JP2005173934A - Information input device and method, computer program, and computer readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable operations with excellent man-machine properties even on a small input selection screen by making it possible to integrally perform a scrolling operation and the operation of indicating or selecting a part to be operated. <P>SOLUTION: A certain position on an input screen such as a virtual keyboard is indicated by an indicating means 202. On the basis of the certain position indicated on the screen, direction and distance are inputted using a direction/distance input means 304. A movement means 306 moves the screen in the direction opposite to the inputted direction by the distance multiplied by a predetermined factor k, and a graphical user interface item that is selected when the indication of the position by the indicating means is completed is inputted by an item input means 306. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information input device, an information input method, a computer program, and a computer-readable storage medium using a graphical user interface of a computer or an electronic device.

  In recent years, display devices such as liquid crystal display devices have been improved in definition, and if only data is to be displayed, a sufficiently large amount of data can be displayed even on a small screen by increasing the definition of the image. Yes. Therefore, in a small electronic device or the like, the display device to be mounted is made small, and the device is downsized.

  In a computer or an electronic device, it is common to display a graphical user interface item on a screen and let a user instruct it to perform device operation or information input. In addition, a touch panel in which the screen and the instruction means are integrated is used to achieve further miniaturization.

  However, the touch panel displays operation parts such as buttons, menus, software keys, etc. on the screen, and directs input such as pressing and dragging directly with a finger or pen, etc., so operation is difficult if the display of the operation part is small become. If all the selectable elements are contained in one image and the display of the operation part is sufficiently large, the size of the image exceeds the size of the display screen. When the size of the image exceeds the size of the display screen, the user may desire to display data in an image area that is not displayed on the display screen. At this time, the user scrolls the image so that the image area of the portion that is not displayed enters the display screen.

  As a conventional technique related to an image scrolling operation, a method is known in which an operation portion called a “scroll bar” is set on a display screen. The “scroll bar” is provided along the direction in which the image can be scrolled, and the user moves the position of the knob set in the “scroll bar” within the “scroll bar” to Scroll the screen.

  According to this method, when the user wants to operate / instruct an operation part in an image area not displayed on the display screen, the user first operates the “scroll bar” to scroll the image, and then displays the operation part. The operation part is operated / instructed from the displayed image.

  In addition, as another conventional technique related to the image scrolling operation, the operation mode of the graphical user interface is changed from “instruction selection mode for a part in an image” to “image scrolling mode” and a cursor (a finger or a pen on a touch panel is used). ) Is a method of scrolling the image along with the movement of the image. (At this time, it is clearly indicated that the cursor is in the “image scroll mode” by changing the icon of the cursor from “arrow” to “palm”. Usually).

  According to this method, when the user wants to operate / instruct an operation part in an image area not displayed on the display screen, first, the operation mode of the graphical user interface is set to “instruction selection mode for the part in the image”. To “image scroll mode” and scroll the image. Subsequently, the operation mode of the graphical user interface is changed from the “image scroll mode” to the “instruction selection mode for the part in the image”, and the operation part is operated / instructed from the displayed screen.

  Another conventional technique related to the image scrolling is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-94504 (Patent Document 1). In this patent document 1, the user changes the operation mode of the graphical user interface from “instruction selection mode of a part in an image” to “image scroll mode”, and designates a point on the display screen as a designated point from the coordinate input means. Then, the device calculates the deviation of the position between the reference point and the specified point as the deviation of the coordinate value, and changes the image so that the image displayed at the position corresponding to the specified point is at the position corresponding to the reference point Switch and scroll the displayed image. If the designated point is designated a plurality of times, scrolling is performed on the sequentially switched images at the predetermined number of times.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-94504 JP-A-10-255106

  However, in the method in the conventional example described above, the user has to perform an operation for scrolling and an operation for designating / selecting an operation part separately, and there are many operation parts in an image area that is not displayed. At times, there is a problem that the operation efficiency becomes very poor.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is capable of performing an operation of scrolling and an operation of instructing / selecting an operation part in an integrated manner. The purpose is to be able to perform operations.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides an instruction means for indicating an arbitrary position on the screen, and a direction / distance for inputting a direction and a distance based on the arbitrary position on the screen indicated by the instruction means. An input unit, a moving unit that moves the screen in a direction opposite to the direction input by the direction / distance input unit by an amount obtained by multiplying the distance by a predetermined magnification k, and a position instruction by the instruction unit An information input device including item input means for inputting a graphical user interface item selected at the time of termination is provided.

  According to the present invention, the user presses and instructs an arbitrary position in the display screen, and drags on the screen while keeping the pressed state, so that the direction of the dragged position with respect to the indicated position In the distance, the image is scrolled in the opposite direction to the distance multiplied by a predetermined magnification. Therefore, the instruction item of the operation part can be changed while performing the scroll movement. As a result, an operation of scrolling and an operation of instructing / selecting an operation part can be performed integrally, and an operation can be performed with good man-machine characteristics even on a small input selection screen.

    According to another feature of the present invention, the input screen can be displayed at an arbitrary timing at an arbitrary position instructed by the user. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the display of information on the display screen against the user's intention. According to another feature of the present invention, the user presses an arbitrary point on the screen and drags the screen to identify, select, and input an input item through a series of operations. be able to.

FIG. 1 is an external view of an information device 101 including an information input device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a display screen in the information device 101.
In FIG. 2, a screen 201 is realized by, for example, a liquid crystal display device and displays various information such as characters, images, and videos handled by the information device 101. The instruction unit 202 is realized by, for example, a touch panel, a digitizer, or a pointing device, and indicates an arbitrary position on the screen 201.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a main part of the information device 101.
The information device 101 includes a screen 201, an instruction unit 202, a position detection unit 301, a central processing unit 302, a direction / distance input unit 304, a movement unit 305, an item input unit 306, and a display control unit 307. And a memory 308.

  When the instruction unit 202 is operated by being pressed, the position detection unit 301 detects the coordinates of the operated position of the instruction unit 202 and outputs position information to the central processing unit 302. The central processing unit 302 outputs data for displaying a display image on the screen 201 to the display control unit 307. The display control unit 307 controls the screen 201 according to the output given from the central processing unit 302.

  Here, the central processing unit 302 includes a calculation unit 3021 and an input / output unit 3023. The computing unit 3021 performs computation based on the output given to the central processing unit 302. The arithmetic unit 3021 includes an internal memory, a register, and the like that store data used for the operation and the operation result. The input / output unit 3023 includes an input / output port that receives an output given to the central processing unit 302, a buffer, and the like.

  The central processing unit 302 reads data stored in the memory 308. The memory 308 stores the output from the central processing unit 302.

  The memory 308 includes a data unit 3081, a program unit 3082, a display position unit 3083, and a display buffer unit 3084. Data such as font data and graphic data for displaying characters on the screen 201 is stored in the data portion 3081. The program unit 3082 stores a program for realizing the direction / distance input unit 304, the moving unit 305, and the item input unit 306, and a program for controlling the operation of the information device 101.

  Data to be displayed on the screen 201 is expanded and stored in the data unit 3081 in a form that can be displayed on the screen 201. The display position unit 3083 stores data indicating data stored as a display image on the screen 201 among data stored in the data unit 3081. The display buffer unit 3084 stores image data of a display image displayed on the screen 201.

  In the information device 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention, an operation part such as a button is configured as a graphical user interface including an image drawn on the screen 201 and an instruction unit 202 positioned immediately above the image when the image is displayed. It is configured together. That is, when the coordinates input by the instruction unit 202 indicate a position corresponding to the position where each operation part in the image is drawn, it is determined that each operation part is operated, and the operation part The processing operation corresponding to is executed. In other words, a partial area of the instruction unit 202 divided by the image displayed on the screen 201 is used as the input unit. When the coordinates of the segmented area are detected, a function represented by an image displayed on the screen 201 immediately below the segmented area is executed.

  In addition, each operation part of the input means set in combination with the screen 201 and the instruction means 202 can easily change the original arrangement only by changing the program for associating the input image with the display image. Can do.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display image 401 displayed on the screen 201 of the information device (information input device) in the first embodiment of the present invention.
In the data image portion 402, a part of the data stored in the data portion 3081 is imaged and displayed. Data stored in the data portion 3081 is imaged corresponding to a virtual display area larger than the data image portion 402. The image displayed in the data image portion 402 is an image obtained by cutting out a part of the virtual image. Therefore, there are images corresponding to data not displayed on the screen 201 in the four peripheral portions of the image of the data image portion 402.

  In the information apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment, in a scroll operation performed to display an image of a portion of data that is not displayed in the data image portion 402, first, a point on the display screen corresponding to the data image portion 402 is pressed. This is performed by dragging on the screen 201 while maintaining the pressed state.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the scroll operation of the information input method in the first embodiment.
An outer frame 502a in FIG. 5 corresponds to the boundary line 402a of the area of the data image portion 402 in FIG. 4, and indicates an edge of the scroll area 502 of the screen 201, which is a display area in which an image scroll operation is performed. .

  The initial pressing point 503 is a point in the scroll area 502 corresponding to the point pressed by the user of the information device 101 from the instruction unit 202. The current instruction point 504 is a point in the scroll area 502 corresponding to a point where the user of the information device 101 drags on the screen 201 while keeping the above-described pressed state.

  The central processing unit 302 in FIG. 3 moves the data image portion displayed on the screen 201 between the initial pressing point 503 and the current indicating point 504 in the direction opposite to the direction from the initial pressing point 503 to the current indicating point 504. Scrolls by the distance d multiplied by a predetermined magnification k. The direction and distance d at this time are obtained by the direction / distance input means 304. In addition, movement of the data image portion displayed on the screen 201 is performed by the moving unit 305.

  In the scroll operation of this embodiment, the image is scrolled in the direction from the current instruction point 504 to the initial pressing point 503. That is, in the example of FIG. 5, the image is scrolled in the direction indicated by the vector 505. At this time, an image area 506 that has not been displayed before a series of scroll operations is newly displayed. In addition, the user is pressing and instructing a point on the image different from the scroll start time at the scroll end time. As described above, in the information device 101 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the user can change the operation item instruction item while performing the scroll movement.

  In the present embodiment, the instruction / selection of the operation part is to end the instruction / selection of the position by pressing, that is, to lift the pen or finger to the screen 201 or to finish pressing the button of the pointing device. Will be implemented. Therefore, for example, even for an operation part on an image that is not displayed on the screen 201, the user can display the operation part while scrolling the image, and designate / select this.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the scroll operation and item input operation of the information input method in the first embodiment. The scroll movement operation of the present embodiment is performed by first instructing to press a point in the display screen corresponding to the data image portion, and then dragging on the screen while keeping the pressed state. In addition, the item input operation of the present embodiment is performed by finishing the instruction / selection of the position by pressing, that is, by lifting the pen or finger from the screen or by pressing the button of the pointing device.

  In step S601 of FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not the user has pressed down a point in the display screen corresponding to the data image portion in the information device 101. As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S602. On the other hand, if it is determined as a result of the determination in step S601 that the button has not been pressed, the process waits in step S601.

  Subsequently, in step S602, the position of the initial pressing point is input. In step S603, it is determined whether the pointer is in the scroll area. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that it is within the scroll area, the process proceeds to step S604. On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S603, if it is determined that it is not within the scroll area, the process is terminated.

  Subsequently, in step S604, the position of the current instruction point is detected. Subsequently, in step S605, a coordinate shift between the initial pressed point and the current indication point is calculated, and the direction / distance is input.

  Subsequently, in step S606, the image is scrolled by an amount obtained by multiplying the distance obtained by the calculation by a predetermined magnification k in the opposite direction to the input direction obtained by the calculation in step S605.

  Subsequently, in step S607, it is determined whether or not the pressing state of the instruction unit has ended. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that the pressing state of the instruction means has ended, the process proceeds to step S608. On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S607, if it is determined that the pressing state of the instruction unit has not ended, the process returns to step S603.

  In step S608, a graphical user interface item immediately below the current indication point is input. Thereafter, the process of the flowchart is terminated.

  As described above, in the information device 101 shown in the present embodiment, the user can perform the scroll operation and the operation part instruction / selection operation integrally without performing an additional operation such as a mode change. It is very efficient.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display image 701 displayed on the screen 201 of the information device (information input device) in the second embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 7, when the user presses / instructs an arbitrary position on the screen 201, the input screen 702 is displayed in the vicinity of the instructed position.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a scroll operation and an item input operation of the information input method in the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is similar to the flowchart in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 6, and includes the same operations as steps S602 to S608 in the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 8, processes corresponding to the operations in steps S602 to S608 in FIG. 6 are collectively described in step S803, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In step S801 in FIG. 8, it is determined in the information device 101 whether or not the user has pressed a point in the display screen corresponding to the data image portion. If it is determined as a result of this determination that the button has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S802. On the other hand, if it is determined as a result of the determination in step S801 that the button has not been pressed, the process waits in step S801.

  In step S802, an input screen is displayed. Subsequently, in step S803, the same operation process as in steps S602 to S608 shown in FIG. 6 is performed. In step S804, the input screen is deleted. Thereafter, the process of the flowchart is terminated.

  As described above, in the information device 101 shown in the present embodiment, the user performs an additional operation such as a mode change between the operation part display operation, the scroll operation, the operation part instruction / selection operation, and the deletion operation. It is very efficient because it can be performed as one piece without going through.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display image 901 displayed on the screen 201 of the information device (information input device) in the third embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 9, an input screen 902 is displayed together with a frame 903 in the vicinity of the designated position when the user presses / designates an arbitrary position on the screen 201. In addition, the input screen 902 and the frame 903 are displayed with a display effect that is semi-transparently superimposed on the screen that has been displayed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the scroll operation and item input operation of the information input method according to the third embodiment.
In step 1001 of FIG. 10, it is determined whether or not the information device 101 has pressed down a point on the display screen corresponding to the data image portion by the user. As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the button is pressed, the process proceeds to step S1002. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1001 that the button has not been pressed, the process waits in step S1001.

  In step S1002, an initial pressing point is input and a frame is displayed. In step S1003, an input screen is displayed in the frame. Subsequently, in step 1004, it is determined whether or not the pointer is in the scroll area. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that the pointer is within the scroll area, the process proceeds to step S1005. On the other hand, if it is determined in step 1004 that the pointer is not in the scroll area, the process of the flowchart is terminated.

  In step S1005, the position of the current instruction point is detected. Subsequently, in step S1006, a coordinate shift between the initial pressed point and the current indication point is calculated, and the direction / distance is input. In step S1007, the frame is moved by the input distance in the input direction. Subsequently, in step S1008, the input screen in the frame is scrolled in the direction opposite to the input direction by an amount corresponding to the input distance multiplied by a predetermined magnification k.

  In step S1009, it is determined whether or not the instruction unit has been pressed. As a result of this determination, if it is determined that the pressing state of the instruction means has ended, the process proceeds to step S1010. On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S1009, if it is determined that the pressing state of the instruction unit has not ended, the process returns to step S1004.

  In step S1010, an item of a graphical user interface immediately below the current instruction point is input. In step S1011, the frame and the input screen are deleted. Thereafter, the process of the flowchart is terminated.

  As described above, in the information device 101 shown in the present embodiment, the user continues to display the screen that has been displayed so far, while the operation part display operation, the scroll operation, and the operation part instruction / selection. Since the operation and the erasing operation can be performed integrally without going through an additional operation such as a mode change, it is very efficient.

(Fourth embodiment)
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining an information device (information input device) in the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 11, an image 1102 is schematically drawn as a virtual area of image data displayed on the screen 1101.

  Now, when the user presses the point 1103 on the screen 1101 and drags while keeping the pressed state, the distance that can be dragged is x in the X-axis direction, y in the W-axis, Y-axis direction, or , Hy. At this time, the image 1102 scrolls in a direction opposite to the dragged direction by a distance obtained by multiplying the dragged distance by k times, so that the coordinate position of the point 1104 on the image displayed when the button is pressed is ((k + 1) × , (K + 1) y), an image having a size of ((k + 1) W, (k + 1) H) can be scroll-displayed on the entire screen.

  Therefore, when the size of the image to be scroll-displayed on the screen is smaller than ((k + 1) W, (k + 1) H), the display position of the image is determined so as to be displayed in the area of the image 1102 in FIG. Thus, the user can scroll and display the entire image.

  As described above, in the information device 101 shown in the present embodiment, the user can press an arbitrary point on the screen to scroll and display the entire image.

(Fifth embodiment)
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining an information device (information input device) in the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 12, a concavo-convex pattern forming unit 1202 is a unit that forms a predetermined concavo-convex pattern that can be identified by tactile sense, and forms shading on the screen display as concavo-convex. As a means for forming such a concavo-convex pattern, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-255106 (Patent Document 2). However, in the present invention, this method is not particularly concerned. Absent. Further, in the present embodiment, the instruction unit, the position detection unit, and the direction / distance input unit are configured integrally with the concave / convex pattern forming unit 1202. The virtual data area 1203 schematically depicts a virtual area of data formed on the concavo-convex pattern forming unit 1202.

  If the user presses a point on the concave / convex pattern forming unit 1202 and drags while keeping the pressed state, the virtual data area 1203 is k times the dragged distance in the direction opposite to the direction dragged by the user. Scrolls by the distance multiplied by. At this time, even if the area of the concavo-convex pattern forming means 1202 is small, the concavo-convex pattern of data is formed sufficiently large due to the effect of the present invention, so that the user can easily identify it by touch. The item input operation in this embodiment is performed by lifting the finger from the concave / convex pattern forming means 1202 and ending the pressed state. At this time, since the user can identify, select, and input the input items through a series of operations without looking at the information device (information input device) 1201, the input efficiency is very good and convenient.

It is an external view of the information equipment 101 provided with the information input device in the embodiment of the present invention. It is an enlarged view of the display screen in information equipment. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of information equipment. It is a figure which shows the display image displayed on the screen of the information equipment (information input device) in 1st Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the scroll operation | movement of the information input method in a 1st Example. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the scroll operation | movement and item input operation | movement of the information input method in a 1st Example. It is a figure which shows the display image displayed on the screen of the information equipment (information input device) in 2nd Example of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the scroll operation | movement and item input operation | movement of the information input method in a 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the display image displayed on the screen of the information equipment (information input device) in 3rd Example of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the scroll operation | movement and item input operation | movement of the information input method in a 3rd Example. It is a schematic diagram explaining the information equipment (information input device) in the 4th example of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the information equipment (information input device) in the 5th Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

201 Screen 202 Instruction unit 301 Position detection unit 302 Central processing unit 3021 Operation unit 3023 Input / output unit 304 Direction / distance input unit 305 Movement unit 306 Item input unit 307 Display control unit 308 Memory 3081 Data unit 3082 Program unit 3083 Display position unit 3084 Display buffer

Claims (13)

Instruction means for indicating an arbitrary position on the screen;
Direction / distance input means for inputting the direction and distance based on an arbitrary position on the screen instructed by the instruction means;
Moving means for moving the screen in a direction opposite to the direction input by the direction / distance input means by an amount obtained by multiplying the distance by a predetermined magnification k;
Item input means for inputting a graphical user interface item selected at the time point when the instruction of the position by the instruction means is completed. An input screen display means for displaying an input screen in the vicinity of an arbitrary position on the screen instructed by the instruction means;
The information input device according to claim 1, further comprising: an input screen erasing unit that erases the input screen when the position instruction by the instruction unit is completed.   The information input device according to claim 2, wherein the display of the input screen by the input screen display means is performed with a display effect that is semi-transparently superimposed on the screen that has been displayed so far. Frame display means for displaying a frame of a predetermined size in the vicinity of an arbitrary position on the screen instructed by the instruction means;
4. A frame moving means for moving the frame in the direction input by the direction / distance input means by the distance input by the direction / distance input means. The information input device according to item 1.   5. The information input device according to claim 4, wherein the display of the frame by the frame display means is performed with a display effect that is semi-transparently superimposed on the screen that has been displayed so far.   The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction unit continuously instructs the position.   The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the selected graphical user interface item is also displayed in another place.   The information input device according to claim 2, wherein the instruction unit and the input screen display unit are touch panels.   The display position of the image on the input screen can be scroll-displayed by the user based on the arbitrary position on the screen instructed by the instruction means, the size of the screen and the image, and the magnification k. The information input device according to claim 2, wherein the information input device is determined as follows.   The information input device according to claim 1, wherein the instruction unit includes a concavo-convex pattern forming unit that forms a predetermined concavo-convex pattern that can be identified by a user with a tactile sense. An instruction step for indicating an arbitrary position on the screen;
A direction / distance input step for inputting a direction and distance based on an arbitrary position on the screen instructed in the instruction step;
A moving step of moving the screen in a direction opposite to the direction input in the direction / distance input step by an amount obtained by multiplying the distance by a predetermined magnification k;
An item input step of inputting a graphical user interface item selected at the time when the position instruction by the instruction step is completed. An instruction process for indicating an arbitrary position on the screen;
Direction / distance input processing for inputting a direction and distance based on an arbitrary position on the screen instructed by the instruction processing;
A moving process for moving the screen in a direction opposite to the direction input in the direction / distance input process by an amount obtained by multiplying the distance by a predetermined magnification k;
A computer program for causing a computer to execute an item input process for inputting a graphical user interface item selected when the position instruction by the instruction process ends.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program according to claim 12.

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