JP2000242393A - Information processor and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable terminal device which smoothly move inter- pointers when display devices are used while arranged side by side. SOLUTION: The portable information device 100 is equipped with a main body part 100A equipped with a display device 107 and a touch panel 108 and a display part 100B equipped with a display device 109 and a touch panel 110. When the main body part 100A and display part 100B are spread, the CPU 101 and touch panel controller 106 in the main body part 100A blink and displays the pointer on the display device 109 nearby the end of the movement track of the display device 107 once the pointer on the display device 107 reaches the part of connection with the display device 109.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and a control method therefor, and more particularly, to a portable terminal device having a plurality of display devices provided with a point input device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a portable terminal device such as an ultra-compact personal computer or an electronic organizer has a spread type in order to emphasize portability, and one of the spread structures is provided with a display device (for example, an LCD). Device), and the other is an input device (for example, a touch panel).
Also, recently, a portable terminal device has been proposed in which a point input device is attached to both the double-page spread structure and used as a display device.

[0003]

However, the above conventional example has the following problems. (1) When a plurality of display devices are used in a state where they are arranged side by side, since a hinge or the like is used at a connecting portion between the display devices, the movement of the pointer near the connecting portion does not come to mind. (2) The movement and the drawing of the pointer over the connecting portion are not as intended.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable terminal device that enables a smooth movement of a pointer when a plurality of display devices are used side by side.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first display device provided with a first point input device. A portable terminal device comprising: a main unit having a second display device provided with a second point input device; and a display unit coupled to the main unit via a hinge mechanism. When the display unit is in the double-page spread state opened from the main unit, the pointer moved from one of the main unit or the display unit toward the other reaches the coupling unit between the display devices and the other display device An information processing apparatus and a control method thereof, further comprising control means for blinking and displaying a pointer near the end of the movement locus of the one display device.

According to this, in the use state, when the pointer moves from one display device (point input device) to the other display device (point input device), when the pointer reaches the joint of the display devices, In the display device of the above, the pointer blinks. Thus, the start of the pointer on the next display device can be easily grasped.

A specific configuration and method for realizing the object of the invention according to the present application are as described in claims 2 and 9, wherein the control means changes the display shape of the pointer during blinking display to a normal state. Is an information processing apparatus and a control method thereof, wherein

[0010] According to this, the position of the pointer can be clearly recognized by the user by blinking the pointer on the next display device. As a result, pointing on the next display device can be smoothly performed.

A specific structure and a method for realizing the object of the invention according to the present application are as described in claims 3 and 10.
The information processing apparatus, wherein, when a predetermined range including the blinking display pointer is pointed, the control unit stops blinking display of the blinking display pointer and returns to a normal display state. In the control method.

[0010] According to this, when a predetermined range including the blinking pointer is pointed, the blinking is stopped to return to the normal pointer display state in order to facilitate the subsequent pointing. Thereby, pointing can be performed with a normal operation feeling.

A specific configuration and method for realizing the object of the invention according to the present application are as described in claims 4 and 11.
The information processing apparatus and the control method thereof, wherein when the control unit points at a location other than the blinking display pointer, movement from the location is permitted.

According to this, when a position other than the blinking pointer is pointed, movement from that position is enabled, and subsequent pointer movement becomes possible irrespective of the operation up to that point.

[0013] The specific structure and method for realizing the object of the invention according to the present application are as described in claims 5 and 12.
An information processing apparatus and a control method therefor, wherein the control means sets a drawing mode or a drag-and-drop mode as a pointing mode according to a pointing situation.

According to this, since the drawing mode or the drag-and-drop mode can be set according to the pointing operation status, an appropriate mode can be set according to the pointing operation state.

A specific configuration and method for realizing the object of the invention according to the present application are as described in claims 6 and 13.
The information processing apparatus and the control thereof, wherein the control unit performs correction so that a point of the second display device is located on an extension of a drawing locus of the first display device in the drawing mode. In the way.

According to this, when the drawing mode is set, when the point is moved from one display device to the other display device, the point on the other display device is set to the point of the terminal portion of the one display device. Set near, and
The correction is performed so that the display device is located on an extension of the point locus of one display device. Therefore, the movement of the point from one display device to the other display device is drawn so as to be continuous, and the point movement can be performed smoothly.

The specific structure and method for realizing the object of the invention according to the present application are as described in claims 7 and 14.
In the information processing apparatus and the control method thereof, the control unit determines a point position as an actual point in the drag and drop mode.

According to this, when the drag and drop mode is set, when the point is moved from one display device to the other display device, the movement of the next pointer is started from the pointing position. . Therefore, the pointer movement desired by the user can be performed.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a portable terminal device which is an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The portable terminal device 100 comprises a main body 100A having a first display device and a display portion 100B having a second display device. The main body 100A includes a CPU (central processing unit) 101 for controlling the whole. This C
The PU 101 has a ROM (Read Only Memory)
102, RAM (random access memory) 10
3. The hard disk 104, the display control device 105, and the touch panel control device 106 are connected via a bus (BUS). The display control device 105 is provided with a display device 107 having a liquid crystal display (LCD) as a component and a touch panel 108. The touch panels 108 and 110 as point input devices are connected to the display device 10.
7 and 109 are attached to the respective surfaces. The touch panels 108 and 110 can display a pointer such as a cursor by pointing an arbitrary position using a pointing device such as a stylus pen or the like.

The ROM 102 stores a program for executing control according to the present invention, and the RAM 103 temporarily stores calculation results and data. Hard disk 1
04 is used for storing various applications and accumulated data.

The display unit 100B includes a second display device 109
And a second touch panel 110, which is hinged to the main body 100 </ b> A to form a double-page spread portable terminal device 100. Touch panels 110 and 108 are controlled by touch panel control device 106.

FIG. 2 shows a main unit 100A and a display unit 100B.
Are connected by a flexible connecting portion 111 so that they can be hinged, and the display portion 100B is closed on the main body portion 100A.

FIG. 3 shows the main unit 100A to the display unit 100.
It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened B to the horizontal position. 4 shows the display unit 100B from the state shown in FIG.
It is a perspective view which shows the state adhered to 00A.

In FIG. 3, a connector 112 is provided on the side of the facing surface of the main body portion 100A of the hinge portion and the display portion 100B.
(One is male and the other is female). As shown in FIG. 4, when the display unit 100B is lifted so that the display device 107 and the display device 109 are at the same height, and the two connectors 112 are connected, the two display units function as one display unit. be able to.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing in the CPU of the portable terminal device in the state of FIG. In the figure, "S" means a step.

First, when the portable terminal device 100 is opened from the state shown in FIG. 2 to the state shown in FIG. 3, the power is turned on, and power is supplied to each built-in circuit (S501). When the power is turned on, one of the display devices 107 and 109 becomes a display device, and the other becomes an input device such as a soft key (S50).
2). For example, when the display device 109 functions as a display device, the soft key function of the touch panel 108 is enabled and the soft key function of the touch panel 109 is disabled.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the display devices 107 and 109 are combined into one display device from the state of FIG.
503), the soft keys disappear and the display devices 107 and 10
9 function as a display device (S504). Therefore, the display area can be made about twice as large as the screen.

The portable terminal device in the use state shown in FIG. 4 can point the touch panels 108 and 110 with a pointing device 601 (for example, a stylus pen). FIG. 6 shows an example of this.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the pointing processing of the present invention. Hereinafter, a case where the cursor is pointed with the stylus pen will be described.

First, the user points (touches) an arbitrary point on the touch panel 108 with the pointing device 601 (S701). At this time, as shown in FIG. 6A, a pointer of the cursor 602 is displayed at a corresponding point on the display device 107 (S702). When the user moves the pointing device 601 from FIG. 6A (S703), as shown in FIG.
03, the cursor 602 also moves (S70).
4). When the cursor 602 is moved to an end of the screen of the display device 107 (for example, two dots are displayed from the end) and the coordinates of the destination are coordinates that can be displayed on the display device 109 (S705). As shown in FIG. 6B, another cursor at the coordinates in the display device 109 is blinked (S706). When the user attempts to move the pointing device 601 further forward and touches the pointing device 601 near the blinking cursor 604 on the display device 109 and points near the cursor 604 (S707), (FIG. 6) As shown in c), the center of the blinking cursor 604 is set to the cursor position (S
708). Then, the blinking of the cursor 604 is stopped (S7
09), the cursor is changed to the original cursor shape (arrow) and displayed (S710). Thereafter, when the pointing device 601 is moved, as shown in FIG. 6D, the cursor 604 follows the trajectory 605 and moves in the same manner as the operation on the display device 107.

When the cursor 602 reaches a joint (joint) between the display devices, the pointing device 6
If you point to another location with 01, your points up to now will be cancelled. Then, if the cursor is moved to the new point, the operation can be continued as before. When the pointer leaves the touch panel (S711), the movement of the cursor ends there.

As described above, when the pointer comes to the connecting portion of the display device, the pointer is displayed at the corresponding point of the next display device, and the pointer is displayed until the user points to that point. Blink it,
Indicates that the user is moving, and if the user points to the pointer thereafter, the operation is continued so that the pointer can be moved from a position where it can be continued accurately,
When the user points at a location other than the pointer, the pointer can be moved to the newly pointed location, whereby the pointer operation at the connecting portion can be performed easily and accurately, and the operability is improved.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 8 shows another example of pointing by a pointing device, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are flowcharts showing processing corresponding to the pointing of FIG.

When the user operates the pointing device 601
When a straight line is drawn up to the touch panel 110 by pointing to a certain point on the touch panel 109, a straight line is drawn on the display device along a locus drawn by the user (shown by a dotted line).
(A). However, since there is actually a connecting portion, when drawing in a state where there is no connecting portion, a step is generated as shown in FIG. 8B, and it is not a straight line. That is, it is necessary to correct the coordinates so that the connection is properly performed without the connection portion.

Then, the pointing mode is set (S901). This mode setting is performed by displaying an icon or the like as a menu on the display unit and instructing the menu. When drawing a graphic such as a straight line, PM = 0 is set as the drawing mode (S902). If it is not necessary to be able to point to the coordinates intended by the user as in the case of drag and drop, PM = 1 is set as the drag and drop mode (S903).

When drawing a figure (PM = 1), when the cursor is moved by the pointing device 601 (S1001), the cursor moves from the display device 107 (the touch panel 108) to the display device 109 (the touch panel 11).
0) (S1002), the difference between the coordinates on the display device at the moment of crossing (X coordinate when used for horizontal opening, Y coordinate when used for vertical opening) is stored as d ( S1003). Next, the difference between the drawing coordinates and the coordinates to which the user is actually pointing is calculated, and the difference is used as a correction value. Until the drawing is completed (S1004), the coordinates are always corrected to the coordinates to which the user is actually pointing. A value is added (S1005), and drawing is continued as actual coordinates. By adding a correction value to the coordinates, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the straight line on the touch panel 110 moves upward in the figure, and when the display devices 107 and 109 are connected, the straight line on the touch panel 110 becomes as shown in FIG. become.

On the other hand, if it is not necessary to be able to point to the coordinates intended by the user, such as by dragging and dropping instead of drawing (S1004), the drag and drop mode (PM = 1) is set as the drag and drop mode. The cursor is always displayed with the coordinates actually pointed by the user as the actual coordinates without performing the correction (S1006).

As described above, when the pointer comes to the connection portion of the display device, in the case of the drawing mode, the pointer is moved to a position shifted from the pointed position so that the drawn lines are connected. In the case of the drag-and-drop mode, by moving the pointer to the pointed position, an intuitive operation can be performed, and operability can be improved.

[Correspondence between Invention and Embodiment] In the above embodiment, the CPU 101, the ROM 102, the RAM 1
03, the display control means 105, and the touch panel control device 106 correspond to the control means.

[0041]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the display unit is opened from the main unit and in a double-page spread state, the pointer is moved from one of the main unit or the display unit to the other. And a control unit that moves linearly, and causes the pointer on the other display device to blink in the vicinity of the end of the movement trajectory of the one display device when the pointer reaches the joint between the display devices. Therefore, the start of the pointer in the next display device can be easily grasped.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the display shape of the pointer during blinking display is made different from that in the normal state, pointing on the next display device can be smoothly performed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined range including a blinking pointer is pointed,
Since the blinking display of the pointer during the blinking display is stopped and the display is returned to the normal display state, the pointing can be performed with a normal operation feeling.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when a location other than the pointer being blinking is pointed, movement from that location is permitted, so that a location other than the blinking display is pointed. At this time, movement from the place is enabled, and subsequent pointer movement becomes possible irrespective of the previous operation.

According to the present invention, the drawing mode or the drag-and-drop mode is set as the pointing mode according to the pointing situation, so that an appropriate mode is set according to the pointing operation state. Can be set.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the drawing mode, the correction is performed so that the point of the second display device is located on an extended line of the drawing locus of the first display device. The point is drawn so that the movement of the point from one display device to the other display device is continuous, so that the point can be moved smoothly.

According to the present invention, since the point position is determined as an actual point in the drag and drop mode, the pointer movement desired by the user can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a portable terminal device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the portable terminal device of the present invention, showing a state in which a display unit is closed in a main body.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a display unit is opened from a state of FIG. 2 to a horizontal position from a main body.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the display unit is brought into close contact with the main body from the state of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing in the CPU of the portable terminal device in the state of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a behavior of a cursor when a touch panel is pointed by a pointing device.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process corresponding to the pointing operation of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the pointing by the pointing device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process corresponding to the pointing operation of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing when pointing is performed across two touch panels.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 mobile terminal device 100A main unit 100B display unit 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 hard disk 105 display control device 106 touch panel control device 107, 109 display device 108, 110 touch panel 111 connection unit 112 connector 601 pointing device 602, 604 cursor 603, 605 , 606 locus

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A main body provided with a first display device,
An information processing apparatus comprising: a display unit having a display device; and a pointer moved from one of the main body unit or the display unit to the other reaches an end of the display device, and the other display device An information processing apparatus, comprising: control means for displaying a pointer in (1) at a position corresponding to the position of the pointer on the one display device. 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit changes a display shape of a pointer of the other display device from a normal display shape. 3. The control means, when a predetermined range including a pointer of the other display device is pointed,
2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display of the pointer on the other display device is returned to a normal display state. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the control unit points at a location other than the pointer of the other display device, the control unit permits movement from the location. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means sets a drawing mode or a drag-and-drop mode as a pointing mode according to a pointing situation. 6. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein:
6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the correction is performed such that the point of the second display device is located on an extension of a drawing locus of the first display device. 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said control means determines a point position as an actual point in said drag and drop mode. 8. A main body provided with a first display device,
A control method for an information processing apparatus comprising: a display unit having a display device; and a pointer moved from one of the main body unit or the display unit toward the other reaches an end of the display device, the other being Controlling the information processing apparatus to display a pointer on the display device at a position corresponding to the position of the pointer on the one display device. 9. The control method for an information processing device according to claim 8, wherein the control method changes a display shape of a pointer of the other display device from a normal display shape. 10. The control method according to claim 1, wherein, when a predetermined range including the pointer of the other display device is pointed, the display of the pointer of the other display device is returned to a normal display state. 9. The method for controlling an information processing apparatus according to claim 8. 11. The control method according to claim 8, wherein, when a position other than the pointer of the other display device is pointed, the control method permits movement from the position. 12. The control method according to claim 8, wherein the control method sets a drawing mode or a drag-and-drop mode as the pointing mode according to a pointing situation. 13. The control method according to claim 1, wherein in the drawing mode, the correction is performed such that the point of the second display device is located on an extension of a drawing trajectory of the first display device. Item 13. The control method for an information processing device according to Item 12. 14. The control method for an information processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein in the drag and drop mode, a point position is determined as an actual point.