Processor for controlling input by electronic pen and computer-implemented method for use with electronic pen - Patents.com

Abstract

To prevent processing for drawing by an electronic pen 2 from being interrupted, against an intention of a user.SOLUTION: An electronic pen includes a side switch provided on a side surface, and a contact information acquisition unit which acquires contact information indicating whether or not a pen tip of the electronic pen is in contact with a panel. A processor receives data including switch information indicating a depressed state of the side switch (step S20), determines whether or not the pen tip is in contact with the panel on the basis of the contact information (step S24), and outputs the switch information when it is determined that the pen tip is not in contact with the panel, however, disables a value of the switch information when it is determined that the pen tip is in contact with the panel (step S26).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processor for controlling input by an electronic pen, and to a computer-implemented method for use with an electronic pen. [Background technology]

[0002] Electronic pens having switches such as a side switch and a tail switch are known. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of this type of electronic pen. The document describes the use of a side switch to achieve the same functions as the left click and right click of a mouse. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-033542 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, the side switch of an electronic pen is usually provided at a position where the index finger of a user holding the electronic pen touches it. This is done to make it easier to press while holding the electronic pen, but since this switch does not exist in traditional stationery such as ballpoint pens and pencils, users who are not accustomed to electronic pens may unintentionally touch the side switch with their index finger while writing. This causes functions such as left click and right click to be activated, resulting in the sudden selection of a stroke line while writing, or other interruption of the drawing process, and therefore improvement was required.

[0005] Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide a processor and a method capable of preventing drawing processing from being interrupted against the user's will. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The processor according to the present invention is a processor for controlling input by an electronic pen, which includes a side switch provided on the side of the electronic pen and a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information indicating whether or not the tip of the electronic pen is in contact with a panel, and which acquires switch information indicating the pressed state of the side switch, determines whether or not the tip of the pen is in contact with the panel based on the contact information, outputs the switch information if it is determined that the tip of the pen is not in contact with the panel, and invalidates the value of the switch information if it is determined that the tip of the pen is in contact with the panel.

[0007] The method according to the present invention is a method executed by a computer used together with an electronic pen, and includes the steps of: executing a setting tool by the computer to set a case in which a value of switch information indicating a pressed state of a side switch provided on a side of the electronic pen is invalidated; and invalidating the value of the switch information by the computer when the tip of the electronic pen is in contact with a panel and the setting tool is set to invalidate the value of the switch information when the tip of the electronic pen is in contact with the panel. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, the function corresponding to the side switch is not activated while the pen tip is in contact with the panel while drawing, thereby making it possible to prevent the drawing process from being interrupted against the user's intention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing the configuration of a position detection system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the internal configuration of an electronic pen 2. [Diagram 2] 13 is a diagram showing a property screen of the electronic device 3 displayed on the display 32 by the device driver 34. FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a process flow diagram showing a setting process executed by a device driver 34 included in the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 3 is a process flow diagram showing a pen input process executed by a device driver 34 included in the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a process flow diagram showing a pen input process executed by a touch controller 31 included in a position detection system 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a process flow diagram showing pen input processing executed by a processor 26 of an electronic pen 2 included in a position detection system 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] 1(a) is a diagram showing the configuration of a position detection system 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the position detection system 1 includes an electronic pen 2 and an electronic device 3 which is a position detection device that detects the electronic pen 2.

[0012] The electronic device 3 is a computer having a touch surface 3a, such as a tablet computer or a digitizer. The electronic device 3 includes a sensor 30 disposed directly below the touch surface 3a, a touch controller 31 connected to the sensor 30, a display 32 disposed overlapping the sensor 30, and a host processor 33 that controls each part of the electronic device 3 including these components.

[0013] The host processor 33 is a central processing unit of the electronic device 3, and is configured to read and execute various programs from a memory (not shown). The programs thus executed include the operating system of the electronic device 3 and various applications including a drawing application. Among these, the drawing application is a program for executing a process of generating digital ink based on the position and data supplied from the touch controller 31 and storing it in a memory in the electronic device 3, and a process of rendering the generated digital ink, generating a video signal showing the result, and supplying it to the display 32. The display 32 is a device that displays the video signal supplied from the host processor 33, and is configured, for example, by a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

[0014] In addition to the above, the programs executed by the host processor 33 also include a device driver 34 that controls the electronic pen 2 via the touch controller 31. The device driver 34 is a program that constitutes part of the operating system, and has the role of mediating communication between the drawing application and the touch controller 31, as well as accepting various user settings related to pen input by executing a setting tool shown in Fig. 2, which will be described later, and executing processing according to the settings.

[0015] The touch controller 31 is a processor that has a function of deriving the position of the electronic pen 2 on the touch surface 3a by bidirectionally communicating with the electronic pen 2 via the sensor 30, acquiring data from the electronic pen 2, and supplying the derived position and acquired data to the device driver 34 each time. The processor here includes a processing circuit realized by an integrated circuit such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The device driver 34 plays a role in transferring the supplied position and data to a drawing application. At this time, the device driver 34 also performs a process of changing switch information (described later) included in the data supplied from the touch controller 31 when a predetermined condition is satisfied. This point will be described in detail later.

[0016] The communication between the touch controller 31 and the electronic pen 2 is realized, for example, by an active electrostatic method or an electromagnetic induction method. When the active electrostatic method is used, the sensor 30 includes a plurality of x-side linear electrodes each extending in the y direction and arranged at equal intervals in the x direction, and a plurality of y-side linear electrodes each extending in the x direction and arranged at equal intervals in the y direction. On the other hand, when the electromagnetic induction method is used, the sensor 30 includes a plurality of x-side loop coils each extending in the y direction, and a plurality of y-side loop coils each extending in the x direction. Hereinafter, a signal transmitted from the touch controller 31 to the electronic pen 2 is referred to as an uplink signal US, and a signal (pen signal) transmitted from the electronic pen 2 to the touch controller 31 is referred to as a downlink signal DS.

[0017] The touch controller 31 is configured to transmit an uplink signal US at every predetermined frame period and receive a downlink signal DS at the interval of the uplink signal US. The uplink signal US has a role of notifying the electronic pen 2 of a reference timing for the transmission / reception schedule of the uplink signal US and the downlink signal DS (i.e., the transmission timing of the downlink signal DS and the reception timing of the next uplink signal US). The electronic pen 2 determines the transmission / reception schedule of the uplink signal US and the downlink signal DS based on the reception timing of the uplink signal US, and transmits the downlink signal DS and receives the next uplink signal US according to the determined transmission / reception schedule. The transmission timing and transmission duration of the downlink signal DS within the interval of the uplink signal US are specified in advance by the communication protocol.

[0018] When communication between the touch controller 31 and the electronic pen 2 is performed by an active electrostatic method, the electronic device 3 may be configured as a so-called "in-cell type" position detection device. In this case, one of the multiple x-side linear electrodes and multiple y-side linear electrodes constituting the sensor 30 also serves as a common electrode of the display 32 (an electrode for supplying a ground potential to each pixel in common). Therefore, the touch controller 31 cannot transmit the uplink signal US or receive the downlink signal DS using the sensor 30 at the timing of driving the pixels in the display 32. Therefore, the touch controller 31 is configured to obtain the timing of driving the pixels in the display 32 from the host processor 33, transmit the uplink signal US with a certain period determined by the pixel drive period as the frame period, set a plurality of time slots corresponding to the pixel drive intervals as the transmission interval of the uplink signal US, and receive the downlink signal DS from the electronic pen 2 using the time in each time slot.

[0019] The configurations of the uplink signal US and the downlink signal DS will be briefly explained. First, the uplink signal US is a signal modulated by a command indicating an instruction to the electronic pen 2, and is composed of a pulse wave (rectangular wave) obtained by spreading each transmission bit by a predetermined chip sequence (spread code). On the other hand, the downlink signal DS is a signal including a position signal for causing the touch controller 31 to detect the position of the electronic pen 2, and a data signal modulated by data to be transmitted to the touch controller 31. The data transmitted by the data signal includes normal data periodically transmitted for drawing, such as a pen pressure value (contact information) or switch information described later, and response data transmitted in response to a command. However, transmission of the position signal is not essential, and the touch controller 31 can also detect the position of the electronic pen 2 from the data signal.

[0020] 1(b) is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the electronic pen 2. As shown in the figure, the electronic pen 2 is configured to have a core body 21, a pen tip electrode 22, a pressure sensor 23, side switches 24a and 24b, a battery 25, and a processor 26. The core body 21 is a member that constitutes the pen shaft of the electronic pen 2. The tip of the core body 21 constitutes the pen tip of the electronic pen 2, and the end abuts against the pressure sensor 23. The pen tip electrode 22 is a conductor provided at the pen tip, and is electrically connected to the processor 26.

[0021] The pressure sensor 23 is a sensor that detects pressure applied to the tip of the core body 21. The pressure detected by the pressure sensor 23 is supplied to the processor 26 as, for example, a 12-bit writing pressure value. The writing pressure value has the property that it is 0 when the pen tip of the electronic pen 2 is in contact with a panel such as the touch surface 3a (hereinafter referred to as "in contact"), whereas it is 0 or more when the pen tip of the electronic pen 2 is not in contact with a panel such as the touch surface 3a (hereinafter referred to as "in hover"). Therefore, the writing pressure value functions as contact information indicating whether or not the pen tip of the electronic pen 2 is in contact with a panel such as the touch surface 3a. In addition, the pressure sensor 23 functions as a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information.

[0022] The side switches 24a and 24b are push-button switches provided on the sides of the electronic pen 2 and configured to be turned on and off by a user. The operational states (on and off states) of the side switches 24a and 24b are supplied to the processor 26 as, for example, 2-bit switch information.

[0023] The processor 26 is an integrated circuit that operates using power supplied from the battery 25, and has the role of executing various processes including receiving the uplink signal US and generating and transmitting the downlink signal DS. Specifically, the processor 26 receives the uplink signal US by detecting a change in the potential of the pen tip electrode 22, generates the downlink signal DS based on the received uplink signal US, and transmits the downlink signal DS by changing the potential of the pen tip electrode 22 based on the generated downlink signal DS. The processes performed by the processor 26 based on the uplink signal US also include a process of determining the above-mentioned transmission and reception schedule using the reception timing of the uplink signal US as a reference time.

[0024] The processor 26 is configured to be able to set various data from the touch controller 31 by the uplink signal US. This data includes, for example, an attribute BrushColor that determines the drawing color when a drawing application renders digital ink. In the third embodiment described below, this function is used to set the setting contents of a setting tool 46b described below in the processor 26.

[0025] 2 is a diagram showing a property screen of the electronic device 3 displayed on the display 32 by the device driver 34. The device driver 34 is configured to launch this property screen in response to a user instruction received by the electronic device 3 via an input device such as the electronic pen 2.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 2, the property screen includes an application selection box 40 and a setting content selection tab 41. The application selection box 40 is a box for selecting an application that uses the settings in this property screen. Fig. 2 shows an example in which all applications use the same settings. The setting content selection tab 41 is a tab for selecting one of a plurality of setting screens included in the property screen. Fig. 2 shows a state in which a setting screen 42 related to the electronic pen 2 is selected.

[0027] The setting screen 42 includes an illustration 43 of the electronic pen 2 and combo boxes 45a and 45b. The illustration 43 also includes illustrations 44a and 44b of the side switches 24a and 24b. The combo boxes 45a and 45b are provided corresponding to the side switches 24a and 24b, and are configured to allow selection of a function to be activated in response to pressing of the corresponding side switch. The contents of the functions that can be selected in the combo boxes 45a and 45b are the same, so the following description will focus on the combo box 45a.

[0028] When the user clicks or taps on the combo box 45a, the illustrated list box 46 is displayed. The list box 46 displays a list 46a of functions to be assigned to the side switch 24a and a setting tool 46b for setting cases in which the value of the switch information is invalid. Of these, the function selected in the list 46a is displayed in the combo box 45a.

[0029] The setting tool 46b has four options: "Follow application", "Disable", "Disable only when contact is drawn", and "Standard setting". Among these, "Standard setting" is an option for performing a process to disable switch information according to the standard setting of the device driver 34. The standard setting of the device driver 34 is either "Follow application", "Disable", or "Disable only when contact is drawn", and is written in advance into the device driver 34.

[0030] "Follow the application" is an option for leaving it up to the application without invalidating the switch information in the device driver 34. When this option is selected, the device driver 34 outputs the switch information included in the data supplied from the touch controller 31 to the application without processing it in any way.

[0031] "Disable" is an option for always disabling the value of the switch information in the device driver 34. When this option is selected, the device driver 34 always disables the value of the switch information included in the data supplied from the touch controller 31. The specific process for disabling the value of the switch information is not particularly limited as long as it results in the same state as when the side switch 24a is not pressed. For example, if the switch information is configured so that the value is 1 when the side switch 24a is pressed and 0 when the side switch 24a is not pressed, the value of the switch information may be forcibly rewritten to 0 and output to the application. Alternatively, the switch information may not be output to the application. Also, when the device driver 34 performs a process for generating an event according to the function assigned to the side switch 24a, the value of the switch information can also be disabled by not generating the event.

[0032] "Invalid only during contact drawing" is an option for invalidating the value of the switch information when the electronic pen 2 is in the above-mentioned contact state. When this option is selected, the device driver 34 first refers to the contact information (pen pressure value) included in the data supplied from the touch controller 31, and determines whether the electronic pen 2 is in contact or hovering state. Then, only when it is determined that the electronic pen 2 is in contact, the value of the switch information is invalidated. The specific process for invalidating the value of the switch information is the same as in the case of "invalid." When it is determined that the electronic pen 2 is in hovering, the device driver 34 outputs the switch information included in the data supplied from the touch controller 31 to the application without any processing.

[0033] Figures 3 and 4 are process flow diagrams showing processes executed by the device driver 34 included in the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment. Figure 3 shows a process for setting a case in which the value of switch information is invalid (hereinafter referred to as "setting process"), and Figure 4 shows a process for pen input by the electronic pen 2 (hereinafter referred to as "pen input process").

[0034] 3, the device driver 34 displays the property screen shown in FIG. 2 in response to a user instruction (step S10). As described above, this property screen includes a setting tool 46b for setting a case in which the value of the switch information is invalid. When the user presses the decision button on the displayed property screen (step S11), the device driver 34 stores the setting contents and supplies information required by the application, the touch controller 31, and the electronic pen 2 (step S12), and ends the process. In this embodiment, the setting contents of the setting tool 46b may not be included in the information supplied to other devices or processing units in step S12.

[0035] 4, the device driver 34 first receives the position of the electronic pen 2 and data transmitted by the electronic pen 2 from the touch controller 31 (step S20). The data thus received includes the above-mentioned contact information and switch information.

[0036] Next, the device driver 34 executes the process of steps S22 to S25 for each of the side switches 24a, 24b of the electronic pen 2 (step S21). More specifically, the device driver 34 first determines whether or not the corresponding side switch has been set to "disabled" in the setting tool 46b (step S22). The result of this determination is positive if "disabled" is set in the setting tool 46b, or if "standard setting" is set in the setting tool 46b and the standard setting of the device driver 34 is "disabled," and negative otherwise.

[0037] The device driver 34 that has obtained a negative determination result in step S22 then determines whether or not "disabled only when contact drawing" has been set in the setting tool 46b (step S23). The result of this determination is positive if "disabled only when contact drawing" has been set in the setting tool 46b, or if "standard setting" has been set in the setting tool 46b and the standard setting of the device driver 34 is "disabled only when contact drawing", and is negative otherwise. The device driver 34 that has obtained a positive determination result in step S23 further determines whether or not the state of the electronic pen 2 is in contact with the touch information received in step S20 (step S24).

[0038] If a positive determination result is obtained in step S22, or if it is determined in step S24 that contact is in progress, the device driver 34 determines to invalidate the value of the corresponding switch information (step S25) and moves the process to the next side switch. On the other hand, if a negative determination result is obtained in step S23, or if it is determined in step S24 that contact is not in progress, the device driver 34 moves the process to the next side switch without making the determination in step S25.

[0039] After executing the processes of steps S22 to S25 for all the side switches 24a, 24b, the device driver 34 outputs the position and data received in step S20 to the application (step S26) and returns to the process of step S20. However, if there is switch information whose value has been determined to be invalid in step S25, the device driver 34 executes a process to invalidate the value of the switch information in step S26. The specific contents of the process for this are as described above. That is, the device driver 34 may forcibly rewrite the value of the switch information to an invalid value, may not output the switch information, or may not generate an event corresponding to the function assigned to the side switch.

[0040] As described above, according to the position detection system 1 of this embodiment, the value of the switch information is invalidated by user setting while the pen tip of the electronic pen 2 is in contact with the panel during drawing, and therefore the function corresponding to the side switches 24a and 24b is not activated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the process for drawing being executed by an application from being interrupted against the user's will.

[0041] 5 is a process flow diagram showing pen input processing executed by touch controller 31 included in position detection system 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Position detection system 1 according to this embodiment differs from position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment in that processing to invalidate the value of switch information is performed by touch controller 31 instead of device driver 34, but is otherwise similar to position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment. Below, the processing executed in position detection system 1 according to this embodiment will be described, focusing on the differences from position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0042] 3, the setting contents of the setting tool 46b are supplied from the device driver 34 to the touch controller 31. The touch controller 31 stores the setting contents thus supplied and uses them when processing pen input.

[0043] 5, the touch controller 31 first transmits an uplink signal US via the sensor 30 shown in FIG. 1 (step S30), and then receives a downlink signal DS transmitted by the electronic pen 2 via the sensor 30 (step S31). Next, the touch controller 31 derives the position of the electronic pen 2 within the touch surface 3a based on the reception strength of the downlink signal DS (specifically, the above-mentioned position signal) at each of the linear electrodes or loop coils constituting the sensor 30 (step S32), and acquires data transmitted by the pen by demodulating the downlink signal DS (step S33).

[0044] After executing step S33, the touch controller 31 executes the process of steps S35 to S38 for each of the side switches 24a and 24b of the electronic pen 2 (step S34). The specific content of this process is the same as the process of steps S22 to S25 shown in FIG. 4. After executing the process of steps S35 to S38 for all the side switches 24a and 24b, the touch controller 31 outputs the position derived in step S32 and the data acquired in step S33 to the device driver 34 (step S39) and returns the process to step S30. However, if there is switch information whose value has been determined to be invalidated in step S38, the touch controller 31 executes the process of invalidating the value of the switch information in step S39 by the same process as in FIG. 4. This makes it possible to invalidate the value of the switch information according to the user's settings in the setting tool 46b.

[0045] As described above, the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment also invalidates the value of the switch information during drawing with the pen tip of the electronic pen 2 in contact with the panel due to user settings, so that the function corresponding to the side switches 24a and 24b is not activated. This makes it possible to prevent the process for drawing being executed by an application from being interrupted against the user's will.

[0046] 6 is a process flow diagram showing pen input processing executed by the processor 26 of the electronic pen 2 included in the position detection system 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The position detection system 1 according to this embodiment differs from the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment in that the process of invalidating the value of the switch information is performed by the processor 26 of the electronic pen 2 instead of the device driver 34, but is otherwise similar to the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment. The following describes the process executed in the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment, focusing on the differences from the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0047] 3, the device driver 34 supplies the setting contents of the setting tool 46b to the electronic pen 2 via the touch controller 31. The processor 26 of the electronic pen 2 stores the setting contents thus supplied and uses them during pen input processing.

[0048] 6, the processor 26 first receives the uplink signal US via the pen tip electrode 22 shown in FIG. 1(b) (step S40). This reception is realized when the pen tip electrode 22 approaches the sensor 30 while the processor 26 is performing a receiving operation continuously or intermittently.

[0049] The processor 26, which has received the uplink signal US, determines a transmission / reception schedule for the uplink signal US and the downlink signal DS based on the reception timing of the uplink signal US (step S41). The processor 26 then acquires transmission data including switch information and contact information (step S42), and executes the processes of steps S44 to S47 for each of the side switches 24a and 24b (step S43). The specific content of this process is the same as the process of steps S22 to S25 shown in FIG. 4.

[0050] After executing the processes of steps S44 to S47 for all side switches 24a, 24b, processor 26 transmits downlink signal DS via pen tip electrode 22 in accordance with the determined transmission / reception schedule (step S48). However, if there is switch information whose value has been determined to be invalid in step S47, processor 26 executes a process to invalidate the value of that switch information in step S48 by the same process as in Figures 4 and 5. This makes it possible to invalidate the value of the switch information in accordance with the user's settings in setting tool 46b.

[0051] Next, the processor 26 receives the next uplink signal US according to the determined transmission / reception schedule (step S48), and returns the process to step S41. After this, the processor 26 repeatedly executes the process from step S41.

[0052] As described above, the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment also invalidates the value of the switch information during drawing with the pen tip of the electronic pen 2 in contact with the panel due to user settings, so that the function corresponding to the side switches 24a and 24b is not activated. This makes it possible to prevent the process for drawing being executed by an application from being interrupted against the user's will.

[0053] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0054] For example, in the first embodiment, the device driver 34 (host processor 33) performs the process of invalidating the value of the switch information, in the second embodiment, the touch controller 31 performs the process of invalidating the value of the switch information, and in the third embodiment, the processor 26 in the electronic pen 2 performs the process of invalidating the value of the switch information. However, the process of invalidating the value of the switch information may be performed in other devices or processing units. For example, the process of invalidating the value of the switch information may be performed in an application executed in the host processor 33. In this case, in step S12 of FIG. 3, it is preferable to supply the setting contents of the setting tool 46b to a device or processing unit that performs the process of invalidating the value of the switch information from the device driver 34. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1 Position Detection System 2 Electronic pen 3 Electronic equipment 3a Touch Surface 21 Core body 22 Pen tip electrode 23 Pressure Sensor 24a, 24b Side switch 25 Battery 26 processors 30 Sensors 31 Touch Controller 32 Display 33 Host Processor 34 Device Drivers 40 Application Selection Box 41 Setting content selection tab 42 Setting screen 43 Electronic pen 2 illustration 44a, 44b Illustration of side switches 24a, 24b 45a,45b Combo box 46 List Box 46a List 46b Configuration Tool DS Downlink Signal US uplink signal

Claims

1. A processor for controlling input by an electronic pen, The electronic pen is A side switch on the side, a contact information acquisition unit that acquires contact information indicating whether or not a pen tip of the electronic pen is in contact with a panel, acquiring switch information indicating a pressed state of the side switch; determining whether the pen tip is in contact with a panel based on the contact information; When it is determined that the pen tip is not in contact with the panel, the switch information is output. when it is determined that the pen tip is in contact with the panel, invalidating the value of the switch information; Processor.

2. Executing a configuration tool for configuring a case in which the value of the switch information is invalid; invalidating the value of the switch information when it is determined that the pen tip is in contact with a panel and when it is set in the setting tool that the value of the switch information is invalidated when the pen tip is in contact with a panel; The processor of claim 1 .

3. the processor is configured to execute device drivers and applications; The device driver is configured to determine whether or not the pen tip is in contact with a panel based on the contact information, and when it is determined that the pen tip is not in contact with the panel, to output the switch information to the application, while when it is determined that the pen tip is in contact with the panel, to execute an operation of invalidating a value of the switch information. The processor of claim 1 .

4. The electronic pen transmits a pen signal including the switch information and the contact information; the processor is a touch controller that receives the pen signal via a sensor and outputs the switch information to a host processor, thereby outputting the switch information; The processor of claim 1 .

5. the processor is a processor built in the electronic pen, and outputs the switch information by transmitting a pen signal including the switch information; The processor of claim 1 .

6. the processor performs a process of invalidating the value of the switch information by forcibly rewriting the value of the switch information to an invalid value; A processor according to any preceding claim.

7. the processor performs a process of invalidating a value of the switch information by not outputting the switch information; A processor according to any preceding claim.

8. the processor performs processing to invalidate the value of the switch information by not generating an event corresponding to the function assigned to the side switch. A processor according to any preceding claim.

9. 1. A computer-implemented method for use with an electronic pen, comprising: Executing a setting tool by the computer to set a case in which a value of switch information indicating a pressed state of a side switch provided on a side surface of the electronic pen is invalid; a step of the computer invalidating a value of the switch information when a pen tip of the electronic pen is in contact with a panel and when a setting is made in the setting tool to invalidate a value of the switch information when the pen tip is in contact with a panel; The method includes:

10. receiving, by the computer, contact information from the electronic pen indicating whether a tip of the electronic pen is in contact with a panel; and determining, by the computer, whether the pen tip is in contact with a panel based on the contact information.

10. The method of claim 9.

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