Input system including position-detecting device

Abstract

A position-detecting device detects a position pointed to by a position-pointing instrument and includes an operation panel detecting the position pointed to by the position-pointing instrument; and a manipulation-detecting unit located at at least one of the interior and the exterior of the operation panel, and detecting a manipulation by a second instrument other than the position-pointing instrument, or detecting a manipulation by both the position-pointing instrument and the second instrument.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM TO PRIORITY [0001] This application is based upon application number 2004-218374, filed Jul. 27, 2004 in Japan, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference and to which priority is claimed. 1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to input systems including position-detecting devices that detect positions specified with position-pointing styluses. 2. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Pen tablets are known as input devices used in electronic devices, such as personal computers. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-244806 assigned to the present assignee discloses various types of pen tablets. [0004] A typical pen tablet includes a position-pointing stylus and an approximately planar position-detecting device. When a user points at any position on the position-detecting device with the position-pointing stylus in his or her hand, the position-detecting device detects the poi...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to facilitate operations, such as setting drawing colors, the size of a drawing area, and line thicknesses, scrolling a screen, and zooming in and out, during the operation of a position-pointing stylus.

[0011] Thus, since a user can simultaneously perform a certain type of operation using the position-pointing instrument and another type of operation on the manipulation-detecting unit, the user can perform various types of operations without suspending the manipulation by the position-pointing instrument, thereby achieving excellent operability. For example, the user can simultaneously perform an operation using the position-pointing instrument in the right hand and manipulate the manipulation-detecting unit using the left hand. The user can also manipulate the manipulation-detecting unit using the position-pointing instrument in the right hand. That is, the user can use both hands to perform an input operation. Moreover, when the manipulation-detecting unit detects a manipulation by the position-pointing instrument, the user can manipulate the manipulation-detecting unit, holding the position-pointing instrument in his or her hand, and can perform various types of operations only with the position-pointing instrument.

[0015] In this arrangement, the user can manipulate the manipulation-detecting unit by a simple manipulation, that is, a touching or pushing manipulation. Thus, even when the user performs an operation using the position-pointing instrument in the dominant hand and manipulates the manipulation-detecting unit using the nondominant hand, the user can reliably perform the operation, thereby achieving excellent operability and reducing the user's workload.

[0019] In this arrangement, the position-detecting device can reliably determine the type of instrument used for manipulating the manipulation-detecting unit. Moreover, since the detectable area need not correspond to the operation panel, flexibility in the location of the manipulation-detecting unit can be improved.

[0020] The manipulation-detecting unit may be disposed within the operation panel. In this arrangement, the size of the position-detecting device can be reduced.

[0022] In this arrangement, the user can simultaneously perform an input operation of the electronic device using the position-pointing instrument and another input operation. For example, when a drawing application program is executed in the electronic device, the user can simultaneously draw lines using the position-pointing instrument and can manipulate the manipulation-detecting unit to invoke a menu screen and perform operations on the menu screen and other operations, such as scrolling the screen and zooming in and out. Thus, the user can perform operations other than an application operation so that the application operation flow using the position-pointing instrument and the user's thoughts are not interrupted, thereby achieving excellent operability. Moreover, for example, the user can simultaneously perform an operation using the position-pointing instrument in the right hand and manipulate the manipulation-detecting unit using the left hand. The user can also manipulate the manipulation-detecting unit using the position-pointing instrument in the right hand. That is, the user can use both hands to perform an input operation of the electronic device.

Problems solved by technology

In this environment, since the user needs to suspend the drawing operation and move the position-pointing stylus from a position on a picture being drawn to a position on the menu screen to perform the setting operations on the menu screen during the drawing operation, the continuity of user's thought may be broken, thereby spoiling the user's imagination.

The user, who needs to concentrate on the drawing operation, may feel that the operation on the menu screen is highly complicated.

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