Patent Application
20140132554
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-247834 filed on Nov. 9, 2012, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to an electromagnetic induction-type information input device configured to acquire information input by a user using a writing tool.
A device is known into which data that corresponds to content hand-written by a user using a writing tool can be input. For example, an electronic writing device may be an electromagnetic induction-type digitizer. This electronic writing device has a sheet body formed of a flexible member that can be opened to and closed from a two-page spread state. The sheet body includes a group of loop coils that are arranged to be parallel to each other in an X direction and a group of loop coils that are arranged to be parallel to each other in a Y direction, the X direction and the Y direction being orthogonal to each other. The electronic writing device detects a position of a writing tool using the groups of loop coils provided in the sheet body. When a user uses the writing tool to write characters etc. by hand on a writing target that is arranged on the sheet body in an overlapping manner, the electronic writing device generates stroke data representing a movement trajectory of the writing tool. The electronic writing device calculates a writing direction based on time series variations in the generated stroke data. When the user starts to use the electronic writing device, the electronic writing device receives an input relating to a setting of the writing direction. The electronic writing device scans one page only of the sheet body, the page being determined based on the calculated writing direction and the set writing direction.
With the above-described electronic writing device, there may be a case in which a magnetic field that should be detected by the group of loop coils corresponding to one of the pages of the two-page spread of the writing target is detected by the other group of loop coils corresponding to the other page of the two-page spread of the writing target. In this type of case, it is possible that the electronic writing device cannot accurately detect the position of the writing tool.
Various exemplary embodiments of the general principles described herein provide an electromagnetic induction-type information input device that is capable of acquiring information input by a user using a writing tool, and that has improved detection accuracy of a position of the writing tool.
Various exemplary embodiments herein provide an electromagnetic induction-type information input device configured to acquire information input by a user using a writing tool. The information input device includes a plurality of detection portions and a processor. The plurality of detection portions are each configured to detect an output signal output from the writing tool and to output a detection result. The processor is configured to cause each of the plurality of detection portions to perform detection processing that detects the output signal, identify an identified detection portion based on the detection results output from the plurality of detection portions, stop a supply of electric power to a non-identified detection portion, cause the identified detection portion to perform the detection processing after the supply of electric power to the non-identified detection portion has been stopped, and identify a position of the writing tool, based on the detection result output from the identified detection portion. The identified detection portion is a detection portion, among the plurality of detection portions, that has detected an output signal having a largest strength among the output signals detected by the plurality of detection portions. The non-identified detection portion is one or more of the plurality of detection portions other than the identified detection portion.
Exemplary embodiments will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Hereinafter, embodiments will be explained with reference to the drawings. First, an overview of an information input device 2 according to the present embodiment will be explained with reference to
The information input device 2 is an ultra-thin light weight hand-writing input device. When a user writes information with an electronic pen 3 on a paper medium 100 that is mounted on the information input device 2, the information input device 2 chronologically detects and digitizes positions of the electronic pen 3. As shown in
The electronic pen 3 is a known electromagnetic induction-type electronic pen. The electronic pen 3 includes a cylindrical body 30, a core body 31, a coil 32, a variable capacity condenser 33, a board 34, a condenser 35 and an ink storage portion 36. The cylindrical body 30 has a cylindrical shape and internally houses part of the core body 31, the coil 32, the variable capacity condenser 33, the board 34, the condenser 35 and the ink storage portion 36. The core body 31 is provided on the leading end portion of the electronic pen 3. The core body 31 is urged toward the leading end of the electronic pen 3 by an elastic member that is not shown in the drawings. The leading end portion of the core body 31 protrudes to the outside of the cylindrical body 30. The rear end of the core body 31 is connected to the ink storage portion 36 in which ink is stored. The ink storage portion 36 supplies ink to the core body 31. When the user writes using the electronic pen 3, the written characters (letters, numerals and graphics etc.) are formed using the ink.
In a state in which the coil 32 is wound around the periphery of the ink storage portion 36, the coil 32 is held between the core body 31 and the variable capacity condenser 33. The variable capacity condenser 33 is fixed to the inside of the electronic pen 3 by the board 34. The condenser 35 is mounted on the board 34. The condenser 35 and the variable capacity condenser 33 are connected in parallel to the coil 32 and form a known resonance (tuning) circuit.
The paper medium 100 has a notebook form in which a plurality of paper sheets 120 are bound between a front cover sheet 110L and a back cover sheet 110R and can be opened out to a two-page spread in the left-right direction. Specifically, in the paper medium 100, the pair of cover sheets (the front cover sheet 110L and the back cover sheet 110R) and the plurality of paper sheets 120 are bound by a part of their edges. The paper medium 100 may be mounted on the information input device 2 such that the front cover sheet 110L is placed on the upper surface of the housing 8L and the back cover sheet 110R is placed on the upper surface of the housing 8R. When the paper medium 100 is mounted on the information input device 2, the user can write information on the paper sheet 120, using the electronic pen 3. Position information of the electronic pen 3 that writes the information on the paper sheet 120 can be detected by one of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 that face the paper sheet 120.
An electrical configuration of the information input device 2 will be explained with reference to
The main board 20 is provided with a CPU 21, a flash ROM 22, a RAM 23 and a wireless communication portion 24. The flash ROM 22, the RAM 23 and the wireless communication portion 24 are electrically connected to the CPU 21. The CPU 21 is configured to perform control of the information input device 2. Various programs to be executed by the CPU 21 to perform control of the information input device 2 are stored in the flash ROM 22. Further, stroke data representing a trajectory of the electronic pen 3 that writes information on the paper sheet 120 may be stored in the flash ROM 22. The stroke data specifies the trajectory of the electronic pen 3 that writes information on the paper sheet 120 using a plurality of pieces of position information (coordinate information, for example) of the electronic pen 3 that are detected chronologically by the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72. Various data, such as arithmetic data, may be temporarily stored in the RAM 23. The wireless communication portion 24 is a controller that is configured to perform near-field wireless communication with an external electronic device.
The first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 each include a plurality of long thin loop coils arrayed at a predetermined interval in an X axis direction (left-right direction) and a Y axis direction (front-rear direction), respectively. The first sensor 71 is electrically connected to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) 281 of the sensor control board 28. The ASIC 281 is configured to control the first sensor 71 and to case the first sensor 71 to perform a scan operation that will be explained later. Although not shown in the drawings, the ASIC 281 includes a power switching circuit, an amplifier circuit and a rectifying circuit. The power switching circuit is configured to switch the power supply to the first sensor 71 on or off. The amplifier circuit is configured to amplify a signal input from the first sensor 71. The rectifying circuit is configured to smooth the signal input from the amplifier circuit after detecting the amplitude of the signal, and to convert it to a direct current signal. Similarly, the second sensor 72 is electrically connected to an ASIC 291 of the sensor control board 29. The ASIC 291 is configured to control the second sensor 72. Although not shown in the drawings, the ASIC 291 includes a power switching circuit, an amplifier circuit and a rectifying circuit. Of the ASIC 281 and the ASIC 291, the ASIC 281 that is on the master side is directly connected to the CPU 21 and the ASIC 291 that is on the slave side is connected to the CPU 21 via the ASIC 281.
The principle of an operation by which the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 detect the position of the electronic pen 3 (this operation will hereinafter simply be referred to as a scanning operation, sometimes) will be briefly explained. The CPU 21 controls the ASIC 281 and the ASIC 291 and causes a current (a sending current for excitation) of a specific frequency to flow to each one of the loop coils of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72. In this way, a magnetic field is generated from each of the loop coils of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72. If the user writes information with the electronic pen 3 on the paper medium 100 that is mounted on the information input device 2 in this state, for example, the electronic pen 3 comes very close the first sensor 71 or the second sensor 72. Thus, the resonance circuit of the electronic pen 3 resonates as a result of electromagnetic induction and generates an induction field.
Next, the ASIC 281 and the ASIC 291 stop the generation of the magnetic field from the loop coils of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72. Further, the induction field generated from the resonance circuit of the electronic pen 3 is received by the loop coils of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72. The CPU 21 detects a signal current (a reception current) that is flowing through each of the loop coils of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72. This operation is performed one by one for all of the loop coils. The signals generated as a result of the electromagnetic induction are amplified and amplitude detection is performed by the ASIC 281 and the ASIC 291, the signals are input progressively to the CPU 21 as detection results. The CPU 21 converts each of the input signals to a digital signal that corresponds to the amplitude, namely to the voltage value of the signal. Then, The CPU 21 identifies the sensor that has detected the electronic pen 3 based on the digital signals, and detects the position of the electronic pen 3.
In a state in which the electronic pen 3 is writing information on the paper medium 100, a writing pressure is applied to the core body 31 of the electronic pen 3. The inductance of the coil 32 varies depending on the writing pressure applied to the core body 31. For this reason, the resonance frequency of the resonance circuit of the electronic pen 3 may change. The CPU 21 detects the change in the resonance frequency (a phase change) and identifies the writing pressure applied to the electronic pen 3. More specifically, the CPU 21 can determine whether or not information is being written on the paper medium 100 based on the identified writing pressure from the electronic pen 3. In a case where it is determined that the information is being written on the paper medium 100, the CPU 21 acquires the stroke data and stores the acquired stroke data in the flash ROM 22.
Main processing of the information input device 2 will be explained with reference to
As shown in
The CPU 21 determines whether or not one of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 has detected the electronic pen 3 (step S5). In a case where a signal input from one of the ASIC 281 and the ASIC 291 is equal to or greater than a certain value, the CPU 21 determines that one of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 has detected the electronic pen 3. In a case where the CPU 21 determines that neither the first sensor 71 nor the second sensor 72 has detected the electronic pen 3 (no at step S5), the CPU 21 returns to the processing at step S1. In a case where the CPU 21 determines that one of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 has detected the electronic pen 3 (yes at step S5), the CPU 21 determines whether or not the first sensor 71 has detected the electronic pen 3 (step S7). In a case where an identified sensor is the first sensor 71, the CPU 21 determines that first sensor 71 has detected the electronic pen 3. The identified sensor is the sensor that has detected an output signal from the electronic pen 3 that has a largest strength. The identified sensor may be determined by comparing the strengths of the output signals output from the electronic pen 3, the strengths being represented by the detection results of the ASIC 281 and of the ASIC 291.
In a case where the first sensor 71 has detected the electronic pen 3 (yes at step S7), the CPU 21 stops the supply of electric power to the second sensor 72 by outputting a command to the ASIC 291 (step S9). Processing at step S9 is processing to stop the supply of electric power to a non-identified sensor. The non-identified sensor is one or more of the plurality of sensors that is/are not the identified sensor. Based on the command output from the CPU 21, the ASIC 291 stops the supply of electric power to the second sensor 72 by stopping operation of the power switching circuit. During a period in which the supply of electric power to the second sensor 72 is stopped, by the processing at step S9, the scanning operation is not performed by the second sensor 72.
The CPU 21 outputs a command to the ASIC 281 and causes the first sensor 71 to perform a scanning operation (step S11). The scanning operation at step S3 and the scanning operation at step S11 by the first sensor 71 may be performed by the same processing or may be performed by different processing. The ASIC 281 outputs detection results to the CPU 21. Based on the detection results output from the ASIC 281, the CPU 21 calculates coordinates of the electronic pen 3 (step S13). As described above, the detection results output from the ASIC 281 are each converted to a digital signal corresponding to the voltage value. Based on the converted digital signals, the CPU 21 calculates a position indicating a maximum voltage value in each of the X axis direction and the Y axis direction. The processing to determine the coordinates of the electronic pen 3 is known by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2012-14411, for example, and a detailed explanation is therefore omitted here. The CPU 21 associates the writing pressure of the electronic pen 3 with the coordinates and stores the associated data in the flash ROM 22 in an order in which the coordinates are acquired. Of the data stored in this manner, the stroke data is the data that indicates the changes over time of the coordinate information for which it has been determined, based on the writing pressure, that the electronic pen 3 is being used.
The CPU 21 causes the first sensor 71 to perform a scanning operation by outputting a command to the ASIC 281 (step S15). The ASIC 281 outputs detection results to the CPU 21. Based on the detection results, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the first sensor 71 has detected the electronic pen 3 (step S17). In a case where the signal input from the ASIC 281 is equal to or greater than a certain value, the CPU 21 determines that the first sensor 71 has detected the electronic pen 3. In a case where the first sensor 71 has detected the electronic pen 3 (yes at step S17), the CPU 21 returns the processing to step S11. In a case where the first sensor 71 has not detected the electronic pen 3 (no at step S17), the CPU 21 returns the processing to step S1.
In the processing at step S7, in a case where the second sensor 72 has detected the electronic pen 3 (no at step S7), by outputting a command to the ASIC 281, the CPU 21 causes the supply of electric power to the first sensor 71, which is determined to be the non-identified sensor, to be stopped (step S21). Based on the command output from the CPU 21, the ASIC 281 stops the supply of electric power to the first sensor 71 by operating the power switching circuit. During a period in which the supply of electric power to the first sensor 71 is stopped, by the processing at step S21, the scanning operation is not performed by the first sensor 71.
The CPU 21 causes the second sensor 72 to perform a scanning operation by outputting a command to the ASIC 291 (step S23). The scanning operation at step S3 and the scanning operation at step S23 by the second sensor 72 may be performed by the same processing or may be performed by different processing. The ASIC 291 outputs detection results to the CPU 21. Based on the detection results output from the ASIC 291, the CPU 21 calculates coordinates of the electronic pen 3 (step S25). The processing at step S25 is performed by the same method as at step S13.
The CPU 21 causes the second sensor 72 to perform a scanning operation by outputting a command to the ASIC 291 (step S27). The ASIC 291 outputs detection results to the CPU 21. The CPU 21 determines whether or not the second sensor 72 has detected the electronic pen 3 (step S29). In a case where the signal input from the ASIC 291 is equal to or greater than a certain value, the CPU 21 determines that the second sensor 72 has detected the electronic pen 3. In a case where the second sensor 72 has detected the position of the electronic pen 3 (yes at step S29), the CPU 21 returns the processing to step S23. In a case where the second sensor 72 has not detected the position of the electronic pen 3 (no at step S29), the CPU 21 returns the processing to step S1.
Based on the detection results of the ASIC 281 and the ASIC 291, the information input device 2 supplies electric power only to one of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72, which are a plurality of sensors. More specifically, the information input device 2 supplies electric power only to the sensor (namely, the identified sensor) that has detected the output signal of the electronic pen 3 having the largest strength, and stops the supply of electric power to the other sensor (namely, the non-identified sensor) (step S9 or step S21). In comparison to a case in which the power source of the plurality of sensors (the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72) is constantly on, the information input device 2 can reduce power consumption. Further, after the information input device 2 has stopped the supply of electric power to the non-identified sensor, the information input device 2 controls the identified sensor and identifies the position of the electronic pen 3 (step S13 or step S25). For that reason, in comparison to a case in which the identification of the position of the electronic pen 3 is performed in a state in which the electric power is supplied to both the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72, in the information input device 2, there is little influence of the magnetic field generated by the non-identified sensor that is included in the detection result of the identified sensor. As a result, the information input device 2 can identify the electronic pen 3 more accurately than in known art. In other words, the information input device 2 can improve the detection accuracy of the position of the electronic pen 3 compared to known art.
As in the above-described embodiment, with an information input device of the type in which the electronic pen outputs the output signal in response to the input signal output by the sensor, it is possible that the input signal output by the non-identified sensor may be received by the identified sensor. In this type of case, it is possible that the information input device cannot accurately identify the position of the electronic pen 3. In contrast to this, with the information input device 2, when the position of the electronic pen 3 is identified, the supply of electric power to the non-identified sensor is stopped and thus the input signal from the non-identified sensor is not output to the electronic pen 3. As a result, the information input device 2 can reliably avoid deterioration in the detection accuracy of the position of the electronic pen 3 by the identified sensor due to the input signal being output by the non-identified sensor.
In order to identify the sensor that has detected the output signal having the largest strength among the output signals of the electronic pen 3, the information input device 2 synchronously performs processing to perform the scanning operation by the plurality of sensors. Thus, in comparison to a case in which scanning operations are performed by a plurality of sensors at different timings in order to identify the sensor that has detected the output signal having a largest strength and indicating the position of the electronic pen 3, the information input device 2 can shorten an amount of time required for the processing to identify the identified sensor. The first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 are separately housed in the different housings, namely, in the housing 8L and the housing 8R, respectively. As a result, the information input device 2 can stop the supply of the electric power to the sensor performing the scanning operation for each of the housings.
Various modifications may be made to the embodiments described above. For example, any one of the following modifications (A) to (C) may be made as appropriate.
(A) The information input device 2 includes the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 as the two sensors, but the number of sensors may be three or more. The first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 are housed in the individual housings 8L and 8R, respectively, but some or all of the plurality of sensors may be housed in the same housing. The shape and the size etc. of the housings 8L and 8R may be changed as appropriate. The information input device 2 causes a magnetic field to be generated from the loop coils of each of the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 and causes the resonance circuit of the electronic pen 3 to resonate due to electromagnetic induction. However, with respect to a type of the electronic pen 3 that has a built-in battery, the resonance circuit of the electronic pen 3 need not necessarily be caused to resonate due to electromagnetic induction. The information input device 2 can detect the writing pressure of the electronic pen 3, but the information input device 2 need not necessarily be able to detect the writing pressure, and the detection result may be stored in a storage device such as the flash ROM 22 without taking the writing pressure into account. The electrical configuration of the information input device 2 may be changed as appropriate. For example, the circuit to switch the supply of electric power to the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 may be provided on the main board 20.
(B) The program that includes the instructions to perform the main processing shown in
(C) Each of the steps in the main processing shown in
With respect to some of the steps of the main processing, modifications may be made in the following manner, for example. In the processing at step S3, the CPU 21 causes the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 to synchronously perform the scanning operation, but the CPU 21 may cause the first sensor 71 and the second sensor 72 to perform the scanning operation sequentially. In this case, in a case where the electronic pen 3 is detected based on the signal acquired from the sensor that first performs the scanning operation, the CPU 21 may omit the scanning operation by the other sensor and may stop the supply of electric power to the other sensor. Further, in a case where a scanning operation to detect the writing tool is the same as a scanning operation to detect a position of the writing tool, for example, the CPU 21 may calculate the coordinates (step S13) based on the detection results of the scanning operation of the processing at step S15 (yes at step S17). The CPU 21 may calculate the coordinates (step S25) based on the detection results of the scanning operation of the processing at step S27 (yes at step S29).
The apparatus and methods described above with reference to the various embodiments are merely examples. It goes without saying that they are not confined to the depicted embodiments. While various features have been described in conjunction with the examples outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, and/or improvements of those features and/or examples may be possible. Accordingly, the examples, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative. Various changes may be made without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the underlying principles.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-247834 | Nov 2012 | JP | national |
