JP2011034579A - Electronic equipment and input control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely control a function by an operation for a pointing device without adding any exclusive input device. <P>SOLUTION: A CPU 111 detects a plurality of positions pointed on a touch pad 16, and discriminates whether a specific function is beforehand assigned to the combination of the plurality of detected positions in touch pad control data 113d. The CPU 111 executes the specific function corresponding to the combination of the plurality of positions when discriminating that the specific function is assigned. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus provided with a coordinate input device such as a touch pad, and an input control method.

  Generally, in a notebook personal computer, a touch pad is provided as a coordinate input device on the upper surface of a main body housing as a pointing device. Usually, the touchpad is disposed at the approximate center of a palm rest provided on the front side of the keyboard. Accordingly, the input operation can be easily performed on the touch pad in a state where the hand is put on the palm rest for the input operation on the keyboard.

  On the other hand, when the touch pad is arranged at a position where the input operation is easy, the touch pad may be accidentally touched during keyboard operation. In this case, processing unintended by the user is executed in response to an input from the touch pad, resulting in a decrease in operability. For example, when the touchpad is touched during key input, the pointer (mouse cursor) on the screen may be moved to move the character input position.

  Conventionally, in order to prevent an erroneous operation on the touch pad, the validity / invalidity of the data input from the touch pad can be switched (for example, see Patent Document 1). In the personal computer described in Patent Document 1, contact detectors are provided on both sides of the touch pad on the palm rest, and when the touch of the hand is detected by the two contact detectors, the input of the touch pad is invalidated. Yes.

JP 2008-4000

  As described above, conventionally, in order to control the validity / invalidity of the input to the touch pad, it is necessary to mount a dedicated input device such as a contact detector. For this reason, the number of dedicated parts and manufacturing processes constituting the personal computer increases, leading to an increase in cost.

  In addition, if the hand is inadvertently contacted with the two contact detectors, the input from the touch pad is invalidated, and conversely, if the hand is separated from any of the contact detectors, The input from the touch pad is enabled, and there is a possibility that the touch pad may be erroneously operated during the keyboard input operation.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and provides an electronic apparatus and an input control method capable of reliably controlling functions by operating a pointing device without adding a dedicated input device. Objective.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a pointing device and a setting unit configured to set a combination of a plurality of positions designated by a pointing operation on the pointing device corresponding to each of a plurality of different specific functions; When a pointing operation on the pointing device is performed at a plurality of positions, when a combination of a plurality of positions on which the pointing operation is performed is set corresponding to the specific function, a function execution that executes the corresponding specific function Means.

  According to the present invention, functions can be reliably controlled without adding a dedicated input device for controlling the functions.

The figure which shows an example of the personal computer in this embodiment. The block diagram which shows the system configuration | structure of the personal computer in this embodiment. The block diagram relevant to the input control of the touchpad in the personal computer of this embodiment. The figure which shows pointing operation with respect to the touchpad in this embodiment. The flowchart shown about the touchpad control process in this embodiment. The figure which shows the example of operation with respect to the touchpad in this embodiment. The flowchart which shows the setting process by the utility in this embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the touchpad setting screen in this embodiment. The figure which shows the example of operation with respect to the touchpad in this embodiment. The figure which shows the example of operation with respect to the touchpad in this embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a display screen in this embodiment. The figure which shows the data set with respect to the some control function in this embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The electronic apparatus according to the present embodiment is realized as, for example, a notebook personal computer 10 illustrated in FIG.

  The electronic apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the personal computer 10 but may be a processor that executes programs such as a mobile phone, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a portable audio / video player, a digital video camera, and a portable car navigation device. And a device provided with a pointing device capable of simultaneously pointing at a plurality of positions such as a touch pad.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the personal computer 10 with the display unit opened. The personal computer 10 includes a computer main body 11 and a display unit 12. The display unit 12 incorporates a display device composed of an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 17.

  The display unit 12 is attached to the computer main body 11 so as to be rotatable between an open position where the upper surface of the computer main body 11 is exposed and a closed position covering the upper surface of the computer main body 11. The computer main body 11 has a thin box-shaped housing, and a keyboard 13, a power button 14 for power on / off, an input operation panel 15, a touch pad 16, a speaker 18, and the like are arranged on the upper surface. Has been.

  The input operation panel 15 is an input device that inputs an event corresponding to a pressed button, and includes a plurality of buttons for starting a plurality of functions.

  Further, in the personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment, a touch pad 16 is disposed on the front side of the keyboard 13 on the upper surface of the computer main body 11, that is, a so-called palm rest. In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the touch pad 16 is disposed at approximately the center in the horizontal width direction on the upper surface of the computer main body 11. The touch pad 16 is usually a pointing device that inputs coordinate data by a user touching with a fingertip.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the computer main body 11. The computer main body 11 includes a CPU 111, a north bridge 112, a main memory 113, a graphics controller 114, and a south bridge 115. The computer main body 11 also includes a BIOS-ROM 120, a hard disk drive (HDD) 130, an optical disk drive (ODD) 140, a sound controller 150, an embedded controller / keyboard controller IC (EC / KBC) 160, and a power supply circuit 170.

  The CPU 111 is a processor that controls the operation of the personal computer 10. The CPU 111 executes an operating system (OS) 113a that is loaded from a boot device, for example, the HDD 130, into the main memory 113. The CPU 111 executes various application programs. The CPU 111 executes a system BIOS (Basic Input Output System) stored in the BIOS-ROM 120. The system BIOS is a program for hardware control.

  In the personal computer 10 of this embodiment, a utility 113b for setting touch pad control data 113d for input control of the touch pad 16 is prepared (details are shown in FIGS. 7 and 8). In the touch pad control data 113d, a combination of a plurality of positions designated by a pointing operation on the touch pad 16 and a specific function executed corresponding to the combination are defined. In this specific function, for example, a function for enabling (ON) or disabling (OFF) a pointing operation on the touch pad 16 is defined. The driver 113c controls input of the touch pad 16, and detects a position pointed to the touch pad 16 based on a signal input through the EC / KBC 160. In addition, the driver 113c detects a plurality of positions that are simultaneously pointed with respect to the touch pad 16. The driver 113c determines whether or not a combination of a plurality of positions detected simultaneously on the touch pad 16 is preset in the touch pad control data 113d by a touch pad control process described later, and the corresponding combination of the plurality of positions is determined. Executes processing according to the set specific function. Details will be described later.

  The north bridge 112 is a bridge device that connects the local bus of the CPU 111 and the south bridge 115. The north bridge 112 also includes a memory controller that controls access to the main memory 113. The north bridge 112 also has a function of executing communication with the graphics controller 114.

  The graphics controller 114 is a display controller that controls the LCD 17 used as a display monitor of the computer 10. The graphics controller 114 has a video memory (VRAM) 114a, and generates a video signal that forms a display image to be displayed on the LCD 17 from display data written in the VRAM 114a.

  The south bridge 115 controls access to the BIOS-ROM 120. The BIOS-ROM 120 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as a flash ROM. As described above, the BIOS-ROM 120 stores the system BIOS. The south bridge 115 controls disk drives (I / O devices) such as the HDD 130 and the ODD 140. The south bridge 115 controls each device on the LPC bus 3.

  The HDD 130 is a storage device that stores various programs and data. The HDD 130 writes / reads data to / from a magnetic disk rotated by a motor. The HDD 130 stores programs such as an operating system (OS), drivers, and utilities in advance. The OS is executed by the CPU 111 by being loaded into the main memory 113 in accordance with the system BIOS stored in the BIOS-ROM 120. Also, other programs and data such as drivers and utilities are loaded into the main memory 113 as necessary and executed by the CPU 111.

  The ODD 140 is a drive unit that rotates an optical disk such as a compact disk (CD) or a digital versatile disk (DVD) by a motor. The ODD 140 reads / writes data from / to the optical disc.

  The sound controller 150 performs control for outputting sound from the speaker 18. For example, the sound controller 150 outputs sound from the speaker 18 in accordance with input control to the touch pad 16.

  The EC / KBC 160 is a microcomputer in which an embedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard (KB) 13 and the touch pad 16 are integrated on a single chip. The EC / KBC 160 has a power control function for turning on the computer 10 in response to the operation of the power button switch 14 by the user by operating in cooperation with the power circuit 170.

The power supply circuit 170 generates a system power supply voltage to be applied to each element of the computer main body 11 using a DC power supply supplied via a rechargeable battery 171 or an AC adapter 172 as a high voltage power supply. The AC adapter 172 converts AC power into DC power.
Although not shown, it is assumed that a communication function such as a wireless LAN is provided.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram related to input control of the touch pad 16 in the personal computer 10 of the present embodiment.
The EC / KBC 160 controls input from the touch pad 16. The driver 113 c detects coordinate data indicating a position instructed by a pointing operation on the touch pad 16 based on a signal input through the EC / KBC 160. Further, the driver 113c determines whether the position corresponds to a set of a plurality of positions preset in the touch pad control data 113d when a plurality of positions are instructed simultaneously by a pointing operation. If it is determined that this is the case, processing according to a specific function corresponding to a plurality of sets of positions is executed. If the function is to turn on (enable) the input of the touch pad 16, the coordinate data detected by the touch pad 16 is output to the OS 113a, and if the function is to be turned off (invalid), the touch pad 16 detects it. The coordinate data is not output to the OS 113a. Further, when the specific function set corresponding to the set of a plurality of positions is related to the control for another device, a code indicating the corresponding function is output to the OS 113a.

  The OS 113a controls a function instructed by a pointing operation with respect to a plurality of positions according to a code from the driver 113c. For example, in addition to the above-described ON / OFF control function for the touch pad 16, there are, for example, the backlight ON / OFF control of the LCD 17 and the suspend function ON / OFF control. Other functions can also be targeted.

  Further, the OS 113a activates the utility 113b when input control setting for the touch pad 16 is requested. The utility 113b displays a setting screen on the LCD 17, accepts a setting request from the user, and stores touch pad control data 113d corresponding to the setting content.

  FIG. 4 shows an example in which a pointing operation is simultaneously performed on a plurality of positions on the touch pad 16 in the present embodiment. The personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment has a function set for a combination of the simultaneously pointed positions when a pointing operation is simultaneously performed on a plurality of positions set in advance in the touch pad control data 113d. Execute. FIG. 4 shows an operation example when a combination of two points, for example, the upper left and right corners of the touch pad 16 (hereinafter simply referred to as “upper left and right”) is preset. Here, it is assumed that a specific function for switching ON (valid) / OFF (invalid) of the touch pad 16 is assigned to the combination of the upper left and right points of the touch pad 16.

  Next, touch pad control processing taking the pointing operation shown in FIG. 4 as an example will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The CPU 111 executes touch pad control processing by the driver 113c. Here, even if the touch pad 16 is simultaneously pointed to a plurality of positions, each pointed position is detected. Therefore, when the pointing operation as shown in FIG. 4 is performed on the touch pad 16, the CPU 111 detects coordinate data indicating the positions of the two points that are simultaneously pointed. When the coordinate data of two points is detected at the same time (step A1, Yes), the CPU 111 determines an area including the detected coordinate data (step A2).

  When the combination of two points on the upper and left sides of the touch pad 16 shown in FIG. 4 is set in the touch pad control data 113d, the first area corresponding to the upper left of the touch pad 16 and the upper right of the touch pad 16 are supported. It is determined whether the coordinate data detected by the touch pad 16 is included for each of the second areas to be performed. In FIG. 4, the first area and the second area are represented by circles with broken lines.

  Here, the CPU 111 is an area assigned to a function for turning off (invalidating) the input of the touch pad 16 based on a combination of areas (positions) including coordinate data of two points detected by the touch pad 16. It is determined whether or not a pointing operation is performed on (first area, second area) (step A3).

  If it is determined that the pointing operation is not for turning off the input of the touch pad 16 (No in Step A4), the CPU 111 executes processing corresponding to the normal pointing operation according to the coordinate position detected on the touch pad 16 ( Step A5). For example, the driver 113c notifies the OS 113a of coordinate data of a position pointed to the touch pad 16. For example, the OS 113a moves the position of the cursor displayed on the LCD 17 in accordance with the coordinate data notified from the driver 113c.

  The CPU 111 continues to execute the above-described process by the driver 113c until the coordinate data detection process on the touch pad 16 is completed (step A6, Yes).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the pointing operation is to turn off the input of the touch pad 16 (step A4, Yes), the CPU 111 performs a touch pad OFF setting for turning off (invalidating) the input on the touch pad 16 (step A7). ). That is, the driver 113c invalidates the coordinate data detected by the signal from the EC / KBC 160 and does not notify the OS 113a.

  When the touch pad is set to OFF, the CPU 111 discriminates an area including the detected coordinate data when two points of coordinate data are simultaneously input by a pointing operation on the touch pad 16 (step A8). Here, since a specific function for switching ON (valid) / OFF (invalid) of the touch pad 16 is assigned to the combination of the upper left and right points of the touch pad 16 shown in FIG. Then, it is determined whether the detected coordinate data is included in the first area and the second area (step A9).

  Here, the CPU 111 is an area assigned to a function for turning on (enabling) the input of the touch pad 16 based on a combination of areas (positions) including coordinate data of two points detected by the touch pad 16. It is determined whether or not a pointing operation is performed on (first area, second area) (step A10).

  If it is determined that the pointing operation does not turn on the input of the touch pad 16 (No in Step A10), the CPU 111 continues the state in which the touch pad is set to OFF (Steps A8 to A11). That is, the driver 113c invalidates the coordinate data detected on the touch pad 16, and does not notify the OS 113a.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the pointing operation is to turn on the input of the touch pad 16 (step A11, Yes), the CPU 111 performs a touch pad ON setting for turning on (validating) the input on the touch pad 16 (step A12). ). That is, the driver 113c switches control to notify the coordinate data detected by the signal from the EC / KBC 160 to the OS 113a as valid.

  Hereinafter, as described above, when the pointing operation is simultaneously performed on the upper left and right positions of the touch pad 16 again, a specific function for invalidating the input of the touch pad 16 is executed, and the other pointing operations are performed. On the other hand, a normal pointing operation process corresponding to the position instructed on the touch pad 16 is executed. That is, each time the pointing operation shown in FIG. 4 is performed, ON (valid) / OFF (invalid) of the touch pad 16 is switched.

  In this manner, in the personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment, the touch pad 16 can be switched ON (valid) / OFF (invalid) by a pointing operation with respect to the upper left and right positions of the touch pad 16. Normally, during a key input operation on the keyboard 13 or an operation on the touch pad 16, there is a low possibility that a plurality of predetermined positions as shown in FIG. Therefore, the specific function can be reliably executed by a pointing operation on the touch pad 16, and the specific function is not executed by an erroneous operation.

  In the personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment, since the execution of the specific function can be controlled using the existing touch pad 16, it is not necessary to add a dedicated component used for function switching to the personal computer 10 and the cost is increased. Do not invite. Further, it is only necessary to perform a pointing operation at the same time within a predetermined plurality of areas on the touch pad 16, and no special operation is required. Therefore, anyone can easily instruct execution of a specific function.

  In the above description, as shown in FIG. 4, an example is given in which a pointing operation is performed simultaneously on the upper left and right corner positions of the touch pad 16, but for other combinations of positions, A specific function may be assigned.

  FIG. 6A shows an example in which a specific function is assigned to a set of positions on the right and upper right corners of the touch pad 16, and FIG. 6B shows a set of positions on the lower left and right corners of the touch pad 16. In this example, a specific function is assigned. It is also possible to use other combinations of a plurality of positions.

  Furthermore, in the personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment, a combination of a plurality of positions for the user to arbitrarily instruct execution of the specific function can be set by the utility 113b.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing setting processing by the utility 113b. Here, an example in which a combination of a plurality of positions with respect to the touch pad 16 to which a function for switching ON (valid) / OFF (invalid) of the touch pad 16 is assigned is shown.

  First, when execution of the utility 113b is instructed by the user, the CPU 111 starts touch pad ON / OFF function assignment processing and causes the LCD 17 to display a touch pad setting screen.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the touch pad setting screen. In the example of the touch pad setting screen shown in FIG. 8, a combination of a plurality of positions with respect to the touch pad 16 can be selected for each of the OFF function and the ON function of the touch pad 16.

  For example, when the OFF function is executed by two points of simultaneous pointing operations, a combination of a plurality of positions prepared in advance, that is, any one of upper left / right, lower left / right, right upper / lower, and left upper / lower can be selected. For example, when “pad OFF by upper / left / right” shown in FIG. 8 is selected, as shown in FIG. 4, when the touch pad 16 is simultaneously pointed to the upper / left / right corners, The input can be controlled to be turned off (invalid).

  For the ON function, in addition to selecting a combination of positions corresponding to the OFF function, one of a plurality of combinations of positions prepared in advance can be selected as in the OFF function. Further, a plurality of positions can be simultaneously operated with respect to the touch pad 16, such as simultaneous pressing of a pad button (two buttons arranged below the touch pad 16), double click (button), double click (pad operation), and the like. An operation other than can be selected.

  The CPU 111 stores the contents set through the touch pad setting screen as touch pad control data 113d. When the touch pad control data 113d is set by the utility 113b, the driver 113c refers to the content set in the touch pad control data 113d and confirms that an operation for instructing execution of the specific function has been performed. It discriminate | determines (FIG. 5, step A3, A10).

  It should be noted that a combination of a plurality of positions other than a combination of a plurality of positions presented on the touch pad setting screen shown in FIG. 8 can be used. For example, a combination of the positions of the upper right corner and the lower left corner as shown in FIG. 9A or a combination of the positions of the lower right corner and the upper left corner as shown in FIG. 9B can be used.

  Furthermore, in the above description, a combination of positions of two points is described, but a combination of positions of three or more points can also be used. For example, as a combination of three or more positions, a combination of the upper right corner and the upper left corner as shown in FIG. 10A or a right upper corner and an upper left corner as shown in FIG. A combination of can be used.

  The two-point simultaneous pointing operation on the touch pad 16 may be adopted as an operation in a specific application, but the three-point or more simultaneous pointing operation is difficult to be adopted as an operation in a specific application. The possibility of erroneous operation can be further reduced as compared with the case of a combination of point positions.

  The combination of the positions of a plurality of points shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 may be set through the touch pad setting screen by the utility 113b.

  In this way, the user can arbitrarily set a combination of a plurality of positions for executing the specific function. Thereby, the user-friendly environment can be provided for each user.

  In the above description, when a plurality of positions are simultaneously operated with respect to the touch pad 16, the four corners of the touch pad 16 are pointed, but a plurality of positions including positions other than the four corners are used. A combination may be set. For example, a combination with a position near the center of the touch pad 16 may be used. Positions other than the four corners may be arbitrarily designated by the user. In this case, an area for determining that the position is pointed is set, and in the touch pad control process, it is determined whether or not the input coordinate data is included in the area (FIG. 5, step A2). , A9).

  In addition, when a specific function is executed by a pointing operation on a plurality of positions on the touch pad 16, an output for notifying the user of the operation status of the function may be performed. For example, when ON / OFF of the touch pad 16 is switched as a specific function, a display that clearly indicates the ON / OFF state of the touch pad 16 is displayed so that the user can easily determine. For example, in the display screen example of the LCD 17 shown in FIG. 11A, a display indicating that the touch pad 16 is in the OFF state as shown in FIG. 11B or a display shown in FIG. Such a display indicating that the touch pad 16 is in the ON state is performed. When the control for switching the ON / OFF state of the touch pad 16 is performed, the CPU 111 displays the display shown in FIGS. 11B and 11C on the LCD 17 for a certain period of time, thereby allowing the user to recognize the operation status. be able to.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, you may make it not only display temporarily in the center of a display screen, but always display on the predetermined position of a screen. Further, not only the notification by display but also the notification of switching of the operation status by voice output may be made.

  In the above description, an example of controlling ON / OFF with respect to the touch pad 16 has been described. However, other functions provided in the personal computer 10 can be performed by simultaneous pointing operations on a plurality of positions with respect to the touch pad 16. You may make it control.

  For example, in addition to the ON / OFF control function for the touch pad 16 by the utility 113b, for example, the personal computer such as the backlight ON / OFF control of the LCD 17, the ON / OFF control of the suspend function, the ON / OFF control function for the wireless LAN, etc. The other functions provided in 10 can be controlled.

  The CPU 111 executes a utility 113b to execute the OFF function / ON function for each control function described above through the touch pad setting screen. Set the combination. The CPU 111 stores a combination of a plurality of positions for the OFF function / ON function set for each control function as touch pad control data 113d as shown in FIG.

  In the touch pad control process, the CPU 111 refers to the content set as the touch pad control data 113d shown in FIG. 12, determines the pointing with respect to the touch pad 16, and performs a specific function ( Here, the OFF function / ON function) is executed.

  In the above description, when a plurality of positions are simultaneously detected by the touch pad 16, the specific function assigned to the plurality of positions is executed. However, a plurality of positions are detected at the same time. A specific function may be executed by determining that the time counted by this function has exceeded a predetermined time (for example, 0.5 seconds). As a result, even if a plurality of positions set in the touchpad control data 113d are erroneously pointed at the same time, the specific function is not executed unless a predetermined time is exceeded, thereby preventing a malfunction not intended by the user. Is possible.

  As described above, in the personal computer 10 according to the present embodiment, an operation of pointing a plurality of positions at the same time with respect to the touch pad 16 without mounting a dedicated input / output device for controlling the input of the touch pad 16. For example, it is possible to provide a function of switching the input of the touch pad 16 ON / OFF.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine a component suitably in different embodiment.

  Further, the processing described in the above-described embodiment is a recording medium such as a magnetic disk (flexible disk, hard disk, etc.), optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), semiconductor memory, etc., as a program that can be executed by a computer. And can be provided to various devices. It is also possible to transmit to a variety of devices by transmitting via a communication medium. The computer 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.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Personal computer, 16 ... Touchpad, 17 ... LCD, 113a ... OS, 113b ... Utility, 113c ... Driver, 113d ... Touchpad control data, 160 ... EC / KBC.

Claims (14)

A pointing device,
Setting means for setting a combination of a plurality of positions designated by a pointing operation on the pointing device corresponding to each of a plurality of different specific functions;
A function of executing a specific function when a pointing operation on the pointing device is performed at a plurality of positions and a combination of the plurality of positions at which the pointing operation is performed is set corresponding to the specific function. An electronic device comprising execution means.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of different specific functions include a function for controlling one of a backlight of a display screen, a suspend function, and a wireless LAN.   The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the specific function for controlling an input from the pointing device includes a function for switching the input of the pointing device to valid or invalid.   4. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein when the combination of the plurality of detected positions is set corresponding to a specific function that enables the pointing device, the function executing unit switches the input of the pointing device to be effective. machine. Comprising time measuring means for measuring time during which a pointing operation is performed at the plurality of positions,
The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the function executing unit executes the specific function when a time counted by the time measuring unit exceeds a predetermined time.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit configured to output to notify the operation status of the specific function by the function execution unit. An input control method in an electronic apparatus having a pointing device,
In the electronic device, corresponding to each of a plurality of different specific functions, a combination of a plurality of positions designated by a pointing operation on the pointing device is set in advance,
When a pointing operation on the pointing device is performed at a plurality of positions, an input for executing the corresponding specific function when a combination of the plurality of positions at which the pointing operation is performed is set corresponding to the specific function Control method. Touchpad,
A setting means for setting a combination of a plurality of positions pointed to the touchpad, corresponding to each of a plurality of different specific functions;
Detecting means for detecting a plurality of positions simultaneously pointed to the touchpad;
Determining means for determining whether a combination of a plurality of positions detected by the detecting means is set in correspondence with a specific function for controlling an input from the touchpad;
An electronic apparatus comprising: a function execution unit that executes a specific function when it is determined by the determination unit. The plurality of different specific functions include a function for controlling one of a backlight of a display screen, a suspend function, and a wireless LAN,
The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the determination unit further determines whether a combination of a plurality of positions is set corresponding to a backlight, a suspend function, or a specific function for controlling a wireless LAN.   The electronic device according to claim 8, wherein the specific function for controlling an input from the touch pad includes a function of switching the input of the touch pad to valid or invalid. The detection means detects a plurality of positions that are simultaneously pointed while the input of the touchpad is invalidated,
The function execution unit is configured to detect the touch when the combination of a plurality of positions detected by the detection unit is determined by the determination unit to correspond to a specific function that enables the touch pad. The electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the pad input is switched effectively. Time measuring means for measuring the time during which a plurality of positions pointed simultaneously by the detecting means are detected;
Further comprising time discriminating means for discriminating that the time measured by the time measuring means exceeds a certain time,
9. The electronic apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the function execution unit executes the specific function when it is determined by the time determination unit that a certain time has been exceeded.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising an output unit configured to output to notify the operation status of the specific function by the function execution unit. An input control method in an electronic device having a touchpad,
In the electronic device, corresponding to each of a plurality of different specific functions, a combination of a plurality of positions pointed to the touch pad is set in advance,
Detecting a plurality of positions simultaneously pointing to the touchpad;
It is determined whether a combination of the detected plurality of positions is set corresponding to a specific function for controlling input from the touchpad,
An input control method for executing a specific function when it is determined that the specific function is set.

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