Position detection method and passive pen

Abstract

[Problem] To improve the scan rate when a brush-type pen is used in a position detection device that performs position detection using an active electrostatic method and position detection using a capacitive method in a time-division manner. [Solution] A position detection method according to the present invention comprises: a step for performing, in a time-division manner, a first process in which the position of a pen 2 is detected by receiving a downlink signal transmitted by the pen 2, and a second process in which the position of the pen 2 and contact shape data indicating the contact surface shape of the pen 2 are detected by detecting changes in the capacitance values of a plurality of electrodes; and an integration step for integrating the position of the pen 2 detected by the first process and the position of the pen 2 detected by the second process as a sequence of positions of the pen 2, and associates the contact shape data detected by the second process with a brush-type pen position detected by the first process.

Description

Position detection method and passive pen

[0001] This invention relates to a position detection method and a passive pen.

[0002] Electronic pens that replicate the feel of writing with a brush by attaching a brush-like tip to the pen are known. Hereafter, this type of electronic pen will be referred to as a "brush-type pen."

[0003] Patent documents 1 and 2 disclose an example of a brush-type pen. The brush-type pen in this example is a passive pen that is the target of position detection using a capacitive method. The position detection device is configured to detect the change in capacitance that occurs on the touch panel due to contact of the brush tip of the brush-type pen, and to control the image display based on the shape of the region where the amount of the detected change is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold.

[0004] International Publication No. 2014 / 174770, International Publication No. 2014 / 174771

[0005] Incidentally, some conventional position detection devices using capacitive touch panels are configured to perform time-division multiplexing of position detection for active pens using an active electrostatic method and position detection for passive pointers (finger, passive pen, etc.) using a capacitive method. When using a brush-type pen, such as the passive pens described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in this type of position detection device, the frequency of position detection (scan rate) is halved compared to a position detection device that only performs position detection for passive pointers using a capacitive method.

[0006] Here, the active pen has the property of being detectable not only by the active electrostatic method but also by the capacitive method. Therefore, if we focus only on position detection, by configuring a brush-type pen as the active pen and detecting the brush-type pen using both the active electrostatic and capacitive methods, we can obtain a scan rate equivalent to that of a position detection device that only performs position detection of a passive pointer using the capacitive method. However, since the shape of the contact area of ​​the brush-type pen cannot be obtained with the active electrostatic method, this method cannot be applied to brush-type pens.

[0007] Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a method for detecting the position of a brush pen that can improve the scan rate when using a brush pen in a position detection device that performs position detection by an active electrostatic method and position detection by a capacitive method in a time-division manner.

[0008] Furthermore, while Patent Documents 1 and 2 state that "various thresholds that best express the type of brush-shaped stylus 9 can be set," conventional brush-type pens and position detection devices that detect their position can only set various thresholds at the manufacturing stage or by user settings, and it was not possible to adaptively change various settings of the application according to the type of brush-type pen being detected.

[0009] Therefore, another object of the present invention is to provide a position detection method that can adaptively change various settings of the application depending on the type of brush pen being detected.

[0010] Furthermore, some conventional position detection devices are configured to distinguish between a passive pen and a finger based on the area of ​​the region where the amount of change in capacitance exceeds a predetermined threshold (hereinafter referred to as the "contact area"). This is possible because the tip of a passive pen is generally thinner than a fingertip. However, since the tip of a brush-type pen can be thicker than a fingertip, the above-mentioned method of discrimination based on contact area cannot distinguish between a brush-type pen (which is a passive pen) and a finger.

[0011] Therefore, yet another object of the present invention is to provide a passive pen capable of distinguishing between a brush-type pen, which is a passive pen, and a finger, and a position detection method.

[0012] Furthermore, according to the configurations of Patent Documents 1 and 2, in order for a drawing application to perform drawing using the shape of the contact surface of a brush-type pen, which is a passive pen (hereinafter referred to as "contact surface shape"), data indicating the magnitude of the change in capacitance value for each coordinate is required. However, this results in a large amount of data, so there was a need for a technology that could accurately represent the contact surface shape of a brush-type pen with a smaller amount of data.

[0013] Therefore, yet another object of the present invention is to provide a position detection method that can accurately represent the contact surface shape of a brush-type pen with a smaller amount of data compared to the background art.

[0014] A first aspect of the present invention is a position detection method for detecting the position of a brush-type pen configured to capacitively couple with each of the plurality of electrodes arranged in a panel surface, using a sensor having a plurality of electrodes arranged in a panel surface, the method comprising: a first process of detecting the position of the brush-type pen by receiving a downlink signal transmitted by the brush-type pen using at least a portion of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes; a second process of detecting the position of the brush-type pen and contact shape data indicating the contact surface shape of the brush-type pen by detecting the amount of change in capacitance value at each of the plurality of positions in the panel surface, performed in a time-division manner; and an integration step of integrating the position of the brush-type pen detected by the first process and the position of the brush-type pen detected by the second process as a series of positions of the brush-type pen, and associating the contact shape data detected by the second process with the position of the brush-type pen detected by the first process.

[0015] A second aspect of the present invention is a position detection method, wherein, in the first aspect of the present invention, the pen-type pen is configured to transmit data using the downlink signal or short-range wireless communication, and the method further includes the step of receiving the data using the downlink signal or short-range wireless communication.

[0016] A passive pen according to a third aspect of the present invention is a passive pen that includes a pen tip electrode located at the pen tip, wherein the pen tip electrode is electrically floating.

[0017] The fourth side-position detection method of the present invention is a position detection method that uses a sensor having a plurality of electrodes arranged within a panel surface to detect a passive pointer including a finger and a passive pen according to the third side of the present invention, and detects the amount of change in capacitance value at each of the plurality of positions within the panel surface, and determines whether the detected passive pointer is the finger or the passive pen based on the distribution of the detected amount of change in capacitance value within the panel surface.

[0018] The fifth lateral position detection method of the present invention is a position detection device that uses a sensor having a plurality of electrodes arranged within a panel surface to detect a passive pointer including a finger and a passive pen according to the third lateral position detection method of the present invention, the device detects the amount of change in capacitance value at each of the plurality of positions within the panel surface, and determines whether the detected passive pointer is the finger or the passive pen based on the peak value of the detected change in capacitance value.

[0019] A sixth aspect of the present invention is a position detection method for a brush pen, which uses a sensor having a plurality of electrodes arranged within a panel surface to detect the position of a brush pen configured to capacitively couple with each of the plurality of first electrodes and the plurality of second electrodes, and includes the steps of detecting the amount of change in capacitance value at each of the plurality of positions within the panel surface, and approximating the contact surface shape of the brush pen, indicated by the detected amount of change in capacitance value, with one or more ellipses.

[0020] According to a first aspect of the present invention, it becomes possible to improve the scan rate when using a brush-type pen in a position detection device that performs position detection by an active electrostatic method and position detection by a capacitive method in a time-division manner.

[0021] According to a second aspect of the present invention, it becomes possible to adaptively change various settings of the application depending on the type of brush-type pen being detected.

[0022] According to the third to fifth aspects of the present invention, it becomes possible to distinguish between a passive pen, such as a brush-type pen, and a finger.

[0023] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, it becomes possible to accurately represent the contact surface shape of a brush-type pen with a smaller amount of data compared to the background art.

[0024] This figure shows the configuration of the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows the operation of the processing unit 23 and sensor controller 31 of the pen 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. This figure shows the intensity distribution of the downlink signal DS when the pen 2 is located at a certain coordinate. This figure shows the distribution of the change in capacitance value when the pen 2 is located at the same coordinate as in Figure 3. (a) is a figure showing the distribution of the change in capacitance value detected when the pen 2 is in contact with the panel surface, and (b) is a figure showing the contour of the peak obtained by cutting the two-dimensional distribution of (a) at a predetermined change amount. This figure shows the relationship between the spacing of the sensor electrodes 30X and 30Y and the minimum detection size R of the pen tip electrode 20. This figure shows the relationship between the diameter of an elastic conductive cylinder representing the pen tip electrode 20 and the major axis (major axis of an approximate ellipse) included in the contact shape data detected by the sensor controller 31 when the conductive cylinder is pressed against the panel surface. Figures (a) to (e) show the change in capacitance values ​​detected at the (n-2)th to (n+2)th sensor electrodes 30X when a conductive cylinder with a diameter of 1.5 mm is pressed directly above the nth sensor electrode 30X, using sensors 30 with spacings Wx and Wy of 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, 2.5 mm, 3.0 mm, and 4.0 mm, respectively. The results of the experiment shown in Figures 8(a) to (e) are plotted with the ratio of spacings Wx and Wy to the diameter of the conductive cylinder on the horizontal axis and the change in capacitance values ​​detected at adjacent sensor electrodes on the vertical axis. Figure 8 shows the structure of the pen 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 shows the model of the pen 2 used in the simulation according to the second embodiment of the present invention. (a) is a figure showing the peak values ​​of the change in capacitance detected when the value of A shown in Figure 11 is fixed at 5 mm (the thickness of a typical small brush) and the value of C shown in Figure 11 is changed to 1 mm, 2.5 mm, 3.7 mm, and 5 mm. (b) is a figure showing the peak values ​​of the change in capacitance detected when the value of A shown in Figure 11 is fixed at 10 mm (the thickness of a typical medium brush) and the value of C shown in Figure 11 is changed to 4 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm, and 10 mm. This figure shows the peak values ​​of the change in capacitance detected when the value of A shown in Figure 11 is fixed at 5 mm.Figure 15(a) shows the measurement results of the peak values ​​of the change in detected capacitance for the medium brush and small brush, which are pens 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and for a human finger, respectively. (a) is a figure showing the two-dimensional distribution of the change in capacitance detected when pen 2 is in contact with the panel surface, and (b) is a figure showing the heat map of the change in capacitance corresponding to the two-dimensional distribution in (a). Figure 15(a) shows the contour of the peak obtained by cutting the two-dimensional distribution at a predetermined change. (a) is a figure showing the cross-section of the tip portion of pen 2 according to the first modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a figure showing the two-dimensional distribution of capacitance detected when using pen 2 according to the first modification of the second embodiment of the present invention. (a) is a figure showing the configuration of the pen tip of pen 2 according to the second modification of the second embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the distribution of the change in capacitance obtained when pen 2 according to the second modification of the second embodiment of the present invention is in contact with the panel surface. Figure 15(a) shows the contact shape data generation process performed by the sensor controller 31 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. (a) and (b) are diagrams illustrating the process shown in Figure 19. This is a flowchart showing the contact shape data generation process performed by the sensor controller 31 according to the first modification of the third embodiment of the present invention. This is a flowchart showing the contact shape data generation process performed by the sensor controller 31 according to the second modification of the third embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram illustrating the determination of the tip and the base. This is a diagram illustrating the process related to steps S22 to S26 shown in Figure 22.

[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

[0026] Figure 1 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 according to this embodiment is composed of a pen 2 and a position detection device 3.

[0027] Pen 2 is a pen-type pen that combines the functions of a passive pen that supports position detection using a capacitive method and an active pen that supports position detection using an active electrostatic method. As shown in Figure 1, it is composed of a pen tip electrode 20, a core body 21, a pressure sensor 22, a processing unit 23, a power supply 24, and a short-range wireless communication unit 25.

[0028] The pen tip electrode 20 is an electrode composed of a bundle of conductive bristles and has an appearance and shape similar to the tip of a calligraphy brush. The pen tip electrode 20 is positioned at the tip of the pen 2 and is electrically connected to the processing unit 23. Although it is also possible to construct the pen tip electrode 20 from a conductive elastic material (such as rubber), it is preferable to construct the pen tip electrode 20 using a bundle of conductive bristles as described above in order to obtain the writing feel of a brush.

[0029] The core 21 is a rod-shaped dielectric, fixed to the pen tip electrode 20 at one end and in contact with the pressure sensor 22 at the other end. The core 21 plays the role of transmitting the pressure applied to the pen tip electrode 20 to the pressure sensor 22. The pressure sensor 22 is a sensor that detects the pressure transmitted through the core 21. The pressure detected by the pressure sensor 22 is supplied to the processing unit 23 as pen pressure data indicating pen pressure.

[0030] The processing unit 23 is an integrated circuit that includes a receiving unit for receiving an uplink signal used in the active electrostatic method, a transmitting unit for generating and transmitting a downlink signal used in the active electrostatic method, and a switch for switching the connection between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit and the pen tip electrode 20. The processing unit 23 is configured to perform the reception of the uplink signal, the transmission of the downlink signal, and the operation as a passive pen (the operation of electrically floating the pen tip electrode 20) in a time-division manner. In the initial state and when an uplink signal is received, the receiving unit is connected to the pen tip electrode 20, when a downlink signal is transmitted, the transmitting unit is connected to the pen tip electrode 20, and when operating as a passive pen, the pen tip electrode 20 is electrically floating (i.e., disconnected from both the transmitting unit and the receiving unit) by controlling the switch. In the initial state, the processing unit 23 waits for the reception of the uplink signal from the position detection device 3, and performs the above time-division operation after the uplink signal is received.

[0031] The uplink signal is a signal transmitted from the sensor controller 31 to the pen 2 via the sensor 30. It serves to notify the pen 2 of arbitrary commands and also to notify the pen 2 of the timing for executing the time-division operation described above. On the other hand, the downlink signal is a signal that includes a burst signal, which is an unmodulated carrier signal, and a data signal, which is a carrier signal modulated by data transmitted from the pen 2 to the sensor controller 31. The burst signal serves to cause the sensor controller 31 to detect the position of the pen 2. The data used to modulate the data signal may include the pen pressure data mentioned above and data requested by commands in the uplink signal.

[0032] The power supply 24 is a functional unit that supplies operating power to the processing unit 23 and the short-range wireless communication unit 25, and is, for example, a battery. The short-range wireless communication unit 25 is a communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication, such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), based on control from the processing unit 23. The processing unit 23 is configured to transmit a pen ID that is stored in advance at the factory via this short-range wireless communication unit 25. This pen ID may include vendor information and identification number of the pen 2, information regarding the shape of the pen tip electrode 20, etc. The processing unit 23 may also transmit the pen ID by downlink signal. Hereinafter, data transmitted from the pen 2 to the sensor controller 31 by downlink signal or short-range wireless communication will be collectively referred to as "pen data".

[0033] The position detection device 3 is an electronic device that supports both capacitive and active electrostatic position detection, and comprises a sensor 30, a sensor controller 31, a host processor 32, and a short-range wireless communication unit 33. Typical examples of the position detection device 3 are devices that support pen input and touch input on a panel surface that also serves as a display surface, such as a notebook computer, tablet terminal, or smartphone, but it may also be a device that supports pen input and touch input on a panel surface that does not have a display function, such as a digitizer.

[0034] Here, the capacitance methods described above include a mutual capacitance method implemented using multiple linear electrodes arranged in a grid, and a self-capacitance method implemented using multiple island-shaped electrodes arranged in a matrix. This specification describes an example using the mutual capacitance method, but the present invention is also applicable when using the self-capacitance method.

[0035] The mutual capacitance sensor 30 is configured with a plurality of sensor electrodes 30X that extend in the Y direction and are arranged at equal intervals in the X direction perpendicular to the Y direction, and a plurality of sensor electrodes 30Y that extend in the X direction and are arranged at equal intervals in the Y direction. The spacing between the sensor electrodes 30X and the sensor electrodes 30Y is set to be sufficiently small so that the pen tip electrode 20 can be detected by two or more sensor electrodes 30X and two or more sensor electrodes 30Y regardless of where the pen tip electrode 20 is located on the panel surface. Specifically, it is set to be less than or equal to twice the minimum detection size of the pen tip electrode 20 (the smallest diameter of the bottom surface that should be detected, assuming the pen tip electrode 20 is considered as a cylinder and its circular bottom surface is in contact with the panel surface). This point will be explained in more detail later.

[0036] The sensor controller 31 is an integrated circuit that uses the sensor 30 to perform position detection using both a capacitive method and an active electrostatic method in a time-division manner. When performing position detection using the capacitive method, the sensor controller 31 also detects the contact surface shape of the passive pointer within the panel surface and acquires data indicating the detected shape (hereinafter referred to as "contact shape data"). Furthermore, when performing position detection using the active electrostatic method, the sensor controller 31 also receives pen data transmitted by the pen 2 via a downlink signal. The sensor controller 31 is configured to sequentially report the detected position, the acquired contact shape data, and the received pen data to the host processor 32.

[0037] The host processor 32 is the central processing unit of the position detection device 3 and is configured to execute programs stored in a storage device (not shown). Programs executed by the host processor 32 may include the operating system of the position detection device 3, various applications including drawing applications, and various drivers that handle interfaces with external devices including the sensor controller 31.

[0038] The drawing application may implement a function of drawing an image showing the locus of the position of the pen 2. In this case, the drawing application plays a role of drawing an image showing the locus of the pen 2 by generating and rendering stroke data based on the position and contact shape data supplied from the sensor controller 31 and the pen data supplied from the sensor controller 31 or the short-range wireless communication unit 33.

[0039] Specifically explaining the rendering of the stroke data, the drawing application is configured with various settings regarding the rendering of the stroke data. This setting includes, for example, the drawing color, brush type (such as a brush pen, ballpoint pen, etc.), and is configured to be changeable not only by user operations but also by the pen data included in the report from the sensor controller 31 and the pen data received by short-range wireless communication. For example, when the pen tip electrode 20 is shown to be in a pen shape by the pen ID included in the pen data, the drawing application sets the brush type to a brush pen. Also, when a specific color is indicated by the pen ID included in the pen data, the drawing application sets the drawing color to that color. The drawing application arranges a figure (such as an ellipse) indicated by the contact shape data included in the report from the sensor controller 31 at the position included in the report from the sensor controller 31, and further performs processing based on the settings on the arranged figure to render the stroke data.

[0040] The short-range wireless communication unit 33 is a communication unit that performs short-range wireless communication, for example, Bluetooth (registered trademark), based on the control from the host processor 32. The short-range wireless communication unit 33 has a role of receiving the pen data transmitted by the pen 2 by short-range wireless communication and supplying it to the host processor 32.

[0041] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operations of the processing unit 23 and the sensor controller 31 of the pen 2 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the method of detecting the pen 2 by the sensor controller 31 will be described in detail with reference to this FIG. 2.

[0042] In the initial state, the processing unit 23 of the pen 2 performs a reception operation (denoted as "R" in FIG. 2) via the above-described reception unit. On the other hand, the sensor controller 31 uses a plurality of sensor electrodes 30X or a plurality of sensor electrodes 30Y to transmit an uplink signal US including a command for the pen 2 at a predetermined cycle. When the pen 2 is near the panel surface, the uplink signal US is received by the processing unit 23.

[0043] The processing unit 23 that has received the uplink signal US demodulates the uplink signal US and acquires the command from the sensor controller 31. Then, based on this command and the reception timing of the uplink signal US, it determines the schedule of its own operations. The schedule thus determined may include the timing of transmitting the downlink signal DS (denoted as "A" in FIG. 2), the timing of operating as a passive pen (denoted as "B" in FIG. 2), and the timing of receiving the next uplink signal US (denoted as "C" in FIG. 2). FIG. 2 shows an example in which the transmission of the downlink signal DS and the operation as a passive pen are each performed 5 times and 4 times alternately, and then the next uplink signal US is received, but the actual schedule is not limited to this example.

[0044] Further, the processing unit 23 generates a downlink signal DS based on the acquired command, and performs a process of transmitting it at the timing determined to transmit the downlink signal DS. The sensor controller 31 performs a reception operation of the downlink signal DS at each of the plurality of sensor electrodes 30X and the plurality of sensor electrodes 30Y at the timing when the processing unit 23 is transmitting the downlink signal DS. Then, based on the reception intensity of the burst signal at each of the plurality of sensor electrodes 30X and the plurality of sensor electrodes 30Y, it generates the intensity distribution of the burst signal in the panel surface, acquires the coordinates of the vertex as the coordinates of the pen 2 (hereinafter referred to as "pen coordinate P"), and demodulates the data signal in the most strongly received downlink signal DS to acquire the pen data transmitted by the pen 2. In FIG. 2, the pen coordinate P thus acquired is represented as P , P Ａ１ , ···.

[0045] When the pen is operating as a passive pen, the processing unit 23 electrically floats the pen tip electrode 20, while the sensor controller 31 performs position detection using a capacitive method (indicated as "TS" in Figure 2). Specifically, it supplies a position detection signal to multiple sensor electrodes 30Y, which are received by each of the multiple sensor electrodes 30X. When the passive pointer, including the pen tip electrode 20 or a human finger, is near one of the multiple intersections of the sensor electrodes 30X and 30Y, a portion of the position detection signal is absorbed by the passive pointer through the capacitance generated between the passive pointer and the sensor electrodes 30X and 30Y, causing the received intensity of the position detection signal received via that intersection and nearby intersections to decrease. The sensor controller 31 detects this decrease in intensity as a change in capacitance value. It then generates a distribution of the change in capacitance value within the panel surface and obtains the coordinates of its peaks as the coordinates of the passive pointer.

[0046] Here, the sensor controller 31 is configured to acquire the coordinates of the passive pointers that are within a predetermined distance from the pen coordinate P determined by the downlink signal DS received immediately before, as the new pen coordinate P. As a result of this processing, as shown in Figure 2, the sensor controller 31 acquires the pen coordinate P at both the timing of receiving the downlink signal DS and the timing of executing position detection using the capacitive method, and outputs it to the host processor 32 each time. In Figure 2, the pen coordinates P thus acquired are shown in chronological order. Ｔ０ , P Ｔ１ ...is how it is expressed.

[0047] FIG. 3 shows the intensity distribution of the downlink signal DS when the pen 2 is located at a certain coordinate, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the distribution of the change amount of the capacitance value when the pen 2 is located at the same coordinate as FIG. 3. However, FIG. 3(a) shows the distribution of the downlink signal DS in the x direction, and FIG. 3(b) shows the distribution of the downlink signal DS in the y direction. Also, FIG. 4(a) is a two-dimensional distribution of the change amount of the capacitance value within the panel surface, and FIG. 4(b) is an enlarged view near the peak shown in FIG. 4(a).

[0048] The coordinates of the vertex of the distribution shown in FIG. 3 and the coordinates of the vertex of the distribution shown in FIG. 4 are both (17.4, 28.1). This indicates that the same coordinates can be obtained by the active electrostatic method and the capacitance method. Therefore, it can be said that the pen coordinates P equivalent to those of the active electrostatic method can also be acquired by the capacitance method.

[0049] The host processor 32 integrates the series of pen coordinates P supplied from the sensor controller 31 as described above Ａ０ , P Ａ１ , ··· and a series of pen coordinates P Ｔ０ , P Ｔ１ , ··· in chronological order as a series of pen coordinates P for one pen 2. In FIG. 2, the series of pen coordinates P integrated in this way are represented as P ０ , P １ , ··· in time series. The host processor 32 generates stroke data based on the series of pen coordinates P integrated in this way.

[0050] When the sensor controller 31 detects the position of the pen 2 by the capacitance method, it also detects the above-described contact shape data (hereinafter referred to as "contact shape data D") at the same time. Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

[0051] Figure 5(a) shows the distribution of the change in capacitance value detected when the pen 2 is in contact with the panel surface, and Figure 5(b) shows the contour of the peak obtained by cutting the two-dimensional distribution in Figure 5(a) by a predetermined amount of change. After obtaining the distribution as shown in Figure 5(a), the sensor controller 31 cuts the peak indicating the position of the pen 2 by a predetermined amount of change and extracts the contour of the peak on the cut surface. As shown in Figure 5(b), the contour derived by the sensor controller 31 is represented by a group of points arranged along the contour. This group of points could be used as contact shape data D, but if that were to happen the data size of the contact shape data D would become too large, so the sensor controller 31 is configured to approximate the derived contour with an ellipse. In this case the contact shape data D is a set of data for the center, major axis, minor axis, and slope of the ellipse obtained by approximation, and the sensor controller 31 outputs the acquired contact shape data D together with the simultaneously acquired pen position P to the host processor 32. In Figure 2, the contact shape data D thus acquired is shown in time series D ０ , D １ ...is how it is expressed.

[0052] Upon receiving contact shape data D along with the pen position P, the host processor 32 generates stroke data based on these and temporarily stores the supplied contact shape data D. Then, when the next time the pen position P is supplied, if contact shape data D is not supplied along with this pen position P (i.e., if this pen position P was detected by the active electrostatic method), the host processor 32 supplements the contact shape data D by adding the latest stored contact shape data D to this pen position P. In this way, as shown in Figure 2, once the contact shape data D has been supplied, the host processor 32 can acquire contact shape data D for all pen positions P, including those detected by the active electrostatic method. Therefore, even when detecting pen positions P using the active electrostatic method, which cannot detect contact shape data D, the host processor 32 can generate stroke data using the contact shape data D.

[0053] In this embodiment, an example is described in which the host processor 32 performs the process of integrating the pen coordinates P detected by the sensor controller 31 using the active electrostatic method and the pen coordinates P detected by the capacitive method as a series of pen coordinates P for a single pen 2. However, this process may also be performed by the sensor controller 31. Similarly, in this embodiment, an example is described in which the host processor 32 performs the process of associating the pen position P detected by the active electrostatic method with the contact shape data D. However, this process may also be performed by the sensor controller 31. Furthermore, when the host processor 32 performs these processes, they may be performed by a driver or by a drawing application.

[0054] Next, the spacing of the sensor electrodes 30X and 30Y will be explained in detail with reference to Figures 6 to 9.

[0055] Figure 6 shows the relationship between the spacing of sensor electrodes 30X and 30Y and the minimum detection size R of the pen tip electrode 20. As shown in the figure, the sensor electrodes 30X are arranged at intervals Wx, and the sensor electrodes 30Y are arranged at intervals Wy. Typically, Wx and Wy are the same value. As described above, the spacings Wx and Wy are set to values ​​that are no more than twice the minimum detection size R of the pen tip electrode 20.

[0056] Figure 7 shows the relationship between the diameter of an elastic conductive cylinder, which is used as a pen tip electrode 20, and the major axis (major axis of the approximate ellipse) included in the contact shape data detected by the sensor controller 31 when the conductive cylinder is pressed against the panel surface. However, the figure shows an example where both the spacing Wx and Wy are 4.5 mm. Although the same force is applied, there is variation because it is pressed by a human hand, and the figure shows the maximum, average, and minimum values ​​of the major axis obtained as a result of multiple trials for each diameter of the conductive cylinder.

[0057] As can be seen from the results in Figure 7, the smaller the diameter of the conductive cylinder, the greater the variation in the detected major axis. This is because the change in capacitance value detected at the sensor electrodes 30X and 30Y adjacent to the sensor electrodes 30X and 30Y closest to the conductive cylinder (hereinafter referred to as "adjacent sensor electrodes") becomes smaller. This point will be explained in more detail below.

[0058] Figures 8(a) to 8(e) show the change in capacitance values ​​detected at the (n-2)th to (n+2)th sensor electrodes 30X when a conductive cylinder with a diameter of 1.5 mm is pressed directly above the nth sensor electrode 30X, using sensors 30 with spacings Wx and Wy of 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, 2.5 mm, 3.0 mm, and 4.0 mm, respectively. As can be seen from these figures, with sensors 30 where spacings Wx and Wy are 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, and 2.5 mm, a sufficient change can be obtained at the (n-1)th and (n+1)th sensor electrodes 30X adjacent to the nth sensor electrode 30X. However, with sensors 30 where spacings Wx and Wy are 3.0 mm and 4.0 mm, respectively, the change at the (n-1)th and (n+1)th sensor electrodes 30X is almost zero. As can be seen from Figure 5(a), in order to properly obtain contact shape data, the change in capacitance value needs to be detected with a certain degree of spread. In situations where the change in capacitance value is hardly detected at adjacent sensor electrodes, as shown in Figures 8(d) and 8(e), it is not possible to properly obtain contact shape data.

[0059] Figure 9 plots the results of the experiments shown in Figures 8(a) to 8(e), with the ratio of the spacing Wx and Wy to the diameter of the conductive cylinder on the horizontal axis and the change in capacitance value detected by the adjacent sensor electrode on the vertical axis. From this figure, it can be seen that when the ratio of the spacing Wx and Wy to the diameter of the conductive cylinder is 2 times or less, a change in capacitance value can be detected even by the adjacent sensor electrode. Therefore, as described above, it can be said that by setting each of the spacing Wx and Wy to a value of 2 times or less the minimum detection size R of the pen tip electrode 20, appropriate contact shape data can be obtained.

[0060] As described above, the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment allows for the addition of contact shape data equivalent to that obtained by the capacitive method to the pen position P detected by the active electrostatic method. Therefore, the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment makes it possible to improve the scan rate when using a brush-type pen 2 in a position detection device 3 that performs position detection by the active electrostatic method and position detection by the capacitive method in a time-division manner.

[0061] Furthermore, according to the position detection system 1 of this embodiment, since the contact surface shape of the pen 2 is approximated by an ellipse, it is possible to represent the contact surface shape of the pen 2 with a small amount of data compared to the background technology and with high accuracy.

[0062] Furthermore, according to the position detection system 1 of this embodiment, the host processor 32 can acquire pen data transmitted by the pen 2 via short-range wireless communication or downlink signal DS, making it possible to adaptively change various settings of the application depending on the type of pen 2 being detected.

[0063] Furthermore, according to the position detection system 1 of this embodiment, since the intervals Wx and Wy are set to values ​​less than or equal to twice the minimum detection size R of the pen tip electrode 20, the sensor controller 31 can appropriately obtain contact shape data.

[0064] Next, a position detection system 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The position detection system 1 according to this embodiment differs from the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment in that, by improving the structure of the pen 2, it is possible to distinguish between the pen 2 and a finger from the peak value of the change in capacitance value detected during position detection using the capacitance method. In other respects, it is the same as the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment, so the following description will focus on the differences from the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0065] Figure 10 shows the structure of the pen 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the pen 2 according to this embodiment is composed of a housing 40, a pen tip electrode 20, a core body 21, stoppers 41 and 42, and a dielectric layer 43. The pen 2 according to this embodiment is also provided with the pressure sensor 22, processing unit 23, power supply 24, and short-range wireless communication unit 25 shown in Figure 1, similar to the pen 2 according to the first embodiment, but these are not shown in Figure 10.

[0066] The housing 40 is a hollow component that constitutes the exterior of the pen 2 and is made of a dielectric material such as plastic. When a user uses the pen 2, they usually hold this housing 40 in their hand. The core body 21 in this embodiment is a conductor and is electrically integrated with the pen tip electrode 20. In the first embodiment, it was explained that the processing unit 23 electrically floats the pen tip electrode 20 when the pen 2 is operated as a passive pen, but in this embodiment, when the processing unit 23 operates the pen 2 as a passive pen, it electrically floats the core body 21 in addition to the pen tip electrode 20.

[0067] The stoppers 41 and 42 are dielectric members for holding the core body 21 in the center of the hollow portion of the housing 40. The dielectric layer 43 is a layer of air that forms between the core body 21 held by the stoppers 41 and 42 and the housing 40, and is provided around the entire circumference of the core body 21 in a plane perpendicular to the pen shaft of the pen 2. The dielectric layer 43 may be made of a solid dielectric instead of air. Furthermore, it is preferable that the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer 43 is lower than the dielectric constant of the housing 40.

[0068] The following explains, with reference to the simulation results, that the structure of pen 2 as described above allows for the distinction between pen 2 and a finger from the peak value of the change in capacitance detected during position detection using the capacitance method.

[0069] Figure 11 shows the model of pen 2 used in the simulation. As shown in the figure, the pen 2 according to this model has two concentrically arranged cylinders 50 and 51 and a cylinder 52, and a cylinder 53 connected to one end of cylinder 50. The inner surface of cylinder 50 is in contact with the outer surface of cylinder 51, and the inner surface of cylinder 51 is in contact with the outer surface of cylinder 52. Cylinders 50 and 51 are made of dielectric material, and cylinders 52 and 53 are made of conductive material. The upper end of cylinder 53 is in contact with the lower end of cylinder 52, and through this contact, cylinders 52 and 53 are electrically integrated. The lower end of cylinder 53 is in contact with the panel surface 3a of the position detection device 3. Although not shown, a sensor 30 is located directly below the panel surface 3a. To explain the correspondence with the configuration of the pen 2 shown in Figure 10, cylinder 50 corresponds to the housing 40, cylinder 51 corresponds to the dielectric layer 43, cylinder 52 corresponds to the core body 21, and cylinder 53 corresponds to the pen tip electrode 20. Note that cylinder H shown in Figure 11 represents a human hand (conductor) gripping the housing 40 and is grounded.

[0070] Figure 12(a) shows the peak values ​​of the change in capacitance detected when the value of A is fixed at 5 mm (the thickness of a typical small brush) and the value of C is varied to 1 mm, 2.5 mm, 3.7 mm, and 5 mm. Figure 12(b) shows the peak values ​​of the change in capacitance detected when the value of A is fixed at 10 mm (the thickness of a typical medium brush) and the value of C is varied to 4 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm, and 10 mm. However, in the examples of Figures 12(a) and (b), both cylinders 50 and 51 are made of plastic.

[0071] As shown in Figures 12(a) and 12(b), the peak value of the change in detected capacitance decreases as the value of C decreases. When the value of A is constant and the value of C decreases, it means that the cylinders 50 and 51 become thicker. Therefore, the simulation results in Figures 12(a) and 12(b) show that the thicker the cylinders 50 and 51 become, the smaller the peak value of the change in detected capacitance becomes. Since human fingers are conductors, the peak values ​​of the change in detected capacitance in the case of C=5 in Figure 12(a) and C=10 in Figure 12(b) also represent the peak values ​​of the change in capacitance detected when touch input is performed using a human finger instead of the pen 2.

[0072] Figure 13 shows the peak values ​​of the change in capacitance detected when the value of A is fixed at 5 mm. From bottom to top, the figures show the cases where A = C (i.e., there are no cylinders 50 and 51), A - B = 2 mm and B = C (i.e., the thickness of cylinder 50 is 1 mm and there is no cylinder 51), A - B = 2 mm and B - C = 2 mm (i.e., the thickness of cylinders 50 and 51 is 1 mm each), and the case where plastic equivalent to the stoppers 41 and 42 shown in Figure 10 is inserted into cylinder 51. However, in the example in Figure 13, cylinder 50 is made of plastic and cylinder 51 is made of air.

[0073] As shown in Figure 13, when an air layer (cylinder 51) is provided between the cylinder 52 and the cylindrical 50, the peak value of the change in the detected capacitance value is significantly reduced compared to when no such air layer is provided. Furthermore, this reduction effect is maintained even when stoppers 41 and 42 are provided. Therefore, from these results, it can be understood that providing an air layer between the core body 21 and the housing 40 is effective in intentionally reducing the peak value of the change in the detected capacitance value.

[0074] Figure 14 shows the measurement results of the peak values ​​of the change in detected capacitance for each of the pens 2 according to this embodiment: a large brush, a medium brush, a small brush, and a human finger. As shown in the figure, in the pens 2 according to this embodiment, the peak value of the change in detected capacitance is smaller than that of a human finger, regardless of whether it is a large brush, a medium brush, or a small brush. Therefore, when using the pens 2 according to this embodiment, the sensor controller 31 can determine whether the detected object is the pen 2 or a human finger by referring to the peak value of the change in detected capacitance. Furthermore, from the results in Figure 14, it can be said that the sensor controller 31 can also determine the thickness of the pen 2 (specifically, the difference between a medium brush and a large brush or a small brush) by referring to the peak value of the change in detected capacitance.

[0075] As described above, the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment makes it possible to distinguish between the pen 2 and a finger from the peak capacitance value detected during position detection using the capacitance method. It also makes it possible to determine the thickness of the pen 2.

[0076] In addition to the method of referring to the peak capacitance value described in this embodiment, several other methods can be considered for distinguishing between pen 2 and a finger. Two of these methods will be briefly described below.

[0077] Figure 15(a) shows a two-dimensional distribution of the change in capacitance value detected when the pen 2 is in contact with the panel surface, and Figure 15(b) shows a heat map of the change in capacitance value corresponding to the two-dimensional distribution in Figure 15(a). Figure 16 shows the contour of the peak obtained by cutting the two-dimensional distribution in Figure 15(a) at a predetermined change amount. As shown in these figures, the distribution of the change in capacitance value detected when the pen 2 is in contact with the panel surface is a ring-shaped distribution in which the change is relatively large at the periphery of the contact area and relatively small at the center of the contact area. Since this ring-shaped distribution is unique to the pen 2 and is not seen with a finger, it can be said that the sensor controller 31 can distinguish between the pen 2 and a finger by connecting the two-dimensional distribution of the detected change in capacitance value at an appropriate change amount.

[0078] Figure 17(a) shows a cross-section of the tip portion of the pen 2 according to the first modification of this embodiment, and Figure 17(b) shows the two-dimensional distribution of capacitance values ​​detected when using the pen 2 according to this modification.

[0079] As shown in Figure 17(a), the pen 2 according to this modified example differs from the pen 2 according to this embodiment in that the central part of the bundle of bristles at the tip constitutes the pen tip electrode 20, while ordinary non-conductive bristles 26 are arranged around it. As a result of this configuration, when the tip of the pen 2 is in contact with the panel surface in a horizontal position, the capacitance value changes particularly large at the tip of the tip, and the change in capacitance value gradually decreases from the tip to the base. Figure 17(b) shows such a change in capacitance value. Therefore, when using the pen 2 according to this modified example, the sensor controller 31 can distinguish between the pen 2 and a finger by detecting the distribution of capacitance value changes as shown in Figure 17(b) (a distribution in which the amount of change gradually decreases in only one direction from the peak of the change).

[0080] In summary, three methods have been described, including the method according to this embodiment, for distinguishing between the pen 2 and a finger. The sensor controller 31 can also be used in combination with these methods. Furthermore, the sensor controller 31 may be configured to distinguish between the pen 2 and a finger by having the artificial intelligence learn the distribution of the change in capacitance value when the pen 2 is detected, and then inputting the newly detected distribution into the artificial intelligence.

[0081] Figure 18(a) shows the configuration of the pen tip of pen 2 according to a second modification of this embodiment. Pen 2 according to this modification is, for example, a line marker, and has a configuration in which conductive parts 20a, which are part of the pen tip electrode 20, and non-conductive parts 27 are alternately arranged on the surface that comes into contact with the panel surface (the upper surface in the figure).

[0082] Figure 18(b) is a schematic diagram showing the distribution of the change in capacitance value obtained when the pen 2 according to this modification is brought into contact with the panel surface. As can be seen from this figure, when using the pen 2 according to this modification, the sensor controller 31 detects a large change in capacitance value in the area where the conductive part 20a is in contact, while not detecting such a change in the area where the non-conductive part 27 is in contact. Therefore, it can be said that the sensor controller 31 can detect the pen 2, which is a line marker, by detecting this distribution of the change in capacitance value.

[0083] Next, a position detection system 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The position detection system 1 according to this embodiment differs from the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment in that the sensor controller 31 is configured to approximate the extracted contour using two or more ellipses. In other respects, it is the same as the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment, so the following description will focus on the differences from the position detection system 1 according to the first embodiment.

[0084] Figure 19 is a flowchart showing the contact shape data generation process performed by the sensor controller 31 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the sensor controller 31 first extracts the contour shape based on the change in capacitance value, as also explained in the first embodiment (step S1).

[0085] Next, the sensor controller 31 calculates the centroid of the contour shape based on the coordinates of each point that makes up the contour (step S2). The centroid calculated here is usually equal to the pen position detected separately. Then, the sensor controller 31 extracts the point that is furthest from the calculated centroid from among the points that make up the contour (step S3), and calculates the slope of the line passing through the extracted point and the centroid (step S4).

[0086] Next, the sensor controller 31 determines whether the tilt calculated in step S4 is 45° or more but less than 135° or -135° or more but less than -45° (step S5). If the result of this determination is positive, the sensor controller 31 cuts the contour shape with a straight line parallel to the x-axis passing through the center of gravity (step S6). On the other hand, if the result of this determination is negative, the sensor controller 31 cuts the contour shape with a straight line parallel to the y-axis passing through the center of gravity (step S7).

[0087] Next, the sensor controller 31 approximates each cut piece with an ellipse such that the centroid of the contour shape is at the center of each of the two ellipses, and the two ellipses obtained by approximation coincide at the cut boundary (step S8). The sensor controller 31 then outputs the centroid of the contour shape and the lengths and angles of the major and minor axes of each ellipse obtained by approximation in step S8 as contact shape data (step S9).

[0088] Figures 20(a) and 20(b) illustrate the process shown in Figure 19. The numerous rectangles shown in Figure 20(a) represent a group of points that represent the contour shape extracted in step S1. Point G is the "centroid" extracted in step S2, and point P is the "point furthest from the centroid" extracted in step S3. Furthermore, the line L1 is the "line passing through the extracted points and the centroid" shown in step S4, and the angle θ is the angle calculated in step S4. In this example, the angle θ is approximately -48 degrees, so the judgment result in step S5 is affirmative, and the sensor controller 31 executes step S6.

[0089] The semi-ellipse E1 shown in Figure 20(b) is the portion of the ellipse obtained by approximating the upper x-axis portion of the contour shape, and the semi-ellipse E2 is the portion of the ellipse obtained by approximating the lower x-axis portion of the contour shape, and the semi-ellipse E2 is the portion of the ellipse obtained by approximating the lower x-axis portion of the contour shape. In the example in Figure 20(b), the minor axis of semi-ellipse E1 and the minor axis of semi-ellipse E2 are the same length, but the major axis of semi-ellipse E1 and the major axis of semi-ellipse E2 are shorter. This difference reflects the difference in contour shape above and below the x-axis, and therefore, the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment can represent the contact surface shape of the pen 2 with higher accuracy compared to the first embodiment.

[0090] As described above, the position detection system 1 according to this embodiment cuts the contour shape into two parts by a straight line passing through its centroid G, and approximates each part with an ellipse. Therefore, it is possible to represent the contact surface shape of the pen 2 with less data than the background technology and with higher accuracy than the first embodiment.

[0091] Figure 21 is a flowchart showing the contact shape data generation process performed by the sensor controller 31 according to the first modification of this embodiment. As can be seen by comparing this figure with Figure 19, the sensor controller 31 according to this modification is configured to perform steps S10 and S11 instead of steps S3 to S8.

[0092] To explain in more detail, in step S2, the sensor controller 31 calculates the centroid of the contour shape and cuts the contour shape along a straight line parallel to the x-axis passing through the centroid and a straight line parallel to the y-axis passing through the centroid (step S10). As a result, the contour shape is cut into four sections.

[0093] Next, the sensor controller 31 approximates each cut piece with an ellipse such that the centroid of the contour shape is at the center of each of the four ellipses, and the four ellipses coincide at the cut boundary (step S11). After this, the centroid of the contour shape and the lengths and angles of the major and minor axes of each ellipse obtained by the approximation in step S11 are output as contact shape data, which is the same process as performed by the sensor controller 31 in this embodiment (step S9).

[0094] According to the processing performed by the sensor controller 31 in this modified example, an elliptical shape suitable for each of the four cut pieces can be obtained, making it possible to represent the contact surface shape of the pen 2 with even greater precision than in this embodiment.

[0095] Figure 22 is a flowchart showing the contact shape data generation process performed by the sensor controller 31 according to a second modification of this embodiment. As can be seen by comparing Figure 22 with Figure 19, the sensor controller 31 according to this modification is configured to perform steps S20 and S21 after step S2, and then, depending on the result, to perform steps S22 to S26 instead of steps S3 to S9 shown in Figure 19.

[0096] To explain in more detail, the sensor controller 31, which calculated the center of gravity of the contour shape in step S2, attempts to determine the tip and base of the brush by referring to the contour shapes of the previous several steps (step S20).

[0097] Figure 23 is a diagram illustrating the determination of the tip and base of the brush. The contact surface shapes K1 to K3 shown in the figure represent the change in the contact surface shape over time. In this example, the contact surface shape extends downwards in the drawing as time progresses. Such extension is characteristic of the beginning of writing with a brush, with the unchanging end at the top of the drawing being the tip and the extending end being the base. In this modified example, the sensor controller 31 attempts to determine the tip and base of the brush by detecting such changes in the contact surface shape from the contour shape of the previous few strokes in step S20.

[0098] Returning to Figure 22, the sensor controller 31, having completed step S20, determines whether the tip and base have been determined (step S21). If it determines that they have not been determined, it executes steps S3 to S9 shown in Figure 19. On the other hand, if the sensor controller 31 determines that they have been determined, it sets a straight line passing through the tip and base as the w-axis (step S22), and further sets a straight line perpendicular to the w-axis and passing through the center of gravity G as the z-axis (step S23). The sensor controller 31 then cuts the contour shape along the set z-axis (step S24).

[0099] Next, the sensor controller 31 performs an ellipse approximation process similar to step S8 shown in Figure 19 (step S25), and finally outputs contact shape data (step S26). In this case, the contact shape data differs from the contact shape data output in step S9 in Figure 19 in that it includes the positions of the tip and base determined in step S20. Because the contact shape data includes the positions of the tip and base, the shape shown by the contact shape data (the shape shown by the joining of two semi-ellipses) has directionality, so the drawing application can perform rendering processing according to the directionality.

[0100] Figure 24 is a diagram illustrating the process from steps S22 to S26 shown in Figure 22. In this case, since the tip and base are determined in step S20, the sensor controller 31 sets the w-axis and z-axis as shown in Figure 24. The elliptic approximation process in step S25 is performed using a cut piece of the contour shape cut along the z-axis determined in this way, and can be said to be an approximation by a directional ellipse. Moreover, as shown in Figure 24, the contact surface shape in this case is elongated from the tip to the base, so this approximation by a directional ellipse can improve the accuracy of the approximation compared to the case where the approximation is performed using a cut piece of the contour shape cut along straight lines parallel to the x-axis and y-axis. Therefore, it can be said that the sensor controller 31 of this modified embodiment can represent the contact surface shape of the pen 2 with even greater accuracy than in this embodiment.

[0101] In this modified example, an example in which the contact surface shape of the pen 2 is approximated by two ellipses, similar to this embodiment, is described. However, even when the contact surface shape of the pen 2 is approximated by one ellipse or three or more ellipses, it is of course possible to give directionality to the figure indicated by the contact shape data, similar to this modified example.

[0102] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited in any way to these embodiments, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its essence.

[0103] 1 Position detection system 2 Pen 3 Position detection device 3a Panel surface 20 Pen tip electrode 20a Conductive part 21 Core body 22 Pressure sensor 23 Processing unit 24 Power supply 25 Short-range wireless communication unit 26 Hair 27 Non-conductive part 30 Sensor 30X, 30Y Sensor electrode 31 Sensor controller 32 Host processor 33 Short-range wireless communication unit 40 Housing 41, 42 Stopper 43 Dielectric layer 50, 51 Cylinder 52, 53 Cylinder

Claims

1. A position detection method for detecting the position of a brush-type pen configured to capacitively couple with each of the multiple electrodes, using a sensor having multiple electrodes arranged within a panel surface, comprising: a step of performing in time division multiple times a first process of detecting the position of the brush-type pen by receiving a downlink signal transmitted by the brush-type pen using at least a portion of the multiple electrodes; and a second process of detecting the position of the brush-type pen and contact shape data indicating the contact surface shape of the brush-type pen by detecting the amount of change in capacitance value at each of the multiple positions within the panel surface; and an integration step of integrating the position of the brush-type pen detected by the first process and the position of the brush-type pen detected by the second process as a series of positions of the brush-type pen, and associating the contact shape data detected by the second process with the position of the brush-type pen detected by the first process.

2. The method for detecting the position of a pen according to claim 1, wherein the second process detects the positions of a plurality of passive pointers, including the position of the pen, and the second process obtains the position of the pen from among the plurality of passive pointer positions that is located near the position of the pen detected by the first process.

3. The method for detecting the position of a pen according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of: the pen being configured to transmit data using the downlink signal or short-range wireless communication; and receiving the data using the downlink signal or short-range wireless communication.

4. A method for detecting the position of a brush-type pen according to claim 3, further comprising the step of changing the settings of an application that renders the stroke data based on the data.

5. The method for detecting the position of a brush-type pen according to claim 4, further comprising the process of rendering the stroke data, which includes the process of placing a figure indicated by the contact shape data detected by the second process at the position of the brush-type pen detected by the first process and the second process.

6. The method for detecting the position of a pen-type pen according to claim 1, wherein the second process includes a process for detecting the contact shape data by determining the major axis, minor axis, and inclination of an ellipse based on the distribution of the amount of change in the detected capacitance value within the panel surface.

7. The method for detecting the position of a brush-type pen according to claim 1, wherein the pitch of the plurality of first electrodes and the pitch of the plurality of second electrodes are each less than twice the minimum detection size of the brush-type pen.

8. The method for detecting the position of a pen-type pen according to claim 1, wherein the integration step is performed by a sensor controller that performs the first and second processes.

9. The method for detecting the position of a pen according to claim 1, wherein the integration step is performed by a driver that receives the position of the pen detected by the first process and the position and contact shape data of the pen detected by the second process from a sensor controller that performs the first process and the second process.

10. The method for detecting the position of a brush pen according to claim 1, wherein the integration step is performed by a drawing application that receives the position of the brush pen detected by the first process, and the position and contact shape data of the brush pen detected by the second process, from a sensor controller that performs the first process and the second process.

11. A passive pen comprising a pen tip electrode positioned at the pen tip, wherein the pen tip electrode is electrically floating.

12. The passive pen according to claim 11, further comprising a housing and a core body which is a conductor electrically integrally formed with the pen tip electrode, wherein a dielectric layer is provided between the core body and the housing.

13. The passive pen according to claim 12, wherein the dielectric layer is provided around the entire circumference of the core in a plane perpendicular to the pen shaft.

14. The passive pen according to claim 12, wherein the dielectric layer is an air layer.

15. A position detection method for detecting a passive pointer, including a finger and a passive pen according to any one of claims 11 to 14, using a sensor having a plurality of electrodes arranged within a panel surface, the method comprising: detecting the amount of change in capacitance value at each of the plurality of positions within the panel surface; and determining whether the detected passive pointer is the finger or the passive pen based on the distribution of the detected amount of change in capacitance value within the panel surface.

16. The position detection method according to claim 15, wherein the detected passive pointer is determined to be the passive pen when the distribution of the change in capacitance value is ring-shaped.

17. A position detection method for detecting a passive pointer, including a finger and a passive pen according to any one of claims 11 to 14, using a sensor having a plurality of electrodes arranged within a panel surface, the method comprising: detecting the amount of change in capacitance value at each of the plurality of positions within the panel surface; and determining whether the detected passive pointer is the finger or the passive pen based on the peak value of the detected change in capacitance value.

18. The position detection method according to claim 17, wherein if the peak value of the capacitance value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the detected passive pointer is determined to be the finger, and if the peak value of the capacitance value is less than the predetermined value, the detected passive pointer is determined to be the passive pen.

19. A method for detecting the position of a pen, comprising using a sensor having a plurality of electrodes arranged within a panel surface to detect the position of a pen configured to capacitively couple with each of the plurality of electrodes, the method comprising: detecting the amount of change in capacitance value at each of the plurality of positions within the panel surface; and approximating the contact surface shape of the pen, indicated by the detected amount of change in capacitance value, with one or more ellipses.

20. The position detection method according to claim 19, wherein the approximation step is configured to approximate the contact surface shape of the brush-type pen with a directional ellipse.

21. The position detection method according to claim 20, wherein the direction is determined based on the starting position of writing by the brush-type pen, which is indicated by a series of changes in capacitance values ​​calculated over multiple consecutive times.

22. The position detection method according to claim 19, wherein the approximation step is configured to determine the major and minor axes of the ellipse based on the distribution of the change in capacitance value.

23. The position detection method according to claim 22, wherein the approximation step is configured to determine the major and minor axes of the ellipse based on the centroid of the region where the change in capacitance value is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

24. The position detection method according to claim 19, wherein the approximation step is configured to approximate the contact surface shape of the brush-type pen, indicated by the amount of change in the capacitance value, with a plurality of ellipses.

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