JPH10214147A - Pen inputting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a pen input device that is reduced in load on a CPU due to the switching of a judging operation and a timely load required for the switching. SOLUTION: This device is provided with an upper resistance film 1 and a lower resistance film 5 of a conventional touch panel constituted of an upper resistance film and a lower resistance film arranged so as to be faced to each other with a constant interval for simultaneously operating mode discrimination and the discrimination of an X coordinate and a Y coordinate when the thickness of a pen top is different. Moreover, two resistance films 2 and 4 are arranged between the upper resistance film 1 and the lower resistance film 5, and a transparent insulating film 3 is arranged between the two resistance films 2 and 4. Thus, the mode discrimination, X coordinate discrimination, and Y coordinate discrimination can be simultaneously attained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a pen input device, and more particularly to a pen input device for writing and deleting one pen in two modes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a method of using a pen input to read a trajectory of moving a pen by hand, and inputting the trajectory to a (personal) computer as it is or by correcting the trajectory into a smooth curve.

In a conventional pen input device, software is used to switch between usage of drawing a locus with a pen and use of an eraser for erasing a previously drawn locus.
The operator selects one of them from a menu screen or the like on the screen. In this case, the operator must select from the menu screen or the like every time the purpose of use is switched between drawing a locus and erasing the locus. In other words, when the mode is temporarily switched to the erasing mode in order to correct the input trajectory, and the erasing operation is completed and the input operation is performed again, it is necessary to return to the input mode again. Usually, such repetition greatly impairs the feeling of "paper and pencil" which is a major feature of the pen input device.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5-303463 discloses that in the case of an erasing operation, the input pen is built up in the input pen if the input pen is held upside down with respect to the input operation and the input operation is performed. The inversion detection unit detects that the input pen has been inverted, and in accordance with this detection signal, the function switching unit sends a signal to the control unit that the erasing operation is in progress,
A method has been proposed in which the control unit determines that the input signal is for an erasing operation and erases the input portion.
In the case of this proposal, since the inside of the input pen detects that the input pen has been inverted, a power source is provided inside the input pen, or a cable is connected between the input pen and the computer. Needed. It is inevitable that all of these measures are cumbersome.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-200133 discloses a pen mode in which a pen tip having different thicknesses for writing and erasing is provided at both ends of a pen. The image data indicating the trajectory of the pen tip is written to the display device and displayed on the display device. A method has been proposed in which when the touch panel is touched with a thick pen tip, the touch panel is determined to be in an erasing mode, and among the data stored in the image memory, data on the trajectory of the pen tip is erased.

[0006]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The proposal described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3 (2003) discloses a touch panel consisting of an upper resistive film and a lower resistive film that are arranged opposite to each other at a fixed interval, an input pen having a different thickness, and a switch group that separates mode determination and coordinate determination. It is configured, pen nibs of different thickness for writing and erasing are provided at both ends of the input pen,
There has been proposed a pen input device that determines an input mode and an erasing mode from a difference in a contact area on a touch panel, and switches between the input mode and the erasing mode using a pen.

The idea of switching between the input mode and the erase mode depending on the thickness of the pen tip is close to the feeling of "paper, a pencil and an eraser attached behind the pencil", and is excellent. After determining whether the mode is the mode, it is necessary to switch the three coordinate operations of the X coordinate determination and the Y coordinate determination by hardware.
There is a problem that the load on the PU and the time load required for switching become too large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a pen input device in which the burden on the CPU due to the switching of the determination operation and the time burden for the switching are reduced.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a pen input device including a touch panel mainly composed of a plurality of laminated resistive films, and an input pen having a tapered nib and a tapered nib at both ends. The touch panel includes first and second resistive film pairs, and the first resistive film pair determines whether the tapered pen or the thick pen is in contact with the touch panel.
The Y-coordinate determination is performed, and the second resistive film pair determines the contact of the tapered or thick pen with the touch panel and the X-coordinate.

Further, a transparent insulating film is inserted between the first and second pairs of resistive films.

The operation of the present invention is as follows. In the pen input device according to the present invention, the mode discrimination (judgment) based on the difference in thickness of the pen tip and the discrimination (judgment) of the X coordinate and the Y coordinate are performed.
In order to perform simultaneously, two more resistive films are provided between the upper resistive film and the lower resistive film of the conventional touch panel, which are composed of an upper resistive film and a lower resistive film which are arranged at a predetermined interval and opposed to each other. By disposing a transparent insulating film between them, it is possible to simultaneously perform mode determination (determination), X coordinate determination (determination), and Y coordinate determination (determination).

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a pen input device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1A, the touch panel 10 is composed of four transparent resistance films 1, 2, 4, 5 and one transparent insulating film 3 which are arranged at regular intervals to face each other. An upper first resistance film 1, an upper second resistance film 2, a transparent insulating film 3, a lower first resistance film 4, and a lower second resistance film 5 are arranged from the surface side. Placed on the screen.

An electrode 1-1 is provided on the upper side of the upper first resistance film 1.
Are formed on the lower side in parallel with the electrode 1-1.
Is formed. The electrodes 1-1, 1 formed on the upper first resistance film 1 are provided on the right and left sides of the upper second resistance film 2, respectively.
Electrodes 2-1 and 2-2 (not shown) are formed at right angles to -2.

The lower first resistance film 4 has an upper second resistance film 2
In parallel with the electrodes 2-1 and 2-2, the electrodes 4-1 and
The electrode 4-2 is formed on the left side, and the lower second resistance film 5 has an electrode 5-1 (not shown) on the upper side parallel to the electrodes 1-1 and 1-2 of the upper first resistance film. The electrode 5-2 is formed on the lower side.

The electrode 1-1 on the upper side of the upper first resistive film 1 is connected to the terminal e, a driving voltage Vdd is applied to the electrode 1-1 via the resistor R1, and the electrode 1-2 on the lower side is grounded. Connected to voltage. The electrode 2-1 on the right side of the upper second resistance film 2 is connected to the terminal f.

The electrode 4-1 on the right side of the lower first resistance film 4 is connected to the terminal c, a driving voltage Vdd is applied to the electrode 4-1 via the resistor R2, and the electrode 4-2 on the left side is connected to the terminal 4-2. Connected to ground voltage. The electrode 5-2 on the lower side of the lower second resistance film 5 is connected to the terminal d.

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the input pen 8 is used as a pointing device to indicate an arbitrary point on the touch panel 10, and both ends thereof are formed of nibs having different thicknesses. And a pen tip 9 having a thin tip used for erasing.

Next, a method of judging (determining) the input mode and the erase mode based on the difference in the thickness of the pen tip will be described.
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, a case will be described in which two types of modes are assigned to the most common input mode and erase mode. Insert the pen tip 7 with a thin tip into the input mode,
The pen tip 9 having a thick tip is set to the erase mode side.

As shown in FIG. 2A, input and deletion are performed by touching the touch panel 10 using the input pen 8. First, when the pen tip 7 having a thin tip is used, the contact point between the pen tip 7 having a thin tip and the touch panel 10 is P1. In other words, it becomes a contact point between the pen tip 7 having a thin tip and the upper first resistive film 1 of the touch panel 10. The point of contact P1 between the pen tip 7 having a thin tip and the upper first resistance film 1 has a very small contact area because the pen tip is thin. Therefore, it is considered that the contact area where the upper first resistance film 1 and the upper second resistance film 2 come into contact with each other by being pushed by the pen tip 7 having a thin tip becomes extremely small.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the resistance value r1 between the electrode 1-1 on the upper side of the upper first resistance film 1 and the electrode 1-2 on the lower side is divided, and the tip of the pen tip having a thin tip is divided. In the case where the upper first resistance value 1 is touched at 7, the divided (r2 + r3)
) Is approximately equal to r1.

When this is expressed by an equation, the voltage value of the electrode 1-1 = Vdd · r1 / (r1 + R1) (1)

Next, the user changes the input pen 8 and holds the input pen 8 as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the touch panel 10 is
Is touched, the contact point between the pen tip 9 having a thick tip and the touch panel 10 is P2. In other words, this becomes a contact point between the pen tip 9 having a thick tip and the upper first resistance film 1 of the touch panel 10. The contact point P2 between the pen tip 9 having a thick tip and the upper first resistance film 1 has a large contact area because the pen tip is thick. Therefore, it is considered that the contact area where the upper first resistance film 1 and the upper second resistance film 2 come into contact with each other by being pushed by the pen tip 7 having a thick tip increases.

As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the resistance value r1 between the upper electrode 1-1 and the lower electrode 1-2 of the upper first resistance film 1 is divided into r4 + r5 + r6. If the upper first resistance value 1 is touched with the thick nib 9 of r5, r5
Are short-circuited by the area P2. Therefore, the resistance between the electrodes 1-1 and 1-2 becomes lower than r1. Assuming that the resistance value when r5 is short-circuited by the area P2 is r5 ', the voltage value of the electrode 1-1 = Vdd ｛{r4 + (r5 ・ r5' / (r5 + r5 ')) + r6｝ /｝ r4 + ( r5.r5 '/ (r5 + r5')) + r6 + R1 (2)

Therefore, by checking the voltage of the electrode 1-1 on the upper side of the upper first resistive film 1 while a current is flowing through the upper first resistive film 1, the thin pen tip 7 of the input pen 8 can be checked. It is possible to determine (determine) whether the touch panel 10 is touched with the pen tip 9 or the thick pen tip 9. That is, the difference between the values of Expression 1 and Expression 2 is determined.

Next, a method of coordinate determination (determination) will be described. As shown in FIG. 2B, when the touch is touched on the touch panel 10 with the thin pen tip 7 of the input pen 8 in a state where the current is flowing through the upper first resistance film 1, the point P1 Then, the upper first resistance film 1 and the upper second resistance film 2 come into contact with each other, the voltage at the point P1 is transmitted to the upper second resistance film 2, and the Y coordinate is determined based on the voltage value f obtained from the electrode 2-1 ( judge.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the touch panel 10 is touched with the pen tip 9 at the tip of the input pen 8, the upper first resistive film 1 and the upper second resistive film 2 are similarly set at the point P2. Then, the voltage at the point P2 is transmitted to the upper second resistive film 2, and the Y coordinate is determined (determined) based on the voltage value f obtained from the electrode 2-1.

The X coordinate is such that when a current is flowing through the lower first resistance film 4 and a touch is made on the touch panel 10 with the thin pen tip 7 or the thick pen tip 9 at the tip of the input pen 8, the upper side is pressed by pressure. The first and second resistance films 1 and 2, the transparent insulating film 3, and the lower first and second resistance films 4 and 5 are located at points P 1,
Contact is made at P2, and by contact of the lower first and second resistive films 4 and 5, the voltage of the lower first resistive film 4 at points P1 and P2 is transmitted to the lower second resistive film 5 and the electrode 5 The X coordinate is determined (determined) based on the voltage value d obtained from -2.

The input mode, the erase mode determination (determination), the Y coordinate determination (determination), and the X coordinate determination (determination) based on the difference in the thickness of the pen tip of the input pen 8 are performed by the touch panel 10. An upper first resistance film 1, an upper second resistance film 2,
A transparent insulating film is provided between the lower first resistive film 4 and the lower second resistive film 5 and the upper second resistive film 2 and the lower first resistive film 4 in which the arrangement of the electrodes on the resistive film is orthogonal. With the configuration in which the film 3 is arranged, three determinations (discriminations) can be performed simultaneously.

That is, when the touch panel 10 is touched with the input pen 8, the contact point between the input pen 8 and the touch panel 10 is changed by the pressure applied from the input pen 8 to the upper first and second resistance films 1 and 2 and the transparent insulating film. 3. The lower first and second resistive films 4 and 5 are all in contact with the input pen 8.

As described above, the difference between the thickness of the pen tip of the input pen 8 and Y
The coordinates are determined (determined), and the difference between the thickness of the pen tip of the input pen 8 and the X coordinate are determined by the lower first and second resistance films 4 and 5 with the transparent insulating film 3 interposed therebetween. Therefore, by checking the voltage of the terminal e or c, it is determined (determined) whether the pen tip of the input pen 8 currently in contact with the touch panel 10 is the pen tip 7 having a thin tip or the pen tip 9 having a thick tip. At the same time, by observing the voltage of the terminal f, Y
The X coordinate can be determined by checking the voltage at the terminal d.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the upper first and second resistive films determine the difference in the thickness of the pen tip of the input pen and determine (determine) the Y coordinate, and sandwich the transparent insulating film. Thus, the lower first and second resistive films have the effect that the difference in the pen tip thickness of the input pen and the determination of the X coordinate can all be performed simultaneously.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a method for detecting a thin pen tip.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a method of detecting a thick pen tip.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Upper first resistance film 1-1,2,2-1,2-1,2-1,5-1,2 electrode 2 Upper second resistance film 3 Transparent insulating film 4 Lower first resistance film 5 Lower side Second resistive film 7 Tapered pen tip 8 Input pen 9 Tapered pen tip 10 Touch panel

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pen input device comprising: a touch panel mainly composed of a plurality of laminated resistive films; and an input pen having a tapered pen tip and a thick pen tip at both ends. The first resistive film pair includes first and second resistive film pairs, and the first resistive film pair determines the contact of the tapered pen or the thick pen with the touch panel, and determines the Y coordinate, and A pen input device, wherein a pair of resistive films performs determination of contact of the tapered or thick pen with the touch panel and determination of an X coordinate. 2. The pen input device according to claim 1, further comprising a transparent insulating film inserted between said first and second pairs of resistive films. 3. The pen input device according to claim 1, wherein an input mode is determined by touching the tapered pen, and an erase mode is determined by touching the thick pen.