JP5775115B2 - Portable information processing apparatus, pointer moving method thereof, and computer-executable program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information processing apparatus, a pointer moving method thereof, and a computer-executable program.

  In recent years, portable information processing apparatuses such as a tablet PC, a smartphone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), and an electronic book browsing terminal have become widespread. Such a portable information processing apparatus includes a display and a key input unit such as a touch pad operated by touching with a keyboard or a fingertip as a user interface, and executes various applications to perform information browsing and various processes. It is possible.

  For example, in a tablet PC, the tablet PC is held with one hand and an input operation is performed with the other hand. There is no problem if you can use both hands in this way, but you can not use one hand, for example, when you have a baggage with one hand or you are holding it on the strap of a train. Then, it becomes difficult to operate with both hands.

JP 2000-181619 A JP 2004-246920 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable information processing apparatus that can be easily operated with one hand, a pointer movement method thereof, and a computer-executable program.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a portable information processing apparatus that performs various processes by operating a pointer on a display screen provided in the apparatus body. Inclination detecting means for detecting; virtual grid forming means for forming a virtual grid on the display screen; and pointer moving means for moving the pointer on the virtual grid based on a detection result of the inclination detecting means. It is characterized by having.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, when the vibration detecting means for detecting the vibration of the apparatus main body and the vibration detecting means detect a vibration of a predetermined magnitude or more, the click processing of the pointer is performed. And clicking means to perform.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the virtual grid forming means detects a selectable object displayed on the display screen, and sets the virtual grid so as to overlap the detected selectable object. It is desirable to form.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the virtual grid forming means forms a basic pattern of a virtual grid, and then there is a selectable object displayed on the display screen that does not overlap the basic pattern. In some cases, it is desirable to add a virtual grid so as to overlap the object.

  Further, according to a preferred aspect of the present invention, the virtual grid forming means moves the pointer within a predetermined range from the current position of the pointer when the pointer moving means moves the pointer on the basic pattern of the virtual grid. When there is a selectable object that does not overlap the basic pattern, it is desirable to add a virtual grid so as to overlap the object.

  According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the selectable object displayed on the display screen includes an icon, a button, a bar, and link information.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a pointer moving method for a portable information processing apparatus that performs various processes by operating a pointer on a display screen provided in the apparatus body. The pointer is moved on the virtual grid based on a tilt detection step for detecting the tilt of the apparatus main body, a virtual grid formation step for forming a virtual grid on the display screen, and a detection result of the tilt detection means. And a pointer moving step.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a program mounted on a portable information processing apparatus that performs various processes by operating a pointer on a display screen provided in the apparatus body. The pointer is moved on the virtual grid based on the detection result of the inclination detecting means for detecting the inclination of the apparatus body, the virtual grid forming process for forming a virtual grid on the display screen, and the detection result of the inclination detecting means. And causing the computer to execute a pointer moving step.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a portable information processing apparatus that can be easily operated with one hand.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a tablet PC. FIG. 2 is a schematic AA cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the use of the tablet PC. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a hardware configuration of the tablet PC. FIG. 5 is a schematic functional configuration diagram regarding the pointer movement support of the tablet PC. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the pointer movement and click processing of the tablet PC. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the pointer movement and click processing procedure of the tablet PC. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining another example of the virtual grid. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining another example of the virtual grid. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining another example of the virtual grid.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a portable information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, a pointer movement method thereof, and a computer system to which a computer-executable program is applied will be described. Although the components of the present invention are generally illustrated in the drawings herein, it can be readily understood that they may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of configurations with various configurations. Accordingly, the following more detailed description of the apparatus, method and program embodiments of the present invention is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims, but merely to implement selected embodiments of the invention. It is intended as an example only, and is merely illustrative of selected embodiments of an apparatus, system and method consistent with the present invention as set forth in the claims herein. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details or with other methods, components, or materials.

(Embodiment)
With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the outline external appearance structure of tablet PC10 provided with the pointer movement assistance function which concerns on this Embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a front view of the tablet PC 10, FIG. 2 is a schematic AA sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG.

  The tablet PC 10 is a slate-shaped portable information processing apparatus in which a display and a touch pad are arranged on the front surface. The tablet PC 10 has a size that can be held with one hand.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the tablet PC 10 has an LCD 13 disposed on the front surface 10 a side, and a touch pad 12 disposed on the LCD 13. Various information is displayed on the LCD 13. In the tablet PC 10, a circuit board 14, an LCD 13, and a touch pad 12 are accommodated in a casing 11 that is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped. The housing 11 can be made of, for example, a synthetic resin. The touch pad 12 is a multi-touch pad that can detect a plurality of fingers at the same time. For example, the touch pad 12 includes a capacitive touch sensor and can detect a touch position (X, Y).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tablet PC 10 forms an invisible virtual grid 3 on the display screen of the LCD 13, and moves the pointer 1 on the virtual grid 3 according to the tilt of the tablet PC 10. Although the user cannot visually recognize the virtual grid 3 and can visually recognize only the pointer 1, the virtual grid 3 is visibly shown in FIG.

  The user holds the tablet PC 10 with one hand, tilts the tablet PC 10, moves the pointer 1 to a position where the pointer 1 is to be moved (for example, the position of the icon 2), and then performs a click operation (left click) by shaking the tablet PC 10. )I do. Thereby, the user can perform a desired process on the tablet PC 10 by one-handed operation.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the tablet PC 10. As shown in the figure, the PC 10 includes a CPU 101, ROM 102, memory 103, HDD (hard disk) 104, LCD 13, graphics adapter 105, input unit 20, acceleration sensor 17, USB port 106, and communication device 107. And a power supply circuit 108, and each unit is connected directly or indirectly through a bus.

  The CPU 101 controls the entire PC 1 by the OS 111 stored in the HDD 104 connected via the bus, and manages functions based on various programs stored in the HDD 104. The ROM 102 stores a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System: basic input / output system) 102a, data, and the like.

  The memory 103 is composed of a cache memory and a RAM, and is a writable memory used as a work area for writing processing data of the execution program as a read area for the execution program of the CPU 101.

  An HDD (hard disk) 104 includes an OS 111 for performing overall control of the tablet PC 10, various drivers 112 for operating peripheral devices in hardware, a pointer movement support application 113, other applications 114 directed to specific tasks, and the like Has a function of storing.

  The OS 111 controls basic operations of the tablet PC 10, manages various resources, and transmits, for example, commands generated by application programs to the driver 112, the BIOS 102a, and the like. The OS 111 also has a multitask function and a multiwindow function, and manages software resources such as an application execution context (register set, main memory image, file handle, etc. used by a certain application) and GUI parts. Do. As the OS 111, for example, Windows (registered trademark) XP, Windows (registered trademark) Vista, Windows (registered trademark) 7, Windows (registered trademark) 8, or the like can be used.

  The various drivers 112 are, for example, a touch pad driver 112a for operating the touch pad 12, a display driver 112b for displaying an image on the LCD 13, an acceleration sensor driver 112c for operating the acceleration sensor 17, and the like.

  The pointer movement support application 113 is an application program for moving the pointer displayed on the display screen of the LCD 13 and performing a click operation when the user tilts or shakes the tablet PC (device main body) 10.

  The other application 113 is an application program for executing display processing of the display screen of the LCD 13 or other processing in accordance with input instructions of the input unit 20 or the pointer movement support application 113. For example, a browser application, an e-mail application, A video playback application, a spreadsheet application, a word processor application, and the like.

  The graphics adapter 105 converts display information into a video signal under the control of the CPU 101 and outputs the converted video signal to the LCD 13. The LCD 13 has a function of displaying various information according to the control of the CPU 101. The communication device 107 is for transmitting and receiving data via a network.

  The power supply circuit 108 includes an AC adapter, an intelligent battery, a charger for charging the intelligent battery, a DC / DC converter, and the like, and supplies power to each device under the control of the CPU 101.

  The input unit 20 is a user interface for a user to perform an input operation. The user selects various menus, icons, buttons, a keyboard, and other screen objects displayed on the screen of the LCD 13 and performs an input operation. This is for performing text input operations and screen operations such as scrolling and swiping. The input unit 20 includes a touch pad 12 disposed on the front surface 10a side of the tablet PC 10. The touch pad 12 detects a touch position (X, Y) such as a finger and outputs it to the CPU 101.

  The acceleration sensor 17 detects acceleration in a total of three directions (XYZ directions) in two directions (X direction and Y direction) parallel to the display screen of the LCD 13 and perpendicular to each other (Z direction). Acceleration values Ax (t), Ay (t), and Az (t) in the XYZ directions (see FIG. 1) are output to the CPU 101 (where t is time).

  Next, pointer movement support by the tablet PC 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a schematic functional configuration diagram relating to pointer movement support of the tablet PC 10. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the pointer movement and click processing of the tablet PC 10. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the procedure of the pointer movement and click processing of the tablet PC 10. In the following description, a case where the browser application 114c is used as the other application 114 will be described.

  In FIG. 5, the OS 111, the display driver 112 b, the acceleration sensor driver 112 c, the pointer movement support application 113, and the browser application 114 c installed in the HDD 104 are read into the memory 103 and executed by the CPU 101. The OS 111 intervenes in all transmission / reception of data or commands between the application and the device driver. Here, detailed description of the processing of the OS 111 is omitted.

  The acceleration sensor 17 detects acceleration in the XYZ directions on the display screen of the LCD 13 and outputs the acceleration values Ax (t), Ay (t), Az (t) in the XYZ directions to the pointer movement support application 113. (Where t is time).

  The pointer movement support application 113 functions as a virtual grid formation unit 121, a pointer movement unit 122, a click unit 123, an inclination detection unit 124, a vibration detection unit 125, and the like.

  The virtual grid forming unit 121 forms a virtual grid on the display screen. Specifically, for example, the virtual grid forming unit 121 scans selectable objects displayed on the display screen, and forms a virtual grid so as to overlap all the scanned selectable objects. Also good. In this case, when forming the virtual grid, the virtual grid forming unit 121 first forms a basic pattern of the virtual grid, and then selects a selectable object displayed on the display screen that does not overlap the basic pattern. You may scan and add a virtual grid so that it may overlap with the said object. When adding a virtual grid, it may be added dynamically. For example, when the pointer moving unit 122 moves the pointer on the basic pattern of the virtual grid, a selectable object that does not overlap the basic pattern within a predetermined range from the current position of the pointer is scanned and overlapped with the object. You may decide to add a virtual grid. As a result, the virtual grid is not made fine and the amount of calculation can be reduced.

  Examples of selectable objects include icons, buttons, bars, link information, and the like.

  The pointer moving unit 122 displays the pointer on the display screen via the OS 111, and moves the pointer on the virtual grid according to the inclination of the apparatus main body detected by the inclination detecting unit 124.

  The click unit 123 performs a click process via the OS 111, and performs a pointer click process (left click) when the vibration detection unit 125 detects a vibration of a predetermined magnitude or more.

  The inclination detecting unit 124 calculates static acceleration (acceleration for identifying the gravity direction) based on the acceleration values Ax (t), Ay (t), and Az (t) in the XYZ directions input from the acceleration sensor 17. Then, the inclination of the apparatus main body is detected, and the inclination detection result is output to the pointer moving means 122. The vibration output means 125 calculates dynamic acceleration (acceleration that does not identify the direction of gravity) based on the acceleration values Ax (t), Ay (t), and Az (t) in the XYZ directions input from the acceleration sensor 17, When the dynamic acceleration is greater than or equal to a predetermined magnitude, that is, when the vibration is greater than or equal to a predetermined magnitude, the click means 123 is notified.

  A method for detecting the tilt and vibration of the apparatus from the static acceleration and the dynamic acceleration is well known, and detailed description thereof is omitted. In addition, the method of detecting the tilt and vibration of the device is not limited to the detection method based on the detection value of the acceleration sensor, and a detection method using another sensor or a combination of the acceleration sensor and another sensor is used. You may decide to do it.

  The outline of the procedure for assisting pointer movement by the tablet PC 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 7 according to the flowchart of FIG.

  In FIG. 6, first, after the OS 111 is activated (step S1), the pointer movement support application 113 is activated (step S2). Next, when the browser application 114c is activated (step S3), the virtual grid forming means 121 of the pointer movement support application 113 generates a virtual grid basic pattern 3A on the display screen (step S4). Specifically, a basic pattern (for example, a lattice pattern) 3A of the virtual grid 3 that matches the absolute coordinates of the physical desktop is generated.

  Next, the pointer moving means 122 of the pointer movement support application 113 moves the pointer 1 to the initial position of the virtual grid 3 (step S5). In the example shown in FIG. 7A, the basic pattern 3A of the virtual grid 3 is formed on the browser screen displayed by the browser application 114c, and the pointer 1 is displayed at the initial position (upper left).

  The inclination detection unit 124 of the pointer movement support application 113 detects the inclination of the apparatus (step S6). The pointer moving unit 122 moves the pointer 1 on the virtual grid 3 (basic pattern 3A) based on the device inclination detected by the inclination detecting unit 124 (step S7). The virtual grid forming unit 121 scans link information in a predetermined range (for example, a circle range with a radius of several tens of pixels from the current position of the pointer 1) from the current position of the pointer 1, and links that do not overlap the virtual grid 3 If information exists, a new virtual grid 3B is added so as to overlap the scan information (step S8). In the example shown in FIG. 7B, the pointer 1 is moved on the virtual grid 3, the link information in a circle range A with a radius of several tens of pixels is scanned around the current position of the pointer 1, and the virtual grid 3 is overlapped. An example is shown in which a new virtual grid 3B is added so as to overlap the scan information when there is link information that should not be included.

  When the vibration detection unit 125 of the pointer movement support application 113 detects a vibration of a predetermined magnitude or larger (“YES” in step S9), the click unit 125 of the pointer movement support application 113 performs a click process (left click) ( Step S10). That is, the user can perform a click operation by shaking the apparatus and applying a vibration having a predetermined magnitude or more. The browser application 114c displays a link destination page of link information.

  As described above, according to the pointer movement support application 113 of the present embodiment, the inclination detecting unit 124 detects the inclination of the apparatus body, and the virtual grid forming unit 121 forms a virtual grid on the display screen. Since the pointer moving means 122 moves the pointer on the virtual grid based on the detection result of the inclination detecting means 121, the user can move the pointer at high speed with a simple operation of one hand.

  The vibration detection unit 125 detects the vibration of the apparatus main body, and the click unit 123 performs the click processing of the pointer 1 when the vibration detection unit 125 detects a vibration of a predetermined magnitude or more. Therefore, the user can perform a click operation with a simple operation of shaking the apparatus.

  The virtual grid forming unit 121 forms the basic pattern 3A of the virtual grid 3, and then the pointer moving unit 122 moves the pointer 1 on the basic pattern 3A of the virtual grid 3 when the pointer 1 moves. When a selectable object that does not overlap the basic pattern 3A exists within a predetermined range from the current position, the virtual grid 3B is added so as to overlap with the object, so the virtual grid 3 is not made finer than necessary. In addition, the calculation amount can be reduced.

(Modification)
8 to 10 describe other examples of the virtual grid 3. In the example of the virtual grid 3 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 7 described above, an example in which the grids are arranged in a square is shown. However, as shown in FIG. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 9, the virtual grid 3 may have a honeycomb shape. As a result, the user can operate the pointer 1 with fewer hand movements. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 10, it is good also as a structure which changes the virtual grid 3 according to the inclination direction of a screen. In the example shown in FIG. 10, in the virtual grid 3 having a cone shape, the direction of the diagonal grid is changed according to the tilt direction of the screen, which is convenient when it is desired to move quickly in the diagonal direction.

  Although the virtual grid 3 is invisible, it may be displayed semi-transparently on the display screen. Further, the moving speed of the pointer 1 may be changed according to the speed or acceleration of tilting the apparatus.

  In the said embodiment, although tablet PC was illustrated and demonstrated, this invention is not restricted to this, It is applicable to portable information processing apparatuses, such as a smart phone and PDA.

  As described above, the portable information processing apparatus, the input method thereof, and the computer-executable program according to the present invention can be used for various apparatuses that can be held with one hand.

10 Tablet PC
11 Housing 12 Touchpad 13 LCD
14 circuit board 17 acceleration sensor 20 input unit 101 CPU
102 ROM
103 Memory 104 HDD (Hard Disk)
105 Graphics Adapter 106 USB Port 107 Communication Device 108 Power Supply Circuit
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 112 Driver 113 Pointer movement support application 121 Virtual grid formation means 122 Pointer movement means 123 Click means 124 Inclination detection means 125 Vibration detection means

Claims (8)

In a portable information processing apparatus that performs various processes by operating a pointer on a display screen provided in the apparatus body,
Inclination detecting means for detecting the inclination of the apparatus main body;
Virtual grid forming means for forming a virtual grid on the display screen;
Pointer movement means for moving the pointer on the virtual grid based on the detection result of the inclination detection means;
Bei to give a,
The virtual grid forming means includes
Detecting a selectable object displayed on the display screen, forming the virtual grid so as to overlap the detected selectable object;
When forming the virtual grid, first, a basic pattern of the virtual grid is formed, and then, if there is a selectable object displayed on the display screen that does not overlap the basic pattern, it overlaps the object. Thus, a portable information processing apparatus characterized by adding a virtual grid . further,
Vibration detecting means for detecting vibration of the apparatus body;
A click unit that performs a click process of the pointer when the vibration detection unit detects a vibration of a predetermined magnitude or more;
The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The virtual grid forming means is a selectable object that does not overlap the basic pattern within a predetermined range from the current position of the pointer when the pointer moving means moves the pointer on the basic pattern of the virtual grid. 3. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a virtual grid is added so as to overlap with the object when the object exists. The portable information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the selectable objects displayed on the display screen include icons, buttons, bars, and link information. . In a pointer moving method of a portable information processing apparatus that performs various processes by operating a pointer on a display screen provided in the apparatus main body,
An inclination detection step of detecting an inclination of the apparatus body;
A virtual grid forming step of forming a virtual grid on the display screen;
A pointer moving step of moving the pointer on the virtual grid based on the detection result of the inclination detecting means;
Only including,
In the virtual grid formation step,
Detecting a selectable object displayed on the display screen, forming the virtual grid so as to overlap the detected selectable object;
When forming the virtual grid, first, a basic pattern of the virtual grid is formed, and then, if there is a selectable object displayed on the display screen that does not overlap the basic pattern, it overlaps the object. A pointer moving method characterized by adding a virtual grid . In the virtual grid forming step, when the pointer is moved on the basic pattern of the virtual grid in the pointer moving step, a selectable object that does not overlap the basic pattern within a predetermined range from the current position of the pointer The pointer moving method according to claim 5, wherein a virtual grid is added so as to overlap with the object when the object exists. In a program installed in a portable information processing apparatus that performs various processes by operating a pointer on a display screen provided in the apparatus main body,
An inclination detection step of detecting an inclination of the apparatus body;
A virtual grid forming step of forming a virtual grid on the display screen;
A pointer moving step of moving the pointer on the virtual grid based on the detection result of the inclination detecting means;
To the computer ,
In the virtual grid formation step,
Detecting a selectable object displayed on the display screen, forming the virtual grid so as to overlap the detected selectable object;
When forming the virtual grid, first, a basic pattern of the virtual grid is formed, and then, if there is a selectable object displayed on the display screen that does not overlap the basic pattern, it overlaps the object. A computer-executable program characterized by adding a virtual grid as described above . In the virtual grid forming step, when the pointer is moved on the basic pattern of the virtual grid in the pointer moving step, a selectable object that does not overlap the basic pattern within a predetermined range from the current position of the pointer The computer-executable program according to claim 7, further comprising: adding a virtual grid so as to overlap with the object when the object exists.

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