Input device, method executed by input device, and computer readable medium

Abstract

The invention relates to an input device, a method executed by the input device, and a computer readable medium. The invention provides an information input apparatus and method, and a storage medium. Provided is a handwriting board (1) capable of coping with a multi-device and multi-OS environment. A handwriting board (1) is characterized by comprising: a USB communication unit (4) configured so as to be able to communicate with each of a PC (10) that operates by an OS (17) and a smartphone (20) that operates by an OS (27); and a controller (3) that operates in a PC mode corresponding to the tablet driver (DA) that operates in the PC (10) when data is transmitted to the PC (10), and operates in a smartphone mode corresponding to the tablet driver (DB) that operates in the smartphone (20) when data is transmitted to the smartphone (20).

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese invention patent application. The invention name of the original application is “Information input device, method and storage medium”, the application number of the original application is 202010626619.9, and the application date of the original application is July 2, 2020. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to an information input device, method and storage medium, and more particularly to an information input device for inputting information into a PC (Personal Computer) or a smart phone, and a related method and storage medium. Background Art

[0003] A handwriting tablet, which is one type of information input device for inputting information to a PC, is a device configured to detect the position of an electronic pen on a panel surface one by one and supply the position to the PC. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of such a handwriting tablet.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-106594 Summary of the invention

[0007] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0008] In recent years, a multi-device environment has been developing in which one person uses multiple devices such as PCs and smartphones, and one person uses multiple OS (Operating System) such as Windows and Android. In response to this, information input devices also need to cope with the multi-device and multi-OS environment.

[0009] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide an information input device, method, and storage medium that can cope with a multi-device, multi-OS environment.

[0010] Means for solving problems

[0011] The information input device of the present invention is characterized in that it includes: a communication interface, which is configured to communicate with each of a first external device operated by a first operating system and a second external device operated by a second operating system; and a controller, which, when transmitting data to the first external device, operates in a first mode corresponding to a first driver executed by the first external device, and when transmitting data to the second external device, operates in a second mode corresponding to a second driver different from the first driver and executed by the second external device.

[0012] The method of the present invention is characterized in that it includes: a starting step, in which communication is started in a first mode according to the connection of a communication interface to an external device; a determination step, in which, based on the result of the communication started by the starting step, the operating system of the external device of the communication partner is the second operating system; and a switching step, in which, when it is determined by the determination step that the operating system of the external device of the communication partner is the second operating system, the communication is switched to the second mode.

[0013] The storage medium of the present invention is characterized in that it is used to enable a computer to execute: a starting step, in which communication is started in a first mode according to the connection of a communication interface to an external device; a determination step, in which, based on the result of the communication started by the starting step, the operating system of the external device of the communication partner is the second operating system; and a switching step, in which, when it is determined by the determination step that the operating system of the external device of the communication partner is the second operating system, the communication is switched to the second mode.

[0014] Effects of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an information input device, method, and storage medium that can cope with a multi-device, multi-OS environment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 (a) is a diagram showing a state where the handwriting tablet 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is connected to a PC 10 , and (b) is a diagram showing a state where the handwriting tablet 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is connected to a smartphone 20 .

[0017] Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the handwriting tablet 1 , the electronic pen 30 , the PC 10 , and the smartphone 20 .

[0018] Figure 3 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the touch sensor 2 and the controller 3 .

[0019] Figure 4 The figure shows the driver table stored in advance in the memory 15 or 25 .

[0020] Figure 5 The diagram shows specific connection wiring between the USB communication unit 4 of the tablet 1 , the USB communication unit 16 of the PC 10 , and the USB communication unit 26 of the smartphone 20 .

[0021] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing a processing sequence between the PC 10 and the handwriting tablet 1 .

[0022] Figure 7 1 is a diagram showing a processing sequence between the smartphone 20 and the handwriting tablet 1 . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] Below, while referring to the attached Figure 1 Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0024] Figure 1 (a) is a diagram showing a state where the handwriting tablet 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is connected to the PC 10 , Figure 1 (b) is a diagram showing a state where the handwriting tablet 1 according to the present embodiment is connected to the smartphone 20 .

[0025] The handwriting tablet 1 is configured to have a touch sensor 2 constituting a touch surface. In addition, the electronic pen 30 is a pen-shaped terminal (stylus pen). It should be noted that the electronic pen 30 may also have an ink seepage function such as a ballpoint pen. In this case, the handwriting tablet 1 is used in a state where paper is placed on the touch surface.

[0026] The handwriting tablet 1 is configured to detect the coordinates indicating the position of the electronic pen 30 on the touch surface by an electrostatic capacitance method or an electromagnetic induction method. In addition, the electronic pen 30 is configured to transmit various data such as a pen pressure value indicating the force applied to each pen tip, side switch information indicating the on / off state of each side switch provided, and a stylus ID stored in advance to the handwriting tablet 1. It is also possible to configure so that data can be transmitted from the handwriting tablet 1 to the electronic pen 30. In this case, for example, a command for specifying data to be transmitted by the electronic pen 30 is transmitted from the handwriting tablet 1 to the electronic pen 30.

[0027] PC 10 is, for example, a notebook computer, for example, a PC that operates with the OS of Microsoft Windows (registered trademark). PC 10 is configured to have an output device including a display 11 and an input device including a keyboard 12 and a touchpad 13. Smartphone 20 is, for example, a tablet-type computer, for example, a smartphone that operates with the OS of Android (registered trademark). Smartphone 20 is configured to have a touch screen 21 of a size that can be covered by one hand. The following description will be continued based on this typical example, but PC 10 may also be, for example, a desktop computer, or a computer that functions as a server. In addition, smartphone 20 may also be a tablet terminal with a larger touch screen 21.

[0028] The handwriting tablet 1 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to Figure 1 (a) and (b) are connected to the PC 10 and the smartphone 20 respectively by using a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable C. It should be noted that in this embodiment, an example of connection based on the USB standard is described, but the present invention can also be applied to the case of using a connection based on other standards such as lightning and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0029] Figure 2 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the handwriting tablet 1 , the electronic pen 30 , the PC 10 , and the smartphone 20 . Figure 2 (a) corresponds to Figure 1 (a), Figure 2 (b) corresponds to Figure 1 (b). Figure 2 , while explaining the respective structures of the handwriting tablet 1, the electronic pen 30, the PC 10 and the smartphone 20 in more detail.

[0030] The electronic pen 30 is configured to have an LC resonant circuit composed of a capacitor 31 and an inductor 32. The inductor 32 generates an induced voltage based on the magnetic field supplied from the touch sensor 2 of the handwriting tablet 1, thereby charging the capacitor 31. After the supply of the magnetic field from the touch sensor 2 stops, the inductor 32 uses the voltage accumulated in the capacitor 31 to send a reflection signal to the handwriting tablet 1. The reflection signal sent in this way includes a continuous signal for position detection, a start signal indicating the end of the continuous signal, and a data signal indicating the data sent by the electronic pen 30 to the handwriting tablet 1.

[0031] The capacitor 31 is configured so that its capacitance changes according to the force (=writing pressure) applied from the touch surface to the tip of the electronic pen 30. If the capacitance of the capacitor 31 changes, the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit changes, and therefore, the frequency of the reflected signal sent as described above also changes due to the writing pressure. The above-mentioned writing pressure value is transmitted from the electronic pen 30 to the handwriting tablet 1 through the change in this frequency.

[0032] The handwriting tablet 1 is configured to include Figure 1 The touch sensor 2 shown in FIG. 1 further includes a controller 3 , a USB communication unit 4 , and a memory 5 .

[0033] Figure 3 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the touch sensor 2 and the controller 3. As shown in the figure, the touch sensor 2 has a structure in which a plurality of loop coils LC are arranged in a rectangular plane area. One end of each loop coil LC is grounded, and the other end is connected to the controller 3. Figure 3 In the figure, as an example of a plurality of loop coils LC, 40 loop coils X1 to X2 extending in the y direction are shown. 40 and 40 annular coils Y1 to Y2 extending in the x direction orthogonal to the y direction 40 , the number of the loop coils LC to be provided in the touch sensor 2 is not limited thereto.

[0034] like Figure 3As shown, the controller 3 is configured to include a selection circuit 60, a switch circuit 61, an amplifier 62, a detection circuit 63, a low-pass filter (LPF) 64, a sample-and-hold circuit (S / H) 65, an analog-to-digital conversion circuit (A / D) 66, a control unit 67, an oscillator 68, and a current driver 69.

[0035] The other end of each loop coil LC is connected to the selection circuit 60. The selection circuit 60 selects the loop coils X1 to X2 according to the control from the control unit 67. 40 、Y1~Y 40 A circuit in which one or more loop coils are selected and the selected loop coils are connected to the switch circuit 61 .

[0036] The switch circuit 61 is a switch having one common terminal and two selection terminals, and is configured to be able to switch the selection terminal connected to the common terminal according to the control from the control unit 67. The selection circuit 60 is connected to the common terminal of the switch circuit 61, the input terminal of the amplifier 62 is connected to one selection terminal, and the output terminal of the current driver 69 is connected to the other selection terminal.

[0037] The amplifier 62 is a circuit that amplifies the voltage signal supplied from the selection circuit 60 via the switch circuit 61 and outputs it to the detection circuit 63. The detection circuit 63 is a circuit that generates an envelope signal by performing envelope detection on the voltage signal output from the amplifier 62 and outputs it to the low-pass filter 64. The low-pass filter 64 plays a role in removing high-frequency components from the envelope signal generated by the detection circuit 63. The sampling and holding circuit 65 is configured to perform sampling and holding operations of the envelope signal after the high-frequency components are removed by the low-pass filter 64 at a predetermined time interval. The analog-to-digital conversion circuit 66 generates a digital signal by performing analog-to-digital conversion on the signal held by the sampling and holding circuit 65, and outputs it to the control unit 67.

[0038] The control unit 67 is based on the Figure 2 The processor that operates according to the program in the memory 5 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to the USB communication unit 4 and the memory 5. The control unit 67 is configured to perform, in addition to controlling the selection circuit 60, the switch circuit 61, the sample-and-hold circuit 65, and the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 66, a process of identifying and detecting whether the electronic pen 30 is in the contact state or the hovering state, generating the position coordinates of the electronic pen 30 when it is in the hovering state, that is, the hovering coordinates, and the position coordinates of the electronic pen 30 when it is in the contact state, that is, the contact coordinates, and a process of acquiring various data (pen pressure value, side switch information, stylus pen ID, etc.) sent by the electronic pen 30.

[0039] The oscillator 68 is configured to generate an AC signal of a predetermined frequency. The current driver 69 converts the AC signal output from the oscillator 68 into a current signal and supplies the current signal to the switch circuit 61 .

[0040] The acquisition of the coordinates of the electronic pen 30 and various data sent by the electronic pen 30 by the control unit 67 will be described in detail. First, the control unit 67 connects the other selection terminal of the switch circuit 61 (the selection terminal connected to the current driver 69) to the common terminal, and causes the selection circuit 60 to select the loop coils X1 to X2. 40 、Y1~Y 40 Then, a magnetic field is generated in the selected toroidal coil LC by the current signal output from the current driver 69. It should be noted that, although one toroidal coil LC is selected here, for example, the toroidal coils X1 to X 40 Select one from the ring coils Y1~Y 40 Selecting one of the two will select a total of two. Alternatively, you can also select the loop coils X1 to X 40 、Y1~Y 40 A dedicated loop coil for generating a magnetic field is independently arranged along the periphery of the touch sensor 2 , and only this dedicated loop coil is selected at this stage.

[0041] When the electronic pen 30 enters the magnetic field generated by the toroidal coil LC, as described above, the inductor 32 ( Figure 2 ) generates an induced voltage to capacitor 31 ( Figure 2 ) accumulates electric charge. After a predetermined time has passed since the other selection terminal of the switch circuit 61 was connected to the common terminal, the control unit 67 connects the selection terminal of one side of the switch circuit 61 (the selection terminal connected to the amplifier 62) to the common terminal. Then, the generation of the magnetic field from the ring coil LC ends. In response to this, the electronic pen 30 starts sending the above-mentioned reflected signal.

[0042] The control unit 67 is configured to determine the content of the reflected signal transmitted by the electronic pen 30 by decoding the digital signal supplied from the analog-to-digital conversion circuit 66. Furthermore, the loop coil LC selected by the selection circuit 60 is continuously switched while the electronic pen 30 is continuously transmitting a signal, thereby scanning the loop coils X1 to X2. 40 、Y1~Y 40 The voltage thus detected increases as the distance between the loop coil LC and the pen tip of the electronic pen 30 decreases. Therefore, the control unit 67 can obtain the coordinates indicating the position of the electronic pen 30 from the scanning result.

[0043] It should be noted that in order to shorten the scanning time, the scanning of all the annular coils LC for position detection as described above can be set to be only the first time (in this case, in the first position detection, while the electronic pen 30 is sending the start signal and the data signal, they are also regarded as continuous signals and position detection is performed), and from the second time onwards, only the annular coils LC located near the last detected position are scanned.

[0044] On the other hand, while the electronic pen 30 is transmitting the data signal, the control unit 67 causes the selection circuit 60 to select any one of the loop coils LC (usually the loop coil closest to the detected position of the electronic pen 30) according to the detected position of the electronic pen 30. And, the side switch information or the stylus pen ID transmitted by the electronic pen 30 is obtained from the decoding result of the signal obtained by the loop coil LC thus selected.

[0045] The control unit 67 is configured to detect the frequency of the reflected signal sent by the electronic pen 30 and acquire the writing pressure value sent by the electronic pen 30 based on the detected frequency. The control unit 67 is configured to detect whether the electronic pen 30 is in the hovering state or the contact state based on the writing pressure value acquired in this way.

[0046] return Figure 2 The USB communication unit 4 is a communication interface configured to be able to communicate with various external devices including the PC 10 and the smartphone 20 according to the USB standard, and is configured to establish USB-based communication with the external devices in accordance with the control of the controller 3 .

[0047] Here, the driver software is explained. When the handwriting tablet 1 is connected to an external device such as the PC 10 or the smart phone 20, the driver software (hereinafter referred to as the "driver") for the connected handwriting tablet 1 needs to be started on the external device side. In order to achieve this startup, a driver table that establishes a correspondence between the vendor ID representing the vendor of the handwriting tablet and the driver to be applied is stored in advance in the OS of the external device.

[0048] When the handwriting tablet 1 is connected, the OS of the external device uses a predetermined protocol to read the vendor ID from the handwriting tablet 1. Then, the OS determines the driver to be activated based on the read vendor ID and the driver table, and activates the determined driver.

[0049] When the driver to be started is determined but not installed in the external device, the OS of the external device automatically installs the driver, and when automatic installation is not possible, a display is displayed to urge the user to install the driver manually. Thus, the driver described in the driver table can be started eventually.

[0050] The PC 10 and the smartphone 20 are configured to use a driver in order to connect to the tablet 1 in accordance with the USB standard.

[0051] As the driver, PC 10 is configured to be able to use both the tablet driver DA provided independently by the supplier of the tablet 1 and the general tablet driver DB. On the other hand, regarding the smartphone 20, it is conceivable that some models are configured to be able to use both the tablet drivers DA and DB and some models are configured to be able to use only the tablet driver DB. In view of such driver response conditions, the controller 3 is configured to operate in a mode corresponding to the tablet driver DA (hereinafter referred to as "PC mode") when data is transmitted to the PC 10 through the USB standard, and to operate in a mode corresponding to the tablet driver DB (hereinafter referred to as "smartphone mode") when data is transmitted to the smartphone 20 through the USB standard. Since the corresponding drivers are different in this way, when the controller 3 operates in the PC mode and when it operates in the smartphone mode, from the external device side, it seems that different devices are connected.

[0052] The data transmitted by the controller 3 to the external device include the coordinates of the electronic pen 30 obtained as described above and various data received from the electronic pen 30. The controller 3 is configured to transmit these data to the external device via the USB communication unit 4 whenever the data is obtained. The external device performs processing such as pointer control, generation and rendering of stroke data based on the coordinates and various data thus supplied.

[0053] The memory 5 is a storage device configured to store various programs and data related to the operation of the controller 3. The operation of the controller 3 described in this embodiment is performed by the controller 3 (more specifically, Figure 3 The control unit 67 shown in the figure is implemented by reading out and executing the program stored in the memory 5.

[0054] Next, the PC 10 is configured to include a processor 14, a memory 15, and a USB communication unit 16 in addition to the display 11 described above. Figure 2 In, omitted Figure 1 (a) shows the keyboard 12 and the touch pad 13 .

[0055] The processor 14 operates according to the program stored in the memory 15, and is connected to the display 11, the memory 15, and the USB communication unit 16. The programs executed by the processor 14 include the above-mentioned tablet drivers DA and DB in addition to the OS 17 (e.g., Miscosoft Windows (registered trademark)) of the PC 10.

[0056] The memory 15 stores various programs and data related to the operation of the processor 14 and also stores coordinate data received from the tablet 1. The processor 14 controls the pointer, generates and renders stroke data based on the coordinates and various data sequentially written from the tablet 1 to the memory 15.

[0057] The USB communication unit 16 is a communication interface configured to be able to communicate with various external devices including the tablet 1 according to the USB standard, and is configured to establish USB-based communication with the external devices including the tablet 1 according to the control of the processor 14 .

[0058] Next, the smartphone 20 is configured to include a processor 24 , a memory 25 , and a USB communication unit 26 in addition to the above-mentioned touch screen 21 .

[0059] The processor 24 is a processor that operates according to the program stored in the memory 25, and is connected to the touch screen 21, the memory 25, and the USB communication unit 26. The program executed by the processor 24 includes the above-mentioned tablet driver DB in addition to the OS 27 (e.g., Android (registered trademark)) of the smartphone 20. Depending on the model of the smartphone 20, a tablet driver DA may also be further included.

[0060] The memory 25 not only stores various programs and data related to the operation of the processor 24, but also stores coordinates and various data received from the handwriting tablet 1. The processor 24 performs processing such as pointer control, stroke data generation and rendering based on the coordinates and various data sequentially written from the handwriting tablet 1 to the memory 25.

[0061] The USB communication unit 26 is a communication interface configured to be able to communicate with various external devices including the tablet 1 according to the USB standard, and is configured to establish USB-based communication with the external devices including the tablet 1 under the control of the processor 24 .

[0062] Figure 4 25. As shown in the figure, in the driver table, the product ID and vendor ID of the external device are associated with the driver to be activated and stored. The product ID is identification information indicating the type of the external device (such as a handwriting tablet), and the vendor ID is identification information indicating the vendor (manufacturer) of the external device.

[0063] The processors 14 and 24 are respectively configured to first request the external device to send a product ID and a vendor ID when starting communication with the external device via the USB communication units 16 and 26. Then, based on the product ID and vendor ID sent from the external device, the processors 14 and 24 refer to the driver table to determine the driver to be started.

[0064] exist Figure 4 In the driver table, the tablet driver DA is associated with the combination of the product ID representing the tablet and the vendor ID representing the vendor A. Such a driver associated with a specific vendor ID is typically a unique driver of the vendor. In addition, the tablet driver DB is associated with the product ID representing the tablet without specifying the vendor ID. Such a driver that is not associated with a specific vendor ID is typically a general-purpose driver. Figure 4 According to the driver table, processors 14 and 24 apply the tablet driver DA to the tablet 1 of vendor A, and apply the tablet driver DB to the tablet 1 of vendor other than vendor A.

[0065] Here, when the driver determined by referring to the driver table is not installed in the PC 10, the processor 14 is configured to automatically download and install the driver from the server computer, for example, and then apply the driver. When the driver cannot be downloaded from the server computer, the processor 14 displays a message to urge the user to install the driver.

[0066] On the other hand, the processor 24 of the smartphone 20 operating with the OS 27 determines to start the tablet driver DA based on the driver table. However, since the tablet driver DA is not installed in the smartphone 20, the tablet driver DA cannot be started. Therefore, the smartphone 20 and the tablet 1 cannot communicate.

[0067] In order to enable the smartphone 20 and the tablet 1 to communicate, the smartphone 20 may activate the tablet driver DB. In this embodiment, the activation of the tablet driver DB is realized by a process on the tablet 1 side. The details of this process will be described later.

[0068] Figure 51 is a diagram showing specific connection wiring between the USB communication unit 4 of the tablet 1 and the USB communication unit 16 of the PC 10 and the USB communication unit 26 of the smartphone 20. As shown in the figure, the USB communication unit 4 and the USB communication units 16 and 26 are connected via four wirings, namely, signal wirings D+ and D- and power wirings VH and VL. When the USB communication unit 16 or the USB communication unit 26 is connected to the USB communication unit 4, first, the potential of the signal wiring D+ is raised (pulled up) by a predetermined value by the controller 3 of the tablet 1. The processors 14 and 24 are configured to detect that an external device is connected to the USB communication units 16 and 26 by detecting the pull-up. The processors 14 and 24 that detect that an external device is connected to the USB communication units 16 and 26 start communication with the external device using the signal wirings D+ and D-, and start supplying power to the external device through the power wirings VH and VL.

[0069] Next, the processing on the handwriting tablet 1 side for enabling the handwriting tablet 1 of the vendor A to communicate with the smartphone 20 will be described in detail with reference to the processing sequence between the PC 10 and the smartphone 20 , respectively, and the handwriting tablet 1 .

[0070] Figure 6 1 is a diagram showing a processing sequence between the PC 10 and the handwriting tablet 1. The processing of the PC 10 shown below is performed by Figure 2 The processor 14 shown in the figure is executed, and the processing of the handwriting tablet 1 is performed by Figure 2 The controller 3 shown executes.

[0071] like Figure 6 As shown, first, the tablet 1 detects that the USB cable C is connected to the USB communication unit 4 (step S1), and then pulls up the signal wiring D+ (step S2). The tablet 1 then starts communication in the above-mentioned PC mode (a mode corresponding to the tablet driver DA) (step S3).

[0072] When the PC 10 receives the signal wiring D+ being pulled up in step S2 and detects the pull-up of the signal wiring D+ (step S20), it transmits a GetDeviceDescriptor command for requesting the transmission of the product ID and the vendor ID to the tablet 1 using the signal wirings D+ and D- (step S21). The tablet 1 receiving the command transmits a response DeviceDescriptor including the product ID indicating the tablet and the vendor ID indicating the vendor A (step S4).

[0073] The PC 10 that receives the response refers to Figure 4The driver table shown in FIG. 2 determines the tablet driver DA to be applied (step S22 ). As described above, the tablet driver DA can be used in the PC 10 , so the PC 10 actually activates the determined tablet driver DA and starts communication (step S23 ).

[0074] On the other hand, the handwriting tablet 1 determines whether the OS of the external device of the communication partner is OS27 by analyzing the transmission and reception of the GetDeviceDescriptor command and the response DeviceDescriptor and other communication modes (step S5). Figure 6 In the case where the external device of the communication partner is PC10, the result of the determination becomes negative. In this case, the handwriting tablet 1 continues to communicate based on the PC mode. Since PC10 also performs communication based on the handwriting tablet driver DA, the communication between PC10 and the handwriting tablet 1 is performed without any problem in this state.

[0075] then, Figure 7 1 is a diagram showing a processing sequence between the smartphone 20 and the handwriting tablet 1. The processing of the smartphone 20 shown below is performed by Figure 2 The processor 24 shown in FIG. 1 is executed, and the processing of the handwriting tablet 1 is performed by Figure 2 The controller 3 shown executes.

[0076] The processing of steps S1 to S5 and steps S20 to S22 is Figure 6 The processing shown is the same. In step S22, the smartphone 20 that has decided to activate the tablet driver DA is determined to be unable to communicate because the tablet driver DA does not exist in the smartphone 20 (step S24). As a result, the communication between the smartphone 20 and the tablet 1 is temporarily terminated.

[0077] On the other hand, since the external device of the communication partner is the smartphone 20 operating on the OS 27, the result of the determination in step S5 is Figure 7 In this case, the tablet 1 temporarily disconnects the connection between the USB communication unit 4 and the external device and switches to the communication process in the above-mentioned smartphone mode (the mode corresponding to the tablet driver DB). Specifically, the potential of the signal wiring D+ is first pulled down to below a specified value (pull down. Step S6), and then the potential of the signal wiring D+ is pulled up again (step S7). As a result, the smartphone 20 detects the pull-up of the signal wiring D+ again (step S25), and sends the GetDeviceDescriptor command to the tablet 1 again (step S26).

[0078] After step S7 , the tablet 1 starts communication in the smartphone mode (step S8 ), and then sends a response DeviceDescriptor including a product ID indicating the tablet and a vendor ID indicating vendor B according to the instruction sent in step S26 (step S9 ).

[0079] according to Figure 4 The driver table shown in the figure shows that the vendor ID of vendor B is associated with the tablet driver DB. Therefore, the smartphone 20, which receives the response DeviceDescriptor including the vendor ID of vendor B, determines the tablet driver DB to be applied (step S27). Since the tablet driver DB can also be used in the smartphone 20, the smartphone 20 actually starts the determined tablet driver DB (step S28) and performs communication with the tablet 1.

[0080] According to the handwriting tablet 1 of the present embodiment, the handwriting tablet 1 of the vendor A and the smartphone 20 can communicate with each other through processing on the handwriting tablet 1 side.

[0081] As described above, according to this embodiment, the handwriting tablet 1 can operate in a PC mode corresponding to a vendor's own driver when transmitting data to a PC 10 operating on an OS 17 of Microsoft Windows (registered trademark), and can operate in a smartphone mode corresponding to a universal driver different from the vendor's own driver when transmitting data to a smartphone 20 operating on an OS 27 of Android (registered trademark).

[0082] Therefore, the tablet 1 can communicate with both the PC 10 running on the Microsoft Windows (registered trademark) OS 17 and the smartphone 20 running on the Android (registered trademark) OS 27, so it can be said that the tablet 1 that can cope with a multi-device, multi-OS environment can be provided. In addition, the following situation can be avoided: although the specification of the smartphone 20 cannot install the vendor's own driver, since the vendor's own driver is stored in the driver table, the vendor's own driver is determined to be the target of activation, and as a result, the OS 27 of the smartphone 20 fails to activate the vendor's own driver, and the tablet 1 cannot be used.

[0083] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments at all, and the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0084] Description of symbols

[0085] 1. Writing tablet

[0086] 2 Touch Sensor

[0087] 3 Controller

[0088] 4, 16, 26 USB Communication Department

[0089] 5, 15, 25 Memory

[0090] 10 PC

[0091] 11 Display

[0092] 12 Keyboard

[0093] 13. Touchpad

[0094] 14, 24 processors

[0095] 17, 27 OS

[0096] 20. Smartphone

[0097] 21 Touch Screen

[0098] 30 Electronic pen

[0099] 31 Capacitor

[0100] 32 Inductor

[0101] 60 Selection Circuit

[0102] 61 Switching Circuit

[0103] 62 Amplifier

[0104] 63 Detection Circuit

[0105] 64 Low pass filter

[0106] 65 Sample and hold circuit

[0107] 66 Analog-to-digital conversion circuit

[0108] 67 Control Department

[0109] 68 Oscillator

[0110] 69 Current Driver

[0111] - USB cable

[0112] D+, D- signal wiring

[0113] DA, DB tablet driver

[0114] LC, X1~X 40 、Y1~Y 40Toroidal Coil

[0115] VH, VL power supply wiring.

Claims

1. An input device, comprising: a communication interface configured to communicate with a first external device and a second external device different from the first external device; and The controller is composed of: after the communication interface is connected to the second external device, controlling the communication interface to transmit information about a first driver capable of operating on the first external device to the second external device; controlling the communication interface to cut off communication with the second external device; and After communication with the second external device is cut off, the communication interface is controlled to transmit information about a second driver operable on the second external device to the second external device, wherein the second driver is different from the first driver.

2. The input device according to claim 1, wherein: In a case where the controller operates in a second mode different from the first mode, the controller is connected to the second external device which is a second device different from the first device, When the controller operates in the first mode, the controller is connected to the first external device as the first apparatus.

3. The input device according to claim 1, wherein: The information about the second driver includes product identification information corresponding to the second driver.

4. The input device according to claim 1, wherein: The information about the second driver includes vendor identification information corresponding to the second driver.

5. A method performed by an input device, the method comprising: after the communication interface is connected to a second external device, controlling the communication interface to transmit information about the first driver operable on the first external device to the second external device; and controlling the communication interface to cut off communication with the second external device; and After communication with the second external device is cut off, the communication interface is controlled to transmit information about a second driver operable on the second external device to the second external device, wherein the second driver is different from the first driver.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: When the controller of the input device operates in a second mode different from the first mode, the controller of the input device is connected to the second external device which is a second device different from the first device, wherein when the controller of the input device operates in the first mode, the controller of the input device is connected to the first external device which is the first device.

7. The method according to claim 5, The information about the second driver includes product identification information corresponding to the second driver.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The information about the second driver includes vendor identification information corresponding to the second driver.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause an input device to: after the communication interface is connected to a second external device, controlling the communication interface to transmit information about the first driver operable on the first external device to the second external device; controlling the communication interface to cut off communication with the second external device; and After communication with the second external device is cut off, the communication interface is controlled to transmit information about a second driver operable on the second external device to the second external device, wherein the second driver is different from the first driver.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein: When executed by the processor, the instructions cause the input device to: When the controller of the input device operates in a second mode different from the first mode, the controller of the input device is connected to the first external device which is a first device different from the second device, wherein when the controller of the input device operates in the first mode, the controller of the input device is connected to the first external device which is the first device.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the information about the second drive includes product identification information corresponding to the second drive.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the information about the second driver includes vendor identification information corresponding to the second driver.

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