Coordinate input apparatus

• US 5,684,277 A
• Filed: 07/27/1995
• Issued: 11/04/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Atsushi, Sato, Hajime, Kobayashi, Katsuyuki, Tokioka, Masaki, Yoshimura, Yuichiro, Yanagisawa, Ryozo
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shankar, Vijay
• Application Number:
  US08/508,326
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 178/18, 178/19, 178/20, 345/173, 345/174, 345/176, 345/177, 345/179
• US Class Current: 178/18.04
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0433 in which the acoustic waves are either generated by a movable member and propagated within a surface layer or propagated within a surface layer and captured by a movable member

Abstract

A coordinate input apparatus which can attain an accurate coordinate input operation, includes a sensor for detecting an input variation. The vibration is amplified, and an envelope detection circuit generates the envelope of the amplified vibration. A gate signal generation circuit receives the envelope and a second-order differential signal of the envelope generated by an inflection point detection circuit. The gate signal generation circuit attenuates the envelope and adds a predetermined offset to the attenuated envelope. The gate signal generation circuit compares the sum signal with the second-order differential signal to generate a gate signal. In the duration of the gate signal, a tg comparator detects, as a group delay time, a time up to the zero cross point of the second-order differential signal, and a tp comparator detects, as a phase delay time, a time up to the zero cross point in a predetermined order of a phase signal. An arithmetic control circuit calculates the coordinate position of a vibration input source on the basis of these delay times.

Claims

1. A coordinate input apparatus comprising:

a vibration transmission plate;

input means for inputting a vibration onto said vibration transmission plate;

vibration detection means for detecting at a plurality of detection positions an elastic wave vibration input to said vibration transmission plate;

envelope output means for outputting an envelope signal of a detection signal from said vibration detection means;

reference signal generation means for generating a reference signal by attenuating the envelope signal and adding a predetermined offset to the attenuated envelope signal;

base signal generation means for generating a second-order differential signal of the detection signal from said vibration detection means as a base signal;

gate signal generation means for comparing the reference signal and the base signal and generating a gate signal with a predetermined time width from a point where the base signal exceeds the reference signal;

group delay detection means for detecting an inflection point of the envelope signal during a duration of the gate signal, and detecting a group delay time of the vibration with reference to the detected inflection point;

phase delay detection means for detecting a zero cross point in a predetermined order of the envelope signal in the ON duration of the gate signal, and detecting a phase delay time of the vibration with reference to the detected zero cross point; and

calculation means for calculating an input coordinate position of said input means on the basis of the group and phase delay times.

2. A coordinate input apparatus comprising:

a vibration transmission plate

input means for inputting a vibration onto said vibration transmission plate;

vibration detection means for detecting, at a plurality of detection positions, an elastic wave vibration input to said vibration transmission plate;

reference signal generation means for generating a reference signal whose level increases or decreases in correspondence with a signal level of a detection signal from said vibration detection means;

base signal generation means for generating a base signal with a predetermined waveform on the basis of the detection signal from said vibration detection means;

gate signal generation means for comparing the reference signal and the base signal and generating a gate signal with a predetermined time width from a point where the base signal exceeds the reference signal;

delay detection means for detecting a predetermined point of the envelope signal during a duration of the gate signal, and detecting a delay time of the vibration with reference to the predetermined point; and

calculation means for calculating an input coordinate position of said input means on the basis of the delay time.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising envelope generation means for generating an envelope of the detection signal, and wherein said reference signal generation means generates the reference signal by attenuating the envelope and adding a predetermined offset amount to the attenuated envelope.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said delay detection means detects, as a phase delay time, a time interval from when the vibration is input by said input means until a zero cross point, in a predetermined order of the detection signal in the duration of the gate signal, is detected.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said delay detection means detects, as a group delay time, a time interval from when the vibration is input by said input means until an inflection point of the envelope in the duration of the gate signal is detected.

6. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said base signal generation means generates a second-order differential signal of the detection signal as the base signal.

7. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said base signal generation means generates a predetermined frequency band component signal included in the detection signal as the base signal.

8. A coordinate input apparatus comprising:

a vibration transmission plate for transmitting a vibration;

vibration generation means for generating a vibration at a predetermined period;

vibration detection means for detecting at a plurality of positions on said vibration transmission plate an elastic wave vibration input by said vibration generation means, and outputting a detection signal;

level generation means for generating a level signal which attenuates to substantially match with an attenuation characteristic of the vibration generated by said vibration generation means so that the level signal assumes a maximum value at a generation timing of the vibration by said vibration generation means, and assumes a minimum value not less than a predetermined level after an elapse of a longest vibration transmission time on said vibration transmission plate;

gate signal generation means for generating a gate signal by detecting a portion, which exceeds the level signal, of the detection signal;

measurement means for detecting a predetermined point of the detection signal in a duration of the gate signal, and measuring a delay time of the vibration with reference to the predetermined point; and

calculation means for calculating a coordinate position of said vibration generation means on the basis of the delay time measured by said measurement means.

9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said measurement means measures, as a phase delay time, a time interval from when the vibration is input by said vibration generation means until a zero cross point in a predetermined order of the detection signal in the duration of the gate signal is detected.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising envelope generation means for generating an envelope of the detection signal, and wherein said measurement means detects, as a group delay time, a time interval from when the vibration is input by said vibration generation means until an inflection point of the envelope in the duration of the gate signal is detected.

11. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said measurement means detects a zero cross point of a second-order differential signal of the detection signal as the predetermined point.

12. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said measurement means detects a zero cross point of a predetermined frequency band component signal included in the detection signal as the predetermined point.