JP2000029568A - Portable information equipment provided with ball type input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable information equipment provided with a ball type input device with which the scroll of a screen or pointing operation of coordinates can be performed by parallelly moving it on a desk or placing it on the palm and operating one-handedly. SOLUTION: In the portable information equipment 1 provided with the ball type input device equipped with a processing means 2 for processing information, a output means 4 having a display function and an input means 3 for inputting information or operating equipment and composed of a track ball 31, the track ball 31 is provided on the back side of the equipment 1 and when the equipment 1 is placed on a plane and moved directly in contact with the plane, the track ball 31 is rotated in any direction such as upward, downward, to left or to right in contact with the plane. Further, a switch 32 is provided for permitting or inhibiting the transmission of information from the input means 3 composed of the track ball 31 to the processing means 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information device, and more particularly to a portable information device provided with a ball type input means which can be easily operated even in a small place such as one hand or on a desk.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an information device uses an input device such as a trackball or a mouse to browse data that does not fit on one screen of a display device, or to specify the coordinates of one point on the screen. I was In the case of a device equipped with an application function for switching characters in the display screen 90 degrees vertically and horizontally to switch between vertical and horizontal display, a dedicated button or the like is provided for switching the display.

However, in the case of a portable information device, carrying a mouse at the same time is not preferable because portability is impaired. Also, a trackball is not suitable for inputting a large amount of movement or delicate operation, and furthermore, a space for mounting the ball on the main body of the device is required on the front of the display device or the like. It has the drawback of being easy to become.

[0004] Accordingly, techniques for solving these problems have been disclosed.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-123760, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a display means 62 is provided on the surface of the housing 61, and a trackball 64 and input buttons 65 and 66 are provided as input means on the upper rear surface. Center of gravity 6
The technology of the portable electronic device 1 in which a projection 67 is provided above the input means 3 and below the input means is disclosed.

[0006]

However, the technique of the portable electronic device still has the following problems.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-123760, as shown in FIG.
Although a trackball 64 is provided on the back surface of the housing 61, the housing 6
1 is in contact with the flat surface 9 by the projection 67 and the lower end 68 of the housing. That is, the structure is such that the trackball 64 does not directly contact the plane 9. This is the housing 6
Even if input means protruding from the position 1 is provided, the input means touches the flat surface 9 to prevent malfunction when no operation is performed, so that the ball is not intentionally brought into contact with the flat plate.

[0008] Therefore, the above-mentioned technology does not have a structure that is supposed to be used on a flat plate like a mouse. Further, when switching between vertical and horizontal display of characters, it is necessary to specify a switching command from a software menu or prepare a dedicated hardware button. For this reason, the operation becomes complicated, and there is a disadvantage that the operation cannot be performed intuitively.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to move a device on a desk in parallel when the entire data cannot be displayed on one screen in a portable information device. Or by operating it with one hand on the palm of the hand, it is easy and easy to scroll the screen and operate the pointing of the coordinates.In addition, when the device is rotated 90 ° on the desk, You can switch between vertical and horizontal display of characters and figures,
Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information device provided with a ball-type input device, in which a trackball provided on the back surface of the device is in direct contact with the flat surface when the device is placed on a flat surface.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information device provided with a ball-type input device, comprising: a processing unit for processing various types of information; an output unit having a display function; Input device for inputting or operating the device, wherein the input device comprises a ball-type input device composed of a trackball, wherein the trackball is located on the rear side of the portable information device. Provided, when the portable information device is placed on a plane, while directly contacting the plane, when moved, the trackball is in contact with the plane, the trackball rotates in any direction of up, down, left and right, Further, a switch is provided for permitting or prohibiting transmission of information from the track ball input means to the processing means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information device provided with the ball-type input device according to the first aspect, wherein the portable information device includes the ball-type input device. Is provided with an auxiliary input switch for detecting the

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable information device having the ball-type input device according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the portable information device includes the ball-type input device. An auxiliary trackball is provided as an auxiliary ball type input device for detecting the input signal.

[0013]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable information device having a ball-type input device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

A feature of this embodiment is that a trackball is provided as a ball-type input device on the back of the portable information device, and when the portable information device is placed on a flat surface, the trackball is directly grounded on a flat surface. ing. Furthermore, when the trackball is grounded on a flat surface, the operation signal from the ball type input device should not be notified to the main body in order to prevent a malfunction when no operation is performed or to simply return the state of the trackball to the original state. Or a switch is provided for ignoring the notification.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a portable information device having a ball-type input device according to this embodiment.

A portable information device 1 provided with a ball-type input device comprises an information processing device 2, an input device 3, and an output device 4.

The information processing device 2 stores and stores an input device 3, an output device 4, a microprocessor (MPU) 21 for controlling the entire portable information device 1, a system and application programs 22a and data 22b. And a storage device 22.

The input device 3 includes a back trackball 31 provided on the back of the portable information device 1 and a switch 32 provided for permitting / prohibiting transmission of information from the ball type input device to the processing device 2. It is composed of For example, when the ball-type input device, that is, the trackball 31 is grounded on a flat surface, the switch 32 prevents malfunction when no operation is performed, or simply returns the state of the trackball 31 to the original state. It plays a role of permitting / prohibiting notifying the processing device 2 of the main body of an operation signal from the ball-type input device.

The output device 4 comprises display means for displaying information on a screen.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the portable information device of the present embodiment ((a) is a front view and (b) is a rear view).

As shown in FIG. 2A, an output device 4 for display is provided on the front side of the device 1, and a trackball 31 is provided on the back side as shown in FIG. 2B. Further, a switch 32 is provided on a side surface of the device 1 so that the display device 4 is not hidden by a hand when the device 1 is placed on a desk and a finger is put on the switch 32 to grasp the device 1. Equipment 1 to make
It is located on the side. Although not shown here,
The other processing devices 2 such as the microprocessor 21 and the storage device 22 are housed in the main body cabinet of the device 1.

FIG. 3 shows the rotation operation of the track ball 31.

When the trackball 31 is rotated in the illustrated x-direction or y-direction on the plane 9 such as a desk, the information on the x-direction rotation or the y-direction rotation is sent to the processing device 2.

Actually, a screen of an arbitrary application is displayed on the display device 4, and in a state where the screen can be scrolled, when the trackball 31 is rotated, the screen is changed according to the rotation direction and the rotation amount. Scrolls. That is, when the device 1 is used by placing it on a flat place 9 such as a desk, the trackball 31 comes into contact with the flat surface 9 (however, the cabinet 332 does not touch the flat surface 9). The parallel movement of sliding on the desk causes the trackball 31 to rotate.

When the trackball 31 is provided on the back of the device 1, the structure of the back is as follows.
Any of the structures as shown in FIG.

For example, in the case of (a), the trackball 3
1 is provided via a cabinet 332 on the back side of the device 1, and the entire back surface has a flat shape. Therefore, when the device 1 is placed on the plane 9, the trackball 31 operates by moving the device 1 while the trackball 31 is in direct contact with the plane 9.

In the case of (b), the trackball 31
Is provided via a cabinet 332 on the back side of the device 1, and the cabinet 332 is provided with a protruding portion 336. Also in this case, when the device 1 is placed on the plane 9, the trackball 31 operates by moving the device 1 while the trackball 31 is in direct contact with the plane 9.

That is, the entire back surface of the device 1 on which the trackball 31 is provided does not need to be flat, and when the device 1 is placed on the
When the device 1 is moved while the device 1 is in direct contact with the plane 9,
What is necessary is just to make the structure which the trackball 31 rotates in any of the up, down, left and right directions in contact with the plane 9.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the above operation principle by rotation in the x direction and rotation in the y direction, respectively, and show how the screen is scrolled.

FIG. 4 shows a screen 4 by rotating in the x direction.
In the case of performing the horizontal scrolling of No. 1, by rotating the trackball 31 in the direction of the arrow x, the screen 41
Scroll in one direction. That is, it means the same as the display data of the screen 41 sent from the direction of the arrow X2.

FIG. 5 shows a screen 4 by rotating in the y direction.
In the case of performing the vertical scrolling of No. 1, the screen 41 is turned into the arrow Y by rotating the trackball 31 in the direction of the arrow y.
Scroll in one direction. In other words, this means the same as the display data of the screen 41 sent from the direction of the arrow Y2.

By performing the horizontal scrolling and the vertical scrolling of the screen 41 by the above operation, it is possible to browse data requiring a large display area without requiring a fine operation with a fingertip.

The trackball 31 can be used as a pointing device in addition to the screen scrolling shown in FIGS.

FIG. 6 shows a case where the device is used as a coordinate pointing device.

As shown in FIG. 6, a cursor 11 which can be moved in units of one dot is displayed on the screen 41, and the trackball 31 is moved in the screen 11 in accordance with the rotation in the x direction or the y direction. As a result, since the trackball 31, which is a relatively large input device, is used as in the present embodiment, a finer pointing operation can be performed as compared with a conventional trackball arranged on the front.

Next, when the ball-type input device, that is, the trackball 31 is grounded on the plane 9, it is possible to prevent erroneous operation at the time of no operation, or to simply prevent the trackball 31 from operating.
A switch 32 that plays a role of permitting / prohibiting the notification of the operation signal from the trackball 31 to the processing device 2 in order to return the state of 1 to the original state will be described.

For example, if the switch 32 is set to the prohibition state, even if the device 1 is left on a desk or the like,
The contents of the display screen do not shift. When there is not enough space on the desk to scroll the device 1 when the device 1 is translated, the switch 32 is prohibited or permitted so that the device 1 can be scrolled in one direction even when the device 1 is reciprocated. be able to.

FIG. 7 is a transition diagram showing a case where the device is moved using the switch 32 and the screen is scrolled.

As shown in FIG. 7, when it is desired to greatly scroll the screen 41 from right to left, the following is performed.

With the switch 32 turned off, the device 1 is translated to the right.

At the right end of the desk, switch 32
And turn it to the left. Here switch 32
If the input information from the trackball 31 is not received when is turned on, the screen 41 does not scroll even if the device 1 is moved to the left.

When the trackball 31 returns to the original state, the switch 32 is turned off again and moved to the right.
Thereby, the screen 41 starts scrolling from the continuation of the above.

As a result, a scroll with a large moving amount can be realized without lifting the device 1 even on a small desk.

By providing the trackball 31 as the input means on the back surface as described above, when the device 1 is used by lifting the device 1 with one hand instead of placing it on the desk, the screen can be used without using the other hand. Scrolling and pointing are possible. Usually, when supporting the device 1 of such a form with one hand, it is usual to put the back of the device 1 on the palm without hiding the display device 4, that is, the screen 41. Conventionally, in the case where the trackball is arranged on the front, operations such as screen scrolling had to be performed with the other hand, but if the trackball 31 is arranged on the back as in this embodiment, The trackball 31 can be touched with the fingertip of the hand supporting the device 1 (for example, the index finger that does not hinder the support when released from the device 1), and operation with only one hand is possible.

Further, a switch 32 provided on the side
Is locked in the ON state, malfunction can be prevented even if the device 1 is inadvertently moved or a finger touches the ball. Although the switch 32 is provided on the side of the device 1 in the above description, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be the upper surface of the device 1.

Next, a description will be given of a sequence of processing related to the above-described screen scrolling and coordinate pointing operations.

FIG. 8 shows a flow of processing between the processing device 2 and the input device 3 when an input request is made by operating the input device while executing an arbitrary application program. .

Step SS) In the processing device 2, an arbitrary application program is started and executed.

Step S1) The processing device 2 instructs the input device 3 to request input information in the started application program.

Step S2) The input device 3 waits for any input operation by the user, and when the input operation is performed, acquires the input operation performed and notifies the processing device 2.

Step S6) The processing device 2 determines whether or not the input operated in step S2 is an operation for performing coordinate pointing on the screen, and executes the processing if necessary.

Step S7) The processing device 2 determines whether or not the input is an operation for scrolling the screen, and executes the processing if necessary.

Step SE) The processing is terminated.

Next, details of the pointing of the coordinates in step S6 of FIG. 8 and the scrolling of the screen in step S7 will be described.

FIG. 9 shows a flow of processing until a pointing operation is performed.

The details of step S6 in FIG. 8 are as follows.

Step S601) The processing device 2 determines whether or not coordinate pointing is possible.

Step S602) The state of the switch 32 (the state of whether or not the switch 32 is locked) is checked. If the switch 32 is on (locked), the input from the trackball 31 is prohibited (actually, the input from the input device 3). Ignore information).

Step S603) Since the switch 32 is off (unlocked), the xy input from the trackball 31 is assigned to the xy movement of the cursor 11 on the screen 41 (FIG. 6).

After the processing, the flow advances to step S7 in FIG.

FIG. 10 shows the flow of processing up to scrolling the screen.

The details of step S7 in FIG. 8 are as follows.

Step S701) The processing device 2 determines whether or not coordinate pointing is possible.

Step S702) The state of the switch 32 (the state of whether or not the switch 32 is locked) is checked. If the switch 32 is on (locked), the input from the trackball 31 is prohibited (actually, the input from the input device 3). Ignore information).

Step S703) Since the switch 32 is in the OFF state (unlocked), the xy input from the trackball 31 is assigned to the vertical / horizontal scroll of the screen scroll (FIGS. 4 and 5).

After the processing, the flow advances to step SE in FIG.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the operations of scrolling the screen and moving the cursor in the screen can be realized only by performing an intuitive and simple movement of moving the device itself on the desk. In addition, the above operation can be performed while holding the device with one hand, and no extra space is required on the front side of the display device. Further, by controlling the input information from the trackball, even in a place such as on a small desk, operation can be performed by utilizing the space. Also, if your finger accidentally touches the ball,
Unintended track-ball input can be prevented.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Some conventional portable information devices have a function of operating the information of the x and y coordinates of display dots by software, rotating displayed characters and figures by 90 °, and switching between vertical and horizontal display. is there.

The feature of this embodiment is that, by providing an auxiliary input switch to the function of the first embodiment, when the device is rotated 90 ° on a desk, characters and figures can be displayed vertically and horizontally. The ability to switch the display.

Here, only portions different from the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a portable information device having a ball-type input device according to the present embodiment.

The input device 3 is the same as that shown in FIG.
A push-type switch 33 serving as an auxiliary input switch is added to the above configuration. Thus, when the device 1 is rotated by 90 ° on the desk, it is possible to switch between vertical and horizontal display of characters and figures.

FIG. 12 is an external view of the portable information device of this embodiment ((a) is a front view and (b) is a rear view).

As shown in FIG. 12B, a track ball 31 is arranged on the upper side on the back side, and a push-type switch 33 is arranged at a position slightly away from the track ball 31.

Note that the trackball 3 in this embodiment is
The rotation of one ball is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Thus, scrolling of the screen and pointing of coordinates can be performed in the same manner.

Normally, the trackball 31 can detect the movement of the device 1 in the x direction or the y direction, but cannot detect the rotation of the device 1 in the z direction (rotation in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 13). Therefore, the rotation of the device 1 is detected from the rotation in the x direction.

It should be noted that also in the configuration of the present embodiment, the entire back surface of the device 1 on which the trackball 31 is provided does not need to be flat, and when the device 1 is placed on the flat surface 9, What is necessary is that the trackball 31 rotates in any of up, down, left, and right directions in contact with the plane 9 when the device 1 is moved while the unit 31 is in direct contact with the plane 9.

FIG. 13 shows the principle of the above detection method.

When the device 1 is rotated around the position of the push-type switch 33, the trackball 31 rotates only in the x direction. With this alone, it is indistinguishable from the x-direction rotation in screen scrolling and pointing. This can be distinguished by turning on / off the push-type switch 33 which is an auxiliary input switch.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the push-type switch 33. As shown in FIG.

The push type switch 33 has a support 333 penetrated through a cabinet 332, and a spring 331 is disposed around a support 333 inside the cabinet 332, and is shown in black on the spring 331. A switch 334 having a convex portion 335 is provided. It is assumed that the push-type switch 33 freely rotates around its central axis.

FIG. 14A shows an off state, and FIG.
When the device 1 is pressed against the flat surface 9, the spring 331 is contracted, and the black protrusion 335 of the switch 334 is dented, so that the switch 334 is turned on and turned on.

For this reason, even when the device 1 is placed on a desk, the push-type switch 33 can operate the spring 331.
For example, the off state is maintained.

Note that the push-type switch 33 is not limited to the above-described configuration, but may be any switch capable of realizing the intended operation.

When it is desired to actually switch between the vertical and horizontal display, the device 1 is lightly pressed against the desk in the state of FIG.
When the push switch 33 is turned on, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3B, the device 1 is rotated by 90 °, and the trackball 31 is rotated in the x direction. That is, it is set so that the process of switching between the vertical and horizontal display of the screen is performed only when the two elements of the ON of the push type switch 33 and the rotation of the trackball 31 in the x direction are aligned.

Next, a description will be given of a sequence of operations related to the above-described screen scrolling and coordinate pointing operation, and switching between vertical and horizontal display of the screen.

FIG. 15 shows the flow of processing between the processing device 2 and the input device 3 when an input request is made by operating the input device while executing an arbitrary application program. .

The numbers in the figure are the same as those in FIG.

Step SS) In the processing device 2, an arbitrary application program is started and executed.

Step S1) The processing device 2 instructs the input device 3 to request input information in the activated application program.

Step S2) The input device 3 waits for any input operation by the user, and when the input operation is performed, acquires the input operation performed and notifies the processing device 2.

Step S3) The processing device 2 determines whether or not the input operated in step S2 is an operation for switching between vertical and horizontal display of the screen. If the display is to be switched, the flag H is set to 1; If not, set 0.

Step S4) The processing device 2 determines whether or not to perform display switching based on the determination result of switching between vertical and horizontal display, that is, the value of the display switching flag H. If the switching is YES, the process proceeds to step S5, and if the switching is NO, the process proceeds to step S6.

Step S5) The processing device 2 switches between vertical and horizontal display. After the processing, the process proceeds to step SE.

Step S6) The processing device 2 determines whether or not the input is an operation for performing coordinate pointing on the screen, and executes the processing if necessary.

Step S7) The processing device 2 determines whether or not the input is an operation for scrolling the screen, and executes the processing if necessary.

Step SE) The process ends.

Next, the details of switching between the vertical and horizontal display of the screen in step S3 in FIG. 15 will be described.

FIG. 16 shows the flow of processing up to switching between vertical and horizontal display of the screen using the auxiliary input switch 33 in the processing device 2.

The details of step S3 in FIG. 15 are as follows.

Step S301a) The processing device 2 determines whether or not the screen can be switched between vertical and horizontal display.

Step S302a) It is determined whether or not the device 1 has been pressed from above and the auxiliary input switch 33 has been turned on.

Step S303a) Trackball 31
It is determined whether or not the device 1 has been rotated by about 90 ° from the amount of movement of.

Step S304a) If all the conditions necessary for switching are satisfied, the display switching flag H is set to 1.

Step S305a) If at least one condition necessary for switching is not satisfied, 0 is set to the display switching flag H.

After the processing, the flow advances to step S4 in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 16, the moving distance of the trackball 31 is the center distance r between the trackball 31 and the auxiliary input switch (push type switch) 33.
(FIG. 13).

As described above, in this embodiment, in addition to the screen scrolling and the coordinate pointing operation of the first embodiment, it is possible to distinguish between the vertical and horizontal display switching operation of the screen without impairing the operability. It becomes possible.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the second embodiment, by providing the auxiliary input switch, it is possible to switch between vertical and horizontal display of characters and figures when the device is rotated 90 ° on a desk.

This embodiment is characterized in that the auxiliary input switch in the second embodiment is replaced with an auxiliary back trackball, so that when the device is turned 90 ° on a desk, characters can be displayed. The ability to switch between vertical and horizontal display.

Here, only parts different from the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram of a portable information device having a ball-type input device according to the present embodiment.

The input device 3 is the same as that shown in FIG.
The push-type switch 33 serving as the auxiliary input switch having the configuration 1 is replaced with an auxiliary trackball 34.
In this case, as in the case of the second embodiment, when the device is rotated by 90 degrees on the desk, it is possible to switch between vertical and horizontal display of characters and figures.

FIG. 18 is an external view of the portable information device of this embodiment ((a) is a front view and (b) is a rear view).

As shown in FIG. 18 (b), a trackball 31 is arranged on the upper side on the back side, and an auxiliary trackball 34 is arranged at a position slightly away from the trackball 31.

Note that the trackball 3 in the present embodiment is
The rotation of the balls 1 and the auxiliary trackball 34 is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Thus, scrolling of the screen and pointing of coordinates can be performed in the same manner.

Normally, the trackball 31 can detect the movement of the device 1 in the x direction or the y direction, but cannot detect the rotation of the device 1 in the z direction (rotation in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 19).

For this reason, as shown in FIG.
The device 1 is rotated 90 ° about the axis. Then, the track ball 31 and the auxiliary track ball 34 are rotated in the x direction in opposite directions, and the signal of the reverse rotation can be used as a signal for switching between vertical and horizontal display.

In the configuration of the present embodiment, the back surface of the device 1 on which the trackball 31 is provided does not need to be flat on the entire surface. What is necessary is that the trackball 31 rotates in any of up, down, left, and right directions in contact with the plane 9 when the device 1 is moved while the unit 31 is in direct contact with the plane 9.

Next, the sequence of the above-described operations for scrolling the screen and pointing the coordinates and for switching between the vertical and horizontal display of the screen is basically the same as that of the second embodiment. Here, only the differences will be described.

FIG. 20 shows the flow of processing up to step S3 in FIG. 15 up to switching of the vertical / horizontal display of the screen using the auxiliary trackball 34 in the processing device 2. The details are as follows.

Step S301b) The processing device 2 determines whether or not the screen can be switched between vertical and horizontal display.

Step S302b) The device 1 is rotated on a flat plate, and the trackball 31 and the auxiliary trackball 34 are rotated.
Are rotated in opposite x-directions.

Step S303b) The rotation axis of the device 1 is 2
Assuming that it is near the center of the two trackballs 31 and 34, the device 1 is moved by approximately 90 ° from the movement amount of the trackball.
Determine if it has been rotated.

Step S304b) If all the conditions necessary for switching are satisfied, 1 is set to the display switching flag H.

Step S305b) If at least one of the conditions required for switching is not satisfied, the display switching flag H is set to 0.

After the processing, the flow advances to step S4 in FIG.

It is assumed that the movement amount of the track ball 31 is calculated using the center distance d (FIG. 19) between the track ball 31 and the auxiliary track ball 3433 as shown in FIG.

As described above, in this embodiment, the auxiliary input switch 33 is provided as in the second embodiment, and the operation of pressing the device 1 is not required. Pointing operation,
It is possible to distinguish between the vertical and horizontal display switching operation of the screen, and the operability is further improved.

The contents of the above-described embodiments are not limited to the contents described above unless the gist of the present invention is changed.

[0134]

According to the portable information device provided with the ball-type input device of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained in each claim.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the operations of scrolling the screen and moving the cursor within the screen can be realized by simply performing an intuitive and simple movement of moving the device itself on a desk. . In addition, the above operation can be performed while holding the device with one hand, and no extra space is required on the front side of the display device. Further, by controlling the input information from the trackball, even in a place such as on a small desk, operation can be performed by utilizing the space. In addition, it is possible to prevent an unintended track-ball input such as a finger accidentally touching the ball.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to screen scrolling and coordinate pointing operation, the vertical and
It is possible to distinguish between the horizontal display switching operation and the operability without impairing the operability.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is no need to perform an operation of pressing a device, such as when using a switch, and only by rotating the device, scrolling or pointing operation of the screen and vertical / horizontal of the screen can be performed. The display switching operation can be distinguished from the display switching operation, and the operability is further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a portable information device including a ball-type input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a portable information device including a ball-type input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a layout diagram of a trackball which is a ball-type input device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of horizontal scrolling using a trackball.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state of vertical scrolling using a trackball.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state of coordinate pointing using a trackball.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a one-way screen scroll by reciprocating the portable information device using a switch.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing when an input request is issued from a portable information device including a ball-type input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process until a coordinate pointing operation is performed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process until a screen scroll operation is performed.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a portable information device including a ball-type input device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an external view of a portable information device including a ball-type input device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing how to switch between vertical and horizontal display of a screen using an auxiliary input switch.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a configuration of a push-type switch as an auxiliary input switch and a physical operation thereof.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing when an input request is issued to a portable information device including a ball-type input device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for determining whether to switch between vertical and horizontal display when an auxiliary input switch is used.

FIG. 17 is a functional block diagram of a portable information device including a ball-type input device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an external view of a portable information device including a ball-type input device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing how to switch between vertical and horizontal display on the screen using an auxiliary trackball.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing for determining whether to switch between vertical and horizontal display when an auxiliary trackball is used.

FIG. 21 is an external view of a portable information device provided with a conventional ball-type input device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable information device 2 Information processing device 21 Microprocessor 22 Storage device 3 Input device 31 Back trackball 32 Switch 33 Auxiliary input switch 34 Auxiliary trackball 4 Output device 9 Plane

Claims (3)

[Claims] A processing unit for processing various information;
An output unit having a display function, and an input unit for inputting information or operating a device, including a portable information device having a ball-type input device composed of a trackball as the input unit, The trackball is provided on the back side of the portable information device, and when the portable information device is placed on a plane, it is in direct contact with the plane, and when moved, in contact with the plane, up, down, left, or right. A ball-type input device having a structure in which the trackball rotates, and further comprising a switch for permitting or prohibiting transmission of information from the input means including the trackball to the processing means. Portable information equipment. 2. A portable information device comprising the ball-type input device according to claim 1, wherein an auxiliary input switch is provided on a back surface of the device for detecting a rotational movement of the device. A portable information device equipped with a type input device. 3. A portable information device provided with the ball-type input device according to claim 1, wherein an auxiliary trackball is provided as an auxiliary ball-type input device on a back surface of the device for detecting a rotational movement of the device. A portable information device provided with a ball-type input device.