JP2010231725A - Pointing device and pointing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To minimize the number of times of operating a button, and also to improve an operating speed. <P>SOLUTION: An object database 121 receives, from an application part 103, information, such as a position on a screen, a width, a height and usage priority of an object, and stores object data for only the number of objects. An object rearranging part 122 changes the positions and sizes of objects existing within the selection range of a user in accordance with priorities. A narrowing down part 124 receives the input of a remote control signal from a remote controller 123 and performs the transition of an internal state. A grid drawing part 125 uses grid coordinate data inputted by the narrowing down part 124 to display, on the entire screen, grid-shaped frame line for dividing an area on the screen, being a current selected area, into a plurality of division areas. Grid drawing diagrammatically shows a currently selected state to the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pointing device and a pointing method, and more particularly to a pointing device and a pointing method capable of selecting a specific area on a bitmap screen.

  Conventionally, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), a personal digital assistant (hereinafter referred to as a PDA), and a mobile phone display a plurality of selectable symbols on a bitmap screen, and the symbols on the same bitmap screen. A graphical user interface (hereinafter referred to as GUI) is widely used, which can be pointed to by the user, and the cursor can be moved using an input device such as a mouse or a touchpad to select one or more of the symbols. . In addition, AV equipment such as digital television is not an example, and equipment adopting a GUI is increasing.

  However, an input device of a digital television is generally not a mouse or a touch pad, but a remote controller (hereinafter referred to as a remote controller) in which only a plurality of buttons are arranged. For example, when operating the GUI using a remote controller, a symbol can be selected by moving the cursor up, down, left, or right using cursor keys arranged in a cross shape. Also, linear coordinates can be input using the cursor keys. For example, when the right key is pressed, the X coordinate of the cursor may be incremented by 1 (when the upper left of the bitmap is the origin).

  However, this method of inputting linear coordinates using the cursor keys is unrealistic when the screen resolution of the digital television has 1920 pixels and the key must be pressed up to 1920 times. Although the key press time can be regarded as virtual acceleration and the amount of movement of the cursor can be increased sequentially (accelerated cursor method), it depends on the skill level of the user and the habit of operation, forcing the user to train It will be. In addition, for example, elderly people and people with physical disabilities who tend to press the button for a long time without moving their fingers well will go too far over the symbol due to unintended acceleration, so it may be difficult to reach the target position. .

  Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of designating an item that the user wants to select by utilizing the numeric buttons 1 to 9 and the like. The item selection method described in Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 13A, when the position indicated by X on the screen is designated, the method described in Patent Document 1 first displays the screen in, for example, the vertical direction and the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. The area is divided into three, and each divided area is numbered as shown in FIG. Since the position of X to be designated on the screen exists in the fourth divided area, the user selects the numeric button “4”.

  Then, the screen further divides the fourth divided area into three parts in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 13B, and numbers each divided area in the same manner as described above. Since the position of X to be designated on the screen is present in the ninth divided area, the user selects the numeric button “9”.

  Then, the screen further divides the number 9 divided area of FIG. 13B into 3 parts each in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. Attach. Since the position of X to be designated on the screen still exists in the ninth divided area as shown in FIG. 13C, the user finally selects the position by selecting the number button “9”. specify.

  In the method described in Patent Document 1, for example, when selecting a link destination or content, after using the position specifying method described above, the user presses a button indicating determination to output position information or the like. .

JP 2006-295451 A

  However, the method described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. This problem will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 14 shows an example of a screen when inputting characters in Roman characters. In this input screen, alphabet keys and hyphen keys are arranged in a matrix, and a rectangular area for displaying input characters is provided above the screen area indicating the plurality of keys. .

  Assuming that “Mamemaki” is input on this input screen, in the conventional method described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 15, a screen area indicating a plurality of keys is divided into a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. Divide into three and number each divided area. Here, in order to input the first character “MA”, it is necessary to select “M” and “A”. Therefore, first, in order to select “M”, “M” is initially in the No. 4 divided area, so when the number button “4” is pressed, the No. 4 divided area is further increased in the vertical and horizontal directions. Each direction is divided into three. Since “M” is in the fourth divided area of the second divided area, “M” can be input by pressing the numeric button “4”.

  Subsequently, in order to input “A”, it is necessary to press the number button “4” after pressing the number button “1” in the same manner as described above. As described above, in order to input “ma”, the method described in Patent Document 1 requires four operations of pressing the numeric buttons.

  When performing Roman character input as described above, for example, the vowels “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, and “O” are objects that are always selected. That is, in the conventional method described in Patent Document 1, objects such as “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O” that are always used, and objects that are rarely used are handled equally. ,ineffective.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of a screen when inputting characters in hiragana. In this input screen, each key of hiragana and keys such as long sound symbol, muffled sound symbol, sound repellent symbol, lower case character, conversion, etc. are arranged in a matrix, and input is made at the top of the screen area showing these multiple keys. A rectangular area for displaying characters is provided.

  Assuming that “Mamemaki” is input on this input screen, in the conventional method described in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 17, a screen area indicating a plurality of keys is divided into a vertical direction and a horizontal direction. A desired character is finally input by repeating the division into three and numbering each divided area. Here, the two characters “MA” and “KI” can be selected by operating the number buttons twice, but “ME” requires the operation of the number buttons three times. That is, in the conventional method described in Patent Document 1, a total of nine numeric button operations are required to input the characters “Mamemaki”.

  In addition, “MA” requires the numeric buttons to be operated in the order “2” → “2”, and “ME” requires the numeric buttons to be operated in the order “3” → “1” → “5”. "" And "Me" are characters existing in the same "Ma line", but there is no fixed rule for button operation. Therefore, it is not easy for the user to learn the operation of each character when inputting characters.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device and a pointing method capable of reducing the number of button operations as much as possible and improving the operation speed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a pointing device of the present invention includes an object including position information about a position where each of a plurality of objects that can be arranged on a bitmap screen, size information about a display size, and priority information. A storage means for storing data and a selectable range on the bitmap screen are divided into a predetermined number of divided areas, and at least one of the obtained divided areas is set to a predetermined number The division process is further performed in order to further divide into the divided areas to obtain each divided area, and according to the priority order information, the objects having higher priority among the plurality of objects are arranged in the larger divided areas, and the priority order is the same. Change the position information and size information read from the storage means so that the object is placed in the divided area of the same area. Object placement means to place each object, and grid drawing that displays a grid-like frame line and divides it into a predetermined number of divided areas, with the current selection range as the selectable area on the bitmap screen Means, a selection input means for individually selecting an arbitrary one of the predetermined number of divided areas in the current selection range in accordance with a selection instruction from the outside, and an arbitrary selected by the selection input means Update means for updating one divided area to the current selection range, displaying grid-like frame lines in the updated current selection range by a grid drawing means, and dividing the divided area into a predetermined number of divided areas, and selection input Determining means for determining, as an input object, an object that is uniquely arranged in the divided region within the current selection range selected by the means.

  In order to achieve the above object, the pointing device of the present invention includes position information related to the position of each of a plurality of objects that can be arranged on the bitmap screen, size information related to the display size, and category information. The storage means for accumulating object data and the selectable range on the bitmap screen are divided into a predetermined number of divided areas equal to or less than the number of all categories of the plurality of objects stored in the storage means. The object placement means that places each object by changing the position and size of each object so that it can be placed in each category of a predetermined number of divided areas, and selectable on the bitmap screen The area that is the range is the current selection, and a grid-like frame is displayed to display a predetermined number of divided areas. A grid drawing means for dividing, a selection input means for individually selecting any one of the predetermined number of divided areas in the current selection range, and an arbitrary one of the divided areas selected by the selection input means. Updating to the current selection range, updating means for displaying a grid-like frame line in the updated current selection range by the grid drawing means and dividing it into a predetermined number of divided areas, and the current selected by the selection input means Determining means for determining as an input object an object that is uniquely arranged in the divided area within the selected area.

  In order to achieve the above object, the pointing method of the present invention includes position information about a position where each of a plurality of objects that can be arranged on a bitmap screen, size information about a display size, and category information. A storage means for storing object data and a selectable area on the bitmap screen are divided into a predetermined number of divided areas, and each object is divided into a predetermined number of divided areas according to the category information. Arrange by category, re-divide the divided area assigned to one category into a predetermined number of divided areas, and place each object belonging to one category for each divided area obtained by the re-division , Change the position information and size information read from the storage means, bitmap the object Object drawing means to be placed on the surface and grid drawing that displays a grid-like frame line and divides it into a predetermined number of divided areas, with the current selection range as the selectable area on the bitmap screen Means, a selection input means for individually selecting an arbitrary one of the predetermined number of divided areas in the current selection range in accordance with a selection instruction from the outside, and an arbitrary selected by the selection input means Update means for updating one divided area to the current selection range, displaying grid-like frame lines in the updated current selection range by a grid drawing means, and dividing the divided area into a predetermined number of divided areas, and selection input Determining means for determining, as an input object, an object that is uniquely arranged in the divided region within the current selection range selected by the means.

  In order to achieve the above object, the pointing method of the present invention includes position information regarding a position where a plurality of objects can be arranged on a bitmap screen, size information about a display size, and priority information. The object data acquisition step for acquiring the object data from the storage means for storing the object data to be included, and the area that is the selectable range on the bitmap screen are divided into a predetermined number of divided areas, and the obtained division A division process for further dividing at least one of the divided areas into a predetermined number of divided areas is sequentially performed to obtain each divided area, and according to the priority order information, an object having a higher priority among a plurality of objects has a larger area. Objects with the same priority placed in the divided area are divided areas with the same area. The object placement step for placing each object by changing the position information and the size information read from the storage means in the object data acquisition step, and the area that is the selectable range on the bitmap screen, As a selection range, a grid drawing step for displaying a grid-like frame and dividing it into a predetermined number of divided regions, and an arbitrary one of the predetermined number of divided regions in the current selection range from the outside A selection input step for individually selecting in response to the selection instruction of the image, and updating one arbitrary divided area selected in the selection input step to the current selection range, and adding a grid drawing step to the updated current selection range. An update step that displays a grid-like border and divides it into a predetermined number of divided regions, and the current step selected by the selection input step Characterized in that it comprises a determining step of determining as an object for inputting only an object placed divided regions within-option range.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, the pointing method of the present invention includes position information relating to the arrangement position, size information relating to the display size, and category information of each of a plurality of objects that can be arranged on the bitmap screen. The object data acquisition step for acquiring the object data from the storage means for storing the object data and the selectable area on the bitmap screen are divided into a predetermined number of divided areas, and each object is divided according to the category information. Each divided area of a predetermined number of divided areas is arranged by category, and the divided areas assigned to one category are subdivided into a predetermined number of divided areas, one for each divided area obtained by the subdivision. Object data so that each object belonging to the category of Change the position information and size information read from the storage means in the obtaining step, and place the object on the bitmap screen and place the object in the selectable range on the bitmap screen. A grid drawing step for displaying a grid-like frame and dividing it into a predetermined number of divided areas, and selecting any one of the predetermined number of divided areas from the outside in the current selection range A selection input step that is individually selected according to an instruction, and one arbitrary divided area selected in the selection input step is updated to the current selection range, and the updated current selection range is grid-shaped by a grid drawing step. An update step that displays the border of the image and divides it into a predetermined number of divided regions, and a portion within the current selection range selected by the selection input step. Characterized in that it comprises a determining step of determining as an object for inputting only an object placed region.

  According to the present invention, in an area on the screen that is currently selected, an object displayed in the area is arranged in a divided area having a larger area as an object having a higher priority, so that the user can select an object. The number of button operations for can be reduced as much as possible.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the area on the screen that is the current selection range, the objects displayed in the area are rearranged by category, so that the button operation by the user for object selection is consistent. Since it is possible to learn the button operation that is repeated, the operation speed can be improved.

It is a block diagram of an information terminal provided with one embodiment of the pointing device of the present invention. It is a flowchart for operation | movement description of the object rearrangement means in one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure before rearranging a button. It is a figure which shows an example after button rearrangement. It is a figure which shows the example which rearranged the button according to use priority (usage frequency). It is the figure which displayed large the object with high use priority (use frequency) by one embodiment of this invention, and rearranged the object with low use priority small. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing divided areas to be input by numerical buttons “1” to “9” on the screen on which the objects of FIG. 6 are arranged. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing divided areas to be input with numeric buttons “1” to “9” by a second operation on the screen on which the objects of FIG. 6 are arranged. It is a flowchart for operation | movement description of the object rearrangement means in other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen which rearranged the object for every category. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing divided areas to be input with numeric buttons “1” to “9” on the screen on which the objects of FIG. 10 are arranged. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a divided area that is input by numerical buttons “1” to “9” by a second operation on the screen on which the objects of FIG. 10 are arranged. It is explanatory drawing of an example of the conventional method of patent document 1. It is an example of the screen which inputs a character in Romaji. It is explanatory drawing at the time of applying the conventional method of patent document 1 to the screen of FIG. It is an example of the screen which inputs a character in hiragana. It is explanatory drawing at the time of applying the conventional method of patent document 1 to the screen of FIG.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an information terminal provided with an embodiment of a pointing device according to the present invention. The information terminal 100 includes an input auxiliary device 120 that is an embodiment of the pointing device according to the present invention. The input auxiliary device 120 includes an object database 121, an object rearrangement unit 122, a remote control 123, a narrowing unit 124, and a grid drawing unit 125.

  In addition to the input auxiliary device 120, the information terminal 100 includes a cursor plane 101, an application plane 102, an application unit 103, a mouse 104, a relative coordinate addition unit 105, a temporary memory 106, a cursor drawing unit 107, a bitmap drawing unit 108, A television (display device) 109 is included.

  The cursor plane 101 and the application plane 102 are drawing planes used when drawing by the bitmap drawing unit 108. The cursor plane 101 corresponds to a cursor drawing, and the application plane 102 corresponds to a memory that holds an application drawing result.

  The application unit 103 is an application that has a plurality of objects activated by a click event such as a button, a text area, and a line drawing canvas, and operates by receiving a user click event from the mouse 104 or the narrowing unit 124. Further, the application unit 103 outputs a drawing command as needed to make the object visible to the user to the bitmap drawing unit 108. Further, the application unit 103 writes the object position, size, object priority, and object category to the object database 121 as needed. In the present embodiment, the object position, size, priority, and object category information are used, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  The mouse 104 is a very general mouse, and is an input device that generates relative coordinate data according to the distance the user has moved the mouse, and generates a click event when an attached button is pressed.

  Each time the relative coordinate adding unit 105 acquires relative coordinate data of the cursor input from the mouse 104, the relative coordinate adding unit 105 performs addition processing with the previous absolute coordinate obtained from the temporary memory 106, so that the absolute coordinate of the current cursor is obtained. And the coordinate data indicating the absolute value coordinates in the temporary memory 106 is updated. The temporary memory 106 holds coordinate data indicating the absolute value coordinates of the cursor.

  The cursor drawing unit 107 acquires coordinate data indicating the absolute coordinate of the cursor from the temporary memory 106, and a cursor such as an arrow icon is placed at the coordinate position of the acquired coordinate data of the cursor plane 101 through the bitmap drawing unit 108. draw.

  The bitmap drawing unit 108 is generally called a graphic drawing device, interprets drawing commands input from the application unit 103 and the cursor drawing unit 107, and draws a bitmap image on the cursor plane 101 and the application plane 102. Finally, it is synthesized so that the cursor is displayed on the application, and is output to the television 109. The television 109 is a television as a very general bitmap display device.

  Next, the configuration within the input auxiliary device 120 will be described.

  The object database 121 is a storage unit that accumulates object data including position information regarding a position where each of a plurality of objects that can be arranged on a bitmap screen, size information about a display size, and use priority. Specifically, the object database 121 receives information such as the position on the screen of the object, the width, the height, and the usage priority from the application unit 103 and receives object data (Xo, Yo, Wo, Ho, usage priority ( Priority), Xc, Yc, Wc, Hc, current use flag (CurrentUseFlag)). Xo and Yo are the X and Y coordinates indicating the position (for example, the position of the upper left corner) of the object received from the application unit 103, Wo is the width, and Ho is the height. Xc and Yc are the X and Y coordinates indicating the position of the object drawn in the bitmap drawing unit 108 (for example, the position of the upper left corner), Wc is the width, and Hc is the height. The current use flag (CurrentUseFlag) is a flag indicating that the current use flag is being used on the screen, and “1” indicating that the current use flag is being used is set at the time of initialization.

  The object rearrangement unit 122 receives input of data output from the object database 121 and the narrowing-down unit 124, changes the position and size of the object existing in the selection range of the user according to the priority, and outputs the result. The data is output to the bitmap drawing unit 108 and the object database 121.

  The object rearrangement unit 122, together with the narrowing unit 124, arranges the objects having higher priority among the plurality of objects stored in the object database 121 in the divided area having a larger area, and the objects having the same priority are the same. Arrangement means for arranging the object by changing the position information and the size information of the object read from the object database 121 so as to arrange in the divided area. Details of the operation of the object rearrangement unit 122 will be described later.

  The remote control 123 is a regularly arranged part of a group of numeric buttons attached to a TV, a mobile phone, etc., and is divided into a plurality of grid-like divided areas obtained by dividing the entire bitmap screen of the TV 109 into a plurality of areas as will be described later. This is a selection input means that has a plurality of number buttons corresponding to the assigned numbers one-to-one, and can select one divided area by operating the number buttons once. In this embodiment, the button arrangement of the remote control 123 is a television type arrangement of vertical 3 × horizontal 3 buttons, that is, “1” button is in the upper left, “5” button is in the middle, and “9” button is in the lower right. To do.

  The narrowing-down unit 124 receives an input of a remote control signal from the remote control 123 and changes the internal state, and outputs the result to the grid drawing unit 125, the temporary memory 106, the application unit 103, and the object rearrangement unit 122. In other words, the narrowing-down unit 124 outputs the remote control command corresponding to the grid drawing command to the grid drawing unit 125 and the temporary memory 106, and outputs the remote control command corresponding to the command meaning to the application unit 103. In the case of a remote control command corresponding to a command that means to rearrange objects, the remote command is output to the object rearrangement unit 122.

  Further, the narrowing-down unit 124 acquires the number of objects existing in the current selection range from the object database 121, and outputs a click event meaning determination to the application unit 103 when the number of objects is “1”. . Further, the narrowing-down unit 124 selects one of a plurality of divided areas of the bitmap screen according to the remote control signal from the remote control 123, and sets it as the next selection range.

  The grid drawing unit 125 uses the grid coordinate data input from the narrowing-down unit 124, and uses the grid selection data on the bitmap screen as the current selection range to divide into a plurality of divided regions. The frame line (grid) is displayed on the entire screen. Grid drawing is for showing the current selection state to the user, and is repeatedly written on the cursor plane 101 until the selection is confirmed. That is, when one of the plurality of divided areas is selected, the selected divided area becomes the current selection range, and the selection is confirmed that the current selection range is further divided into the plurality of divided areas. Repeat until

  The above is a schematic description of each block constituting the information terminal 100.

  Next, operations of main blocks in the input auxiliary device 120 will be described in detail. First, the operation of the object rearrangement unit 122 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The object rearrangement unit 122 first acquires the current selection range (Xs, Ys, Ws, Hs) from the narrowing unit 124 (step S11). Here, Xs and Ys are an X coordinate and a Y coordinate indicating a predetermined position (for example, the upper left corner) of the current selection range on the screen, Ws is a width of the selection range, and Hs is a height of the selection range.

  Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 searches the object database 121 using the selection range data acquired in step S11, and finds an object in which the area indicated by the selection range data on the object partially overlaps as follows. (1) Evaluation is performed based on the expression (1), and an object that does not satisfy the expression (1) is overwritten with “0” meaning that it is unused (step S12). The Y coordinate is positive in the downward direction.

(Xs <(Xo + Wo)) and (Ys <(Yo + Ho)) and ((Xs + Ws)> Xo) and ((Ys + Hs)> Yo) (1)
Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 performs priority sorting (step S13). In this priority sorting, objects satisfying the condition of “CurrentUseFlag = 1” in the object database 121 are acquired, and the object group is sorted by use priority (Priority).

  Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 calculates the number of objects for each usage priority (Priority) (step S14). Thereafter, the number of use priorities calculated in step S14 is used to determine the number of times each use priority is narrowed down (step S15).

  Step S15 for determining the number of times of narrowing down will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a diagram before rearranging the buttons, and the numbers in the buttons indicate the use priority (Priority). FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example after button rearrangement, and the numbers in the buttons indicate the priority of use (Priority). It is assumed that the number of objects calculated for each use priority (Priority) in step S14 is as shown in Table 1 below. The usage priority is “1”, which is the highest, and decreases in the order of “2” and “3”.

In the narrowing down number determination step S15, first, the number of times of narrowing down with Priority = 1 having the highest use priority is determined. In the present embodiment, the selection range is divided into 9 divisions of 3 divisions in the horizontal direction and 3 divisions in the vertical direction by narrowing down once, so that a total of 9 objects can be arranged in each division range. is there. As shown in Table 1, since the number of objects with Priority = 1 is two, if objects with Priority = 1 are arranged in two divided ranges divided by one narrowing, the number of times of narrowing is one. Since selection is possible, the number of times of priority = 1 is determined as one.

  Next, the number of times of narrowing down determination S15 determines the number of times of narrowing down with Priority = 2. Since Priority = 1 used two of the divided ranges to be narrowed down at the first time, Priority = 2 uses the remaining divided ranges. As shown in Table 1, since the number of objects with Priority = 2 is 15, the objects with Priority = 2 cannot be accommodated within the division range of the seven narrowing times remaining after the first narrowing. . Therefore, the number of times of narrowing is increased by one. When the number of times of narrowing is increased by 1, 63 (= 7 × 9) division ranges are obtained, so that 63 objects can be arranged. Since this is the number of division ranges sufficient to arrange 15 objects with Priority = 2, the number of times of narrowing is sufficient, and the number of times of narrowing is determined to be two.

  Finally, the number of times of narrowing down determination S15 determines the number of times of narrowing down with Priority = 3. Of the 63 divided ranges that are narrowed down the second time, 15 objects with Priority = 2 are used, so the remaining 48 ranges are used. As shown in Table 1, since the number of objects with Priority = 3 is 50, objects with Priority = 3 cannot be accommodated within the range of 48 narrowing times remaining in the second narrowing. Therefore, the number of times of narrowing is increased by one. If the number of times of narrowing is increased by 1, 432 (= 48 × 9) division ranges are obtained, so that 432 objects can be arranged. This is a sufficient number of division ranges for arranging 50 objects with Priority = 3, so that the number of times of narrowing is sufficient, and the number of times of narrowing is determined to be three.

  Returning again to FIG. The object rearrangement unit 122 increases the size of an object having a higher use priority according to the number of times of use priority (Priority) determined in the number-of-restrictions determination step S15, and changes the position of the object to obtain a predetermined value. The corresponding objects are rearranged so as to be displayed in the divided areas (step S16).

  Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 updates the object data (Xc, Yc, Wc, Hc) of the object database 121 with respect to the object whose position and size are changed in the object rearrangement step S16 (step S16). S17).

  Then, the object rearrangement unit 122 outputs the object changed in the object rearrangement step S16 to the bitmap drawing unit 108 and requests drawing (step S18).

  According to the present embodiment, as an extreme example, the buttons arranged as shown in FIG. 3 are rearranged with different sizes and positions as shown in FIG. It becomes possible to perform the button operation by the number of times the button is specified by (Priority).

  However, FIG. 4 is merely an example. For example, if there is a blank area as shown in FIG. 4, the button with Priority = 2 is the same as the button with Priority = 1 so that the blank area is not wasted. You may arrange | position by changing to the magnitude | size of. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the buttons may be rearranged so as to be unique within the range divided according to the priority of use so that the size of the object is not changed. In FIG. 5, the button “1” is the only object whose size does not change.

  The above is a typical operation of the object rearrangement unit 122 in the present embodiment.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment will be specifically described. FIG. 6 shows a diagram in which an object having a high use priority (usage frequency) is displayed large using the input auxiliary device 120, and an object having a low use priority is rearranged small. 6 is a diagram in which an object with a high use priority is displayed large and an object with a low use priority is rearranged small on the screen for inputting characters in Roman characters shown in FIG. The object indicating the vowel button of Roman letters “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O” has the highest use priority and Priority = 1, and other Roman letters The object indicating the button is set to Priority = 2.

  In this case, the object rearrangement unit 122 first determines the number of times of narrowing down objects with Priority = 1. In FIG. 14, the number of objects with Priority = 1 is 5 in total, and therefore, the objects can be selected in the first narrowing by arranging them in nine divided areas, so the number of times of narrowing is determined as one.

  Next, the object rearrangement unit 122 determines the number of times of narrowing down objects with Priority = 2. In the case of FIG. 14, the number of objects with Priority = 2 is 22 in total, so it is impossible to arrange all the objects by the first narrowing down. Therefore, it is assumed that next narrowing is performed twice. In the second narrowing, each of the remaining four divided areas other than the five divided areas used in the first narrowing is further divided into nine, so that a total of 36 (= 4 × 9) divided areas Is obtained. Accordingly, since the 22 objects can be arranged in 36 divided areas obtained by the second narrowing down, the number of narrowing down of objects with Priority = 2 is determined to be 2 times.

  When the objects are rearranged according to the determined number of times of narrowing down the objects, a screen on which the objects shown in FIG. 6 are rearranged is obtained. The screen shown in FIG. 6 is divided into nine parts by dividing each of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction into nine parts, and these nine divided areas are numbered as indicated by the circled numbers in FIG. Then, the user can specify an object to be specified on the screen by operating the remote controller 123 to select a numeric button indicated by a circled number.

  As a result, an object indicating a vowel button of Roman letters “A”, “I”, “U”, “E”, “O” with Priority = 1 can be selected by operating the numeric buttons once. . This is because the objects indicating these vowel buttons are the only objects existing in the divided area selected and input by one-time operation of the numeric buttons. The other objects indicating Priority = 2 buttons are numbered as shown in FIG. 8 when the number button “7” is operated for the first time or when the number button “9” is operated for the first time. Since the divided area is obtained, the object can be selected because the object is uniquely arranged in the divided area by operating the number buttons twice. This object is determined by the application unit 103 based on a click event from the narrowing unit 124.

  In this example, when inputting “Mamemaki”, it can be input by operating the number buttons 12 times. This is because the number of button operations for four vowels can be reduced compared to the number of button operations 16 times by the method described in Patent Document 1 described above. This reduction effect increases as the number of input characters increases. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to realize character input with a smaller number of button operations than in the conventional case.

  In this embodiment, the objects are rearranged using the use priority, but for example, the objects may be rearranged using the viewing history and the appearance frequency instead of the use priority. In short, it is only necessary that objects can be rearranged based on an index (priority information) that can determine priority, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  In the present embodiment, objects are rearranged using a category instead of a priority of use. Also in this embodiment, the input auxiliary device 120 and the information terminal 100 have the same configuration as in FIG. However, in the present embodiment, the object database 121 receives information such as the position on the screen of the object, the width, the height, and the use priority from the application unit 103, and the object data (Xo, Yo, Wo, Ho, category) (Category), Xc, Yc, Wc, Hc, current use flag (CurrentUseFlag)) are accumulated for the number of objects.

  Next, the operation of the object rearrangement unit 122 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The object rearrangement unit 122 first obtains the current selection range (Xs, Ys, Ws, Hs) from the narrowing unit 124 (step S21). Here, Xs and Ys are an X coordinate and a Y coordinate indicating a predetermined position (for example, the upper left corner) of the current selection range on the screen, Ws is a width of the selection range, and Hs is a height of the selection range.

  Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 searches the object database 121 using the selection range data acquired in step S21, and selects an object whose area indicated by the selection range data on the object partially overlaps ( 1) An evaluation based on the expression is performed and acquired, and an object that does not satisfy the expression (1) is overwritten with “0” meaning that it is unused (step S22).

  Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 obtains the total number Nc of object categories held in the object database 121 (step S23). Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 determines the existence range of each category of the object held in the object database 121 (step S24).

  In the process for determining the existence range of each category in step S24, first, the number of times of narrowing n is determined using the total number Nc of categories acquired in step S23. The number of times of narrowing down n can be obtained as the smallest integer that satisfies the inequality of the following equation (2).

Nc ≦ 9 ⁿ (2)
Next, using the calculated number of times of narrowing n, each category is applied to each divided range obtained by dividing the screen by 9 ⁿ to determine the existence range. This fitting method may be performed by assigning each category to each divided range obtained by dividing the screen by 9 ⁿ at equal intervals, or by weighting in consideration of the number of objects of each category.

  Next, after the above step S24 is completed, the object rearrangement unit 122 changes the position and size of the object so that the object falls within the existence range for each category determined in step S24, and rearranges the object. Is performed (step S25).

  Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 updates the object data (Xc, Yc, Wc, Hc) of the object database 121 with respect to the object whose position and size are changed in the object rearrangement step S25 (step S25). S26).

  Then, the object rearrangement unit 122 outputs the object changed in the object rearrangement step S25 to the bitmap drawing unit 108 and requests drawing (step S27).

  Next, the object rearrangement by category of this embodiment will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  First, assume that categories are allocated as shown in Table 2. The categories shown in Table 2 are as follows: A line of 50 notes, a line, a line, a line, a line, a line, a line, a line, a line, a line, a line, a line, and other lines. It consists of a total of nine.

The object rearrangement unit 122 acquires “9” as the total category number Nc in step S23 of FIG. Subsequently, the object rearrangement unit 122 first calculates the number of times of narrowing down in order to determine the existence range of each category in step S24. Here, since Nc = 9, the number n of times of narrowing down is determined to be “1” according to the equation (2). Subsequently, each of the above nine categories is applied to each divided range obtained by dividing the screen into nine, and the existence range is determined. Then, the object rearrangement unit 122 rearranges the objects in each category in step S25.

  In the present embodiment, for example, the screen shown in FIG. 10 is obtained by performing the above operation for each category shown in Table 2 with respect to the screen for inputting characters using hiragana as shown in FIG. Can do. In FIG. 10, only the position of the object is changed and the size is not changed, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  When inputting “Mamemaki” using the Hiragana button object of the screen shown in FIG. 10, “Mama” and “Mame” are divided into nine divided areas as shown in FIG. Since it is located in the seventh divided area, by operating the numeric button “7”, nine divided areas in which the seventh divided area is further numbered as shown in FIG. 12 are obtained. Since the “ma” object is located in the first divided area in the second nine divided areas, “ma” can be input by operating the numeric button “1”, and the fourth Since the “me” object is located in the divided area, the “me” can be input by operating the numeric button “4”. Therefore, “MA” and “ME” can be selected by operating the number buttons twice. Similarly, “ki” can be selected by operating the number buttons twice.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, “Mamemaki” can be input by operating the number buttons a total of eight times, and the conventional method described in Patent Document 1 is applied to the screen of FIG. 16 described above. The total number of operations can be reduced compared to the operation of 9 numeric buttons. The effect of reducing the number of operations increases as the number of input characters increases.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the objects are arranged for each category. For example, when inputting “MA”, the number buttons are input in the order of “7” → “1”. In this case, the numeric buttons are operated in the order of “7” → “4”. In each case, “ma line” starts from the operation of the numeric button “7”. As for vowels, the order of vowels and the position of the numeric buttons to be operated, such as “A → 1”, “I → 2”, “U → 3”, “E → 4”, “O → 5” Can be easily learned when the user performs a button operation, and characters can be input without looking at the screen.

  Since the present invention can designate an arbitrary position without using a dedicated pointing device, it can be applied to, for example, a television receiver using a remote controller, a mobile phone having a numeric input button, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information terminal 101 Cursor plane 102 Application plane 103 Application part 104 Mouse 105 Relative coordinate addition part 106 Temporary memory 107 Cursor drawing part 108 Bitmap drawing part 109 Television (display device)
120 Input Auxiliary Device 121 Object Database 122 Object Rearrangement Unit 123 Remote Control 124 Narrowing Unit 125 Grid Drawing Unit

Claims (4)

Storage means for storing object data including position information regarding a position where each of a plurality of objects that can be arranged on a bitmap screen, size information about a display size, and priority order information;
An area that is a selectable range on the bitmap screen is divided into a predetermined number of divided areas, and at least one of the obtained divided areas is further divided into the predetermined number of divided areas. Each division region is obtained by sequentially performing division processing to divide, and according to the priority information, the higher priority object among the plurality of objects is arranged in a division region having a larger area, and objects having the same priority are the same An object placement means for placing each object by changing the position information and the size information read from the storage means so as to be placed in a divided region of area;
Grid drawing means for displaying a grid-like frame line and dividing it into the predetermined number of divided areas, with the area being the selectable range on the bitmap screen as the current selection range;
A selection input means for individually selecting any one of the predetermined number of divided areas in the current selection range in accordance with a selection instruction from the outside;
The arbitrary one of the divided regions selected by the selection input unit is updated to the current selection range, and a grid-like frame line is displayed by the grid drawing unit in the updated current selection range. Updating means for dividing into a predetermined number of divided areas;
A pointing device comprising: a determining unit that determines, as an input object, the object that is uniquely arranged in the divided area within the current selection range selected by the selection input unit. Storage means for accumulating object data including position information relating to the arrangement position of each of the plurality of objects that can be arranged on the bitmap screen, size information relating to the display size, and category information;
Dividing the area that is a selectable range on the bitmap screen into a predetermined number of divided areas, and arranging each object according to the category information for each divided area of the predetermined number of divided areas, From the storage means, the divided area assigned to one category is subdivided into a predetermined number of divided areas, and each object belonging to the one category is arranged for each divided area obtained by the subdivision. Object placement means for changing the read position information and size information and placing the object on the bitmap screen;
Grid drawing means for displaying a grid-like frame line and dividing it into the predetermined number of divided areas, with the area being the selectable range on the bitmap screen as the current selection range;
A selection input means for individually selecting any one of the predetermined number of divided areas in the current selection range in accordance with a selection instruction from the outside;
The arbitrary one of the divided regions selected by the selection input unit is updated to the current selection range, and a grid-like frame line is displayed by the grid drawing unit in the updated current selection range. Updating means for dividing into a predetermined number of divided areas;
A pointing device comprising: a determining unit that determines, as an input object, the object that is uniquely arranged in the divided area within the current selection range selected by the selection input unit. An object that obtains the object data from a storage unit that accumulates object data including position information regarding a position at which the plurality of objects can be arranged on the bitmap screen, size information about the display size, and priority information. A data acquisition step;
An area that is a selectable range on the bitmap screen is divided into a predetermined number of divided areas, and at least one of the obtained divided areas is further divided into the predetermined number of divided areas. Each division region is obtained by sequentially performing division processing to divide, and according to the priority information, the higher priority object among the plurality of objects is arranged in a division region having a larger area, and objects having the same priority are the same An object placement step of placing each object by changing the position information and the size information read from the storage means in the object data acquisition step so as to be placed in a divided region of area;
A grid drawing step for displaying a grid-like frame line and dividing the area into a predetermined number of divided areas, with the area being the selectable range on the bitmap screen as a current selection range;
A selection input step of individually selecting any one of the predetermined number of divided regions in the current selection range in accordance with an external selection instruction;
The arbitrary one divided region selected in the selection input step is updated to the current selection range, and a grid-like frame line is displayed in the updated current selection range by the grid drawing step. An update step for dividing into a predetermined number of divided regions;
And a determination step of determining, as an input object, the object that is uniquely arranged in the divided region within the current selection range selected by the selection input step. Object data for acquiring the object data from storage means for accumulating object data including position information about the position where each of the plurality of objects that can be arranged on the bitmap screen, size information about the display size, and category information is stored. An acquisition step;
Dividing the area that is a selectable range on the bitmap screen into a predetermined number of divided areas, and arranging each object according to the category information for each divided area of the predetermined number of divided areas, The object data acquisition is performed such that a divided area assigned to one category is subdivided into a predetermined number of divided areas, and each object belonging to the one category is arranged for each divided area obtained by the subdivision. An object placement step of changing the position information and the size information read from the storage means in a step and placing the object on the bitmap screen;
A grid drawing step for displaying a grid-like frame line and dividing the area into a predetermined number of divided areas, with the area being the selectable range on the bitmap screen as a current selection range;
A selection input step of individually selecting any one of the predetermined number of divided regions in the current selection range in accordance with an external selection instruction;
The arbitrary one divided region selected in the selection input step is updated to the current selection range, and a grid-like frame line is displayed in the updated current selection range by the grid drawing step. An update step for dividing into a predetermined number of divided regions;
And a determination step of determining, as an input object, the object that is uniquely arranged in the divided region within the current selection range selected by the selection input step.