JP2000020236A - Pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To diversify data processing such as data exchange between a plurality of computer main bodies by actualizing, for example, a clipboard function outside a computer main body by a constitution providing a mouse, etc., with a storage medium. SOLUTION: A personal computer has a mouse 7 connected to a computer main body 1 through an input/output interface 4 and a bus 8 capable of two-way data transmission. The mouse 7 has a mouse memory 10 which not only input coordinate position data for operating a pointer and a cursor, but also stores data transferred from the computer main body and outputs the stored data according to access from the computer main body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pointing device such as a mouse, and more particularly to a personal computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, particularly in personal computers, using a pointing device such as a mouse,
A so-called user interface for operating a cursor and a pointer displayed on the display screen of the display is provided. Hereinafter, a case where a mouse is assumed as the pointing device will be described.

In recent years, personal computers have been used in an environment where a plurality of application programs operate.
A function is provided that allows a user to operate a mouse to efficiently execute various data processing such as document creation. In particular, the user can freely save data by using a function that can store character information and the like displayed on the display screen in an external storage device such as a buffer memory or a hard disk drive (HDD) simply by operating a mouse. ,
It is possible to efficiently perform the process of taking out the data.

[0004]

As described above, recent personal computers are provided with a function of storing and retrieving various data in a buffer memory, an HDD, or the like in connection with the operation of a mouse. ing.
Specifically, there is an operation using a clipboard (a kind of buffer memory) such as copy and paste. In this operation, information (such as a character string) on the screen specified by the mouse is temporarily stored in the clipboard. Here, the copy operation is to save an area on the screen specified by the mouse on the clipboard. The paste operation is to paste the contents of the clipboard into an area on the screen specified by the mouse.

[0005] By the way, the handling of data as described above is usually possible on one computer main body, but not with another computer main body. For example, the contents stored in the clipboard cannot be used by another computer. Also, the user can retrieve the saved contents of the clipboard from the computer itself,
It is not possible to save the data in another storage medium or the like in the range of a normal user operation environment. However, it is desirable to realize diversification of data processing if there is a function of exchanging the stored contents of the clipboard between a plurality of computer main bodies and a function that allows a user to take out of the computer main body and individually store the contents.

An object of the present invention is to provide, for example, a function of a clipboard outside a computer main body by providing a storage medium in a mouse or the like, and to diversify data processing such as data exchange between a plurality of computer main bodies. It is in the thing.

[0007]

The present invention is particularly applied to a pointing device such as a mouse used for a personal computer, and is a pointing device having a storage medium for storing data transferred from a computer main body.

More specifically, the pointing device of the present invention is connected to a computer via an input / output interface capable of bidirectional data transmission, and inputs coordinate position data for operating an original pointer or cursor. As well as a function of receiving data output from the computer main body. The storage medium stores data transferred from the computer main body, and outputs the stored data in response to access from the computer main body.

With the pointing device having such a configuration, data specified by a pointer or a cursor on a display screen of a personal computer can be taken into a storage medium. That is, it becomes possible to make this storage medium function as the same means as the clipboard of the computer main body. Thus, by taking out only the mouse or the storage medium and connecting it to another computer main body, it is possible to input the saved contents of the clipboard from one computer main body to another computer main body. Therefore, the contents of the clipboard can be exchanged between a plurality of computer bodies.

Further, as another aspect of the present invention, by making the storage medium provided in the pointing device detachable, the user can save the contents of the clipboard in addition to the data exchange between the plurality of computer bodies. Can be stored independently. For example, it is possible to extract information on a screen-by-screen basis from the computer main body and save it in a storage medium simply by operating a mouse without requiring an operation of activating a floppy disk drive.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main part of a personal computer related to the present embodiment. (System Configuration) This embodiment is applied to a personal computer, and assumes a case where a mouse is used as a pointing device. The system according to the present embodiment includes a computer main body 1, a display device 6 such as a CRT display or a liquid crystal display, and a mouse 7 as a pointing device.

The computer has a built-in microprocessor (CPU) 2, a main memory 3, an input / output interface 4, and a display controller 5. The display controller 5 performs a process of converting data processed by the CPU 2 into a display signal and outputting the display signal to the display device 6. Under the control of the display controller 5, the data processed by the CPU 2 is displayed on the screen of the display device 6. The input / output interface 4 is, for example, a USB
(Universal Serial Bus) or the like, and is connected to a mouse 7 via a bidirectional bus 8. In the present embodiment, input / output of data with the mouse 7 is controlled.

The mouse 7 of the present embodiment has a memory (hereinafter referred to as a mouse memory) 10 and a function of storing data, in addition to a function of a normal pointing device for operating a pointer and a cursor. . The mouse memory 10 is assumed to be a nonvolatile IC memory card. The mouse 7 outputs coordinate position data for operating a normal pointer or cursor to the computer main body 1 via the bidirectional bus 8 and the input / output interface 4. The mouse 7 receives data transferred from the computer main body 1 (usually from the main memory 3) and stores the data in the mouse memory 10 mounted inside. That is, from the computer main body 1, the mouse memory 10 is an external storage medium corresponding to, for example, a memory card.
Normally, a personal computer is provided with a keyboard, a hard disk drive, and the like as standard, but is omitted in this embodiment.

Here, the mouse 7 may be either a case in which the mouse memory 10 is fixedly provided inside, or a case in which a mouse 7 has a detachable mechanism which can be freely attached and detached by the user. However, in the present embodiment, a mouse 7 having a detachable mechanism is assumed. (Operation of the Present Embodiment) The operation of the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 2 to 4 and FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, a mouse 7A is connected to a certain computer main body 1A, and the computer main body 1A is activated (step S1). The mouse memory 10 can be attached to the mouse 7A (step S
2). The user operates the mouse 7A to select an icon displayed on the screen of the display device 6A with the pointer 31 and double-click the icon.
A starts the designated application program (step S3).

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, by executing the application program, a screen 30 including a character string "XXXXXX" is displayed on the display device 6A, and the user performs a copy operation of the character string. A case is assumed (steps S4 and S5). That is, the user operates the mouse 7A to select the character string “XXXXXX” to be copied, and instructs the copy mode of the operation menu.

Through this series of operations, in the conventional personal computer, the specified character string "XXXXXX" data is stored in the clipboard (buffer area of the main memory 3) of the computer main unit 1A. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a function of displaying a predetermined window 20 on the screen of the display device 6A and allowing the user to select a normal clipboard or the mouse memory 10 may be provided. Here, it is assumed that the user selects the icon 20B indicating the mouse memory with the pointer 21 and the mouse memory 10 is selected as the clipboard.

The computer main body 1 stores a designated character string "XXXXX" data (copy data) to be copied.
Is transferred to the mouse memory 10 via the bidirectional bus 8A as shown in FIG. 3 (step S6). This allows
The copy data is stored in the mouse memory 10 (step S7).

Next, it is assumed that the user operates the mouse 7A to designate a copy destination on the screen 30 (NO in step S8, S9). The computer body 1 accesses and takes in the copy data from the mouse memory 10 designated as the clipboard (step S10). Then, the computer main body 1 displays the copy data in an area on the screen which is the designated copy destination (Step S).
11).

The above processing is performed by one computer main body 1
9A is a specific example of a case where a copy process is performed.
Here, as shown in FIG.
In this example, a system in which the mouse 7B of the present embodiment is connected is assumed. The user removes the mouse memory 10 from the mouse 7A of the computer main body 1A and attaches it to the mouse 7B (YES in step S8, S1).
2).

Another computer main unit 1B has an input / output interface 4 like the computer main unit 1A.
The above-mentioned copy data can be fetched from the mouse memory 10 attached to the mouse 7B via the bidirectional bus 8B (step S13). Therefore, in another computer main unit 1B, for example, when the user operates the mouse 7B to specify a copy destination on the document creation screen 40, the character string “XXXXX” data generated by the different computer main unit 1A is stored in the mouse memory. 10 and can be input to the copy destination.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the data displayed on the screen of the display device 6 can be stored in the mouse memory 10 mounted on the mouse 7. In short, the mouse memory 10 can be used as a clipboard other than the clipboard of the computer main body 1.

As a specific method of use, the user copies the data displayed on the screen to the mouse memory 10 as described above. In the case of a normal copy operation, as described above, the computer main body uses the mouse memory 10 as a clipboard. On the other hand, by attaching the mouse memory 10 to a mouse connected to another computer main body,
The data copied to the mouse memory 10 can be input to the other computer main body. That is, data can be exchanged between a plurality of different computer bodies via the mouse memory 10.

In this embodiment, the mouse memory 10
Is described as being removable from the mouse,
As described above, a configuration provided fixedly inside the mouse may be used. When exchanging data between a plurality of computer bodies, data can be input from the mouse memory 10 of the mouse by removing the mouse itself from one computer body and connecting it to another computer body. Alternatively, the user may use the mouse memory 10 as an external storage medium for copying and saving data in units of screens displayed on the display device 6, for example. (Modification of this Embodiment) FIGS. 5 and 6 are diagrams related to a modification of this embodiment.

In this modification, as shown in FIG.
As a method of connecting the computer 4 and the computer main body 50, a wireless communication medium such as an infrared ray is used. That is,
The mouse 54 and the computer main body 50 are provided with infrared transmission / reception units 55 and 56, respectively.

The mouse 54 of the present modification also has a function of storing data with the mouse memory 10 as well as a function of a normal pointing device for operating the pointer 53 and the cursor. That is, the mouse 54 transmits coordinate position data for operating a normal pointer or cursor through the infrared transmitting / receiving sections 55 and 56 to the computer main body 50.
Output to The mouse 54 is connected to the infrared transmitting / receiving section 5.
The data transferred from the computer main body 50 is input through the mouse memory 10 and the mouse memory 10 mounted therein.
To memorize.

In the present modified example, the operation used for the copy operation using the mouse memory 10 as a clipboard is the same as that of the present embodiment, and the description is omitted. The operation of exchanging data between the plurality of different computer main bodies 50 and 60 using the mouse memory 10 is basically the same as in the present embodiment.

However, as shown in FIG. 6, another computer main body 60 must be provided with an infrared transmitting / receiving section 66 capable of wireless communication with the infrared transmitting / receiving section 55 of the mouse 54. That is, specifically, the user operates the mouse 54 to copy the data (character string YYYYY) displayed on the screen 52 of the display device 51 of the computer main body 50 to the mouse memory 10. And the mouse 5
4 is arranged near another computer main body 60 shown in FIG.
From the mouse memory 10 via the computer main body 6
0 can transmit data. Thereby, another computer main body 60 can input the data (character string YYYYY) fetched from the mouse memory 10 into the area specified by the pointer 63 on, for example, the document screen 62 displayed on the display device 61.

As described above, also in this modification, the same effects as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained. Regarding the difference from the present embodiment, the mouse itself with the built-in mouse memory 10 is used for data communication between the mouse and the computer main body using a wireless communication medium such as infrared.
There is an advantage that it can be easily moved between a plurality of computer bodies.

In the mouse 7 of the present embodiment, the data transferred from the computer main body is stored in the mouse memory 1.
In the case where the mouse data is stored in 0, a function of automatically deleting the existing data may be provided when the storage capacity of the mouse memory 10 becomes insufficient according to the existing storage data amount. With this function, the mouse memory 10 can be used efficiently. In the present embodiment and the modified example, a mouse is assumed as a pointing device. However, if a storage medium corresponding to a mouse memory is mounted and data communication with a computer main body is possible, a pointing device other than a mouse may be used. It can also be applied to devices.

[0031]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse is provided with not only a function of inputting ordinary coordinate position data but also a storage medium for storing data from a computer main body. By
Data processing in the computer system can be diversified. Specifically, for example, the function of the clipboard can be realized outside the computer main body, and data exchange between a plurality of computer main bodies can be easily performed. Therefore, if the present invention is applied to a personal computer in particular, the user will be provided with extremely useful functions,
Value can be improved as a computer product.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exemplary block diagram showing a main part of a personal computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view for explaining how to use the mouse memory of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view for explaining the operation of the personal computer of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary view for explaining the operation of the personal computer of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary view showing a main part of a personal computer according to a modification of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view for explaining the operation of the personal computer of the modification.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining the operation of the personal computer of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1A, 1B computer main body 2 CPU 3 main memory 4 input / output interface 5 display controller 6, 6A, 6B display device 7, 7A, 7B mouse 8, 8A, 8B bidirectional bus 10 Mouse memory 50, 60 Computer body 51, 61 Display device 55, 56, 66 Infrared transmitter / receiver

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A pointing device connected to a computer main body via an input / output interface and for inputting coordinate position data on a display screen, wherein data transferred from the computer main body via the input / output interface is provided. A pointing device comprising data storage means for storing and transferring the stored data to the computer via the input / output interface. 2. A pointing device connected to a computer main body via an input / output interface to input coordinate position data on a display screen, wherein input / output between the computer main body via the input / output interface is performed. A pointing device comprising: a storage medium for storing data to be stored; and a detachable mechanism for attaching and detaching the storage medium. 3. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein the input / output interface is an interface bus unit or a wireless communication unit having a bidirectional data transmission function. 4. A computer system which is connected to a computer main body via an input / output interface and uses a pointing device for inputting coordinate position data on a display screen, wherein the pointing device is connected to the input / output interface. A storage medium for storing data to be input / output to / from a computer via the computer, wherein the computer stores data designated by the coordinate position data input by the pointing device in the storage medium A computer system for outputting the data to the pointing device and extracting data stored in the storage medium as needed. 5. The computer system according to claim 4, wherein said computer body uses said storage medium mounted on said pointing device as a clipboard as temporary storage means.