KR20050063779A - Portable electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable electronic device includes a key operation unit for detecting a pressing operation of a first direction key and a second direction key arranged in the vicinity of the first direction key and outputting a detection signal, a display unit, and a control unit for controlling the screen display of the display unit according to the detection signal from the key operation unit. The control unit has means for outputting control information for moving a cursor displayed on the screen of the display unit on the screen when the first direction key alone is pressed, means fro outputting control information for performing application setting operation on the screen of the display unit when the second direction key alone is pressed, and means for outputting control information to scroll the screen of the display unit when the first direction key and the second direction key are simultaneously pressed.

Description

Portable electronic device {PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable electronic device such as a PDA capable of reading and editing data on a screen of a display unit.

Conventional compact PDAs (portable_digital_assistants) are portable electronic devices that allow miniaturization by omitting a keyboard and enable one-handed operation. Various products have been developed and put into practical use as personal information management tools. For example, a compact PDA capable of reading and editing data in cooperation with a personal computer, sending and receiving e-mails, faxes, and accessing the Internet using a modem or a mobile phone is known.

However, since the keyboard is omitted, it is difficult to use only the PDA body, and cooperation with a personal computer is essential. For this reason, it is unsuitable for a new data input operation, and its use is specified for a data browsing function for reading data already prepared in a personal computer, or an editing function for changing a part of data already prepared in a personal computer. There was.

For example, as a conventional compact PDA, a PDA of a type having a stylus pen (stylus_pen) as an input device in place of a mouse or a keyboard is widely used. In this type of PDA, the absolute coordinates of the pointed position are input by pointing a tablet or touch panel with a stylus pen.

However, since it is difficult to operate the stylus pen with one hand, when viewing and editing the data on the large screen, there is a problem that the user cannot easily view and edit the data.

In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-149334 discloses a pointing device device used for a personal computer or the like as a related art according to the present invention. In order to improve operability, the circular and compact pointing device apparatus is provided with an upper lid portion and a pressure sensor mechanism.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-134248 discloses a pointing input device used for a remote controller such as a television receiver. This pointing input device arrange | positions a pressure sensor in the divided area | region which divided into four in the disk shaped operation button, detects a pressurization operation, installs a slide switch, and detects a slide movement operation.

<Start of invention>

This invention is made | formed in view of the said problem, and an object of this invention is to provide the portable electronic device which improved operability so that a user can operate easily with one hand, even when reading and editing big data.

In order to solve the said subject, the portable electronic device of this invention is a key operation part which detects each press operation of the 1st direction key and the 2nd direction key provided in the vicinity of the said 1st direction key, and outputs a detection signal; And an electronic device comprising a display unit and a control unit for controlling screen display of the display unit in accordance with a detection signal from the key operation unit, wherein the control unit outputs a detection signal output when the first direction key is pressed alone. And cursor movement detecting means for outputting cursor movement information for moving the cursor displayed on the screen of the display unit on the screen, and when the first direction key and the second direction key are pressed at the same time. And scroll movement detecting means for outputting scroll manipulation information for scrolling the screen of the display unit according to the detection signal. The.

According to the portable electronic apparatus of this invention, a user presses with one hand (thumbs up) with respect to each direction key of the key operation part containing a 1st direction key and the 2nd direction key provided adjacent to the 1st direction key. It simply outputs one of the cursor movement information for moving the cursor on the screen of the display and the scroll operation information for scrolling the screen of the display. The control unit controls the screen display of the display unit in accordance with the received screen display information. Therefore, according to the portable electronic device of the present invention, even when reading and editing the data on the large screen, the user can easily operate with one hand (thumb), thereby improving operability.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention based on the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram showing a portable electronic device of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a first scroll operation of scrolling a screen while fixing a cursor on a display unit of the portable electronic device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a second scroll operation of scrolling a screen including a cursor on a display unit of the portable electronic device of FIG. 1. FIG.

4 is a diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a key operation unit in the portable electronic device of FIG. 1.

5 is a diagram for explaining an application example of the second scroll operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification of the key operation unit in the portable electronic device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another modified example of the key operation unit in the portable electronic device of FIG. 1. FIG.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure when performing basic operations of the portable electronic device of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure when performing a setting operation of application software.

Fig. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure when starting map viewing software to perform map data viewing operations.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control unit in the portable electronic device of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a portable electronic device of one embodiment of the present invention.

1 shows an example of the configuration of a PDA to which the portable electronic device of the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, the PDA 10 includes a display unit 14 on which a cursor 11 is displayed on the screen, a key operation unit 15, and a control unit (not shown). The control part of this PDA 10 is mentioned later using FIG.

The display unit 14 includes left and right scroll bars 12 and up and down scroll bars 13, which are displayed in conjunction with scroll movement in each of the up, down, left and right directions of data displayed on the screen.

The PDA 10 of FIG. 1 can view and edit data associated with a personal computer on the screen of the display unit 14, similarly to a conventional PDA, and can transmit and receive e-mails or faxes using a modem or a mobile phone. It is configured to allow access to the Internet. At the same time, the PDA 10 can install the application software, execute the software, and display the execution result on the screen of the display unit 14.

As described above, the conventional PDA is configured to point a display portion such as a touch panel with a stylus pen, so that the user must have a PDA body in one hand and a stylus pen in the other hand. Therefore, it is difficult to operate PDA with one hand. In order to solve this problem, the portable electronic device of FIG. 1 displays a cursor 11 similar to the display portion of a personal computer on the display portion 14 without using a stylus pen like a conventional PDA, and with a key. The operation part 15 is comprised as shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a basic configuration of the key operation unit 15 of the portable electronic device of FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the key operation part 15 is formed in circular shape, and the four outer sides provided adjacent to the outer side of the inner side direction key 15e and the inner side direction key 15e provided in the center inner side are provided. Direction keys 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d.

In the PDA 10 of FIG. 1, the display unit 14 displays the data on the screen based on the data stored in the storage unit of the control unit. The key operation part 15 is provided with the several pressure sensor which detects the pressurization operation of the user with respect to each said direction key, and each pressure sensor is a detection signal when it detects the pressurization operation of the corresponding direction key. Output The control unit controls the screen display of the display unit 14 in accordance with the detection signal output from the key operation unit 15.

The PDA 10 of FIG. 1 is configured as described above, and the key operation unit 15 of FIG. 4 allows each user to easily operate with one hand even when viewing and editing data on a large screen. Are assigned the functions described below.

The inward direction key 15e is assigned the function which outputs the cursor movement information for moving the cursor 11 on the screen of the display part 14 to the control part CPU, when it presses independently. In addition, in the inward direction key 15e, the control information for returning the screen of the display part 14 to the screen containing the display position immediately before the cursor 11 at the time of a single click operation of a control part of a control part is carried out. The function to output to the CPU is assigned.

In addition, in the inner direction key 15e, when the pressurization operation is performed simultaneously with one of the four outer direction keys 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d, the screen of the display unit 14 is either one of the up, down, left, and right directions. (A direction determined by a simultaneously pressed outward direction key) has a function of outputting scroll operation information for scroll movement to the control unit's CPU.

In the PDA 10 of this embodiment, the following functions are assigned to the four outer direction keys 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d of the key operation unit 15, respectively, when the pressure operation is performed alone.

In the outward direction key 15a, when the pressurization operation is performed alone, the CPU of the control unit includes first scroll operation information ① for scrolling the screen of the display unit 14 downward in a fixed manner while the display position of the cursor 11 is fixed. The function to output to is assigned (refer FIG. 2).

In the outward direction key 15b, the second scroll operation information ② for scrolling down the screen of the display unit 14 including the cursor 11 in the downward direction is outputted to the CPU of the control unit when the pressing operation is performed alone. The function is assigned (see Figure 3).

The outer direction key 15d has a function of outputting, to the control unit's CPU, application operation information for performing the setting operation of the installed application software to the control unit on the screen of the display unit 14 when pressing alone. Is assigned. This application software is, for example, a program that enlarges the size of characters in data displayed on the screen of the display unit 14, and adds a function that makes it easier to read when the user browses.

The outer direction key 15c has a function of outputting application operation information to the control unit's CPU for setting operation of other application software that has been installed in the control unit on the screen of the display unit 14 when the pressing operation is performed alone. Is assigned.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a first scroll operation of scrolling the screen while fixing the display position of the cursor in the display unit 14 of the portable electronic device of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2A, the cursor 11 and the display data 16 are displayed on the screen of the display unit 14. In this state, when the user presses the outer direction key 15a of the key operation unit 15 alone, the first scroll operation information? Is output to the CPU of the control unit. According to this first scroll operation information ①, the CPU of the control unit controls the display of the screen of the display unit 14, as shown in Fig. 2B, with the display unit (with the display position of the cursor 11 fixed). 14) Scroll down the screen.

The scroll operation in FIG. 2 is convenient for scroll movement while following the sentence with the cursor 11 when long sentence data is displayed on the screen of the display unit 14 of the PDA 10.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing a second scroll operation of scrolling a screen including a cursor in the display unit of the portable electronic device of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 3A, the display data 16 including the cursor 11 is displayed on the screen of the display unit 14. In this state, when the user presses the outer direction key 15b of the key operation unit 15 alone, the second scroll operation information ② is output to the CPU of the control unit. According to this second scroll operation information ②, the CPU of the control unit controls the screen display of the display unit 14, as shown in Fig. 3B, of the display unit 14 including the cursor 11. Scroll the display data on the screen in the downward direction.

The scroll operation in FIG. 3 is suitable for the user to browse the display data when data on a large screen (for example, newspaper, map, etc.) is displayed on the display unit 14 of the PDA 10.

In addition, in the portable electronic device of FIG. 1, when a user performs a normal pressurization operation with respect to each direction key of the key operation part 15, when a pressurization operation is continued for more than predetermined time, and an inner direction key The case where the pressurizing operation and the outward direction key are simultaneously pressed may be configured to be detected as different pressurization operations.

Since the key operation part 15 of FIG. 4 is comprised by the direction key gathered in the center, it is making it easy for a user to pressurize with one hand (thumbs).

In addition, when the user presses the inward direction key 15e with his thumb to move the cursor 11, the thumb may be slightly changed to facilitate the simultaneous pressurization of the inward direction key and the outward direction key. . By performing this pressing operation, it is possible to perform scroll movement while moving the cursor 11 on the screen of the display unit 14. It is effective means for accessing the Internet by operating the PDA 10 with one hand.

11 shows an example of the configuration of a control unit in the portable electronic device of the present invention.

The control part of FIG. 11 is an example of a principal part structure of the control part in the PDA 10 of FIG. In FIG. 11, the control unit includes a CPU 20, an output circuit 21, a cursor movement detection circuit 22, a scroll movement detection circuit 23, an application setting operation detection circuit 24, and an inner side. The direction key pressurization detection circuit 25, the outer direction key pressurization detection circuit 26, and the inside and outer direction key simultaneous pressurization detection circuit 27 are included.

On the key operation unit 15 in the PDA 10, an inward direction key pressure sensor 28 and an outward direction key pressure sensor 29 are provided as pressure sensors of the inward direction key 15e and the outward direction key 15d. It is. It is necessary to provide the pressure sensor with respect to each of the four outer direction keys 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d of the key operation part 15. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, for convenience of explanation, only the outward key pressure sensor 29 provided as a pressure sensor of the outward key 15d is shown. The pressure sensor is similarly provided also about the other outward direction keys 15a, 15b, and 15c.

When the inward direction key 15e is pressurized, the inward direction key pressure sensor 28 of the key operation part 15 detects the press operation, and simultaneously detects a detection signal with the inward direction key pressurization detection circuit 25. Output to the pressure detection circuit 27. Similarly, when the outward direction key 15d is pressurized, the outward direction key pressure sensor 29 of the key operation part 15 outputs the detection signal which detected the pressurization operation to the outward direction key pressurization detection circuit 26. And output to the pressurization detection circuit 27 at the same time.

When the inward and outward direction key simultaneous pressurization detection circuit 27 simultaneously receives a detection signal from the pressure sensor 28 and the pressure sensor 29, the inward direction key 15e and the outward direction key 15d simultaneously. Simultaneous pressurization detection signals indicating that the pressurization operation is performed are output to the inward direction key pressurization detection circuit 25, the outward direction key pressurization detection circuit 26, and the scroll movement detection circuit, respectively.

When the inward direction key pressurization detection circuit 25 receives only the detection signal from the pressure sensor 28, and does not receive the simultaneous pressurization detection signal from the simultaneous pressurization detection circuit 27, the inward direction key 15e The inner direction key single press detection signal indicating that the press was operated alone is output to the cursor movement detection circuit 22.

The outer direction key pressurization detection circuit 26 receives only the detection signal from the pressure sensor 29, and when it does not receive the simultaneous pressurization detection signal from the simultaneous pressurization detection circuit 27, the outer direction key 15d The outward direction key single press detection signal indicating that the press operation has been independently pressed is output to the application setting operation detecting circuit 24.

The cursor movement detection circuit 22 carries out cursor movement information for moving the cursor 11 on the screen of the display unit 14 in accordance with the inward direction key single pressure detection signal output from the inward direction key press detection circuit 25. Output to CPU20. The CPU 20 outputs the cursor movement information output from the cursor movement detection circuit 22 to the display unit 14 through the output circuit 21. Therefore, the cursor 11 moves on the screen of the display unit 14 in the direction specified by the user.

The scroll movement detecting circuit 23 outputs scroll movement information for scrolling the screen of the display unit 14 to the CPU 20 in accordance with the simultaneous pressing detection signal output from the simultaneous pressing detection circuit 27. The CPU 20 outputs scroll movement information output from the scroll movement detection circuit 23 to the display unit 14 through the output circuit 21. Therefore, the screen of the display unit 14 scrolls in the direction specified by the user (the direction indicated by the outward direction key pressed by the inner direction key 15e simultaneously).

The application setting operation detection circuit 24 is an application for performing the setting operation of the application software on the screen of the display unit 14 in accordance with the outward key pressing pressure detection signal output from the outward key pressing detection circuit 26. The setting operation information is output to the CPU 20. The CPU 20 outputs the application setting operation information output from the application setting operation detecting circuit 24 to the display unit 14 via the output circuit 21. Therefore, the setting operation (start or end) of the application software is performed on the screen of the display unit 14. This application software is, for example, a program having a function of enlarging the size of characters in data displayed on the screen of the display unit 14 so that the user can easily read them when reading them.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a modification of the key operation unit in the portable electronic device of FIG. 1.

The key operation part 15A shown in FIG. 6 is an example which has arrange | positioned the direction key of three steps. The key operation part 15A is comprised so that the direction keys 15f, 15g, 15h, and 15i which were provided adjacent to the outer side of the outer direction keys 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d in the structure of FIG. It is.

Similarly, the key operation part of the portable electronic apparatus of FIG. 1 can also be set as the structure which arrange | positioned the direction key of 4 or more steps | paragraphs.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating another modified example of the key operation unit of the portable electronic device of FIG. 1.

The key operation part 15B shown in FIG. 7 is an example which has arrange | positioned the direction key of two steps, and instead of four outer direction keys 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d in the structure of FIG. The outer direction key 15j which integrally formed was provided. When configured as in the key operation part 15B of FIG. 7, when a user presses an inward direction key and an outward direction key simultaneously, a user can facilitate the pressurization operation of not only an up-down, left-right direction, but also scroll movement of an inclination direction. have.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure when performing basic operations of the portable electronic device of the present invention.

The control procedure of FIG. 8 controls the screen display of the display part 14 by executing the control part (CPU 20 of FIG. 11) of the portable electronic apparatus of this invention according to the program stored in the memory | storage part (not shown). .

In the control procedure of FIG. 8, first, in step S11, the CPU 20 monitors the presence or absence of a pressurization operation with respect to any of the direction keys of the key operation unit 15. When the user presses the direction key on any of the direction keys in the key operation unit 15, the process proceeds to the next step S12.

In step S12, the CPU 20 determines whether one of the inner direction keys 15e and the outer direction keys 15a-15d has been pressurized at the same time. If the determination result in step S12 is YES, the CPU 20 outputs scroll movement information output from the scroll movement detection circuit 23 to the display unit 14 via the output circuit 21 in step S13. When step S13 is completed, the flow returns to step S11.

If the determination result of step S12 is "no", execution proceeds to next step S14. In step S14, the CPU 20 determines whether the inward direction key 15e has been pressurized by itself. If the determination result in step S14 is YES, the CPU 20 outputs the cursor movement information output from the cursor movement detection circuit 22 to the display unit 14 through the output circuit 21 in step S15. When step S15 is completed, the flow returns to step S11.

If the determination result of step S14 is "no", the process proceeds to the next step S16. In step S16, the CPU 20 determines whether the outward direction key 15d has been pressurized by itself. If the determination result of step S16 is YES, in step S17, the CPU 20 outputs the application setting information output from the application setting operation detection circuit 24 to the display unit 14 via the output circuit 21 ( 9). If step S17 is completed or if the determination result of step S16 is "no", the process returns to step S11.

9 is a flowchart for explaining the control procedure when performing the setting operation of the application software.

The control procedure of FIG. 9 controls the screen display of the display part 14 by executing the control part (CPU 20 of FIG. 11) of the portable electronic apparatus of this invention according to the program stored in the memory | storage part (not shown). .

First, in the case where the CPU 20 determines in step S21 that one of the outward direction keys of the key operation unit 15 has been pressed alone (for example, the determination result of step S16 in FIG. 8 is YES). Including), the control procedure of FIG. 9 is started.

In step S22, the CPU 20 determines whether the outer direction key 15a has been pressurized by itself. If the determination result in step S22 is YES, the CPU 20 outputs the first scroll movement information 1 (see FIG. 2) to the display unit 14 via the output circuit 21 in step S23. When step S23 is completed, execution proceeds to next step S30.

If the determination result of step S22 is "no", in next step S24, the CPU 20 determines whether the outer direction key 15b has been pressurized by itself. If the determination result in step S24 is YES, the CPU 20 outputs the second scroll movement information 2 (see FIG. 3) to the display unit 14 via the output circuit 21 in step S25. When step S25 is completed, execution proceeds to step S30.

If the determination result of step S24 is "no", in next step S26, the CPU 20 determines whether the outer direction key 15d has been pressurized by itself. If the determination result in step S26 is YES, the CPU 20 outputs the application setting information output from the application setting operation detection circuit 24 to the display unit 14 via the output circuit 21 in step S27. .

When the application setting information output at this time is, for example, control information for starting the application software, the size of the characters in the data displayed on the screen of the display unit 14 is enlarged by the additional function.

On the other hand, if the single press operation of the outer direction key 15d by the user is performed again, the application setting information output at that time becomes control information for terminating the application software.

When step S27 is completed, execution proceeds to step S30.

When the determination result of step S26 is "no", in next step S28, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the outer direction key 15c has been pressurized by itself. If the determination result in step S28 is YES, in step S29 the CPU 20 outputs the application setting information for performing the setting operation of the other application software to the display unit 14 via the output circuit 21. When step S29 is completed, execution proceeds to step S30.

In step S30, the CPU 20 monitors the presence or absence of a pressurization operation with respect to any of the direction keys of the key operation unit 15. As described above, when the user presses the directional key in any one of the key operating units 15, the control procedure shown in FIG. 8 or the other control procedure is started.

Next, FIG. 5 is a figure for demonstrating the application example of a 2nd scroll operation.

This example shows an application example of the second scroll operation when the map browsing software is started.

First, the map browsing software is started. Next, the second scroll operation information ② is set. Then, the inward direction key 15e is pressed alone to move the cursor 11 to a position where the image 17a indicating the present location in the map data is pointed.

At this time, as shown in Fig. 5A, an image 17a indicating the present location in the map data and a cursor 11 are displayed on the screen of the display unit 14.

Here, when the outward direction key 15b is pressurized by itself, the second scroll operation information is output to the CPU 20 of the controller, and the screen of the display unit 14 including the cursor 11 scrolls downward. do. By repeating this operation, as shown in FIG. 5B, the image 17b indicating the destination in the map data is searched on the screen of the display unit 14.

Then, when the user wants to return to the image 17a indicating the present location, the inner direction key 15e is clicked. The screen of the display unit 14 returns instantly to the state shown in FIG.

The example of FIG. 5 is effective when a user browses data (newspaper, a map, etc.) with a big display size on the screen of the display part 14. As shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a control procedure when starting the map browsing software shown in FIG. 5 to perform a map data browsing operation.

The control procedure of FIG. 10 controls the screen display of the display part 14 by executing the control part (CPU 20 of FIG. 11) of the portable electronic apparatus of this invention according to the program stored in the memory | storage part (not shown). .

In the control procedure of FIG. 10, first, in step S31, the CPU 20 starts the map browsing software. In this step S31, for example, when the user presses and operates the outer direction key 15b of the key operation unit 15 alone, the CPU 20 activates the map browsing software accordingly.

In step S32, the CPU 20 sets the second scroll operation information ②.

In step S33, the CPU 20 monitors the presence or absence of a pressurization operation with respect to any of the direction keys of the key operation unit 15. As described above, when the user presses the direction key on any of the direction keys in the key operation unit 15, the process proceeds to the next step S34.

In step S34, the CPU 20 executes the same procedure as in steps S12-S17 in FIG. The user performs a map data browsing operation using a cursor movement operation, a scroll movement operation, or the like.

In step S35, the CPU 20 determines whether the inner direction key 15e has been clicked. When the determination result in step S35 is YES, in step S36, the CPU 20 controls the screen display of the display unit 14 in accordance with the click operation of the inward direction key 15e. The screen of the display unit 14 returns to the screen including the display position immediately before the cursor 11 at once.

When step S36 is completed or when the determination result of step S35 is "no", the process returns to the step S33.

As described above, according to the portable electronic device of the present invention, even when reading and editing the data on the large screen, the user can easily operate with one hand (thumb), thereby improving operability.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated based on the Example, this invention is not limited to the said Example, A various deformation | transformation is possible within the range as described in a claim.

Claims (5)

A key operating unit for detecting each pressing operation of a first direction key and a second direction key provided in the vicinity of the first direction key and outputting a detection signal, a display unit, and the display unit according to a detection signal from the key operation unit A portable electronic device having a control unit for controlling a screen display of The control unit, Cursor movement detection means for outputting cursor movement information for moving the cursor displayed on the screen of the display unit on the screen in accordance with a detection signal output when the first direction key is pressed alone; Scroll movement detection means for outputting scroll operation information for scrolling the screen of the display unit according to a detection signal output when the first direction key and the second direction key are pressed simultaneously; Portable electronic device comprising a. The method of claim 1, And the control unit includes means for outputting first scroll operation information for scrolling the screen of the display unit while fixing the display position of the cursor. The method of claim 1, And the control unit includes means for outputting second scroll operation information for scrolling the screen of the display unit including the cursor. The method of claim 1, The control unit includes application setting detection means for outputting application setting information for performing an application setting operation on a screen of the display unit according to a detection signal output when the second direction key is pressed alone. A portable electronic device characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 1, The cursor movement information output by the cursor movement detecting means is control information for returning the screen of the display unit to the lower surface including the display position immediately before the cursor when the first direction key is clicked. A portable electronic device characterized by the above-mentioned.