Position detecting apparatus and pointing device thereof

• US 6,020,849 A
• Filed: 01/16/1996
• Issued: 02/01/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Original Assignee: Wacom Co Limited (Wacom)
• Inventors: Fukuzaki, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, DAO LINDA
• Application Number:
  US08/585,786
• Time in Patent Office: 1,477 Days
• Field of Search: 342/448, 342/434, 342/437, 342/452, 342/374, 455/100, 178/87, 178/19, 345/158, 345/179
• US Class Current: 342/374
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/046 by electromagnetic means

Abstract

A position detecting system capable of making communications with a plurality of pointing devices without changing resonance circuits of said pointing devices, and a pointing device suitable for the position detecting system. The position detecting system detects positions of at least two cordless pointing devices on a two-dimensional plane and is equipped with a command electromagnetic wave transmitting circuit to transmit a command to the pointing device. Included in the position detecting system are a first group of antennae X1 to X11 arranged successively in one of the directions orthogonal to each other within the two-dimensional plane 11, a second group of antennae Y1 to Y8 arranged successively in the other direction orthogonal to the one direction within the two-dimensional plane 11, a selection circuit for, from the first and second antenna groups, selecting an antenna which is more strongly coupled to the pointing device to be measured than to the other pointing device in transmitting an electromagnetic wave, and a transmission circuit for transmitting an electromagnetic wave from the selected antenna to the pointing device to be measured.

Claims

1. A position detecting system which detects positions of at least two different cordless pointing devices on a two-dimensional plane and is equipped with a command electromagnetic-wave transmitting circuit for transmitting a command to said pointing devices, the position detecting system comprising:

a first group of antennae arranged successively in a first one of two directions orthogonal to each other within said two-dimensional plane;

a second group of antennae arranged successively in a second of the two directions that is orthogonal to said first direction within said two-dimensional plane;

selection means for selecting at least an antenna of said first and second antennae groups, which allows transmission of an electromagnetic wave to a first one of said pointing devices to be measured, said electromagnetic wave from the selected antenna being more strongly coupled to said first pointing device than to the other or second pointing device; and

transmission means for transmitting said electromagnetic wave from said antenna, selected by said selection means, to said first pointing device to be measured.

2. The position detecting system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first and second pointing devices are on said plane at the same time, and said selection means selects a plurality of antennae, and a combined electromagnetic wave made up of electromagnetic waves transmitted from said plurality of selected antennae with said transmission means is more strongly coupled to said first pointing device to be measured than to the other, or second, pointing device.

3. The position detecting system as set forth in claim 2, wherein said transmission means uses at least an antenna other than said plurality of selected antennae to transmit an electromagnetic wave whose phase is opposite to that of said combined electromagnetic wave transmitted from said selected antennae, said other or first-mentioned antenna being more strongly coupled to the other or second pointing device than to said different first pointing device to be measured.

4. The position detecting system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said first and second antennae groups are also for receiving electromagnetic waves for position detection.

5. The position detecting system as set forth in claim 4, wherein each of said first and second pointing devices contains a resonance circuit comprising at least a coil and a capacitor, and said transmission means transmits an electromagnetic wave with a frequency close to a resonance frequency of said resonance circuit of said first pointing device to be measured when detecting a position of said first pointing device to be measured, said transmission means being further provided with a reception circuit which receives through a portion of said antennae groups an electromagnetic wave returning from said resonance circuit of said first pointing device to be measured to detect said position of said first pointing device to be measured on the basis of a distribution of a received signal characteristic.

6. The position detecting system as set forth in claim 5, wherein said first pointing device further comprises a resonance operation stopping circuit means for stopping its own resonance circuit in accordance with the command it receives, and said transmission means transmits a command electromagnetic wave at least a portion of which includes a command for inhibiting said resonance circuit of said first pointing device to be measured from getting into operation when no detection is made in terms of said position of said first pointing device to be measured.

7. A position detection system as set forth in claim 5, wherein said first pointing device has a resonance frequency changing circuit for changing said resonance frequency of its own resonance circuit in accordance with the command which said first pointing device receives, and said transmission means transmits a command electromagnetic wave at least a portion of which includes a command for changing said resonance frequency of said resonance circuit to be measured, before transmitting an electromagnetic wave with a frequency close to the changed resonance frequency for position detection of said pointing device to be measured, and said reception circuit receives said electromagnetic wave.

8. A pointing device having a resonance circuit at least comprising a coil and a capacitor, and used in connection with a position detecting system without requiring a cord between said pointing device and said position detecting system, said pointing device comprising:

a reception circuit for receiving external command information from the detecting system; and

a resonance state changing circuit for changing a resonance state of said resonance circuit in accordance with said command information which the reception circuit receives.

9. The pointing device as set forth in claim 8, wherein said resonance state changing circuit includes means which serve as a resonance operation stopping circuit for stopping a resonance operation of said resonance circuit.

10. The pointing device as set forth in claim 8, wherein said resonance state changing circuit includes means which act as a changing circuit for changing a resonance frequency of said resonance circuit, and when a plurality of pointing devices are used at the same time in connection with said position detecting system, said plurality of pointing devices have resonance frequencies substantially equal to each other at least at their initial states.

11. A position detecting system for detecting positions of first and second pointing devices that are on a two-dimensional coordinate plane at the same time, the position detecting system comprising:

scanning means for scanning a plurality of X-axial antenna elements and Y-axial antenna elements at an initial resonant frequency f₀ in order to obtain and measure reception signal strengths of said first and second pointing devices on said two-dimensional plane and allow approximate position measurement of said first and second pointing devices which are both initially receptive to said initial frequency f₀ ;

selection means for selecting at least a first antenna element based upon the measured signal strengths obtained by said scanning means, said selected first antenna element when transmitting being more strongly coupled to said first pointing device than to said second pointing device, said selected antenna element for transmitting a command signal to said first pointing device in order to change the resonant frequency of said first pointing device from said initial frequency f₀ to a second different resonant frequency f₁ so that said first pointing device is no longer receptive to said initial resonant frequency f₀ and so that said first and second pointing devices on said two-dimensional plane are receptive to different resonant frequencies; and

detection means for measuring the coordinate position of said first pointing device based upon signals transmitted at said second resonant frequency f₁.