JP2005031913A - Information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the extensibility of a processing executable by a slide operation, and the operability thereof. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU 10 detects an input to a slide-type input device 20 by a slide-type input device control program 14a. The slide-type input device control program 14a outputs a code corresponding to the frequency and speed of the slide operation with the slide-type input device 20 to an application program 14b. The CPU 10 executes processing instructed by the slide operation, by the application program 14b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information terminal that receives an input by a slide operation.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, an X-axis direction scroll operation unit for performing a scroll operation in the left-right direction of the display screen and a Y for performing a scroll operation in the up-down direction of the display screen are respectively provided on the lower part and the left side of the display unit of the mobile phone device. Some have a scroll operation unit provided in the axial direction (Patent Document 1). These operation units are configured to have an elongated touch pad, and prevent scroll operation errors by enabling independent scroll operation instructions in each direction.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-69223
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional mobile phone device (information terminal), the display screen is merely scrolled according to the slide operation on the touch pad. That is, the expandability is poor, and it has been difficult to improve operability simply by preventing erroneous operations.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an information terminal capable of improving the expandability of processing that can be executed by a slide operation and improving the operability. To do.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention includes a detection unit that detects a slide operation, a determination unit that determines the number and speed of the slide operations detected by the detection unit, and a processing unit that performs processing according to the determination result by the determination unit. It is characterized by having.
[0007]
According to such a configuration, not only the presence / absence of the slide operation but also the process according to the number and speed of the slide operation is executed. By doing so, various processes can be executed. That is, since the extensibility is improved, the operability can be improved by appropriately preparing a process executed by the slide operation.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an information terminal according to the present embodiment. The information terminal in the present embodiment is realized by a computer that reads a program recorded on a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a CD-ROM, a DVD, or a magnetic disk and whose operation is controlled by this program.
[0009]
As shown in FIG. 1, the information terminal in the present embodiment includes a CPU 10, a storage device 12, a RAM 14, a display device 16, an input device 18, and a sliding input device 20.
[0010]
The CPU 10 controls the entire information terminal, and implements various processes by executing programs stored in the RAM 14. The CPU 10 inputs an instruction by a sliding operation to the sliding input device 20 under the control of the sliding input device control program 14a, and executes processing corresponding to the instruction by the application program 14b or the like. Details of the input control by the sliding input device control program 14a will be described later.
[0011]
The storage device 12 stores an application program, data, and the like in addition to a control program that controls the overall operation of the information terminal. Programs and data stored in the storage device 12 are read out as necessary and stored in the RAM 14.
[0012]
The RAM 14 temporarily stores various programs and data, and is used as a work memory when executing the programs. In the RAM 14, for example, a slide input device control program 14a and an application program 14b are recorded. The application program 14b has a function of scrolling the screen and moving the cursor in accordance with an instruction input by an operation on the sliding input device 20 under the control of the sliding input device control program 14a.
[0013]
The display device 16 is configured by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and displays a screen corresponding to various processes.
[0014]
The input device 18 is configured by a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse, and inputs instruction operations and data for various processes.
[0015]
The slide type input device 20 is an input device that receives an input by rubbing the upper surface with a finger or the like, that is, a slide operation, and the input is controlled by the slide type input device control program 14a. The sliding input device 20 can accept different input instructions depending on the speed of sliding operation (the speed of rubbing), that is, the amount of finger movement per short time and the number of times.
[0016]
In FIG. 2, the external appearance structure of the information terminal in this embodiment is shown.
As shown in FIG. 2, the display screen of the display device 16 is provided on the upper surface of the casing of the information terminal. The sliding input device 20 is provided on the right side and the lower side of the display screen, for example, and has an elongated shape. Note that the installation position of the sliding input device 20 shown in FIG. 2 is a suitable position in consideration of, for example, the operation with the right hand, and can be installed at other positions.
[0017]
In the present embodiment, the sliding input device 20 is mainly used for instructing scrolling of contents displayed on the screen, movement of a cursor, and the like. The user of the information terminal can input an instruction to scroll the screen or move the cursor by sliding operation on the sliding input device 20, for example, by rubbing the upper surface portion with a finger in a predetermined direction.
[0018]
In the configuration example shown in FIG. 2, a sliding operation is performed in which the sliding input device 20 a provided on the right side of the display screen is rubbed with a finger in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction). Further, a sliding operation is performed on the sliding input device 20b provided on the lower side of the display screen by rubbing with a finger in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction).
[0019]
FIG. 3 shows an example of a specific hardware configuration of the sliding input device 20. FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section of the sliding input device 20.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 3, the slide type input device 20 includes a plurality of switches 32 arranged on a printed circuit board 34 at equal intervals, and a resin that slides smoothly when softly rubbed on the upper part thereof. 30 is covered. The switch 32 may be a general mechanical contact switch or a membrane switch. As the resin or the like 30 of the sliding input device 20 is rubbed with a finger, the switch 32 at the position where the finger is pressed is changed to the ON state. The on / off state of the switch 32 is detected by the sliding input device control program 14a.
[0021]
FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the sliding input device 20, the sliding input device control program 14a, and the application program 14b.
The sliding input device control program 14a is a so-called device driver located between the application program 14b and hardware (sliding input device 20). The slide-type input device control program 14a detects a slide operation performed on the slide-type input device 20 by reading a change in the state of each switch 32, and sets a key code corresponding to the performed slide operation to a higher-level application. Output to the program 14b.
[0022]
For example, when a sliding operation from the top to the bottom is performed on the sliding input device 20a (vertical) shown in FIG. 2, the sliding input device control program 14a that detects the sliding operation is the input device 18. A code corresponding to the down cursor key of the (keyboard) is output to the application program 14b. Similarly, when a slide operation is performed from the bottom to the top, a code corresponding to the up cursor key is output.
[0023]
Similarly, in the case of the slide operation on the slide type input device 20b (horizontal), a code corresponding to the right cursor key is output for the slide operation from the left to the right, and the slide operation from the right to the left is performed. On the other hand, a code corresponding to the left cursor key is output.
[0024]
FIG. 5 shows an example of changes in each switch state when the sliding input device 20 is rubbed with a finger.
FIG. 5 shows the switch state of each switch that changes over time due to a sliding operation on the sliding input device 20a (vertical) shown in FIG. FIG. 5 shows each switch state of the sliding input device 20 at time t when there is one column arranged in the vertical direction. In the example shown in FIG. 5, it is shown that the sliding operation from the top to the bottom is repeated twice for the sliding input device 20 a.
[0025]
FIG. 6 shows the difference in switch state change due to the difference in the speed of the slide operation on the slide input device 20. FIG. 6A shows an example of a change in the switch state when a fast slide operation is performed, and FIG. 6B shows an example of the change in the switch state when a slow slide operation is performed.
[0026]
In the case of the fast slide operation shown in FIG. 6A, for example, the time from when the upper switch is turned on to when the lower switch is turned on is short, and the slow slide operation shown in FIG. 6B is performed. In this case, for example, the time from when the upper switch is turned on to when the lower switch is turned on is longer. In the present embodiment, a reference value is set for the time from when the upper switch is turned on to when the lower switch is turned on, so that the sliding operation on the sliding input device 20 is performed quickly and slowly. Classify into:
[0027]
Next, input using the sliding input device 20 in the information terminal of the present embodiment will be described.
In the information terminal of the present embodiment, the speed of the sliding operation with respect to the sliding input device 20 is classified into a fast rubbing and a slow rubbing with a predetermined reference value as a boundary. It is assumed that an appropriate value is set as the reference value for classifying the fast rubbing / slow rubbing according to the size and application of the sliding input device 20 and the user's operation tendency.
[0028]
The sliding input device control program 14a has an internal state as shown in FIG. 7, and changes the state every time a quick rubbing or a slow rubbing is performed a predetermined number of times. For example, in FIG. 7, there are a state 0 (initial state), a state 1, and a state 2, and in the state 0, when quick rubbing (sliding operation) is continuously performed n1 times, the state transitions to the state 1 (n1 Is an integer). Further, in state 1, when quick rubbing (sliding operation) is continuously performed n1 times, the state transitions to state 2. Further, in the states 1 and 2, when slow rubbing (sliding operation) is continuously performed n2 times, the state transitions to the state 0 (initial state) in any case (n2 is an integer).
[0029]
The slide type input device control program 14a changes the state according to the speed and number of times of the slide operation input in each of the states 0, 1, and 2, and the application program 14b according to the slide operation in each state. Change the number of codes to output for.
[0030]
FIG. 8 shows an example of an output code of the sliding input device control program 14a in each state 0, 1, and 2.
FIG. 8A shows an output code when fast rubbing is performed, and FIG. 8B shows an output code when slow rubbing is performed.
[0031]
For example, when the sliding input device 20a (vertical) is slid by fast rubbing, for example, in the state 0, the sliding input device control program 14a loads the application program 14b. On the other hand, the code of the up cursor key is output.
[0032]
In state 0, if there is n1 quick slide operations, the state transitions to state 1. Here, when the same operation is performed, the sliding input device control program 14a continuously outputs the code of the up cursor key twice to the application program 14b. That is, the cursor key can be moved twice by one slide operation.
[0033]
On the other hand, when there are n2 quick slide operations in states 1 and 2, the state transitions to state 0. When a sliding operation is performed on the sliding input device 20a (vertical) by, for example, slow rubbing in the upward direction, the sliding input device control program 14a sends the code of the up cursor key to the application program 14b. Is output. In the states 0, 1, and 2, the same code is output to the application program 14b in any state for the sliding operation due to the slow rubbing.
[0034]
In the above description, the speed of the slide operation with respect to the slide type input device 20 is classified based on a predetermined reference value. The user can arbitrarily set the reference value. Also good. For example, when a request for changing the reference value is instructed, the CPU 10 presents a reference value setting screen and causes the reference value to be specified therein. The sliding input device control program 14a determines the speed of the sliding operation with respect to the sliding input device 20 based on the reference value set on the reference value setting screen.
[0035]
Further, a learning function may be provided in which the speed of the sliding operation on the sliding input device 20 is detected and used for subsequent input.
[0036]
In this way, the sliding operation input by the slide type input device control program 14a is classified into two types of fast rubbing and slow rubbing, the state transition is performed according to the operation state, and the number of codes output in each state By changing the above, it is possible to execute different processing operations only by a slide operation. In other words, the input operation using the slide type input device 20 is expanded, thereby improving the operability.
[0037]
For example, when the user wants to scroll the screen at high speed, the sliding input device 20 may be repeatedly rubbed quickly. If the sliding input device 20 is repeatedly rubbed quickly, the number of codes received by the application program 14b increases, so that high-speed scrolling can be performed with few operations.
[0038]
Note that the slide input device control program 14a has been described as transitioning in three different states 0, 1, and 2, as shown in FIG. Also good. For example, in the case of transition in four states 0, 1, 2, and 3, the sliding input device control program 14a performs the sliding operation on the sliding input device 20 (vertical and horizontal) as shown in FIG. In addition, a code is output to the application program 14b. For example, when there is a fast slide operation in state 3, eight codes are output.
[0039]
In the above description, the slide type input device control program 14a changes the number of output codes with respect to the application program 14b according to the state, but the output code situation may be changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the sliding input device control program 14 a outputs a code different from the states 0 and 1 when a fast slide operation is performed in the state 2. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the code of the PageUP key is output in the case of an upward sliding operation on the sliding input device 20a, and the code of the PageDown key is output in the case of a downward sliding operation. . In the case of a sliding operation to the right with respect to the sliding input device 20b, an End key code is output, and in a case of a left sliding operation, a Home key code is output.
[0040]
In this way, not only the number of codes to be output to the application program 14b is changed, but also a state in which the code itself is changed, so that the process that can be executed by the slide operation is expanded and the operability is further improved. Can be planned. In addition, the overhead of processing operations can be reduced by increasing the number of codes output to the application program 14b.
[0041]
Note that the method described in the above-described embodiment is applied to a recording medium such as a magnetic disk (flexible disk, hard disk, etc.), optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), semiconductor memory, etc. It can be written and provided to various devices. It is also possible to transmit to a variety of devices by transmitting via a communication medium. A computer that implements this apparatus reads the program recorded on the recording medium or receives the program via the communication medium, and the operation is controlled by this program, thereby executing the above-described processing.
[0042]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention at the stage of implementation. Further, the embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, when the effect can be obtained even if several constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, a configuration from which the constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, processing according to the number and speed of slide operations as well as the presence / absence of a slide operation is executed. The operability can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an information terminal according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an information terminal according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a specific hardware configuration of the slide input device 20 according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship among a sliding input device 20, a sliding input device control program 14a, and an application program 14b in the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a change in each switch state when the sliding input device 20 according to the present embodiment is rubbed with a finger.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a change in a switch state due to a difference in speed of a slide operation with respect to the slide type input device 20 in the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a state transition diagram for explaining state transition of the information terminal in the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an output code of a sliding input device control program 14a in each state in the present embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an output code of a sliding input device control program 14a in each state in the present embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an output code of a sliding input device control program 14a in each state in the present embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 ... CPU
12 ... Storage device 14 ... RAM
14a ... Slide-type input device control program 14b ... Application program 16 ... Display device 18 ... Input device 20 ... Slide-type input device

Claims (8)

Detection means for detecting a slide operation;
Discriminating means for discriminating the number and speed of slide operations detected by the detecting means;
An information terminal comprising: a processing unit that executes a process according to a determination result by the determination unit. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit includes a plurality of slide input devices that detect a slide operation. Having a display device;
The information terminal according to claim 2, wherein the sliding input device is provided beside a display screen of the display device. 2. The processing unit according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit classifies the slide operation based on the number of times and the speed determined by the determination unit, and executes a process according to the classified slide operation. Information terminal. The processing means increases the processing speed when a slide operation faster than a predetermined reference value is performed a predetermined number of times, and returns to the original when a slide operation slower than the reference value is performed a predetermined number of times. 2. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal is returned to the processing speed. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit is a scroll process for scrolling a display screen. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit changes the number of codes to be output to the application program according to a determination result by the determination unit. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processing unit changes a type of code output to the application program according to a determination result by the determination unit.

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