JPS63113720A - Input/output device for information - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure the operating feeling more approximate to the normal writing or drawing jobs by controlling the output conditions set in an input mode of information in response to the information on the writing pressure detected by a writing pressure detecting means. CONSTITUTION:A shown waveform detecting circuit contains a circuit which extracts the information on writing pressure as a peak level of a detection signal obtained by a vibration sensor 6 by making use of a fact that the amplitude of the vibration transmitted to the sensor 6 varies by the level of the writing pressure. The signal amplified by a preamplifying circuit 51 is inputted to an A/D converting circuit 59. Thus the amplitude information is always converted into a digital signal having a prescribed quantized step and the converted data is inputted to a latch circuit 510. The circuit 510 latches the input data in synchronism with the timing signal which is outputted from an envelope peak detecting circuit 53 by the peak detecting timing. Therefore this data means the information on the writing pressure of a vibration pen 3 and the display output is controlled based on said information on the writing pressure.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is an information input/output device, in particular, detects vibrations input from a vibrating pen using a plurality of sensors provided on a vibration transmission plate, and transmits the vibrations of the vibrating pen. The present invention relates to an information input/output device that detects coordinates on a transmission board and displays and outputs image information based on the detected coordinates.

[Prior Art] Coordinate input devices using various input pens, tablets, etc. have been known as devices for inputting handwritten characters, figures, etc. to a processing device such as a computer. In this type of system, input image information consisting of characters, figures, etc. is output to a display device such as a CRT display or a recording device such as a printer.

The following various methods are known for detecting the coordinates of a tablet equipped with this type of device.

1) A method that detects changes in the resistance value of a sheet material placed opposite the resistive film.

2) A method of detecting TL magnetic or electrostatic induction of conductive sheets placed opposite each other.

3) A method that detects ultrasonic vibrations transmitted from the input pen to the tablet.

In the above methods 1) and 2), it is difficult to form a transparent tablet because a resistive film or a conductive film is used. On the other hand, in method 3), the tablet can be constructed from a transparent material such as an acrylic plate or a glass plate, so the input tablet i can be placed on top of a liquid crystal display, etc., and the operation can be performed as if writing images on paper. A user-friendly information input/output device can be constructed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In addition, in any of the conventional methods 1) to 3) above, only the coordinate information of the input pen on the tablet is detected, and it is difficult to detect the coordinate information of the input pen on the tablet. It was not possible to detect the pen pressure information input to the pen. Therefore, it is impossible with conventional methods to reflect in the output image the shading of image constituent elements such as lines and dots, and the distinction between thick and thin lines, which are controlled by the magnitude of pen pressure used with Kimitsu's writing instruments. Ta.

In particular, if the image output can be controlled based on pen pressure information when the display and input tablet are stacked as described above, the operating feel will be closer to that of normal writing and drawing tasks. Conceivable.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Hereinafter, in order to solve the problems described above, in the present invention, the vibrations input from the vibrating pen are detected by a plurality of sensors provided on the vibration transmission plate, and the vibrating pen The information input/output device detects the coordinates of the vibrating pen on the vibration transmitting plate and outputs image information based on the detected coordinates in a predetermined output method, further comprising means for detecting the pen pressure of the vibrating pen against the vibration transmitting plate. A configuration is adopted in which the output conditions for outputting the information are controlled according to the writing pressure information detected by the writing pressure detection means.

[Function] According to the above configuration, when outputting an image input through the coordinate detection of the vibrating pen, the CM of the image constituent elements is changed to ``light'', thick and thin, etc., depending on the detected pen pressure. Control can be reflected in the output image.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the structure of an information input/output device employing the present invention. The information input/output device shown in FIG. 1 inputs coordinates using a vibrating pen 3 to an input tablet consisting of a vibration transmission plate 8, and displays a display 11' consisting of a CRT placed over the input tablet according to the input coordinate information. It displays the input image.

In the figure, a vibration transmitting plate 8 is made of acrylic, glass, or the like and transmits vibrations transmitted from the vibrating pen 3 to three vibration sensors 6 provided at its corners. In this embodiment, the coordinates of the vibrating pen 3 on the vibration transmitting plate 8 are detected by measuring the transmission time of the ultrasonic vibration transmitted from the vibrating pen 3 to the vibration sensor 6 via the vibration transmitting plate 8.

The vibration transmitting plate 8 is made of an anti-reflection material 7 made of silicone rubber or the like at its peripheral portion in order to prevent the vibration transmitted from the vibrating pen 3 from being reflected at the peripheral portion and returning toward the center. Supported by

The vibration transmission plate 8 is disposed on a display device 11', such as a CRT (or liquid crystal display), capable of displaying dots, and a dot is displayed at the position traced by the vibrating pen 3. That is, a dot is displayed at the position of the display 11'I: corresponding to the detected coordinates of the vibrating pen 3, and the image composed of elements such as points and lines input by the vibrating pen 3 is displayed as if it were on paper. It appears after the trajectory of the vibrating pen as if you were writing.

Further, according to such a configuration, a menu is displayed on the display 11', and the user can select the first menu item with the vibrating pen, display a prompt, and touch the vibrating pen 3 to a predetermined position. Input methods can also be used.

The vibrating pen 3 transmits ultrasonic vibration to the vibration transmitting plate 8,
It has a vibrator 4 made of a piezoelectric element or the like inside, and the ultrasonic vibrations generated by the vibrator 4 are transmitted to a vibration transmission plate 8 via a horn portion 5 having a sharp tip.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the vibrating pen 3. A vibrator 4 built into the vibrating pen 3 is driven by a vibrator drive circuit 2. The drive signal for the vibrator 4 is supplied as a low-level pulse signal from the arithmetic and control circuit l shown in FIG. 4.

The electrical drive signal is converted into mechanical ultrasonic vibration by the vibrator 4 and transmitted to the diaphragm 8 via the horn section 5.

The vibration frequency of the vibrator 4 is selected to a value that can generate plate waves on the vibration transmission plate 8 made of acrylic, glass, or the like. In addition, when driving the vibrator, 152 mm is applied to the vibration transmission plate 8.
A vibration mode in which the vibrator 4 mainly vibrates in the vertical direction in the figure is selected. Further, by setting the vibration frequency of the vibrator 4 to the resonance frequency of the vibrator 4, efficient vibration conversion is possible.

The elastic waves transmitted to the vibration transmission plate 8 as described above are plate waves, which have the advantage that they are less susceptible to the effects of scratches, obstacles, etc. on the surface of the vibration transmission plate 8 compared to surface waves.

Again, in FIG. 1, the vibration sensor 6 provided at the corner of the vibration transmission plate 8 is also constituted by a mechanical to electrical conversion element such as a piezoelectric element. The output signals of each of the three vibration sensors 6 are input to the waveform detection circuit 6 and converted into detection signals that can be processed by the arithmetic control circuit 1 in the subsequent stage. Arithmetic control circuit 1
is based on the vibration transmission time measurement process in the waveform detection circuit 9.

The coordinate position of the vibration transmitting plate 8'' of the vibrating pen 3 is detected.

The detected coordinate information of the vibrating pen 3 is processed in the arithmetic control circuit 1 according to an output method according to the display 11'. That is, the arithmetic control circuit controls the output operation of the display 11' via the video signal processing device 1O based on the input coordinate information.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the arithmetic control circuit 1 shown in FIG.

Here, the structure of the drive system of the vibrating pen 3 and the vibration detection system using the vibration sensor 6 are mainly shown.

The microcomputer 11 includes an internal counter, ROM, and RAM. The drive signal generation circuit 12
It outputs a drive pulse of a predetermined frequency to the vibrator drive circuit 2 shown in the figure, and is activated by the microcomputer 11 in synchronization with the coordinate calculation circuit.

The count value of the counter 13 is latched into the latch circuit 14 by the microcomputer 11.

On the other hand, the waveform detection circuit 9 obtains timing information of a detection signal for measuring vibration transmission time for coordinate detection and signal level information for pen pressure detection from the output of the vibration sensor 6 as described later. Output. These timing and level information are input to input ports 15 and 16, respectively.

The timing signal inputted from the waveform detection circuit 9 is inputted to the input port 15, and the timing signal inputted from the waveform detection circuit 9 is inputted to the input port 15.
4 and the result is transmitted to the microcomputer 11. That is, the vibration transmission time is expressed as a latch value of the output data of the counter 13, and coordinate calculation is performed using this vibration transmission time value.

Output control processing for the display device 11' is performed via the input/output port 18.

FIG. 4 explains the detected waveform input to the waveform detection circuit 9 of FIG. 1 and the total processing of the vibration transmission time based on the detected waveform. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 41 indicates a drive signal pulse applied to the vibrating pen 3. Ultrasonic vibrations transmitted from the vibrating pen 3 driven by such a waveform to the vibration transmission plate 8 pass through the vibration transmission plate 8 and are detected by the vibration sensor 6.

After traveling within the vibration transmission plate 8 for a time tg corresponding to the distance to the vibration sensor 6, the vibration reaches the vibration sensor 6. Reference numeral 42 in FIG. 4 indicates a signal waveform detected by the vibration sensor 6. The plate wave used in this embodiment is a dispersive wave, so the relationship between the envelope 421 and phase 422 of the detected waveform with respect to the propagation distance within the vibration transmission plate 8 changes during vibration transmission according to the transmission distance. do.

Here, the advancing speed of the envelope is group velocity Vg1 and the phase velocity is Vp. The distance between the vibrating pen 3 and the vibration sensor 6 can be detected from the difference in group velocity and phase velocity.

First, if we focus only on the envelope 421, its velocity is Vg, and when a point on a certain waveform, for example a peak, is detected as indicated by reference numeral 43 in FIG. ad is the vibration transmission time t
As g, d=Vg・tg...(1)
Although this equation relates to one of the vibration sensors 6, the distances between the other two vibration sensors 6 and the vibration pen 3 can be indicated by the same equation.

Furthermore, in order to determine coordinate values with higher precision, the phase waveform 4 shown in FIG.
22 specific detection points, for example, if the time from vibration application to the zero cross point after passing the peak is tp, then the distance between the vibration sensor and the vibration pen is d=n ・λ p+Vp @ tP
... (2) where the input p is the wavelength of the elastic wave and n is an integer.

From the above equations (1) and (2), the above integer n is n=[(
VgIItg-Vpstp)/input p+1/N] -
(3) is shown. Here, N is a real number other than O, and an appropriate value is used. For example, if N=2, ±1/2
If it is within the wavelength, n can be determined. n obtained as described above can be determined.

By substituting n obtained as follows into equation (2), the distance between the vibrating pen 3 and the vibration sensor 6 can be accurately measured.

The two vibration transmission times tg and tp shown in FIG. 4 are measured by the waveform detection circuit 9 shown in FIG. The waveform detection circuit 9 is constructed as shown in FIG. The waveform detection circuit shown in FIG. 5 also processes level information of the output waveform of the vibration sensor 6, as will be described later, in order to detect pen pressure.

In FIG. 5, the output signal of the vibration sensor 6 is amplified to a predetermined level by a preamplifier circuit 51. The amplified signal is input to the envelope detection circuit 52, and only the envelope of the detection signal is extracted. The timing of the peak of the extracted envelope is detected by the envelope peak detection circuit 53. The peak detection signal is detected by a signal detection circuit 54 composed of a mono multivibrator, etc.
The envelope 8 extension time detection signal Tg has a predetermined waveform.
is formed and input to the arithmetic control circuit l.

Further, a phase delay time detection signal Tp is formed by a comparator detection circuit 58 from the original signal delayed by the delay time adjustment circuit 57, and is inputted to the arithmetic control circuit l.

The circuit shown above is for one vibration sensor 6, and the same circuit is provided for each of the other sensors.

If the number of sensors is generalized to h, each of the envelope delay time Tgl-h1 and the phase delay time Tpl to h (i detection signals are input to the arithmetic control circuit l.

In the arithmetic control circuit of FIG. 3, the above T g , 1 to h, T
The pl-h signal is input from the input port 15, and the count value of the counter 13 is taken into the latch circuit 14 using each timing as a trigger.As mentioned above, the counter 13 is started in synchronization with the driving of the vibrating pen. , the latch circuit 14 receives data indicating the respective delay times of the envelope and the phase.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the three vibration sensors 6 are arranged at the positions S1 to S3 at the corners of the vibration transmitting plate 8, the vibration sensors 6 are arranged at the positions S1 to S3 at the corners of the vibration transmitting plate 8. The straight line distance #dl-d3 to the position of the vibration sensor 6 can be determined.

Furthermore, the arithmetic and control circuit 1 can determine the coordinates (x, y) of the position P of the vibrating pen 3 based on the straight line distances #d1 to d3 using the following formula from the three-way theorem.

X (dl+d2)(di-d2)2
2X 2 2Y Here, x and Y are the distances along the X and Y axes between the vibration sensor 6 at the positions S2 and S3 and the sensor at the origin (position S1).

As described above, the position coordinates of the vibrating pen 3 can be detected in real time.

On the other hand, the waveform detection circuit shown in FIG. 5 transmits pen pressure information to the vibration sensor 6.
A circuit is provided for extracting the peak level of the detection signal. This configuration utilizes the fact that the amplitude of the vibration transmitted to the vibration sensor 6 changes depending on the magnitude of the pen pressure.

The signal amplified by the preamplifier circuit 51 in FIG.
The amplitude information is input to the D conversion circuit 59 and is constantly converted into a digital signal quantized in a predetermined step, and the converted data is input to the latch circuit 510. The latch circuit 510 latches input data in synchronization with a timing signal output by the envelope peak detection circuit 53 at the peak detection timing. Therefore, the latched data represents the digitized peak level. At the same time, this data means writing pressure information of the vibrating pen 3.

Therefore, in the arithmetic control circuit l, the video signal processing unit ff
When displaying a dot at the coordinate position of the vibrating pen 3 via the input board 16 (Fig. 1), the pen pressure information is determined according to the peak level of the vibration detection signal obtained from the input board 16 (Fig. 3). Based on this, output control can be performed to distinguish between shading during display output, or between thick and thin lines.

For example, when the vibration transmission plate 8 is traced with the vibrating pen 3, dots are continuously displayed at the coordinate points of the vibrating pen 3 detected in real time to display a straight line or a curved line. Similarly, the density of one straight line curve to be displayed is continuously changed based on pen pressure information captured in real time. In the case of a CRT, the ci degree can be expressed by changing the brightness control. Furthermore, by changing the number of dots when displaying dots, the thickness of the line can be changed continuously. Similar control is straight line.

The same applies to inputting and displaying image elements such as points, without being limited to drawing curves.

The configuration for reflecting the pen pressure information acquired as described above on the display will be described in detail below.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the video signal processing device 10 shown in FIG.
Control unit: δ (CRTC), 71 is an image memory for storing image information, 1.11' is the aforementioned arithmetic control circuit and CRT display, respectively. The image memory 71 is shared by the arithmetic control circuit 1 and the CRTC 70, and can be accessed by either of them.
If the RTC 70 tries to access the image memory 71 at the same time, it is necessary to give priority to the access of the CRTC 70 and to apply a wait to the arithmetic control circuit 1 so that the screen does not flicker. This process is performed by the path arbiter 72a. ing.

Now, the CRTC 70 sequentially reads out the image information recorded in the image memory 71, generates a video signal corresponding to the image information, and displays the image on the CRTII'. At this time, the relationship between the display position on the display screen and the storage address in the image memory is as shown in Figure 8, when the leftmost pixel on the display screen is O and the pixels are counted in the direction of the scanning line. , n-th[1 and n+1-th pixel are stored in the first location of the image memory.

Here, of the 8 bits at address n, the -L 4 bits are information corresponding to the nth pixel, and the lower 4 bits are information tg corresponding to the n+1th pixel. The relevant 4-bit information is 11
This is information regarding the density of the pixel of the th or n+1th pixel, and as shown in Figure 9, from white (0000) to black Hut)
It is possible to display the light and shade of an image in up to 16 levels.

Therefore, if the A/D conversion circuit 59 described above has a resolution of 4 bits, the pen pressure can be adjusted to 15 levels (4 bits 1
One of the six stages represents pen pressure O), and by writing this 4-bit information to the address of the image memory corresponding to the position on the screen where you want to display it, the pen pressure can be detected. Points of light and shade depending on the pressure can be displayed on the CRTII' screen.

By the way, the CRTC 70 and CRT II' can display m points in one main scan. Therefore,
If the front A/D conversion circuit 59 has a resolution of 2 bits, the pen pressure can be adjusted to 3 levels (2 bits, 4 bits).
One of the stages is zero pen pressure (representing no display), and it can be detected in three stages, as shown in Figure 10 (,A)~
As shown in (C), at the first level of pen pressure, the nth pixel is applied, and at the second level of pen pressure, n, n+1. n-1°n+m, n-mth pixel, and further n, n+1, n-L, n10m at the third level of writing pressure.

nm, n+m+l, n+m-1, nm
+1.

By displaying black (1111) on the n-m-1 pixel, it is possible to display thick and thin dots according to the pen pressure on the screen of the CRTI 1'.

According to the above configuration, characters can be written using the vibrating pen 3.

When inputting images such as figures, it is possible to control the shading and thickness of the elements of the input image according to the pen pressure, which greatly expands the range of expression for the operator compared to conventional writing tools. It is possible to provide an excellent information input device that can be used with the same operational feeling as the above.

In the above embodiment, the input tablet formed by the vibration transmission plate 8 is stacked on the CRT display 11', but the input tablet and the display do not need to be arranged in such a way, but can be separated. Alternatively, the display may be of another display type such as a liquid crystal display.

Furthermore, the same technique can be implemented not only when input image information is displayed and output, but also when it is recorded and output using a recording device or the like. This also applies when outputting image data input to other processing devices or external storage devices. In that case, pressure information is output in a predetermined format together with coordinate information of the input image.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, the vibration input from the vibrating pen is detected by a plurality of sensors provided on the vibration transmitting plate, and the vibration transmitting plate of the vibrating pen is activated. In an information input/output device that outputs image information in a predetermined output method, means for detecting the pressure of the vibrating pen against the vibration transmission plate is provided, Since a configuration is adopted in which the output conditions for outputting the information are controlled based on the pen pressure information detected by the pressure detection means, the shading and thinness of image components input through coordinate detection of the vibrating pen are controlled. It is possible to reflect controls such as the J classification on the output image, and to provide an excellent information input device that has an operation feeling similar to that of a skilled handwriting operation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information input/output device employing the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the vibrating pen shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is the arithmetic control device shown in Fig. 1. 4 is a waveform diagram showing a detected waveform to explain the distance # measurement between the vibration R and the vibration sensor. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of the waveform detection circuit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of the vibration sensor, FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the video signal processing bag yt, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the image memory, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of concentration decomposition. The table shown in Figure 10 (
A) to (C) are explanatory diagrams showing display output states of pen pressure, respectively. 1... Arithmetic control circuit 3... Vibration pen 4... Vibrator 6... Vibration sensor 8... Vibration transmission plate
51...iif device width converter 15.16...input port 52...envelope detection circuit 54.58...signal detection circuit 59...A/D conversion circuit 91...peak hold circuit 92 ... Addition circuit 93 ... Comparator 510
...Latch circuit Fig. 5 Fig. 6 (A) CB) (C) Installation description of the Ashikai Exhibition Fig. 10

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) Detecting the vibration input from the vibrating pen using a plurality of sensors provided on the vibration transmitting plate, detecting the coordinates of the vibrating pen on the vibration transmitting plate, and based on the detected coordinates. In an information input/output device that outputs image information in a predetermined output method, a means for detecting the pen pressure against the vibration transmission plate of the vibrating pen is provided, and the information is output according to the pen pressure information detected by the pen pressure detection means. An information input/output device characterized by controlling output conditions during. 2) Information input/output according to claim 1, characterized in that the shading or thickness of image constituent elements at the time of information output is controlled based on the writing pressure information obtained by the writing pressure detection means. Device.