculating means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, input instruction means having a plurality of input members capable of simultaneous input, detection means for detecting the coordinates of a plurality of input points by the input instruction means on the input surface, First calculation means for calculating a predetermined straight line or two-dimensional area from the coordinates of the input point, output means for outputting the calculation result of the first calculation means, and the input instruction means are brought into contact with the input surface. A second calculation means for calculating a two-dimensional area formed by the straight line calculated by the first calculation means or the locus of the two-dimensional area when continuously moving on the input surface without changing, An information processing apparatus using a coordinate input device characterized by outputting the calculation result of the second calculating means to the output means, which is an instruction to input new information or an instruction to erase existing information. Determine if And an image is displayed in a two-dimensional area, which is the calculation result of the second calculation unit, based on the calculation result of the second calculation unit output from the output unit according to the determination result of the determination unit. Based on the determination result of the display unit and the determination unit, based on the calculation result of the second calculation unit output from the output unit, the display unit displays the two-dimensional area which is the calculation result of the second calculation unit. And an erasing means for erasing the recorded image.

[0012]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, when coordinate input instruction is given to the input surface from the input instruction means having a plurality of input members capable of simultaneous input, a plurality of input points on the input surface by the input instruction means are detected. If the coordinates are detected, a predetermined straight line or a two-dimensional area is calculated from the coordinate points of the plurality of input points, and the input instruction means continuously moves on the input surface while being in contact with the input surface, The two-dimensional area formed by the calculated straight line or the trajectory of the two-dimensional area is calculated, and the calculation result is output.

According to another aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether the coordinate input instruction is an instruction to input new information or an instruction to delete existing information, and the coordinate output instruction is output according to the determination result of the determination means. The image is displayed in the two-dimensional area which is the calculation result, and the image displayed by the display unit is deleted according to the determination result based on the two-dimensional area which is the output calculation result.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a large-sized information processing apparatus 1 having a screen size similar to that of an electronic blackboard, which is a typical embodiment of the present invention, and used for meetings and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the present apparatus includes a digitizer which is a coordinate input section and a display which is a display section, which are integrated by superimposing them on each other. The pen 3 and 4 for inputting and operating instructions, the eraser 5 for erasing the displayed image from the display screen, the rear projection type projection display for enlarging and projecting the screen of the CRT or LCD on the input surface, the display drive circuit, and the entire device. It is composed of a casing 7 on which a control circuit for controlling is mounted. Further, the enclosure 7 is provided with a tray 1a on which the pens 3 and 4 are placed,
The pens 3, 4 and the eraser 5 are connected to the cables 6a, 6 respectively.
It is connected to the housing 7 by b and 6c. Furthermore, 3
Reference characters c and 4c are the tips of the pens 3 and 4, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit mounted on the casing 7. In FIG. 2, 8 is a digitizer control circuit, 9 is a CPU for controlling the entire apparatus, 1
0 is a display drive circuit, 11 is a CRT or LC
A display 12 such as D is a pointing device selection circuit 12 for selecting one of the pens 3, 4 and the eraser 5 and connecting it to the oscillation circuit 19. Reference numerals 13, 15, and 17 respectively denote an X-axis coil group, an X-axis scanning circuit, and an X-axis receiving circuit for detecting the lateral (X-axis direction) coordinate position of the input plate 2, while 1 is
Reference numerals 4, 16 and 18 denote a Y-axis coil group, a Y-axis scanning circuit, and a Y-axis receiving circuit for detecting the coordinate position of the input plate 2 in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction). As shown in FIG. 2, each of the pens 3 and 4 includes a pen coil 3a and 4a and a pen switch 3b and 4b, and the eraser 5 includes an input coil 5a and 5b and an eraser switch 5c. There is.

FIG. 3 shows an eraser 5 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.
3 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the surface 5j facing the input plate 2 when the eraser 5 is operated is provided with recesses 5k and 5l at two diagonal corners.
5l is provided with coordinate indicating portions 5d and 5i that come into contact with the input plate 2 during an input operation. Further, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of one corner of the eraser 5 shown in FIG. 3 cut along the line d-d '. As shown in FIG. 4, the coordinate designating section 5d
Is urged toward the surface 5j by a spring 5h of a contact detection switch 5e provided at the rear end of the coordinate detection unit 5e.
The tip of d projects from the surface 5j by a predetermined length (p). An input coil 5a is provided around the coordinate designating section 5d. In addition, the contact detection switch 5e is ON / O
Electrodes 5f and 5g for outputting FF signals are provided. The coordinate designating section 5i side has the same configuration as above. In addition, the eraser 5 is provided at a predetermined position on the outer shape thereof.
An eraser switch 5c operated by an operator is provided so that the digitizer control circuit 8 can determine whether the digitizer control circuit 8 is used or not.

The pen 3 and the pen 4 have the same structure as the one coordinate designating section of the eraser 5 and have a pen-shaped outer casing, and the coordinate designating sections 3c and 4c and the pen coil 3a or 4a. And contact detection switch (not shown) and use /
A pen switch 3b or 4b for determining unused state is provided. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the input plate 2 of the digitizer. The input plate 2 is made of a glass plate 2a as a base material, and loop-shaped antenna electrodes made of a transparent conductor such as ITO are provided on both surfaces of the glass plate 2a. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, an X-axis coil group 13 arranged as an antenna electrode at a predetermined pitch so as to be orthogonal to the X-axis is provided on the front surface thereof, and on the back surface thereof is orthogonal to the Y-axis. Is provided with a Y-axis coil group 14 arranged at a predetermined pitch. The X-axis coil group 13 and the Y-axis coil group 14 are connected to the X-axis scanning circuit 15 and the Y-axis scanning circuit 16, respectively. Further, the X-axis scanning circuit 15 and the Y-axis scanning circuit 16 respectively have an X-axis receiving circuit 17 and a Y-axis receiving circuit 17, respectively.
It is connected to the axis receiving circuit 18.

The pen coil 3a of the pen 3, the pen coil 4a of the pen 4, the input coil 5a of the eraser 5 and the oscillation circuit 19 for applying an AC voltage at a predetermined frequency to the input coil 5b, and the oscillation circuit 19 and each coil. An indicator selection circuit 12 for selectively connecting is provided. In FIG.
The state where the input coil 5a of the eraser 5 and the oscillation circuit 19 are connected is shown as an example.

Next, the input operation of the digitizer having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 6 by taking the coordinate designating section 5d of the eraser 5 as an example. FIG. 6 shows the surface 5 of the eraser 5.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which j is brought into contact with the input plate 2 and the coordinate designating unit 5d is pushed into the eraser by a predetermined amount, and the contact detection switch 5e is turned “ON”. When the digitizer control circuit 8 confirms that the contact detection switch 5e is "ON", the pointing device selection circuit 12 applies an AC voltage to the input coil 5a of the selected eraser 5 by the oscillation circuit 19 and the input coil 5a. Generates a magnetic field. Due to the generated magnetic field, an induced current is generated in predetermined coils of the X-axis coil group 13 and the Y-axis coil group 14. On the other hand, the X-axis scanning circuit 15 and the Y-axis scanning circuit 16 scan each coil group, the induction current of a predetermined coil is detected by the X-axis receiving circuit 17 and the Y-axis receiving circuit 18, and the amplitudes of the induction currents are compared. By calculating, the coordinate instruction unit 5 of the eraser 5
The position coordinate of d is detected. Such an operation is the same for the coordinate designating section 5i of the eraser 5 and the pens 3, 4.

The coordinate positions of the various coordinate pointing tools thus input are output to the CPU 9. Here, when the coordinate pointing device is the pen 3 or the pen 4, a line connecting the points corresponding to the position coordinates or the continuously detected point group is displayed on the display 11, and the pen 3 or 4 is used. You can point or write. Of course, the selection / execution of the menu command by the pointing,
Alternatively, it goes without saying that the character recognition / graphic recognition or the like for the written information can be realized by various processing programs executed by the CPU 9. On the other hand, when the coordinate pointing device is the eraser 5, the eraser 5 can be used to erase a figure such as a dot or a line displayed on the display 11 as if it were a normal blackboard eraser. This erase operation will be described later in detail.

Next, regarding the information input processing and the display information erasing processing using the information processing apparatus 1 having the above-mentioned configuration, a flowchart shown in FIG. 7 and a top view of the eraser shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to the display screens shown in FIGS. In the following description, in order to simplify the description, the pen 4 is omitted and only the pen 3 is used as an input device. First, in steps S1 to S2 and S9, the digitizer control circuit 8 determines the use state of the coordinate pointing tool based on the states of the pen switch 3b and the eraser switch 5c. Here, (1) the pen switch 3b is "O".
N ", when the eraser switch 5c is" OFF ",
The process proceeds to step S3. (2) If the pen switch 3b is "ON" and the eraser switch 5c is "ON", the process proceeds to step S20. (3) The pen switch 3b is "OFF", the eraser switch If 5c is "ON", the process proceeds to step S10. (4) If both the pen switch 3b and the eraser switch 5c are "OFF", the process ends.

Now, in step S3, the pen coil 3a
Is selected by the pointer selection circuit 12, and the oscillator circuit 19 causes the coil to generate a magnetic field. Next, in step S4, the X coordinate of the input point A from the pen 3 is detected by the X axis scanning circuit 15 and the X axis receiving circuit 17 as described above, and in step S5, the Y axis scanning circuit 1 as described above.
6. Input point A from pen 3 by Y-axis receiving circuit 18
Is detected, and as a result, the position coordinate of the input point A is output from the digitizer control circuit 8 to the CPU 9 in a predetermined communication format as the output of the pen 3 in step S6. In step S7, the point on the display 11 corresponding to the input point A is displayed, or the previous input point A
A line connecting ´ and the current input point A is displayed.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S10, first, the input coil 5a and the input coil 5b of the eraser 5 are selected by the pointing device selection circuit 12 in a time division manner. The following description refers to the top view of the eraser 5 shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, the input point a corresponds to the pointing point of the coordinate pointing unit 5d, the input point b corresponds to the pointing point of the coordinate pointing unit 5i, and the points c and d are the input points a and b at both ends of the diagonal line. Represents the other two vertices in the rectangle.

That is, first, in step S10, the input coil 5a is selected by the pointer selection circuit 12, and the oscillation circuit 19 causes the coil to generate a magnetic field. Next, in step S11, as described above, the X-axis scanning circuits 15, X
The axis receiving circuit 17 detects the X coordinate of the input point a, which is the pointing point of the coordinate pointing unit 5d, and in step S12, the Y-axis scanning circuit 16 and the Y-axis receiving circuit 18 move the coordinate pointing unit 5d as described above. The Y coordinate of the input point a which is the designated point is detected, and as a result, the position coordinate of the input point a is stored in the memory in the digitizer control circuit 8 in step S13. Next, in step S14, the input coil 5d is selected by the pointer selection circuit 12, and the oscillator circuit 19 causes the coil to generate a magnetic field. Next, step S15
Then, as described above, the same processing as in steps S11 to S12 is executed, and the input point b which is the designated point of the coordinate designating section 5i.
Is detected, and as a result, the position coordinate of the input point b is stored in the memory in the digitizer control circuit 8 in step S16.

In step S17, the position coordinates of the input points a and b are output from the digitizer control circuit 8 to the CPU 9 as an eraser output according to a predetermined communication format. Further, in step S18, the CPU 9 calculates and defines the erasing area based on the coordinate values of the input points a and b. As shown in FIG. 8, this area is a point geometrically determined from the coordinate values of the input points a and b and the dimensions of the longitudinal width and the lateral width set by the outer shape of the eraser 5. It is calculated from the coordinate values corresponding to c and d. Then, the point or line in the determined erase area is erased from the display 11.

When the eraser 5 whose erased area is defined as described above is used to continuously erase the information of the points or lines on the display 11, the eraser 5 is used.
When the eraser 5 is moved along the longitudinal direction of, the display area with a narrow width can be erased as shown in FIG. Further, when the eraser 5 is moved along the lateral direction of the eraser 5, it is possible to erase a wide display area as shown in FIG. Furthermore, if the eraser 5 is moved along the diagonal direction of the eraser 5, it is possible to erase a wider width as shown in FIG.

The erasing area is defined not only by setting the size of the eraser 5 smaller than the outer shape as shown in FIG. 8 but also by defining the input points a and b and the points c and d. It goes without saying that various settings can be made by mathematically enlarging or reducing the rectangle to be displayed. Furthermore, when the process proceeds to step S20, the pen coil 3a and the input coil 5 of the eraser 5
a and the input coil 5b by the pointer selection circuit 12
The coordinate of each input point is calculated by selecting in time division. That is, for pen input, the processing corresponding to steps S3 to S7 is executed in step S21, and for eraser input, the processing corresponding to steps S10 to S18 is executed in step S22.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by using the eraser 5 having the two coordinate designating portions in the large-sized information information device 1, the size of the erased area can be easily grasped only by looking at the eraser. Therefore, because the eraser can be placed directly at the location you want to erase, and the erase width can be selected depending on the moving direction of the eraser,
Only the information to be erased can be easily and surely erased without erasing the points or lines to be retained.

Further, the eraser is used in the same way as the so-called blackboard eraser, and it is possible to realize a user-friendly information device. This ease of use is extremely effective for the information processing apparatus for a conference, which is used in the present embodiment and is considered to be used by an unspecified number of people including beginners unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus. In other words, even beginners can operate freely without being bothered by how to use information devices,
This is because the purpose of the meeting or meeting can be achieved.

Further, since a predetermined pen or eraser place 1a as shown in FIG. 1 is provided in a large-sized information processing apparatus such as that of the present embodiment, it can be used as an accessory that can be considered for a small portable device. There is an advantage that no inconvenience such as a troublesome place for storage occurs.

[0031]

[Other Embodiments] Here, an example in which an eraser is provided with three coordinate designating portions will be described. In the following description, the configuration of the entire information processing apparatus, the digitizer method, etc. are the same as those in the above-described embodiment, and the description of the common parts is omitted, and the eraser and the eraser that are the features of this embodiment are related. Only the operation to be performed will be described. Also, regarding the configuration of the eraser, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of the eraser 5 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, on the surface 5j facing the input plate 2 at the time of input operation of the eraser 5 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, concave portions 5k, 5l and 31g are provided at three corners of four corners.
Are provided in the concave portions 5k, 5l, 31g, and the coordinate indicating portions 5d, 5i, 31 which come into contact with the input plate 2 at the time of input operation.
c is provided. Each coordinate designating section is provided with a contact detection switch (not shown) and an input coil (not shown). The internal configuration of the coordinate designating section 31c includes the coordinate designating section 5d,
It is the same as that of 5i. In this embodiment, the outer shape of the eraser is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. However, the shape may be L-shaped as shown in FIG. 13, and the shape is not limited to a particular shape.

Next, the operation of the eraser 5 having the above structure will be described with reference to the flow charts shown in FIGS. In the following description, the input coil provided in the coordinate designating section 31c will be referred to as the input coil c, and the input point of the coordinate designating section 31c will be referred to as the input point c. Also, the same step reference numbers are assigned to the processing steps common to those described in the above-mentioned embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted. The flowcharts of FIGS. 14 to 16 show the operation of the eraser when the eraser switch of the above-described embodiment is ON.
That is, steps S10 to S18 in the flowchart of FIG.
Equivalent to.

First, in step S31, the ON / OFF state of the eraser switch is checked. If the eraser switch is ON, the three input coils of the eraser 5 are selected by the indicator selection circuit 12 in a time division manner, and the coordinate position is determined. To be detected. On the other hand, if the eraser switch is off, the process is terminated as in the above-described embodiment, or the process proceeds to step S3.

Next, in steps S32 to S36, the input coil 5a of the coordinate designating section 5d is selected, and the coordinate designating section 5d is selected.
The position coordinate (X coordinate, Y coordinate) of the input point a by d is detected, and is stored in the memory of the digitizer control circuit 8 in step S37. The position coordinates of the input point a are output from the digitizer control circuit 8 to the CPU 9 as an eraser output in step S38. When the eraser 5 is tilted with respect to the input plate 2 or when proper reception is not made, it is determined in step S33 or step S35 that the process proceeds to step S41, and the digitizer control is performed. The input coil 5b of the coordinate designating section 5i is selected without outputting the position coordinates of the input point a from the circuit 8 to the CPU 9.

In steps S41 to S45, the input coil 5b is selected, the position coordinates (X coordinate, Y coordinate) of the input point b by the coordinate designating section 5i are detected, and in step S46 it is stored in the memory of the digitizer control circuit 8. It The position coordinates of the input point a are output from the digitizer control circuit 8 to the CPU 9 as an eraser output in step S47. Here, as in the above case, when the input point b is not detected, the step S42 or the step S4 is performed.
4, it is determined that the process proceeds to step S50,
The input coil c of the coordinate designating section 31c is selected without outputting the position coordinates of the input point b from the digitizer control circuit 8 to the CPU 9.

Hereinafter, also in steps S50 to S56, the input coil c is selected and the same operation is executed. After the above processing, the CPU 9 determines in steps S59 to S61 whether there is coordinate information regarding the input points a, b, and c, and performs the following processing according to the determination result.

That is, when the coordinate values of all three input points a, b, and c are detected and output, the process proceeds to step S62, and the erased area is defined from the coordinate values of these three points.
The point or line in the erase area is erased from the display 11. The erased area is a rectangular area that is substantially the same as the outer shape of the eraser 5 geometrically determined by the coordinate values of three points. By moving the eraser 5, the eraser 5 can be erased in the lateral width, the longitudinal width, or the diagonal width, as in the above-described embodiment.

Further, steps S59 to S61, S65,
When the coordinate values of two points among the input points a, b, and c are detected and output by the determination of S67 and S68, the process proceeds to one of the process steps of S64, S66, and S69, and Information on the point or line on the display 11 corresponding to the line connecting the two points is erased.
In such a case, when the eraser 5 is moved to continuously detect the two points, regarding the sampling time of the coordinate detection, the line connecting the two points obtained from the previous sampling and the current sampling The area surrounded by the line connecting the two points obtained from the same line and the two lines connecting the same input point (for example, if the input point a is the previous input point a and the current input point a) are the erased areas And the information in that area is erased. The operator can easily detect the coordinates of only two points by inclining the eraser 5 with respect to the input plate 32 as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 17, if the eraser 5 is moved in a direction other than the vertical direction with respect to the line connecting these two coordinate detection points, the width of the eraser 5 is shorter than the length of the line connecting these two points depending on the direction. It can be erased freely. This is
It goes without saying that any two points are possible.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the coordinate designating unit has three units.
Even if the erasers provided at various locations are used, the size of the erasable area can be easily grasped as in the above-described embodiment, and only the information to be erased can be easily erased without erasing the points or lines to be left. And it can be surely erased. Furthermore, in this embodiment, in addition to the effect of the above-described embodiment, the eraser is tilted with respect to the input plate, and the input information of two points is used as the information of the line segment. The width can be set freely, and only the information to be deleted can be easily and surely deleted.

Although the eraser having two or three coordinate indicating portions is used in the above-described embodiment and this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this and, for example, the number of installation locations is four. Or more. In the above-mentioned two embodiments, the coordinate position is calculated by detecting the induced current generated in the coil, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a transducer is provided in an input pointing tool such as a pen or an eraser, and the pointing tool is brought into contact with the pointing position of the input plate, an elastic wave is generated in the input plate from that position, and the elastic wave is detected. The device may be configured to detect the coordinates according to the above.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing the construction of a digitizer which uses a pen as an input pointing device as a source for generating elastic waves and detects coordinates from elastic waves propagating in an input plate. The digitizer having such a configuration is incorporated in the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and used for detecting the input coordinates. Note that in FIG.
The same components as those shown in are given the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 18, the digitizer is a calculation control circuit for controlling the vibration input pen 41, the vibration transmission plate 42 which is the input plate, the vibration detection sensors 43a to 43d, the vibration isolator 44, and the entire device and calculating the coordinate position. 45, a vibrator drive circuit 46, a vibrator selection circuit 47, and a signal waveform detection circuit 48. In addition, two pen points 41a and 41b, which are two coordinate designating sections, are provided at the tip of the input side of the input pen 41, and transducers 41c and 41d are provided at the rear ends of the pen points 41a and 41b, respectively. It is provided.

Next, an outline of the operation of the digitizer shown in FIG. 18 will be described. First, in order to input coordinates, the input pen 41 is input from the arithmetic control circuit 45 to the vibrator drive circuit 46.
A pulse signal for driving the vibrator 41c or 41d built in the is supplied. Transducer 41c or 4
The vibrator selection circuit 47 alternately selects which one of the vibrators 1d is to be supplied with the pulse signal. This pulse signal is amplified by the oscillator drive circuit 46 with a predetermined gain and applied to the oscillator 41c or 41d. The pulse signal which is an electric drive signal is converted into mechanical vibration by the vibrator 41c or 41d, and the input pen 41
It is input to the transmission plate 42 via the pen tip 41a or 41b. An anti-vibration damper 41e is provided between the nibs 41a and 41b so that the vibration of the vibrator 41c or 41d does not affect the other nib 41b or 41a.

Next, the vibration input from the pen nibs 41a and 41b propagates through the transmission plate 42 and the detection sensors 43a-4d.
Reach 3d. The detection sensors 43a to 43d are sensors such as piezoelectric elements and convert mechanical vibration into electrical vibration. Therefore, the transmitted vibrations are detected by the detection sensors 43a to 43.
Is detected and an electric signal is output. Then, the output electrical signal is subjected to predetermined waveform detection processing in the signal waveform detection circuit 48, and becomes a signal indicating the timing at which the propagating vibration reaches each of the detection sensors 43a to 43d, and the result is arithmetic control. It is output to the circuit 45. The arithmetic control circuit 45 measures the time from the supply of the pulse signal to the detection of the timing signal indicating the arrival of vibration by an internal timer composed of a counter or the like.

Further, the pen tip 41a or 41b of the input pen 41 is calculated from the product of the time measured and the vibration propagation velocity.
And the detection sensors 43a to 43d are calculated, and the position coordinates of the pen tip 41a or 41b of the input pen 41 are calculated using the calculated distance and the Pythagorean theorem. For the detailed configuration and operation of the digitizer having the above configuration, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-62771.

Now, as shown in FIG. 18, the digitizer having the above-described structure is mounted in an actual information processing apparatus so that the LCD 50 is provided below the digitizer. Thus, by displaying the position coordinates of the input pen 41 detected by the digitizer as corresponding dots or lines of the LCD stacked below, a so-called pen input point can be shown to the device user.

In the information processing apparatus having the coordinate input display unit in which the digitizer and the LCD are laminated and integrated as described above, the coordinate input from the two pen nibs 41a and 41b and the display operation thereof are as follows. . That is, by driving the transducers 41c and 41d alternately selected by the transducer selection circuit 47, the input points a and b by the pen nibs 41a and 41b are driven.
Are alternately detected, and the arithmetic control circuit 45 generates information on a line connecting the input points a and b, and this is sent to the display drive circuit 10. Based on the information on the line, the line is displayed on the LCD 50. Is drawn and displayed.

When the input with the pen tips 41a and 41b is continuously performed, the locus of the line connecting the input points a and b is displayed on the LCD 50 so that the locus of the input pen 41 has a certain width. Only one line can be drawn. This time,
As shown in FIG. 19, by rotating the input pen 41 while moving it, the width of the drawing line can be continuously changed. If the input pen 41 is moved in a direction other than the direction perpendicular to the line connecting the input points a and b, a line having a width shorter than the length of the line connecting the two points a and b can be freely moved according to the direction. Can be drawn to.

Further, the input pen 41 may be configured not only to draw dots, lines, etc., but also to have the function of the eraser described in the above two embodiments. In this case, since the pen nibs 41a and 41b have a certain width, it is easy to grasp the size of the erasable area.
It is possible to erase the displayed image by forming the erasable area while changing the width of the locus formed by continuously moving the slab on the digitizer.

The three embodiments of the coordinate input device and the information processing device using the device have been described above. The coordinate input method applied to these devices is the electromagnetic induction for detecting the phase difference between the induced currents. The present invention can be applied to any method, such as an ultrasonic method using a surface wave or a plate wave, or an electrostatic coupling method as long as the position coordinates of a plurality of coordinate indicating portions can be detected by time division. It goes without saying that it can be applied.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of one device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a coordinate input instruction is given to the plane portion of the input means from the input instruction means having a plurality of input points capable of simultaneous input, the input on the plane portion is performed. The coordinates of a plurality of input points by the pointing means are detected, and a straight line connecting at least two points within the coordinate points of the plurality of input points is calculated, while the input pointing means is continuously contacted with the flat surface portion. When moving on the plane part, a two-dimensional area formed by the calculated straight line trajectory is calculated, information indicating the two-dimensional area is output, and
In the information processing device using the coordinate input device of the present invention, it is determined whether the coordinate input instruction is an instruction to input new information or an instruction to erase information that has been input, and the determination means The image is displayed in the two-dimensional area based on the information indicating the two-dimensional area to be output according to the result of the determination, and the image is output according to the result of the determination.
The image displayed by the display means is deleted from the two-dimensional area based on the information indicating the three-dimensional area.

Therefore, the size of the two-dimensional area can be easily changed by a simple operation such as changing the moving direction of the input instruction means or rotating the input instruction means. For example, the thickness of the line can be easily and continuously changed. You can easily input to change,
Further, since the size of the erasable area can be easily grasped from the intervals between the plurality of input points of the input instruction means, only the information to be erased can be obtained without erasing the display image of points or lines to be left. There is an effect that it can be easily and surely erased.

As a result, the operator of the apparatus can easily and surely input and erase the information without being skilled in the apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a large-sized information processing apparatus 1 having a screen size of an electronic blackboard that is a typical embodiment of the present invention and used for a conference or the like.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit mounted on a casing 7.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of an eraser 5 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape.

FIG. 4 shows a straight line d- at one corner of the eraser 5 shown in FIG.
It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected along d '.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an input plate 2 of the digitizer.

FIG. 6 is a view in which a surface 5j of the eraser 5 is brought into contact with the input plate 2 so that the coordinate indicating portion 5d is pushed into the eraser by a predetermined amount.
It is a figure which shows a mode that the contact detection switch 5e is set to "ON".

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an information input process and a display information erasing process using the information processing device 1.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an erase area of an eraser.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen showing an erase area by an erase operation.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen showing an erase area by an erase operation.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen showing an erase area by an erase operation.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of an eraser according to another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an external perspective view of an eraser according to still another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a display information erasing process according to another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a display information erasing process according to another embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a display information erasing process according to another embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of an erase operation using an eraser according to another embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digitizer that uses a pen as an input indicator as a generation source for generating elastic waves and that detects coordinates from elastic waves propagating in an input plate.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing coordinate input and drawing operations using the input pen 41.

FIG. 20 is an external perspective view showing an example of a conventional information processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Information Processing Device 2 Input Plate 3, 4 Pen 3a, 4a Pen Coil 3b, 4b Pen Switch 5 Eraser 5a, 5b Input Coil 5c Eraser Switch 5d, 5i, 31c Coordinate Pointer 8 Digitizer Control Circuit 9 CPU 10 Display Drive Circuit 11 Display 12 Pointer selection circuit 19 Oscillation circuit 41 Input pens 41a, 41b Pen tip 45 Arithmetic control circuit 46 Transducer drive circuit 47 Transducer selection circuit 48 Signal waveform detection circuit 50 LCD

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Katsuyuki Kobayashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hajime Sato 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Yuichiro Yoshimura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An input instruction means having a plurality of input members capable of simultaneous input, a detection means for detecting coordinates of a plurality of input points by the input instruction means on an input surface, and coordinates from the plurality of input points. A coordinate input device comprising: a first calculation means for calculating a predetermined straight line or a two-dimensional area; and an output means for outputting a calculation result of the first calculation means. 2. When the input instructing means continuously moves on the input surface while being in contact with the input surface, the input instructing means is formed by a straight line or a locus of a two-dimensional area calculated by the first calculating means. The coordinate input device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second calculation unit that calculates a two-dimensional region that outputs a calculation result of the second calculation unit to the output unit. 3. The coordinate input device according to claim 1, wherein the coordinate detection by the detection means is performed by an electromagnetic induction system, an electrostatic coupling system, or an ultrasonic wave system. 4. The input instructing means is a first input instructing tool for instructing input of new information, or a second input instructing tool for instructing deletion of existing information, or the first and the second. The coordinate input device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising two input pointing tools. 5. The coordinate according to claim 4, wherein the first input pointing device has a pen-shaped outer shape and is provided with a plurality of input members for giving a coordinate input instruction at one end. Input device. 6. The coordinate according to claim 4, wherein the second input pointing tool has a pen-shaped outer shape, and is provided with a plurality of input members for giving a coordinate input instruction at one end. Input device. 7. The second input pointing tool has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape, and a plurality of input members for instructing coordinate input are provided on one surface of the rectangular parallelepiped. The coordinate input device described. 8. An information processing apparatus using the coordinate input device according to claim 2, wherein the determining means determines whether it is an instruction to input new information or an instruction to erase existing information. And a display unit for displaying an image in a two-dimensional area which is the calculation result of the second calculation unit based on the calculation result of the second calculation unit output from the output unit according to the determination result of the determination unit. The image displayed by the display means from the two-dimensional area which is the calculation result of the second calculating means based on the calculation result of the second calculating means output from the output means according to the determination result of the determining means. And an erasing means for erasing the information processing apparatus. 9. The information according to claim 8, wherein the input surface is formed of a transparent member, and the transparent member and the display screen of the display unit are overlapped and integrated. Processing equipment. 10. The display means is a CRT or L
The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, which is a CD.