KR100890366B1 - Input pen and the input system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses an input pen and an input system using the same. The present invention measures the pressure applied to the pen core portion of the input pen and inputs the pressure data together with the position data as the writing data, thereby making it possible to input more natural writing data. In addition, the present invention to determine whether pressure is applied to the input pen by determining whether the user inputs writing only while the pressure is applied to the input pen to measure the pressure applied to the input pen There is an effect that can prevent unnecessary power consumption.

Description

Input pen and the input system using the same}

The present invention relates to an input device, and more particularly, to an input pen used when inputting natural writing and an input system using the same.

As electronic devices such as computers and PDAs have become commonplace, users have generally used these electronic devices to record important memos and contacts of acquaintances in their notebooks.

In particular, with the popularity of electronic devices such as tablet PCs and PDAs, users can directly input and store their writing on electronic devices such as tablet PCs or PDAs without using keyboards. In addition, the user can perform not only handwriting but also editing of simple pictures using various application programs such as Paint.

However, in the conventional method of inputting handwriting to an electronic device such as a touch pad or a tablet PC, the user inputs handwriting so that only the trajectory of the input means is displayed to the user. Since the input is displayed as a line having the same thickness, there is a problem in that the user cannot feel a natural writing feeling, such as a change in the thickness of the displayed character according to the difference in the pressure of pressing the ground with a pen when the user performs the actual writing.

In order to solve this problem, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1, a capacitor 130 is installed at one end of the pen core 110 of an input pen, and a user contacts the pen core 110 to the ground for writing input. When the pressure is applied to the pen core 110, the pressure is applied to the capacitor 130 installed at one end of the pen core 110, and the distance between the both ends of the capacitor 130 is changed by the applied pressure, thereby changing the capacitance.

The capacitor 130 is used as part of the RC oscillation circuit or the LC oscillation circuit of the oscillation circuit section 140 shown, so that the oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit section 140 is changed in accordance with the change in capacitance, and this input pen has a frequency of The pressure applied to the pen core 110 may be measured by examining the change.

As described above, in the related art, the end of the pen is equipped with mechanisms whose C or L values can be changed according to the pen pressure, and thus the frequency is changed due to the characteristic change of the LC resonance circuit. The input pen may measure the pressure applied to the pen core part 110 by examining the change in frequency.

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to measure the pressure applied to the pen core only when the user inputs writing on the ground using the input pen, that is, only when pressure is applied to the pen core. It is to provide an input pen that can be reduced.

In addition, another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is not only to reduce power consumption, but even when a large pressure is applied to the pen core, it is possible to reliably measure the user's pen pressure by preventing the device from being damaged by such pressure. To provide a pressure pen.

Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an input system capable of inputting natural writing using such an input pen.

The input pen of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the magnet is provided at one end of the pen core; Magnetic force measuring unit for measuring and outputting the magnetic flux density emitted from the magnet; And a control unit measuring a distance between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit using the magnetic flux density input from the magnetic force measuring unit, converting the distance into a pressure value, and outputting the pressure value.

In addition, the above-described input pen is positioned between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit to maintain a constant distance between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit while no pressure is applied to the pen core, and is applied to the pen core to be applied between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit. When the pressure that shortens the distance is released, it is preferable to further include a distance holding member for maintaining a constant distance between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit again.

The input pen may further include a pressure sensing unit configured to detect whether pressure is applied to the pen core and to output a pressure sensing signal when pressure is applied to the pen core, and the controller may further include a pressure sensing signal. Only when the magnetic force measuring unit outputs a control signal instructing to supply the power to measure the magnetic flux density, it is preferable to supply power to the magnetic force measuring unit.

In addition, the above-described pressure sensing unit, the first conductor portion provided in the case portion for accommodating the pen core portion, the contact with the first conductor portion when no pressure is applied to the pen core portion, the pressure is applied to the pen core portion It is preferable to detect the pressure by investigating whether the second conductor portions provided at one end of the pen core portion are electrically connected to each other so as to be spaced apart from the first conductor portion.

The input pen may further include a reference signal generator configured to generate and emit a reference signal at a predetermined time period; And an ultrasonic signal generator for generating and radiating an ultrasonic signal at the same time as the reference signal, wherein the controller is configured to radiate a pressure value together with the reference signal to the atmosphere.

On the other hand, the input system of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the above-described input pen; And an input device for generating position data of the input pen using the reference signal and the ultrasonic signal received from the input pen and storing the position data as handwriting data together with the pressure value data received from the input pen.

As described above, the present invention measures the pressure applied to the pen core portion of the input pen and inputs the pressure data together with the position data as the writing data, so that the natural writing data can be input.

In addition, the present invention to determine whether pressure is applied to the input pen by determining whether the user inputs writing only while the pressure is applied to the input pen to measure the pressure applied to the input pen There is an effect that can prevent unnecessary power consumption.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional structure of an input pen according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a physical structure of the input pen according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 2, the input pen according to the present invention includes a pressure sensing unit 210, a controller 220, a power supply unit 250, a switching unit 230, and a magnetic force measuring unit 240 in a functional configuration. It is configured by.

Meanwhile, the input pen according to the present invention accommodates the pen core 310 and the pen core 310 inside as a physical configuration, and at the same time, the pressure sensing unit 210, the control unit 220, the power supply unit 250, and the switching unit. 230, and a case part 320 accommodating the magnetic force measuring part 240 therein.

First, a functional configuration will be described. The power supply unit 250 provides power of a predetermined voltage to the pressure sensing unit 210, the control unit 220, and the switching unit 230. The power supply unit 250 is preferably implemented as a battery, but may not be included in the input pen when the input pen of the present invention receives power from an input device that receives a natural writing.

The pressure detector 210 detects whether pressure is applied to the pen core 310, and outputs a pressure detection signal to the controller 220 when the pressure is detected.

When the pressure sensing signal is input, the controller 220 generates a control signal instructing the switching unit 230 to output the power provided from the power supply unit 250 to the magnetic force measuring unit 240 to the switching unit 230. Output In addition, the controller 220 measures the distance between the pen core 310 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 using the magnetic force measurement value input from the magnetic force measuring unit 240, and converts the measured distance into a pressure value.

The switching unit 230 outputs the power input from the power supply unit 250 to the magnetic force measuring unit 240 according to a control signal applied from the control unit 220.

The magnetic force measuring unit 240 measures the magnetic flux density radiated from the magnet 330 installed in the pen core 310 and outputs the magnetic flux density to the controller 220. The magnetic force measuring unit 240 may be implemented as a sensor capable of detecting the magnetic flux, and in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is implemented as a Hall Sensor.

3 is a diagram illustrating a physical configuration of an input pen according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the input pen includes a pen core part 310 and a case part 320, and the case part 320 includes the pressure sensing unit 210 and the controller in addition to the pen core part 310 therein. 220, the power supply unit 250, the switching unit 230, and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 are accommodated.

A penetrating hole is formed at one end of the case part 320 so that the pen core part 310 penetrates and is accommodated in the case part 320. The first conductor part 382 is formed around the through hole. Formed.

In addition, one end of the pen core portion 310 is bonded to the first support portion 340 which is an insulator, and the magnet 330 is bonded to the other surface of the first support portion 340. In addition, a second conductor portion 384 is formed around the surface where the first support portion 340 and the pen core portion 310 are joined to be in contact with the first conductor portion 382 and electrically connected thereto.

On the other hand, the second support portion 350 is formed inside the case portion 320 from the inner wall of the case portion 320, and the magnetic force measuring portion (3) is formed on the surface of the second support portion 350 facing the pen core portion 310. 240 is installed. In addition, the inside of the second support part 350 has a predetermined size so that a line connecting the magnetic force measuring unit 240 and the switching unit 230 and a line connecting the magnetic force measuring unit 240 and the control unit 220 can pass therethrough. May be formed.

In addition, the distance maintaining member 360 is positioned between the first support part 340 and the second support part 350 to maintain a constant distance between the first support part 340 and the second support part 350. That is, the distance between the magnet 330 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 is kept constant. The distance maintaining member 360 is made of an elastic material, and when pressure is applied to the pen core 310, the distance maintaining member 360 contracts in proportion to the pressure to narrow the distance between the first support 340 and the second support 350. When the pressure of 310 is released, the pressure is reduced to the first state again to maintain a constant distance between the first support part 340 and the second support part 350.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the distance maintaining member 360 is implemented with a spring or elastic cylindrical rubber (360-2) or silicon (360-2) formed therein.

Referring to FIGS. 2 to 3B, the operation of the input pen according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, the input pen does not touch the ground, that is, the user only holds the input pen without writing. In the present state, the first support part 340 and the second support part 350 maintain a constant distance by the elastic force of the distance holding member 360, and at this time, the second conductor part 384 is the first conductor part. It is in contact with 382.

On the other hand, when a user inputs writing using an input pen, the pen core portion 310 is pressed against the ground, and the pendulum portion 310 is contracted by the distance maintaining member 360 being contracted by the applied pressure. And the first support part 340 bonded thereto are moved into the case part 320 of the input pen (in the direction of the second support part 350).

As the pen core part 310 moves inside the case part 320, the first conductor part 382 and the second conductor part 384 which are in contact with each other are separated from each other.

The pressure detector 210 detects whether pressure is applied by checking whether the first conductor portion 382 and the second conductor portion 384 are electrically connected. As described above, when the user only holds the input pen, the first conductor part 382 and the second conductor part 384 are in contact with each other and electrically connected to each other, and the pressure sensing unit 210 is in this state. It is determined that the pressure is not applied.

However, when the pressure is applied and the first conductor portion 382 and the second conductor portion 384 are separated from each other and the electrical connection is disconnected, the pressure sensing unit 210 determines that the pressure is applied and generates a pressure sensing signal. To the control unit 220.

The pressure sensing unit 210 measures a current flowing between the first conductor portion 382 and the second conductor portion 384, or measures a potential difference between the first conductor portion 382 and the second conductor portion 384. As a result, it may be determined whether the first conductor portion 382 and the second conductor portion 384 are in contact with each other.

As the simplest example, referring to FIG. 4, which illustrates one embodiment of the pressure sensing unit 210, the first conductor portion 382 and the second conductor portion 384 act as switches, and the pressure sensing unit 210. ) Is implemented as a resistor (R) to output the voltage at point A to the controller 220 as a pressure detection signal.

In the state where no pressure is applied, the first conductor portion 382 and the second conductor portion 384 come into contact with each other, and current flows to the ground through the resistor R, so that the voltage at the point A becomes 0V. However, when pressure is applied and the first conductor portion 382 and the second conductor portion 384 are separated from each other, the voltage at the point A becomes Vcc (5V), so that the voltage corresponding to Vcc is the pressure sensing signal as the control unit ( The control unit 220 receives the pressure detection signal and outputs a control signal to the switching unit 230.

On the other hand, when pressure is applied to the pen core 310 and the pressure sensing signal is input from the pressure sensing unit 210 to the control unit 220, the control unit 220 outputs a control signal to the switching unit 230, the switching unit 230 connects the power supply unit 250 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 to supply power to the magnetic force measuring unit 240.

When the magnetic force measuring unit 240 is supplied with power from the power supply unit 250 through the switching unit 230, the control unit 220 by measuring the magnetic flux density radiated from the magnet 330 attached to the first support unit 340 Will output

As described above, the pen core 310 is moved into the case 320 by the pressure applied by the user writing on the ground using the input pen.

As the pen core 310 moves, the distance between the magnet 330 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 becomes closer, so that the magnetic flux density detected by the magnetic force measuring unit 240 becomes higher. In addition, when the user is strongly applied a pen pressure while writing, the distance between the magnet 330 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 is closer, the magnetic flux density measured by the magnetic force measuring unit 240 is higher, and when the pen pressure is reduced The distance between the magnet 330 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 is increased by the elastic force of the distance maintaining member 360, so that the magnetic flux density measured by the magnetic force measuring unit 240 is lowered.

On the other hand, the controller 220 measures the distance between the magnet 330 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 using the measurement value of the magnetic flux density input from the magnetic force measuring unit 240, and writes the pressure data to be inversely proportional to the measured distance. Create Here, as the pen pressure increases, the distance between the magnet 330 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 is shortened, and the measured value of the magnetic force measuring unit 240 increases, and as the pen pressure decreases, the magnet 330 and the magnetic force measuring unit 240 decrease. The distance is longer and the measured value of the magnetic force measuring unit 240 decreases.

The controller 220 transmits the generated pen pressure data to the input device by wireless or wired so that the pen pressure data can be used together with the trajectory data of the input pen.

5 is a view for explaining an example of a natural handwriting input system using the input pen 600 of the present invention. The natural handwriting input system includes an input pen 600 and an input device 500. The input pen 600 further includes a reference signal generator and an ultrasonic signal generator in addition to the above-described components of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the control unit 220 of the input pen 600 generates a control signal instructing to generate the reference signal and the ultrasonic signal at a predetermined time period, thereby generating the reference signal generator 260 and the ultrasonic signal generator 270. )

When a control signal is input from the controller 220, the reference signal generator 260 and the ultrasonic signal generator 270 simultaneously generate the reference signal and the ultrasonic signal and radiate them into the atmosphere.

In addition, the controller 220 inputs the pressure sensing signal from the magnetic force measuring unit 240 as described above when the pressure sensing signal is input from the pressure sensing unit 210 while the user touches the input pen 600 to the ground to perform writing. The measured value is converted into a pressure value and transmitted to the input device 500 together with the reference signal.

The input apparatus 500 includes a reference signal receiving sensor 510 for receiving a reference signal and a plurality of ultrasonic signal receiving sensors 520a and 520b for receiving an ultrasonic signal. In this case, the ultrasonic signal receiving sensors 520a and 520b may be spaced apart by a predetermined distance.

The (x, y) coordinates on the two-dimensional plane of the input pen 600 can be obtained by solving Equation 1 with respect to x and y.

a ² = x ² + y ²

b ² = (cx) ² + y ²

Since the infrared or radio frequency signal, which is a reference signal in Equation 1, proceeds at the speed of light, the distance a and b are considered to be generated together with the ultrasonic signal at the input pen 600 and received by the reference signal receiving sensor 510. The difference between the time at which the reference signal is received and the time at which the ultrasonic signal is received at the left ultrasonic sensor 520a and the right ultrasonic sensor 520b can be obtained by multiplying the speed of sound, and the distance c is a preset value. , And c values may be applied to Equation 1 to obtain (x, y) coordinates.

Meanwhile, while only the reference signal and the ultrasonic signal are received from the input pen 600, the input device 500 moves only the position of the cursor according to the coordinate value of the input pen 600, and the pressure value is changed together with the reference signal and the ultrasonic signal. When received from the input pen 600, the pressure value is stored internally as the writing data together with the coordinate values of the input pen 600, and the writing contents are displayed on the screen according to the writing data.

When the input device 500 displays the writing content, the input device 500 displays a thick line displayed to the user when the pressure value is high, and displays a thin thickness of the line displayed to the user when the pressure value is low, thereby providing more realistic writing input. And playback is possible.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential features of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the first conductor part is installed so as to surround the through hole, and the second conductor part is installed around the pen core part. However, the first conductor part and the second conductor part respectively have a predetermined area around the through hole. In addition to being able to contact each other in a state in which pressure is not applied to only a predetermined region around the first support portion, in contact with each other in a state where no pressure is applied to the pen core, and in a state in which pressure is applied to the pen core It should be noted that there are no restrictions on the installation location if they can be separated from each other.

Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an input pen capable of measuring a pen pressure according to the related art.

2 is a block diagram showing a functional structure of an input pen according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

3A and 3B illustrate a physical structure of an input pen according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a pressure sensing unit of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a natural handwriting input system using the input pen according to the present invention.

Claims (6)

A magnet installed at one end of the pen core portion; A magnetic force measuring unit measuring and outputting a magnetic flux density radiated from the magnet; And And a control unit for measuring a distance between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit using the magnetic flux density input from the magnetic force measuring unit, converting the distance into a pressure value, and outputting the pressure value. The method of claim 1, Located between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit, while maintaining a constant distance between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit while the pressure is not applied to the pen core, it is applied to the pen core is applied to the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit And a distance holding member for maintaining a constant distance between the magnet and the magnetic force measuring unit again when the pressure that shortens the distance therebetween is released. The method of claim 1, And a pressure sensing unit configured to sense whether pressure is applied to the pen core and to output a pressure sensing signal when pressure is applied to the pen core. And the control unit outputs a control signal instructing the magnetic force measuring unit to supply electric power so as to measure the magnetic flux density only when the pressure sensing signal is applied, and supplies power to the magnetic force measuring unit. The method of claim 3, wherein the pressure sensing unit A first conductor portion provided in a case portion accommodating the pen core portion, and a contact with the first conductor portion when no pressure is applied to the pen core portion, and the first conductor portion when pressure is applied to the pen core portion; And an input pen sensing the pressure by investigating whether the second conductor parts installed at one end of the pen core part are electrically connected to each other so as to be spaced apart from the conductor parts. The method of claim 1, A reference signal generator for generating and radiating a reference signal at a predetermined time period; And Further comprising an ultrasonic signal generating unit for generating and emitting an ultrasonic signal at the same time as the reference signal, The control unit inputs the pressure value to the air together with the reference signal The input pen of claim 5; And An input device for generating position data of the input pen using the reference signal and the ultrasonic signal received from the input pen, and storing the position data as handwriting data together with the pressure value data received from the input pen; Input system comprising a.

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