Tablet input apparatus

• US 4,492,818 A
• Filed: 11/15/1982
• Issued: 01/08/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pentel Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Pentel Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Abe, Kiyomi
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHREYER, STAFFORD
• Application Number:
  US06/441,779
• Time in Patent Office: 785 Days
• Field of Search: 178/18, 178/19, 178/17 C, 340/365 S, 340/365 VL, 340/365 E, 340/365 C, 340/712
• US Class Current: 178/18.03
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03 Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form

Abstract

A tablet input apparatus having a tablet formed with a segment including at least one lattice point on a matrix comprising a group of conductors arranged in spaced relation along coordinate axes, wherein an input pen is placed in contact with a desired segment to thereby output said segment as a coordinate data. In the tablet input apparatus, when a scanning pulse supplied to adjacent at least two conductors is detected by one-time contacting operation of the input pen, the coordinate data is discriminated by either scanning pulse or no discriminating operation is made therefor but processing is made to provide a non-detection zone.

Claims

1. A tablet input apparatus comprising:

a tablet comprising a matrix having two sets of a group of conductors arranged in spaced relation along coordinate axes to define a plurality of lattice points, and a segment including at least one of the lattice points of said matrix, said segment being, as a separate key, associated with a symbol representative of said key;

a pair of scanning units respectively connected to said two sets of a group of conductors to sequentially supply scanning pulses to said each set of a group of conductors;

an input pen for detecting said scanning pulses from the desired said segment of said tablet and producing corresponding scanning pulse detection signals; and

control circuit means for supplying a control signal to each of said pair of scanning units and for receiving the scanning pulse detection signals from said input pen thereby to specify said segment selected by said input pen to output a coordinate data signal,

said control circuit means including a distribution control circuit operative when said input pen is placed in contact with a segment having at least two lattice points to detect scanning pulses supplied to at least two said conductors adjacent to said input pen to render at least one of the scanning pulse detection signals ineffective in specifying the selected segment, said distribution control circuit comprising a logical circuit actuated in cooperation with said control signal for controlling the passing of the scanning pulse detection signals.

2. The tablet input apparatus of claim 1 wherein said distribution control circuit includes a manual switch, and when said switch is changed-over to thereby place said input pen in contact with said segment having at least two lattice points, at least one of the scanning pulse detection signals is rendered ineffective.

3. The tablet input apparatus of claim 1 wherein said distribution control circuit further comprises a flip-flop circuit controlled by an external input signal in synchronism with said control signal, the output signal of said flip-flop circuit and said control signal cooperating to control said logical circuit.