JP2005267376A - Light pen - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a writing pressure type light pen wherein a luminescent part stably emits light. <P>SOLUTION: A second spring 55 for energizing a pen tip side conductive part 54 against a body side conductive part 55 is provided in a pen body 10. When a pen tip 20 is pressed against a manuscript M to bring the pen tip side conductive part 54 into contact with the body side conductive part 53, the luminescent part 30 emits light. The second spring 55 extends/shrinks, thereby allowing the pen tip 20 further to be pressed from a position of starting the light emission of the luminescent part 30 so that the contact between the pen tip side conductive part 54 and the body side conductive part 53 can be maintained even in an over-stroke section where the pen tip is further pressed. A guiding part 60 guides the pen tip 20 in the range of a prescribed angle from the axial direction of the pen body 10 so as to be freely inclined, thereby the pen tip 20 can be moved against the pen body 10 smoothly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a light pen that is a pen-type light emitting device used as an instruction means in a presentation or the like, and more particularly to a writing pressure switch type light pen that emits light when a pen tip is pressed.

  In the presentation, when the presenter gives an explanation by pointing (pointing) a predetermined location in the image of the material, an instruction means is used. Conventionally, a laser pointer has been used as an instruction means. However, in the case of a laser pointer, there has been a problem that it is difficult to reliably instruct materials, and in recent years it has been proposed to use a coordinate input device. Has been.

  The coordinate input device includes a light pen provided with a light emitting unit at the pen tip, and a tablet that detects contact with the light pen and light emission from the light emitting unit of the light pen. In such a coordinate input device, when the light pen emits light on the tablet, contact with the light pen and light emission from the light pen are detected, and these detection signals are output to a computer as a mouse signal, thereby causing a screen or An instruction of a desired location in the image of the material displayed on the monitor is given.

  The light pen used in the coordinate input device as described above is, for example, a push button type that causes the light emitting unit to emit light by pressing a button provided on the side of the pen body as disclosed in Patent Document 1. There are a switch type and a pressure type switch that emits light from a light emitting unit by pressing the pen tip against the tablet, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3, for example.

US Pat. No. 6,529,189 B1 (summary, FIG. 2) JP 2000-132327 A (summary, FIG. 1) JP 2001-75734 A (summary, FIG. 1)

  The light pen of the pen pressure type switch is provided with an elastic member (for example, a spring) that expands and contracts in response to a force applied to the pen tip as a switch means for selectively causing the light emitting unit to emit light. In such a light pressure switch, when the pen tip is pressed against the tablet, the spring inside the pen tip contracts according to the force with which the pen tip is pressed, so that the pen tip side electrode and the main body side electrode come into contact with each other. The light bulb is electrically connected to the power source and emits light.

  In addition, instead of using the tablet as described above, the applicant uses a material presentation device to virtually generate a virtual screen on the material placed on the material placing table, and this virtual screen is generated. It has been proposed that the light emitting part emits light by pressing a light pen of a writing pressure type switch against the material (for example, see Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-087542). In this case, the light emitting unit that emits light is captured by the imaging unit of the material presentation device, and the captured image is captured by the control unit, where the coordinates of the light emitting unit on the virtual screen are calculated, and the calculation is also performed. The point image is synthesized with the coordinates of the photographed image of the material corresponding to the coordinate. Thereby, it is possible to indicate a predetermined position of the image of the material.

  The light pen of the pressure-type switch as described above has a simple configuration and does not require a button for causing the light emitting unit to emit light, compared to that of the push button type switch, and the light emitting unit emits light. Therefore, it is practical because an instruction can be given with a simple operation since no button operation is required.

  However, in the light pen of the pressure-type switch as described above, when the pen tip is pressed against an object such as a document or a tablet and moved in the vertical and horizontal directions while the light emitting unit emits light, when the movement direction of the pen tip is switched In addition, since the pressing force to the pen tip may be weakened, the spring may be extended, and the main body side electrode and the pen tip side electrode may be separated from each other, and the light emitting unit may not be able to emit light stably. there were.

  Further, even if a force is applied to the pen tip and pressed, depending on the angle at which the pen tip is pressed against the object, the direction of the pressing force to the pen tip is inclined with respect to the axial direction, so the pressing force is There were times when it was not transmitted smoothly to the spring. For this reason, if the angle of the pen tip changes while the pen tip is moved on the object, the spring extends, the main body side electrode and the pen tip electrode are separated from each other, and the light emitting unit emits light stably. There was a possibility that it could not be made.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a light pen that can stably emit light even when the pressing force to the pen tip becomes weak or the angle of the pen tip with respect to the object changes. It is aimed.

  A first light pen according to the present invention includes a pen body, a pen tip provided at the tip of the pen body so as to be movable in the axial direction of the pen body, and the pen tip on the tip side in the axial direction of the pen body. A first elastic member that is biased toward the body, a body-side conductive portion that is provided inside the pen body and connected to the power supply means, and the pen tip moves toward the rear end side in the axial direction of the pen body A pen tip side conductive portion in contact with the main body side conductive portion, and a second elasticity that expands and contracts according to the force applied to the contact surface when the pen tip side conductive portion and the main body side conductive portion are in contact with each other. And a light emitting unit that is provided inside the pen tip and emits light when electrically connected to the power source means when the main body side conductive unit and the pen tip side conductive unit are in contact with each other. It is said.

  In the first light pen of the present invention, the light emitting portion emits light when the first elastic member is contracted by pressing the pen tip against the object and the pen tip side conductive portion is brought into contact with the main body side conductive portion. Here, the second elastic member allows the pen tip to be further pushed in from the position at which the light-emitting portion starts to emit light by expanding and contracting, and the pen-tip-side conductive portion even in the further overstroke interval. And contact with the main body side conductive portion. In this way, when the pen tip is moved on the object while the light emitting unit emits light, the moving direction is switched, the pressing force to the pen tip changes, or the angle of the pen tip with respect to the object changes. Even if the change of the pressing force to the pen tip is not smoothly transmitted to the first elastic member, the second elastic member expands and contracts accordingly, so that the contact between the pen tip side conductive part and the main body side conductive part The state can be stably maintained. Therefore, the light emitting unit can emit light stably.

  Various modes can be adopted for the second elastic member. For example, the second elastic member can be attached to the pen tip side conductive portion, and can urge the pen tip side conductive portion to move toward the main body side conductive portion. Alternatively, the second elastic member is attached to the main body side conductive portion, and can urge the main body side conductive portion to move toward the pen tip side conductive portion.

  In addition, for example, the second elastic member is preferably made of a conductive material. In this case, the light emitting unit is connected to the main body side conductive unit through the second elastic member. Electrically connected to the power supply means to emit light. Furthermore, when the second elastic member is made of a conductive material, the second elastic member may have at least one function of the pen tip side conductive portion and the main body side conductive portion.

  Here, various modes can be adopted to enhance the performance of the first light pen of the present invention. For example, the second elastic member preferably has a smaller elastic constant than the first elastic member. As a result, when the pen tip side conductive portion is brought into contact with the main body side conductive portion, the second elastic member is more easily expanded and contracted than the first elastic member. The amount of expansion / contraction of the first elastic member when the pressing force to the head changes or the angle of the pen tip with respect to the object changes and the change of the pressing force to the pen tip is not smoothly transmitted to the first elastic member. The second elastic member can be expanded and contracted without changing the position. Therefore, since it can respond more smoothly to the change of the pressing force to the pen tip, the contact state between the pen tip side conductive portion and the main body side conductive portion can be maintained more stably, thereby The light emitting part can emit light more stably.

  Moreover, since the magnitude | size of the pressing force to a pen point changes with users and the expansion-contraction length of a 2nd elastic member changes according to it, it is preferable to have a mechanism which can respond to it. For example, an expansion / contraction length adjusting mechanism that adjusts the extendable length of the second elastic member can be provided.

  Furthermore, the direction of the pressing force to the pen tip may be inclined with respect to the axial direction, and in such a case, the pen tip may not move smoothly with respect to the pen body. Therefore, it is possible to provide a guide unit that guides the pen tip in a tiltable manner within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body.

  In the above aspect, since the pen tip is guided by the guide portion so as to be tiltable within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body, the pen tip is moved on the object while the light emitting portion emits light. Even if the direction of the pressing force to the pen tip is inclined with respect to the axial direction, the pen tip can move smoothly with respect to the pen body. Therefore, since the pressing force to the pen tip can be smoothly transmitted to the first elastic member and the second elastic member, the contact state between the pen tip side conductive portion and the main body side conductive portion can be more stably maintained. Thus, the light emitting portion can emit light more stably.

  Next, a second light pen of the present invention includes a pen body, a pen tip provided at the tip of the pen body so as to be movable in the axial direction of the pen body, and the pen tip in the axial direction of the pen body. An elastic member that urges toward the tip of the pen body, a main body-side conductive portion that is provided inside the pen body and connected to the power supply means, and the pen tip has moved toward the rear end side in the axial direction of the pen body Sometimes, a pen tip side conductive portion in contact with the main body side conductive portion, a guide portion that guides the pen tip in a tiltable manner within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen main body, and provided inside the pen tip, And a light emitting portion that emits light by being electrically connected to the power supply means when the main body side conductive portion and the pen tip side conductive portion are in contact with each other.

  In the second light pen of the present invention, since the pen tip is guided by the guide portion so as to be tiltable within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body, the pen tip is placed on the object while the light emitting portion emits light. When moving, even if the direction of the pressing force to the pen tip is inclined with respect to the axial direction, the pen tip can move smoothly with respect to the pen body. Therefore, since the pressing force to the pen tip can be smoothly transmitted to the elastic member, the contact state between the pen tip side conductive portion and the main body side conductive portion can be maintained more stably, thereby the light emitting portion can be Light can be emitted more stably.

  According to the first light pen of the present invention, the light emitting portion emits light when the first elastic member is contracted by pressing the pen tip against the object and the pen tip side conductive portion is brought into contact with the main body side conductive portion. . Here, the second elastic member allows the pen tip to be further pushed in from the position at which the light-emitting portion starts to emit light by expanding and contracting, and the pen-tip-side conductive portion even in the further overstroke interval. And contact with the main body side conductive portion. In this way, when the pen tip is moved on the object while the light emitting unit emits light, the moving direction is switched, the pressing force to the pen tip changes, or the angle of the pen tip with respect to the object changes. Even if the change of the pressing force to the pen tip is not smoothly transmitted to the first elastic member, the second elastic member expands and contracts accordingly, so that the contact between the pen tip side conductive part and the main body side conductive part The state can be stably maintained. Therefore, the light emitting unit can emit light stably.

  According to the second light pen of the present invention, the pen tip is guided by the guide portion so as to be tiltable within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body. Even when the direction of the pressing force to the pen tip is inclined with respect to the axial direction during the movement, the pen tip can move smoothly with respect to the pen body. Therefore, since the pressing force to the pen tip can be smoothly transmitted to the elastic member, the contact state between the pen tip side conductive portion and the main body side conductive portion can be maintained more stably, thereby the light emitting portion can be Light can be emitted more stably.

(1) Configuration of Embodiment (A) Light Pen Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an enlarged side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a light pen 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the pen tip 20 side in the axial direction of the light pen 1 is referred to as the front end side (or lower side), and the opposite side is referred to as the rear end side (or upper side).

  The light pen 1 is a writing pressure type light pen. The light pen 1 includes a pen body 10, and a pen tip 20 is provided at the tip of the pen body 10 so as to be movable in the axial direction of the pen body 10. The pen body 10 includes a housing 11 and a housing 12 that is integrally provided at the rear end of the housing 11.

  As for the housing 11, the main-body part has a cylindrical shape, the front-end | tip part is bent inside, and the opening 11A is formed there. A pen tip 20 is provided in the opening 11 </ b> A so as to be movable in the axial direction of the pen body 10. A light emitting unit 30 is provided inside the pen tip 20. A switch unit 50 and a guide unit 60 are provided inside the housing 11. The switch unit 50 is attached to the rear end of the pen tip 20 with the connecting unit 40 therebetween, and has a function of selectively causing the light emitting unit 30 to emit light in accordance with the pressing force applied to the pen tip 20. The guide unit 60 guides the pen tip 20 in a tiltable manner within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body 10. The housing 12 has a cylindrical main body, and a conical recess 12A is formed at the tip. An opening is formed in the rear end (not shown) of the housing 12, and a lid is detachably provided in this opening. A power supply unit 70 is provided inside the housing 12 as power supply means. In the present embodiment, the switch unit 50 and the switch function realized by the switch unit 50 will be described in detail, and descriptions of other configurations and operations will be omitted.

  The pen tip 20 is provided so as to protrude from the opening 11 </ b> A of the housing 11 in the axial direction of the pen body 10, and is made of, for example, a transparent resin. An opening 20A is preferably formed at the tip of the nib 20, through which light emitted from the light emitting unit 30 is emitted.

  The light emitting unit 30 includes, for example, a light emitting element 31 that emits infrared light, and a current control element 32 that controls the magnitude of the current flowing through the light emitting element 31 to an appropriate value. The light emitting element 31 is provided in the pen tip 20 at a position where infrared light emitted therefrom is emitted from the opening 20 </ b> A of the pen tip 20. The light emitting element 31 is an LED or the like, and the current control element 32 is a resistor or the like. These parts are resin-molded and fixed inside the pen tip 20.

  The connecting portion 40 includes a cylindrical portion 41 having a smaller diameter than the rear end portion of the pen tip 20 and the distal end portion of the switch portion 50, and an O-ring 42 is provided so as to surround the side portion of the cylindrical portion 41. The outer diameter of the O-ring 42 is larger than the diameter of the rear end portion of the pen tip 20 and the front end portion of the switch portion 50 and larger than the diameter of the opening 11 </ b> A of the housing 11. The inner diameter of the O-ring 42 is smaller than the diameter of the rear end portion of the pen tip 20 and the front end portion of the switch unit 50. As a result, the O-ring 42 does not come off between the pen tip 20 and the switch unit 50, and prevents the switch unit 50 from being detached from the opening 11 </ b> A of the housing 11.

  The switch unit 50 includes a support unit 51 for supporting the pen tip 20 and a first spring 52 (first elastic member, elastic member) for biasing the pen tip 20 toward the tip end side in the axial direction of the pen body 10. Member), a main body side conductive portion 53 connected to the power source portion 70, a pen tip side conductive portion 54 provided at a predetermined interval so as to face the main body side conductive portion 53, and a pen tip side A second spring (second elastic member) 55 that biases the conductive portion 54 toward the main body side conductive portion 53 is provided.

  The support portion 51 has a cylindrical shape and is attached to the rear end portion of the pen tip 20 with the connecting portion 40 therebetween. A convex portion 81 is formed on the side portion of the support portion 51 so as to surround a part of the periphery of the support portion 51, and a negative side conductive connected to the negative side of the light emitting element 31 through the conductive line 91 b below the convex portion 81. A portion 82 is formed. At the rear end portion of the support portion 51, a tapered portion 61 having a shape in which the side surface is smoothly inclined outward from the axial direction of the pen body 10 toward the rear end side is formed. The taper portion 61 is made of, for example, an insulating material. The upper surface of the taper portion 61 has a disk shape, and a recess 61a is formed there. In the recess 61a, a plus-side conductive portion 83 made of a conductive material is formed, which is connected to the light emitting portion 30 through the plus-side conductive wire 91a. A cylindrical mounting portion 84 having an opening 84A on the upper surface is integrally provided on the upper surface of the taper portion 61 so as to surround the periphery of the plus-side conductive portion 83. The attachment portion 84 is made of, for example, an insulating material. A male screw (not shown) is formed inside the attachment portion 84. In addition, the taper part 61 comprises the following guide part 60 with the ring part 62 which has the opening 62A provided inside the side part of the pen main body 10. FIG.

  The first spring 52 is, for example, a metal or rubber coil spring, the front end portion is fixed to the upper surface of the convex portion 81, the rear end portion is fixed to the lower surface of the ring portion 62, and the pen tip 20 is attached to the pen body. 10 is biased toward the tip end side in the axial direction.

  The main body side conductive portion 53 is made of a conductive material, and is provided so as to close the opening 11 </ b> B formed on the rear end side of the housing 11. The main body side conductive portion 53 is connected to the power supply portion 70. A concave portion 53 </ b> A having a curved surface shape is formed at the center of the main body side conductive portion 53.

  The pen-tip-side conductive portion 54 is made of a conductive material, and includes a cap portion 54A whose upper portion has a substantially spherical shape. The lower surface of the cap portion 54A is made of a conductive material and has a larger cross-sectional area. The flange portion 54B is integrally formed. A rod portion 54C having a cylindrical shape is integrally formed on the lower surface of the flange portion 54B. The rod portion 54 </ b> C is provided so as to be positioned inside the opening 84 </ b> A of the mounting portion 84. When the pen tip side conductive portion 54 moves toward the rear end side in the axial direction of the pen main body 10, the pen tip side conductive portion 54 contacts the concave portion 53 </ b> A of the main body side conductive portion 53.

  The second spring 55 is, for example, a metal or rubber coil spring made of a conductive material. The second spring 55 has one end fixed to the lower surface of the flange portion 54B and the other end fixed to the upper surface of the plus-side conductive portion 83 so as to surround the bar portion 54C of the pen tip side conductive portion 54. As a result, the second spring 55 biases the cap portion 54 </ b> A toward the main body side conductive portion 53 with the flange portion 54 </ b> B of the pen tip side conductive portion 54 interposed therebetween. The second spring 55 is set to have a smaller elastic constant than the first spring 52.

  The extendable length of the second spring 55 is adjusted by the extension / contraction length adjustment unit 85. The expansion / contraction length adjusting portion 85 has a hole 85a formed in the upper surface portion and a female screw (not shown) formed inside the side portion. In this case, the expansion / contraction length adjusting portion 85 is formed so that the cap portion 54A of the pen tip side conductive portion 54 protrudes from the upper surface of the hole 85a and the female screw is engaged with the male screw of the mounting portion 84. It is attached. In this case, the cap portion 54A is prevented from being detached from the hole 85a by the flange portion 54B.

  Here, the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is provided such that the lower surface of the bar portion 54 </ b> C is positioned at a predetermined distance L from the upper surface of the plus side conductive portion 83. The interval L defines the extendable length of the second spring 55, and this extendable length is adjusted by changing the vertical position of the extendable length adjusting portion 85 with respect to the attachment portion 84. In this case, when the cap portion 54A of the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is in contact with the main body side conductive portion 53, the second spring 55 expands and contracts according to the force applied to the contact surface, thereby causing the hole 85a. The maximum stroke length of the cap portion 54A at this time is the interval L. Note that the length of the cap portion 54A along the axial direction of the pen body 10 is set so as not to leave the hole 85a when the rod portion 54C comes into contact with the plus-side conductive portion 83.

  The guide portion 60 includes the tapered portion 61 formed in the switch portion 50 and the ring portion 62 formed inside the housing 11 and having an opening 62A at the center. The ring part 62 is made of an insulating material. The tapered portion 61 has a shape in which the side surface is smoothly inclined outward from the axial direction of the pen body 10 toward the rear end side as described above, and the side surface of the ring portion 62 is parallel to the axial direction of the pen body 10. It has a straight line shape. In this case, the upper end of the ring portion 62 substantially coincides with, for example, the upper end of the tapered portion 61 when the O-ring 42 of the connecting portion 40 is in contact with the inside of the tip end portion of the pen body 10 as shown in FIG. .

  In such a guide portion 60, the taper portion 61 is guided to be movable on the inner surface of the ring portion 62, so that the pen tip 20 can be tilted within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body 10 through the support portion 51. Guided. Here, when the pen tip side conductive portion 54 together with the pen tip 20 is inclined within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction, the concave portion 53A which is a contact surface on the main body side conductive portion 53 side has a curved surface shape and the pen tip. Since the cap portion 54A, which is a contact surface of the side conductive portion 54, has a substantially spherical shape, the contact between both is performed smoothly.

  The power supply unit 70 is a battery 71 that supplies electric energy to the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting unit 30, a positive contact member 72 that contacts the positive electrode of the battery 71, and a negative side that contacts the negative electrode of the battery 71 as power supply means. A contact member (not shown). In this case, the battery 71 is detachably provided from the opening on the rear end side of the housing 12, and the plus side electrode is positioned toward the recess 12 </ b> A of the housing 12 to contact the plus side contact member 72. Is located toward the rear end side of the pen body 10 and is in contact with a negative contact member (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the lid.

  The electric circuit of the light pen 1 as described above is configured as follows. In other words, the plus side energization line 91 a is connected to the plus side of the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting unit 30, and the plus side energization line 91 a is connected to the plus side conductive part 83 with the current control element 32 interposed therebetween. The plus side conductive portion 83 is connected to the pen tip side conductive portion 54 with the second spring 55 having conductivity interposed therebetween. The pen tip side conductive portion 54 is connected to the plus side electrode of the battery 71 through the plus side contact member 72 when the pen tip 20 is pressed and contacts the main body side conductive portion 53. On the other hand, a minus-side conduction line 91 b is connected to the minus side of the light emitting element 31, and the minus-side conduction line 91 b is connected to the minus-side conductive portion 82. A minus side contact member 92 is in contact with the minus side conductive portion 82 so as to be freely bent. In this case, the minus side contact member 92 is made of a conductive elastic member and has a substantially S-shape, so that the support portion 51 together with the pen tip 20 is inclined to the left and right from the axial direction of the pen body 10. However, contact with the negative conductive portion 82 is maintained. The minus side contact member 92 is connected to the minus side electrode of the battery 71 through the minus side conductive wire 93b and the minus side contact member provided on the lid.

  An insulating portion 94 made of an insulating material is provided between the ring portion 62 of the guide portion 60 and the main body side conductive portion 53 on the inner side surface of the housing 11, and the insulating portion 94 is connected to the main body side conductive portion 53. It is formed extending between the minus-side conductive line 93b. As described above, the tapered portion 61 and the ring portion 62 of the guide portion 60, the attachment portion 84, and the expansion / contraction length adjusting portion 85 are made of an insulating material. Thereby, the short circuit of the electric circuit of the light pen 1 is prevented, and the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting unit 30 can be connected only when the cap portion 54A of the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is in contact with the concave portion 53A of the main body side conductive portion 53. Emits infrared light.

  In such an electric circuit of the light pen 1, when the pen tip 20 is pressed and the cap portion 54A of the pen tip side conductive portion 54 comes into contact with the concave portion 53A of the main body side conductive portion 53, the switch portion 50 is turned on. Thus, the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting unit 30 is electrically connected to the battery 71 and emits infrared light. On the other hand, when the pen tip 20 is not pressed and the cap portion 54 </ b> A of the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is not in electrical contact with the main body side conductive portion 53, the switch portion 50 is turned off and the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting portion 30. Does not emit infrared light.

(B) Material Presentation Device The light pen 1 having the above configuration can be applied to a material presentation device 100 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the material presentation device 100, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration and functions of the material presentation device 100.

  The material presentation device 100 includes a material mounting table 110 as a base of the device. The material placing table 110 has a material placing surface 111 on which a material (for example, the original M) is placed. A monitor 120 is attached to the rear end portion of the document mounting table 110 through a hinge mechanism 112 so as to be opened and closed. The opening angle of the monitor 120 is appropriately adjusted manually. The monitor 120 is visually recognized by a presenter (not shown) with the screen facing the front side in an open state as shown in FIG.

  An arm 113 is attached to the left corner of the rear end portion of the material mounting table 110. The arm 113 includes a column portion 113a erected in the vertical direction, and an L-shaped horizontal portion provided so that the tip end portion is positioned substantially above the center of the material placement surface 111 at the upper end of the column portion 113a. 113b. An imaging unit 130 for photographing the document M is rotatably supported at the tip of the horizontal portion 113 b of the arm 113.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the imaging unit 130 includes a camera 131 that is a CCD camera capable of moving image shooting, and an optical filter 132 that transmits only infrared light. The camera 131 has a zoom function and an autofocus function, and the angle of view of the camera 131 is set by these functions. The optical filter 132 is provided so as to be detachable with respect to the photographing optical path of the camera 131. Since the imaging unit 130 is rotatably supported at the tip of the horizontal portion 113b of the arm 113 as described above, it is possible to photograph not only the document M on the material placement surface 111 but also the monitor 120, for example. It is.

  In addition, a control unit 140 that executes image processing of a captured image of the document M captured by the imaging unit 130 is provided inside the material mounting table 110. The captured image of the document M that has been subjected to image processing by the control unit 140 is output to the monitor 120 and the liquid crystal projector 150. The captured image of the document M output to the monitor 120 is displayed there. Also, the captured image of the document M output to the liquid crystal projector 150 is projected and displayed on a screen (not shown).

(2) Operation | movement of embodiment Next, operation | movement at the time of applying the light pen 1 to the material presentation apparatus 100 is demonstrated mainly with reference to FIG. 4 (A)-(C).

  For example, the presenter virtually creates a virtual screen S as shown in FIG. 2 on the material placement surface 111 of the material placement table 110 in advance before the presentation. Specifically, first, the presenter inserts the optical filter 132 into the imaging optical path of the camera 131. Next, each time the infrared light is sequentially emitted from the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting unit 30 at these corner points by pressing the pen tip 20 at the four corner points of the material placement surface 111 using the light pen 1, The light emission point is photographed by the camera 131. Image data of captured images of light emission points at these corner points is taken into the control unit 140. Then, in the control unit 140, the virtual screen S is virtually generated on the material placement surface 111 by recognizing the position of each light emitting point based on these image data. The virtual screen S is generated and recognized on the image data of the captured image based on the area formed by connecting the light emitting points on the material placement surface 111, and the material placement surface 111 is recognized. Although not actually set on the upper side, FIG. 2 shows it for convenience.

  In the presentation, the presenter places the document M on the material placement surface 111 on which the virtual screen S is generated as described above, removes the optical filter 132 from the imaging optical path of the camera 131 of the imaging unit 130, and uses the camera 131. A document M is photographed. A captured image of the document M is captured by the control unit 140 and processed there as a still image. In this case, processing of the captured image of the document M into a still image is executed by inputting a predetermined command to the control unit 142. Then, the still image of the document M is output to the monitor 120 and displayed there, and is also output to the liquid crystal projector 150, from which it is projected onto the screen and displayed.

  Subsequently, the presenter removes the optical filter 132 from the imaging optical path of the camera 131 of the imaging unit 130, and then starts pointing to the document M using the light pen 1. Here, the presenter presses the pen tip 20 against the document M as described above, thereby contracting the first spring 52 as shown in FIG. 4A, and the cap portion of the pen tip side conductive portion 54. When 54A is brought into contact with the concave portion 53A of the main body side conductive portion 53, the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting portion 30 emits infrared light. Here, the second spring 55 expands and contracts to allow the pen tip 20 to be pushed further from the position at which the light emitting element 31 starts to emit light. The contact between the cap portion 54A of the conductive portion 54 and the concave portion 53A of the main body side conductive portion 53 is maintained. In this case, the second spring 55 can be shortened by the distance L at the maximum.

  In particular, in this case, since the second spring 55 is set to have a smaller elastic constant than the first spring 52 as described above, when the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is brought into contact with the main body side conductive portion 53, Since the two springs 55 are more easily expanded and contracted than the first springs 52, the second springs 55 are expanded and contracted without changing the expansion and contraction amount of the first springs 52 when the pressing force to the pen tip 20 is changed. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to respond smoothly to changes in the pressing force applied to the pen tip 20.

  In this way, when the second spring 55 is contracted by a predetermined length within the range of the interval L and the nib 20 is moved on the document M while emitting the infrared light by the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting unit 30, Even if the moving direction is switched and the pressing force to the pen tip 20 becomes weak, the second spring 55 is contracted by a predetermined length as described above, so the second spring 55 extends accordingly. The contact state between the cap part 54 </ b> A of the pen tip side conductive part 54 and the concave part 53 </ b> A of the main body side conductive part 53 can be stably maintained. Therefore, infrared light can be stably emitted by the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting unit 30.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, when the pen tip 20 is moved on the document M, even if the direction of the pressing force to the pen tip 20 is inclined with respect to the axial direction, the pen tip 20 is provided inside the pen body 10. The guide unit 60 guides the pen tip 20 to be tiltable within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body 10.

  Specifically, when the pressing force to the pen tip 20 is directed to the left side, and the pen tip 20 is inclined toward the left side of the opening 11A as shown in FIG. The part 61 contacts the right side surface of the ring part 62. In this case, since the right side surface has a shape in which the right side surface is inclined from the axial direction toward the right side toward the rear end side, the right side surface is smoothed by the ring portion 62 having a linear shape parallel to the axial direction. Therefore, the pen tip 20 can move smoothly with respect to the pen body 10.

  On the other hand, when the pressing force to the pen tip 20 is directed to the right side, and the pen tip 20 is inclined toward the right side of the opening 11A as shown in FIG. The left side surface of the ring part 62 is contacted. In this case, the taper portion 61 has a shape in which the left side surface is inclined from the axial direction to the left side toward the rear end side. Therefore, the left side surface is smoothed by the ring portion 62 having a linear shape parallel to the axial direction. Therefore, the pen tip 20 can move smoothly with respect to the pen body 10.

  In these cases, the concave portion 53A that is the contact surface on the main body side conductive portion 53 side has a curved surface shape, and the cap portion 54A that is the contact surface of the pen tip side conductive portion 54 has a substantially spherical shape. The contact is made smoothly.

  As described above, since the pen tip 20 can move smoothly with respect to the pen body 10 by the guide portion 60, the pressing force to the pen tip 20 can be smoothly transmitted to the first spring 52 and the second spring 55. Therefore, the contact state between the pen tip side conductive part 54 and the main body side conductive part 53 can be maintained more stably, and the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting part 30 can thereby emit light more stably.

  As described above, the presenter stably emits infrared light by the light emitting element 31 of the light emitting unit 30, and when the light pen 1 is moved on the original M, the camera 131 emits infrared light from the light emitting element 31. When the light emission point is captured as a moving image, the image data of the captured image of the light emission point captured as a moving image is sequentially captured by the control unit 140. Then, in the control unit 140, the coordinates of the light emitting points on the virtual screen S are calculated one by one based on the image data of the light emitting points taken by the moving image, and the point image is the calculated light emitting point of the photographed image of the document M. It is synthesized at the position corresponding to the coordinates. The photographed image of the original M combined with the point images in this manner is output and displayed on the monitor 120, and is output to the liquid crystal projector 150, and is projected and displayed on the screen therefrom.

  Here, in the present embodiment, since the light emitting unit 30 can stably emit light as described above, the point image can be stably displayed on the monitor 120 or the captured image displayed on the screen, As a result, a desired location can be reliably instructed to the audience.

  As described above, in the light pen 1 of the present embodiment, when the pen tip 20 is pressed against the document M, the first spring 52 is contracted and the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is brought into contact with the main body side conductive portion 53. 30 emits light. Here, the second spring 55 expands and contracts to allow the pen tip 20 to be further pushed in from the position when the light emitting unit 30 starts to emit light. The contact between the conductive portion 54 and the main body side conductive portion 53 is maintained. In this way, when the pen tip 20 is moved on the document M while the light emitting unit 30 emits light, the moving direction is switched to change the pressing force on the pen tip 20, or the pen tip 20 with respect to the document M is changed. Even if the angle changes and the pressing force to the pen tip is not smoothly transmitted to the first spring 52, the second spring 55 expands and contracts accordingly. Therefore, the pen tip side conductive portion 54 and the main body side conductive portion The contact state with 53 can be stably maintained. Therefore, the light emitting unit 30 can emit light stably.

  Further, since the pen point 20 is guided by the guide unit 60 so as to be tiltable within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body 10, the pen point 20 is moved on the document M while the light emitting unit 30 emits light. The pen tip 20 can move smoothly with respect to the pen body 10 even when the direction of the pressing force to the pen tip 20 is inclined with respect to the axial direction. Therefore, since the pressing force to the pen tip 20 can be smoothly transmitted to the first spring 52 and the second spring 55, the contact state between the pen tip side conductive portion 54 and the main body side conductive portion 53 is more stably maintained. As a result, the light emitting unit 30 can emit light more stably.

(3) Modifications Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the second spring 55 is attached to the pen tip conductive portion 54 such that the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is biased toward the main body side conductive portion 53, but as shown in FIG. In addition, the second spring 255 may be attached to the main body side conductive portion 253 such that the main body side conductive portion 253 is biased toward the pen tip side conductive portion 254. Specifically, the second spring 255 is provided at the boundary between the housing 11 and the housing 12, one end is fixed to the rear end of the main body side conductive portion 253, and the other end is fixed to the plus side contact member 72. The main body side conductive portion 253 is urged movably inside the housing 12 by the second spring 255.

  In this case, for example, the pen tip side conductive portion 254 having a substantially spherical shape at the tip portion is provided integrally with the plus side conductive portion 83 of the recess 61a. Further, a rod portion 256 that defines the maximum stroke length (= interval L) of the main body side conductive portion 253 may be provided. Furthermore, an auxiliary conductive portion 257 may be provided between the second spring 255 and the plus side contact member 72. In addition, the extendable length of the second spring 255 may be adjusted by providing an expansion / contraction length adjustment mechanism such as the expansion / contraction length adjustment unit 85 of the above embodiment with respect to the second spring 255.

  In the above embodiment, the second spring 55 is made of a conductive material, and the light emitting unit 30 is electrically connected to the battery 71 through the second spring 55 to emit light. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is not something. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, instead of making the second spring 55 made of a conductive material, an expansion / contraction length adjusting portion 85 is formed inside the insulating portion 385A made of an insulating material and the insulating portion 385A, The expansion / contraction length adjusting unit 385 includes a conductive portion 385B made of a conductive material, and the mounting portion 84 is a mounting portion 384 made of a conductive material. The expansion / contraction length adjusting portion 385 is attached by engaging a female screw formed inside the conductive portion 385B with a male screw formed outside the attachment portion 384. In this case, when the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is in contact with the main body side conductive portion 53, the light emitting portion 30 is electrically connected to the power source portion 70 through the energizing portion 385 </ b> B and the attachment portion 384 of the expansion / contraction length adjusting portion 385. Emits light. Further, an energization line that connects the flange portion 54B of the main body side conductive portion 54 and the plus side conductive portion 83 may be provided, and the light emitting unit 30 may be electrically connected to the battery 71 through the energization line to emit light. .

  Further, the second spring 55 is used as the second elastic member, but the second spring 55 is not limited to this, and a member having elasticity is not limited to the spring. Further, instead of the second spring 55, at least one of the main body side conductive portion 53 and the pen tip side conductive portion 54 is made of a resin material having conductivity and elasticity (for example, conductive rubber). Thus, the function of the second spring 55 may be provided.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, in the guide part 60, it is set as the shape which inclined the outer side smoothly from the axial direction toward the back end side, and the side surface of the ring part 62 is a linear shape along the axial direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the taper portion 61, a linear portion having a linear shape whose side section is parallel to the axial direction may be used, and the side surface of the ring portion 62 may be smoothly inclined outward from the axial direction toward the rear end side.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the 2nd spring 55 and the guide part 60 were provided, you may provide only any one. In addition, the connecting portion 40 and the support portion 51 between the pen tip 20 and the pen tip-side conductive portion 54 may be omitted. In this case, the edge of the rear end portion of the pen tip 20 and the pen body 10 A first spring 52 is attached therebetween, a second spring 55 is attached to the center of the rear end of the nib 20, and the nib-side conductive part 54 urged toward the main body-side conductive part 53 by the second spring 55. By attaching the light pen, the light pen can be configured simply.

  In addition, in the above embodiment, the virtual screen S is virtually generated on the material placement surface 111 of the material placement table 110. However, the virtual screen S is virtually generated on the monitor 120, and the monitor 120 is used as the imaging unit. The light pen 1 may be moved on the monitor 120 by photographing at 130.

  In the above embodiment, the power supply unit 70 is provided as the power supply means in the light pen 1. However, the power supply means may not be provided in the light pen 1. It may be provided outside and the electric energy may be supplied to the light pen 1 through the electric cord.

  Furthermore, although the present invention is applied to the material presentation device 100 in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, you may apply to the coordinate input device provided with the tablet which detects the contact with the pen tip 20 of the light pen 1, and the light emission from the light emission part 30 of the light pen 1. FIG. In this case, when the light pen 1 is caused to emit light on the tablet, contact with the light pen 1 and light emission from the light pen 1 are detected, and these detection signals are output to the computer as mouse signals. A desired location of the displayed image can be indicated. Moreover, although the light emitting element 31 that emits infrared light is used for the light emitting unit 30, the present invention is not limited to this, and a light emitting element that emits light other than infrared light may be used.

It is an expanded side sectional view of the light pen concerning one embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a material presentation device to which a light pen according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram showing systematically the composition and function of the data presentation device to which the light pen concerning one embodiment of the present invention is applied. (A)-(C) represent the state which the main body side electroconductive part and pen point side electroconductive part of the light pen which concern on one Embodiment of this invention are contacting, (A) is a pen of a light pen. The tip is positioned in the vertical direction, (B) is the state where the pen tip of the light pen is slightly tilted to the left from the vertical direction, and (C) is the tip of the light pen slightly tilted from the vertical direction to the right side. It is a schematic sectional side view showing the state which is carrying out. It is an expanded sectional side view of the modification of the light pen which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an expanded sectional side view of the other modification of the light pen which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Light pen, 10 ... Pen main body, 20 ... Pen tip, 30 ... Light emission part, 52 ... 1st spring (1st elastic member, elastic member), 53,253 ... Main body side electroconductive part, 54,254 ... Pen tip Side conductive portion, 55, 255 ... second spring (second elastic member), 60 ... guide portion, 84, 384 ... mounting portion, 85, 385 ... expansion / contraction length adjustment portion (extension / contraction length adjustment mechanism)

Claims (7)

The pen body,
At the tip of the pen body, a pen tip provided movably in the axial direction of the pen body,
A first elastic member that urges the pen tip toward the tip end side in the axial direction of the pen body;
A body-side conductive portion provided inside the pen body and connected to a power supply means;
When the pen tip moves toward the rear end side in the axial direction of the pen body, the pen tip side conductive part in contact with the body side conductive part;
A second elastic member that expands and contracts according to the force applied to the contact surface when the pen tip side conductive portion and the main body side conductive portion are in contact with each other;
And a light emitting portion that is provided inside the pen tip and that is electrically connected to the power supply means and emits light when the main body side conductive portion and the pen tip side conductive portion are in contact with each other. A light pen. The second elastic member is made of a conductive material,
2. The light emitting unit according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit emits light by being electrically connected to the power supply unit through the second elastic member when the pen tip side conductive unit is in contact with the main body side conductive unit. Light pen as described.   2. The light pen according to claim 1, wherein the second elastic member is made of a conductive material and has a function of at least one of the pen tip side conductive portion and the main body side conductive portion.   The light pen according to claim 1, wherein the second elastic member has an elastic constant smaller than that of the first elastic member.   The light pen according to claim 1, further comprising an expansion / contraction length adjusting mechanism that adjusts an extendable length of the second elastic member.   The light pen according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a guide portion that guides the pen tip in a tiltable manner within a predetermined angle range from an axial direction of the pen body. The pen body,
At the tip of the pen body, a pen tip provided movably in the axial direction of the pen body,
An elastic member for urging the pen tip toward the tip end side in the axial direction of the pen body;
A body-side conductive portion provided inside the pen body and connected to a power supply means;
When the pen tip moves toward the rear end side in the axial direction of the pen body, the pen tip side conductive part in contact with the body side conductive part;
A guide part for guiding the pen tip in a tiltable manner within a predetermined angle range from the axial direction of the pen body;
And a light emitting unit that is provided inside the pen tip and that is electrically connected to the power supply means to emit light when the main body side conductive unit and the pen tip side conductive unit are in contact with each other. A light pen.

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