JPH0665929U - Position indicator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To realize a convenient position indicator with light side switch operating pressure. A position indicator having a tuning circuit including a coil 12 and a capacitor, having a pen shaft 11, a tip 12 of which is provided with 12, and the tuning circuit configured at a contact position of a finger holding 11 The touch sensor serving as a variable resistance element is provided as one of the circuit elements.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a position indicator used for computer input, and more particularly to a writing instrument-like position indicator called a stylus pen.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, various stylus pens have been devised according to the difference in coordinate detection principle. For example, a light pen called light pen, one configured to pick up a pointing position by ultrasonic waves, one utilizing magnetic coupling, one utilizing magnetostriction, one utilizing electrical resistance, and electrostatic coupling. Depending on various coordinate detection principles, such as the one using a computer, the one using electromagnetic coupling, the one using electromagnetic resonance, etc., each styli required to point a point on the coordinate detection surface called a tablet. A spen is constructed.

The stylus pen described above is generally connected to other devices such as a tablet by a cable, and switch signals (such as a click signal in the case of a mouse) for pen up / down and selection determination are transmitted. It is configured to be transferred to the tablet side or the host computer side via the cable.

A so-called cordless digitizer that does not connect a cable between the stylus pen and the coordinate detection device, a so-called cordless digitizer, has been questioned by the world until now. One of them is the same application as the applicant of the present invention. There is a "position detection device" (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-53805) proposed by a person. To briefly explain the configuration, a plurality of loop coils are arranged in parallel in both the XY directions on the coordinate detection device side, and a selection circuit, a switching circuit, etc. are provided. The loop coil acts as a radio wave transmitting means or a radio wave receiving means. A tuning circuit having a resonance frequency capable of resonating with the frequency of the radio wave emitted from the radio wave transmitting means is provided on the position indicator side, and the position indicator reflects and reflects the radio wave emitted from the coordinate detection device side. The received radio wave is received by the coordinate detection device side. By processing the level of the voltage detected by each loop coil, the XY coordinate value of the position indicated by the position indicator is calculated.

In addition, the applicant of the present invention, in the above-mentioned application “position indicator state detection method” (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-6530), among the plurality of switches in the position indicator of the coordinate input device. A method of detecting which is being operated, in which a radio wave is transmitted from a radio wave generating means, and the radio wave corresponds to a plurality of switches provided on the position indicator, and each is configured by the switch operation. The tuning circuit is excited, the radio wave is received by the radio wave receiving means, and it is detected whether the received radio wave is the radio wave transmitted from the tuning circuit constituted by any of the above switches, and based on the detection result, We proposed "a method for detecting the switch operation state of a position indicator" in a coordinate input device that detects which switch is being operated. Further, in "Position Indicator State Detection Method" (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-56716), a position indicator is proposed in which the tuning frequency of the tuning circuit is continuously changed around a predetermined frequency. . Furthermore, in the "position indicator state identification system" (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-257823), the loss inside the tuning circuit can be changed by making the Q value of the tuning circuit variable so that the reflection signal is attenuated. We proposed a position indicator that identifies the switch state by detecting it.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 It is desirable from the standpoint of man-machine interface or ergonomics to eliminate the cord connecting the position indicator and the coordinate detecting device, not only the cordless digitizer previously proposed by the applicant of the present invention. However, from that point of view, how the operability of the switch used for it is also an important issue.

Considering only a switch of a position indicator having a writing instrument-like housing, that is, a pen shaft, a portion of the pen core body, that is, a portion directly contacting the coordinate detection surface of the position indicator, is the longitudinal axis of the pen shaft. Some are slidable along the direction, and some are configured to detect pen up / down information or continuous writing pressure information. On the other hand, there is a so-called side switch, that is, a switch piece is provided at a position where a finger comes into contact when an operator holds the position indicator with the finger.

It is desirable that the switch piece of the above-mentioned side switch has an operating pressure as small as possible. This is because if the operating pressure is high, the tip of the stylus pen may be displaced when the side switch is operated, and the coordinate values detected by the coordinate detection device may be misaligned.

An object of the present invention is to provide a stylus pen having a side switch that has a small operation pressure and that does not cause a coordinate value to be misaligned during operation.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, a position indicator according to the present invention is a position indicator having a tuning circuit including a coil and a capacitor, which has a writing instrument-like housing, that is, a pen shaft, near the tip of the pen shaft. A touch sensor is provided, which is provided with a coil configuring the tuning circuit, and which functions as a variable resistance as one of circuit elements configuring the tuning circuit, is provided at a fingertip contact position of the pen shaft.

Further, two touch sensors may be provided.

[0012]

[Action]

 The position indicator configured as described above is used as a position indicator of a coordinate input device called a digitizer or a tablet, and has a coil forming a tuning circuit at its tip and a finger holding the position indicator. Since a touch sensor that functions as a variable resistance element that is one of the circuit elements that make up the tuning circuit is provided at the position where the radio wave generation means and the radio wave reception means are provided on the tablet side, The radio wave is transmitted from the means, the tuning circuit provided in the position indicator is excited by the radio wave, and the reflected radio wave is received by the radio wave receiving means. It works as a position indicator used when detecting the switch operation state from the detection result on the tablet side, which detects whether the radio wave is transmitted from a different operation state.

By providing two touch sensors, it is possible to detect both the advance information and the delay information of the phase of the reflected radio wave.

[0014]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a position indicator according to the present invention. The pen shaft 11 is a writing instrument-like housing made of, for example, a synthetic resin. The touch sensor electrodes 24, 25, 28, and 29 are the most important members that make up the appearance of the position indicator according to the present invention. These are different from the other parts of the pen shaft 11 in that they are electrically conductive. I have. Although it is possible to connect the pen shaft 11 and the touch sensor electrode 24, etc. by a method such as adhesion or fitting, it is also possible to integrally form the molded product with a circuit by the progress of plastic molding technology in recent years. It is possible. For example, the pen shaft 11 may be composed of three members, and only one of them may be formed as a molded product with a circuit by so-called two-shot injection molding.

FIG. 1A shows a case where only one touch sensor switch including the touch sensor electrodes 24 and 25 is provided. As will be described later, other shapes of the touch sensor electrode 24 and the like are possible. In FIG. 1B, in addition to the touch sensor switch composed of the touch sensor electrodes 24 and 25, a touch sensor switch composed of the touch sensor electrodes 28 and 29 is also provided, and a total of two touch sensors are provided. The case where a sensor switch is provided is shown. Although the two switches are shown as being arranged vertically, other embodiments are possible such as arranging them side by side or arranging them diagonally above. For reasons that will be described later, it is desirable to prohibit the operator from using two switches at the same time.Therefore, when operating one switch, the other switch is placed so that its finger does not touch it. Is good.

The position indicator according to the present invention is suitable for use in the “position detecting device” (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-53805) described in the section of the prior art, but it is possible to use other position detecting devices according to other coordinate detecting principles. Even when the position detecting device is used, it can be used by providing a radio wave transmitting means, a radio wave receiving means, etc. on the position detecting device side. In that case, the core 14 not only has a coefficient of friction, but also a member required according to the position detection principle, for example, a light emitting element if light is used.

The position indicator according to the present invention has a tuning circuit, which includes at least the coil 12 and a capacitor. The coil 12 is a main element constituting the tuning circuit, and has a function of receiving an electric wave emitted from a coordinate detecting device called a digitizer or a tablet and reflecting the electric wave. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the coil 12 is arranged inside the pen shaft 11 at a position close to the core body 14.

The touch sensor electrodes 24 and the like that form the touch sensor switch are provided at the finger contact position of the indicator rod 11. By operating the switch, it is possible to change the characteristics such as the reactance, impedance or so-called Q value of the tuning circuit. Therefore, on the side of the coordinate detecting device, the operation state of the switch can be determined by measuring the attenuation factor of the received waveform when the phase of the radio wave reflected from the coil 12 or the transmission and reception are performed in time division. You can know and get the switch information.

As described above, the coil 12 plays a role of sending the switch information to the coordinate detecting device side, and the “position detecting device” proposed by the same applicant as the applicant of the present invention (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-53805). In the case of using (1), a plurality of loop coils are arranged in parallel in both X and Y directions and a selection circuit and a switching circuit are provided. Therefore, the role played by the coil 12 is not only for transmitting switch information but also for transmitting position information. I will also serve. In that case, it is desirable that an appropriate material such as ferrite is used as the magnetic core of the coil 12 so as to strengthen the magnetic flux penetrating the coil and to help identify the direction of the magnetic flux.

The core body 14 is provided in front of the coil 12 and connected to the indicating rod 11. When the position detecting device proposed by the applicant is used, the core body 14 has an appropriate rigidity, an appropriate coefficient of friction with the detection surface of the coordinate detecting device, and a certain degree of sharpness. It is enough if the material is good. This is because it plays a role of preventing damage to the coil 12 and the ferrite core, and also serves to visually confirm the position pointed by the position pointer. However, as described in the section "Prior Art", other components or parts are required when the detection principle of the coordinate detection device is different. For example, in the case of a coordinate detecting device using light, an appropriate light emitting element or reflecting member will be provided.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment in which the tuning frequency of the tuning circuit is made variable by using a variable resistor. 2 (a) and 2 (b) show that the tuning frequency of the tuning circuit is made variable by adjusting the extent to which the variable resistor 21 contributes to the total combined capacitance of the fixed capacitors 19 and 20. . 2 (c) and 2 (d) show that the tuning frequency of the tuning circuit is made variable by adjusting the extent to which the variable resistor 21 contributes to the overall combined reactance of the coil 22. While the coil 12 is provided at the tip of the indicator rod and serves to send the switch information to the coordinate detecting device side, the coil 22 is usually composed of so-called chip parts and provided near the rear end of the indicator rod. However, it only contributes to the adjustment of the reactance and does not generate the magnetic flux for transmitting the switch information.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment in which the Q value of the tuning circuit is made variable by using a variable resistor. Here, the Q value is a numerical value representing the sharpness of resonance, and as is well known, it is used in the RLC parallel resonance circuit shown in FIG. 3 (a) or 3 (b) and the RLC series resonance circuit shown in FIG. 3 (c). If so, the Q value can be changed by changing the resistance. When transmitting and receiving radio waves from the coordinate detection device side by time division, the radio waves reflected from the position indicator side are attenuated over time, but the degree of the attenuation changes according to changes in the Q value. . Therefore, the switch information can be detected by measuring the attenuation rate on the coordinate detecting device side. The attenuation rate is measured, for example, by obtaining the ratio of the levels of the first half and the second half of the received waveform.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an electrode shape of the touch sensor. A circuit using the variable resistor 21 was proposed in FIGS. 2 and 3. In that case, a slidable piece is provided at the position of the switch 13 shown in FIG. 1 so that the resistance value of the variable resistor 21 is continuously changed according to the pressing force or displacement applied to one end of the slidable piece. Is desirable. The thinker of the present invention proposes another useful embodiment. In the circuit using the variable resistor, a touch sensor is provided as one of the circuit elements forming the tuning circuit instead of the variable resistor 21. Here, the touch sensor is one in which two electrodes are provided close to each other as shown in FIG. 4 (a), (b) or (c), and a part of the human body, for example, the tip of a finger or the tip of a tongue is touched. Is configured so that both electrodes are electrically connected. Although it does not constitute a variable resistance by itself, it also functions as a variable resistance element including a part of the human body.In the present invention, the touch sensor also constitutes a tuning circuit as a variable resistance element for convenience. It is considered to be one of the circuit elements that It is empirically known that the resistance between the touch sensor electrode 24 and the touch sensor electrode 25 can be varied depending on the pressing force or pressing area that rubs the tip of a finger or the tongue or the contact pressure or the contact area. . In particular, the electrode shape shown in FIG. 4A is convenient to operate with a fingertip. FIG. 4B shows an electrode shape that is convenient for adjusting the resistance value by the contact area of the tongue. FIG. 4C shows an electrode shape that is convenient for adjusting the contact area by sliding the tip of the finger or the tongue. The fact that the resistance value is adjusted with a much simpler structure than that of the variable resistor described above largely depends on the learning ability or feedback control ability of the operator. Therefore, it can be said that the switch is useful for an operator who has at least the ability to move the fingertip.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment in which two touch sensors are provided. The coil 12, the fixed capacitors 18 and 19, and the coil 22 are the same as those depicted in FIG. 2A or 2C. The variable resistor 21 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the variable resistor 21 depicted in FIG. The variable resistor 26 in FIG. 5 corresponds to the variable resistor 21 depicted in FIG. The variable resistors 21 and 26 mentioned here are both configured by the touch sensor. That is, since the variable resistors 21 and 26 are both touch sensors having an electrode shape as shown in FIG. 4, they have an infinite resistance value (several mega ohms) when not operated. Therefore, when the variable resistor 21 is not operated, the circuit shown in FIG. 5 operates similarly to the circuit shown in FIG. 3 (c). When the variable resistor 26 is not operated, the circuit shown in FIG. 5 has the same function as the circuit shown in FIG. In this circuit, it is prohibited to operate both variable resistors 21 and 26 at the same time.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation of a circuit provided with two touch sensors. In FIG. 6, an arrow A indicates a phase in a state where neither of the two variable resistors 21 and 26, each of which is a touch sensor, is operated, that is, an initial state. In the initial state, the circuit shown in FIG. 6 is equivalent to the tuning circuit composed of the coil 12 and the fixed capacitor 18 for the reason described above.

Now, let the resonance frequency of the tuning circuit constituted by the coil 12 and the fixed capacitor 18 be f. For example, by setting the coil 12 to 30 microhenries and the fixed capacitor 18 to about 3300 picofarads, f can be set to 500 kHz. When the frequency of the radio wave transmitted from the radio wave transmitting means on the coordinate detecting device side is fixed to f, the tuning circuit receives the radio wave of the frequency f, resonates, and reflects the radio wave of the same frequency. At this time, the waveform received by the receiving means on the side of the coordinate detecting device is in the state where the phase shift is zero, that is, the state of arrow A shown in FIG.

When the variable resistor 21 is operated, the resistance value continuously changes from a state of infinity (several mega ohms) to several kilo ohms, although it varies depending on the electrode shape of the touch sensor. As the resistance value decreases, the degree to which the fixed capacitor 19 contributes to the reactance of the tuning circuit increases and the combined capacitance increases. Therefore, the resonance frequency becomes low, and since the frequency f is fixed, the phase of the reflected radio wave changes continuously, that is, in the negative direction shown by the arrow B in FIG.

Similarly, by operating the variable resistor 26, it is possible to continuously change the resistance value from an infinite state (several mega ohms) to approximately several kilo ohms. Therefore, for example, the inductance of the coil 22 is set to 2 millihenries and the coil 12 When the inductance is set to 30 microhenries, the combined inductance of the tuning circuit shown in FIG. 5 can be changed from the initial value of 30 microhenries to about 29.6 microhenries by operating the variable resistor 26. In this way, when the variable resistor 26 is operated, the combined inductance changes in the decreasing direction, so the resonance frequency becomes higher, and hence the phase of the reflected radio wave advances, that is, the arrow C in FIG. 6 indicates. It changes continuously in the positive direction.

By adjusting the capacitance value of the fixed capacitor 19, the inductance value of the coil 22 and the electrode shape of the touch sensor that constitutes the variable resistors 21 and 26, the phase information from minus 90 degrees to plus 90 degrees can be located. It can be used as switch information for indicators. How finely the continuous phase information is divided and extracted as switch information depends on the processing method on the coordinate detection device side, but it is better to handle phase information from minus 90 degrees to plus 90 degrees with one switch. It can be said that the present embodiment in which the negative side and the positive side are shared by the two switches has improved usability. The two touch sensors are provided so as to be sufficiently separated so that the fingertips do not touch each other, and are arranged, for example, vertically or horizontally so as to be in contact with the fingertips.

[0030]

[Effect of device]

 Since the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to realize a position indicator which is easy to use because the overall weight is light and the operation pressure of the side switch is light.

Further, it has been possible to realize a position indicator which can send a plurality of switch operating states to the coordinate detecting device side by operating one switch.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a position indicator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment in which a tuning frequency of a tuning circuit is made variable by using a variable resistor.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment in which a Q value of a tuning circuit is made variable by using a variable resistor.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an electrode shape of a touch sensor.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment in which two touch sensors are provided.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation of a circuit provided with two touch sensors.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Pen Shaft 12, 22 Coil 14 Core Body 18, 19, 20 Fixed Capacitor 21, 26 Variable Resistor 23 Fixed Resistor 24, 25, 28, 29 Touch Sensor Electrode A Initial Phase B Phase When Operating the First Touch Sensor Misalignment C Phase misalignment when operating the second touch sensor

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A position indicator having a tuning circuit including a coil and a capacitor, comprising a writing instrument-like housing, that is, a pen shaft, and a coil constituting the tuning circuit near a tip of the pen shaft, A position indicator comprising a touch sensor that functions as a variable resistor as one of the circuit elements forming the tuning circuit at the fingertip contact position of the pen shaft. 2. The position indicator according to claim 1, wherein two touch sensors are provided.