JP2001142632A - Auxiliary input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To operate a pad type pointing device by one hand and also to suppress an operation mistake. SOLUTION: A button 11 corresponds to the left button of a mouse and a button 12 corresponds to the right button of the mouse. A vertical scroll bar is operated by turning a dial 1. a horizontal scroll bar is operated by turning a dial 2. A pointing operation is performed by moving a pad operating part 13 that is fitted to the point of a pen type auxiliary input device while the part 13 is in contact on the pad. The auxiliary input device is held by one hand and can be moved, and the buttons 11 and 12 and the dials 1 and 2 are operated by fingers of the hand holding the input auxiliary device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an input assisting device, and more particularly, to an input assisting device for assisting operation of a pad-type pointing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pad type pointing device is easy to make thinner and lighter than a mouse or trackball using a conventional ball, and has been spotlighted as a pointing device for a notebook personal computer. Now, most laptop manufacturers use it.

In some of the latest devices, a function for operating a scroll bar and a function for starting a specific application are arranged on a pad to improve operability. That is, in some cases, by scrolling a certain area on the pad with a finger, a scroll bar can be operated or a specific application can be started.

[0004]

However, this pad type pointing device has the following problems.

[0005] The first problem is that when a delicate operation is required, the operation cannot be performed as desired. The reason is that, because the pad-type pointing device is operated with a finger, the size and position (point) of the surface where the finger is in contact with the pad changes slightly depending on the inclination and pressure of the finger, and the point to be pointed seems to be This is because they may move to a different position.

A second problem is that a problem is caused by arranging an area for executing an additional function (such as a scroll function) on the pad. That is, since the area for performing the additional function is arranged on the pad, the area for the pointing operation, which is the original purpose, is narrowed, and the additional function is erroneously performed during the operation. This is because there is a possibility of an erroneous operation due to the operation of the area for performing the operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and allows a user to operate a pointing function using a pad-type pointing device and additional functions such as a scroll function with one hand, and to perform an erroneous operation. Can be suppressed.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an input assisting device for operating a pad-type pointing device, the input assisting device being provided at a tip of a pen-shaped casing and having a contact on a pad. A first operating means for moving while rotating, and a second dial type which can be rotated and moved.
And a second operating means provided in contact with the second operating means.
Characterized in that it comprises a button-type third operation means that operates by moving the first operation means, a fourth dial-type operation means that can rotate, and a fifth button-type operation means. . Further, the pointing operation can be performed by moving the first operation means while making contact with the pad. Further, the second operation means can have a function of operating a vertical scroll bar. Further, the third operation means may have a function corresponding to the left button of the mouse. The fourth operation means may have a function of operating a horizontal scroll bar.
Further, the fifth operation means can have a function corresponding to a rightward button of a mouse.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention improves the operability of a pad type pointing device often used in a notebook personal computer, and can execute additional functions such as a scroll function easily and without erroneous operation. Is to do so.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an embodiment of an input assisting device according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the present embodiment has a pen-type shape, and the pad operation unit 13 at the tip of the pen-shaped housing is brought into contact with the pad 21 (FIG. 2) to perform a pointing operation. Has been made to do. The dial 1 and the dial 2 are provided at positions where their rotation axes are orthogonal.

The dial 1 has a button function,
When the dial 1 is pressed (pressed downward in FIG. 1),
The dial 1 itself moves, comes into contact with a button 11 provided at the back of the dial 1, and can press the button 11. The button 12 can be pressed by a finger.

By using such a pen-type input assisting device, it is possible to improve the certainty of the point indication and to enable a detailed operation.

Further, as described above, by providing the dial 1 and the dial 2, for example, the dial 1 is made to correspond to a vertical scroll function of vertically scrolling the display contents in the window, and the dial 2 is set to the window. It is possible to correspond to a horizontal scroll function of scrolling the display contents in the horizontal direction, and the scroll operation can be performed by dial operation. Further, by giving the dial 1 a button function so that the button 11 can be operated and further adding the button 12, it is possible to perform all pointing operations with one hand.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the input assist device of the present invention is connected to a personal computer (personal computer) 22.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present embodiment has two button inputs (inputs from buttons 11 and 12) and two dial inputs (inputs from dial 1 and dial 2). The signals corresponding to these inputs are supplied to the personal computer 22. That is, the buttons 11 and 12
Outputs a predetermined electric signal through the cord 14 when pressed, and the dials 1 and 2 rotate left and right, and two kinds of electric signals are outputted according to the rotation direction.
The output has been made through.

Using the same operation system as the dial 1, the button 11 is clicked (turned down in FIG. 1) without rotating the dial 1, thereby realizing a button function. I have. The pointing operation is performed by moving the pad operation unit 13 at the tip of the input assist device while making contact with the pad 21 of the pad-type pointing device.

That is, the button 11 corresponds to a left button of a mouse. The button 12 corresponds to a right button of a mouse. The dial 1 controls a vertical scroll operation. The dial 2 controls a horizontal scroll operation.

By transmitting an electric signal (control information) corresponding to each operation to the personal computer 22, a pointing operation and a scroll operation can be assisted. The transfer to the personal computer 22 can be realized by using a connection method such as a dedicated interface, a mouse interface, and a USB interface.

Next, the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described.

In the pointing operation, the auxiliary input device is
This is performed by moving the front end pad operation unit 13 back and forth and right and left while making contact with the pad 21 of the pad type pointing device.

The button 11 can be operated by clicking without rotating the dial 1. That is, if the dial 1 is clicked without rotating, the button 11 is pressed to turn on the switch, and a corresponding electric signal is output. The button 12 operates by clicking the button 12 itself, and outputs a corresponding electric signal. The dial 1 is rotated left and right (in FIG. 1,
(Rotating in the forward and reverse directions about a rotation axis perpendicular to the paper surface) to output an electric signal corresponding to the rotation direction. The dial 2 operates by rotating in the left-right direction (in FIG. 1, rotating in the forward and reverse directions around a left-right rotation axis parallel to the paper surface), and outputs an electric signal corresponding to the rotating direction.

For example, the dial 1 and the button 11 are operated with the index finger, the dial 2 is operated with the thumb, and the button 12
Can be operated with the index finger. When the dial 1 is rotated clockwise and counterclockwise with, for example, an index finger, an electric signal corresponding to the rotation direction is supplied to the control software 23 of the personal computer 22 via the cord 14, and the control software displays a vertical scroll bar displayed in the window. Operate vertically to scroll the displayed content vertically. Thus, the vertical scroll bar can be operated in the up-down direction.

When the dial 1 is pressed (clicked) without rotating, the same operation as when the left mouse button is clicked can be performed. When the dial 2 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise with the thumb, for example, an electric signal corresponding to the rotation direction is supplied to the control software 23 of the personal computer 22 via the cord 14, and the control software is controlled by the horizontal scroll displayed in the window. Operate the bar left and right to scroll the displayed content horizontally. In this way, the horizontal scroll bar can be operated in the left-right direction. Then, by pressing the button 12 with, for example, an index finger, the same operation as when the right mouse button is clicked can be performed.

As described above, it is possible to realize an input assisting device that can perform all operations with one hand.

As described above, when the dial 1, button 11, dial 2, and button 12 are respectively operated,
An electric signal is supplied to the personal computer 22 via the cord 14 in response to these operations. When the pad operating unit 13 at the tip of the input assist device is moved while being in contact with the pad 21, an electric signal corresponding thereto is transmitted from the pad 21 to the personal computer 22 via a cable (not shown) connecting the pad 21 and the personal computer 22. Supplied to

The control software 23 running on the personal computer 22 includes dial 1, button 11, dial 2,
An electric signal corresponding to each operation of the button 12;
Based on the electric signal from No. 1, what kind of operation has been performed is determined, and processing corresponding to each operation is executed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

The first effect is that the pad type pointing
When using the device, all pointing operations can be performed with one hand. The reason is that, by using a pen-type input assisting device, the pointing operation can be realized using the entire hand, and the button operation and the dial operation can be realized using the finger.

The second effect is that the pad type pointing
This is to prevent erroneous operation when operating the device. The reason for this is that the functions that can be operated on the pad 21 are specialized only to the pointing function by incorporating all the functions such as buttons and dials for realizing additional functions such as a scroll function useful for the input assist device. This is because you can do it. That is, it is not necessary to provide a region for the scroll function or the like on the pad 21.

The input assisting device can be used not only as a pad-type pointing device but also as a pointing device for a mouse tablet.

By providing a ball-type pointing device or an optical pointing device at the tip of the input assisting device, the input assisting device can be used alone as a pointing device. . As a result, a pointing device that can be easily operated with one hand can be realized, and can be used not only with a notebook personal computer but also with a desktop personal computer or the like.

The configuration of the above embodiment is an example and is not limited to this. The positions, numbers, shapes, and the like of dials and buttons can be appropriately changed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the vertical and horizontal scroll operations are performed by using the dials 1 and 2 has been described. However, other additional functions such as the activation of a program may be executed. It is.

[0034]

As described above, according to the input assisting device of the present invention, the first operating means provided at the tip of the pen-shaped housing for moving the pad while making contact with the pad, the rotating and rotating means, A movable dial-type second operation means,
A button-type third operation means provided in contact with the second operation means and operated by moving the second operation means; a rotatable dial-type fourth operation means; Since the fifth operation means is provided, the pointing function using the pad-type pointing device and the additional functions such as the scroll function can be operated with one hand, and erroneous operations can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an embodiment of an input assisting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which the input assist device of FIG. 1 is connected to a personal computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 dial 11, 12 button 13 pad operation unit 14 code 21 pad 22 personal computer 23 control software

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An input assisting device for operating a pad-type pointing device, comprising: a first operating means provided at a tip of a pen-shaped housing for moving the pad while making contact with the pad; And a movable second dial-type operating means, and a button-type third operating means provided in contact with the second operating means and operated by moving the second operating means, An input assist device comprising: a rotatable dial-type fourth operation means; and a button-type fifth operation means. 2. The input assisting device according to claim 1, wherein a pointing operation is performed by moving the first operation means while being in contact with the pad. 3. The input assist device according to claim 1, wherein the second operating means has a function of operating a vertical scroll bar. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third operation means has a function corresponding to a left button of a mouse.
4. The input assisting device according to 2 or 3. 5. The input assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the fourth operating means has a function of operating a horizontal scroll bar. 6. The input assisting device according to claim 1, wherein the fifth operation means has a function corresponding to a right button of a mouse.