Integrating graphics input device
Contents
1. US005132671A United States Patent 19 1H Patent Number 5 132 671 Louis et al 4 Date of Patent Jul 21 1992 54 INTEGRATING GRAPHICS INPUT DEVICE 4 780 707 10 1988 Selker sss 4 947 156 8 1990 Sato et al sai 76 Inventors William M Louis 543 Cerro St 4392630 2 1991 Mletzko e 178 18 Encinitas Calif 92024 Telford L Dorr 1438 Pegaso St Encinitas Primary Examiner Alvin E Oberley Calif 92024 Assistant Examiner Matthew Luu ttorney Agent or Firm Baker Maxham Jester A y Ag Fi Baker Maxham J amp 21 Appl No 439 278 Meador 22 Filed Nov 20 1989 57 ABSTRACT en ne pa a rong NENNT 340 7 onlin A graphics input device for use with a graphics process ing system includes a stylus which can be manually S8 Field of Search o 340 706 709 724 manipulated by a user to generate graphics input signals 178 18 19 33 1 M 200 6 A representative of a graphics object to be drawn in a p circumscribed area on a display device controlled by 56 References Cited the graphics processing system The graphics input U S PATENT DOCUMENTS device also includes a grip which can be manually ma nipulated by the user to generate positioning signals for de ale ee is bade ee esi E repositioning the circumscribed area on the display 4 639 547 1 1987 QGrinschgl et al 5 4 719 455 1 1988 Louis esee 15 Claims 8 Drawing Sheets 10 161 INTEGRATED GRAPHICS INPUT DEMCE2. GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNIT 240 275 DISPLAY FILE EDIT OPTIONS WNDOW PAINT FONT SIZE STYLE U S Patent July 21 1992 Sheet 1 of 8 5 132 671 U S Patent July 21 1992 Sheet 2 of 8 5 132 671 2 III SOOO Meta U S Patent July 21 1992 Sheet 3 of 8 5 132 671 tap 2 ap 3 tap 4 tap 5 tap 6 Y Pos L middle L rear L key R Key R rear R middle tap 1 x Pos tap 6 tap 5 tap 4 tap 3 Vreg tap 2 Hand Force 80 FIG 6C Sheet 4 of 8 5 132 671 July 21 1992 U S Patent U S Patent July 21 1992 Sheet 5 of 8 5 132 671 Vreg LEES Bo B Common A Common X Pos Common 203a A gvv is pu ccc c A lm 8 Eak ITY pst es gt ERU Pc m ed ee lt a 203b tte 218 SENSOR ee uu cq 0 TAP 3 C N iin TAP 5 UL Te me hens 1 30 110b s Ee 0 TAP 4 5 6 TAP ee M 199 A B 72 200 X FORCE FROM HAND 201 125 AA FORCE SENSOR 80 Sheet 6 of 8 5 132 671 July 21 1992 U S Patent AV1dSIG SOIHdVYS HLM LINN 9NISS3O03d 508 37 01 GSC OSZ YILYJANOO WLISIG SOTVNV JYNSSIYd 2805538 9 A39 WNOLLVISNVUL NOLLISOd 1 AX Nad ZAX Sheet 7 of 8 5 132 671 July 21 1992 U S Patent dux 13S 30H04 09 2S6 Hes LYOd 39404 X a v a v 8V A39 1M SOd X ai a EEE aia RENTE QU ER A SNLVLS OQV 0 2 z tt A3 131 ZHY
3. 268 for reading either X Pos or the pen downforce signal output by the sensor 74 The control sequence also conditions the A B POS FORCE and SEL signals to read A position A magnitude B posi tion and B magnitude signals output by the sensor 72 Initially a main loop is defined in step 116 conditions are initialized in steps 117 119 and in step 120 the XPOS APOS and BPOS signals are energized Activa tion of XPOS to turn ON the switch 266 Concurrently the switch 268 is OFF grounding the XPOS Common line 194 which provides a ground potential against which the X position information is measured by the buffer 263 The control signals are hexadecimal H signals which are output through microprocessor port 58H The A and B POS signals similarly configure the buffer sections of circuit 272 Next a loop index i is defined initialized to zero limited to the range of whole numbers between 0 and 10 and incremented by 1 for each step of a looped sequence beginning at line 124 of Table I A byte wide 10 posi tion buffer is initialized in step 124 and then an endless 5 132 671 11 loop entered in steps 125 and 126 In steps 127 130 the X position of the pen 14 is obtained by conversion of the X Pos signal on the path 267 263 260 in FIG 11 First the ADCSTB macro Table II is called This macro provides an address ADDRESS 0 in line 128 on the address databus connected to the ADC 260 a LOAD 3ADDR control signal to th
4. 8 ERR o aw 30803 QNVH 97 L0z 3 X Ep WNNOO 8 i 39804 8 NI a 9065 WWOO Y g 308403 V m os eet eu T 861 a sod A 1 Nu D Jadav av 133ANO2 7 3300 eod x ed ENEK SNE a rT 6H 26 71701 lt a 8H 5538007 ry 5 sod 2 Trt 1 ane 1 00 Zi Jol A 5 ER woe 992 LL Old U S Patent July 21 1992 Sheet 8 of 8 5 132 671 INTEGRATED GRAPHICS 10 161 INPUT DEVICE FIG 12 GRAPHICS 240 PROCESSING UNIT 275 DISPLAY FILE EDIT OPTIONS WINDOW PAINT FONT SIZE STYLE 5 132 671 1 INTEGRATING GRAPHICS INPUT DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to graphics input devices which are operated manually by a user to provide signals de fining a graphical object whose image is to be displayed in a graphics system In the prior art hand operated pointing or picking devices are known These devices are operated by a user to position a cursor on the screen of a graphical output device such as a display The primary role of these devices is to permit a user to select a specific XY location on a display screen Other devices called loca tor devices include the tablet the mouse the trackball and the joystick All of these devices are employed to move a screen cursor and operate in combination with separate devices which input information relevant to the location occupied by the cursor Most commonly function buttons function switches or al
5. I all of which call a TESTXMIT subroutine The TESTXMIT subroutine is called and executed while the ADC is conducting a conversion process Thus until the ADC_STATUS bit 55 65 12 is set Table I executes the TESTXMIT subroutine The TESTXMIT subroutine polls the host graphics process ing unit 240 for a communications initiation handshake signal When it detects a start handshake signal from the host it transmits 10 bytes of data by transferring the contents of the 10 position buffer which is loaded as described above to a transmit buffer XMITBUF Transmission is based upon availability of the transmit buffer which is determined by availability of a serial I O channel The availability is tested in steps 183 and 185 If available the subroutine SENDSTR is invoked to transmit a string of 10 bytes from the transmit buffer through a serial I O port to the graphics processing unit 240 The reaction of the graphics processing unit 240 to the position hand force and function key signals gener ated by the device 10 and converted through electron ics 161 is illustrated in FIG 12 As FIG 12 illustrates the graphics processing unit 240 operates a conventional display 275 which may comprise a CRT The graphics processing unit 240 includes a dispatchable graphic input device handler not shown which receives the converted signals from the electronics 161 and passes them to a graphics pro cessor now shown for driving a displ
6. address input pins sample the volt age at the currently addressed input pin and output a digital word corresponding to the level of the voltage sampled at the currently addressed input pin The ad dress is then changed to the next input pin and so on In synchronism with the sampling sequence the micro processor 255 configures the switches 266 267 and 268 to ensure that for example when pin 10 is addressed the X Pos voltage signal is buffered through the buffer 262 Similarly when the input pin I1 is addressed the switches 266 267 and 268 are configured to provide the pen pressure current through the current buffer 263 Further when A or B FORCE signals are being sensed the ADC 260 is similarly addressed and con trolled in synchronism with the multiplexing of the circuit 272 to sample and convert A position and A force magnitude signals through pin I2 and B position and B force magnitude signals through pin I3 Refer now to FIG 11 and to Tables I IV for an understanding of how the operation of the ADC 260 is controlled to convert the signals produced by the FSR s 72 74 and 80 In Table I a series of functions and global variables are defined Then in a main loop the converter 260 is interrogated in a sequence of calls to 3 subroutines ADCSTB ADCSTAT and ADCDATA Tables II III and IV respectively Interwoven with the call sequence of Table I is a control sequence for conditioning the three switches 266 267 and
7. an image of the object The apparatus provides to the graphics processor graphics input signals descrip tive of the graphics object The apparatus includes a manually operable finger grip assembly with a first pressure sensor for providing pressure generated force vector signals representing a display location on the graphics output device A pressure responsive lockout switch assembly generates a lockout signal The lockout signal is for indicating inactivation of the force vector signals In the apparatus a stylus assembly is moveable in two dimensions and has a position sensor for generat ing graphics input signals representing a multi dimen sional portion of a graphics object which is to be dis played at the indicated display location An interface is connected to the finger grip assembly to the lockout switch assembly and to the stylus assembly for receiv ing the force vector signals the lockout signal and the graphics input signals Last a processor communicator connected to the interface means communicates to the graphics processor display location signals representing an updated position for the location in response to the force vector signals received by the interface the lock out signal and graphic input signals representing the graphic object to be displayed in the updated position The principal object of this invention is to provide a graphics input device which integrates graphics input position information and graphics
8. by 280a While positioned on the display 275 the position circle 280 defines an aperture into the image being drawn on the display through which the user can enter X and Y position signals together with pen force sig nals to create a graphics object for display on the Screen This is illustrated in FIG 12 where the scripted word Even 283 has been entered into the image on the display 275 by use of the pen 14 while the position circle is in the position indicated by 280 The word 283 represents the trace of the tip of the pen 14 This trace is provided by continuous transmission of X and Y POS signals to the graphics processor as described above The width or density of the graphics object 283 which traces the path of the pen tip is given by the sequence of hand down force signals transmitted with the X and Y position signals Movement of the position circle 2806 in 5 132 671 13 response to use of the grip repositions the aperture in the displayed image In the repositioned position circle the scripted word if has been entered into the image Thus by moving the position circle 280 in a particu lar sequence of overlapping location the user of the device 10 can selectively create a graphics object using the graphics processing unit 240 and enjoy instanta neous visual feedback of the object during the process of creation The design of the device 70 is intended to position the stylus 14 and grip 12 so that they can be e
9. case assembly for defining a position area on said graphics output device at a display location a penlike stylus a carriage assembly mounted to the case assembly and including an aperture corresponding to the position area the aperture positioned adjacent the area means and means for retaining the stylus for movement within the aperture against the area means the area means including a position sensor respon sive to movement of said stylus within said aper ture for generating graphics input signals repre sentative of a portion of a graphics object which is to be displayed on said output device in said position area and interface means mounted on the case assembly and connected to the grip means the pressure responsive handforce signal means and the area means for receiving and formatting the vector signal the handforce signal and the graphics input signal and means in the graphics processing system and con nected to the interface means for displaying a de fined image entry area corresponding to the posi tion area and for moving the image entry area from the first to the updated location on the display in response to the vector signal and absence of the handforce signal and for displaying the graphics object in the image entry area in response to the graphics input signals 13 The combination of claim 12 further including means on the case assembly for positioning the stylus with respect to the grip means 5 2
10. i 119 init 0 120 setwit 0x44 123 for i 6i lt 10 i 124 buffer i 0 125 for 126 Wow ow i YH initialize SIO test request to xmit transmit result string 0 if char avail char in lower byte set timer get current timer value start adc cycle get adc status get adc data set control bits 111 112 113 114 value buffer counter init SIOs set switches 20 25 30 35 45 50 55 65 127 128 129 130 131 136 137 138 139 140 141 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 171a ADCSTB 14 TABLE I continued x axis pen position adcstb 0 while adcstat 0 testxmit buffer 0 adcdata 0 setswit 0x84 A sensor position adcstb 2 while adcstat 2 testxmit buffer 3 adcdata 2 B sensor position adcstb 3 while adcstat 3 testxmit buffer 4 adcdata 3 setswit 0x88 y axis pen position adcstb 1 while adcstat 1 testxmit buffer 1 adcdata 1 setswit OxAA hand downforce adcstb 4 while adestat 4 testxmit buffer 5 adcdata 4 pen downforce adcstb 5 while adcstat 5 testxmit buffer 2 adcdata 5 setswit 0x0A A sensor force adcstb 2 while adcst
11. the multiplexing section of the cir cuit 272 Then in step 144 the APOS and BPOS signals are deactivated while the ASEL and BSEL signals are activated Then in steps 145 148 the Y position buffer 264 is addressed via the ADC 260 the Y position signal is converted and sent to buffer location 1 The A and B FORCE signals are activated in step 149 Next in steps 150 153 the Hand Force signal on signal line 199 is converted and placed in buffer location 5 By the time the program in Table I reaches steps 150 153 the switches 266 267 and 268 have been turned OFF ON and ON respectively in enough time to damp out any switch bounce Now in steps 154 157 the pen downforce signal is provided through the buffer 263 converted and stored in buffer location 2 In pro gram line 158 all of the switches 266 267 and 268 are 15 20 25 30 35 45 50 turned OFF while the ASEL BSEL A FORCE and B FORCE signals are activated Then A FORCE B FORCE and left button signals are converted in steps 159 171 In step 1714 the XPOS signal is activated together with the APOS and BPOS signals turning ON the switch 266 and preparing the buffer 262 for X Pos A Pos and B Pos conversion Following this the right button status is converted and stored in buffer location 7 in program steps 172 176 The program loops at step 177 back to step 125 Reference is now made to lines 129 138 142 150 154 162 166 and 174 of Table
12. unit 161 include a circuit 250 for analog to digital conversion ADC and a microprocessor 255 Essentially the ADC 250 receives and converts the level signals described above to digital signals formats the digital signals and provides them to the micro processor 255 The microporcessor 255 receives the formatted digital signals and conducts a communication process with the processing unit 240 for transfer of those signals to the processing unit for incorporation into a graphics processing application Refer now to FIG 11 for a more detailed illustration of the ADC circuit 250 In FIG 11 the signal paths 194 199 all correspond to identically numbered signal paths in FIG 9 All of these signals are fed to respective input ports of a conventional analog to digital con verter ADC 260 The converter receives a reference voltage for conversion from a reference voltage circuit 261 In addition the ADC 260 receives the X position signal through a buffer 262 the pen force signal through a buffer 263 and the Y position signal through a buffer 264 The buffers 262 and 263 are both connected through respective switches 266 and 267 to the signal line 197 which is also connected to a switch 268 The signal line 194 is also connected to the switch 268 The switches 266 267 and 268 are configured by respective control signals XPOS XFORCE and XSEL which are provided from the microprocessor 255 These signals are conventional control signals w
13. 0 30 35 45 50 55 65 18 14 A graphics input device for mimicking hand movements in drawing writing or manipulating graph ics objects the input device including a case assembly a pen like stylus 8 a stylus position sensor mounted in the case assembly for converting movement of the stylus into graph ics input signals representative of drawing a graph ics object retention means for movably positioning the stylus on the case assembly in a moveable relationship against a position entry area of the stylus position sensor a hand grip mounted on the case assembly separately from the stylus means for positioning the stylus on the case assembly with respect to the hand grip the means for posi tioning including a carriage assembly slidably mounted to the case assembly and having an aper ture corresponding to the position entry area and means for moveably mounting the stylus on the carriage for movement within the position entry area a hand grip sensor mounted in the case assembly for converting manipulation of the hand grip into graphics entry area positioning signals representing a display location of the position entry area and a handforce means mounted on the case assembly for generating a handforce signal in response to pres sure on the case assembly which prevents reposi tioning the position entry area at the display loca tion indicated by the positioning signals 15 The graphics input device of cl
14. 17 are depressed causing the conductive patterns 203a and 203b in the sensor 74 to conduct thereby providing a voltage on the right and left key signal lines 195 and 196 In addition corresponding signals are diode con nected to the switch 218 to configure it such that Vreg on signal line 190 is connected to the tap 4 connections of the sensor 74 while ground is connected to tap 1 on sheet 1105 and the X common signal to tap 1 on the sheet 110a At the middle position activation of the function keys connects Vreg to tap 5 of both sheets of the sensor 74 ground to tap 2 of sheet 1105 and X common to tap of sheet 110a Last in the rear position the function keys operate the switch 218 to connect V eg to tap 6 on sheets 110a and 1105 ground to tap 3 of sheet 1105 and X common to tap 3 of sheet 110a The sensors 72 74 and 125 operate as described above to provide the Hand Force A and B and X and Y position signals on signal lines 201 200 199 198 and 197 respectively FIG 10 illustrates the means for integrating the inte grating graphics input device 10 with a graphics display 5 132 671 9 processor In FIG 10 the graphics display processor includes a processing unit with a graphics display 240 which interfaces with the electronics unit 161 The interface between the electronics unit and the device 10 has already been explained above with reference to FIGS 6A 6C and 9 The primary components in the electronics
15. NNEL NUMBER PUSH h RESTORE STACK PUSH b MOV al ADDRESS OUT ADCLD ADC ADDRESS LOAD OUT ADCCV ADC STROBE 5 132 671 15 TABLE II continued RET 0292 TABLE III ADCST GET SONAR STATUS 000000018 ADC ONLY la RETURN STATUS ho ASCSTAT IN ANI MOV MVI RET TABLE IV ADCDA L A H O ADCDATA IN MOV MVI RET END GET DATA RETURN DATA START While we have described several preferred embodi ments of our integrating graphics input device it should be understood that modifications and adapations thereof will occur to persons skilled in the art Therefore the protection afforded our invention should only be lim ited in accordance with the scope of the following 1 A graphics input device comprising a case assembly a penlike stylus a graphics entry area mounted to the case assembly an XY positioning assembly mounted to the case assembly for moveably positioning the stylus on the case assembly with respect to the graphics entry area an XY position signal generator mounted to the case assembly for generating graphics entry signals rep resentative of movement of the stylus with respect to the graphics entry area the XY position signal generator including an XY position sensor defining the graphics entry area the XY positioning assembly including a carriage assembly mounted to the case assembly for moveably positioning the stylus with respect to the XY position senso
16. aim 14 wherein the retention means further includes a slide pivotally connected to the case assembly between the retention means and the stylus position sensor which receives the stylus for pivoted slideable movement in the position entry area of the stylus position sensor
17. an amount of pressure which the stylus contacts the graph ics entry area 11 The input graphics device of claim 4 further including means in the XY position signal generator for condi tioning the graphics entry signals to indicate loca tion of the stylus with respect to the graphics entry area and an amount of pressure with which the stylus contacts the graphics entry area and means in the conversion means for converting the graphics entry signals to first signals indicating the location of the stylus with respect to the graphics entry area and second signals representing the amount of pressure with which the stylus contacts the graphics entry area 12 In a graphics processing system in which a graph ics processor responds to graphics input signals descrip tive of a graphics object by operating a graphics output device to display the graphics object a combination for providing graphics input signals representing the graph ics object the combination comprising a graphics input device including a case assembly for stationary operation a manually operable grip means mounted on the case assembly for providing a vector signal rep resenting an updated display location on the graphics output device pressure responsive handforce signal means mounted on the case assembly for generating a 5 132 671 17 handforce signal preventing a change from a first display location to the updated display location area means on the
18. and dimensions thereby contributing to the comfort of the user The carriage 20 slidably engages the case top 40 and can be slid with respect thereto by virtue of the engagement of the case top 40 between the carriage 20 and the retainers 34 and 31 attached to the bottoms of the function key rods 16a and 17a Three positions are possible rear middle and for 60 65 8 ward In the rear position the carriage 20 is closest to the finger grip 12 and the function keys 16 and 17 are positioned over the lower most conductive traces on the sensor 74 In this position key signals will be brought out on the tap labeled R Rear and L Rear When moved to the middle position the R and L Mid dle taps provide the function key signals When the carriage is slid to the position furthest from the finger grip 12 key signals are provided on the R and L FWD taps In the rear position ground is provided to tap 3 of both of the conductive sensor portions 110a and 110b In this position Vreg is provided to tap 4 In the middle position tap 5 of both sheets is connected to V eg while tap 2 of both sheets is grounded Last in the forward position tap 1 is grounded while tap 4 receives V reg As FIG 8 shows reconfiguration of tap voltage con nections selects the portion of the conductive traces of the sensor 74 which will be positioned under the circu lar opening 21 defining the drawing area of the pen 14 Although not illustrated in the drawi
19. at 2 testxmit buffer 8 adcdata 2 B sensor force adcstb 3 while adcstat 3 testxmit buffer 9 adcdata 3 setswit 0x00 left key adcstb 6 while adcstat 6 testxmit buffer 6 adcdata 6 setswit 0x44 right button adcstb 7 while adcstat 7 testxmit EI adcdata 7 void testxmit static int i static char xmitbuf 10 static char cp if getstat return if getchr 2 XON return start conversion wait till conversion done get adc data set switches start conversion wait till conversion done start conversion wait till conversion done sei switches start conversion wait till conversion done _ set switches start conversion wait till conversion done start conversion wait till conversion done set switches start conversion wait till conversion done start conversion wait till conversion done set switches start conversion wait till conversion done set switches start conversion wait till conversion done counter local buffer pointer to chars char not available char not start char for i 0 i lt 10 i Ixfer data to local buffer xmitbuf i buffer i sendstr xmitbuf 8 TABLE II POP b RETURN ADDRESS POP h CHA
20. ay The user of the device 10 is enabled by the graphics processing unit 240 to observe a drawing being made on the display 275 by means of the input device 10 In this regard the graphics processing unit 240 provides a defined position area showing the user where on the image being dis played the drawing input from use of the pen is being entered In FIG 12 this area is displayed as a circle 280 corresponding to the circle 21 FIG 3 within which the pen 14 is constrained to move The circle 280 is repositioned on the display by use of the hand grip 12 unless the Hand Force sensor 80 signal is activated by pressure on the case top When the user wishes to repo sition the position circle 280 the user reduces pressure from the back of the case 11 thereby reducing the cur rent on the hand force sensor 80 resulting from pressure against the button 81 on the rear bottom of the device FIG 4 This signals to the processing unit 240 that the position circle 280 allowing it to be moved dragged on the screen of the display 275 in a direction corre sponding to the A or B Force signal derived from the sensor 72 The circle 280 is moved in the direction cor responding to the active A or B position and at a rate corresponding to the A or B force signal until horizon tal pressure on the finger grip 12 is released The posi tion circle 280 is then kept at the last updated X Y position In FIG 12 the updated X Y position is indi cated
21. cting Thus the display screen of a CRT may be used much as a blank tablet upon which a user can draw The integrating graphics input device which has been invented by the applicants provides hand to eye feed back through a graphics processor system by combining cursor like movement of a position area on a display surface together with tablet like entry of graphical image information by means of a stylus which can be manipulated by the user to draw within the located positioned area The device can be used to enter a con tinuous image by successively relocating the position area in a sequence of overlapping positions within which the user s manual input is integrated to form a continuous coherent image The closest prior art to this device is the inventor s integrating pointing device described in U S Pat No 4 719 455 which is incorporated herein by reference In that device graphical input was provided by a hand manipulated device which fit to the user s hand In the 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 device gross and fine control of cursor position were generated respectively by a moveable cover and a moveable puck contained within the cover SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is an apparatus for use in a graphics processing system in which a graphics processor re sponds to graphics input signals descriptive of a graph ics object by operating a graphics output device to display
22. e connected to the ADC 260 a ADC 260 notifying it to load the address on the address databus and then a CONVERT ADC STROBE control signal commanding the ADC 260 to begin its procedure of converting the level of the signal on the input port addressed on the address databus The addressed input port is 10 connected to the buffer 262 Therefore the X Pos signal is converted to digital for mat by the ADC 260 The ADC 260 operates conventionally to provide an end of conversion EOC signal which sets a status flip flop 270 This conditions an ADC 3STATUS signal to an When the ADC_STATUS signal is conditioned ON the ADC DATA macro Table IV is dispatched which reads the converted data off of the address databus and resets the status flip flop 270 via the RESET signal The data which is converted from the signal input at ADC 10 is entered into location 0 in the buffer Following conversion and buffering of the X PPS signal a hexidecimal code 80 is provided through processor port 58H which turns OFF switch 266 while turning 268 ON This floats the signal line 174 while pulling down the signal line 197 through the parallel resistances R2 and R3 Next in steps 135 143 the A and B position s are sampled in the same manner as the X position signal and placed in buffer locations 3 and 4 The ASEL and BSEL signals are not active which appropriately con nects the buffered versions of the position signals to the ADC 260 through
23. esponse to appli cation of pressure On the sheets 150 and 152 V rgis fed to one of the two taps which connect to the semi circu lar resistive trace such as the trace 153 while the other tap is connected to ground This provides a continuous voltage drop between Vreg and ground from one end of the semi circular arc to the other The center tap tap 155 in the sheet 150 and tap 157 in the sheet 152 provide a voltage corresponding to the location on the continu ous resistive circle formed by the two opposing semi circular conductive patterns on the sheet 150 and 152 Pressure on the finger grip 12 is transferred to one or the other of the sheets of the sensor 72 through the disc lever 52 A radial A or B Force signal is generated at tap 155 or tap 157 when the material of the center insulating layer becomes conductive in response to the hand grip pressure The A or B Force signal indicates position along one of the two semicircular patterns and gives pressure at that point These two components of course define a vector whose function is described below 5 132 671 7 The sensors 72 and 74 are attached to the circuit board 70 as illustrated in FIG 7 Signal connection between the sensors and the outside of the device 10 are by a wiring harness 160 The harness includes individual conductors connected by conventional solderboard means to the taps of the sensors 72 74 and 80 In this manner VREG common and ground potentials are co
24. essure according to the force exerted against the tip of the pen by the user Even with no pressure exerted bv the user in the stylus the spring 95 maintains the tip 96 against the sensor 74 with enough force to track the position of the stylus The position sensor 74 is illustrated unassembled in FIG 6A and 6B As shown sensor FSR 74 consists of two thin rigid plastic sheets 110a and 110b each carry ing a pattern of printed conductive traces and a variable resistance compound The sheets are identical images and form the sensor 74 by being assembled with an insulating sheet between them When assembled oppo site sides of the sheets 110a and 110b face upward The assembled sensor 74 is illustrated in FIG 7 As FIG 7 illustrates the sheet 110a overlays the sheet 1105 with the center insulating sheet not illustrated The operation of the sensor 74 will now be explained with reference to the sheet 110a with the understanding that the sheet 1105 operates in the same manner In operation a regulated DC voltage V zeg is fed to tap 5 of the sheet while DC ground is fed to tap 2 of the sheet The resistive compound forms a L shaped figure along the left and bottom margins of the array of con ductive traces 111a A continuous voltage drop is in duced between 113a where tap 5 intersects the resistive compound and 112a where tap 2 intersects the resistive compound Thus at any of the conductive traces which intersect the L shaped resis
25. f the grip 12 with respect to the sensor 72 and to the pressure with which the grip contacts the sensor The buffers operate in response to the ground A and B common COMM and A B POS A B FORCE and A B SEL signals as do the buffers 262 and 263 In addition the A B SEL signals operate to multiplex the outputs of the A and B buffers to input pins 12 and I3 of the ADC 260 Thus for example when 0 20 25 30 35 45 50 55 60 65 10 the A buffer is configured to sense position voltage the buffer not shown which corresponds to buffer 262 is connected to pin 12 when the A buffer senses pres sure current the buffer not shown corresponding to buffer 263 is connected to 12 The ADC 260 receives a divided clock by way of a conventionally configured flip flop 271 reference volt age signals from ground and from the generator 261 and control signals from the microprocessor 255 to conventionally convert the level signals present at its input I pins to digital words representative of the converted levels at the output D pins The output D pins of the ADC 260 are connected to an address databus which shares with the output pins common connections with three address A pins of the ADC 260 In operation the microprocessor 255 convention ally controls the ADC with FETCH_DATA CON VERT LOAD ADDR and RESET control signals These signals are conventional and operate the ADC 260 to sequentially
26. force vector signal genera tor for converting the graphics entry signals and the force vector signal to digital signals 5 The graphics input device of claim 4 further in cluding communication formatting means connected to the conversion means for interprocessor communica tion of the digital signals 6 The graphics input device of claim 4 wherein the conversion means includes an analog to digital con verter separate from the case assembly and means con nected to the XY position signal generator to the XY force vector signal generator and to the analog to digi tal converter for conducting the graphics input signals and force vector signal to the analog to digital con verter 7 The graphics input device of claim 1 wherein the XY positioning assembly includes means for slidably positioning the stylus on the case assembly with respect to the grip 8 The graphics input device of claim 1 further in cluding means for slidably positioning the carriage assembly on the case assembly with respect to the grip and means for electrically positioning the graphics entry area with respect to the carriage assembly in re sponse to said positioning of the carriage assembly 9 The graphics input device of claim 1 further in cluding function keys mounted on the carriage assem bly 10 The graphics input device of claim 1 wherein the XY position signal generator includes means for condi tioning the graphics entry signals to represent
27. hich condition the switches 266 267 and 268 to on or off conditions These signals are provided to multiplex the X Pos signals on signal line 197 to provide both X position information relating to the X position of the pen with respect to the sensor 74 and also to provide the pen pressure signal For the X position signal the switches 267 and 268 are conditioned to their OFF states while the switch 266 is conditioned ON In this case the X Pos signal is fed to the buffer 262 for buffering to the ADC 260 In this state X Pos Common line 194 is grounded to provide a reference for the X Pos signal Next the control signals condition the switches 267 and 268 ON and turn OFF the switch 266 In this state the resistor R3 converts the current input on the signal lead 197 to a voltage signal proportional to the current level and thus to the force with which the pen 14 contacts the FSR 74 This signal is buffered to the ADC 260 through the buffer 263 The Y Pos signal on signal line 198 is fed continu ously through the buffer 264 to the ADC 260 The Hand Force signals and the left and right key signals are fed directly without buffering to the ADC 260 The A and B FORCE signals are buffered and multi plexed in a circuit 272 The circuit 272 includes respec tive buffering sections for the A and B FORCE signals which operate as described above for the X Pos signal to obtain both position and magnitude signals which correspond to the position o
28. in the circle 170 with the time history of the image being available from the X Pos and Y Pos taps on the sensor 74 The finger grip 12 is aligned with the sensor 72 such that the finger grip assembly including the disk lever 52 is coaxial with the circular conductivity pattern on sensor 74 As illustrated in FIG 8 the radius defined by the edge of the disk lever 52 is less than the radius to the circular resistive pattern on the sensor 72 In operation the finger grip is grasped by the user and force is ex erted on it with a component which is radial to the circular conductive pattern of the sensor 72 The radial vector of the force is indicated bv the A or B Force signal generated by the sensor 72 in response to the pressure Thus if the pressure exerted on the finger grip 12 is toward NNE in FIG 8 an A Force signal of a particular voltage and current will be generated by the FSR 72 through the tap 155 The magnitude of the voltage is directly related to the direction of the vector and therefore to the direction of the pressure applied 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 to the grip 12 The current is related to the magnitude of 55 the pressure Refer now to FIGS 1 3 and 8 for an understanding of how the device 10 can be adjusted for the conve nience of the user by sliding the carriage 20 either toward or away from the finger grip 12 along the line 175 in FIG 3 The adjustability is provided to accom modate varying h
29. ing posi tion and graphics object input signals to be input to a graphics processor FIG 10 is a block diagram illustrating the inter con nection of the device with a graphics processor FIG 11 is a detailed schematic diagram illustrating an analog to digital converter of FIG 10 FIG 12 illustrates the response of the graphics pro cessor of FIG 10 to the signals input by the device of FIG 1 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The integrating graphics input device of the inven tion is illustrated in external perspective in FIG 1 and in a slightly magnified side elevation of FIG 2 The de vice is indicated by reference numeral 10 and includes a case 11 in which is mounted a finger grip 12 a stylus like pen 14 and function keys 16 and 17 The device 10 is a stationary apparatus which a user manipulates by hand to enter position and graphics objects information in the form of hand force and posi tion signals respectively into a graphics processor for display In use the user grasps the finger grip 12 to change the location of a position area on a graphics processor display The grip 12 is operated like a station ary joystick to support cursor like repositioning of the display area When the position area is relocated as just described the user grasps the pen 14 and manipulates it in the X and Y directions to draw in the position area The pen 14 is free to move in two dimensions its movements being trans
30. lated by means described below into graph ics object input signals which are used by a graphics processor to display the trace of the pen s path in the display area The pen 14 also permits the operator to enter Z axis information by varying pressure on the pen 14 The result for example would be to vary the width or density of a line being drawn The function keys 16 and 17 provide conventional programmable functions which are selected by the user depressing one or the other of the keys The construction details of the device 10 are illus trated in FIGS 3 and 4 As shown in the Figures the case 11 is assembled from a carriage 20 which fits to a case top 40 The case top 40 is attached to the case bottom 46 a circuit board 70 is positioned between the case top and the case bottom and attached to the case bottom The stylus 14 includes a tip 15 which fits through a boot 19 having a rim 19a The boot 19 is inserted into a circular opening 21 in the carriage 20 with the rim 19a engaged in an annular groove 21a of the carriage open ing The keys 16 and 17 are mounted to the carriage 20 with the right hand key 16 received in a quadrilateral recess 22 having a hole 23 The key 16 includes a rod 16a which fits through the hole 23 and a stylus 25 Simi larly the left hand key 17 has a key rod 17a and is received in a quadrilateral recess 27 of the carriage The key rod 17a extends through a hole 28 and rod guide 29 The bottom of the r
31. llow cylinder in which the other end of the spring 89 is retained in the tip retention recess 67 The spring 89 has a flanged tip extension 90 which is in bayonet engagement with a slider plug 94 The slider plug 94 is moveably held within the slider so that it can rotate allowing the user to turn the attached stylus 14 to any desired orientation and it can also move up and down in response to upward pressure by a spring 95 and varying downward pressure by the user on stylus 14 As shown the plug 94 is bored out to contain the tip 15 in an upper bore as well as a tip 96 which is spring loaded by the spring 95 in a lower bore The tip 96 includes a rod which can project into the upper bore of the slider plug 94 The upper end of the tip 96 contacts the lower end of the tip 15 when the spring 95 is com pressed by the user pressing down on the stylus 14 When this happens there is a direct transfer of force from the stylus 14 to the tip 96 as shown in FIG 5 5 132 671 5 FIG 5 illustrates partial compression of the spring 89 when the tip 15 is pressed with moderate force down wardly toward the slider 66 As illustrated in FIGS 4 and 5 the pivot of slide 63 together with the slider 66 which moves in the slot 64 enables the tip 96 to move under the force of the pen 14 over the position sensor 74 When assembled the tip 96 rests on the position sensor Movement of the pen 14 moves the tip 96 upon the sensor 74 with more or less pr
32. nclosed in the span of a user s hand and operated simultaneously This permits simultaneous input of graphics signals and force signals to reposition the drawing area enclosed in the position circle When only graphics signals are to be input force signals are locked out by applying sufficient hand force to the rear of the upper case to exceed a preset force This can be applied by the rear of the hand being used to operate the stylus TABLE I function of switch bits 80h x select 40h x pos 20h x force 10h not assigned 8h a b select 4h a b pos 2h a b force th not assigned 69 ADC converter inputs 0 x sensor position y sensor position A sensor pos force B sensor pos force hand force x sensor force left button right button Uo og 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 a 9 6 9 9 6 9 xmit order 0 x pen pos y pen pos pen downforce A sensor position B sensor position hand downforce left button right button A sensor force 9 B sensor force define void int define FORCE 0 define POSITION 1 define XON 021 function defs void init void testxmit void sendstr int getstat int getchr void settmr unsigned int gettmr void adcstb int adcstat unsigned int adcdata void setswit global vars 115 static char buffer 10 16 main 117 118 static int
33. nductive block 121 with the result a voltage is provided on the tap R middle The hand force sensor of the lockout switch is illus trated in FIG 6C and operates in the same manner as the function key sensors In this regard refer also to FIG 4 where the hand force sensor 80 is shown posi tioned on the bottom rear of the circuit board 70 di rectly over the button 81 In this position whenever the user applies pressure on the rear portion of the case top 40 the pressure is transferred through the connecting structure of the case 10 to the case bottom and to the attached circuit board which causes the hand force sensor 80 to press against the button 81 When this occurs voltage V regis conducted to the Hand Force tap of the sensor 80 In FIG 7 the translational pressure sensor 72 is illus trated As with the position sensor 74 the translational pressure sensor 72 comprises two sheets with a pattern of conducting traces and a variable resistance pattern However on each sheet the overall pattern is semi cir cular In FIG 7 only the conductive and variable resis tance patterns of the top sheet 150 are visible it being understood that the bottom sheet a has similar semi cir cular conductive resistive pattern which is rotated 180 with respect to the pattern on the sheet 150 to form a complete circular pattern These sheets are also assem bled on either side of a center insulating sheet not shown which becomes conductive in r
34. ngs conventional mechanical means are used to lock the carriage 20 in a selected position Refer now to FIGS 9 10 and 11 for an understand ing of the signal conversion and interface circuitry ob tained in the electronics enclosure 161 FIG 1 FIG 9 is a schematic diagram which recapitulates the signal path layout discussed above in connection with FIGS 6A 6B 6C and 7 The Vreg common and ground signals are generated by conventional means not illus trated and conducted initially on signal lines 190 and 191 respectively These lines connect directly to the sensors 72 and 80 and are connected to the sensor 74 by way of a 4 pole 3 position switch 218 Common signals are brought into the sensor 72 for A and B Force sig nals respectively on respective signal lines 192 and 193 An X position common signal is conducted on signal line 194 to the switch 218 for provision to the sensor 74 The switch 218 is connected to the taps on the sheets comprising the sensor 74 as illustrated Signal lines 195 and 196 respectively conduct signals from the sensor 74 to indicate activation of the right or left keys 16 and 17 respectively Signal lines 197 and 198 conduct X and Y position signals from the sensor 74 Signal lines 199 and 200 conduct the A and B Force signals from the sensor 72 while signal line 201 conducts the Hand Force signal from the sensor 80 When the carriage 20 is in the forward position the right and left key 16 and
35. nnected into the device 10 while the X and Y POS Right and Left key Hand Force and A and B Force signals are conducted from the sensors 72 74 and 80 out of the device 10 Referring back to FIG 1 in the best mode of this invention conversion and interface electronics are lo cated in an apparatus enclosure 161 and connected to the electronic components of the device 10 by means of 15 the wire harness 160 The wire harness 160 penetrates the device 10 through the case bottom 46 bv way of an aperture 47 FIG 3 It should be evident and it is contemplated by the inventors that all of the circuit functions to be described next can be integrated into monolithic IC form and mounted inside the device 10 Refer now to FIG 8 for an understanding of the spatial relationships between the pen assembly and the sensor 74 and the finger grip and the sensor 72 As shown in FIG 8 when the device 10 is assembled the circular opening 21 in the carriage 20 is centered in the oval opening 41 of the case top 40 The pivotal connec tion of the elongate slide 63 and the sliding arrangement between that slide and the round slider 66 permit the tip 96 to be moved by movement of the pen anywhere within the circle defined by the circular opening 21 As FIG 8 illustrates this circle is centered in the conduc tive trace arrays of the sheets making up the sensor 74 In operation the pen 14 can be moved by the user to draw any kind of a figure with
36. object information which is to be input at the indicated position It is the further object of this invention to provide repositioning control of a position area displayed by a graphics processor A further objective is to also provide graphics object input signals defining a portion of an image which is to be displayed in the position area Other objectives and attendant advantages of this invention will become manifest when the following detailed description is read with reference to the below described drawings BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is an isometric perspective view of the inte grating graphics input device FIG 2 is a side view of the device illustrated in FIG 1 FIG 3 is an exploded assembly diagram of the device of FIG 1 FIG 4 is an elevational side sectional view of the device of FIG 1 the view being taken along line 175 of FIG 3 FIG 5 is a magnified side sectional view of a stylus slider in the device of FIG 1 FIGS 6A 6B and 6C illustrate the sensors used to provide graphics object force vector and lockout sig nals in the device of FIG 1 FIG 7 is a top plan view illustrating a circuit board included in the assembly of the device of FIG 1 5 132 671 3 FIG 8 is a top plan view illustrating the orientation of certain assembly components with respect to the circuit board FIG 9 is a circuit schematic diagram illustrating the electrical operation of the invention in generat
37. od 17a fits into the stylus 30 As thus described the keys are held to the carriage 20 by engagement of the tips of the rod 16a and 17a in the styli 25 and 30 The styli 25 and 30 are received in slots 15 20 4 42 and 43 respectively and are held therein by retainers 24 and 31 With the carriage 20 aligned by way of the slots 42 and 43 with the case top 40 and held to it by the retain ers 24 and 31 the opening 20 is aligned with an oval opening 41 in the case top 40 The tip 15 of the stylus 14 extends through the oval opening 41 A circular opening 45 in the case top receives the upper portion of the finger grip 12 The finger grip 12 is retained against the case top 40 by a grip retainer 50 The annular extension 12a of the finger grip 12 has a larger radius than the hole 45 and is sandwiched be tween the case top 40 and the retainer 50 The retainer is attached to the case top 40 by screws 53 which are received in threaded bosses 54 The bosses are formed as part of the case top 40 however for clarity they are shown detached from the top A disk lever 52 engages a recess in the shaft of the finger grip 12 and is posi tioned between the finger grip 12 and the circuit board 70 by a pivot 56 with an annular extension which fits through a hole 71 in the circuit board An anchor 57 extends through the bottom of the pivot 56 and contacts the bottom of the disk lever 52 and is retained there by a threaded screw 58 which is
38. pha numeric keyboards are used for command or information entry after positioning of a cursor In the prior art the drawing of graphic objects has been the province of a program entered into a graphics processor Commonly such an application program utilizes a bottom up procedure for object creation using hierarchially arranged object components The components map to a set of output primitives with mas ter coordinates which are used to control the function of an output device such as a display Free hand creation of graphical objects by a user currently is supported by complicated devices having large drawing surfaces upon which the user moves a stylus or pen to draw an image The drawing surface is related to the display surface by a dedicated applica tions process which maps the drawing surface to the display area When the drawing is being made on the drawing surface a conversion function is invoked dis patching the application program and converting the drawing into an image which is displayed on the screen of the display device The invention has the objective of providing a user with a graphics input device which permits the display device of a graphics processing system to be used like a drawing surface without the need to provide a physical surface as an analog to the display surface This permits a graphics processor system to provide to a user imme diate feedback or echoing of a drawing operation which the user is condu
39. r the carriage assembly including a substantially circular aperture corre sponding to the graphics entry area the circular aperture positioned adjacent the XY position sensor the XY positioning assembly further including means mounted to the case assembly for retain ing the stylus for movement within the circular aperture against the XY position sensor a grip mounted to the case assembly apart from the stylus and a force vector signal generator mounted to the case assembly which generates a force vector signal representing a change of a graphics entry area location in response to manipulation of the grip 2 The graphics input device of claim 1 wherein the XY signal generator further includes electronic means connected to the XY position sensor for generating a sequence of X position signals and Y position signals corresponding to the image of a trace of the stylus with respect to the XY position sensor 3 The graphics input device of claim 1 wherein the force vector signal generator includes means for gener ating a hand force signal preventing said change in the graphics entry area location and a force vector sensor 10 15 25 40 45 50 55 60 65 16 contacting the grip for generating a force vector signal indicating said change in response to manipulation of the grip 4 A graphics input device of claim 1 further includ ing conversion means connected to the XY position signal generator and to XY
40. screwed into a threaded 25 30 35 40 45 60 65 recess in the center of the disk lever 52 The pen 14 is retained in an elongate slide 63 which is clamped pivotally between the grip retainer 50 and the case top 40 by one of the threaded screws 53 The tip 15 of the stylus 14 is received in a tip retention recess 67 in the top portion of a rounded slider 66 having two coax ial flanges which slidably engage respective faces of the slotted elongate slide 63 The slider 66 is free to slide in the slot 64 while the pen tip 15 is engaged in the recess 67 The circuit board 70 has a force sensor 72 in the form of a force sensing resistor upon which the lower edge of the rim of the disk lever 52 rests Forward of the sensor 72 is a ramped surface 75 on which is held a position sensor 74 A hand pressure sensor 80 is positioned on the bottom of the circuit board 70 and contacted bv a button 81 on a threaded foot 82 The components 80 81 and 82 form a lockout switch whose function is discussed below All of the sensors are attached by adhesive means to the circuit board 70 The tip of the round slider 66 is illustrated in a magni fied cross section in FIG 5 FIG 5 illustrates the con nection of the stylus 14 to the slider 66 The stylus is connected to the slider bv a spring 89 one end of which receives the tip 15 of the stylus The spring 89 allows the user to hold the stylus at any desired angle The round slider 66 is a ho
41. t of force exerted at 114 by the tip 96 Therefore the current at the tap X Pos indicates the amount of pressure on the pen Since the sheets 110a and 1105 are stacked with a separating insulating layer which operates as described above they operate similarly to produce a pair of posi 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 tion signals which taken together correspond to the two dimensional position of the pen 14 with respect to the sensor 74 The second position signal is the Y Pos signal taken from the corresponding tap of the sheet 1105 Together these signals precisely define the instan taneous location of the pen a continuous signal chro nology of these two taps therefor corresponds to an object drawn on the sensor 74 by the pen The regulated voltage V regis brought also to the taps R Key and L Key to energize the conductive traces on the right and left hand edges respectively of the sheets 110a and 1105 Each of these conductive trace patterns is aligned with a corresponding conductive pattern on a facing surface of the other of the two sheets When the sheets are assembled as in FIG 7 the right hand con ductive patterns afford sensor arrangements to detect depression of one of a key For example with the as sembly shown in FIGS 2 and 7 the right hand key 16 is positioned above the conductive trace 120 When the key is depressed the trace pattern 120 is brought into contact with the co
42. tive pattern between 113a and 112a a distinct voltage level can be measured which lies between Vyeg and ground Such a voltage provides a positional signal corresponding to a point where pressure is applied in the array 111a For exam ple consider that the tip 96 contacts the array 111a at 114 and the user applies a force directed onto the sensor 74 at 114 At 114 the composition of the center insulat ing sheet causes that sheet to become conductive in response to pressure applied by the stylus in the inter stice at 114 between conductive traces 115 and 116 The trace 115 intersects the L shaped resistor at a point indicated by a respective voltage on the trace 115 Con ductivity in the insulating layer at 114 causes current to flow between the trace 115 and the trace 116 thereby bringing the trace 116 to the potential of 115 The con ductive trace 116 is one of a plurality of conductive traces which alternate with the traces connected to the L shaped resistor These alternating traces are con nected in common to a trace 117 which is brought out to a tap labeled X Pos for X position In response to the pressure at 114 the voltage induced on the trace 116 is brought out to the X Pos tap therefore the volt age level at this tap conveys precisely the location of the tip 96 when pressure is applied to the pen 14 Fur ther the amount of current which flows between the conductive strips 115 and 116 is directly related to the amoun
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