Pen-shaped handwriting input apparatus using accelerometers and gyroscopes and an associated operational device for determining pen movement
First Claim
1. An input apparatus comprising:
- a pen-shaped device having a tip end for contacting a surface and defining a pen shaft x, y, z coordinate system with the Z axis being defined by a pen shaft axis,three acceleration sensors for respectively detecting accelerations in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction of the pen shaft,three gyroscopes for respectively detecting the angular velocities around the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis of the pen shaft,an operational calculating section for determining the movement of said pen-shaped device on said surface, said operational calculating section comprising an initial inclination angle calculating section, an inclination angle variation calculating section, a handwriting inclination angle calculating section, a coordinates conversion calculating section, and a movement amount calculating section,wherein said initial inclination angle calculating section calculates the initial value of the inclination angle of the pen shaft in a gravity coordinate system having an axis extending in the gravity acceleration direction as the Z axis thereof, on the basis of the acceleration detected by said three acceleration sensors when said pen shaped device is grasped by an operator but not in a state of writing,wherein said inclination angle variation calculating section calculates the variation of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the pen shaft, on the basis of the angular velocity detected by said three gyroscopes when said pen shaped device is in a state of handwriting,wherein said handwriting inclination angle calculating section calculates the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the pen shaft, on the basis of the initial value of the inclination angle calculated by said initial inclination angle calculating section and the inclination angle variation calculated by said inclination angle variation calculating section,wherein said coordinates conversion calculating section converts the accelerations in the pen shaft coordinate system detected by the acceleration sensors to the acceleration in the gravity coordinate system, on the basis of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the pen shaft detected by said handwriting inclination angle calculating section, andwherein said movement amount calculating section calculates the movement direction and the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end over said surface, on the basis of the acceleration converted by said coordinates conversion calculating section.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A small-sized pen-shaped input apparatus precisely detects handwriting input. The apparatus compensates for the effects of the inclination of the pen-shaped input apparatus. An initial inclination angle calculating section calculates the initial value of the inclination angle of a pen shaft in a gravity coordinate system. The inclination angle variation calculating section calculates a variation value of the inclination angle of the pen shaft. A handwriting inclination angle calculating section calculates the inclination angle of the pen shaft when writing. A coordinates conversion calculating section converts the coordinate system of the acceleration from the pen shaft coordinate system to the gravity coordinate system. A movement amount calculating section calculates the movement direction and the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end. Finally, a handwriting detecting section detects a state of handwriting or non-handwriting.
322 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a tip end for contacting a surface and defining a pen shaft x, y, z coordinate system with the Z axis being defined by a pen shaft axis, three acceleration sensors for respectively detecting accelerations in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction of the pen shaft, three gyroscopes for respectively detecting the angular velocities around the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis of the pen shaft, an operational calculating section for determining the movement of said pen-shaped device on said surface, said operational calculating section comprising an initial inclination angle calculating section, an inclination angle variation calculating section, a handwriting inclination angle calculating section, a coordinates conversion calculating section, and a movement amount calculating section, wherein said initial inclination angle calculating section calculates the initial value of the inclination angle of the pen shaft in a gravity coordinate system having an axis extending in the gravity acceleration direction as the Z axis thereof, on the basis of the acceleration detected by said three acceleration sensors when said pen shaped device is grasped by an operator but not in a state of writing, wherein said inclination angle variation calculating section calculates the variation of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the pen shaft, on the basis of the angular velocity detected by said three gyroscopes when said pen shaped device is in a state of handwriting, wherein said handwriting inclination angle calculating section calculates the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the pen shaft, on the basis of the initial value of the inclination angle calculated by said initial inclination angle calculating section and the inclination angle variation calculated by said inclination angle variation calculating section, wherein said coordinates conversion calculating section converts the accelerations in the pen shaft coordinate system detected by the acceleration sensors to the acceleration in the gravity coordinate system, on the basis of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the pen shaft detected by said handwriting inclination angle calculating section, and wherein said movement amount calculating section calculates the movement direction and the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end over said surface, on the basis of the acceleration converted by said coordinates conversion calculating section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped apparatus main body which defines a longitudinal pen shaft axis and a pen tip end, an inclination angle detecting apparatus disposed on a writing surface for detecting the inclination angle of the pen shaft in a coordinate system having the writing surface as a reference surface, three acceleration sensors connected to said main body, said three acceleration sensors respectively detecting accelerations of said main body in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction in a pen shaft coordinate system having said pen shaft axis as the Z axis, and an operational calculating section comprising a coordinates conversion calculating section and a movement amount calculating section, said coordinates conversion calculating section converting acceleration in the pen shaft coordinate system detected by said acceleration sensors on the basis of the inclination angle in the coordinate system having the writing surface as the reference surface detected by an inclination angle detecting apparatus to acceleration in the coordinate system having the writing surface as the reference surface, and said movement amount calculating section calculating the movement direction and the movement distance of said tip end, on the basis of the acceleration converted by said coordinates conversion calculating section.
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8. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device which has a pen shaft axis and a tip end, three acceleration sensors for respectively outputting signals representing accelerations in the Xs-axis direction, the Ys-axis direction, and the Zs-axis direction of a pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) having a pen shaft axis as the Zs axis, three gyroscopes for respectively outputting signals representing rotational angular velocities around the Xs axis, the Ys axis, and the Zs axis, an operational calculating section including an initial inclination angle calculating section, an inclination angle variation calculating section, a handwriting inclination angle calculating section, an acceleration compensating section, a coordinates conversion calculating section, and a movement amount calculating section, said initial inclination angle calculating section calculating the initial value of the inclination angle of the pen shaft in a gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) having an axis extending in the gravity acceleration direction as the Zg axis thereof, on the basis of the acceleration detected by said three acceleration sensors during a non-writing state of said device, said inclination angle variation calculating section calculating the variation of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft, on the basis of the angular velocity detected by said three gyroscopes during a writing state of said device, said handwriting inclination angle calculating section calculating the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft, on the basis of the initial value of the inclination angle calculated by said initial inclination angle calculating section and the inclination angle variation calculated by said inclination angle variation calculating section, said acceleration compensating section compensating the accelerations on the mounting positions of said three acceleration sensors in the pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) relative to the acceleration at the pen'"'"'s tip end, on the basis of the mounting positions of said three acceleration sensors, the rotational angular velocities detected by said three gyroscopes, the inclination angle variation of the pen shaft calculated by said inclination angle variation calculating section, and the inclination angle of the pen shaft calculated by said handwriting inclination angle calculating section, said coordinates conversion calculating section converting the accelerations in the pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) compensated by the acceleration compensating section to the acceleration in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg), on the basis of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft detected by said handwriting inclination angle calculating section, said movement amount calculating section calculating the movement direction and the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end, on the basis of the acceleration converted by said coordinates conversion calculating section. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a pen shaft axis and a tip end, three acceleration sensors for respectively detecting the accelerations in the Xs-axis direction, the Ys-axis direction, and the Zs-axis direction of the pen shaft in a pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) having the pen shaft as the Zs axis, three gyroscopes for respectively detecting the rotational angular velocities around the Xs axis, the Ys axis, and the Zs axis, and an operational calculating section comprising a handwriting detecting section, an initial rotational angle calculating section, a rotational angle variation calculating section, a handwriting rotational angle calculating section, a coordinates conversion calculating section, and a movement amount calculating section, said handwriting detecting section detecting the state of handwriting or non-handwriting by detecting whether the pen'"'"'s tip end is brought into contact with the handwriting surface, said initial rotational angle calculating section calculating the initial value of the rotational angle of the pen shaft when the pen'"'"'s tip end, in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) having an axis extending in the gravity acceleration direction as the Zg axis, is brought into contact with the writing surface, on the basis of the acceleration detected by said three acceleration sensors, when said handwriting detecting section detects the state of non-handwriting, said rotational angle variation calculating section calculating the variation of the rotational angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft, on the basis of the rotational angular velocities detected by said three gyroscopes when said handwriting detecting section detects the state of handwriting, said handwriting rotational angle calculating section calculating the rotational angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft, on the basis of the initial value of the rotational angle calculated by said initial rotational angle calculating section and the variation of the rotational angle calculated by said rotational angle variation calculating section, said coordinates conversion calculating section converting the accelerations in the pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) detected by said acceleration sensors to the accelerations in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg), on the basis of the rotational angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft calculated by said handwriting rotational angle calculating section, said movement amount calculating section calculating the movement direction and the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end, on the basis of the acceleration converted by said coordinates conversion calculating section. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25)
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21. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a tip end for movement over a writing surface; three acceleration sensors; three gyroscopes, said acceleration sensors and gyroscopes being coupled to said pen-shaped device; and an operational calculating section for determining the movement of said pen-shaped device on said surface based on the output signals from said three acceleration sensors and three gyroscopes, said calculating section having a movement amount calculating section for calculating the movement direction and movement distance of said tip end and a movement amount compensating section for compensating the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end on the writing surface, as calculated by said movement amount calculating section, on the basis of the inclination formed between the writing surface and a gravity coordinate system having an axis in a gravity acceleration direction. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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26. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a pen shaft axis, acceleration sensors for respectively outputting the signals showing the accelerations of the pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) having the pen shaft axis as the Zs axis, gyroscopes for respectively outputting the signals showing the rotational angular velocities around the pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs), and an operational calculating section including an initial inclination angle calculating section, an inclination angle variation calculating section, a handwriting inclination angle calculating section, an acceleration compensating section, a coordinates conversion calculating section, and a movement amount calculating section, said initial inclination angle calculating section calculating the initial value of the inclination angle of the pen shaft in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) having an axis extending in the gravity acceleration direction as the Zg axis thereof, on the basis of the acceleration detected by said acceleration sensors when said device is in a state of non-writing, said inclination angle variation calculating section calculating the variation of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft, on the basis of the angular velocities detected by said gyroscopes when said device is in a state of writing, said handwriting inclination angle calculating section calculating the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft, on the basis of the initial value of the inclination angle calculated by said initial inclination angle calculating section and the inclination angle variation calculated by said inclination angle variation calculating section, said acceleration compensating section compensating the accelerations sensed at the mounting positions of said acceleration sensors in the pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) to the accelerations at the pen'"'"'s tip end, on the basis of the mounting positions of said acceleration sensors, the rotational angular velocities detected by said gyroscopes, the inclination angle variation of the pen shaft calculated by said inclination angle variation calculating section, and the inclination angle of the handwriting pen shaft calculated by said handwriting inclination angle calculating section, said coordinates conversion calculating section converting the accelerations in the pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) compensated by the acceleration compensating section to the accelerations in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg), on the basis of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the handwriting pen shaft detected by said handwriting inclination angle calculating section, and said movement amount calculating section calculating the movement direction and the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end, on the basis of the acceleration converted by said coordinates conversion calculating section.
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27. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a pen shaft and pen shaft axis, acceleration sensors for detecting accelerations in a pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) having a pen shaft as the Zs axis, gyroscopes for detecting the rotational angular velocities around the Xs axis, the Ys axis, and the Zs axis of said pen shaft coordinate system, and an operational calculating section including a handwriting detecting section and an initial rotational angle calculating section, said handwriting detecting section detecting the state of writing or non-writing by detecting whether the pen'"'"'s tip end is brought into contact with the handwriting surface, and said initial rotational angle calculating section calculating the initial rotational angle of the pen shaft when the pen'"'"'s tip end in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) having an axis extending in the gravity acceleration direction as the Zg axis is brought into contact with the handwriting surface, on the basis of the acceleration detected by said acceleration sensor, when said handwriting detecting section detects the state of non-writing.
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28. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a pen shaft axis, acceleration sensors for detecting the accelerations of the pen shaft in a pen shaft coordinate system (Xs, Ys, Zs) having a pen shaft as the Zs axis, gyroscopes for detecting the rotational angular velocities of said pen shaft around the Xs axis, the Ys axis, and the Zs axis of said pen shaft coordinate system, and an operational calculating section including a handwriting detecting section, an initial rotational angle calculating section, a rotational angle variation calculating section, and a handwriting rotational angle calculating section, said handwriting detecting section detecting the state of handwriting or non-handwriting by detecting whether the pen'"'"'s tip end is brought into contact with the handwriting surface, said initial rotational angle calculating section calculating the initial value of the rotational angle of the pen shaft when the pen'"'"'s tip end, in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) having an axis extending in the gravity acceleration direction as the Zg axis, is brought into contact with the handwriting surface, on the basis of the acceleration detected by said acceleration sensor, when said handwriting detecting section detects the state of non-handwriting, said rotational angle variation calculating section calculating the variation of the rotational angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the pen shaft, on the basis of the rotational angular velocities detected by said gyroscopes when said handwriting detecting section detects the state of handwriting, and said handwriting rotational angle calculating section calculating the rotational angle in the gravity coordinate system (Xg, Yg, Zg) of the handwriting pen shaft, on the basis of the initial value of the rotational angle calculated by said initial rotational angle calculating section and the variation of the rotational angle calculated by said rotational angle variation calculating section.
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29. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a pen shaft axis, acceleration sensors for respectively detecting the accelerations of the pen shaft in a pen shaft X, Y, Z coordinate system having the pen shaft axis as the Z axis, gyroscopes for respectively detecting the angular velocities around the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis, and an operational calculating section for determining the movement of said pen-shaped device, said operational calculating section including a handwriting detecting section, said handwriting detecting section comprising high-pass filters for transmitting the high-frequency component of the signals from said acceleration sensors and said gyroscopes above the neighborhood of 10 Hz, said handwriting detecting section determining the beginning of a writing operation when any one of the signals transmitted through said high-pass filters from said acceleration sensors and said gyroscopes which contains the high-frequency component is received for the first time, and the end of a handwriting operation when the last of any of the signals transmitted through said high-pass filters from said acceleration sensors and said gyroscopes which contains the high-frequency component ends.
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30. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a pen shaft axis, acceleration sensors, gyroscopes, and an operational calculating section, said acceleration sensors detecting the accelerations in a pen shaft X, Y, Z coordinate system having the pen shaft axis as the Z-axis, said gyroscopes detect the angular velocities around the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis in the pen shaft coordinate system, said operational calculating section comprising a handwriting detecting section, said handwriting detecting section comprising high-pass filters for transmitting the high-frequency component of the signals from said acceleration sensors and said gyroscopes generated by the action of the friction between the pen'"'"'s tip end and the handwriting surface, said handwriting detection section determining the beginning of a writing operation when any one of the signals transmitted through said high-pass filters from said acceleration sensors and said gyroscopes contains the high-frequency component for the first time, and the end of a handwriting operation when the last of any of the signals transmitted through said high-pass filters from said acceleration sensors and said gyroscopes which contains the high-frequency component ends.
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31. An input system comprising:
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a pen-shaped input apparatus and an operational calculating apparatus, said pen-shaped input apparatus comprising; three acceleration sensors for respectively detecting the accelerations in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction of a pen shaft coordinate system having a pen shaft as the Z axis, and three gyroscopes for respectively detecting the angular velocities around the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis, said operational calculating apparatus including an initial inclination angle calculating section, an inclination angle variation calculating section, a handwriting inclination angle calculating section, a coordinates conversion calculating section, and a movement amount calculating section, said initial inclination angle calculating section calculating the initial value of the inclination angle of the pen shaft in a gravity coordinate system having an axis extending in the gravity acceleration direction as the Z axis thereof, on the basis of the acceleration detected by said three acceleration sensors when said input apparatus is in a state of non-handwriting, said inclination angle variation calculating section calculating the variation of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the pen shaft, on the basis of the angular velocity detected by said three gyroscopes when said input apparatus is in a state of handwriting, handwriting inclination angle calculating section calculating the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the pen shaft, on the basis of the initial value of the inclination angle calculated by said initial inclination angle calculating section and the inclination angle variation calculated by said inclination angle variation calculating section, said coordinates conversion calculating section converting the accelerations in the pen shaft coordinate system detected by the acceleration sensors to acceleration in the gravity coordinate system, on the basis of the inclination angle in the gravity coordinate system of the handwriting pen shaft detected by said handwriting inclination angle calculating section, and said movement amount calculating section calculating the movement direction and the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end, on the basis of the acceleration converted by said coordinates conversion calculating section.
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32. An input apparatus comprising:
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a pen-shaped device having a tip end for movement over a writing surface, three acceleration sensors, three gyroscopes, an operational calculating section for determining the movement of said pen-shaped device on said surface based on the output signals from said three acceleration sensors and three gyroscopes, said calculating section having a movement amount calculating section for calculating the movement direction and movement distance of said tip end, an inclination angle detecting apparatus disposed on the writing surface for detecting the inclination angle of the pen shaft in a coordinate system having the writing surface as a reference surface, said pen-shaped device having a main body which houses said three acceleration sensors and said operational calculating section, wherein said three acceleration sensors respectively detect the accelerations in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction in the pen shaft coordinate system having a pen shaft as the Z axis, said operational calculating section further comprising a coordinates conversion calculating section for converting acceleration in the pen shaft coordinate system detected by said acceleration sensors on the basis of the inclination angle in the coordinate system having the writing surface as the reference surface detected by said inclination angle detecting apparatus to acceleration in the coordinate system having the writing surface as the reference surface, said movement amount calculating section calculating the movement direction and the movement distance of the pen'"'"'s tip end, on the basis of the acceleration converted by said coordinates conversion calculating section.
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Specification