JP5053735B2 - Jog ball equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technical field of a jog ball device provided in a main body such as a remote controller or a personal computer in order to move a cursor on, for example, a GUI (graphical user interface).

  As this type of jog ball apparatus, there is an apparatus that specifies a moving direction of a cursor from a signal generated in accordance with rotation in each direction of the jog ball. Here, in particular, immediately after the start of rotation of the jog ball and immediately before the end of rotation, the rotation operation is likely to be blurred due to the nature of rotation by the user's manual operation. For this reason, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for invalidating a signal generated immediately after the start of rotation of the jog ball or a signal generated immediately before the end of rotation of the jog ball.

JP-A-5-143228

  However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot cope with any blurring that occurs between the start of rotation of the jog ball and the end of rotation. Moreover, the correct rotation operation immediately after the start of rotation of the jog ball and the correct rotation operation immediately before the end of the rotation are completely wasted. For this reason, there is a technical problem that the original function of the jog ball, which makes it possible to perform a simple operation for cursor movement, may be harmed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, for example, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a jog ball device that enables a cursor to be moved stably and appropriately on, for example, a GUI. .

In order to solve the above-described problem, the jog ball device according to claim 1 is configured to measure a jog ball that can be rotated to move the cursor and a rotation amount by which the jog ball is rotated in a plurality of directions. Means, accumulating means for accumulating the measured amount of rotation for each of the plurality of directions, one or a plurality of direction candidates that can be movement directions in which the cursor is to be moved, the accumulated amount of rotation, A specifying unit that specifies the movement direction based on a relationship with a threshold set for each of a plurality of direction candidates, and the one or more direction candidates move the cursor on a GUI when the cursor is moved. depending on the current position of the GUI of the type and the cursor is limited to a direction that can move the cursor, to the one or more directions candidate is the limited, one or a plurality of associated Determining areas divided in frequency is moved or rotated integrally on the basis of the history of the movement position of the cursor.

  The operation and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the best mode for carrying out the invention described below.

  Hereinafter, a jog ball device according to an embodiment of the present invention as the best mode for carrying out the invention will be described in order.

Embodiments according to the first jog ball apparatus of the present invention include a jog ball that can be rotated to move a cursor, a measurement unit that measures the amount of rotation of the jog ball by a plurality of directions, and the measurement. Accumulating means for accumulating the rotation amount for each of the plurality of directions, one or a plurality of direction candidates that can be a moving direction in which the cursor is to be moved, the accumulated rotation amount and the one or a plurality of direction candidates. Specifying means for specifying the movement direction based on a relationship with a threshold value set in the one or more direction candidates, and the one or more direction candidates when the cursor is moved on the GUI, limited to a direction that can move the cursor in response to the current position of the cursor, to the one or more directions candidate is the limited, divided into one or more regions associated Constant region is moved or rotated integrally on the basis of the history of the movement position of the cursor.

An embodiment according to the second jog ball apparatus of the present invention includes a jog ball that can be rotated to move a cursor, a measuring unit that measures a rotation amount by which the jog ball is rotated in a plurality of directions, and the measurement. On the determination area divided into one or a plurality of areas associated with accumulating means for accumulating the amount of rotation performed for each of the plurality of directions and one or a plurality of direction candidates that can be movement directions in which the cursor should be moved And selecting one of the plurality of regions based on the accumulated amount of rotation, and selecting one direction candidate corresponding to the selected one region from the one or more direction candidates. And specifying means for specifying the movement direction, and the one or more direction candidates correspond to a type of the GUI and a current position of the cursor when the cursor is moved on the GUI. The limited cursor in the direction movable, said determined area associated with the one or more directions candidate is the limited is moved or rotated integrally on the basis of the history of the movement position of the cursor Te The

  According to the embodiment of the second jog ball device of the present invention, the cursor is displayed on, for example, the GUI. Typically, the cursor can be moved between a plurality of areas divided into rectangles or islands on the GUI. For example, if the area is divided into 3 × 3 matrix areas, the cursor at the center thereof can be moved in a total of eight directions, up and down, left and right, and four diagonal directions.

  During the operation, as an operation for moving the cursor by the user, for example, a jog ball attached to the remote controller or the computer device body is rotated in a direction to move the cursor by the user's manual operation. Then, the amount of rotation of the jog ball is measured in a plurality of directions, for example, in each of two directions orthogonal to the x direction and the y direction. Specifically, the rotation of the jog ball is measured, for example, as the rotation of a small roller that rotates in close contact with the jog ball, and the measurement result is output as an electrical pulse. Or it measures as a magnetic field change by the magnet arrange | positioned in a jog ball, and a measurement result is also output as an electrical pulse. Then, the measured rotation amount is accumulated for each of a plurality of directions by accumulating means including, for example, a processor and a memory. Further, for example, by a specifying unit configured to include a processor, a memory, and the like, a moving direction in which the cursor is to be moved is specified based on the accumulated rotation amount. Specifically, for example, the direction indicated by the accumulated amount of rotation among the movement direction candidates is specified as the movement direction. Furthermore, when any one of the absolute values of the accumulated rotation amount exceeds a preset threshold value indicating whether or not to specify a moving direction, the moving direction is specified.

  Therefore, even if the jog ball rotates more or less during the entire rotation period of the jog ball, particularly immediately after the start of rotation or immediately before the stop, the user tries to move originally. Compared with the operation with high directivity, which is the rotation amount in the direction of rotation, the proportion of the blur due to the operation with poor directivity in the accumulated value becomes significantly smaller. If the direction in which the rotation of the jog ball is detected corresponds to the direction in which the cursor should be moved, the cursor will move, especially if there is significant blurring immediately after the start of rotation or just before it stops. The direction to be performed becomes unstable or unspecified. However, according to the present invention, since such blurring is remarkably reduced, the movement of the cursor is stabilized correspondingly, and the moving direction is appropriately and reliably specified.

  In the present invention, in particular, when the moving direction is specified, the determination area divided into one or a plurality of areas is used by the specifying means. The one or a plurality of areas are associated with one or a plurality of direction candidates that can be a moving direction in which the cursor should be moved. On such a determination area, one area is selected from one or a plurality of areas based on the accumulated rotation amount, and a direction candidate corresponding to the selected area is selected as a movement direction. Identified.

  Such one or a plurality of direction candidates are limited to directions in which the cursor can be moved according to the type of GUI and the current position of the cursor when the cursor is moved on the GUI. That is, the direction in which the cursor cannot move is excluded from the direction candidates based on the type of GUI, or in addition to or instead of the current position of the cursor. Here, the “type of GUI” means, for example, a GUI in which the cursor can move only up and down, a GUI in which the cursor can move only in the left and right directions, a GUI in which the cursor can move only in up and down and left and right, It also means a type classified by the direction in which the cursor can move, such as a movable GUI. Therefore, for example, if the cursor is a GUI that can move only up and down, the left-right direction is excluded from the direction candidates. The “cursor current position” means a current position of a movable cursor in a specific type of GUI. Thus, for example, if the cursor is a GUI that can only move up and down, if the cursor is positioned at the lower end of the GUI, the downward direction is excluded from the direction candidates, and if the cursor is positioned at the upper end of the GUI, the upward direction Is excluded from the direction candidates. Therefore, an area where the cursor cannot be moved is removed from the cursor, and one area is selected based on the accumulated amount of rotation on the determination area divided into one or more areas. Therefore, it is easy to specify the moving direction of the cursor that the user intends to move.

  As described above, according to the present invention, based on the rotation amount accumulated by the accumulation unit, the determination unit includes a region that is associated with a direction candidate limited by the specifying unit according to the GUI type and the current cursor position. Using the area, the moving direction in which the cursor is to be moved is specified. For this reason, the cursor movement can be made very stable without blurring.

  In one aspect of the embodiment of the second jog ball device of the present invention, the specifying means sets a plurality of determination areas as the determination areas, and the type and the current position of at least a part of the type and the current position. A separate memory is provided, and when the moving direction is specified, one determination area corresponding to the type and the current position is acquired from the plurality of stored determination areas, and the acquired one The moving direction is specified on two determination areas.

  According to this aspect, the plurality of determination areas that are generated in advance when the initial moving direction is specified or before that are determined based on the GUI type and the current position of the cursor (however, the current position of the cursor in the specific GUI). Are stored in the memory separately from the type of GUI and the current position of the cursor (however, the position that can be the current position of the cursor in a specific GUI). Thereafter, when actually specifying the moving direction, first, one determination area corresponding to the current GUI type and the current position of the cursor is acquired from the plurality of determination areas stored in the memory. Subsequently, the moving direction is specified on the acquired one determination region. Therefore, when the movement direction is actually specified, the determination area generated prior to this may be acquired from the memory and used, so that the movement direction of the cursor to be moved by the user on the specific GUI can be determined. It can be identified very quickly and easily, and blurring can be suppressed.

  The plurality of determination areas may be generated at once for the positions that can be the current positions of all the cursors when the movement direction is first specified, or at the current position of the cursor every time the movement direction is specified. The corresponding determination areas may be generated one by one.

  In this aspect, the specifying unit may generate the plurality of determination areas separately for the type and the current position for the at least a part, and store the generated determination areas in the memory.

  According to this configuration, when the initial moving direction is specified by the specifying unit, a plurality of determination areas are generated at once for each type of GUI or for each current position and stored in the memory. Accordingly, the more the determination of the moving direction by the specifying means is performed for each GUI or the more the determination is performed for each current position, the more various determination areas are stored in the memory. This is extremely advantageous in practical use.

  In the aspect in which the specifying unit includes a memory, the specifying unit determines the moving direction on a default determination region when the one determination region cannot be acquired from the plurality of stored determination regions. You may specify.

  With this configuration, if the determination area can be acquired from the memory corresponding to the current position of the cursor in a certain GUI, the moving direction can be specified quickly and easily by using the acquired determination area. On the other hand, if the determination area cannot be obtained from the memory, the movement direction can be specified by specifying the movement direction using the default determination area.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the second jog ball device of the present invention, the shapes of the plurality of regions are different according to the type and the current position for at least a part of the type and the current position.

  According to this aspect, the shapes of the plurality of areas constituting the determination area differ depending on the type of GUI and the current position of the cursor for at least a part of the GUI type and the current position of the cursor. Here, the “shape” means a broad shape including the size. “Different shapes” includes a case where only shapes in a narrow sense that do not include a size are different from each other and a case where both shapes and sizes in a narrow sense are different. The shape of such a plurality of regions is set by, for example, a specifying unit, but may be set by a separately provided unit for setting the shape. In addition, “at least a part” of the shape means at least a part of one or a plurality of areas among a plurality of areas constituting the determination area. Therefore, the shapes of the plurality of areas change according to the type of GUI and the current position of the cursor. Using the determination area, the moving direction can be efficiently specified, and only the moving direction of the cursor that the user originally wants to move is specified, and blurring can be suppressed.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the second jog ball device of the present invention, the specifying means specifies the moving direction when the accumulated rotation amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

  According to this aspect, the moving direction is specified when the accumulated rotation amount exceeds the predetermined threshold value. Typically, whether or not the amount of rotation accumulated in a plurality of directions exceeds a corresponding value among predetermined threshold values set in advance in a plurality of directions is determined during a series of rotation operations of the jog ball. Monitored or watched. Then, when any one of the rotation amounts accumulated in a plurality of directions exceeds a corresponding predetermined threshold value, the moving direction is specified as the direction exceeding the threshold value. Here, compared with the component corresponding to the direction in which the user intends to move, which occupies the cumulative value of the rotation amount, the increase rate of the component corresponding to blurring is remarkably slow due to the property of blurring. For this reason, there is little or no possibility that the accumulated value of the rotation amount exceeds the predetermined threshold due to the shake. As a result, there is almost no possibility that the moving direction becomes unstable or uncertain due to shaking. If a configuration is adopted in which a certain threshold value is set and the movement direction is specified based on whether or not the rotation amount or rotation speed of the shake exceeds this threshold value, the influence of the shake appears as it is and becomes unstable. Alternatively, it is expected that the moving direction is uncertain.

  In another aspect of the embodiment of the second jog ball device of the present invention, the specified moving direction is validated based on a mutual relationship between a plurality of moving directions specified in succession in time by the specifying means. Output judging means for judging whether or not to output as nothing.

  According to this aspect, when the moving direction in which the cursor is to be moved is specified by the specifying means, subsequently, the output determining means configured to include, for example, a processor, a memory, etc., is specified before and after the time. Whether or not to output the identified movement direction as an effective one is determined based on the correlation between the plurality of movement directions. If it is determined that the output is valid, the specified moving direction is output from the jog ball device to an external device or the like. On the other hand, if it is determined that the output is not valid, the specified movement direction is not output from the jog ball device to an external device or the like. That is, once specified, the moving direction is invalidated. Therefore, if the jog ball is rotating once it has been rotated, unless the extreme movement direction changes, the movement direction change is only shake, that is, the rotation operation is effective. Treated and identified movement directions are considered valid. On the contrary, even if the jog ball is being rotated once after it has been rotated, if an extreme change in the direction of movement occurs, it is assumed that the change in the direction of movement is what the user intended. The specified movement direction is not valid. As a result, the movement direction in which the cursor is to be moved is specified again, and a change is typically added to the movement direction.

  Once the movement direction is specified in this way, with respect to the rotation amount detected thereafter with reference to the specified movement direction, by making the most of what can be used as much as possible, until the rotation operation of the jog ball is completed, The moving direction can be identified stably. Moreover, even after the movement direction is specified, the movement direction can be specified correspondingly to the rotation amount that is intentionally changed in the direction with reference to the specified movement direction. .

  In this aspect, the output determination means may output the specified movement direction as an effective one when the plurality of movement directions are the same.

  With this configuration, when the plurality of movement directions are the same, the specified movement direction is treated as valid, and when the plurality of movement directions are not the same, the identified movement direction is valid. Since they are not handled, it is possible to appropriately maintain and change the moving direction by a relatively simple case dividing process.

  Such an operation and other advantages of the present embodiment will be clarified from examples described below.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
<First embodiment>
First, the configuration of the jog ball device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the jog ball device 100 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the jog ball device 100.

  In FIG. 1, the remote controller 1 outputs a signal corresponding to an operation for moving the cursor by the user to the image display device 10 by, for example, infrared communication. The remote controller 1 and the image display device 10 are configured to function as an example of the “jog ball device” according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the remote controller 1 includes a jog ball 2, a rotation amount measurement unit 3, a CPU 4, a transmission unit 5, and various switches (not shown). The jog ball 2 is attached to the front side of the remote controller 1 and can be rotated by a user's manual operation in order to move a cursor 20 on a GUI displayed on a monitor 18 described later. For example, a magnet is incorporated in the jog ball 2 in order to output the rotation amount.

  As an example of the “measuring unit” according to the present invention, the rotation amount measuring unit 3 measures the rotation amount of the jog ball 2 in each of two directions orthogonal to the x direction and the y direction, for example. The rotation amount measuring unit 3 detects a change in the magnetic field due to the magnet in the jog ball 2 as the jog ball 2 rotates, and outputs an electrical pulse signal as the detection result. Further, the rotation amounts x and y in the x direction and the y direction are calculated from the output signal.

  The CPU 4 is connected to each part of the remote controller 1, and inputs signals indicating the rotation amounts x and y output by the rotation amount measurement unit 3 to the transmission unit 5 as the jog ball 2 rotates.

  The transmission unit 5 transmits a signal indicating the rotation amounts x and y output by the rotation amount measurement unit 3 to the image display device 10 using infrared rays.

  The image display device 10 includes a receiving unit 11, a CPU 12, and a monitor 18. The CPU 12 includes a signal processing unit 13 and a GUI display processing unit 17. The receiving unit 11 receives the infrared signal transmitted from the transmitting unit 4 and inputs it to the CPU 12.

  The CPU 12 controls each part of the image display device 10 in response to a signal from the remote controller 1. The CPU 12 displays the GUI screen on the monitor 18 and moves the cursor 20 on the GUI screen based on the infrared signal from the remote controller 1.

  In FIG. 2, the signal processing unit 13 includes a rotation amount accumulating unit 14, a moving direction specifying unit 15, and an output determination unit 16. From the rotation amounts x and y by which the jog ball 2 is rotated, the cursor 20 Specify the direction of movement to move.

  The rotation amount accumulating unit 14 accumulates the rotation amounts x and y measured by the rotation amount measuring unit 3 in two directions, the x direction and the y direction, as an example of the “accumulating unit” according to the present invention. The rotation amount accumulating unit 14 includes a processor and a memory (not shown), accumulates the rotation amounts x and y of the jog ball 2 of unit time T0, accumulates the x-direction accumulated value X = Σxi, and the y-direction accumulated value. Y = Σyi is calculated.

  The moving direction specifying unit 15 includes a processor and a memory 15a (not shown) as an example of the “specifying unit” according to the present invention, and the accumulated values X and Y for two directions calculated by the rotation amount accumulating unit 14. Based on the above, the moving direction in which the cursor 20 should be moved is specified. In particular, in the present embodiment, the movement direction identification unit 15 exchanges the direction identification diagram used when identifying the movement direction as the cursor 20 moves. The direction identification diagram is divided into a plurality of areas associated with direction candidates that can be moved from the current position of the cursor 20 on a certain GUI screen.

  The moving direction specifying unit 15 stores a plurality of direction specifying diagrams based on the GUI type in the memory 15a. The GUI type is information indicating whether the cursor 20 can be moved on the GUI screen as an example of the “type of GUI” according to the present invention, and is moved by a GUI display processing unit 17 described later. Input to the direction specifying unit 15. The moving direction specifying unit 15 generates a plurality of direction specifying diagrams corresponding to each of the cursors 20 located at predetermined positions on the route indicated by the GUI type, and stores them in the memory 15a. When the moving direction specifying unit 15 specifies the moving direction, the direction specifying diagram corresponding to the current position of the cursor 20 is read from the memory 15a, but the direction specifying diagram corresponding to the current position of the cursor 20 cannot be read. In addition, a default direction specifying map to be described later is set. On the other hand, when the direction specifying map corresponding to the current position can be read, the read direction specifying map is set. In this way, the direction indicated by the accumulated values X and Y is specified as the movement direction in one or a plurality of areas indicated by the set direction specification diagram, that is, among the direction candidates to which the cursor 20 should be moved.

  As described above, when the direction specifying diagram is changed as the cursor moves, an area corresponding to a direction in which the cursor cannot be moved (that is, an area corresponding to a direction that cannot be a direction candidate) is determined as a determination area. Since it is not configured, it is easy to specify the moving direction of the cursor that the user originally wants to move.

  The direction identification diagram will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a GUI display screen, and FIGS. 4 to 6 are xy coordinates indicating the rotation amount and the rotation direction of the jog ball 2, and a direction specifying diagram for specifying the moving direction of the cursor 20. It is.

  The direction identification diagram is an example of the “determination area” according to the present invention. In this embodiment, a plurality of direction specifying diagrams corresponding to the current position of the cursor 20 can be set. The plurality of direction specifying views are divided into one or a plurality of regions having different shapes and sizes. The one or more areas are changed as the cursor 20 moves. Specifically, one or a plurality of areas do not correspond to the entire GUI screen 21, and a selection area on the GUI screen 21 where the cursor 20 is currently located, and a selection area adjacent to the selection area It corresponds to the range. For example, in FIG. 3, the GUI screen 21 includes a first selection area from area 1 to area 6 that extends in the vertical direction on the left side of the screen, and an area A to area C that is adjacent to the right side of the screen in area 5 and extends in the horizontal direction. The second selection area is provided.

  The GUI type of the GUI screen 21 is, for example, the first GUI type in which the cursor 20 moves only up and down from the center of the GUI screen 21 along the first selection area, and the cursor 20 along the second selection area. Is the second GUI type that moves to the left and right below the center of the GUI screen 21, and the third GUI type that the cursor 20 moves to the right in addition to the top and bottom at the position where the first and second selection areas are connected. It shows.

  The movement direction specifying unit 15 generates a plurality of direction specifying diagrams corresponding to positions that can be the current position of the cursor 20 based on the GUI type only after the GUI type is input by the GUI display processing unit 17. The moving direction specifying unit 15 sets, for example, a default direction specifying figure 22 when one direction specifying figure corresponding to the current position of the actual cursor 20 cannot be acquired.

  In FIG. 4, the direction specifying diagram 22 is a default direction specifying diagram that does not depend on the GUI type, and is divided into, for example, a 3 × 3 matrix area, and predetermined values X0 and Y0 are set for each of eight directions. Is set. In this case, the cursor 20 at the coordinate center (0, 0) can be moved in a total of eight directions including the up and down direction, the left and right direction, and four oblique directions. These eight directions are set as direction candidates for moving the cursor 20. The movement direction specifying unit 15 selects one direction candidate from these eight direction candidates based on the accumulated values X and Y, and specifies the movement direction of the cursor 20.

  For example, when the rotation amounts (cumulative values) X and Y accumulated in the unit time T0 indicate the rotation in the upper right direction, the moving direction specifying unit 15 calculates the absolute values of the accumulated values X and Y in two directions. It is determined whether one of the thresholds exceeds a preset threshold value X_lim, Y_lim for determining whether to perform direction determination. The moving direction specifying unit 15 specifies the moving direction D1 as “upper right” when either one of the absolute values of the accumulated values X and Y exceeds the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim. Thereby, the moving direction D1 in which the cursor 20 should be moved is specified.

  The movement direction identification unit 15 generates a plurality of direction identification diagrams corresponding to positions that can be the current position of the cursor 20 based on the GUI type, and then generates one direction identification diagram corresponding to the current position of the actual cursor 20. Set.

  For example, in FIG. 3, the cursor 20 is located in the area 2 of the first selection area. In this case, the GUI type is the first GUI type, and the direction candidates shown in the direction specifying diagram are limited to the vertical direction corresponding to the areas 1 and 3 adjacent to the area 2.

  In FIG. 5, the direction specification FIG. 23 is divided into two upper and lower areas as a determination area corresponding to the cursor 20 whose current position is the area 2. Two directions corresponding to these two regions are direction candidates. The movement direction specifying unit 15 specifies one of these two directions as the movement direction based on the accumulated values X and Y.

  In FIG. 3, the cursor 20 is located in the area 5 of the first selection area adjacent to the second selection area. In this case, the GUI type is the third GUI type, and the direction candidates shown in the direction specification diagram are limited to the up-down direction and the right direction corresponding to area 4 and area 6 and area A adjacent to area 5.

  In FIG. 6, the direction specification FIG. 24 is divided into three regions, upper and lower, and right, as a determination region corresponding to the cursor 20 whose current position is the area 5. Three directions corresponding to these three regions are direction candidates. The movement direction identification unit 15 identifies one of these three directions as the movement direction based on the accumulated values X and Y.

  Similarly to the case of using the default direction specifying diagram 22, the moving direction specifying unit 15 uses either one of the absolute values of the accumulated values X and Y when using the above-described direction specifying diagrams 23 and 24. When the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim for determining whether to perform the direction determination are exceeded, the moving direction is specified.

  For example, when the rotation amounts (cumulative values) X and Y accumulated in the unit time T0 indicate the rotation in the right direction, the movement direction specifying unit 15 calculates the absolute values of the accumulated values X and Y in two directions. It is determined whether any one of the thresholds X_lim, Y_lim exceeds whether or not to perform direction determination. When any one of the absolute values of the accumulated values X and Y exceeds the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim, the moving direction D1 is specified as “right”. Thereby, the moving direction D1 in which the cursor 20 should be moved is specified.

  In FIG. 2, the output determination unit 16 determines whether or not to output the movement direction D1 specified by the movement direction specification unit 15 as an effective one as an example of the “output determination unit” according to the present invention. The output determination unit 14 includes a processor and a memory (not shown), and is based on the mutual relationship between two movement directions specified in tandem with each other, that is, the previous movement direction D0 and the latest movement direction D1. Then, the determination is performed.

  When the previous movement direction D0 is the same as the latest movement direction D1, the output determination unit 16 validates the latest movement direction D1 and outputs the movement direction D1 as the output direction D1 '. On the other hand, if the previous movement direction D0 and the latest movement direction D1 are not the same, the latest movement direction D1 is invalidated, the output direction D1 ′ is output as “Null”, and the movement direction D1 is changed to the previous movement direction D1. The moving direction is D0. In this way, by setting the movement direction D1 as the previous movement direction D0, two movement directions that follow each other in time, that is, the latest movement direction D1 and the movement direction D2 specified next time are the same. Can be determined by the control loop.

  In this way, not only the two movement directions of the previous movement direction D0 and the latest movement direction D1, but also N (however, an integer of 2 or more) movement directions counted from the latest movement direction D1, For example, such a determination can be made depending on whether the same direction is continued N times.

  The GUI display processing unit 17 generates image data indicating the cursor 20 and also generates image data of the GUI screen 21 based on the signal indicating the output direction D <b> 1 ′ output by the output determination unit 16. The GUI display processing unit 17 displays an image image obtained by combining these two image data on the monitor 18. In particular, in the present embodiment, the GUI display processing unit 17 determines that the GUI is displayed when the accumulated values X and Y output by the rotation amount accumulating unit 14 exceed the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim indicating whether or not to perform direction determination. The GUI type corresponding to the screen 21 is input to the movement direction specifying unit 15.

  The monitor 8 displays an image from a cable (not shown), a GUI screen, and the like, and displays a cursor 20 on the GUI screen.

Next, a cursor movement control process of the jog ball apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
(Cursor movement control processing)
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the cursor movement control process of the jog ball apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  Specifically, in FIG. 7, it is determined on the remote controller 1 side whether or not the rotation amounts x and y of the jog ball 2 are detected by the rotation amount measuring unit 3 (step S31). If it is determined that the rotation amounts x and y of the jog ball 2 are not detected (step S31: NO), it is determined that the cursor movement operation is not performed, and the standby state is set until the operation is performed. . On the other hand, when it is determined that the rotation amounts x and y are detected (step S31: YES), the transmission unit 5 transmits a signal indicating the rotation amounts x and y to the image display device 10.

  When the receiving unit 11 receives a signal indicating the rotation amounts x and y on the image display device 10 side, an elapsed time T1 after the rotation amount accumulation unit 14 starts detecting the rotation amount is set to a predetermined value. It is determined whether or not the detection unit time T0 has been reached (step S32). Here, when the elapsed time T1 has reached the unit time T0 (step S32: NO), the elapsed time T1 and the accumulated values X and Y are zero, assuming that the unit time for accumulating the rotation amounts x and y has elapsed. (Steps S40 and S39). That is, in this case, a series of operations of the jog ball corresponding to the cursor movement intended by the user is completed. On the other hand, when the elapsed time T1 has not reached the unit time T0 (step S32: YES), the rotation amounts x and y in the two directions of the x direction and the y direction are accumulated in each, and the rotation amount x in the x direction is accumulated. And a cumulative value Y of the rotation amount y in the y direction are output (step S33). That is, in this case, a series of jog ball operations corresponding to the cursor movement intended by the user is continued.

  Next, the threshold X_lim for determining whether or not direction determination is to be performed in the moving direction specifying unit 15, in which one of the absolute values of the accumulated values X and Y for each of the two directions corresponds to each of the accumulated values X and Y. , Y_lim is determined (step S34). Here, when it is determined that both of the absolute values of the accumulated values X and Y are not larger than the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim (step S34: NO), the accumulated values X and Y are assumed to be shaken. The control loop for accumulating the rotation amounts x and y is repeated until either one of the absolute values of X and Y becomes larger than the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim. On the other hand, when it is determined that either one of the absolute values of the accumulated values X and Y is larger than the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim (step S34: YES), a direction identification diagram switching process is performed (step S35).

  In FIG. 8, in the direction identification diagram switching process, first, it is determined whether or not the GUI type is acquired by the movement direction identification unit 15 based on the input of the GUI display processing unit 17 (step S <b> 40). If the GUI type has not been acquired (step S40: NO), the CPU 12 instructs the GUI display processing unit 17 to output the GUI type. On the other hand, when the GUI type is acquired (step S40: YES), a plurality of direction specifying maps corresponding to positions that can be the current position of the cursor 20 on the GUI screen 21 are already generated based on the GUI type. It is determined whether or not it has been done (step S41). Here, when a plurality of direction specifying diagrams are not yet generated (step S41: NO), a plurality of direction specifying diagrams corresponding to the cursor position based on the GUI type are generated (step S42). The plurality of generated direction specifying diagrams are stored in the memory 15a of the moving direction specifying unit 15. On the other hand, when a plurality of direction specification diagrams have already been generated (step S41: YES), the generation of the plurality of direction specification diagrams is not performed again unless the GUI type is changed. Thereafter, one direction specifying map corresponding to the current position of the cursor 20 on the GUI screen 21 is read from the memory 15a (step S43), and the direction specifying map corresponding to the current position of the cursor 20 is not acquired. (Step S44: NO), the default direction specifying map 22 is set (step S46), or when the current and default direction specifying map is set, the default direction specifying map 22 continues. Is set. On the other hand, when the direction specifying map corresponding to the current position of the cursor 20 is acquired (step S44: YES), the direction specifying map corresponding to the current position of the cursor 20 read from the memory 15a is set. (Step S45). Thus, the moving direction D1 is specified using the set direction specifying diagram (step S36).

  After the movement direction D1 is specified, the output determination unit 16 performs an output determination process (step S37). In FIG. 9, in this process, when the moving direction D1 is output by the moving direction specifying unit 15 (step S51), it is determined whether or not this latest moving direction D1 is the same as the previously specified moving direction D0. (Step S52) Here, when the latest movement direction D1 is different from the previous movement direction D0 (step S52: NO), the output direction D1 ′ transmitted to the image display device 5 is set to “Null”. At the same time, the previous movement direction D0 is set as the latest movement direction D1 (step S54), and the output determination process is terminated. On the other hand, when the latest movement direction D1 is equal to the previous movement direction D0 (step S52: YES), the output direction D1 ′ is set as the latest movement direction D1 (step S53), and the output determination process is ended. The

  Next, the cursor 20 is moved by the CPU 12 based on the output direction D1 '(step S38). Here, when the output direction D1 'is "right", the cursor 20 is moved rightward stably and appropriately. On the other hand, when the output direction D1 'is "Null", the cursor 20 is not moved and the current position is held. Thereafter, the accumulated values X and Y of the rotation amounts x and y are returned to zero (step S39), and a series of cursor movement control processing is ended.

  As described above, the jog ball device according to the first embodiment accumulates the rotation amount of the jog ball in two directions, and whether or not any one of the absolute values of the accumulated rotation amounts determines the direction. In the direction candidate to move the cursor 20, the direction indicated by the accumulated rotation amount is specified as the movement direction. In specifying the moving direction, one direction specifying diagram corresponding to the current position of the cursor 20 is read, and the moving direction is specified using the read direction specifying diagram. In this way, as the cursor 20 moves, the direction specification map is exchanged for the direction candidates, so that it is easy to specify the movement direction of the cursor that the user originally wants to move. Therefore, it becomes possible to specify the moving direction by a relatively simple process, the blur is reduced over the entire rotation period of the jog ball, and the cursor movement can be made very stable without blur. .

  In the first embodiment, the rotation amounts x and y of the jog ball 2 are measured and accumulated in two directions, the x direction and the y direction, but accumulated in a plurality of directions such as up and down, left and right, and oblique four directions. It doesn't matter.

  In the first embodiment, when the first movement direction is specified, a plurality of direction specifying diagrams corresponding to positions that can be the current position of the cursor 20 are generated based on the GUI type. Instead of generating the specific map at a time, one direction specific map corresponding to the current position of the cursor may be generated for each specific movement direction.

In the first embodiment, when the moving direction is specified, one of the absolute values of the cumulative values X and Y for each of the two directions is set to the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim as to whether or not to perform a predetermined direction determination. However, the absolute values of the cumulative values X and Y may exceed the threshold values X_lim and Y_lim for determining whether or not to perform direction determination.
<Second embodiment>
Next, a jog ball device according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram having the same concept as FIG. 1 in the first embodiment, and FIG. 10 and 11, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as the components according to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 10, the jog ball device 200 according to the present embodiment mainly includes the signal processing unit 13 described above provided in the remote controller 1 instead of the image display device 10, and between the remote controller 1 and the image display device 10. This is different from the first embodiment described above in that data can be transmitted and received and a direction specifying diagram based on the user's operation history is used. Other configurations are almost the same as those in the first embodiment.

  The remote controller 1 includes a jog ball 2, a rotation amount measuring unit 3, a signal processing unit 61, and a bidirectional wireless unit 62. Along with the rotation of the jog ball 2, the rotation amount measuring unit 3 calculates the rotation amounts x and y in two directions and inputs them to the signal processing unit 61. In FIG. 11, the signal processing unit 61 calculates the accumulated values X and Y by accumulating the rotation amounts x and y in two directions by the rotation amount accumulating unit 14, and then calculates the accumulated values X and Y by the moving direction specifying unit 15. Based on Y, the moving direction D1 is specified using the direction specifying diagram. Further, the output determination unit 16 determines whether or not the specified movement direction D1 is valid, and outputs the output direction D1 '. Thereafter, a signal indicating the output direction D <b> 1 ′ is transmitted from the bidirectional wireless unit 62 to the image display device 10. In particular, in the present embodiment, the bidirectional wireless unit 62 can receive the GUI type transmitted from the image display apparatus 10 as well as transmitting the output direction D1 '.

  The image display device 10 includes a bidirectional wireless unit 63, a CPU 12, and a monitor 18. The CPU 12 is provided with a GUI display processing unit 17. The CPU 12 generates image data of the GUI screen 21 by the GUI display processing unit 17 and also generates image data of the cursor 20 based on a signal indicating the output direction D1 ′ received by the bidirectional wireless unit 63. Are also displayed on the monitor 18. Thus, the cursor 20 is moved on the GUI screen 21. In particular, in this embodiment, the bidirectional radio unit 63 can transmit the GUI type to the remote controller 1 in addition to receiving the output direction D1 ′ in conjunction with the bidirectional radio unit 62 on the remote controller 1 side. is there. The GUI display processing unit 17 inputs the GUI type to the moving direction specifying unit 15 on the remote control 1 side via these bidirectional wireless units 62 and 63.

  Next, generation of a direction specifying diagram according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13. Similar to the first embodiment, the moving direction specifying unit 15 generates a plurality of direction specifying diagrams corresponding to positions that can be the current position of the cursor 20 based on the GUI type. In the present embodiment, the movement direction specifying unit 15 further plots the rotation amounts x and y output from the rotation amount measurement unit 3 in FIG. 12, analyzes the user's operation history, and determines the blur based on the analysis result. Calculate the amount. The movement direction identification unit 15 updates the direction identification diagram by moving or rotating the calculated direction blur amount. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the rotation amounts x and y of the cursor 20 moving on the first route on the GUI screen 21 are detected at regular intervals, and this detection history is shown as a locus 71 on the xy coordinates. It is. The locus 71 indicates that when the cursor 20 is moved from the area 1 to the area 3 of the first route, the movement direction is deviated to the right by, for example, θ degrees as the shake amount. Based on the shake amount obtained by analyzing the user operation history, the direction specifying diagram generated based on the GUI type is rotated counterclockwise by θ degrees as shown in FIG. In this way, if the direction identification diagram changed corresponding to the position of the cursor 20 is updated based on the blur amount obtained from the user's operation history, and the updated direction identification diagram is used for identifying the movement direction, Furthermore, the moving direction of the cursor 20 that the user originally intends to move is easily specified.

  As described above, the jog ball apparatus according to the second embodiment accumulates the rotation amount of the jog ball in two directions in the remote controller 1 and specifies the direction indicated by the accumulated rotation amount as the movement direction. At the time of specifying the moving direction, the direction specifying map corresponding to the position of the cursor 20 is read out, and the read direction specifying map is rotated based on the amount of blur obtained by analyzing the user's operation history. The moving direction is specified using the rotated direction specifying diagram. As described above, the direction of the cursor 20 to be moved is exchanged for the direction specifying map in which the direction candidates to be moved are limited based on the movement of the cursor 20 and the operation history of the user. It becomes easy to be done. Therefore, it becomes possible to specify the moving direction by a relatively simple process, the blur is reduced over the entire rotation period of the jog ball, and the cursor movement can be made very stable without blur. .

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit or idea of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification.

1 is a schematic diagram of a jog ball device according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram of the jog ball device concerning the 1st example. It is a display screen of the monitor which shows the GUI screen which concerns on 1st Example. It is a default direction specific figure which specifies the moving direction of the cursor which concerns on 1st Example. It is a direction specific figure corresponding to the position of the cursor concerning the 1st example. It is a direction specific figure corresponding to the position of the cursor concerning the 1st example. It is a flowchart which shows the control processing of the cursor movement which concerns on 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows the direction specific figure switching process which concerns on 1st Example. It is a flowchart which shows the output determination process which concerns on 1st Example. It is a schematic diagram of the jog ball apparatus concerning a 2nd example. It is a block diagram of the jog ball device concerning the 2nd example. It is a locus diagram of the amount of rotation which shows the rotation history of the cursor concerning the 2nd example. It is the direction specific figure corresponding to the position of the cursor which concerns on 2nd Example, and operation history.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Remote control, 2 ... Jog ball, 3 ... Rotation amount measurement part, 14 ... Rotation amount accumulation part, 15 ... Movement direction specific | specification part, 16 ... Output determination part, 20 ... Cursor, 21 ... GUI screen, 22 ... Direction specific figure

Claims (9)

A jog ball that can rotate to move the cursor,
Measuring means for measuring the amount of rotation of the jog ball by a plurality of directions;
Accumulating means for accumulating the measured rotation amount for each of the plurality of directions;
One or a plurality of direction candidates that can be a movement direction in which the cursor is to be moved are determined as the movement direction based on a relationship between the accumulated rotation amount and a threshold value set for each of the one or more direction candidates. And a specific means for identifying,
The one or more direction candidates are limited to directions in which the cursor can be moved according to the type of the GUI and the current position of the cursor when the cursor is moved on the GUI .
The determination region divided into one or a plurality of regions associated with the limited one or a plurality of direction candidates is moved or rotated integrally based on the history of the movement position of the cursor. A featured jog ball device. A jog ball that can rotate to move the cursor,
Measuring means for measuring the amount of rotation of the jog ball by a plurality of directions;
Accumulating means for accumulating the measured rotation amount for each of the plurality of directions;
The plurality of regions based on the accumulated amount of rotation on the determination region divided into one or a plurality of regions associated with one or a plurality of direction candidates that can be the moving direction in which the cursor should be moved And a specifying means for specifying, as the moving direction, one direction candidate corresponding to the selected one area among the one or a plurality of direction candidates,
The one or more direction candidates are limited to directions in which the cursor can be moved according to the type of the GUI and the current position of the cursor when the cursor is moved on the GUI .
The jog ball device characterized in that the determination region associated with the limited one or more direction candidates is moved or rotated integrally based on a history of movement positions of the cursor . The specifying means is:
A plurality of determination areas as the determination area, the memory storing at least a part of the type and the current position separately for the type and the current position;
When specifying the movement direction, one determination area corresponding to the type and the current position is acquired from the stored determination areas, and the movement is performed on the acquired determination area. The jog ball device according to claim 2, wherein a direction is specified. The specifying means is:
The plurality of determination areas are generated for the at least a part, according to the type and the current position,
The jog ball device according to claim 3, wherein the generated determination area is stored in the memory.   The said specifying means specifies the said moving direction on a default determination area | region, when the said one determination area cannot be acquired from the stored said several determination area | region, The said movement direction is specified. 4. The jog ball device according to 4.   6. The jog ball according to claim 2, wherein the shapes of the plurality of regions are different according to the type and the current position for at least a part of the type and the current position. apparatus.   The jog ball device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the specifying unit specifies the moving direction when the accumulated amount of rotation exceeds a predetermined threshold value.   Output determining means for determining whether or not to output the specified moving direction as an effective one based on the mutual relationship between a plurality of moving directions specified in succession in time by the specifying means. The jog ball device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the device is a jog ball device.   9. The jog ball device according to claim 8, wherein the output determination unit outputs the specified movement direction as an effective one when the plurality of movement directions are the same.

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