JP2000222086A - Object selection control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily select an object without making an operator perform a special operation in an object selection control system which controls the movement of a cursor with a pointing device and selects various objects existing on a display screen with the cursor. SOLUTION: A signal including position information from a pointing device 2 is sent to a cursor position detecting part 3 where the current cursor position is detected. A cursor allowable range calculating part 4 calculates a cursor allowable range at the current cursor position on the basis of the detected position information. An object discriminating part 5 discriminates whether or not a selectable object such as a button and a menu exists within the cursor allowable range 9. When it exists, a cursor display controlling part 6 adjusts the tip of the cursor to the center part of a corresponding object and shows the cursor on the display screen of a display device 7. When a selection determination operation such as a click operation is performed in the state, processing associated with the object is carried out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operator moving a pointing cursor on a display screen by using a pointing device such as a mouse, a touch pad, a track ball, a pointing stick, and the like, and pointing to various objects existing on the screen. It belongs to the technical field of user interface of a method of selecting with a cursor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, computers, word processors, CAs,
D In other information processing apparatuses, a pointing device such as a mouse, a touch pad, and a trackball is used as an input device in addition to a keyboard. By using a pointing device, a pointing cursor (also simply referred to as a pointer or a mouse pointer; hereinafter, referred to as a cursor) displayed on a display screen can be freely moved, and the cursor can be moved to a desired object position. Just select an object by moving it, and perform a click operation etc. to execute a specific process,
Operations such as cancellation can be easily performed. However, when objects such as buttons and menus are small, when the display screen of the information processing apparatus is small, or when an operator who has reduced visual acuity operates, it may take a considerable amount of time to just move the cursor to the position of the object. As a conventional technique for solving this kind of problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-119917 discloses an object in which a cursor position corresponding to an object is stored, and each object can be selected by a switch mounted on a mouse. Selection method is reported. Also,
JP-A-8-16353 reports an object selection method in which an object is enlarged when a cursor approaches an object such as a button or a menu.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 19917, a new click operation for storing the cursor position and moving the cursor to the storage position is added in addition to the original operation of the pointing device, which complicates the object selection operation. Further, in the technology described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H8-16353, when the object is enlarged, it may overlap other characters on the screen, or objects such as buttons may overlap. , And the operability is reduced. The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and to easily select an object without requiring an operator to perform a special operation other than the original operation of the pointing device. An object of the present invention is to provide an object selection control method that can perform the object selection.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object which controls the movement of a cursor in accordance with the movement of a position designating means of a pointing device to select various objects existing on a display screen by the cursor. In the selection control method, position detecting means for detecting a current cursor position, allowable range calculating means for calculating a cursor allowable range centered on the cursor position, and whether an object exists within the cursor allowable range. And a display control means for displaying the cursor at the center of the object when an object exists within the cursor allowable range. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object selection control method for controlling movement of a pointing cursor in accordance with movement of a position designation unit of a pointing device, and selecting various objects existing on a display screen by the pointing cursor. Position detecting means for detecting the current position of the pointing cursor, allowable range calculating means for calculating a cursor allowable range centered on the position of the pointing cursor, and determining whether an object exists within the cursor allowable range And a display control means for changing a display state of the object to a selected state when the object exists within the cursor allowable range. Here, the selected state is not the state where the pointing cursor is located at the position of the object on display, but refers to the same state as the state where the pointing cursor is located at the position of the object functionally. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the object selection control method according to the first or second aspect, the setting of the cursor allowable range can be changed. Also,
The invention described in claim 4 is the invention according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3.
Wherein the object selection control function based on whether or not the object exists within the cursor allowable range can be temporarily disabled. .

[0005] The invention described in claim 5 is based on claim 1,
5. The object selection control method according to claim 2, wherein an object selection control function based on whether an object exists within the cursor allowable range, and a current cursor. It is characterized in that either one of the normal selection control functions for validating only the position can be appropriately selected and used. According to the object selection control method of claim 1 described above, when an object exists within the cursor allowable range,
Since the cursor moves to the center of the object, the operator can move the cursor to the position of the object simply by moving the cursor near the object, without having to precisely operate the pointing device to position the cursor at the position of the object. In addition, an object can be easily selected. According to the object selection control method of the second aspect, when an object exists within the allowable range of the cursor, the display state of the object becomes the selected state, so that the operator can accurately operate the pointing device to move the object to the position of the object. Even if the cursor is not set, the object can be easily selected only by moving the cursor near the object. In the object selection control method according to the third aspect, by changing the setting of the allowable range of the cursor according to the first or second aspect, it is possible to perform setting according to the use or situation such as for each operator or for each screen size. . According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first, second, or third aspect, the object selection control function based on whether or not an object exists within the cursor allowable range is temporarily performed. Since the function can be disabled, the function can be used as needed. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an object selection control function according to the first, second, third, or fourth aspect of the present invention, based on whether an object exists within a cursor allowable range. And one of the normal selection control functions for validating only the current cursor position can be appropriately selected and used, so that the function can be selected according to the application or situation.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be specifically described based on embodiments. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a main part of an information processing apparatus showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an object selection control unit for performing a control operation according to the object selection control method of the present invention, 2 denotes a pointing device represented by a mouse, and 7 denotes a display device. The object selection control unit 1 includes a cursor position detection unit (position detection unit) 3 that detects a current cursor position (a position on the display screen) indicated by the pointing device 2, and a position detected by the cursor position detection unit 3 ( A cursor allowable range calculator (acceptable range calculating means) 4 for calculating an allowable range of the cursor centered on the coordinate value), and objects such as buttons and menus within the allowable range calculated by the cursor allowable range calculator 4 Object determination unit (determination means) 5 for determining whether or not to perform
And a cursor display control unit (display control means) 6 for displaying a cursor on the display screen of the display device 7. Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment will be described. A signal including the position information from the pointing device 2 is sent to the cursor position detection unit 3, where the current cursor position is detected. Then, based on the position information detected by the cursor position detector 3, the cursor allowable range calculator 4 calculates the cursor allowable range at the current cursor position. The calculation of the cursor allowable range is performed with reference to the tip position of the cursor 8 as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In this example, the black circle points in the figure (allowable points)
The area 9 where 10 exists is the cursor allowable range. One point corresponds to one coordinate on the display screen.
All the coordinates within the cursor allowable range 9 are points indicated by the current cursor 8. In this example, as shown by a dotted line, the cursor allowable range 9 is a range surrounded by a circle of approximately a predetermined radius centered on the tip position of the cursor 8 (or the center of gravity). Not limited to a circle, it may be a square or an ellipse.

Next, in the object discriminating section 5,
It is determined whether or not a selectable object such as a button or a menu exists within the cursor allowable range 9. if,
When a selectable object exists within the cursor allowable range 9, the cursor display control unit 6 displays the cursor 8 on the display screen of the display device 7 so that the tip of the cursor 8 is aligned with the center of the object. Is done. That is, the cursor 8 moves to a position indicating the center of the object on the display screen.
If a selection confirmation operation (or an execution instruction operation) such as a click operation (click of a mouse button, tapping of a touch pad, etc.) is performed in this state, a process associated with the object is executed. A series of operations realized by this embodiment are illustrated in FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a state where no selectable object 11 exists within the cursor allowable range 9. In this state, the cursor 8 is moved by the pointing device 2, and as soon as the object 11 enters the cursor allowable range 9 as shown in FIG. 4, the cursor 8 moves to the center of the object 11 as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a main part of an information processing apparatus showing an example of the embodiment of the second aspect of the invention. The information processing apparatus according to this embodiment includes an object display control unit 12 in the object selection control unit 1 shown in FIG.
Are added, and the other components are the same as those of the previous embodiment. The object display control unit 12 is a functional block that performs control for changing the display state of the object when the object determination unit 5 determines that an object such as a button or a menu exists within the allowable range of the cursor.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show a series of operations realized by this embodiment. FIG. 7 shows a cursor allowable range 9.
In this state, no object 11 exists. In this state, the cursor 8 is moved by the pointing device 2, and as shown in FIG. 8, as soon as the object 11 enters the cursor allowable range 9, the display state of the object 11 is changed to the selected state as shown in FIG. You. When a click operation or the like is performed in this state, a process associated with the object is executed. The display color or pattern of the object 11 is different between the selected state and the non-selected state, but the size is not changed. According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to change the setting of the cursor allowable range in the first and second aspects of the invention. Here, the cursor allowable range is the area 9 where the allowable point 10 corresponding to one coordinate on the display screen exists, as described in FIG. All the coordinates within the cursor allowable range 9 are points indicated by the current cursor 8. Assuming that the width of the cursor allowable range 9 in FIG.
FIG. 10 shows a setting example when the range is narrowed, and FIG. 11 shows a setting example when the range is widened. As described above, the outline shape of the cursor allowable range 9 is not limited to a circle but may be a square or an ellipse.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. 11. When the object 11 exists within the cursor allowable range 9 as shown in FIG.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the object 11 exists within the cursor allowable range 9, the point indicated by the cursor 8 becomes the center of the object 11. Therefore,
It will be virtually impossible to point to another point within the cursor tolerance range 9. The invention described in claim 4 compensates for such a drawback, and a pointing device is provided with a function of temporarily disabling the selection control function of the object 11 based on whether or not the object 11 exists within the cursor allowable range 9. 2 As a result, FIG.
Thus, even if the cursor allowable range 9 overlaps the object 11, the cursor 8 is not forcibly moved to the center of the object 11. For example, as shown by a locus 12 in FIG. Can be moved. When the pointing device 2 is a mouse, for example, double-clicking the right button may cancel the forced movement of the cursor 8 to the center of the object.

Next, an embodiment of the invention will be described. According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, when the object 11 is within the cursor allowable range 9, the cursor 8 moves to the center of the object 11 or the object 11 is selected, so that the operator can The object 11 can be easily selected only by moving the cursor 8 near the object 11 without accurately operating the pointing device 2 to move the cursor 8 to the position of the object 11. Such an object selection control function,
This is extremely effective when an information terminal device having a narrow display screen such as a notebook personal computer is used, or in an environment in which an operator who has reduced visual acuity such as an elderly person uses the information terminal device. On the other hand, there may be a case where such an object selection control function is not required. This is a case where a large-screen information processing device or a display device with a low resolution, that is, a case where an object itself in a window is large. The invention according to claim 5 takes into consideration the latter case, and an object selection method based on whether or not the object 11 exists within the cursor allowable range 9 and a normal method for validating only the current cursor position. It is possible to select and use one of the object selection methods. This function setting can be performed, for example, when a pointing device driver is installed in the information processing apparatus, or on a mode setting screen after the installation. FIG. 14 shows a processing flow at that time. When the operator selects the object selection method (S1), the information processing apparatus operates in the normal mode, that is, a normal object in which only the current cursor position is valid. It is determined whether or not the mode is the selection mode (S
2) If the mode is the normal mode (Yes in S2), the mode is set to the normal mode (S3). If the mode is not the normal mode (N in S2)
o), a mode having the object selection control function according to claim 1 or 2 is set (S4), and the mode setting process ends. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the object 11 exists within the cursor allowable range 9 as shown in FIG. 14, the cursor 8 is moved to the center of the object 11 as shown in FIG. May be changed. By doing so, the operator can easily select an object while visually recognizing that the cursor has moved to the position of the object, so that selection errors are less likely to occur when selecting a small object.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a cursor allowable range is provided at a position indicated by the pointing device, and when an object such as a button or a menu exists within the cursor allowable range, the cursor is automatically moved to the center of the object. This makes it easy to move the cursor to a small object on the display screen, so when using a notebook-type information terminal device with a small display screen or when an elderly operator with poor vision When used, the operability of the pointing device is improved, and the operation can be performed efficiently. According to the second aspect of the present invention, instead of moving the cursor to the center of the object, the display state of the object itself is changed to the selected state, so that it is easy to select a small object on the screen as in the case of the first aspect. When a notebook-type information terminal device with a small screen is used, or when an elderly operator with poor vision operates the information terminal device, the operability of the pointing device can be improved and the operation can be performed efficiently. Become like According to the third aspect of the present invention, by changing the setting of the allowable range of the cursor according to the first or second aspect, it is possible to perform setting according to a use or a situation such as for each operator or for each screen size. Operability can be optimized according to the application and situation. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method of the first, second or third aspect, the object selection control function based on whether or not the object exists within the allowable range of the cursor can be temporarily disabled. The function can be used as needed. According to the object selection control method of claim 5, in the method of claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, or claim 4, an object selection control function based on whether an object exists within a cursor allowable range, Since either one of the normal selection control functions for validating only the current cursor position can be appropriately selected and used, the function can be selected according to the application or situation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a main part of an information processing apparatus showing an example of an embodiment of the invention described in claim 1;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a cursor allowable range according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an object displayed on a display screen and a pointing cursor.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an object displayed on a display screen and a pointing cursor.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an object displayed on a display screen and a pointing cursor.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of a main part of an information processing apparatus showing an example of the embodiment of the invention described in claim 2;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an object displayed on a display screen and a pointing cursor.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an object displayed on a display screen and a pointing cursor.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between an object displayed on a display screen and a pointing cursor.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view exemplifying a cursor allowable range (narrow state) in the embodiment of the invention described in claim 3;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view exemplifying a cursor allowable range (wide state) according to the embodiment of the invention described in claim 3;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram relating to a positional relationship between an object and a pointing cursor according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram relating to a positional relationship between an object and a pointing cursor according to the embodiment of the invention described in claim 4;

FIG. 14 is a processing flow chart showing an embodiment of the invention described in claim 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

1: object selection control unit, 2: pointing device, 3: cursor position detection unit (position detection unit), 4:
Cursor allowable range calculating section (allowable range calculating means), 5: object determining section (determining means), 6: cursor display control section (display controlling means), 7: display device, 8: pointing cursor, 9: cursor allowable range, 11: object, 12; object display control unit.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An object selection control method for controlling the movement of a pointing cursor in accordance with the movement of a position designating means of a pointing device and selecting various objects existing on a display screen by the pointing cursor. Position detecting means for detecting a position, allowable range calculating means for calculating a cursor allowable range centered on the position of the pointing cursor, and determining means for determining whether an object exists within the cursor allowable range, Display control means for displaying the pointing cursor at the center of the object when an object exists within the cursor allowable range. 2. An object selection control method in which the movement of a pointing cursor is controlled in accordance with the movement of a position designating means of a pointing device, and various objects existing on a display screen are selected by the pointing cursor. Position detecting means for detecting a position, allowable range calculating means for calculating a cursor allowable range centered on the position of the pointing cursor, and determining means for determining whether an object exists within the cursor allowable range, A display control unit for changing a display state of the object to a selected state when an object exists within the cursor allowable range. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cursor allowable range can be set and changed.
Object selection control method described. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an object selection control function based on whether or not the object exists within the cursor allowable range can be temporarily disabled. Item 4. The object selection control method according to any one of Items 3. 5. A method for selecting one of an object selection control function based on whether an object exists within the cursor allowable range and a normal selection control function for validating only the current cursor position. 5. The object selection control method according to claim 1, wherein the object selection control method is usable.