FI79413C - ANORDINATION FOR AVAILING AV COMPUTERS. - Google Patents

Description

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DEVICE FOR USING A COMPUTER

The invention relates to a device for operating a computer as defined in the preamble of claim 1.

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Commonly used tools for professional computer use include a mouse and a stylus. The mouse is moved on a table or special platform. The cursor on the image screen of the computer screen is moved in proportion to the movement of the mouse. The mouse is thus used as a relative pointing device, the absolute position of which is irrelevant, and therefore a separate cursor is used. A highlighter is usually an absolute pointing device. The computer immediately registers the coordinates of the pen tip on the screen as an indication point.

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The mouse, rather than a stylus, is now widely used as a pointing device for personal computers. Several programs are made to work with the mouse, but not with the 2Q highlighter. The mouse is simply connected to the computer via the serial port. However, the light pen offers some ergonomic advantages over the mouse. Operation is faster because the stylus can be immediately placed in the pointing position, while when using the mouse, the cursor holds the "roller-25" at the desired position. Using the pen with your fingers is also more accurate than moving the mouse with your arm muscles. Connecting a stylus, on the other hand, is more complicated, and the connection takes place inside the computer via a special interface unit. In addition, software is required that takes into account the use of highlighters.

The object of the invention is to provide a device for using a computer which combines the advantages of a mouse and a stylus, while eliminating their disadvantages. In order to achieve this, the aid according to the invention is characterized by the elements set out in the claims.

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The computer use aid object of the invention works in the same way as a light pen. The device includes control logic that makes the signals given by the highlighter similar to those given by the mouse. Thus, the device can be connected directly to the mouse without having to make any changes to the computer or software. The 1 or 3 buttons on the mouse to start computer functions can also be added to the highlighter. Their signals are transmitted along a serial line just like 10 in a mouse. The most common button can work when you press the stylus against the screen.

In the following, the invention will be explained in detail with the aid of the accompanying drawing, which schematically shows the structure of the device 15 according to the invention.

The device is indicated by a light pen 1 to which the necessary buttons 18 have been added in the mouse. The light pen 1 is most preferably of a type known per se, comprising optics such as a lens, a light-sensitive detector, a pulse amplifier 12 and a modifier 13. control logic 10. By means of the synchronization logic 9, the light pen 1 is arranged to synchronize with the video signal or a corresponding image signal of the display device. By means of the control logic 10, the output signals of the light pen 1 are converted into the corresponding output signals of a mouse known per se, i.e. the signals are transmitted in serial form. The control logic 10 is connected by interface logic to the mouse interface of the actual computer, such as a serial communication port. Buttons 18 30 are connected to control logic 10.

The functions of the synchronization and control logic 9, 10 are: to synchronize the output signals of the pen 1 to a video signal of a computer display device or the like, to form the coordinates of the tip 35 to the serial communication port and perform a calibration operation when the light pen 5 is started.

The device can be connected by means of synchronization logic 9 directly to the video signal source 16 of the computer display device via a suitable synchronizing pulse separating device 17. 10 On the other hand, the synchronization pulses of the display can be captured from the image surface, e.g. via a separate capture coil 2. An amplifier 14 and a modifier 15 or a combination thereof are connected to the capture circuit 2.

15 Synchronization is carried out, for example, by means of a phase-locked loop 3. The synchronization logic 9 then includes a voltage-controlled oscillator 4 oscillating at the pixel frequency of the display device, followed by a pixel counter 5 and a line counter 6. The pixel counter 5 counts the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the image, i.e. in the x-axis direction. The duo counter 6 counts the number of lines in the image in the vertical direction of the image, i.e. in the direction of the y-axis. The phase-locked loop 3 locks the frequency of the oscillator 4 as desired by comparing the line pulses given by the point counter 5 with the line pulses obtained from the synchronization signal 25 of the video signal.

The video image basically consists of n lines, each of which can be divided into m parts, i.e. a raster formed by n x m sample points (n and m integers). The maximum values m and n of the pixel counter 30 5 and the line counter 6 are determined by the video standard used. The device can either be fabricated to a specific standard, the standard (dots on the line and lines in the field) can be set with a selector switch, or the logic associated with the device can be inferred by examining its video-35 signal.

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The light pen 1 emits an output signal such as a pulse when the cathode beam passes the tip of the pen pressed against the display screen. The tip of the light pen has a light emitting diode or similar indicator. The output pulse of the detector is amplified by an amplifier 12 5 and modified by a suitable modulator 13, or the output pulse is processed by a combination thereof. The amplified and modified output pulses are applied to the pixel 3 and line counter 6 to form the x, y coordinates of the tip of the light pen. From the counters, the coordinates are fed to the control logic 10. The counting registers 5, 6 are connected to the corresponding spacing registers: image dot register 7 and line register 8. For each pen output pulse 1a, the values of the counters 3, 6 are transferred to the respective registers 7, 8. . The coordinate calculation logic 15, preferably, for example, the microprocessor to which the registers 7, 8 are connected, continuously monitors the coordinates x, y stored in the registers. After detecting the change Αχ, .Ay during a certain observation interval, the computational logic 11 converts this to the mouse-corresponding increments-20, AX, AY, with transformation factors: (Αχ, ΔΥ) = (kxAx, ky Ay).

It is observed that absolute coordinates are not required to track the movement of the tip of the highlighter 1. Thus, the sync-25 tuning logic does not need to separate the field synchronization pulses of the video signal.

The incremental quantities AX and .AY corresponding to the movement of the highlighter are converted to a serial format, i.e. they are fitted to a mouse interface, which is a serial communication port. Most preferably, this is also done by a microprocessor acting as control logic 11. The buttons 18 of the highlighter 1 are also connected to the control logic 10, which similarly adapts the button presses to the mouse interface.

An initial pacing function is required when the device or software is started. This is because the cursor on the surface of the display image 79413 must first be placed at the tip of the highlighter 1. The application program "sees" only this cursor. Initial pacing can be done by placing the pen tip over the cursor, and pressing one of the 1 5 buttons on the stylus. Only then does the control logic 10 begin to generate mouse pulses, or characters, in serial form. When the pen tip is now moved, the cursor follows the tip if the coefficients kx and ky are correct. The value of the odds depends on the mouse being replaced. The device can be fabricated for fixed multipliers, the coefficients can be selected, or they can be calculated by performing two synchronization operations in succession on a different part of the image surface.

When the device is used, the cursor 15 displayed on the screen image surface automatically follows the tip of the highlighter 1. Thus, the user does not have to move the cursor, but can focus directly on pointing and drawing with the highlighter itself. When the user puts the highlighter aside and places it in a new position, he does not have to place it on the cursor, but 20 he places it directly in the desired place. According to the operating principle of the control logic 10, it is clear that the logic now generates pulses describing the difference between the old and the new location, and thus seems to run the cursor to the tip of the pen.

25 The device is intended for use directly on top of a picture tube or similar display device. To make the working position more comfortable, the screen can be embedded in the desktop with the screen diagonally facing up, such as the drawing table work surface. It would be even more advantageous to project the image from below on a frosted glass acting as a work surface 30. This would avoid the parallax error that otherwise occurs in screen work due to the thick windshield of the picture tube.

The capture coil 2 can be placed in a separate unit next to a display device such as a monitor. The field is usually so strong that the synchronization of the oscillator 4 takes place without interference. · On the other hand, the capture coil 2 can also be placed in the same housing as the other device, if the housing is placed in the vicinity of the display device.

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The operation of the device in connection with a cathode ray tube display device has been described above. However, the device is applicable to all display devices based on the generation of m x n points on the image surface in pe-10 sequentially by means of raster-like scanning.

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Claims (6)

7 79413 γ'λ'ΓΕΚ 1ΊIV AATI K, u ^ bEi ' A device for operating a computer, which device consists of a light pen (1), a synchronization (9) and a control logic (10) known per se, the synchronization logic (9) comprising a coordinate counter such as a pixel counter (5) and a line counter (6), to which synchronization logic the light pen (1) is connected, which control logic (10) comprises a coordinate register 10 such as a pixel (7) and a line register (8) and a calculation logic (11) such as a microprocessor, and which coordinate counter (5, 6 ) is further connected to a coordinate register (7, 8) of the control logic (10), by means of which the light pen (1) is arranged to synchronize with the video signal of the display device or the like and to change the output signals of the light pen (1) to the computer as output signals suitable for a standard connection, characterized in that in the device the synchronization with the video signal takes place by means of 20 phase-locked loops, i.e. phase lock (3), which phase lock (3) includes a voltage controlled oscillator (4) oscillating at the pixel frequency of the application device and a subsequent pixel counter (5). Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the device is connected directly to the video signal source (16) of the display device by means of synchronization logic (9). Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the device is connected to the stray field of the video signal by means of a capture coil (2) and synchronization logic (9). ·. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control logic (10) and the phase lock (3) are arranged so that the type of video system is identified by the control logic (10) by setting the fundamental frequency of the phase lock (3) so that the video system and device operating in synchronous 3 79413 n. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the light pen (1) is provided with buttons (18) used in the mouse. Device according to Claim 5, characterized in that the buttons (18) of the light pen (1) are connected to a control logic (10). 9 79413 PATIVTKRAV