JPH10149252A - Pen input device and positional coordinate correcting method for the device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately correct a deviation on a specified position due to the hand oscillation or the like of an input pen and to execute correction processing preferring response as necessity. SOLUTION: A reception processing part 32 calculates a distance between an ultrasonic wave sender of an input pen 1 and ultrasonic wave receiving elements 31a, 31b based on time required from the sending of an ultrasonic wave from the sender up to its reception by the elements 31a, 31b and an arithmetic processing part 40 receives the distance data through a communication part 33 and calculates the positional coordinates of the input pen 1. At the time, the processing part 40 recognizes pen operation states such as the depression of a plotting button and the moving speed of the pen 1, and when the plotting button e.g. is depressed, heavy correction processing is applied to attain highly accurate correction. In other cases, the heavy correction processing is not applied and correction processing preferring not accuracy but response is executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pen input device in a computer system or the like having a handwriting input function, and more particularly, to a pen for detecting the position coordinates of an input pen using ultrasonic waves and inputting a designated position of the input pen. The present invention relates to an improvement in a processing method for correcting, in an input device, a displacement of a pointing position caused by a mounting position of an ultrasonic transmitter with respect to an input pen, a camera shake, or the like with appropriate accuracy corresponding to an operation state of the input pen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, input devices in a computer system or the like having a handwriting input function include: 1) an infrared type; 2) a pressure-sensitive type; 3) a capacitive type; 4) an electromagnetic type; An ultrasonic type is known.

[0003] In the infrared method of 1), a spot position detected by a light pen that emits infrared light is detected using a semiconductor position detecting element, and a plurality of infrared light emitting elements and a light receiving element are arranged on an input surface. There is known a device that detects an indicated position by determining a position where infrared light emitted from an infrared light emitting element is blocked by a finger, an input pen, or the like from an output of the light receiving element.

[0004] In the pressure sensing method of 2), an electrode sheet provided with a plurality of X-axis electrodes and a plurality of Y-electrodes are arranged.
A pressure-sensitive panel in which a support on which an axis electrode is disposed is overlapped with a dot spacer interposed therebetween,
Sheets are superimposed via a three-dimensional spring,
2. Description of the Related Art There is known a device that detects a designated position by detecting a change in current at a position touched by a finger, an input pen, or the like.

[0005] In the case of the method of 3), the conductive films formed by vapor deposition on two sheets of glass are used as X-axis and Y-axis electrode patterns, respectively. A device using a capacitive coupling type panel in which surfaces are bonded to each other is known.

Further, according to the electromagnetic method of 4), a plurality of sensor antenna coils are arranged on an input surface, and a resonance circuit including a coil and a capacitor is built in an input pen. A current is caused to flow through the resonance circuit of the input pen using electromagnetic induction by flowing an alternating current through the coil, and then the alternating current flowing through the plurality of sensor antenna coils is turned off. There is known a device that detects a pointing position of an input pen by detecting a magnetic field generated by a current flowing through a resonance circuit with the plurality of sensor antenna coils.

[0007] In the ultrasonic method of 5), a) an ultrasonic vibration element and an ultrasonic receiving element for generating an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave are provided on a glass substrate to absorb an elastic wave of a finger or the like. An ultrasonic surface acoustic wave system for detecting the presence of a body from a change in the reception signal of the ultrasonic receiving element. B) As disclosed in JP-A-64-10319, at least two A set of ultrasonic transceivers is mounted, and ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic transceivers of each set are reflected by a stylus pen indicating a desired position on the screen panel, and are transmitted by the ultrasonic transceivers of the set. The position on the screen panel indicated by the stylus pen is calculated and calculated from the time until it is received. C) The method disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 64-7340. As there,
Microphones are arranged at three or more known points on the same plane, and a sounding body which can be placed at an arbitrary coordinate position on the plane is provided, and a voltage generated at two microphones among the microphones is measured. It is known that a position of a hyperbola including the sounding body is determined from a time difference, and a coordinate position of the sounding body is determined from two or more intersections of the hyperbola.

However, the conventional input devices 1) to 4) have a problem that the structure is complicated and the manufacturing cost is high. In addition, it is difficult to apply an arbitrary size and type of input surface (display).

Also, the method 5) a) has a problem that its production is difficult and the production cost is high.
As in 4), there is a problem that it is difficult to apply it to an input surface (display) of any size and type.

[0010] Furthermore, in the case of item 5) b), it is impossible to distinguish between the stylus pen and the hand of the operator, and there is a problem that a malfunction is likely to be caused due to this. In the case of 5) c), it is necessary to arrange at least three microphones, for example, in order to detect the designated position on the two-dimensional coordinates of the stylus pen, and the processing becomes complicated. There's a problem. Also, it is difficult to realize a multi-pen function that enables the use of a plurality of input pens.

Therefore, nowadays, the ultrasonic transmitting means is mounted on the stylus pen, and the ultrasonic receiving means is arranged at a predetermined position in the input area of the stylus pen. The distance between the ultrasonic transmitting means and the ultrasonic receiving means is measured from the time when the ultrasonic wave is transmitted and the time when the ultrasonic wave is received by the ultrasonic receiving means, and the stylus pen is used by using the measured distance. An ultrasonic position detecting mechanism has been realized in which two-dimensional or three-dimensional position coordinates are calculated, and a position indicated by a stylus pen in a predetermined input area is input based on the calculated position coordinates.

[0012]

In this type of ultrasonic position detecting mechanism, when the ultrasonic transmitting means is mounted on the stylus pen, the ultrasonic transmitting means is provided outside the stylus pen and provided inside the stylus pen. Although the method is generally used, in any case, it is physically very difficult to provide the ultrasonic wave transmitting means at the tip of the stylus pen. In the case of such a mounting form, a slight tilt, rotation, or the like of the stylus pen causes a large variation in the ultrasonic wave sending position, and as a result, erroneously recognizes the tip position of the stylus pen on the ultrasonic wave receiving side. Further, even if the ultrasonic transmitting means can be mounted as close as possible to the tip of the stylus pen, the phenomenon of shaking of the stylus pen by the operator cannot be avoided. There was a risk of incorrect recognition of the tip position. As a result, in the case of displaying the cursor in correspondence with the coordinate position of the stylus pen, etc.,
It was not possible to display the correct pointing position of the cursor, which hindered operation.

As described above, in order to solve the inconvenience peculiar to this type of device in which the input accuracy by the stylus pen is reduced due to the mounting position of the ultrasonic wave transmitting means in the stylus pen, the hand shake, etc., conventionally, For example, there is a method of correctly correcting the calculated value of the position coordinates by sampling the coordinate values calculated in the past to a plurality of reception timings and calculating an average value of the sampled data of the plurality of times. there were.

According to such a conventional correction method, a sufficient response to the movement of the stylus pen can be expected due to the processing of sampling the past calculated coordinate values up to a plurality of times before and taking the average value thereof. could not. Considering actual operation, for example, when drawing is performed using a stylus pen, input accuracy is prioritized over response in situations where smooth movement is the basis, and good results are expected in input accuracy. On the other hand, in the case of a simple operation such as moving the cursor, there is a problem that the application of the above-mentioned correction processing slows down the moving speed of the cursor and gives unexpected stress to the operator. .

As a general method of correcting the measured distance in this type of position detecting mechanism, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-64696, 6) Immediately before a coordinate Pi read from the position detecting mechanism. The detected coordinates Pi-1 and the coordinates Pi + 1 detected immediately after the coordinates Pi
To determine the validity of Pi from
No. 75821, JP-A-63-14220, JP-A-4-38510, JP-A-8-16308, etc. 7) For a stylus pen equipped with an ultrasonic transmitter At least two or three ultrasonic receivers are arranged, and an ultrasonic position detecting mechanism for detecting the two-dimensional or three-dimensional position coordinates of the stylus pen is premised. The minimum number of ultrasonic receivers required There is known an ultrasonic receiver which is additionally provided to improve the detection accuracy of the position coordinates of the stylus pen.

However, the method 6) is intended to prevent an erroneous input due to suddenly generated electrical noise or the like, and is intended to prevent a stylus pen from being peculiar to the ultrasonic position detecting mechanism as described above. It has not been possible to cope with the displacement correction of the stylus pen pointing position caused by the mounting position of the sound wave transmitting means or camera shake.

In the case of item (7), the detection accuracy itself can be improved by providing more than the required number of ultrasonic receivers. However, the stylus caused by the mounting position of the ultrasonic wave transmitting means in the stylus pen, camera shake, etc. No measures have been taken to correct the displacement of the pen pointing position, and as a result, as in 6), this type of problem could not be addressed. Also, in this type of ultrasonic position detecting mechanism, it is desired that the ultrasonic receiver is small and simple in mounting the ultrasonic receiver on the input surface. In this respect, there is a problem that the product value is reduced.

Therefore, in the present invention, the displacement of the pointing position caused by the mounting position of the ultrasonic transmitter in the input pen, the hand shake, and the like can be accurately corrected, and the correction processing which prioritizes the response as needed can be flexibly performed. An object of the present invention is to provide a pen input device capable of coping with the above and a position coordinate correction method in the device.

[0019]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a time when an ultrasonic wave is transmitted from an ultrasonic wave transmitting means mounted on an input pen and a time when the ultrasonic wave is received by an ultrasonic wave receiving means. Distance measuring means for measuring a distance between the ultrasonic transmitting means and the ultrasonic receiving means from the measured time, and calculating means for calculating two-dimensional or three-dimensional position coordinates of the input pen using the measured distance. A pen input device for inputting a position indicated by the input pen in a predetermined input area based on the position coordinates calculated by the calculation means, an operation state recognition means for recognizing an operation state of the input pen; By applying a correction process corresponding to the operation status of the input pen recognized by the operation status recognition unit, the calculated value of the position coordinates in the calculation unit is supplemented. Characterized by comprising a correction processing adaptive control means for.

The above-mentioned pen input device has a multi-pen function for enabling use of a plurality of input pens, and the operation status recognizing means recognizes the operation status of each of the input pens and performs the correction process adaptation. The control means is adapted to apply a correction process corresponding to the recognized operation situation to each of the input pens.

In the above pen input device, there is provided setting means for arbitrarily setting an operation state of the input pen and a correction processing method corresponding to the operation state, and the correction processing adaptive control means is provided by the operation state recognition means. The present invention is characterized in that the correction processing method being set corresponding to the recognition result is adapted to the recognition result of the operation state of the input pen.

In the above-mentioned pen input device, the operation status recognizing means is constituted by a drawing button press recognizing means for recognizing an ON state of a drawing mode setting button mounted on the input pen.

In the above pen input device, the operation status recognizing means is constituted by a moving speed recognizing means for recognizing a moving speed of the input pen.

In the above pen input device, the operation status recognizing means is constituted by coordinate position recognizing means for recognizing a three-dimensional or two-dimensional coordinate position of the input pen.

In the above-mentioned pen input device, the operation status recognizing means includes drawing button press recognizing means for recognizing an ON state of a drawing mode setting button mounted on the input pen, and moving speed recognizing for recognizing the moving speed of the input pen. And two or all of coordinate position recognizing means for recognizing a three-dimensional or two-dimensional coordinate position of the input pen.

Further, the position coordinate correcting method in the pen input device of the present invention is characterized in that the ultrasonic wave transmitting means mounted on the input pen transmits ultrasonic waves and the ultrasonic receiving means receives the ultrasonic waves. A distance between the ultrasonic transmitting unit and the ultrasonic receiving unit is measured from the input pen, and a two-dimensional or three-dimensional position coordinate of the input pen is calculated using the measured distance. In the pen input device for inputting the position indicated by the pen, the operation state of the input pen is recognized, and the correction value corresponding to the recognized operation state of the input pen is adapted to correct the calculated value of the position coordinates. It is characterized by doing so.

In the position coordinate correction method, the operation state of the recognition target is a state in which the drawing mode setting button mounted on the input pen is in an ON state, and the moving speed of the input pen exceeds a predetermined moving speed. It is characterized by comprising one or a combination of a situation and a situation where the three-dimensional or two-dimensional coordinate position of the input pen is outside a specific coordinate position range.

The position coordinate correction method has a multi-pen function that enables a plurality of input pens to be used, recognizes the operation status of each of the input pens, and responds to the recognized operation status. The correction process is adapted for each of the input pens.

In the position coordinate correction method, there is provided setting means for arbitrarily setting an operation state of the input pen and a correction processing method corresponding to the operation state. It is characterized in that the correction processing method being set corresponding to the result is adapted.

[0030]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A pen input device according to the present invention comprises:
The transmission timing of the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic transmission means provided on the input pen is synchronized with the reception timing of the ultrasonic reception means for receiving the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic transmission means. Above, the distance between the ultrasonic transmitting means and the ultrasonic receiving means is calculated from the time difference between the timing at which the ultrasonic wave is transmitted from the ultrasonic transmitting means and the timing at which the ultrasonic wave is received by the ultrasonic receiving means, Further, the position coordinates of the input pen are calculated using the distance between the ultrasonic transmission unit and the reception unit, and the position indicated by the input pen in a predetermined input area such as a display of a personal computer is input using a cursor or the like. This is based on the premise of an ultrasonic position detecting mechanism.

In particular, in the present invention, in the above mechanism, the calculated value of the position coordinates is corrected by recognizing the operation status of the input pen and adapting a correction process corresponding to the recognized operation status of the input pen. It is like that.

That is, according to the present invention, a heavy correction process is not always performed for the shift of the pointing position caused by the mounting position of the ultrasonic transmitting means in the input pen, the camera shake, or the like. For simple movement of the input pen, etc., the above-described heavy correction processing is not applied at all, or another light correction processing is applied, thereby reducing unnecessary correction processing for the input pen and reducing the input pen. A good response can be maintained even for high-speed movement.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the pen input device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an information processing apparatus configured by applying a pen input device according to the present invention. This information processing apparatus uses an input pen (hereinafter referred to as a stylus pen) 1 to display a display unit 5.
The image corresponding to the designated position designated on the display screen 0 is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 50.

In this embodiment, the stylus pen 1 is provided with an ultrasonic transmitting means for outputting an ultrasonic wave from its tip, as will be described later in detail, and the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic transmitting means is provided. The designated position on the display screen of the display unit 50 is detected based on the detected position, and an image corresponding to the designated position is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 50.

That is, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes two ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b for receiving ultrasonic waves generated from the stylus pen 1, and two ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b. An ultrasonic receiving unit 30 that processes a reception output, an arithmetic process that calculates a position indicated by the stylus pen 1 based on a processing result of the ultrasonic receiving unit 30, and performs display control on the display unit 50 corresponding to the indicated position. It comprises a unit 40.

The overall configuration of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment is as shown in FIG. The operator operates the stylus pen (ultrasonic transmitter) 1 synchronized with the pen holder 34.
Using the input area (Displ used as the display unit 50)
ay Display area of the device). At this time, the ultrasonic receiver 30 calculates the distance between the stylus pen 1 and the ultrasonic sensors (ultrasonic receiving elements) 31a, 31b,... From the transmission / reception timing of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the stylus pen 1, Computer as arithmetic processing unit 40
Is input to The Computer calculates the two-dimensional or three-dimensional position of the stylus pen 1 in the display area of the display device from the distance value received from the ultrasonic receiving unit 30, and performs a process on the application based on the data.

FIG. 3 shows a specific example of the external structure of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
The two ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b are disposed in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the display screen of the CRT display as the first embodiment, and the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 disclosed in FIGS. The unit 40 includes the information processing apparatus main body 1
It is built in 00.

In the vicinity of the display screen of the display unit 50,
A pen holder 34 for accommodating the stylus pen 1 when the stylus pen 1 is not used is provided. Here, the stylus pen 1 is configured as a cordless stylus pen, a driving power source of the stylus pen 1 is a secondary battery built in the stylus pen 1, and the pen holder 34 charges the secondary battery. It also has a function as an adapter for performing.

First, the display unit 5 based on the reception outputs of the two ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b in this embodiment.
The principle of detecting the position indicated by the stylus pen 1 on the display screen 0 will be described.

FIG. 4 shows two ultrasonic receiving elements 31 arranged in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to the display screen of the display unit 50.
3A and 3B show the relationship between the position indicated by the stylus pen 1 and 31b. Now, these two ultrasonic receiving elements 31
Considering the two-dimensional coordinate system XY fixed to a and 31b, the horizontal length of the display screen of the display unit 50 is W.

Here, the ultrasonic receiving element 31a
It is arranged at the origin (0, 0) of the dimensional coordinate system XY,
The ultrasonic receiving element 31b is provided in the two-dimensional coordinate system XY.
It is assumed that it is arranged at a point (0, W) on the axis.

It is assumed that the position pointed by the stylus pen 1 is a point (x, y) on the two-dimensional coordinate system XY, and a distance from the ultrasonic receiving element 31a to the point (x, y). the a, point from the ultrasonic receiving elements 31b (x, y) and the distance to the ^{b, a 2 = x 2 +} y 2 ... (1) b 2 = a ^{(W-x) 2 + y} 2 ... (2) The relationship is established. When x and y are solved from the equations (1) and (2), x = (a ² −b ² + W) / 2W (3) y = ± SQRT [a ² − ｛(a ² −b ² + W ² )] / 2W｝ ² ] (4) where SQRT (A) indicates the square root of A.

Is as follows. Here, since W is a known value, if the distance a from the ultrasonic receiving element 31a to the point (x, y) and the distance b from the ultrasonic receiving element 31b to the point (x, y) are known, 2 is obtained. The position (x, y) indicated by the stylus pen 1 on the two-dimensional coordinate system XY fixed to the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the position (x,
The distance a to y) and the distance b from the ultrasonic receiving element 31b to the position (x, y) indicated by the stylus pen 1 are detected using the ultrasonic wave output from the tip of the stylus pen 1.

More specifically, the distances a and b are detected by detecting the time T until the ultrasonic waves output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 are detected by the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b.
This is performed by detecting a and Tb.

That is, assuming that the spatial transmission speed of the ultrasonic wave output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 is C, the distances a and b can be obtained by detecting the times Ta and Tb as follows: a = C × Ta (5) B) = C × Tb (6)

The processing for detecting the time Ta and Tb until the ultrasonic wave output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 is detected by the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b is performed by the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 shown in FIG. The processing is performed by the processing unit 32.

FIG. 5 shows a specific configuration of the reception processing section 32 in the ultrasonic receiving section 30 shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, a pen holder 34 for storing the stylus pen 1 when the stylus pen 1 is not used is provided. As will be described in detail later, the pen holder 34 is provided with an ultrasonic transmission unit of the stylus pen 1. A synchronization circuit 35 is provided for synchronizing the output timing of the output ultrasonic wave with the reception processing in the reception processing unit 32.

The synchronization circuit 35 counts the number of basic clocks output from the basic clock generation circuit 324 provided in the reception processing unit 32, and every time the counted value becomes a constant value, the ultrasonic transmission of the stylus pen 1 is performed. It is configured to output a synchronization signal for controlling the output timing of the ultrasonic wave output from the means.

Further, the stylus pen 1 is provided with a basic clock generating circuit (an oscillator 13 described later) for generating a basic clock having the same frequency as the basic clock generating circuit 324. When the stylus pen 1 is stored in the pen holder 34, a synchronization signal output from the synchronization circuit 35 is input to establish synchronization with the basic clock generation circuit 324 provided in the reception processing unit 32, After the pen 1 is taken out of the pen holder 34, as shown in FIG. 6 (a) output from the basic clock generation circuit that operates in synchronization with the basic clock generation circuit 324 provided in the reception processing unit 32, similarly to the synchronization circuit 35. ) Is counted, and as shown in FIG. 6B, the styler is counted every time the counted value becomes a constant value. It is configured to control the output timing of the ultrasonic waves output from the ultrasonic wave transmission means of the pen 1.

That is, when the stylus pen 1 is stored in the pen holder 34, the output timing of the ultrasonic wave output from the ultrasonic wave transmitting means of the stylus pen 1 and the reception processing unit 3
2 and the output timing of the ultrasonic wave output from the ultrasonic wave transmitting means of the stylus pen 1 coincides with the timing of the synchronization signal applied from the synchronization circuit 35 to the reception processing unit 32. .

The synchronization signal applied from the synchronization circuit 35 to the reception processing unit 32 is output from the counters 321 and 3 of the reception processing unit 32.
Counters 321, 32
2 is cleared in synchronization with this synchronization signal.

The basic clock output from the basic clock generating circuit 324 is input to the count input terminals of the counters 321 and 322.
Receiving clocks output from the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b when an ultrasonic wave output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 is received are input to a control input terminal for controlling the stop of counting of the stylus pen 2.

That is, the counters 321 and 322 are simultaneously reset at the timing when the ultrasonic wave is output from the tip of the stylus pen 1, and the ultrasonic receiving elements 31
The basic clock output from the basic clock generation circuit 324 is counted until the reception clock is input from the a and 31b. As a result, the count values of the counters 321 and 322 are determined by the ultrasonic wave output from the tip of the stylus pen 1. Times Ta and Tb until detection by ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b
It corresponds to.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the operation of detecting the times Ta and Tb by the counters 321 and 322. That is, a basic clock generation circuit (not shown) of the stylus pen 1 generates a basic clock shown in FIG. 7A, and generates an ultrasonic wave from the tip of the stylus pen 1 in synchronization with the rise of the synchronization signal shown in FIG. 7B. A transmission clock shown in FIG. 7C for output is generated, and an ultrasonic drive signal shown in FIG. 7D for driving the ultrasonic transmission means of the stylus pen 1 is generated in synchronization with the transmission clock. I do. The stylus pen 1 is driven by this ultrasonic drive signal.
Is transmitted, and the ultrasonic wave is output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 only while the transmission clock is generated.

The ultrasonic waves output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 are received by the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b.
A reception clock as shown in FIG. 7E is output from the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b in response to the reception of the ultrasonic waves.

Therefore, in the counters 321 and 322, the rising timing of the synchronizing signal shown in FIG.
The time T up to the rising timing of the reception clock shown in (e), that is, the times Ta and Tb can be obtained by counting the basic clock shown in FIG.

Times Ta and T until the ultrasonic waves output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 counted by the counters 321 and 322 are detected by the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b.
b is held in the reception time holding circuits 325 and 326, respectively, and is processed by the arithmetic processing unit 40 via the communication unit 33 shown in FIG.
Is transmitted to

The arithmetic processing unit 40 receives the times Ta and Tb transmitted via the communication unit 33, and
The designated position designated on the screen of the display unit 50 by the stylus pen 1 is calculated based on Tb.

In this calculation, first, the distances a and b from the stylus pen 1 to the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b are calculated based on the above-mentioned equations (5) and (6).
Then, based on the calculated distances a and b and the above equations (3) to (4), the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31
The position (x, y) indicated by the stylus pen 1 on the two-dimensional coordinate system XY fixed to b is calculated. Then, display control on the display unit 50 is performed based on the calculated position (x, y) indicated by the stylus pen 1.

Next, a specific detailed configuration of the stylus pen 1, the ultrasonic receiving unit 30, and the arithmetic processing unit 40 shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

The external structure of the stylus pen 1 used in the device according to this embodiment has a form as shown in FIG. 8, for example. The stylus pen 1 has an ultrasonic transmission unit inside and has three buttons, a first button 14a, a second button 14b, and a third button 14c. Here, the first button 14a is operated when drawing is performed using the stylus pen 1, for example. The second button 14c and the third button are also associated with various functions that can be executed using the stylus pen 1, such as setting of a display mode in the multi-mode function. Operated when executing a function.

Thus, in the present embodiment, for example, the first button 14a provided on the stylus pen 1
When the operation state of the stylus pen 1 is controlled to the ON state, the stylus pen 1 is given a function as a drawing pen. When the operation state of the second button 14b provided to the stylus pen 1 is controlled to the ON state, It is possible to operate the stylus pen 1 such as giving it a function as an eraser, that is, an eraser.

FIG. 9 shows an internal circuit configuration of the stylus pen 1. As can be seen from the figure, this stylus pen 1 is a transmission timing control unit 1 that controls the transmission timing of ultrasonic waves from the stylus pen 1.
1. An amplifier 15 having an operational amplifier 16 for amplifying the ultrasonic transmitter driving signal output from the transmission timing controller 11, and an ultrasonic transmitter driving signal output from the amplifier 15 having an ultrasonic transmitter 18 And a transmitting unit 17 for transmitting ultrasonic waves.

The transmission timing control section 11 further includes a first button 14a, a second button 14b, and a third button 14b shown in FIG.
A sequencer 12 is provided for controlling the state transition of the ultrasonic transmission timing control from the stylus pen 1 in accordance with the output of the button 14 composed of the button 14c and the basic clock from the oscillator (basic clock generator) 13 for generating the basic clock. Have been.

FIG. 10 shows the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 shown in FIG.
2 shows a specific configuration of the arithmetic processing unit 40.
In the figure, an ultrasonic receiving unit 30 includes a reception processing unit 32,
The communication unit 33 is configured.

Here, the ultrasonic receiving section 30 performs an input process on the ultrasonic receiving output from the receiving sensor section 31 composed of the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b shown in FIG. The reception processing unit 32 includes an amplifier unit 60, a reception timing control unit 70
The amplifier section 60 is provided with an operational amplifier 61, and the reception timing control section 70 is provided with a counter, a register 71, a sequencer 72, an oscillator 73, and an SCC (serial communication control section) initialization section 74.

Here, the counter and the register 71 correspond to those shown in FIG.
The oscillator 73 corresponds to the counters 321 and 322 and the reception time holding circuits 325 and 326 shown in FIG. 5, and generates the basic clock.
Corresponds to 4.

The sequencer 72 includes an oscillator 73
The transition state of the reception timing control of the reception timing control unit 70 is controlled based on the basic clock output from. The sequencer 72 is reset by a synchronization signal (reset signal) from the synchronization circuit 35 of the pen holder 34 shown in FIG.
The transition state of the reception timing control is controlled. The communication unit 33 includes an SCC (serial communication control unit) 3
A 232C driver 332 for driving the RS232C 31 and the RS232C interface is provided.

In FIG. 10, the arithmetic processing unit 40
Is equipped with a predetermined application, has a window processing unit and a mouse driver for controlling display corresponding to the position indicated by the stylus pen 1, and is connected to the communication unit 33 of the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 via the RS232C interface. It consists of a personal computer.

The apparatus according to the present embodiment also supports a multi-pen function that allows simultaneous use of a plurality of stylus pens. Whether or not to select the multi-pen function and the number of stylus pens to be used simultaneously are determined. It can be switched by a dip switch (not shown).

FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the present embodiment.
PenNo when the multi-pen function is selected
9 is a timing chart showing ultrasonic wave transmission timing control of the stylus pen of # 0 and the stylus pen of PenNo = # 1.

In this example, the stylus pen with PenNo = # 0 and the stylus pen with PenNo = # 1 each have four ultrasonic transmission timings (shown by $ numbers 1-4, hereinafter referred to as frames # 1- # 4). Are alternately transmitted as a unit.

That is, as shown in FIG.
stylus pen with o = 0, ie, stylus pen Pe
n # 0 transmits ultrasonic waves with four ultrasonic transmission timings as one block. Here, the ultrasonic transmission period at each ultrasonic transmission timing is Tsend, and the ultrasonic transmission interval is Twwait. At the first ultrasonic transmission timing of the four ultrasonic transmission timings, the ultrasonic wave is constantly controlled to follow the cursor displayed on the display unit 50 in accordance with the position of the stylus pen Pen # 0. Is sent. At the second ultrasonic transmission timing, the stylus pen Pen
The ultrasonic wave is transmitted only when the first button 14a is pressed in # 0. At the third ultrasonic transmission timing, the stylus pen Pen # 0 is used for the second button 14b.
Transmits ultrasonic waves only when is pressed. At the fourth ultrasonic transmission timing, the stylus pen P
Ultrasonic waves are transmitted only when the third button 14c is pressed at en # 0.

Similarly, in the stylus pen with PenNo = 1, that is, in the stylus pen Pen # 1, 4
Ultrasonic waves are transmitted with one ultrasonic transmission timing as one block. In other words, in the first ultrasonic transmission timing of the four ultrasonic transmission timings, the ultrasonic wave is constantly controlled to follow the cursor displayed on the display unit 50 in correspondence with the position of the stylus pen Pen # 1. Is sent. At the second ultrasonic transmission timing, the first button 14 is pressed with the stylus pen Pen # 1.
The ultrasonic wave is transmitted only when a is pressed. At the third ultrasonic transmission timing, ultrasonic waves are transmitted only when the second button 14b is pressed with the stylus pen Pen # 1. At the fourth ultrasonic transmission timing, the third button 1 is pressed by the stylus pen Pen # 1.
The ultrasonic wave is transmitted only when 4c is pressed.

The ultrasonic drive signal (ultrasonic drive clock) generated at each ultrasonic transmission timing is, for example, F
Hz signal, and the ultrasonic drive clock is applied to the transmission unit 17 via the amplifier unit 15 shown in FIG.
7 transmits this FHz ultrasonic wave.

In FIG. 11, the ultrasonic wave transmission timing when the multi-pen function is selected has been described.
When the multi-pen function is not selected, only the ultrasonic transmission timing control by the stylus pen Pen # 0 shown in FIG. 7 is stored in the pen holder 34 shown in FIG. Is repeated until a synchronization signal is received from the synchronization circuit 35 of FIG. Also, the multi-pen function is selected,
When the number of stylus pens used simultaneously is three or more, each stylus pen sequentially transmits ultrasonic waves with four ultrasonic transmission timings as one unit.

Further, in the above example, the stylus pen Pen
Although the ultrasonic transmission timing in # 0 and Pen # 1 is defined as four times, the number of ultrasonic transmission timings depends on the number of buttons 14 provided on the stylus pens Pen # 0 and Pen # 1, operating conditions, and the like. It can be set as desired. In the above example, the stylus pen Pen # 0,
First button 14a operated at the time of drawing of Pen # 1, for example
When the first button 14a is pressed, an ultrasonic wave indicating that the first button 14a is pressed is generated only at the second ultrasonic transmission timing.
When the button is pressed, an ultrasonic wave indicating that the first button 14a has been pressed may be generated at the second ultrasonic transmission timing and, for example, at the fifth ultrasonic transmission timing. In this case, the detection density (sampling cycle) of the designated position related to the drawing of the first button 14a can be increased, and the designated position can be detected with higher accuracy.

The stylus pen Pen # shown in FIG.
The sequencer 72 in the reception timing control unit 70 of the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 synchronizes the ultrasonic transmission timing on the 0, Pen # 1 side with the ultrasonic transmission timing (the respective frames # 1 to # 4). Receiving elements 31a, 31
The received signal received in step b is processed, and the arithmetic processing unit 40 calculates the positions of the two stylus pens Pen # 0 and Pen # 1 described above, for example.

Here, the frames # 1 to # 4 are synchronized with the ultrasonic transmitting side (stylus pens Pen # 0 and Pen # 1) and the ultrasonic receiving side (ultrasonic reception) as described above. Section 30) has the same meaning. Accordingly, the sequencer 72 of the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 responds to the received signal in the frame # 1 by using the stylus pen Pen.
The ultrasonic receiving element 31a for each of # 0 and Pen # 1,
31b and the frame #
Each of these pens Pen # 0 according to the received signals at # 2 to # 4
And first, second, and third buttons 1 in Pen # 1 and Pen # 1
It is possible to recognize the pressing state of 4a, 14b, 14c. The calculated distance and the recognized button pressing state are transmitted from the reception timing control unit 70 to the arithmetic processing unit 40 through the communication unit 33.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of data transmitted from the reception timing control unit 70 to the arithmetic processing unit 40. This data is composed of three bytes, and the first byte (FIG. 3A) shows the pressed state of each button 14 mounted on the stylus pen 1. The second byte [(b) in the figure] is a value indicating the distance from the ultrasonic receiving element 31a in the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 to the stylus pen 1, that is, the distance a in FIG. The third byte [(c) in the figure] is a value indicating the distance from the ultrasonic receiving element 31b in the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 to the stylus pen 1, that is, the distance b in FIG.

The values of the second and third bytes are obtained by converting the basic clock generated by the basic clock generation circuit 324 in FIG.
The numbers counted by the counters 321 and 322 until the ultrasonic waves are transmitted from the stylus pen 1 and received by the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b, respectively, are shown. Using this count value, the arithmetic processing unit 40
For example, if the above basic clock is 1 MHz, one clock time is 1 μsec, and 1 bit of the second and third bytes is a distance (0.344 m
m), each ultrasonic receiving element 31a,
The distance between the stylus pen 1b and the stylus pen 1 is calculated. Furthermore,
Using the calculated distances between the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b and the stylus pen 1, the coordinates of the stylus pen 1 on the coordinate axes set on the input surface (see FIG. 4) are calculated. This calculation method is as described above.

Incidentally, the calculation accuracy of the position coordinates in the arithmetic processing unit 40 depends on the distance measurement accuracy in the reception timing control unit 70 in the preceding stage. Receive timing control unit 7
It is needless to say that in order to perform an accurate distance measurement at 0, it is necessary to surely receive the signals received from the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b, but even if the reliable receiving processing is performed, When the stylus pen 1 on the transmitting side of the sound wave is shaken or tilted by the handling of the operator, it is not possible to cope with accurate distance measurement only by the reception processing.

Factors on the ultrasonic transmission side that reduce the distance measurement accuracy in the reception timing control unit 70 will be described.
The verification will be made with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a mounting form of an ultrasonic transmitter in a stylus pen used in this type of apparatus. Here, FIG. 1A shows a side view of the stylus pen, and FIG. 2B shows the stylus pen viewed from the pen tip side. As can be seen from the figure, this stylus pen is configured by mounting an ultrasonic transmitter (piezoelectric vibrator) outside the pen. On the other hand, in the ultrasonic position detecting mechanism according to the present invention, since the position of the ultrasonic transmitter is actually detected as the position of the stylus pen, when the stylus pen as shown in FIG. The sound wave transmitter is preferably mounted at a position close to the pen tip. However, it is physically difficult to mount the ultrasonic vibrator on the tip of the stylus pen. Therefore, when the stylus pen is configured as described above, the position of the ultrasonic transmitter is shifted due to the inclination [FIG. 14 (a)] and rotation [FIG. 14 (b)] of the stylus pen as shown in FIG. Would. As a result, even when the stylus pen tip points to the same position, the ultrasonic position detection mechanism detects a different position, and the input accuracy must be reduced. Therefore, when handwriting input is performed using the stylus pen having the above configuration, it is possible to input simple figures and hiragana levels, but it is extremely difficult to input fine figures and kanji. As described above, when detecting the position of the stylus pen by propagating the ultrasonic waves in the air, the method of mounting the ultrasonic transmitter in the stylus pen is a very important problem if it is desired to obtain a practical level of input accuracy. Becomes

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of the mounting form of the ultrasonic transmitter in the stylus pen used in this type of apparatus. This stylus pen is in the form of a so-called ultrasonic stylus pen, in which a battery and a control circuit are mounted together with a piezoelectric element inside the pen.
In this ultrasonic stylus pen, a control circuit supplied with a voltage from a battery sends an ultrasonic drive signal to the piezoelectric element, and the piezoelectric element generates ultrasonic waves. As described above, the timing of the ultrasonic drive signal with the stylus pen is not always repeated on / off, but is realized by a combination of a period in which on / off is repeated and a period of off.

The generated ultrasonic wave propagates in the air toward the tip of the stylus pen, is reflected by the ultrasonic reflecting plate, and a part of the ultrasonic wave propagates through the ultrasonic wave passage window and propagates outside the stylus pen. At this time, the ultrasonic reflector is made of a hard material in order to efficiently reflect ultrasonic waves. Further, in order to propagate the reflected ultrasonic waves through the ultrasonic passage window through 360 degrees to the outside of the stylus pen, the ultrasonic reflecting plate has a conical shape, and the ultrasonic reflecting plate propagates from the piezoelectric element. The sound wave is reflected toward the ultrasonic wave passing window. Further, in a case where the ultrasonic receiver is installed at a specific position in a concentrated manner, as shown in FIG. 16, a configuration is provided in which a plate-like reflecting plate that reflects the ultrasonic wave only in that direction is provided. It can also be. Further, by forming the ultrasonic wave passing window as large as possible, the reflected ultrasonic wave can be efficiently transmitted to the outside of the stylus pen.

When a stylus pen having a reflector as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 is used, the reception processing unit 32 for receiving and processing the ultrasonic waves transmitted from the stylus pen is shown in FIG. Distance a, b between ultrasonic transmitter / receiver
After calculating the values, FIG. 15 and FIG.
Must be subtracted by the distance L between the piezoelectric element and the ultrasonic reflecting plate shown in FIG. By performing this calculation, the position where the ultrasonic reflector is mounted, that is, the distance from the pen tip of the stylus pen to the ultrasonic receiver can be accurately obtained.

However, even if the ultrasonic stylus pen on which the above-mentioned ultrasonic reflecting plate is mounted is used, FIG.
However, it is impossible to completely solve the problem caused by the stylus pen shake as shown in FIG. This is because, in order for the ultrasonic receiver to receive ultrasonic waves with high sensitivity, an ultrasonic reflector of a certain size and an ultrasonic passage window are required, and the drawing mode is set on the pen tip of the stylus pen. In many cases, a push switch for recognition is mounted, and it is difficult to mount an ultrasonic reflector on the tip of the stylus pen due to these restrictions. Also, even if the reflector can be mounted as close as possible to the tip of the stylus pen, the shaking of the operator may cause wavy drawing when entering the drawing mode. There is a limit to always completely matching the tip of the sensor with the detection position. In many cases, smooth and accurate input cannot be performed due to the two causes described above, that is, the tilt or rotation of the stylus pen or the shake of the stylus pen itself.

As one method for avoiding erroneous calculation of the position coordinates of the stylus pen based on such a cause, the distance between each of the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a and 31b and the ultrasonic transmitter is received from the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 and the stylus pen is received. It is conceivable to perform correction processing using the following equations (7) and (8) in the arithmetic processing unit 40 (PC in FIG. 10) that calculates position coordinates. In this case, a two-dimensional coordinate system is assumed as the coordinate system.

X = (X0 + 3 × X1 + 2 × X2 + 2 × X3 + 2 × X4) ÷ 10 (7) Y = (Y0 + 3 × Y1 + 2 × Y2 + 2 × Y3 + 2 × Y4) ÷ 10 (8) Here, X and Y are upper software. Stylus pen coordinates to pass to. X0 and Y0 are the calculated latest stylus pen coordinate values. Xn and Yn (n = 1 to 4) are stylus pen coordinate values transferred to the host software n times ago.

By performing this correction processing, it is possible to avoid the influence of the inclination and hand shake of the stylus pen and realize a smooth input. This correction method is a simple method of generating stable stylus pen coordinate values by averaging stylus pen coordinate values sampled several times before, but it can be said that the effect is extremely high.

However, this correction method refers to the stylus pen sampling coordinate data up to several times before in calculating the stylus pen coordinate value to be transferred to the host software. (Followability) becomes dull, and a great stress is given to the operator.

In this regard, for example, it is acceptable that the response is somewhat degraded at the time of drawing. The reason is that it is generally accepted that an operator performs an input by slowly moving a stylus pen in order to perform a smooth input when drawing. In addition to this, a case where smooth and accurate input is required is, for example, when drawing a complex Chinese character by hand in a square area of about 1 cm on a side, or when a stylus pen is used to accurately draw an input surface. There may be a case where it is desired to indicate a point. Therefore, by recognizing the above-described drawing or position designation operation and performing heavy correction processing based on the above-described equations (7) and (8), it is possible to avoid obstacles such as wavy drawing lines and designated positions. Conversely, for example, in a case where the cursor is simply moved on the display screen, only the response to the movement of the stylus pen 1 is the most important, and an obstacle such as a wavy movement of the cursor hardly causes a problem.

In view of such an operation situation, according to the present invention, a specific input operation requiring smooth and accurate input is set according to a request, and it is recognized that the operator has executed the specific operation. The correction method corresponding to the specific operation is adapted. That is, a heavy correction process (see the above equations (7) and (8)) corresponding to the operation is performed for an operation requiring accuracy, and no correction is performed for an operation requiring no accuracy. Alternatively, a light correction process different from the above is executed. According to the correction processing of the present invention, smooth and accurate input can be realized as necessary without causing unnecessary deterioration of follow-up performance, that is, without giving stress to the operator.

In the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention (see FIG. 1), the adaptive control of the correction processing corresponding to the pen operation situation described above is performed in the arithmetic section 42 of the arithmetic processing section 40. FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the arithmetic unit 42, in which the data acquisition unit 421 and the arithmetic execution unit 4
22, a pen operation status recognition unit 423, and a correction process adaptive control unit 424. In the device illustrated in FIG. 10, the calculation unit 42 corresponds to a PC.

In this operation unit 42, the data acquisition unit 4
21 captures distance data between the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver input from the reception processing unit 32 through the communication unit 33 and transfers the data to the calculation execution unit 422. The calculation execution unit 422 calculates the coordinate value of the stylus pen 1 using the distance, and supplies the coordinate value to the display control unit 44.

On the other hand, the pen operation status recognizing unit 423 calculates various judgment parameters corresponding to a specific operation described later using the distance data input from the data acquisition unit 421, and calculates the judgment parameters of the calculated judgment parameters. It is determined whether or not the specific operation has been performed with the stylus pen 1 based on the value. The correction process adaptive control unit 424 refers to the determination result of whether or not the specific operation has been performed with the stylus pen 1 in the pen operation status recognition unit 423, and if the specific operation has not been performed, the arithmetic execution unit 422 No adaptation of the correction process is performed. On the other hand, when a specific operation is performed with the stylus pen 1, the correction process adaptive control unit 424 determines
In the calculation processing of the stylus pen position coordinates in the calculation execution unit 422, for example, the above equation (7),
Control is performed to adapt the correction processing shown in (8).

Hereinafter, the adaptive control of the correction process in the arithmetic section 42 will be described in more detail. In the present invention, a plurality of levels (weights related to correction) can be set for the correction processing [Equations (7) and (8)] adapted to an operation requiring accuracy.
In the example described below, the above-mentioned level is one type for easy understanding. That is, adaptive control is performed such that correction is performed if accuracy is required for each operation of the stylus pen 1, and correction is not performed if accuracy is not required. In the following example, it is assumed that the drawing button of the stylus pen 1 is pressed, the moving speed, and the position coordinates are used as the parameters for determining whether or not accuracy is required.

A. In the case where the correction process is adaptively controlled in accordance with the recognition of button press, a method of recognizing button press in this case will be described first. In this example, as shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that only one stylus pen 1 equipped with three operation buttons is used. As can be seen from FIG. 11, the ultrasonic transmission timing when a plurality of stylus pens are used, when only one stylus pen 1 is used, the ultrasonic transmission timing from the stylus pen 1 is as follows. As shown in FIG. In this case, in a situation where none of the first to third buttons is pressed by the stylus pen 1, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted only in the frame # 1 in FIG.
2, when the second button 14b is pressed, the frame # 3
When the third button 14C is pressed, an ultrasonic wave is transmitted in frame # 4.

The frames # 1 to # 4 have the same meaning in the stylus pen 1 on the ultrasonic transmitting side and the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 on the ultrasonic receiving side by the synchronization as described above. ing. Thereby, the ultrasonic receiving unit 30
In the reception timing control unit 70 (sequencer 72) of
The first, second, and third buttons 14a, 14a, on the stylus pen 1 according to the received signals in the frames # 2 to # 4.
It is possible to recognize the pressing state of 14b and 14c. The button pressing state recognized here is transmitted from the reception timing control unit 70 to the arithmetic processing unit 40 through the communication unit 33 in a data structure as shown in FIG. The data structure has information indicating a pressed state of each of the buttons 14 mounted on the stylus pen 1. Thus, the operation processing unit 40 can monitor the operation status of each of the buttons 14 by referring to the information added to the first byte. In the stylus pen 1 of this example, the first button 14a is a button indicating a drawing process. When the first button 14a is pressed, an ultrasonic wave is received in the range of frame # 2 in the timing chart shown in FIG.
Is sent to the data structure in which the information that the first button 14a is pressed is added to the first byte. Arithmetic processing unit 40
In the computing unit (see FIG. 17) 42, the pen operation status recognizing unit 423 determines that the first button 14a has been pressed based on the information added in the first byte, that is, that the drawing has started. recognize. At this time, the correction process adaptive control unit 424 determines that the drawing operation has been performed,
The calculation execution unit 422 is controlled to adapt so-called heavy correction processing based on the above equations (7) and (8).

As described above, the correction is executed by recognizing the pressing of the stylus pen 1 according to the present invention, for example, when the drawing button is pressed. This is performed for the purpose of preventing the drawing line from running out (jagged) when the operator performs drawing input. In many cases, input of characters / graphics is not performed by one-stroke at the time of drawing, so that continuous button presses are not performed. Therefore, in the method of simply performing the adaptation / cancellation of the correction processing in synchronization with the ON / OFF of the drawing button, the correction is performed from when the stylus pen 1 is separated from the input surface, that is, from the moment when the drawing button is turned off. When the stylus pen 1 does not perform this operation, the movement of the stylus pen 1 becomes the movement of the cursor, so that accurate drawing input may not be performed. In order to prevent this, the correction may be made so that the correction is performed, for example, for about three seconds after the drawing button is changed from the on state to the off state. Accordingly, even when the operator performs drawing in a plurality of times, correction is performed throughout the drawing period, and accurate drawing input can be performed.

B. First, a method of recognizing the position coordinates of the stylus pen 1 in this case will be described using three-dimensional coordinates as an example. In this case, as shown in FIG. 19, three ultrasonic receivers (31a, 31b, 3) are provided near the display (input surface) as a configuration different from the above-described position detection mechanism in two-dimensional coordinates.
1c) is implemented. Further, the ultrasonic transmitter is mounted inside the stylus pen as in the above description. At this time,
A three-dimensional coordinate axis as shown in FIG. 20 is generated based on three ultrasonic receivers mounted near the display.

In this three-dimensional coordinate system, as shown in FIG. 21, an ultrasonic wave output from an ultrasonic transmitter (a stylus pen) propagates in the air and is transmitted to three ultrasonic receivers (31).
a, 31b, 31c). In the position detecting mechanism, the time between the ultrasonic transmitter and each ultrasonic receiver is determined based on the output time of the ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic transmitter and the ultrasonic reception time of each ultrasonic receiving element (31a, 31b, 31c). The respective distances are calculated, and the three-dimensional position coordinates of the stylus pen 1 moving on the display or its peripheral part are detected in the three-dimensional coordinate system.

Hereinafter, these three ultrasonic receiving elements 31a,
The principle of three-dimensional detection of the position of the tip of the stylus pen 1 using 31b and 31c will be described. Now, as shown in FIG. 22, three ultrasonic receiving elements 31a, 31b, 31c
Consider a three-dimensional coordinate system XYZ fixed to

Here, the ultrasonic receiving element 31 a
The ultrasonic receiving element 31b is disposed at the origin of the three-dimensional coordinate system XYZ, and is disposed at a point (0, Ly, 0) on the Y axis of the three-dimensional coordinate system XYZ. And the ultrasonic receiving element 3
1c is a point (0, 0) on the Z-axis of the three-dimensional coordinate system XYZ.
0, Lz).

Further, the position pointed by the stylus pen 1 is a point (x, y, z) on the three-dimensional coordinate system XYZ.
, And a point (x,
The distance from the ultrasonic receiving element 31b to the point (x, y, z) is m and the ultrasonic receiving element 31c is n.
Assuming that the distance from to the point (x, y, z) is l, l ² = (Lz−z) ² + n ² −z ² (9) n ² = x ² + y ² + z ² (10 ^{) m 2 = x 2 + (} Ly-y) relationship ² + z ² ... (11) is satisfied. From Expressions (9) to (11), x,
When solving for y and z, x = ± SQRT [n ² − ｛(Ly ² + n ² −m ² ) / 2Ly｝ ² − ｛(Lz ² + n ² −l ² ) / 2Lz｝ ² ] (12) y = (Ly ² + n ² −m ² ) / 2Ly (13) z = (Lz ² + n ² −l ² ) / 2Lz (14) where SQRT (A) indicates the square root of A.

Is obtained. Here, Ly and Lz are known values determined by the arrangement positions of the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a, 31b, and 31c. Therefore, the distances n, from the ultrasonic receiving element 31a to the point (x, y, z) are Ultrasonic receiving element 31
If the distance m from b to the point (x, y, z) and the distance l from the ultrasonic receiving element 31c to the point (x, y, z) are known,
Three ultrasonic receiving elements 31a, 3 arranged three-dimensionally
Pointed position (x, y, z) by stylus pen 1 on three-dimensional coordinate system XYZ fixed to 1b, 31c
Can be requested.

Here, a distance n from the ultrasonic receiving element 31a to the position (x, y, z) indicated by the stylus pen 1, and a distance from the ultrasonic receiving element 31b to the position (x, y, z) indicated by the stylus pen 1. , The position indicated by the stylus pen 1 from the ultrasonic receiving element 31c (x, y,
The detection of the distance 1 to z) is performed by detecting the ultrasonic waves output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 using the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a, 31b,
It can be obtained by detecting the time Ta, Tb, Tc until detection at 31c.

That is, assuming that the spatial transmission speed of the ultrasonic wave output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 is C, the distances n, m, and l are obtained by detecting the times Ta, Tb, and Tc, where n = C × Ta (15) m = C × Tb (16) 1 = C × Tc (17)

The processing for detecting the time Ta, Tb, Tc until the ultrasonic wave output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 is detected by the ultrasonic wave receiving elements 31a, 31b, 31c is performed by the ultrasonic wave receiving section 30. The processing is performed by the processing unit 32. However, in this case, the ultrasonic reception processing unit 32
It is necessary to add a processing circuit (for example, a counter 323 and a reception time holding circuit 327 are separately required) corresponding to the third ultrasonic receiving element 31c to the configuration shown in FIG.

The counter 32 in the reception processing unit 32
The ultrasonic waves output from the tip of the stylus pen 1 counted by the stylus pens 1, 322, and 323 are the ultrasonic receiving elements 31 a and 31.
Times Ta, Tb, Tc until detected at b, 31c
Are held by the reception time holding circuits 325, 326, and 327, respectively, and are passed to the reception timing control unit 70.

The reception timing control unit 70 determines the time T
When a, Tb, and Tc are received, the above-described equations (15) to
Based on (17), the distances n, m, and l from the stylus pen 1 to the ultrasonic receiving elements 31a, 31b are calculated, and FIG.
2 (however, in this case, the distance n from the ultrasonic receiving element 31a to the stylus pen 1)
, A third byte indicating a distance m from the ultrasonic receiving element 31b to the stylus pen 1, and a fourth byte indicating a distance 1 from the ultrasonic receiving element 31c to the stylus pen 1 are added. ) To the arithmetic unit 42 (see FIG. 17) of the arithmetic processing unit 40 via the communication unit 33.

The arithmetic unit 42 fetches the distances n, m, and l sent from the communication unit 33 from the data fetching unit 421, and the arithmetic execution unit 422 calculates the distances n, m, and l and the equation (12) ) To (14), the ultrasonic receiving element 3
Three-dimensional coordinate system XY fixed to 1a, 31b, 31c
The position indicated by the stylus pen 1 on −Z (x,
y, z) is calculated.

At this time, the pen operation status recognition section 423 recognizes whether or not the stylus pen 1 is located in a space near the display screen by referring to the calculated three-dimensional coordinates. When the stylus pen 1 is recognized as being located in the space near the display screen, the correction adaptive control unit 424 instructs the calculation execution unit 422 to perform a so-called heavy correction based on the above equations (7) and (8). Is controlled to be adapted.

As described above, the correction based on the position coordinates of the stylus pen 1 is performed when the stylus pen 1 is located near the input surface. This is performed for the purpose of preventing a drawing line or a cursor from touching when an operator selects a drawing input or an S / W button in an icon or a window. Specifically, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not to perform the correction process by assuming a space around the X axis as shown in FIG. FIG. 23 is a diagram in which the viewing angle of FIG. 19 is changed.

In FIG. 23, when the X coordinate of the stylus pen 1 is smaller than Xs, correction is performed, and when it is larger, no correction is performed. The coordinate values in FIG. 23 are “X0 <Xs <X
1 ”. If the stylus pen at this time is in the position of "1", correction is performed so that smooth input can be performed. Further, when the stylus pen is at the position of “2”, no correction is performed, and an input focusing on response is enabled.

C. A case where the correction process is adaptively controlled according to the moving speed recognition A method of recognizing the moving speed of the stylus pen 1 in this case will be described first. Now, it is assumed that the stylus pen 1 is moved between the time A and the time B in the above-described three-dimensional position detection mechanism as shown in FIG. The ultrasonic transmission / reception timing in this position detection mechanism at this time is as shown in the timing chart of FIG.

At this time, the stylus pen positions (the positions shown in FIG. 19) at time A and time B can be respectively detected by the above-described method for calculating the position of the stylus pen 1. If the stylus pen coordinates at time A are (XA, YA, ZA) and the stylus pen coordinates at time B are (XB, YB, ZB), then time A
The distance LAB of the stylus pen moved at time B from is obtained by the following equation.

[0120] LAB = SQRT [(XA-XB ) 2 + (YA-YB) 2 + (YA-YB) 2] ... (18) At this time, the stylus pen is moved from the time A at the time B (average) speed VAB is obtained by the following equation.

VAB = LAB / (time B−time A) (19) In an actual device, in the arithmetic unit 42 (see FIG. 17),
Arithmetic execution unit 422 executes data acquisition unit 421 after time A.
The position (XA, YA, ZA) of the stylus pen 1 at time A is calculated on the basis of the distances n, m, and l taken from the data, and then the distances n and m taken from the data taking part 421 after time B. , 1 to calculate the position (XB, YB, ZB) of the stylus pen 1 at time B.

At this time, the pen operation status recognizing section 423 obtains the moving distance LAB from the stylus pen position at time A and the stylus pen position at time B by the above equation (18), and further calculates the moving distance LAB. On the other hand, the average moving speed VAB of the stylus pen is calculated by performing the calculation based on the above equation (19), and it is further recognized whether or not the calculated moving speed VAB exceeds a preset moving speed. Then, when it is recognized that the moving speed of the stylus pen 1 is lower than the set speed, the correction process adaptive control unit 424 sends the above-described formula (7) to the arithmetic execution unit 422.
Control is performed to adapt heavy correction processing based on (8).

As described above, the correction based on the moving speed of the stylus pen 1 is performed when the moving speed of the stylus pen 1 is low, that is, when the operator inputs a drawing, or selects an S / W button or the like in an icon or a window. In this case, correction is performed by utilizing the fact that the moving speed of the stylus pen 1 becomes small, so that accurate input can be performed. For example, a threshold speed (V
When the moving speed of the stylus pen is slower than in s), correction is performed so that accurate input can be performed. When the moving speed of the stylus pen is faster than the threshold speed, the correction is not performed, and the input that emphasizes the response can be performed.

D. In a case where the correction process is adaptively controlled according to the button recognition, the position coordinates, and the moving speed recognition In the present invention, the determination of the correction execution is made in consideration of at least one or all of the buttons, the position coordinates, and the moving speed of the stylus pen 1. You can do it too. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 26, for the X coordinate, for example, two values Xs0 = 0.2 m and Xs1 = 1 m are determined in advance.

Here, the space 1 where the X coordinate is 0 to X1 is near the input surface, and both an accurate input and a response are required. The space 2 where the X coordinate is Xs0 to Xs1 is a space slightly away from the input surface, and an accurate input is required only when drawing input is performed, and a response is required in other cases. The space 3 where the X coordinate is equal to or larger than Xs1 is a space far away from the input surface, and no accurate input is required, and only a response is required.

Based on these operating conditions, the pen operation status recognizing unit 423 of the arithmetic unit 42 has a function capable of recognizing all the determination parameters of the button recognition, the position coordinates, and the moving speed. The control unit 424 performs the correction process adaptive control according to the following procedure.

In the space 1, when performing drawing input and selection input of an object (icon, S / W button, etc.), accurate input is required. In many cases, such a situation is when the moving speed of the stylus pen 1 is slow. As described above, the correction is performed when the moving speed of the stylus pen 1 is lower than the threshold speed (Vs). Further, even when the moving speed of the stylus pen 1 is higher than Vs, the correction is performed when the button is pressed. No correction is made except in these two situations.

In the space 2, when performing an accurate drawing input, an accurate input is required. In many cases, such a situation is when the moving speed of the stylus pen is slow and the button is pressed. Therefore, the moving speed of the stylus pen is lower than the threshold speed (Vs),
The correction is performed only when the button is pressed. No correction is made in other situations.

In the space 3, almost accurate input is not required, but correction is required when performing drawing input. In many cases, since the operator is not conscious of performing an accurate input, drawing input is performed while quickly moving the stylus pen. However, even in such a case, the drawn line is required to be smooth. Therefore, the correction is performed only when the button is pressed.

Next, an example will be described in which which of the plurality of correction processes is to be applied is determined according to the type of stylus pen used. This example is based on the premise of operation in the multi-pen function mode in which a plurality of stylus pens can be used at the same time, and the type and weight of correction can be arbitrarily changed by replacing the stylus pen by the operator. It is.

As described above, in the position detection by the ultrasonic position detecting mechanism according to the present invention, it is possible to synchronize with the ultrasonic transmitter (stylus pen) and the ultrasonic receiver. Thus, for example, in the multi-pen function mode using three stylus pens 1, 2, and 3, the respective stylus pens 1, 2, and 3 are separated by a time corresponding to each pen as shown in FIG. A sound wave is transmitted, and the receiver can recognize whether an ultrasonic reception signal has been input from any of the stylus pens 1, 2, and 3.

Here, three correction methods are considered. The correction method 1 is a method in which no correction is performed, that is, the response is the most important. The correction method 2 is a method for smoothly inputting a normal handwritten drawing input or the like. The correction method 3 is a method for performing a high-definition input such as a CAD input. Therefore, the weights of these corrections are in the order of correction method 1 <2 <3.
Is the worst response when. In this embodiment, stylus pens 1 to 3 are used for correction methods 1 to 3.
3 respectively.

In such a configuration, the reception timing controller 70 (see FIG. 10) in the ultrasonic receiver 30
FIG. 27 when the stylus pens 1, 2, and 3 are used.
The ultrasonic waves from these stylus pens 1, 2, and 3 are received and processed at the ultrasonic wave reception timing synchronized with the ultrasonic wave transmission timing as shown in FIG. Here, the reception timing control unit 70 uses the fact that the same meaning is given between the sequence of the ultrasonic transmission timing and the sequence of the ultrasonic reception timing, and uses the numbers of the stylus pens 1, 2, and 3 as a reference. Recognizable. The numbers of the recognized stylus pens 1, 2, and 3 correspond to the respective stylus pens 1, 2, and 3.
Along with the distance between the ultrasonic receivers and the button state of the stylus pen calculated for 3, it is transmitted to the arithmetic processing unit 40 (PC) via the communication unit 33.

In the arithmetic processing section 40, the arithmetic execution section 42
2 calculates the position coordinates of the stylus pen currently in use based on the received data, recognizes the position coordinates of the stylus pen or the pressed state of the button by the pen operation status recognition unit 423, and further performs a correction process. The adaptive control unit 424 executes adaptive control of a correction process corresponding to the recognition result on the calculation execution unit 422.

At the same time, the button operation status recognition section 42
3 recognizes the number of each stylus pen 1, 2, 3 sent from the reception timing control unit 70, and the correction process adaptive control unit 44 responds to each number of these stylus pens 1, 2, 3 by Each of the above-described correction methods 1 to 3 corresponding thereto
The adaptive control according to the above is executed. As a result, the operator can select the most appropriate correction method for the process to be executed by replacing the stylus pens 1, 2, and 3 according to the type of the application to be executed or the content of the operation.

In each of the above embodiments, a case has been described in which the pen operation status recognition unit 423 directly recognizes the operation status of the stylus pen and performs the correction process adaptive control corresponding to the operation status. It is also possible that the operator can statically or dynamically select an arbitrary correction method while using the same stylus pen. in this case,
A dip switch for selecting the correction method is provided in the reception timing control unit 70. Thus, the operator can select the correction method to be used by switching the contents of the dip switches as needed.

In the reception timing control section 70 having such a configuration, the contents of the dip switches are transmitted to the arithmetic processing section 40 (PC) together with the distance between the ultrasonic transmitters / receivers calculated by the method described above. Sent out. In the arithmetic processing unit 40, a function of recognizing the set value of the dip switch is added to the pen operation status recognizing unit 423, and the content of the dip switch sent from the reception timing control unit 70 is recognized by the recognizing function. Next, the correction processing adaptive control unit 424 selects a correction method corresponding to the recognized DIP switch setting value and selects the correction method.
2 is adapted to the operation.

In the present invention, the arithmetic processing unit 40
By executing the application program for selecting the correction method to be used above, it is also possible to switch the correction method. In this case, the correction method selected on the application is passed to a program for performing pen input processing (position calculation / correction), and thereafter, the pen input processing executes adaptive control of the specified correction method.

In the above embodiment, a rear projector display is assumed as the display unit 50 in FIG. 4. However, the pen input device of the present invention is not limited to the information processing apparatus using the rear projector display. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to an information processing apparatus using a front projector display as the display unit 50 as shown in FIG.

The pen input device of the present invention is not limited to the information processing device using the above-described large-sized display.
The present invention can be similarly applied to an information processing apparatus using a desktop computer having a CRT display as shown in FIG. 1 or a notebook computer having an LCD display as shown in FIG.

Further, in the above embodiment, the RS232C interface is used as the communication interface between the ultrasonic receiving unit 30 and the arithmetic processing unit 40 (PC). However, in the present invention, a communication interface other than the RS232C interface is used. It is needless to say that the same can be applied similarly.

[0142]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A means for recognizing input pen operation status such as pressing of a drawing button on the input pen, moving speed of the input pen, or coordinate position is provided, and an arithmetic processing unit measures a distance between the ultrasonic transmitter / receiver sent from the ultrasonic receiver. When calculating the position coordinates of the input pen by using, the calculated value of the position coordinates is corrected by adapting the correction process corresponding to the recognized pen operation state, so that drawing accuracy requiring input accuracy is required. In the mode, etc., a heavy correction process is applied to surely correct the displacement of the pointing position caused by the position of the ultrasonic transmitter mounted on the input pen or the camera shake, while the movement of the input pen which does not require the input accuracy, for example, the movement of the simple input pen, etc. In this case, unnecessary correction processing for the input pen can be reduced by not adapting the heavy correction processing or adapting the light correction processing. It can also maintain a good response for.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus to which a pen input device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the entire information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary perspective view showing an example of the external structure of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

4 is a diagram showing a relationship between two ultrasonic receiving elements arranged in a predetermined positional relationship with respect to a display screen of a display unit shown in FIG. 1 and a position designated by a stylus pen.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a reception processing unit of the ultrasonic receiving unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a relationship between a basic clock and an ultrasonic wave transmission timing in the stylus pen shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing an operation of detecting an ultrasonic reception time by the counter shown in FIG. 5;

8 is an external configuration diagram of a stylus pen used in the information processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an internal circuit configuration of a stylus pen used in the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an ultrasonic receiving unit and an arithmetic processing unit illustrated in FIG. 1;

11 is a timing chart showing ultrasonic transmission timing control of a stylus pen with PenNO = 0 and a stylus pen with PenNO = 1 when the multi-pen function is selected in the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data format of output data from the reception timing control unit illustrated in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a mounting mode of the ultrasonic transmitter in the stylus pen.

FIG. 14 is a view showing a state in which the ultrasonic wave sending position is shifted by the stylus pen shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of a mounting mode of the ultrasonic transmitter in the stylus pen.

FIG. 16 is a view showing still another example of a mounting mode of the ultrasonic transmitter in the stylus pen.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an arithmetic unit of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to which the position coordinate correction method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of ultrasonic transmission timing of a stylus pen in a case where correction processing is adaptively controlled in accordance with button press recognition.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an implementation of an ultrasonic receiver with respect to a stylus pen in a case where correction processing is adaptively controlled in accordance with position coordinate recognition.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an input surface and a three-dimensional coordinate axis when the ultrasonic receiver illustrated in FIG. 19 is mounted.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a state of ultrasonic wave propagation in the three-dimensional coordinate system shown in FIG.

FIG. 22 is a view for explaining the principle of detection of stylus pen position coordinates in the three-dimensional coordinate system shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a stylus pen position and a coordinate axis when adaptively controlling a correction process according to position coordinate recognition.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a moving state of a stylus pen in a case where the correction process is adaptively controlled according to the moving speed recognition.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of ultrasonic transmission / reception timing for explaining a method of recognizing a moving speed of a stylus pen.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a stylus pen position and a coordinate axis in a case where correction processing is adaptively controlled according to button recognition, position coordinates, and moving speed recognition.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of the ultrasonic transmission timing of the stylus pen in the case where the correction process is adaptively controlled according to the stylus pen recognition.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention using a front projector display as a display unit.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention using a desktop computer having a CRT display as a display unit.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention using a notebook computer having an LCD display as a display unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 stylus pen, 11 transmission timing control unit, 1
2 ... sequencer, 13 ... oscillator, 14 ... button, 1
5: Amplifier section, 16: Operational amplifier, 17: Sending section, 18
... Ultrasonic wave transmitter, 30 ... Ultrasonic wave receiving unit, 31 ... Reception sensor unit, 31a, 31b, 31c ... Ultrasonic wave receiving element, 32
... Reception processing unit, 60 ... Amplifier unit, 61 ... Op amp, 7
0: reception timing control unit, 71: counter, register, 72: sequencer, 73: oscillator, 74: SC
C (serial communication control unit) initialization unit, 321, 322 ...
Counter, 324... Basic clock generation circuit, 325, 3
26: reception time holding circuit, 33: communication unit, 331: SC
C (serial communication control unit), 332: 232C driver, 34: pen holder, 35: synchronous circuit, 40: arithmetic processing unit, 41: communication unit, 42: arithmetic unit, 421: data acquisition unit, 422: arithmetic execution unit 423: pen operation status recognition unit 424: correction processing adaptive control unit 43: discrimination unit 44
... Display control unit, 50 ... Display unit

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for transmitting an ultrasonic wave from an ultrasonic transmitting unit mounted on an input pen and receiving the ultrasonic wave by an ultrasonic receiving unit based on a time between the ultrasonic transmitting unit and the ultrasonic receiving unit. Distance measuring means for measuring the distance of the input pen, and calculating means for calculating two-dimensional or three-dimensional position coordinates of the input pen using the measured distance, based on the position coordinates calculated by the calculating means. In a pen input device for inputting a position indicated by the input pen in a predetermined input area, an operation status recognition unit that recognizes an operation status of the input pen, and an operation status of the input pen that is recognized by the operation status recognition unit. Correction processing adaptive control means for correcting the calculated value of the position coordinates in the arithmetic means by adapting the corresponding correction processing. Down input device. 2. A multi-pen function for enabling a plurality of input pens to be used, wherein the operation status recognizing means recognizes the operation status of each of the input pens, and the correction processing adaptive control means comprises a recognition process. 2. The pen input device according to claim 1, wherein a correction process corresponding to the performed operation state is adapted for each of the input pens. And a setting means for arbitrarily setting an operation state of the input pen and a correction processing method corresponding to the operation state,
2. The correction processing adaptive control means adapts the correction processing method being set corresponding to the recognition result of the operation status of the input pen by the operation status recognition means. Or the pen input device according to 2. 4. The operation state recognizing means is constituted by a drawing button press recognizing means for recognizing an ON state of a drawing mode setting button mounted on the input pen. A pen input device as described. 5. The pen input device according to claim 1, wherein the operation status recognizing means comprises a moving speed recognizing means for recognizing a moving speed of the input pen. 6. An operation status recognition means, comprising:
4. The pen input device according to claim 1, wherein the pen input device comprises a coordinate position recognizing means for recognizing a two-dimensional or two-dimensional coordinate position. 7. An operation state recognizing means includes: a drawing button press recognizing means for recognizing an ON state of a drawing mode setting button mounted on the input pen; a moving speed recognizing means for recognizing a moving speed of the input pen; Pen 3D or 2
4. The pen input device according to claim 1, wherein the pen input device is constituted by two or all of the coordinate position recognizing means for recognizing the dimensional coordinate position. 8. The time between the ultrasonic transmitting means and the ultrasonic receiving means, based on the time at which the ultrasonic wave is transmitted from the ultrasonic transmitting means mounted on the input pen and the time at which the ultrasonic wave is received by the ultrasonic receiving means. A pen input device that measures the distance of the input pen, calculates two-dimensional or three-dimensional position coordinates of the input pen using the measured distance, and inputs a position indicated by the input pen in a predetermined input area. A position in the pen input device, wherein the calculated value of the position coordinates is corrected by recognizing a pen operation state and adapting a correction process corresponding to the recognized operation state of the input pen. Coordinate correction method. 9. The operation status of a recognition target includes a status where a drawing mode setting button mounted on the input pen is in an ON state, a status where the moving speed of the input pen exceeds a predetermined moving speed, and a status where the input pen is moving. Either one of the situations where the three-dimensional or two-dimensional coordinate position is outside the specific coordinate position range
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the position coordinate correction method comprises one or a plurality of combinations. 10. A multi-pen function for enabling use of a plurality of input pens, recognizing an operation state of each of the input pens, and performing a correction process corresponding to the recognized operation state on each of the input pens. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the method is adapted for each input pen. 11. An apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising setting means for arbitrarily setting an operation state of the input pen and a correction processing method corresponding to the operation state, wherein the recognition result of the operation state of the input pen corresponds to the recognition result. 9. The position coordinate correction method in the pen input device according to claim 8, wherein the correction processing method being set is adapted.