JP2006227714A - Pen input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pen input device capable of guiding a pen tip to a predetermined position such as an input position to be operated next.
In a pen input device used for an input operation on an input surface of a screen input device, a brush unit 11 provided at a pen tip and a brush 13 that touches the input surface by operating the brush unit 11 are changed in direction. Brush operating means (motor 17) and vibration generating means (piezoelectric element 16) for vibrating the brush part 11 in the pen axis direction or in an unspecified direction in a plane perpendicular to the pen axis are provided. The pen input device with which the tip is in contact has a structure in which a force in a direction according to the direction of the brush 13 in contact with the input surface is applied by the vibration.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a pen input device used for an input operation on an input surface of a screen input device having a configuration in which a touch panel is arranged on a display screen of a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD).

As a conventional example of this type of pen input device, Patent Document 1 discloses a pen input device incorporating a vibration generating means. In this pen input device, when the pen tip touches the touch panel, the pen input device vibrates to a predetermined level by the vibration generating means, so that the operator can feel the key touch and check the normality of the operation. It is possible. For example, when the input position is not appropriate, a large vibration different from normal is generated, so that a warning can be given to the operator.
On the other hand, Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which a touch panel can be displaced (vibrated) in two directions (horizontal direction and vertical direction) along a display screen in a screen input device, When the operator is touching the touch panel, various information can be transmitted through the operator's tactile sense by vibrating the touch panel in various patterns. Further, by vibrating the touch panel, the fingertip of the operator touching the touch panel can be moved and guided to a predetermined (appropriate) input position.
JP 2002-259044 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-58321

By the way, in such a screen input device, reduction of input mistakes is important for improving input efficiency, and a configuration that can prevent input mistakes is desired. In that respect, in the screen input device described in Patent Document 2, for example, since the fingertip can be guided to the input position to be operated next, input mistakes can be reduced, and the fingertip is predetermined. Since the user is guided to the input position, it is easy for the operator to operate, and the user interface is easy to understand and easy to use.
However, in the configuration described in Patent Document 2, since the entire touch panel is driven and vibrated, an increase in the size of the drive mechanism is inevitable, and accordingly, the screen input device is also increased in size and reduced in size. There is a problem that it is obstructed, and there is also a problem that power consumption is large.

On the other hand, the pen input device described in Patent Document 1 has a function of warning by vibration when the input position is not appropriate, but does not have a function of guiding to an appropriate position. In addition, not all operators can correctly recognize information (warning) due to such vibration.
In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a pen input device capable of guiding a pen tip to a predetermined position such as an input position to be operated next.

According to invention of Claim 1, the pen input device used for input operation with respect to the input surface of a screen input device is the brush part provided in the pen point, and the brush which operates the brush part and contacts the said input surface Pen input comprising brush operating means for changing the direction and vibration generating means for vibrating the brush portion in a pen axis direction or an unspecified direction in a plane perpendicular to the pen axis, and a pen tip abutting on the input surface The device has a structure in which a force in a direction according to the direction of the brush in contact with the input surface is applied by the vibration.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the brush portion is planted so that the brush is inclined in the same direction on the planting surface opposed to the input surface, and the brush operating means is the brush portion. Is driven to rotate around the pen axis.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the brush portion is divided into a plurality of regions in accordance with the orientation around the pen axis and the planting surface facing the input surface is different in each region. The brush operating means is driven to incline the brush portion with respect to the pen axis, and the brush of one area among the plurality of areas is selectively input to the input surface. It shall be in contact with.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the brush portion is a curved surface in which the brush planting surface has a rotationally symmetrical convex shape around the pen axis, and a plurality of regions according to the orientation around the pen axis. The brush operating means is configured to rotationally drive the brush portion around the pen axis to selectively contact the brush of one of the plurality of regions with the input surface. The directions of the brushes that come into contact with each other are different from each other.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the movement detecting means for detecting movement of the pen tip on the input surface from information on the coordinate position of the pen tip inputted by the input operation, A stress sensor for detecting an external force in the in-plane direction perpendicular to the pen axis acting on the pen tip, and the magnitude of the force for guiding the pen tip acting on the vibration based on the detection of the movement detecting means and the stress sensor. Control means for determining a change and controlling the drive of the vibration generating means in accordance with the change.

  According to this invention, the pen input device has a brush portion at the pen tip, and the induction force according to the direction of the brush in contact with the input surface is induced by the vibration of the brush portion. It is possible to guide the pen tip to a predetermined position, such as an input position to be operated, and in this respect, it is possible to prevent input mistakes and improve input efficiency.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a pen input device according to the present invention. In this example, a pen input device 10 includes a brush portion 11 at a pen tip. The brush portion 11 is formed by planting a brush 13 on a planting plate 12 having a small-diameter disk shape. In this example, the brush 13 is planted in the same direction, and the planting plate 12 is planted. Inclined with respect to the surface (tip surface), that is, inclined with respect to the pen shaft 14.
In this example, the pen main body 15 has a multilayer structure as vibration generating means, a cylindrical piezoelectric element 16 is incorporated, and a motor 17 is incorporated as brush operation means. The motor 17 is arranged and fixed on the end surface of the piezoelectric element 16 on the pen tip side, and the planting plate 12 of the brush portion 11 is connected to the tip of the shaft 18 directly connected to the rotating shaft of the motor 17 (or the rotating shaft itself). It is fixed.

The piezoelectric element 16 vibrates in the pen axis direction, and the motor 17 rotates around the pen axis. Therefore, the brush unit 11 provided on the pen tip drives the piezoelectric element 16 to drive the pen axis direction. When the motor 17 is driven, it rotates about the pen axis. In FIG. 1, 19 indicates a power supply line.
In the pen input device 10 having the above-described configuration, since the brush 13 is planted while being inclined with respect to the pen shaft 14, the planting surface of the planting plate 12 on the input surface (touch panel surface) of the screen input device. When the brush 13 is brought into contact with the input surface with the two facing each other, the friction coefficient between the brush 13 and the input surface varies depending on the direction (direction in which the pen tip is moved). Therefore, when the brush 13 is vibrated in the pen axis direction, the friction acting on the input surface in opposite directions is caused when the brush 13 is pressed against the input surface and when the brush 13 is pulled away from the input surface due to a difference in friction coefficient depending on the direction. The force will be greatly different, so that the pen tip will receive a force in the direction of less friction according to the direction of the brush 13.

2A and 2B show this state, in which 21 indicates the input surface of the touch panel, and arrow F indicates the direction of the force received by the pen tip (the direction in which the pen tip is guided). In FIG. 2A, the inclination of the brush 13 is on the paper, and the tip is directed rightward. In this case, the pen tip is guided leftward. On the other hand, when the brush portion 11 is rotated 180 ° and the inclination of the brush 13 is set on the paper surface and the tip is leftward as shown in FIG. 2B, the pen tip is guided to the right.
Thus, in this example, the pen tip is guided according to the orientation of the brush 13 by vibrating the brush 13, and the orientation of the brush 13 with respect to the input surface by rotating the brush portion 11 around the pen axis. By changing, the pen tip can be guided in an arbitrary direction.

FIG. 3 shows how the pen tip of the pen input device 10 is guided to a predetermined position to be input when an input operation is performed on the screen input device using the pen input device 10 as described above. In the figure, 22 indicates a button display to be selected next displayed on the display screen, and 23 indicates a button display that is not an option. Reference numeral 24 denotes a display drive circuit and a pen position detection circuit of the screen input device, and reference numeral 25 denotes a pen drive circuit.
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, when the pen tip of the pen input device 10 is located at a position that is not a position to be selected, the pen drive circuit 25 is supplied from the display drive circuit / pen position detection circuit 24 of the screen input device. The pen input device 10 is driven based on the display information and the nib coordinate position information, that is, the motor 17 is rotationally driven to direct the brush 13 in a predetermined direction, and the piezoelectric element 16 is vibrated. As described above, the pen tip of the pen input device 10 is guided to a predetermined position to be operated next. Therefore, the operator can easily perform the input operation without making an input mistake.

  In the pen input device 10 described above, the brush unit 11 is vibrated in the pen axis direction. However, the vibration direction is not limited to this, and for example, random vibration in an unspecified direction in a plane perpendicular to the pen axis 14 is performed. In this case as well, a frictional force difference corresponding to the direction of the brush 13 is generated, and the pen tip is guided according to the direction of the brush 13. Such random vibration in an unspecified direction in a plane perpendicular to the pen shaft 14 can be obtained by rotating the weight by attaching the weight asymmetrically (eccentrically) to the rotation shaft of the motor, for example.

Next, the brush 13 planted on the planting plate 12 will be described.
In the form in which the brush unit 11 is vibrated in the pen axis direction, the brush 13 is deformed as required by the vibration and the brush 13 is pressed against or pulled away from the input surface, and the sliding motion of the brush 13 with respect to the input surface. Is induced, and an induction force is obtained by the difference in the friction coefficient between the reciprocation of the slip, and therefore the brush 13 needs to be elastic enough to make such deformation. Such a brush 13 can be made of, for example, a hard plastic having an appropriate elasticity.

On the other hand, in the form in which the brush unit 11 is vibrated in the in-plane direction perpendicular to the pen axis, the brush 13 slides with respect to the input surface by vibration even if the brush 13 is not deformed. As long as such a difference is ensured, the brush 13 does not need elasticity, and the brush 13 does not necessarily need to be composed of columnar hair. For example, the brush 13 can be constituted by a set of hard protrusions having a thick base and a tapered tip and a slanted direction.
As described above, in the embodiment described above, the brush portion 11 in which the brushes 13 are aligned in the same direction is rotated around the pen axis to change the direction of the brush 13 in contact with the input surface, thereby guiding the pen tip. However, instead of this, a configuration as shown in FIG. 4 can be adopted.

In this example, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the planting surface of the planting plate 12 is divided into eight regions according to the orientation around the pen axis, and each region is oriented in that orientation (radial direction), and The brushes 13 are assumed to be inclined with respect to the planting surface, and the brushes 13 positioned at 180 ° to each other are implanted toward the outside as shown in FIG. 4A. It is supposed to be.
Since the brush portion 31 having the structure as described above has the brush 13 oriented in eight directions depending on the region, if the planting plate 12 is inclined in a predetermined direction with respect to the input surface 21, The direction of the brush 13 in contact with the input surface 21 changes according to the inclination direction.

Means for tilting the brush portion 31 with respect to the pen shaft 14 are attached to the tip of the shaft 18 and a fixing plate 32 facing the planting plate 12 of the brush portion 31. A fulcrum 33 interposed between them and the three piezoelectric elements 34 arranged at a pitch of 120 ° around the pen axis between the planting plate 12 and the fixed plate 32 on the outer peripheral side of the planting plate 12, for example. Can be configured.
The three piezoelectric elements 34 expand and contract in the pen axis direction by applying a voltage. Therefore, by driving and controlling these piezoelectric elements 34, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, the brush unit 31 is applied to the input surface 21. The brush 13 that is inclined with respect to the specific region, that is, in a predetermined direction, selectively contacts the input surface 21. If the brush portion 31 is vibrated in the pen axis direction by the piezoelectric element 16 in this state, the pen tip is guided in the direction indicated by the arrow F.

In this way, in the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the brush portion 31 includes the brush 13 that is oriented in all directions, so that an inductive force in a predetermined direction can be obtained by tilting the brush portion 31.
In the brush portions 11 and 31 described above, the brush 13 is in contact with the input surface. For example, when a required strong pressing force is required for the input surface, it is shown in FIG. As described above, it is preferable to provide a chip-like pressing portion 35 at the center of the planting surface of the planting plate 12 so that the pressing portion 35 contacts the input surface together with the brush 13.

By the way, since both the brush parts 11 and 31 have the brush 13 planted on the flat planting surface of the planting plate 12 facing the input surface, for example, the pen input device is at a large angle with respect to the input surface. When the pen tip is brought into contact with the input surface by being inclined, a situation occurs in which the brush 13 of the pen tip does not effectively contact the input surface and a desired induction force cannot be obtained properly. There is a problem that it can be used only within a relatively limited range of inclination angles.
The brush part 41 shown in FIG. 6 solves this problem. In this example, the planted body 42 in which the brush 13 is planted has a substantially hemispherical shape, that is, the planted surface 42a of the brush 13 is formed. The curved surface has a convex shape that is rotationally symmetric about the pen axis. The planting surface 42a is divided into eight regions according to the azimuth (longitude) around the pen axis, and the brush 13 is implanted in each region.

When the brush 13 is cut along the meridian along the meridian and developed in a plane, the brush 13 is assumed to be arranged in the same direction, and is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the planted surface 42a developed in the plane. It is said that it is planted.
If the brush portion 41 is configured in this way, the brush 13 is always in contact with the input surface at a predetermined inclination even when the pen input device is inclined and contacted with the input surface at an arbitrary angle. Therefore, the situation where the brush 13 does not contact effectively does not occur. The direction of the brush 13 in contact with the input surface can be changed by rotating the brush part 41 around the pen axis in the same manner as the brush part 11.

It should be noted that the induction force of the pen tip induced by the vibration of the brush portion, which is the action of the present invention, is the angle at which the pen input device is brought into contact with the input surface, Due to the relationship with the planting direction or, for example, nonuniformity due to the direction of vibration amplitude in a mode in which the brush portion vibrates in the in-plane direction perpendicular to the pen axis, a force of a constant magnitude does not always act.
In order to compensate for this, a configuration in which the induced force actually induced in the pen tip is detected and the change in the magnitude is fed back to the vibration amplitude of the brush portion will be described with reference to FIG. To do.

In this example, a stress sensor 51 is provided in the pen body 15 with respect to the pen input device 10 shown in FIG. The stress sensor 51 detects an external force in the in-plane direction perpendicular to the pen shaft 14 that acts on the pen tip. The stress sensor 51 is positioned on the extension of the shaft 18 rotated by the motor 17 and is fixed to the fixing portion (case) of the motor 17. The external force acting on the pen tip is detected by detecting the inclination of the connected and fixed shaft 52, that is, the inclination of the shaft 52 as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B can be detected. It has become.
For such a stress sensor 51, for example, a capacitive silicon sensor having a structure in which the shaft 52 is supported by a diaphragm and the deformation (displacement) of the diaphragm accompanying the inclination of the shaft 52 is detected by a change in capacitance is used. it can. The fixed side of the stress sensor 51 is connected and fixed to the end face of the piezoelectric element 16 via the shaft 53.

The movement detection circuit 54 detects and calculates the movement direction of the pen tip and its speed or acceleration from the pen tip coordinate position information from the display drive circuit / pen position detection circuit 24 of the screen input device. Based on the output of the movement detection circuit 54 and the detection output of the stress sensor 51, the drive amplitude control circuit 55 determines a change in the magnitude of the inductive force acting on the pen tip and drives the piezoelectric element 16 according to the change ( (Vibration amplitude) is controlled. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 56 denotes a circuit for driving and controlling the motor 17.
The drive amplitude control circuit 55 receives inputs from the movement detection circuit 54 and the stress sensor 51 and compares them to determine the state shown in FIG. 8B, assuming that the operator is moving the pen input device. If the input at that time is ignored and the state shown in FIG. 8A is determined, the output information of the movement detection circuit 54 at that time is adopted as the magnitude of the induction force induced by the vibration of the brush portion 11.

  Then, the vibration amplitude of the piezoelectric element 16 is controlled based on the output of the adopted movement detection circuit 54. At this time, for example, it is possible to perform control so that the speed or acceleration of the pen tip movement by the induction of the vibration of the brush unit 11 as an output of the adopted movement detection circuit 54 is always within a predetermined size range. Further, as another method, the difference in the speed or acceleration of the pen tip movement due to the above-mentioned guidance depending on the direction of guidance is determined, and guidance is performed in synchronization with the driving of the motor 17 so that the difference falls within a predetermined range. The drive amplitude of the piezoelectric element 16 can be controlled to be changed / adjusted according to the direction in which it is performed.

In the above-described example, a capacitive silicon sensor is used as the stress sensor 51. However, instead of this, for example, a strain gauge can be used. In this case, it is assumed that the shaft 52 can be bent by an inductive force, and a pair of strain gauges are attached to the peripheral surface of the shaft 52 so as to face each other in two directions perpendicular to the pen shaft 14. Detect.
As described above, according to the present invention, an induction force is induced in the pen tip by vibrating the brush portion provided in the pen tip. However, in the plane perpendicular to the pen axis direction or the pen axis of the brush portion. The vibration in the direction is preferably a vibration on the order of several tens of Hz for the following reasons (1) and (2).

(1) The pen input device includes (a) a type in which position information is obtained by abutting the pen tip against the input surface, and (b) a vibration transmission plate that constitutes the input surface by using the pen input device as a vibration pen. There is a type that obtains input position information with a vibration sensor. The pen input device according to the present invention can be applied to any of these types of pen input devices. In particular, in the type (b), a vibration of the order of several tens of kHz is used for the vibration for obtaining position information. The frequency is not affected.
(2) Although the pen input device shown in FIG. 7 has a stress sensor, the time constant of this stress sensor is sufficiently larger than the vibration frequency of the brush part, and only the external force is extracted without detecting vibration. In order to be able to select as much as possible, the vibration of the brush portion is on the order of several tens Hz. The response speed of the stress sensor can be about several Hz.

1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an embodiment of a pen input device according to the present invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the pen input device shown in FIG. The figure which shows a mode that the pen input device shown in FIG. 1 is guide | induced on the input surface of a screen input device. The figure for demonstrating the other structural example and operation | movement of a brush part and a brush operation means. The figure for demonstrating the structure which provided the press part which contact | abuts an input surface in a brush part. The figure for demonstrating the structure which used the planting surface in which the brush of a brush part is planted as the convex curved surface. The figure for demonstrating the structure which added the stress sensor with respect to the pen input device shown in FIG. 1, and was able to control the induced force induced by a pen point. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the pen input device shown in FIG.

Claims (5)

A pen input device used for an input operation on an input surface of a screen input device,
A brush part provided at the pen tip;
A brush operating means for operating the brush part to change the direction of the brush contacting the input surface;
Vibration generating means for vibrating the brush part in a pen axis direction or an unspecified direction in a plane perpendicular to the pen axis,
The pen input device having a pen tip abutted on the input surface is structured such that a force in a direction according to the direction of the brush that is in contact with the input surface is applied by the vibration. Input device. The pen input device according to claim 1,
The brush part is assumed to be planted with the brush inclined in the same direction on the planting surface opposed to the input surface,
The pen input device according to claim 1, wherein the brush operating means is configured to rotationally drive the brush portion around a pen axis. The pen input device according to claim 1,
In the brush portion, the planting surface opposed to the input surface is divided into a plurality of regions according to the azimuth around the pen axis, and the brushes are planted by inclining in different directions for each region. And
The brush operation means is configured to drive the brush portion to be inclined with respect to the pen shaft so as to selectively contact the brush in one of the plurality of regions with the input surface. Pen input device to do. The pen input device according to claim 1,
The brush portion is a curved surface in which the brush planting surface has a rotationally symmetrical convex shape around the pen axis, and is divided into a plurality of regions according to the orientation around the pen axis,
The brush operating means is configured to rotationally drive the brush portion around a pen axis to selectively contact a brush in one of the plurality of regions with the input surface.
The pen input device according to claim 1, wherein directions of the brush contacting the input surface are different from each other in each region. The pen input device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Movement detection means for detecting movement of the pen tip on the input surface from information on the coordinate position of the pen tip input by the input operation;
A stress sensor for detecting an external force in an in-plane direction perpendicular to the pen axis acting on the pen tip;
Control means for determining a change in the magnitude of the force for guiding the pen tip acting by the vibration based on the detection of the movement detecting means and the stress sensor, and controlling the driving of the vibration generating means in accordance with the change. And a pen input device.

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