JP2001282405A - Coordinate input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coordinate input device capable of easily selecting a function. SOLUTION: An item 'file' is selected from a menu bar 11 on a screen 1, an input pen is dragged and moved to an item 'open' on an opened sub-menu 12. Furthermore, the sub-menu 12 is exited as a dashed arrow 1 as dragging the pen on the item 'open'. Thus, an one-touch key 13 of the item 'open' is displayed on the screen 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an input device in a computer system or the like, and more particularly to a coordinate input device such as a touch panel, a digitizer, and a tablet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, input devices for giving various instructions and inputting new information in a computer system or the like are well known. For example, there are a digitizer as a graphic input device in CAD and CAM, a tablet used for menu selection in addition to graphic input, and a touch panel for instructing and selecting various functions in combination with display means. These input devices are widely used besides computer systems. For example, in the case of a touch panel, for example, they are arranged on an operation panel of a copying machine, a facsimile or the like, and are used for selecting various functions of the device. Used.

By the way, for example, Windows (registered trademark), which is an OS for a personal computer, and MAC /
In the OS (registered trademark), in the OS or various application software, a necessary function (item) is selected from various menus displayed on a menu bar, and a function to be executed from a pull-down menu (drop-down list) expanded from the menu. Is to be selected.

[0004] Normally, when a submenu is displayed extending downward from a menu, it is called a pull-down menu (drop-down list). Hereinafter, a pull-down menu including a case where a submenu is displayed upward or to the side is also referred to. .

[0005]

However, in various software and various devices, a pull-down menu may further have a pull-down menu (child menu, grandchild menu), and a coordinate input device designates a target function. There is a problem that the operation until the selection is troublesome. In particular, when a plurality of functions are continuously selected or alternately executed, the operation is further complicated, and the work efficiency is greatly reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional coordinate input device and to provide a coordinate input device capable of easily selecting a function.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

According to the present invention, there is provided a coordinate input device for detecting coordinates input by input means,
When it is detected that the user exits from the sub-menu item set on the sub-menu while dragging and moving on the sub-menu of the menu item set in the predetermined coordinate range by the input means, the registered item is registered in the sub-menu item. This problem is solved by displaying a one-touch button having a function equivalent to the above function on the display means.

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a method for deleting a display of a one-touch button when detecting that the player has dropped off from the one-touch button following a dragging movement on the one-touch button. suggest.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a one-touch button having a function equivalent to one of a plurality of functions set in a sub-menu item, in accordance with a direction in which the sub-menu item is exited. On the display means is proposed.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an example of a computer system for implementing the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the system according to the present embodiment includes a touch panel display 1 and a control device 2.

The touch panel display 1 is a CRT
A touch panel is attached to a display such as a monitor or an LCD monitor. Any type of display can be used. The touch panel according to the present embodiment optically indicates the position touched by a finger or the like on the display in accordance with the resolution of the display (the number of pixels in the X-axis direction: 1024, the number of pixels in the Y-axis direction: 768 in the present embodiment). The coordinates are detected and the coordinate data is transmitted to the control device 2. However, the configuration of the touch panel is not particularly limited, and a conventionally known configuration can be used. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the X and Y coordinates of a point P touched by a finger on the display 1 are detected.

In the present embodiment, a personal computer (PC) is used as the control device 2. However, any computer system can be used as the control device 2 irrespective of a dedicated machine or a general-purpose machine other than a PC. It is. The control device 2 outputs and displays an image developed in an image memory 5 to be described later on the display 1 integrated with the touch panel.

The control device 2 of this embodiment includes a coordinate input unit 3, a touch panel control unit 4, and an image memory 5. In the present embodiment, the display 1 and the control device 2 are connected via a serial interface, for example, RS232C or USB.
(Universal serial bus). The coordinate input unit 3 receives the coordinate data from the touch panel display 1 by a communication means such as the RS232C or USB.

The touch panel control unit 4 extracts coordinate data from the coordinate input unit 3 and draws the previous coordinate, the extracted coordinate and the extracted coordinate in the image memory 5 with a predetermined thickness and color, or presets the coordinate position. Perform the function that is being performed. Note that the thickness and color when drawing are controlled by the control device 2.
It can be changed by the user interface of.

RGB image data is developed on the image memory 5 and output and displayed on the display 1 by video output means (not shown). FIG. 2 shows an example of a screen displayed on the display 1 in the computer system of the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, a menu bar 11 is displayed near the upper end of the display screen 1. In the present embodiment, the menu bar 11 displays four menu items of file, edit, display, and insert in order from the left.

Each menu item has a submenu. For example, as shown in the figure, the "file" item has five items: new creation, opening, saving with a name, saving in HTML format, and ending. Has a submenu 12 having The submenu 12 is opened by touching a “file” part on the touch panel display 1 (drop-down list).
It is provided as. The submenus of the other menu items are provided as pull-down menus that are opened by touching the menu item portions, similarly to the “file” submenu 12. Items provided in each submenu can be set arbitrarily. Further, a configuration may be such that a submenu (a submenu to a grandchild menu) is further opened from the submenu.

Here, an editing / inputting operation using a light pen and other input tools will be described. When executing a function from the submenu as described above, for example, when displaying a graphic image on the display 1, “File”
The user touches the item portion and touches the “open” portion by tracing (dragging the pen) on the opened submenu 12. Thereby, a desired graphic image can be displayed on the display 1. Actually, after this, a list box or the like for selecting a graphic image to be opened is displayed, and the graphic image to be opened is selected from here. However, the description will be omitted here.

When displaying a single graphic image, it is not bothersome to perform the above-mentioned normal (conventional) work. For example, in order to simultaneously display and edit a plurality of graphic images, a plurality of graphic images are required. In the case of an operation of continuously opening an image, in the conventional method, an operation of touching the above-described “file” item, tracing the opened submenu 12 and touching the “open” portion is performed. To
It has to be repeated as many times as the number of figures to open, which is very troublesome. Thus, in the present embodiment, each item provided in the submenu 12 is made into a one-touch button and displayed on the screen 1.

The operation of converting each item provided in the submenu 12 into a one-touch button will be described by taking "open" as an example. As shown in FIG. 3, "file" is selected from the menu bar 11 on the screen 1, and the opened submenu 12 is dragged with a pen to move to the "open" item.
Further, the user exits the submenu 12 as indicated by a broken arrow while dragging the “open” with the pen. As a result, the “open” one-touch button 13 is displayed on the screen 1.

The "open" one-touch button 13
Functionally, it performs exactly the same function as "open" on the submenu 12, and executes a function of opening a file (for example, a graphic image) when the one-touch button 13 is touched with a pen. Actually, a list box for selecting a file to be opened from here is displayed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the same function as each item provided in the submenu 12 (pull-down menu) can be easily converted into a one-touch button, so that frequently used functions can be easily displayed on the screen. In addition, selection and execution can be performed quickly, and the operability of the touch panel as an input device can be greatly improved. In the present embodiment, the item to be converted into a one-touch button has been described as “open” in the “file” submenu. However, the function (item) to be converted into a one-touch button is not limited to this, and any item on the submenu 12 can be changed. It is also possible to make a one-touch button. Of course, menu bar 1
Arbitrary items in a submenu (pull-down menu) of items other than “File” can be made into one-touch buttons.

In the case of a mouse which is an input device used in a personal computer or the like, there are a plurality of buttons such as a left button and a right button. The function may differ depending on the click. However, in the case of a coordinate input device such as a touch panel, a digitizer, and a tablet, there is no equivalent to a mouse button.
In order to perform another function of left click, an operation of once exiting the pull-down menu, selecting a separately provided "right-click" function, and then returning to the pull-down menu has been required, and the operation was complicated.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, even in a coordinate input device having no equivalent to a mouse button, it is configured so that another function of right-click and left-click on a pull-down menu can be easily executed. .

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the user selects the "File" menu from the menu bar 11, and moves to "Save As" while tracing the opened submenu 12 with a pen. Then, as shown by the dashed arrow, if you exit from the “Save As” item to the left,
A one-touch button (not shown) in which a function when left-clicking on the "Save as" item is registered is displayed on the screen. Similarly, if you exit from the “Save As” item to the right, if you right-click on the “Save As” item, press the one-touch button (not shown) that has registered the function when you right-clicked on the screen. To be displayed. The calculation of the direction (angle) when exiting from the item will be described later.

As described above, the same function as the left-click or right-click assigned (registered) in the item of the submenu can be easily made into a one-touch button according to the direction of exiting from the item on the submenu. Even in a coordinate input device having no equivalent to a mouse button, the same function as right-click / left-click on a pull-down menu can be easily executed. Therefore, the operability of the coordinate input device can be further improved.

Here, the display of the one-touch button corresponding to a left-click or a right-click on an item has been described taking the "Save As" item of the "File" menu as an example. It is possible to apply to items other than "Save." Further, the present invention can be applied to a submenu of a menu item other than the “File” menu. The left-click or right-click function of each item, that is, the function performed by the created one-touch button, can be arbitrarily set. Further, when there are three exit directions (left, right, down or up), for example, as in the “end” item of the submenu 12, three one-touch buttons may be created according to the exit directions. it can.

Next, the deletion of the created one-touch button will be described. For example, in a Windows personal computer, an icon (one-touch button) can be deleted by right-clicking on an icon displayed on the screen and selecting "delete" from a menu (list) displayed. However, in a coordinate input device having no equivalent to the left and right buttons of the mouse, simple deletion of the button by right-clicking on the one-touch button cannot be performed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the user touches the one-touch button displayed on the screen and drags it, the one-touch button is deleted. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the user touches the one-touch button 13 displayed on the screen 1 and drags the button as it is indicated by a dashed arrow, and the button 13 is released, the one-touch button 13 is deleted. Drag direction when deleting a one-touch button (direction to exit the button)
May be limited to a specific direction, for example, downward, or may be set to delete the button in any direction.

Here, the deletion of the one-touch button has been described by taking the one-touch button 13 of the “open” item of the “file” menu as an example, but the other one-touch buttons may be deleted by the same operation. Can be configured.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the one-touch button is deleted when the user touches and drags the one-touch button, so that the unnecessary one-touch button can be easily deleted, and the operability of the coordinate input device can be improved. Can be improved.

Next, the calculation of the moving direction (dragging direction) on the touch panel according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the calculation of the moving direction on the touch panel according to the present embodiment. In this figure, the point touched, that is, the drag start position P
Are (X1, Y1), and the end coordinates are (X2, Y1).
2). From the start coordinates and the end coordinates, the change amount ΔX in the X coordinate direction (horizontal direction) is obtained by (X2−X1), and the change amount ΔY in the Y coordinate direction (vertical direction) is obtained by (Y2−Y1). Thus, the drag angle is calculated as ΔY / ΔX. In FIG. 3, right above the start point P (at an angle of 0
(Degree), a clockwise rotation at an angle of 10 degrees, a rightward movement (an angle of 90 degrees), and a clockwise movement at an angle of 100 degrees.

In the present embodiment, the positive and negative of ΔX and ΔY (+,
The drag angle is calculated from −) and the approximate value of ΔY / ΔX, and the angle calculation table is shown in Table 1 below.

[0033]

[Table 1]

In Table 1, the stamp figure rotation angle is the drag angle from the start position P, and is represented by a clockwise angle. Since the change amount ΔX in the X coordinate direction is positive (+) in the right direction and negative (−) in the left direction, ΔX is + when the drag angle is 0 to 180 degrees, and −X when the drag angle is 180 to 360 degrees. It is. However, 0 degrees (360 degrees)
And 180 degrees are ΔX = 0. Further, the change amount ΔY in the Y coordinate direction is such that the upward direction is positive (+) and the downward direction is negative (−).
Therefore, from 270 degrees to 90 degrees, ΔY is +,
90 degrees to 270 degrees is-. However, ΔY = 0 at 90 degrees and 270 degrees. The approximate value of ΔY / ΔX is
As shown in the rightmost column of Table 1. For example, ΔX,
When both ΔY are negative and ΔY / ΔX = 0.900, the drag angle is 230 degrees.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing for creating (displaying) and deleting (erasing) one-touch buttons in the present embodiment. In this flowchart, after touching the touch panel display (S1), it is determined whether or not a drag operation has been performed (S2), and it is determined whether or not the drag operation is on a sub-menu (pull-down menu) (S3).
If it is a drag operation on the pull-down menu, it is determined whether or not the menu item has changed (S4). If the menu item has changed (moved to the next item), the previous menu item is set to normal (normal). ) Is displayed (S5), and the new item is highlighted (S6). Then, the coordinates of the current menu item are stored (S7). If the drag operation in S3 is not on the pull-down menu, it is determined whether or not the drag operation is on the one-touch button (S8). If it is a drag operation on the one-touch button, the button coordinates are stored (S9). If the operation is not a drag operation on the one-touch button, the drag coordinates are stored (S10).

After S7, S9, and S10, the process returns to S2, and if the drag operation is not performed, the process proceeds to S11 to determine whether the menu item has been exited. If the user exits from the menu item, the drag angle is calculated by the method described above (S1).
2) It is determined whether or not a one-touch button operation described later is performed (S13). In the case of the one-touch button operation, it is further determined whether or not there is a left / right click function (S14). If there is a left / right click function, a one-touch button corresponding to the right or left click function is created based on the drag angle calculated previously (S15). If there is no left / right click function, a one-touch button assigned to the menu item is created (S16).

If there is no dropout from the menu item in S11 and if the one-touch button operation is not performed in S13, the process proceeds to S17 to determine whether or not the button has been dropped off. If it is determined that the button has been dragged off the button, the one-touch button is deleted (S18).

In this embodiment, in the above flowchart, the drag angle calculated in S12 is 90 degrees ± A degrees,
Or 270 degrees ± A degrees (A is a selectable angle)
In the case of, it is determined that the user has dragged right or left from the menu item, and is regarded as a one-touch button operation, and the process proceeds to creation of one-touch buttons (S14 to S16). Then, in S15, if the drag angle calculated previously is 90 degrees ± A degrees, a right click button is created, and if it is 270 degrees ± A degrees, a left click button is created.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the input means for inputting coordinates (designating a menu item) is not limited to a light pen, but may be a finger or any other input means. Further, the present invention can be applied to a coordinate input device other than the touch panel display, for example, a digitizer or a tablet. Also, menu items, sub-menu items, and the like can be arbitrarily set.

[0040]

As described above, according to the coordinate input device of the present invention, a menu item set in a predetermined coordinate range is set on the submenu while being dragged and moved by the input means on the submenu. If it is detected that a submenu item has been exited, a one-touch button having a function equivalent to the function registered in the submenu item is displayed on the display means, so that a frequently used function can be selected easily and quickly. This makes it possible to significantly improve the operability of the coordinate input device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when it is detected that the user has left the one-touch button following the dragging movement on the one-touch button by the input means, the display of the one-touch button is deleted. The button can be easily deleted, and the operability of the coordinate input device can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a one-touch button having a function equivalent to one of a plurality of functions set for the submenu item is displayed on the display means in accordance with the direction in which the submenu item is exited. Even in a coordinate input device having no equivalent to a mouse button, the same function as right-click / left-click on a submenu can be easily executed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an example of a computer system that implements the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating an example of a screen displayed on a display according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining an operation of creating a one-touch button on a display.

FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining an operation of creating a one-touch button having a different function set in a submenu item.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining an operation of deleting a one-touch button from a display.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining calculation of a moving direction on a touch panel.

FIG. 7: One-touch button creation (display) and deletion (deletion)
6 is a flowchart showing the processing of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Touch panel display 2 Control device 3 Coordinate input part 4 Touch panel control part 5 Image memory 11 Menu bar 12 Submenu 13 One-touch button

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A coordinate input device for detecting a coordinate input by an input means, wherein the input item is set on the submenu while being dragged and moved by the input means on the submenu of a menu item set in a predetermined coordinate range. A coordinate input device for displaying, on a display means, a one-touch button having a function equivalent to the function registered in the sub-menu item when detecting that the sub-menu item has been exited. 2. The coordinate input according to claim 1, wherein, when it is detected that the user has slipped off the one-touch button following the dragging movement on the one-touch button, the display of the one-touch button is deleted. apparatus. 3. A one-touch button having a function equivalent to one of a plurality of functions set in the sub-menu item is displayed on a display means in accordance with a direction in which the sub-menu item is exited. The coordinate input device according to claim 1.