KR20100094086A

KR20100094086A - Scroll input apparatus

Info

Publication number: KR20100094086A
Application number: KR1020090013335A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 장순길
Original assignee: 장순길
Priority date: 2009-02-18
Filing date: 2009-02-18
Publication date: 2010-08-26

Abstract

PURPOSE: A scroll adjustment device is provided to adjust a scroll operation of a personal information terminal and a computer by using a pointing stick, a finger, a finger mouse and a touch pad. CONSTITUTION: An output signal of a pointing stick(1) is used as an input for adjusting the window content scrolling of an active window. The window content of the active window determines a scrolling direction and a scrolling speed according to direction and intensity for pushing or pulling the pointing stick to be scrolled.

Description

Scroll Adjuster {Scroll Input Apparatus}

Mouse, trackball, digitize, touch screen, touch pad, pointing stick, finger mouse and the like are used to move the pointer on the portable computer screen.

Scrolling the contents of the window visible on the active computer's active window up or down or left and right is called scrolling. To adjust this scrolling, touch the wheel of the mouse, the vertical scroll bar of the active window on the touch screen, or the horizontal scroll bar directly with the stylus pen. Click or drag, scroll zones on the edge of the touch pad are commonly used, and scrolling by keys is also possible.

To scroll the contents of the window displayed in the active window of the Personal Digital Assistants (Personal Digital Assistants), touch or drag the vertical scroll bar or the horizontal scroll bar of the active window directly with the stylus pen on the touch screen, and adjust the scrolling using keys or buttons. This is possible.

The wheel of a conventional mouse was a representative device used for scroll adjustment. The conventional mouse wheel has a method of determining the direction of scrolling and the amount of scrolling, respectively, with the direction of rotation and the number of rotations. So if you need a lot of scrolling, you had to turn a lot of wheels.

On the touch screen, you can adjust the scrolling by clicking or dragging the scroll bar on the active window directly with the stylus pen. However, if you have a small screen, such as a notebook PC or a PC, and have a large range of window content to look for, you will need a lot of scrolling. Clicking and dragging the scroll bar directly with a stylus pen can be cumbersome. In addition, the current position of the pointer is changed, the user may need to take his or her hands along the scroll bar, and the active window may be covered by the hand.

Using the scroll zone on the edge of the touchpad has the advantage of adjusting scrolling slightly off the screen, and the ability to keep the pointer in its current position, but it's like using a mouse wheel to rotate the pad. You need to touch your finger repeatedly. If you need a lot of scrolling, you will have to drag your finger a lot.

Scrolling through the keys can only be done with a key, such as a notebook PC, with arrows that move line by line, page up or page down by page, and lose the selection of selected text or selected cells.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for adjusting scrolling using a pointing stick, a finger mouse, and a touch pad in a main body of a PC or a PC without a mouse.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for adjusting scrolling by installing a wheel or trackball on a body or mouse of a notebook PC or a PC.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method of adjusting a scroll by installing a finger mouse or a touch pad in the mouse.

The pointing stick and finger mouse can be used to adjust scrolling, not just to move the pointer. When using a finger mouse or a touch pad, the scroll zone of the finger mouse or touch pad is used as a pointing stick, rather than a conventional wheel, to adjust scrolling. When you install a wheel or trackball on a laptop PC or a PC, or a mouse, to adjust scrolling, use the wheel or trackball as a pointing stick to adjust scrolling.

When using the notebook PC, you can see the significant difference and effect when comparing the scrolling by rotating the wheel of a mouse with a finger and using the pointing stick to adjust scrolling instead of moving the pointer.

Conventional wheels can be said to be the most convenient and widely used scroll adjusting means. The amount of scrolling is determined by the amount of wheel rotation, and the amount of scrolling can be set at one time. But the basic thing is that you have to turn the wheel to scroll. The amount of scrolling depends entirely on the amount of wheels you turn, so you have to spin the wheel a lot for many scrolls. When you read a large document or frequently move back and forth through a document to find a specific material, you keep turning the wheel a lot. Also, the speed of scrolling depends entirely on the speed of the wheel, so if you want a faster scroll you have to turn the wheel faster. It doesn't take a lot of effort to turn the wheel, but it can put a lot of pressure on the fingers of people who do this all day and every day and can cause illness on their fingers.

The pointing stick itself does not move. However, the pointing stick has a pressure sensor that can detect the direction and intensity of the force applied. The conventional pointing stick moves the pointer by sensing the direction and intensity of the force applied to the pointing stick, and the direction of the force is the direction of movement of the pointer. The strength of the force determines the speed of movement. In other words, the higher the force, the faster the speed. The user is holding the pointing stick with a light finger, pushing or pulling, watching the pointer's movement, continually maintaining or correcting the direction and increasing the speed when it is necessary to increase the force and slow down when it is necessary to increase the speed. Continue to operate the pointing stick while lowering the force. And when you want to stop, you can stop at any time by releasing your finger or lifting your finger from the pointing stick. When you use your finger to force the pointing stick, it's not as hard as you hit it from the beginning, but it's not natural and easy unless you have a specific intention to do so. Normally, when the pointing stick is operated with a finger, a force is applied in a "strongly" manner. Thus, the movement of the pointer also moves in a "fast" manner. The user follows the eye without missing the pointer movement and decides the next action. For this reason, the use of the pointing stick does not need to move the finger continuously like turning a wheel, but it does not need to be, but quickness is much lower than that of a mouse.

In the case of a mouse, since the direction and distance of the mouse determine the direction and distance of the pointer movement, the mouse can be quickly moved to the target point by the agile movement of the mouse. The user does not have to follow the movement of the pointer with eyes and waits around the pointer at the expected arrival point.

Pointer movements sometimes require precise movement of nearby points within a small range, but sometimes require rapid movement from top to bottom or diagonally on the screen, requiring both precision and quickness. Mice are better suited to these needs than pointing sticks and they are used more and more. An example of a need for a mouse is a game, in which case it is difficult to see who is playing the game using a pointing stick.

Unlike the movement of the pointer, when scrolling the contents of the active window, it is necessary to move the contents in the active window little by little to maintain the continuity of the contents and not lose the user's focus. The scrolling feature is often used to read data using an Internet browser, find what you want, read mail, create and edit large documents, and view spreadsheets. If you use the pointing stick to adjust the scroll-not to move the pointer-as the scroll adjuster, the user can scroll while pushing or pulling while pointing the finger at the current position with a light touch of the pointing stick. You can adjust the direction and speed. You just need to push or pull the pointing stick without moving your finger continuously for continuous scrolling. Whenever you want to stop scrolling, just remove your finger from the pointing stick or release your finger. Moreover, scrolling is not only necessary vertically, but also horizontal scrolling in some cases, and the pointing stick can adjust the scrolling direction in all directions, allowing scrolling in the desired direction at once. This not only makes it easy to adjust scrolling without a mouse, but can also be a better advantage than using a conventional wheel even when a mouse is available.

The conventional method of using the scroll zone of the touch pad is to drag the finger against the scroll zone of the touch pad as if the wheel was being turned with the finger. If you need to turn a lot of wheels, it means you have to drag your finger a lot to the scroll zone of the touchpad. Also, the only thing you can do for fast scrolling is to drag your finger quickly. The touch pad usage according to the present invention uses the scroll zone of the touch pad in the same manner as using a pointing stick, so that repetitive drag is not required for many scrolls, and scroll speed can be adjusted.

A finger mouse is a device such as a touch pad miniaturized and placed on a button. Therefore, as with the touch pad, the pointer moves can be adjusted, and the mouse can be clicked, double-clicked, or pressed for a long time. If the finger mouse can be used for scroll adjustment through function switching instead of using only the pointer movement as in the prior art, the finger mouse can be used as the scroll zone of the touch pad of the present invention to be an excellent scroll control device. can do.

The wheel according to the present invention uses a different method than when using the wheel in a conventional mouse to adjust scrolling by installing in the body of a mouse, a notebook PC and a PC. When using a wheel in a conventional mouse, the vertical scroll is performed in the direction of turning the wheel, but the amount of scroll is determined in proportion to the amount of the wheel turning. In the present invention, the wheel is used as a pointing stick to perform vertical scrolling in the direction of turning the wheel, so that the speed of the scroll is determined according to the size of the angle at which the wheel is turned. If you want to maintain fast scrolling, keep the wheel angle rotated in response to the fast scrolling. If you want to slow down the scrolling speed a little, turn the wheel in the opposite direction to reduce the wheel's rotation angle a little bit more than before. You can return the wheel to its original position or remove your finger from the wheel. This way, even if you have a lot of scrolls, you don't have to turn the wheels with your fingers. Of course, a device must be installed under the wheel to detect finger contact.

The trackball according to the present invention can be used not only for moving the pointer but also for adjusting scrolls by switching functions when installed in the body of a mouse, a notebook PC and a PC. When the trackball is to adjust scrolling instead of moving the pointer, the present invention uses the trackball as a pointing stick rather than as turning a wheel in a conventional mouse to adjust scrolling. Scroll in the direction in which you rotate the trackball, but do not scroll in such a way that the amount of scroll is proportional to the amount of rotation of the trackball. The speed of the scroll is determined in proportion to the amount of angle the trackball is rotated. The scrolling stops when you return the trackball to its original position or remove your finger from the trackball. This not only allows you to scroll in all directions, but also allows you to do a lot of scrolling without having to keep rotating the trackball with your fingers, and you can adjust the speed of scrolling at will. Of course, a device for detecting finger contact must be installed under the trackball.

The pointing stick 1 is located mainly in the center of the keyboard of the notebook PC as shown in FIG. 1. The pointing stick 1 has a pressure sensor to detect the direction and intensity of the force applied. In the prior art, the signal from the pointing stick 1 was connected by the movement of the pointer. So, when you push or pull the pointing stick, the pointer moves, and the speed of movement of the pointer changes according to the pushing and pulling strength.

The pointing stick 1 according to the present invention may be used exclusively for scroll adjustment, or may alternate between two roles of movement of the pointer and scroll adjustment through function switching. The function can be switched via the key or the button. For example, you can use Ctrl-x, Alt-x, or Fn-x, and choose one or two of A-Z, 0-9, or F1-F12 for x. Selecting one toggles the pointer movement each time you press the key, or vice versa. Scrolling the selection changes the pointer movement by hitting one key and scroll adjustment by hitting another key. will be. The buttons can be operated by double-clicking the right button (3, 6), or you can make a separate key, button or switch.

Once the signal from the pointing stick (1) is associated with the scroll adjustment, the pointer no longer moves when the pointing stick is pushed or pulled, and the window contents of the active window scroll without changing the selection when the contents of the window were selected. do. The direction of the scroll is the same as the direction of the force on the pointing stick, and the speed of the scroll is proportional to the strength of the force on the pointing stick. The movement by the pointing stick is not as agile as a mouse, but it is a gradual movement, so it is perfect for scroll adjustments that must be followed without missing the subject you are looking at. Pointing sticks allow you to perform horizontal and vertical scrolling at the same time, adjust the scrolling speed even if you need continuous scrolling or a large amount of scrolling, as well as avoiding the trouble of turning the wheel for a long time or a lot. Will be said. For notebook PCs with a touchpad, you can use the touchpad to move the pointer so that you can share the role with the pointing stick.

Touch pads 4 and 21 are common devices in portable computers, such as notebook PCs. When the finger is placed on one of the touch pads 4 and 21, it corresponds to the place where the current pointer is located. When the finger is dragged, the pointer moves in the same direction as the finger movement direction. A part of the touch pads 4 and 21 may be used as the scroll zones 7 and 8 in some cases. 7 of FIG. 1 shows an area for adjusting vertical scrolling, and 8 of FIG. 1 shows an area for adjusting horizontal scrolling. If a user places a finger on the area and drags it vertically or horizontally, the contents of the window of the active window can be scrolled.

The use of the conventional scroll zones 7 and 8 in the touch pad 4 was similar to the method using the wheel of a mouse. That is, scrolling by one finger drag. So if you have a lot of scrolling, you have to drag your finger a lot, and if you want to scroll fast, you have to drag your finger quickly. In order to make scrolling quick and convenient, the vertical scroll zone 7 should be as long as vertically and the horizontal scroll zone 8 as long as horizontally. Even so, it is inconvenient to continuously drag the finger on the touch pad, so using the scroll zone of the touch pad for scroll adjustment is only a temporary solution.

In the touch pads 4, 21 and 57, the scroll zone can be made to be used in a manner similar to that of using a pointing stick. FIG. 2 shows that the scroll zone is defined on the touch pad 21 and the concentric circles 22 are drawn to display the area. The user may place a finger on the center 23 of the scroll zone 22 and drag a finger in a direction to scroll, and may drag the finger away from the center 23 as much as the user wants to speed up the scrolling. That is, the direction in which the finger is dragged becomes the scroll direction, and the scroll speed is adjusted by the distance in which the finger is dragged. To stop scrolling, just remove your finger from the scroll zone. The touch pad 57 of the mouse in FIG. 8 is entirely a scroll zone. In practice, since it is difficult for a user to place a finger on the center 23 of the scroll zones 22 and 57 accurately, the center 24 of the scroll zones 22 and 57 is shown as the center 23. You can do it. This not only reduces the space occupied by the scroll zone 22 in the touch pad 21, but also allows the user to comfortably adjust the speed of the finger regardless of the amount of scrolling and easily adjust the speed. When scrolling is adjusted through the scroll zones 22 and 57 in this way, the position of the pointer does not change, and when there is a selection in the window contents, the window contents of the active window are scrolled without changing the selection.

Finger mice 12 and 58 are miniature touch pads placed on buttons. It is suitable for small equipment such as PD. 3 and 5 show a PD using the finger mouse 12. In the PD, the signal of the conventional finger mouse 12 was connected by the movement of the pointer or by pressing an arrow key. 9 shows a mouse using a finger mouse 58.

The finger mouse 12 or 58 according to the present invention may be used exclusively for scroll adjustment or may alternately play various roles such as moving a pointer, inputting an arrow key, and adjusting scroll through function switching. Function switching can be made by using the buttons 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16. If you choose to use only one button, you can switch to pointer movement each time you press the button or vice versa.If you decide to use two buttons, press one button to switch to pointer movement. Press to switch to scrolling.

Once the signals generated by the finger mouse 12, 58 are connected to the scroll adjustment, the entire finger mouse 12, 58 operates like the scroll zone 22 of the touch pad of FIG. 2. Therefore, when the finger moves to the finger mouse 12, 58, the pointer no longer moves, and when there is a selection in the window contents of the active window, the window contents of the active window are scrolled without changing the selection. The direction of the scroll is the direction in which the finger moves about the first fingered position, and the speed of the scroll is proportional to the distance the finger moves away from the center. When the finger is released from the finger mouse 12, 58, the scrolling stops. In the case of PDA, it is important to have many functions, but the contents become more important when used in practice. When viewing the contents of a window, the viewable area of a narrow window is so small that it goes without saying the need for scrolling. Even in the case of touch screens, you need to be very careful to take the scroll bar of the active window by hand because it is easy to cover the field of view with your hand and touch a small area. Although the finger mouse 12, 58 may move the pointer, it would be very convenient to press a button to switch functions and serve as scroll adjustment.

4 to 5 show the track balls 31 and 41 and the wheels 32 and 42 installed in the notebook PC and the PD, respectively. 6 to 7 show the wheel 53 and the track ball 55 installed in the mouse, respectively. The trackballs 31, 41, 55 and the wheels 32, 42, 53 are independent of each other, and both do not have to be present at the same time, and the positions to be installed are not limited as illustrated. The trackballs 31, 41, 55 and the wheels 32, 42, 53 in FIGS. 4 to 7 each have a pressure sensing device under the trackballs 31, 41, 55 and the wheels 32, 42, 53, respectively. It can be installed to detect finger touch. The pressure sensing device is at and below the pressure at which pressure is applied above and below the minimum pressure at which the finger presses to turn the trackballs 31, 41, 55 or the wheels 32, 42, 53. When the furnace pressure is released, the current position of the trackballs 31, 41, 55 or the wheels 32, 42, 53 is set to an initial state. The reason for this is to provide an easy way for the trackballs 31, 41, 55 or wheels 32, 42, 53 to stop scrolling since the angle of rotation in the initial state is associated with the scroll speed. In this case, you can stop scrolling by releasing your finger from the trackballs 31, 41, 55 or wheels 32, 42, 53. If you do not use a pressure sensing device, the trackballs 31, 41, 55 or wheels 32 , 42, 53) may not stop scrolling unless they are returned to their initial state correctly. The pressure sensor can be used as a button or a pressure sensor.

In the case of the wheels 32, 42, and 53, the vertical scrolling is performed in the direction in which the fingers touch the wheels 32, 42, and 53, and the wheels 32, 42, and 53 are rotated in the initial state. Make the scrolling speed change proportionally. The pointer does not move for the rotation of the wheels 32, 42, 53, and the window contents of the active window are scrolled without changing the selection when there is a selection in the window contents. When the finger is released from the wheels 32, 42 and 53 to stop scrolling, the pressure sensing device recognizes this and stops scrolling.

In the case of the trackballs 31, 41 and 55, when the trackballs 31, 41 and 55 are linked with the scroll control, the pointer no longer moves with respect to the movement of the trackballs 31, 41 and 55, and there is a selection in the window contents. When scrolling, the window contents of the active window are scrolled without changing the selection. Perform scrolling in the direction of turning the trackball by touching the trackballs (31, 41, 55) with your fingers, but in proportion to the magnitude of the angle returned after the trackballs (31, 41, 55) are initially in contact with your fingers. Allow the speed to vary. When the finger is released from the trackballs 31, 41 and 55 to stop scrolling, the pressure sensing device recognizes this and stops scrolling. Unlike the wheels 32, 42, and 53, the track balls 31, 41, and 55 can simultaneously scroll in all directions at once.

An embodiment can be seen through FIGS. 1 to 7.

In portable computers and digital devices such as notebook PCs and Personal Digital Assistants, pointing sticks, finger mice, touch pads, wheels, and trackballs are already widely used. Its use is only slightly different. Using such hardware as it is, or adding a little bit and using it a little differently, can provide a really convenient function. The characteristic of the portable equipment is its portability, and since it is often used in an environment in which a mouse is difficult to use, it is very important to use a device in a main body without using a mouse. Since the present invention can be said to add a little added value to the existing device, the industrial applicability is very high.

1 shows a pointing stick and touch pad in a notebook PC.

2 shows a state in which the scroll zone of the touch pad according to the present invention is disposed on a portion of the touch pad. The concentric circle is the scroll zone.

3 shows a personal digital assistant (PID) and a finger mouse.

4 shows a trackball and wheels installed in a notebook PC.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which a finger mouse, a trackball, and a wheel are installed in a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant).

6 shows a state in which a wheel with a pressure sensing device is installed in a mouse.

7 shows a state in which a track ball with a pressure sensing device is installed in a mouse.

8 shows a small touch pad installed in a mouse.

9 shows a finger mouse installed in the mouse.

Claims

In computers and personal digital assistants, including notebook PCs,

Including a pointing stick;

Connecting the output signal of the pointing stick to the input of the window content scroll adjustment of the active window, scrolling the window contents of the active window by determining the scroll direction and speed of the window contents of the active window, respectively, for the direction of pushing or pulling the pointing stick and its strength; Scroll adjusting device, characterized in that.

In computers and personal digital assistants, including mice and notebook PCs,

Including a touch pad;

Scrolling the window contents of the active window by setting a portion of the touch pad as the scroll zone and setting the scrolling direction and the speed of the window contents of the active window with respect to the direction and distance of dragging the finger to this area; Scroll adjusting device, characterized in that.

In computers and personal digital assistants, including mice and notebook PCs,

Finger mice;

Scroll the window contents of the active window by setting the direction and speed of scrolling of the contents of the active window with respect to the direction and distance of finger dragging; Scroll adjusting device, characterized in that.

In computers and personal digital assistants, including mice and notebook PCs,

Including a wheel;

The wheel has a pressure sensing device to recognize the contact and departure of the finger. Adjust the scrolling by placing your finger on the wheel and determining the direction and speed of scrolling through the contents of the active window for each turn and angle. Lifting your finger off the wheel stops scrolling; Scroll adjusting device, characterized in that.

In computers and personal digital assistants, including mice and notebook PCs,

Including a trackball;

The trackball has a pressure sensing device to recognize the touch and release of the finger. Adjust the scrolling by placing your finger on the trackball and setting the direction and speed of scrolling through the contents of the active window for each turn and angle. Lift your finger off the trackball to stop scrolling; Scroll adjusting device, characterized in that.