JPH1039989A - Input pen for electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an input pen for electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad with which coordinate information can be accurately inputted to an electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad and further the operability can be improved. SOLUTION: Concerning the input pen for electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad for inputting coordinate information to the electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad, this input pen is provided with a conductive main body 1 of the pen to be held by the hand of a user and a conductive tip 2 of the pen electrically conducted with the main body 1 of the pen, and the hand holding the main body 1 of the pen and the tip 2 of the pen are electrically conducted. By operating the electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad with the input pen, coordinate information is accurately inputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an input pen for an electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad for inputting coordinate information to an electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad connected to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 4 is an external view of the capacitance-type coordinate input pad, and is a diagram illustrating a state of operation by a user's finger. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation principle of the capacitance-type coordinate input pad.

Conventionally, a so-called mouse has been generally known as a coordinate input device for inputting coordinate information to an information processing apparatus such as a desktop personal computer. This mouse performs a certain work for inputting coordinate information. Requires space. On the other hand, in a notebook personal computer characterized by portability, the coordinate input device is also required to be portable, and it is required to be operable in a very limited space.

As such a space-saving type coordinate input device, there is a capacitance type coordinate input pad as shown in FIG. This capacitance-type input pad detects, for example, icons arranged on a display by detecting the position and movement of the user's finger F on the coordinate input surface P as a change in capacitance. Is used as a coordinate input device.

Here, the principle of operation of the capacitance type coordinate input pad will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, capacitive coordinate input pad includes a lower electrode R _X extending in the X-axis direction of the coordinate input surface P shown in FIG. 4, the upper electrode R _Y extending in the Y-axis direction Are provided so as to be orthogonal to each other with a small gap therebetween, and these lower electrode _RX and upper electrode _RY
The capacitance C ₀ is formed in the overlapping portion with the above. It should be noted that, although omitted in FIG.
Each of the lower electrodes R _X and the upper electrode R _Y are formed in a plurality of numbers in a strip shape, the plurality of lower electrodes R _X and the upper electrode R _Y is overlaid across a slight gap so as to be perpendicular to each other I have.

[0006] capacitive coordinate input pad having such a structure is to specify the coordinate information by detecting an electrostatic capacitance C _F is formed between the finger F of the user. That is,
When a user who wants to input coordinate information touches the finger F with the coordinate input surface P of the capacitive coordinate input pad, the electrostatic capacitance is placed between the upper electrode _RY where the finger F is located and the finger F. Capacity C _F
Is formed, and as a result, the capacitance between the lower electrode _RX and the upper electrode _RY changes. This change in capacitance is detected by the capacitance balance measuring device M, the position of the finger F on the coordinate input surface P is specified, and coordinate information specified by the finger F is input.

As described above, the capacitance-type coordinate input pad can input coordinate information without having a mechanically movable part, and does not change its operation state due to dust or dirt. There is an advantage that it is excellent in durability and that it can be operated with a light touch with a finger.

[0008]

However, as shown in FIG. 4, the user touches the capacitance type coordinate input pad with the finger F.
, The contact state between the finger F and the coordinate input surface slightly changes depending on the force of the finger F. For this reason, the position where the capacitance of the upper electrode _RY and the finger F changes varies, and there is a problem that it is difficult to input coordinate information with high accuracy. Therefore, when it is necessary to input coordinate information with high precision, for example, when a pointer is pointed at a small icon on a display of a personal computer or the like, some skill is required. In addition, when the finger F of the user has a long nail, the finger must be laid down and operated in order to obtain a contact area with the coordinate input surface P. In this case, the operability is reduced. there were.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and has been made in view of the above circumstances. An object of the present invention is to provide an input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has the following arrangement to achieve the above object. That is, claim 1
The input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad according to the invention described in the above, is an input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad for inputting coordinate information to the capacitive coordinate input pad,
The electronic apparatus includes a conductive pen body that is gripped by a user's hand, and a conductive pen tip that is electrically connected to the pen body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input pen for an electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the pen tip has a brush-like shape. It is composed of conductive fibers bundled in a bundle.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad according to the first aspect, wherein the pen tip is made of a conductive material. And the tip of the pen tip is formed in a spherical shape.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the tip of the pen is a tip. The portion is composed of a conductive shaft body having a spherical shape and conductive fibers formed by electrostatic flocking at the tip.

The operation of the present invention constructed as described above will be described below. That is, according to the input pen for the capacitive coordinate input pad according to the first aspect of the present invention, the pen tip is electrically connected to the user's hand via the pen body. Therefore, the pen tip is maintained at the same potential as the hand of the user holding the pen body, and the state of contact with the capacitance-type coordinate input pad depends on the shape of the pen tip. As a result, the capacitance formed between the capacitance-type coordinate input pad and the pen tip becomes substantially constant without depending on the force of the hand holding the input pen.

According to the input pen for an electrostatic capacitance type coordinate input pad according to the second aspect of the present invention, the pen tip made of conductive fibers bundled in a brush-like form is used for the electrostatic capacitance type input pad. When touching the coordinate input surface, the conductive fiber spreads on the capacitive coordinate input pad. As a result, the pen tip maintains a predetermined contact area by the spread conductive fibers, and makes contact with the capacitive coordinate input pad regardless of the direction of the tilt of the pen tip.

Further, according to the input pen for a capacitance type coordinate input pad according to the third aspect of the present invention, the pen tip formed in a spherical shape by using a conductive felt as a material has a capacitance type coordinate input pad. When the pad comes into contact with the pad, the contact area between the pen tip and the capacitive coordinate input pad becomes substantially constant irrespective of the direction of the pen tip due to the flexibility of the felt.

Further, according to the input pen for a capacitance type coordinate input pad according to the invention of claim 4, the pen tip on which the conductive fiber is electrostatically planted is the coordinate of the capacitance type coordinate input pad. When touching the input surface, the conductive fiber spreads on the coordinate input surface to obtain a predetermined contact area, and the contact area between the pen tip and the capacitance type coordinate input pad is independent of the direction of the tip of the pen tip. It is almost constant.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad (hereinafter simply referred to as an "input pen") according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. I do. Here, FIG. 1 is an external view of the input pen according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the input pen according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the input pen of the 3rd embodiment. The description will be made with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 as necessary.

(Regarding the First Embodiment) FIG.
The input pen according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1A, the input pen according to the first embodiment of the present invention is configured by connecting a pen tip 2 made of a conductive fiber bundled in a brush shape to a conductive pen body 1. ing.

The conductive fiber constituting the pen tip 2 is, for example, a conductive fiber obtained by adsorbing copper ions or the like on an acrylic fiber, a nylon fiber, a glass fiber, or the like, or a fiber plated with metal or the like. It may be a polymer fiber into which a metal is kneaded, or a fiber in which a metal is deposited in pores, and any conductive fibrous material having a certain degree of flexibility. It may be. When the conductive fiber itself is thin, the nib 2 may be formed by bundling twisted fibers in advance.

When inputting coordinate information to the capacitance-type coordinate input pad using the input pen of the first embodiment configured as described above, as shown in FIG. The pen body 1 of the pen is gripped, and the pen tip 2 of the input pen is pressed against the coordinate input surface P of the capacitive coordinate input pad instead of the finger. At this time, the conductive fibers constituting the pen tip 2 spread on the coordinate input surface P, and the pen tip 2 comes into contact with the coordinate input surface P while maintaining a predetermined area by the spread conductive fibers. Note that even if the input pen is slightly tilted, the contact area generally remains constant.

As a result, a capacitance is formed between the coordinate input surface P and the hand of the user holding the input pen (pen body 1) depending on the contact area of the spread conductive fibers.
At this time, since the contact area between the pen tip 2 and the coordinate input surface P is not greatly affected by the force or inclination (direction) of the user pressing the input pen, the coordinate input surface P and the input pen are gripped. The capacitance formed between the input pen and the user's hand is not significantly affected by the force or inclination of pressing the input pen. As described above, the capacitance-type coordinate input pad stably reduces the capacitance formed between the coordinate input surface P and the pen tip 2 (the hand of the user holding the pen body 1). Upon detection, the coordinates specified by the input pen are determined.

(Regarding the Second Embodiment) Next, FIG.
The input pen according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A, the input pen of the present embodiment has a spherical tip at the tip instead of the pen tip 2 constituting the input pen of the first embodiment shown in FIG. And a pen tip 3 made of conductive felt.

When inputting coordinate information to the capacitance type coordinate input pad using the input pen of the second embodiment configured as described above, the pen point 3 of the input pen is used instead of the finger, and
On the coordinate input surface P of the capacitance type coordinate input pad shown in FIG. At this time, since the felt, which is the material of the pen tip 3, has flexibility, the coordinate input surface P has a certain contact area.
Contact with. This contact area varies somewhat depending on the force with which the user presses the input pen, but the amount of the variation is much smaller than when the user presses the finger to input.
It can be treated as virtually constant. Moreover, since the tip of the pen tip 3 is formed in a spherical shape, the contact area is kept substantially constant regardless of the inclination of the input pen.

As a result, between the coordinate input surface P of the capacitance type coordinate input pad and the hand of the user holding the input pen (pen body 1), the force or inclination of the user pressing the input pen is applied. A substantially constant capacitance is stably formed without being affected by (direction). Therefore, the capacitance-type coordinate input pad detects this substantially constant capacitance,
The coordinate information specified by the input pen can be determined stably and accurately.

As shown in FIG. 2B, a shaft 4a having a spherical tip is connected to a conductive felt cloth 4b.
May be configured using the pen tip 4 covered with
By selecting the flexibility of the material forming the shaft body 4a, it is possible to obtain an optimum contact area according to the detection sensitivity on the capacitance-type coordinate input pad side.

(Regarding Third Embodiment) Next, FIG.
The input pen according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the input pen of the present embodiment is a conductive pen having a conductive fiber 5a electrostatically implanted at its tip instead of the pen tip 2 constituting the input pen shown in FIG. The pen tip 5 including the shaft 5b is provided. Here, the shaft 5b has a substantially hemispherical portion (no symbol) formed at one end thereof, and the conductive fibers 5a are electrostatically implanted on the spherical surface of the substantially hemispherical portion. The conductive fiber 5a is electrically connected to the pen body 1 via the shaft 5b.

As shown in FIG. 3B, when the pen tip 5 of the input pen of the third embodiment configured as described above is pressed against the coordinate input surface P of the capacitance type coordinate input pad, The conductive fiber 5a comes into contact with the coordinate input surface P with a circle having a diameter R. Moreover, if the shaft 5b is not significantly deformed by the pressing force, the contact area is constant even when the input pen is inclined, and the pen tip 5 (the hand of the user holding the input pen)
An extremely stable constant capacitance is formed between the coordinate input plane P and the coordinate input plane P.

The writing pen such as a ball-point pen may be connected to the rear end of the input pen of the first to third embodiments. Further, the pen body 1 constituting the input pen of the first to third embodiments described above is conductive,
Metal may be used as a material, but in this case, contact with the coordinate input surface P may damage the coordinate input surface P such as a scratch. In order to avoid this, the pen tip attachment part is configured using a member with low hardness such as plastic, and only the part gripped by the user's hand is configured using metal, so that the pen tip and the user What is necessary is just to comprise so that the metal part hold | gripped by a hand may be electrically connected inside the pen main body 1. FIG.

[0030]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the pen tip and the hand holding the input pen are configured to be electrically connected, the capacitance-type coordinate input pad and the user's hand are connected. The formed capacitance can be determined by the shape of the pen tip, and extremely accurate coordinate information can be input.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the pen tip is formed of the conductive fiber bundled in a brush shape, the conductive fiber is provided in addition to the effect obtained by the first aspect of the present invention. The contact area of the capacitive coordinate input pad with the coordinate input surface is large regardless of the force of the hand holding the input pen and regardless of the direction of the tilt of the pen tip. The area can be maintained.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention,
Since the pen tip is formed using a conductive felt and the tip is formed in a substantially spherical shape, in addition to the effect obtained by the invention according to claim 1, the pen tip is gripped by the user's hand. Irrespective of the inclination (direction) of the input pen, the contact area of the capacitive coordinate input pad with the coordinate input surface can be kept constant, and extremely excellent usability and operability can be obtained. .

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the pen tip is formed by electrostatically implanting conductive fibers on the shaft having a spherical tip. In addition to the effects obtained by the above, the contact area of the capacitance type coordinate input pad with the coordinate input surface can be made large and constant regardless of the force of the hand holding the input pen and the inclination.

Therefore, according to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, coordinate information can be accurately input to the capacitance type coordinate input pad, and the usability and operability can be improved. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is an external view of an input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram for explaining a use state of the input pen for the capacitance-type coordinate input pad according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are partial cross-sectional views of an input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a partial cross-sectional view of an input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
(B) is an explanatory view for explaining a use state of the input pen for the capacitance type coordinate input pad according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a use state of a capacitance type coordinate input pad.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation principle of the capacitance-type coordinate input pad.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pen main body 2-5 Pen tip 4a, 5b Shaft 4b Conductive felt cloth 5a Conductive fiber

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An input pen for a capacitive coordinate input pad for inputting coordinate information to a capacitive coordinate input pad, comprising: a conductive pen body gripped by a user's hand; An input pen for a capacitance-type coordinate input pad, comprising: a pen body and a conductive pen tip that is electrically conductive. 2. The input pen for a capacitance-type coordinate input pad according to claim 1, wherein the pen tip is formed of conductive fibers bundled in a brush shape. 3. The capacitance type coordinate input pad according to claim 1, wherein the pen tip is made of conductive felt, and the tip of the pen tip is formed in a spherical shape. Input pen. 4. The pen tip according to claim 1, wherein the tip is formed of a conductive shaft body having a spherical tip and a conductive fiber formed by electrostatic flocking at the tip. Input pen for capacitance type coordinate input pad.