JP6575613B2 - User interface device, operation unit, connection device, command specifying method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a user interface device, an operation unit, a connection device, a command specifying method, and a program.

  A user interface device using a ring type (ring type) pointing device provided with a small touchpad has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The user can move the cursor on the display screen of the display device of the personal computer by sliding the tip of the thumb on the touch pad while wearing the pointing device on the index finger of one hand.

JP 2006-302204 A

  By the way, this type of user interface device is required to be able to perform not only a cursor movement operation but also a scroll operation and a drag operation. In this case, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to perform an operation for switching a command assigned to an operation on the pointing device from a cursor movement operation to a scroll operation or a drag operation. In this case, the user needs to perform a switching operation every time the cursor movement operation is changed to the scroll operation or the drag operation, and the operation may be complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above reasons, and an object thereof is to provide a user interface device, an operation unit, a connection device, a command specifying method, and a program excellent in operability.

In order to achieve the above object, a user interface device according to the present invention provides:
A plurality of operation units that send operation information indicating operation contents when operated by a user;
Based on a combination of operation information acquired from all of the plurality of operation units or a combination of history of the operation information, a specifying unit that specifies a command to be executed by the information processing device;
And the command table, a Bei example,
By operating the plurality of operation units, a command different from the command specified when one of the plurality of operation units is operated by a user is specified,
The specifying unit is configured to execute a command different from a command corresponding only to the operation information history of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units. Identify,
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A movement detecting unit for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of at least a part of the user's body;
A pressing unit pressed by the user,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating the transition of the pressed information,
The command table includes a transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information. Associate multiple commands that contain it .

Further, the user interface device according to the present invention includes:
A flag storage unit that stores a click flag that is updated to one of a first value, a second value, a third value, and a fourth value according to a duration of a state in which the pressing unit is pressed;
When the pressing part is pressed, the click flag is changed from the first value to the second value, and when the duration of the state where the pressing part is pressed is equal to or greater than a first duration threshold, the click flag Is changed from the second value to the third value, and the duration of the state in which the pressing unit is pressed becomes equal to or longer than a second duration threshold that is longer than the first duration threshold, the click flag is changed to And a flag management unit that changes from three values to the fourth value.

Further, the user interface device according to the present invention includes:
The flag management unit further sets the click flag from the fourth value to the first when the duration of the state in which the pressing unit is pressed is equal to or longer than a third duration threshold that is longer than the second duration threshold. It may be changed to a value.

Further, the user interface device according to the present invention includes:
The movement detection unit includes a tracking sensor having a touch surface,
The pressing portion has a push switch,
The operation unit is
A main body having a cylindrical outer shape;
The movement detection unit is disposed such that the touch surface is exposed on a peripheral surface of the main body unit,
The pressing unit may be arranged to face the side opposite to the touch surface side in the movement detection unit.

Further, the user interface device according to the present invention includes:
The push switch may include a pressure sensitive element.

Further, the user interface device according to the present invention includes:
The operation unit has a touch surface, a tracking unit that tracks a part of the user's body that contacts the touch surface, and a pressure-sensitive unit that detects pressure when the user presses the touch surface. Having a pressure-sensitive tracking sensor,
The movement detection unit includes the tracking unit;
The pressing unit may include the pressure sensitive unit.

Further, the user interface device according to the present invention includes:
An input device further comprising: a plurality of mounting portions to which the plurality of operating portions are detachably mounted; and a plurality of first power connectors for supplying power to the plurality of operating portions;
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A power storage unit;
A second power connector connected to the first power connector in a state of being mounted on the mounting portion;
A power circuit that charges the power storage unit with power supplied to the second power connector,
The input device is:
In a state where the operation unit is mounted on the mounting unit, the power circuit is charged with the power storage unit by supplying power to the power circuit via the first power connector and the second power connector. It may be a thing.

Further, the user interface device according to the present invention includes:
A touch panel,
The plurality of operation units may be configured by a plurality of areas set on the touch panel.

Further, the operation unit according to the present invention includes:
When operated by a user, the operation unit is one of a plurality of operation units that send out operation information indicating operation contents,
Based on a combination of a combination or a history of the operation information of all the operating information of the plurality of operation portions, possess a specifying unit configured to specify a command to be executed by the information processing apparatus, a command table, and
By operating the plurality of operation units, a command different from the command specified when one of the plurality of operation units is operated by a user is specified,
The specifying unit is configured to execute a command different from a command corresponding only to the operation information history of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units. Identify,
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A movement detecting unit for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of at least a part of the user's body;
A pressing unit pressed by the user,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating the transition of the pressed information,
The command table includes a transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information. Associate multiple commands that contain it .

Moreover, the connection device according to the present invention includes:
A command to be executed by the information processing device is specified based on a combination of operation information acquired from all of a plurality of operation units that transmit operation information indicating operation contents when operated by a user or a combination of the history of the operation information a specifying unit that, the command table, was perforated,
By operating the plurality of operation units, a command different from the command specified when one of the plurality of operation units is operated by a user is specified,
The specifying unit is configured to execute a command different from a command corresponding only to the operation information history of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units. Identify,
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A movement detecting unit for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of at least a part of the user's body;
A pressing unit pressed by the user,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating the transition of the pressed information,
The command table includes a transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information. Associate multiple commands that contain it .

Further, the command specifying method according to the present invention includes:
Operation information indicating the operation content by the user acquired from all of a plurality of operation units having a movement detection unit that detects a movement speed and a movement direction of at least a part of the user's body and a pressing unit pressed by the user. Or a command specifying method for specifying a command to be executed by the information processing device based on a combination of the history of operation information ,
A plurality of commands including a history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information A command corresponding to only the history of operation information of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on the combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units A different command is identified,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating transition of the pressed information .

The program according to the present invention is
Computer
Information processing apparatus based on a combination of operation information indicating operation contents acquired from all of a plurality of operation units which send operation information indicating operation contents to the information processing apparatus when operated by a user or a combination of history of the operation information A specific part that identifies the command to be executed in
Command table,
A program that functions as
By operating the plurality of operation units, a command different from the command specified when one of the plurality of operation units is operated by a user is specified,
The specifying unit is configured to execute a command different from a command corresponding only to the operation information history of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units. Identify,
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A movement detecting unit for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of at least a part of the user's body;
A pressing unit pressed by the user,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating the transition of the pressed information,
The command table includes a transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information. Associate multiple commands that contain it .

  In the user interface device according to the present invention, the specifying unit specifies a command based on a combination of operation information indicating operation contents acquired from all of the plurality of operation units or a combination of operation information histories. Thereby, the specifying unit can specify a command from a plurality of types of commands corresponding to the number of combinations of operation information of each of the plurality of operation units or the combination of history of operation information. That is, since the specifying unit can specify more commands than the number of commands that can be specified by only one operation unit, the user can perform an operation for switching the command assigned to each operation on the operation unit to another command. The frequency of performing is reduced. Thus, the user interface device according to the present invention is superior in operability as compared to a user interface device including only one operation unit.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information processing system including a user interface device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 3 is a perspective view of an operation unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an information processing system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the contents of a command table according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of command specifying processing executed by the control unit of the connection device according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of a click flag determination process executed by a control unit of the connection device according to the first embodiment. 6 is a time chart illustrating an example of a transition history when it is determined that there is no operation according to the first embodiment. 6 is a time chart illustrating an example of a transition history when it is determined that there is a click operation according to the first embodiment. 6 is a time chart showing an example of a transition history when it is determined that the state is a press lock (long press) state according to the first embodiment. 6 is a time chart illustrating an example of a transition history when it is determined to forcibly release the press-lock state according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a flow of automatic press lock release processing executed by the control unit of the connection device according to the first embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. 3 is a block diagram of an information processing system according to Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention. 10 is a block diagram of an information processing system according to Embodiment 3. FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of PC provided with the user interface apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4 of this invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a PC according to a fourth embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of command specifying processing executed by a control unit of a PC according to Embodiment 4; It is a block diagram of an information processing system provided with the operation part concerning a modification. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the command specific process which the control part of the operation part which concerns on a modification performs. It is a schematic block diagram of the operation part which concerns on a modification. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface device which concerns on a modification. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface device which concerns on a modification. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface device which concerns on a modification. It is a block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface device concerning a modification. It is a schematic block diagram of PC provided with the user interface apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the command specific process which the control part of the connection apparatus which concerns on a modification performs. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface device which concerns on a modification. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface device which concerns on a modification. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface device which concerns on a modification. It is a schematic block diagram of an information processing system provided with the user interface device which concerns on a modification. It is a perspective view of the operation part which concerns on a modification. It is a perspective view when the operation part which concerns on a modification is seen from the direction different from FIG. 28A.

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

(Embodiment 1)
As shown in FIG. 1A, the information processing system according to the first embodiment includes two ring type (ring type) operation units 11A and 11B, a connection device 12, and a personal computer (PC) 16. Each operation part 11A, 11B is used in a state of being fitted to the index finger of the left hand LH and the index finger of the right hand RH, respectively. The user can perform an operation of moving the cursor image displayed on the screen 15a of the display device 15 or a scroll operation by operating the operation units 11A and 11B. The user can also input character information to the PC 16 using the keyboard 17. Each operation unit 11 </ b> A, 11 </ b> B communicates wirelessly with the connection device 12, and sends operation information indicating operation content to the connection device 12 when operated by the user. Accordingly, the user can input information to the PC 16 using the operation units 11A and 11B.

  As shown in FIG. 1B, the operation units 11A and 11B include main body units 111A and 111B, tracking sensors (movement detection units) 112A and 112B, and push switches 113A and 113B. In the following description, it is assumed that the operation unit 11A includes only the configuration of the subscript A, and the operation unit 11B includes only the configuration of the subscript B. The main body portions 111A and 111B have a cylindrical shape and are sized so that the user's index finger can be inserted inside. The tracking sensors 112A and 112B are configured by optical tracking sensors using an image sensor, and are arranged such that the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B are exposed on the peripheral surfaces of the main body portions 111A and 111B. The tracking sensors 112A and 112B start tracking when the tip of the finger touches the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B, and end tracking when the tip of the finger leaves the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B.

  The tracking sensors 112A and 112B detect the amount and direction of movement of the thumb tip when the user slides the tip of the thumb on the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B. The push switches 113A and 113B are composed of pressure sensitive elements. The push switches 113A and 113B are disposed opposite to the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B side of the tracking sensors 112A and 112B. Then, when the user pushes in the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B, the portions on the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B in the tracking sensors 112A and 112B come into pressure contact with the pressure sensitive parts of the push switches 113A and 113B, and the push switches 113A and 113B are pressed. Hereinafter, an operation unit appropriately fitted to the index finger of the user's left hand LH will be referred to as a “left operation unit”, and an operation unit fitted to the index finger of the user's right hand RH will be referred to as a “right operation unit”. When the user places the tip of the thumb on the tracking sensors 112A and 112B and slides the tip of the thumb, the tracking sensors 112A and 112B execute tracking of the tip of the thumb.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the operation units 11A and 11B further include microcomputers 110A and 110B and wireless communication units 116A and 116B. The microcomputers 110A and 110B and the wireless communication units 116A and 116B are built in the main body units 111A and 111B. The wireless communication units 116A and 116B have a modem function and a wireless communication function, and transmit the operation information input from the control units 114A and 114B to the connection device 12 as a radio signal and receive the operation information from the connection device 12 as a radio signal. Information is output to the control units 114A and 114B. The wireless communication units 116 </ b> A and 116 </ b> B perform wireless communication with the connection device 12 by a communication method according to a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark).

  The microcomputers 110A and 110B include control units 114A and 114B, RAMs (Random Access Memory) 115A and 115B, ROMs (Read Only Memory) 119A and 119B, and input / output units (not shown). The RAMs 115A and 115B store movement speed information indicating movement speed and movement direction information indicating movement direction, which are generated from signals input from the tracking sensors 112A and 112B. Further, the RAMs 115A and 115B store a push flag (press information) indicating whether or not the push switches 113A and 113B are pressed. Further, the RAMs 115A and 115B are also used as work areas for the control units 114A and 114B. The ROMs 119A and 119B store programs executed by the control units 114A and 114B.

  The control units 114A and 114B have a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and the CPU reads the programs from the ROMs 119A and 119B into the RAMs 115A and 115B and executes them, whereby the operation reading units 1141A and 1141B and the communication control units 1142A and 1142B are obtained. Function. The operation reading units 1141A and 1141B convert the signals input from the tracking sensors 112A and 112B into movement speed information and movement direction information and store them in the RAMs 115A and 115B. In addition, the operation reading units 1141A and 1141B convert to pressing flag information according to signals input from the push switches 113A and 113B and store them in the RAMs 115A and 115B. The communication control units 1142A and 1142B add the information of the transmission source and the transmission destination to the moving speed information, the moving direction information, and the press flag information, and output the information to the wireless communication units 116A and 116B.

  The PC 16 includes a processing unit 161, a storage unit 162, a display interface 163, and two USB (Universal Serial Interface) interfaces 164 and 165. The display interface 163 is a serial interface and is connected to the display device 15. The display device 15 includes a display. The USB interface 164 is connected to the keyboard 17. The USB interface 165 is connected to the connection device 12.

  The connection device 12 includes a control unit 121, a RAM 122a, a ROM 122b, a USB interface 123, and a wireless communication unit 124. The USB interface 123 is connected to the USB interface 165 of the PC 16.

  The wireless communication unit 124 has a modem function and a wireless communication function, and transmits information input from the control unit 121 to the operation units 11A and 11B as a radio signal and information received as a radio signal from the operation units 11A and 11B. Is output to the control unit 121. The wireless communication unit 124 performs wireless communication with the operation units 11A and 11B by a communication method according to a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark).

  The RAM 122 a includes a flag storage unit 1221, a transition history storage unit 1222, a movement information storage unit 1223, and a command storage unit 1224. The movement information storage unit 1223 separately stores the movement speed information and movement direction information received from the left operation unit 11A and the movement speed information and movement direction information received from the right operation unit 11B. The ROM 122b has a table storage unit 1225. The ROM 122b stores a program executed by the control unit 121. The table storage unit 1225 may be provided in the RAM 122a when the control unit 121 reads the program from the ROM 122b into the RAM 122a and executes the program.

  The flag storage unit 1221 stores a pressing flag indicating whether or not the push switches 113A and 113B of the operation units 11A and 11B are pressed. The flag storage unit 1221 stores the current pressing flag and the previous pressing flag of the operation units 11A and 11B separately. Here, the “current pressing flag” is set to the same content as the pressing flag included in the operation information newly received from the operation units 11A and 11B. Further, the “previous press flag” is set to the same content as the press flag included in the most recent operation information among the operation information received in the past from the time when the operation information is newly received from the operation units 11A and 11B. Has been. In addition, the flag storage unit 1221 selects “FC0” (first value), “FC3” (first) according to whether or not the push switches 113A and 113B are pressed and the length of time the push switches are pressed. A click flag updated to any one of (binary), “FC2” (third value), and “FC1” (fourth value) is stored.

  The transition history storage unit 1222 stores a history of state transition of the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A and a history of state transition of the push switch 113B of the right operation unit 11B. The transition history storage unit 1222 is not pressed with transition information “D” indicating the transition to the pressed state of the push switches 113A and 113B and transition information “P” indicating that the push switch 113A is maintained in the pressed state. Transition information “U” indicating a transition to a state and transition information “N” indicating that the state is not pressed are stored. The transition history storage unit 1222 stores the transition information “D”, the transition information “P”, the transition information “U”, and the transition information “N” in time series according to the state transition history of the push switches 113A and 113B. ing. In addition, the transition history storage unit 1222 stores a history of state transitions of the push switches 113A and 113B of the operation units 11A and 11B. When the push transition flag of the left operation unit 11A is set to the transition information “D” or the transition information “P”, the connection device 12 causes the user to perform a drag operation by operating the tracking sensor 112B of the right operation unit 11B. Operates in "drag mode" that can.

  When the push transition flag of the right operation unit 11B is set to the transition information “D” or the transition information “P”, the connecting device 12 performs a scroll operation by the user operating the tracking sensor 112A of the left operation unit 11A. Operates in “scroll mode” where possible. When the push transition flag of the left operation unit 11A is set to the transition information “D” or the transition information “P”, the connection device 12 operates the tracking sensor 112A of the left operation unit 11A to perform the enlargement / reduction operation. It operates in "enlargement / reduction mode" that can be performed. Note that even when the control key (Ctl key) on the keyboard 17 is pressed and the scroll key is operated, the screen displayed on the display unit 15 can be enlarged or reduced.

  The command storage unit 1224 stores the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 described later.

  The table storage unit 1225 stores a command table TA1 as shown in FIG. The command table TA1 is executed by the PC 16 with the presence or absence of the pressing operation of the left operation unit 11A and the presence or absence of the sliding operation with the tracking sensor 112A, the presence or absence of the pressing operation with the right operation unit 11B and the presence or absence of the sliding operation with the tracking sensor 112B. Are associated with each other. “Presence / absence of slide operation” is determined based on the amount of movement of the tip of the user's thumb detected by the tracking sensors 112A and 112B. Further, “with pressing operation” corresponds to the transition information being “D”, “P”, or “U”, and “without pressing operation” is that the transition information is “N”. Equivalent to.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the control unit 121 functions as an acquisition unit 1211, a flag management unit 1212, a specification unit 1213, a command transmission unit 1214, and a timing unit 1215 when the CPU reads a program from the ROM 122 b into the RAM 122 a and executes it. . Here, the control unit 121, the RAM 122a, and the ROM 122b constitute an input interface 1210 that acquires a pressing flag, movement speed information, and movement direction information from the operation units 11A and 11B. The connection device 12 including the input interface 1210 and the wireless communication unit 124 and the two operation units 11A and 11B constitute the user interface device 1.

  The acquisition unit 1211 extracts movement speed information and movement direction information from the operation information acquired from the operation units 11A and 11B, and stores the extracted information in the movement information storage unit 1223. The flag management unit 1212 extracts information indicating the content of the push flag from the operation information acquired by the acquisition unit 1211 and corresponds to each of the left operation unit 11A and the right operation unit 11B stored in the flag storage unit 1221 according to the information. Set the contents of the push flag to be used. Further, the flag management unit 1212 sets the content of the transition information stored in the transition history storage unit 1222 based on the history of the press flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221. Furthermore, the flag management unit 1212 sets the contents of a click flag, which will be described later, based on the transition information stored in the transition history storage unit 1222.

  The identification unit 1213 identifies the command transmitted by the command transmission unit 1214 based on the transition information stored in the transition history storage unit 1222. At this time, the specifying unit 1213 refers to the command table stored in the table storage unit 1225. When the specifying unit 1213 determines that the movement amount indicated by the moving speed information for each of the operation units 11A and 11B is not 0, the determination unit 1213 determines that “there is a slide operation” for each of the operation units 11A and 11B. On the other hand, when it is determined that the movement speed indicated by the movement speed information for each of the operation units 11A and 11B is 0, the specifying unit 1213 determines that there is no slide operation for each of the operation units 11A and 11B. Further, the specifying unit 1213 stores the specified command in the command storage unit 1224.

  The command transmission unit 1214 acquires the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 from the command storage unit 1224 and transmits the command to the PC 16. Examples of the command include various commands as shown in FIG. It is assumed that the command transmission unit 1214 transmits a “fast cursor movement” command to the PC 16. In this case, the command includes information indicating the sum of movement speeds detected by both the tracking sensors 112A and 112B indicated by the movement speed information acquired by the acquisition unit 1211 from both the operation units 11A and 11B. When the processing unit 161 of the PC 16 receives the command, the processing unit 161 on the screen 15a of the display device 15 responds to the value of the function using the moving speed detected by both the tracking sensors 112A and 112B included in the command as a parameter. Execute the cursor movement process.

  Also, when the command transmission unit 1214 transmits the “high-speed scroll” and “high-speed drag” commands to the PC 16, the command includes tracking indicated by the moving speed information acquired by the acquisition unit 1211 from both the operation units 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B. Information indicating the sum of the moving speeds detected by both the sensors 112A and 112B is included. Then, the processing unit 161 of the PC 16 determines the cursor on the screen 15a of the display device 15 according to the value of the function using the moving speed detected by both the tracking sensor 112A and the tracking sensor 112B included in the command as a parameter. Execute the move process.

  By having the commands “high-speed cursor movement”, “high-speed scroll”, and “high-speed drag” in this way, the cursor movement speed, scroll speed, and drag speed can be increased. Accordingly, by coordinating operations on the two operation units 11A and 11B, the range of cursor movement, the range of scrolling, and the range that can be specified by dragging can be increased.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the timing unit 1215 notifies the acquisition unit 1211 of the arrival information when the operation information acquisition time, which is the time when the acquisition unit 1211 should acquire the operation information from the operation units 11A and 11B, has arrived. The time when the acquisition unit 1211 should acquire the operation information from the operation units 11A and 11B by the operation units 11A and 11B is set in advance.

  Next, a command specifying process, a click flag determining process, and a press lock automatic releasing process executed by the control unit 121 of the connection device 12 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The click flag determination process and the press lock automatic release process are called during the command specifying process. The command specifying process is started when the connection device 12 is powered on. First, the command specifying process will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, the time measuring unit 1215 determines whether or not the operation information acquisition time, which is the time when the acquisition unit 1211 should acquire operation information from the operation units 11A and 11B, has arrived (step S101). . This operation information acquisition time can be set to arrive at intervals of 2 msec. When the operation information acquisition time has not come (step S101: No), the time measuring unit 1215 repeatedly executes the process of step S101. On the other hand, when it is determined by the time measuring unit 1215 that the operation information acquisition time has come (step S101: Yes), the acquisition unit 1211 determines whether operation information has been received from the operation units 11A and 11B (step S102). ). When the acquisition unit 1211 has not received the operation information (step S102: No), the process of step S101 is executed again. On the other hand, when the acquisition unit 1211 receives the operation information (step S102: Yes), first, the movement information storage unit stores the movement speed information and the movement direction information of the left operation unit 11A included in the operation information of the left operation unit 11A. It is stored in 1223 (step S103).

  Subsequently, the flag management unit 1212 determines whether or not the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A is pressed with reference to information indicating the content of the push flag included in the operation information of the left operation unit 11A ( Step S104). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A is pressed (step S104: Yes), the current left operation unit 11A press flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “F1”. Setting is performed (step S105). On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A is not pressed (step S104: No), the current flag of the left operation unit 11A is set to “F0” (step 106). ). In the processing of steps S105 and S106, the flag management unit 1212 determines the content of the current pressing flag after updating the content of the previous pressing flag to the same content as the current pressing flag at that time. Update based on results.

  Thereafter, the flag management unit 1212 compares the content of the previous pressing flag with the content of the current pressing flag for the left operation unit 11A, and determines whether or not the pressing flag has changed from “F0” to “F1”. Determination is made (step S107). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the pressing flag has changed from “F0” to “F1” (step S107: Yes), the transition information “D” is added to the state transition history of the left operation unit 11A of the transition history storage unit 1222. After the addition (step S108), the process of step S114 described later is executed.

  On the other hand, it is assumed that the flag management unit 1212 determines that the pressing flag of the left operation unit 11A has not changed from “F0” to “F1” (step S107: No). In this case, the flag management unit 1212 determines whether or not the pressing flag is maintained at “F1” for the left operation unit 11A (step S109). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the pressing flag is maintained at “F1” (step S109: Yes), it adds the transition information “P” to the state transition history of the left operation unit 11A of the transition history storage unit 1222. (Step S110), the process of Step S114 described later is executed.

  On the other hand, it is assumed that the flag management unit 1212 determines that the pressing flag of the left operation unit 11A is not maintained at “F1” (step S109: No). In this case, the flag management unit 1212 determines whether or not the pressing flag has changed from “F1” to “F0” for the left operation unit 11A (step S111). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the push flag has changed from “F1” to “F0” (step S111: Yes), the transition information “U” is added to the state transition history of the left operation unit 11A of the transition history storage unit 1222. After the addition (step S112), the process of step S114 described later is executed.

  On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the pressing flag of the left operation unit 11A has not changed from “F1” to “F0” (step S111: No), the state of the left operation unit 11A of the transition history storage unit 1222 Transition information “N” is added to the transition history (step S113).

  Next, the right operation unit 11B determines whether or not generation of transition information by the series of processes from step S104 to step S113 is completed (step S114). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the generation of the transition information has not been completed for the right operation unit 11B (step S114: No), the flag management unit 1212 performs a series of processes from step S104 to step S113 for the right operation unit 11B.

  On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the generation of the transition information has been completed for the right operation unit 11B (step S114: Yes), the specifying unit 1213 refers to the command table TA1 as illustrated in FIG. Based on the latest transition information, movement speed information, and movement direction information, the command transmission unit 1214 specifies a command to be executed (step S115).

  Subsequently, the flag management unit 1212 refers to the command storage unit 1224 and determines whether or not the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 is a “left click” command (step S116). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the command is a “left click” command (step S116: Yes), a click flag determination process described later is executed (step S117), and then a process of step S118 described later is executed. .

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the command is not the “left click” command (step S116: No), the flag management unit 1212 determines whether the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 is a “no operation” command (step S119). ). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the command is “no operation” (step S119: Yes), a press lock automatic release process described later is executed (step S120), and then a process of step S118 described later is executed. The

  On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the command is not “no operation” (step S119: No), the command transmission unit 1214 transmits the command specified by the specification unit 1213 to the PC 16 (step S118). In the PC 16, when the processing unit 161 receives the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 from the connection device 12, the received command is executed.

  Next, the click flag determination process executed by the connection device 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6A to 6D. When the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 is determined to be a “left click” command in step S116 described above, the flag management unit 1212 refers to the transition information history of the operation units 11A and 11B of the transition history storage unit 1222. Then, it is determined whether or not the latest transition information is “D” (step S122). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the latest transition information is not “D” (step S122: No), the flag management unit 1212 executes a process of step S124 described later. On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the latest transition information is “D” (step S122: Yes), it sets the click flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221 to “FC3” (step S123). Thereafter, the process of step S136 described later is executed.

  In step S <b> 124, the flag management unit 1212 refers to the transition information history of the operation units 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B of the transition history storage unit 1222 and determines whether or not the latest transition information is “U”. If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the latest transition information is not “U” (step S124: No), the flag management unit 1212 executes a process of step S127 described later. On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the latest transition information is “U” (step S124: Yes), the flag management unit 1212 determines whether the click flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “FC1”. (Step S125). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the click flag is set to “FC1” (step S125: Yes), a process of step S136 described later is executed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the click flag is set to other than “FC1” (step S125: No), the flag management unit 1212 sets the click flag to “FC0” (step S126). Thereafter, the process of step S136 described later is executed.

  In step S127, the flag management unit 1212 refers to the transition information history of the operation units 11A and 11B of the transition history storage unit 1222, and determines whether or not the latest transition information is “P”. When the flag management unit 1212 determines that the latest transition information is not “P” (step S127: No), a process of step S136 described later is executed. On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the latest transition information is “P” (step S127: Yes), the flag management unit 1212 determines whether the click flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “FC3”. (Step S128).

  If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the click flag is set to “FC3” (step S128: Yes), is the duration of the latest transition information “P” equal to or greater than the preset first duration It is determined whether or not (step S129). This first duration can be set to 50 msec. If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the duration of the latest transition information “P” is less than the preset first duration threshold (step S129: No), the processing of step S136 described later is performed as it is. The

  On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the duration of the latest transition information “P” is equal to or greater than a preset first duration threshold (step S129: Yes), the flag is set to “FC2”. Setting is performed (step S130). Thereafter, the process of step S136 described later is executed.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6A, the flag management unit 1212 determines that there is no click operation when the duration ΔT of the latest transition information “P” is shorter than the preset first duration threshold ΔTth1. The content of the click flag is maintained at “FC3”. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, the flag management unit 1212 determines that there is a click operation when the duration ΔT of the latest transition information “P” is longer than a preset first duration threshold ΔTth1. Determine and set the click flag to “FC2”.

  Returning to FIG. 5, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the click flag is not set to “FC3” (step S128: No), the click flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “FC2”. It is determined whether or not there is (step S131).

  When the flag management unit 1212 determines that the click flag is set to “FC2” (step S131: Yes), the flag management unit 1212 determines whether the duration of the transition information “P” is equal to or greater than the second duration threshold. (Step S132). The second duration is set to be longer than the first duration. This first duration can be set to 1000-2000 msec. If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the duration of the transition information “P” is less than the second duration threshold (step S132: No), the processing of step S136 described later is executed as it is. On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the duration of the transition information “P” is greater than or equal to the second duration threshold (step S132: Yes), the flag flag of the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “FC1” ( Step S133). Thereafter, the process of step S136 described later is executed.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6C, when the duration ΔT of the latest transition information “P” is longer than the preset second duration threshold ΔTth2, as shown in FIG. The state is determined and the click flag is set to “FC1”.

  Returning to FIG. 5, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the click flag is not set to “FC2” (step S131: No), the command transmission unit 1214 displays the click flag indicating the content of the click flag. Information is transmitted to the PC 16 (step S136). Thereafter, the process returns to the command specifying process again.

  Next, press lock automatic release processing executed by the connecting device 12 will be described with reference to FIG. If the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 is determined to be a “no operation” command in step S119, the flag management unit 1212 determines whether the click flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “FC1”. Is determined (step S141). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the click flag is set to other than “FC1” (step S141: No), the process directly returns to the command specifying process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the click flag is set to “FC1” (step S141: Yes), it is determined whether or not the duration of the transition information “P” is equal to or greater than the third duration threshold (step S141). S142). The third duration time is set to a time longer than the second duration time. This third duration can be set to 1 min. If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the duration of the transition information “P” is less than the third duration threshold (step S142: No), the process directly returns to the command identification process. On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the duration of the transition information “P” is greater than or equal to the third duration threshold (step S142: Yes), the flag flag of the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “FC0” ( Step S143). Thereafter, the process returns to the command specifying process.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6D, the flag management unit 1212 sets a third duration that is set in advance while the duration ΔT of the latest transition information “P” is set to the click flag “FC1”. If it is longer than the threshold value ΔTth3, it is determined that the press lock (long press) state is forcibly released, and the click flag is set to “FC0”.

  Next, a method for using this user interface will be described. Here, a case where the table storage unit 1225 stores a command table TA1 as shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

[Drag + Copy operation]
The user can perform a drag operation by operating the tracking sensor 112B of the right operation unit 11B while pressing the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A. When ending the drag operation mode, the user releases the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A (corresponding to the transition information “U”). When copying the area designated by the drag operation, the user first presses the push switches 113A and 113B of both operation units 11A and 11B simultaneously to display the selection menu on the screen 15a. Next, the user operates any of the tracking sensors 112A and 112B of the operation units 11A and 11B to move the cursor within the selection menu, and aligns the cursor with “copy” of the selection menu. Thereafter, when the user presses one of the push switches 113A and 113B of the operation units 11A and 11B, the copy of the area designated by the drag operation is executed.

[Scroll operation]
The user can perform a scroll operation only by operating the tracking sensor 112B of the right operation unit 11B. Note that the user can also perform a scroll operation by operating the tracking sensor 112A of the left operation unit 11A while pressing the push switch 113B of the right operation unit 11B. Further, when ending the scroll operation mode, the user releases the push switch 113B of the right operation unit 11B (corresponding to the transition information “U”).

[Zoom operation]
The user can perform an enlargement / reduction operation by operating the tracking sensor 112A of the left operation unit 11A while pressing the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A once. Note that the user can perform enlargement / reduction even when the user operates in the scroll mode while holding down the Ctl key of the keyboard 17. When ending the enlargement / reduction operation mode, the user opens the tracking sensor 112A of the left operation unit 11A (corresponding to the transition information “U”).

[High-speed cursor movement operation]
It is assumed that the user slides the tip of the thumb on the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B of the tracking sensors 112A and 112B of both operation units 11A and 11B. In this case, the moving speed of the cursor displayed on the screen 15a is increased according to the sum of the moving speeds detected by both the tracking sensors 112A and 112B. The moving speed and moving direction of the cursor are the speed and direction obtained by vector synthesis for the speed and direction indicated by the moving speed information and moving direction information obtained from both tracking sensors 112A and 112B. Then, the cursor can be moved at a higher speed than in the case where the operation of moving the cursor is performed independently by either the left operation unit 11A or the right operation unit 11B. The moving speed of the cursor is not limited to the speed obtained by vector synthesis, but may be any speed determined by the value of the function using the speed indicated by the moving speed information obtained from both tracking sensors 112A and 112B as a parameter. The speed obtained by this method may be used.

  As described above, in the user interface device according to the present embodiment, the specifying unit 1213 specifies a command corresponding to the operation information transition history of each of the two operation units 11A and 11B. Thereby, the specifying unit 1213 can specify a command from a plurality of types of commands corresponding to the number of combinations of the push flag transition information and the slide operation presence / absence of the two operation units 11A and 11B. That is, since the specifying unit 1213 can specify a larger number of commands than the number of commands that can be specified by only one operation unit, the user assigns a command assigned to each operation to the operation units 11A and 11B to another command. The frequency of performing the operation for switching is reduced. Thus, the user interface device according to the present embodiment is superior in operability compared to a user interface device that includes only one operation unit.

  Further, in the user interface device according to the present embodiment, in the command table TA1, the transition information of the pressing flag of each of the two operation units 11A and 11B, the presence / absence of the slide operation, and the command executed by the PC 16 are associated with each other. Yes. Then, the specifying unit 1213 specifies the command corresponding to the transition information of the pressing flag of each of the two operation units 11A and 11B and the presence / absence of the slide operation with reference to the command table TA1. Accordingly, the user can relatively easily switch the command assigned to each combination of operations on the operation units 11A and 11B to another command simply by updating the contents of the command table TA1.

  In addition, the command table TA1 according to the present embodiment associates the pressing flag transition information of each of the two operation units 11A and 11B and the presence / absence of a slide operation with a plurality of commands including a cursor movement operation and a scroll operation. Yes. As a result, it is possible to register a command that is a multiple of 5 of the number of different commands that can be registered in the case of a user interface device having only one operation unit.

  In a user interface device including only one operation unit, when the number of necessary commands is 4 or more and less than 16, the user performs an operation for switching a command assigned to each operation to the operation units 11A and 11B to another command. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a switching unit. On the other hand, according to the user interface device according to the present embodiment, in such a case, since it is not necessary to provide the switching unit as described above, compared to a user interface device having only one operation unit, There is an advantage that the hardware configuration and functional configuration can be simplified.

  Furthermore, the flag management unit 1212 according to the present embodiment recognizes the click as “click” from “FC3” when the duration in which the push switches 113A and 113B are pressed is equal to or greater than the first duration threshold. Change to “FC2”. On the other hand, the flag management unit 1212 does not recognize the click and updates the click flag from “FC3” to “FC0” when the duration of the state in which the push switches 113A and 113B are pressed is less than the first duration threshold. To do. Thereby, for example, when the user presses the push switches 113A and 113B without intending the click operation, the click operation can be prevented from being performed. For example, when the user performs an operation of specifying and moving the icon displayed on the screen 15a, it is possible to avoid the icon being clicked alone.

  By the way, there is provided a user interface device including a finger cap, a switch provided inside the finger cap, and a trackball provided outside the finger cap, and a pointing device that can be used by being attached to the finger. ing. In this user interface device, a user performs a click operation by pressing the tip of the finger cap against the desk surface while the finger cap is mounted on the finger, or slides the tip of the finger cap on the desk surface to display the personal computer. Move the cursor on the display screen. However, this user interface device requires an object such as a desk with which the finger cap is brought into contact, and its use is restricted where there is no such object.

  In contrast, the operation unit according to the present embodiment includes main body portions 111A and 111B having cylindrical outer shapes that can be attached to the index finger by the user. The touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B of the tracking sensors 112A and 112B are arranged so as to be exposed on the peripheral surfaces of the main body portions 111A and 111B. The push switches 113A and 113B are also arranged so that they can be operated on the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B common to the tracking sensors 112A and 112B. As a result, the user can operate the PC 16 by bringing the tip of the thumb into contact with only the touch surfaces 1129A and 1129B, so that the use is not restricted even in places where there is no desk.

  Furthermore, according to the user interface device according to the present embodiment, when switching from the key input operation using the keyboard to the operation of moving the cursor, it is necessary to largely move the hand from the keyboard to the mouse as in the configuration including a mouse, for example. There is no. Therefore, the information input operation to the PC 16 can be performed smoothly.

  In the user interface device according to the present embodiment, when the flag management unit 1212 exceeds the third duration threshold value in a state where the click flag is set to a value other than “FC0”, the click flag is forcibly set. Set to “FC0”. Thereby, for example, it is assumed that the user performs a click operation to set the PC 16 to a predetermined operation mode. In this case, when the time equal to or greater than the third duration threshold value has elapsed after the operation mode is set, the click flag is forcibly set to “FC0” and the predetermined operation mode is released. Thereby, even if the user sets the PC 16 to a predetermined operation mode and then forgets to cancel the operation mode, other users who use the PC 16 thereafter operate the PC 16 with the operation mode released. be able to.

(Embodiment 2)
As shown in FIG. 8, the information processing system according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that it includes a left operation unit 2011A and a right operation unit 2011B that are provided integrally with a keyboard 2011. In FIG. 8, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1A. The left operation unit 2011A includes a tracking sensor 2112A and a push switch 2113A. The right operation unit 2011B also includes the same tracking sensor 2112B and push switch 2113B. The push switches 2113A and 2113B are disposed on the back side of the tracking sensors 2112A and 2112B, and are pressed when the user pushes the entire tracking sensors 2112A and 2112B. The tracking sensors 2112 </ b> A and 2112 </ b> B are configured by a ball-type tracking sensor using a trackball, and are arranged such that a part of the trackball is exposed on the outer surface of the keyboard 2011. Further, a transmission / reception device 2013 for communicating with the keyboard 2011 is connected to the PC 16.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the keyboard 2011 further includes a microcomputer 2110 and a wireless communication unit 2116. In FIG. 9, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. The microcomputer 2110 and the wireless communication unit 2116 are built in the keyboard 2011. The wireless communication unit 2116 performs wireless communication with the transmission / reception device 2013 by a communication method according to a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark). The microcomputer 2110 includes a control unit 2114, a RAM 2115a, and a ROM 2115b. The microcomputer 2110 has a so-called USB host function.

  The control unit 2114 includes a CPU, and when the CPU reads a program from the ROM 2115b into the RAM 2115a and executes it, the operation reading unit 2141, the communication control unit 2142, the acquisition unit 1211, the flag management unit 1212, the specifying unit 1213, and the command transmission unit. It functions as 1214 and a timer 1215.

  The RAM 2115a distinguishes and stores the moving speed information indicating the moving speed and the moving direction information indicating the moving direction, which are generated from the signals input from the tracking sensors 2112A and 2112B. The RAM 2115a stores a push flag and a push transition flag indicating whether or not the push switches 2113A and 2113B are pressed for each push switch 2113A and 2113B. The control unit 2114 functions as an operation reading unit 2141 and a communication control unit 2142. The operation reading unit 2141 converts each signal input from the tracking sensors 2112A and 2112B into movement speed information and movement direction information, and stores them in the RAM 2115a. Further, the operation reading unit 2141 sets the contents of the push flag and the transition information corresponding to the push switches 2113A and 2113B of the RAM 2115a according to the signals input from the push switches 2113A and 2113B. Further, the operation reading unit 2141 outputs a keyboard control command corresponding to the operation content of other keys of the keyboard 2011 to the wireless communication unit 2116. The communication control unit 2142 outputs a command to the wireless communication unit 2116 in response to an operation information transmission request input from the transmission / reception device 2013 to the control unit 2114 via the wireless communication unit 2116.

  The keyboard 2011 provided with these two operation units 2011A and 2011B constitutes a user interface device. In addition, an input interface 2210 is configured by the acquisition unit 1211, the flag management unit 1212, the specification unit 1213, the command transmission unit 1214 and the timing unit 1215, the RAM 2115 a, and the ROM 2115 b of the control unit 2114.

  The control unit 2114 acquires the two operation units 2011A and 2011B and key input information to the keyboard 2011 at a preset time interval, performs the command specifying process, and then sends the command to the wireless communication unit 2116. To the transmission / reception device 2013 of the PC 16. The transmission / reception device 2013 performs wireless communication with the wireless communication unit 2116 by a communication method according to a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or ZigBee (registered trademark).

  Note that the command specifying process, the click flag determining process, and the press lock automatic releasing process executed by the control unit 2114 according to the present embodiment are the command specifying process, the click flag determining process, and the press lock automatic releasing described in the first embodiment. It is the same as the processing.

  In the user interface device according to the present embodiment, the keyboard 2011 is provided with the operation units 2011A and 2011B. Accordingly, the user can execute commands by operating the operation units 2011A and 2011B while operating the keyboard 2011.

(Embodiment 3)
As shown in FIG. 10, the information processing system according to the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the information processing system includes a left operation unit 3011A and a right operation unit 3011B that are detachably attached to a keyboard 3010. In FIG. 10, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. The keyboard 3010 is wired to the PC 16 via a cable CA. Each operation unit 3011A, 3011B is provided with tracking sensors 3112A, 3112B and push switches 3113A, 3113B. The push switches 3113A and 3113B are arranged on the back side of the tracking sensors 3112A and 3112B, and are pressed when the user pushes the tracking sensors 3112A and 3112B. The tracking sensors 3112 </ b> A and 3112 </ b> B are configured by optical tracking sensors, and are arranged such that the touch surface is exposed on the outer surface of the keyboard 3010. The keyboard 3010 is provided with mounting portions 3218A and 3218B to which the operation portions 3011A and 3011B are mounted, and a release button 3219 that is pressed when the operation portions 3011A and 3011B are detached from the mounting portions 3218A and 3218B. .

  As shown in FIG. 11, the operation units 3011A and 3011B further include control units 114A and 114B, RAMs 115A and 115B, ROMs 119A and 119B, and wireless communication units 116A and 116B. In FIG. 11, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. The operation units 3011A and 3011B further include power connectors 3117A and 3118B having power supply connectors 3117A and 3117B for receiving power supply from the keyboard 3010, power step-up / down circuits, and power storage units 3119A and 3119B including secondary batteries. Is provided.

  The power supply circuits 3118A and 3118B supply the tracking sensors 3112A and 3112B, the control units 114A and 114B, the RAMs 115A and 115B, the ROMs 119A and 119B, and the wireless communication units 116A and 116B. When the operation units 3011A and 3011B are fitted in the mounting portions 3218A and 3218B of the keyboard 3010, the power supply circuits 3118A and 3118B receive power supply from the keyboard 3010. At this time, power supply circuits 3118A and 3118B charge power storage units 3119A and 3119B. On the other hand, when the operation units 3011A and 3011B are detached from the mounting portions 3218A and 3218B of the keyboard 3010, the power supply circuits 3118A and 3118B receive power supply from the power storage units 3119A and 3119B.

  The keyboard 3010 includes a control unit 121, a RAM 122a, a ROM 122b, a USB interface 3214, a wireless communication unit 3215, and power connectors 3217A and 3217B. The input interface 1210, the USB interface 3214, and the wireless communication unit 3215 are built in the keyboard 3010. The wireless communication unit 3215 has the same configuration as the wireless communication units 116A and 116B described in Embodiment 1. Further, the control unit 121, the RAM 122a, and the ROM 122b have the same hardware configuration as that of the first embodiment, and constitute an input interface 1210.

  The USB interface 3214 is connected to the USB interface 164 of the PC 16 via the cable CA. The USB interface 3214 outputs information input from the PC 16 to the control unit 121 and outputs operation information input from the control unit 121 to the PC 16. The USB interface 3214 is also connected to power connectors 3217A and 3217B.

  The power connectors 3217A and 3217B are electrically connected to the power connectors 3117A and 3117B of the operation units 3011A and 3011B in a state where the operation units 3011A and 3011B are mounted on the mounting units 3218A and 3218B. In this state, power supplied from the PC 16 via the cable CA and the USB interface 3214 is supplied to the operation units 3011A and 3011B via the power connectors 3217A and 3217B.

  The PC 16 exchanges information with the keyboard 3010 via the USB interface 3214 and supplies power to the keyboard 3010. The keyboard 3010 and the two operation units 3011A and 3011B constitute a user interface device.

  Note that the command specifying process, the click flag determining process, and the press lock automatic releasing process executed by the control unit 121 according to the present embodiment are the command specifying process, the click flag determining process, and the press lock automatic releasing described in the first embodiment. It is the same as the processing.

  According to the user interface device according to the present embodiment, power storage units 3119A and 3119B of operation units 3011A and 3011B are charged in a state where operation units 3011A and 3011B are mounted on mounting units 3218A and 3218B of keyboard 3010. This has the advantage that it can be used semi-permanently as long as there is no failure. Further, when the operation units 3011A and 3011B are detached from the keyboard 3010, there is an advantage that the user can operate the PC 16 away from the PC 16 or the keyboard 3010.

(Embodiment 4)
As shown in FIG. 12, the tablet PC 4012 according to the fourth embodiment includes a display unit 4123 and a touch panel 4124, and the operation units 4011A and 4011B are set on the touch panel 4124. And different. The user can operate the operation units 4011 </ b> A and 4011 </ b> B with the thumb or other fingers while holding both ends in the longitudinal direction of the PC 4012 with the hands LH and RH. Each operation unit 4011A, 4011B includes tracking sensors 4112A, 4112B set on the touch panel 4124 and virtual buttons 4113A, 4113B functioning as switches. The positions of the tracking sensors 4112A and 4112B and the positions of the virtual buttons 4113A and 4113B are displayed on the screen of the display unit 4123.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the PC 4012 further includes a control unit 4121, a RAM 4122a, and a ROM 4122b. In FIG. 13, the same reference numerals as in FIG. The RAM 4122 a includes a flag storage unit 1221, a transition history storage unit 1222, a position information movement information storage unit 4223, and a command storage unit 1224. The position information movement information storage unit 4223 stores the position information indicating the current touch position in the area corresponding to each of the tracking sensors 4112A and 4112B of the touch panel 4124 and the position information indicating the immediately previous touch position. Here, the “previous touch position” is a touch position detected at the most recent time in the past from the time when the current touch position is detected. In addition, the position information movement information storage unit 4223 displays the movement speed calculated from the previous touch position and the current touch position in the area corresponding to the tracking sensor 4112A, the movement speed information indicating the movement direction, and the movement direction information on the left side. The information is stored as movement speed information and movement direction information of the operation unit 4011A. Further, the position information movement information storage unit 4223 displays the movement amount calculated from the previous touch position and the current touch position in the area corresponding to the tracking sensor 4112B, the movement speed information indicating the movement direction, and the movement direction information on the right side. It is stored as movement speed information and movement direction information of the operation unit 4011B. The ROM 4122b has a table storage unit 1225. The ROM 4122b stores a program executed by the control unit 4121.

  The control unit 4121 includes a CPU, and the CPU reads a program from the ROM 4122b into the RAM 4122a and executes it. Accordingly, the control unit 4121 functions as a flag management unit 4212, a specifying unit 1213, a command execution unit 4214, a time measuring unit 1215, a left operation reading unit 4213A, and a right operation reading unit 4213B. Here, a flag storage unit 1221, a transition history storage unit 1222, a position information movement information storage unit 4223, a command storage unit 1224, a flag management unit 4212, a specifying unit 1213, a time measuring unit 1215, a left operation reading unit 4213 </ b> A, and a right operation reading unit 4213B constitutes an input interface 4210 that is provided in the PC 4012 and acquires a push flag, movement speed information, and movement direction information from the operation units 4011A and 4011B. The input interface 4210 and the two operation units 4011A and 4011B constitute a user interface device.

  The left operation reading unit 4213A generates movement speed information indicating a speed of sliding in the area and movement direction information obtained from the direction of sliding in the area at the touch position in the area corresponding to the tracking sensor 4112A of the touch panel 4124. To do. The left operation unit 4213A stores the generated movement speed information and speed information of the left operation unit 4011A in the position information movement information storage unit 4223. The right operation reading unit 4213B generates movement speed information and speed information of the right operation unit 4011A in the same manner as the left operation reading unit 4213A, and stores it in the position information movement information storage unit 4223.

  Next, command specifying processing executed by the control unit 4121 of the PC 4012 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 14, the same processes as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. The command specifying process is started when an input operation application for the control unit 4121 to perform an input operation by the user via the touch panel 4124 is executed.

  As illustrated in FIG. 14, it is assumed that the time measuring unit 1215 determines that the operation information acquisition time has come (step S101: Yes). In this case, the left operation reading unit 4213A stores position information indicating the touch position in the area corresponding to the tracking sensor 4112A of the touch panel 4124 in the position information movement information storage unit 4223 (step S401).

  Next, the left operation reading unit 4213A generates movement speed information from the distance between the previous touch position and the current touch position and the movement time required to move the distance, and the current operation position is calculated from the previous touch position. Movement direction information indicating the direction toward the touch position is generated and stored in the position information movement information storage unit 4223 (step S402).

  Subsequently, the left operation reading unit 4213A determines whether or not an area corresponding to the virtual button 4113A on the touch panel 4124 is touched (step S403). If the left operation reading unit 4213A determines that the area corresponding to the virtual button 4113A has been touched (step S403: Yes), the pressing flag of the current left operation unit 4011A stored in the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “F1”. Setting is performed (step S404). On the other hand, if the left operation reading unit 4213A determines that the area corresponding to the virtual button 4113A is not touched (step S403: No), the current left operation unit 4011A push flag is set to “F0” (step S405). ). In the processing of steps S404 and S405, the left operation reading unit 4213A updates the content of the previous press flag to the same content as the current press flag at that time, and then changes the content of the current press flag. Update based on the determination result.

  Then, the process after step S107 is performed. The right operation reading unit 4213B also generates the moving speed information and the moving direction information by executing the processes of steps S401 and S402, and stores them in the position information moving information storage unit 4223. Further, the right operation reading unit 4213B updates the content of the pressing flag of the right operation unit 4011B by executing the processing of steps S403 to S405. Then, the process after step S107 is performed. In step S406, the command execution unit 4214 executes the command specified by the specifying unit 1213. Further, the click flag determination process executed by the control unit 121 according to the present embodiment is the same as the click flag determination process described in the first embodiment, but the command execution unit 4214 is the content of the click flag. This is equivalent to a change to the process of acquiring. Further, the automatic press lock releasing process executed by the control unit 121 according to the present embodiment is the same as the automatic press lock releasing process described in the first embodiment.

  According to the user interface device according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained in the tablet PC 4012. Further, since each operation unit 4011A, 4011B is set as an area on the touch panel 4124, there is an advantage that its shape, size, and position can be changed relatively easily.

(Modification)
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the right operation unit 11 </ b> B may specify a command and transmit it to the PC 16. In FIG. 15, the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  Here, the left operation unit 11A transmits the operation information of the left operation unit 11A to the right operation unit 11B. In the right operation unit 11B, the operation information received from the left operation unit 11A, the moving speed information generated based on the signals input from the tracking sensor 112B and the push switch 113B, the moving direction information, and the information indicating the contents of the press flag, Use and to identify the command.

  The control unit 114A of the left operation unit 11A functions as an operation reading unit 1141A and a communication control unit 8142A. Communication control unit 8142A outputs operation information including movement speed information, movement direction information, and a press flag to radio communication unit 116A. At this time, the communication control unit 8142A sets the transmission destination of the operation information in the right operation unit 11B.

  The RAM 115B of the right operation unit 11B includes a flag storage unit 1221, a transition history storage unit 1222, a movement information storage unit 1223, and a command storage unit 1224. The ROM 119B of the right operation unit 11B has a table storage unit 1225. The table storage unit 1225 stores a command table TA1 as shown in FIG.

  Returning to FIG. 15, the control unit 114B of the right operation unit 11B functions as an operation reading unit 8141, a command transmission unit 1214, an acquisition unit 8211, a flag management unit 1212, a specifying unit 1213, and a time measuring unit 1215. The operation reading unit 8141 converts the signal input from the tracking sensor 112B into movement speed information and movement direction information, and stores them in the movement information storage unit 1223. Further, the operation reading unit 8141 sets the content of the pressing flag of the right operation unit 11B of the flag storage unit 1221 according to the signal input from the push switch 113B.

  The acquisition unit 8211 acquires operation information from the operation unit 11A by transmitting an operation information transmission request for requesting the operation unit 11A to transmit operation information to the operation unit 11A. The acquisition unit 8211 extracts movement speed information and movement direction information from the acquired operation information and stores the extracted information in the movement information storage unit 1223. Further, the acquisition unit 8211 extracts information indicating the content of the press flag from the operation information, and sets the content of the press flag of the left operation unit 11A stored in the flag storage unit 1221 according to the information.

  The specifying unit 1213 specifies a command with reference to the command table stored in the table storage unit 1225. The specifying unit 1213 stores the specified command in the command storage unit 1224.

  The command transmission unit 1214 acquires information indicating the command specified by the specification unit 1213 from the command storage unit 1224 and transmits the information to the transmission / reception device 8013 connected to the PC 16.

  Next, command specifying processing executed by the control unit 114B of the right operation unit 11B according to the present modification will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 16, the same process as the command specifying process described in the first embodiment is denoted by the same reference numeral as in FIG. Further, the click flag determination process and the press lock automatic release process executed by the control unit 114B of the right operation unit 11B according to the present modification are the same as the click flag determination process and the press lock automatic release process described in the first embodiment. is there. The command specifying process is started when the right operation unit 11B is powered on.

  First, as shown in FIG. 16, the time measuring unit 1215 determines whether or not an operation information acquisition time has arrived, which is a time when the acquisition unit 8211 should acquire operation information from the left operation unit 11A (step S101). When the operation information acquisition time has not come (step S101: No), the time measuring unit 1215 repeatedly executes the process of step S101. On the other hand, when it is determined by the timekeeping unit 1215 that the operation information acquisition time has come (step S101: Yes), the acquisition unit 8211 determines whether or not the operation information has been received from the left operation unit 11A (step S801). . When the acquisition unit 8211 has not received the operation information (step S801: No), the process of step S101 is executed again. On the other hand, when receiving the operation information (step S801: Yes), the acquisition unit 8211 stores the movement speed information and the movement direction information of the left operation unit 11A included in the operation information of the left operation unit 11A in the movement information storage unit 1223. Store (step S802).

  Subsequently, the flag management unit 1212 determines whether or not the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A is pressed with reference to information indicating the content of the push flag included in the operation information of the left operation unit 11A ( Step S803). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A is pressed (step S803: Yes), the current left operation unit 11A press flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “F1”. It sets (step S804). On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A is not pressed (step S803: No), the current flag of the left operation unit 11A is set to “F0” (step S805). ). In the processing of steps S804 and S805, the flag management unit 1212 updates the content of the previous press flag to the same content as the current press flag at that time, and then determines the content of the current press flag. Update based on results. Thereafter, processing similar to the series of processing from steps S107 to S114 shown in FIG. 4 is executed.

  In step S114, it is assumed that the flag management unit 1212 determines that the generation of transition information for the right operation unit 11B is not completed (step S114: No). In this case, the operation reading unit 8141 converts the signal input from the tracking sensor 112B into movement speed information and movement direction information, and stores the converted information in the movement information storage unit 1223 (step S802).

  Next, the operation reading unit 8141 determines whether or not the push switch 113B of the right operation unit 11B is pressed based on a signal input from the push switch 113B (step S803). When the operation reading unit 8141 determines that the push switch 113B of the right operation unit 11B has been pressed (step S803: Yes), the current right operation unit 11B press flag stored in the flag storage unit 1221 is set to “F1”. It sets (step S804). On the other hand, when the flag management unit 1212 determines that the push switch 113A of the left operation unit 11A is not pressed (step S803: No), the current flag of the left operation unit 11A is set to “F0” (step S805). ). Subsequently, processing similar to the series of processing from steps S107 to S120 shown in FIG. 4 is executed.

  Thereafter, the command transmitting unit 1214 transmits the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 to the PC 16 (step S806).

  According to this configuration, since the right operation unit 11B takes charge of the process of specifying the command, the process of specifying the command on the PC 16 can be omitted, so that the connection device 12 described in the first embodiment is not necessary. Become.

  In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the operation units 11A and 11B are so-called ring types (ring types) has been described, but the shapes of the operation units 11A and 11B are not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the structure provided with two so-called pen-shaped operation parts 5011A and 5011B may be sufficient.

  The operation units 5011A and 5011B include main body portions 5111A and 5111B having a pen shape, tracking sensors 5112A and 5112B provided at base ends of the main body portions 5111A and 5111B, and knock buttons 5113A and 5113B. The configuration of the operation units 5011A and 5011B is the same as the configuration of the operation units 11A and 11B shown in FIG. The user can operate the PC 16 by holding the operation units 5011A and 5011B with both hands LH and RH as shown in FIG. The operation units 5011A and 5011B may have a function as a writing instrument such as a ballpoint pen or a mechanical pencil. In this case, the operation units 5011A and 5011B further include a changeover switch for switching the function of the knock buttons 5113A and 5113B to either the knock button function of the writing instrument or the operation button function of the PC 16.

  Or the structure provided with a push switch in the back side of tracking sensor 5112A, 5112B may be sufficient. In this case, since the knock buttons 5113A and 5113B can be specialized for the lead-out function, the changeover switch is not necessary.

  Further, the operation units 5011A and 5011B may function as laser pointers that emit laser light from the tip portions thereof. In this case, the operation units 5011A and 5011B further include a changeover switch for switching the function of the knock buttons 5113A and 5113B to either the on / off switch function of the laser pointer or the operation button function of the PC 16. As this change-over switch, for example, a switch using a rotation mechanism provided between the main body portions 5111A and 5111B can be adopted. In this case, for example, if the knock buttons 5113A and 5113B side of the main body parts 5111A and 5111B are turned to the right when viewed from the pen tip side and fixed with respect to the pen tip side of the main body parts 5111A and 5111B, it functions as an operation part. When it is turned and fixed in the left direction when viewed from the side, it can be configured as a laser pointer.

  According to this configuration, since the operation units 5011A and 5011B also function as writing tools or laser pointers, the user can use the operation units 5011A and 5011B for various purposes. The main body portions 5111A and 5111B can have a larger internal volume than the main body portions 111A and 111B of the ring-type operation portions 11A and 11B described in the first embodiment. Therefore, it becomes easy to secure a large space for the power storage unit in the contents of the main body units 5111A and 5111B.

  In the first embodiment and the modification shown in FIG. 18, the user wears the ring-type operation units 11A and 11B in both hands LH and RH, or holds the pen-type operation units 5011A and 5011B. An example in which the PC 16 is operated has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, as shown in FIG. 19, the user wears the ring-type operation unit 11A described in the first embodiment on the index finger of the left hand LH and holds the pen-type operation unit 5011B with the right hand RH. Then, the PC 16 may be operated. According to this configuration, the operability is improved as compared with the modified example shown in FIG.

  The combination of the ring-type operation unit 11A and the pen-type operation unit 5011B is not limited to, for example, the keyboard 2011 having the operation units 2011A and 2011B described in the second embodiment and the ring-type operation units 11A and 11B. It may be a combination. Alternatively, a combination of a keyboard 2011 and pen-type operation units 5011A and 5011B may be used.

  In the above-described fourth embodiment, the example in which the two operation units 4011A and 4011B are set on the touch panel 4124 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and as illustrated in FIG. 20, the PC 9012 may be configured such that one operation unit 9011 is set on the touch panel 4124 and communicates with the ring-type operation unit 11A. In FIG. 20, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1A and 12 are given to the same configurations as those in the first and fourth embodiments. As shown in FIG. 20, the user can operate the operation unit 9011 with the thumb by holding the right end in the longitudinal direction of the PC 9012 with the right hand RH, and can operate the operation unit 11A attached to the index finger of the left hand LH with the thumb of the left hand LH. . The operation unit 9011 includes a tracking sensor 9112 and a virtual button 9113 set as an area on the touch panel 4124. The position of the tracking sensor 9112 and the position of the virtual button 9113 are displayed on the screen of the display unit 4123.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the PC 9012 includes a wireless communication unit 9124 for communicating with the operation unit 11A. In addition, the control unit 4121 functions as a flag management unit 4212, a specifying unit 1213, a timekeeping unit 1215, an acquisition unit 9211 that acquires operation information from the operation unit 11A, and an operation reading unit 9216 that reads the operation content of the user with respect to the operation unit 9011. . Here, a flag management unit 4212, a specifying unit 1213, a time measuring unit 1215, an acquisition unit 9211, and an operation reading unit 9216 are provided in the PC 9012, and input for acquiring a pressing flag, movement speed information, and movement direction information from the operation units 11 A and 9011 An interface 9210 is configured. The input interface 9210 and the operation units 11A and 9011 constitute a user interface device. In FIG. 21, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 2 and 13 are assigned to the same configurations as those in the first and fourth embodiments. The acquisition unit 9211 acquires operation information from the operation unit 11A by transmitting an operation information transmission request for requesting the operation unit 11A to transmit operation information to the operation unit 11A via the wireless communication unit 9124. The acquisition unit 9211 extracts movement speed information and movement direction information from the acquired operation information and stores the extracted information in the position information movement information storage unit 4223. Further, the acquisition unit 9211 extracts information indicating the content of the press flag from the operation information, and sets the content of the press flag of the operation unit 11A stored in the flag storage unit 1221 according to the information.

  The operation reading unit 9216 causes the position information movement information storage unit 4223 to store position information indicating a touch position in an area corresponding to the tracking sensor 9112 of the touch panel 4124. Then, the operation reading unit 9216 generates, at the touch position in the area corresponding to the tracking sensor 9112, the speed of sliding on the touch surface and the moving direction information obtained from the sliding direction.

  Next, a command specifying process executed by the control unit 4121 of the PC 9012 according to this modification will be described. In this command specifying process, first, a series of processes from steps S101 to S114 described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG. Generation occurs. Next, a transition information is generated for the right operation unit 9011 by executing a series of processing from step S401 to S114 shown in FIG. 14 for the right operation unit 9011. Subsequently, the command is transmitted to the PC 16 by executing the processing from steps S115 to S120 of FIG. 4 or FIG.

  In the click flag determination process, a series of processes from step S122 to S136 described with reference to FIG. 5 in the first embodiment is executed, so that the click flag setting and the left operation unit 9011 are set for the left operation unit 11A and the right operation unit 9011. Click flag information indicating the contents of the click flag is transmitted to the PC 16. Further, the automatic press lock release processing is the same as the automatic press lock release processing described in the first embodiment with reference to FIG.

  According to this configuration, since the user can operate the PC 9012 provided with the touch panel 4124 with the ring-type operation unit 11A attached to one hand, more various operations can be realized. Further, only one operation unit 9011 is set on the touch panel 4124. Thus, the area occupied by the operation unit 9011 in the touch panel 4124 can be reduced, so that the area of the display unit 4123 other than the part for displaying the operation unit 9011 can be increased.

  In the first embodiment described above, a light emitting unit may be provided in the operation units 11A and 11B so as to be lit while the scroll operation mode is set so that it can be recognized that the scroll operation mode is set. . Alternatively, the cursor color may be changed to a different color while the scroll operation mode is set on the screen 15a of the display device 15. In addition to the scroll operation mode, the light emitting unit may be turned on while the drag operation mode is set, or the cursor color may be changed to a different color.

  In the above-described fourth embodiment, the operation units 4011A and 4011B have described examples in which the tracking sensors 4112A and 4112B and the virtual buttons 4113A and 4113B are individually set on the touch panel 4124. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG. 22, two tracking sensors 7112A, 7112B set on the touch panel 4124 and two push buttons 7113A provided on the back surface of the PC 4012 opposite to the touch panel 4124 side. , 7113B. In this case, the tracking sensor 7112A, 7112B and the push buttons 7113A, 7113B constitute an operation unit. The user can perform a scrolling operation and the like by sliding the tracking sensors 7112A and 7112B while pressing the two push buttons 7113A and 7113B while keeping the finger in contact with the tracking sensors 7112A and 7112B.

  In the first embodiment described above, the example in which the specifying unit 1213 of the connection device 12 specifies a command based on the combination of the transition information of the pressing flags of the operation units 11A and 11B has been described. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and the configuration may be such that the specifying unit 1213 specifies a command based on the combination of the contents of the push-down flags corresponding to the operation units 11A and 11B.

  The configuration of the connection device 12 according to this modification is the same as that of the connection device 12 described in the first embodiment. The table storage unit 1225 stores a command table TA1 as shown in FIG. “There is a pressing operation” corresponds to the transition information in the first embodiment being either “D”, “P”, or “U”, and “No pressing operation” is the transition information in the first embodiment is “ N ”. In this modification, the specifying unit 1213 determines the combination of the contents of the push flag by associating the click flag “F1” with “press operation present” and the click flag “F0” with “no press operation”.

  Next, a command specifying process executed by the control unit 4121 of the connection device 12 according to this modification will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 23, the same processes as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. The command specifying process is started when the connection device 12 is powered on.

  In this command specifying process, after a series of processes from steps S101 to S106 is executed for the left operation unit 11A, the flag management unit 1212 determines whether or not the setting of the pressing flag for the right operation unit is completed ( Step S901). If the flag management unit 1212 determines that the setting of the pressing flag for the right operation unit 11B has not been completed (step S901: No), a series of processing from steps S104 to S106 is executed for the right operation unit 11A.

  On the other hand, it is assumed that the flag management unit 1212 determines that the pressing flag has been set for the right operation unit 11B (step S901: Yes). In this case, the pressing flag is set for both the left operation unit 11A and the right operation unit 11B. Then, the specifying unit 1213 specifies a command to be executed by the PC 16 based on the content of the latest pressing flag, the moving speed information, and the moving direction information with reference to the command table TA1 as shown in FIG. (Step S902).

  Next, the command transmission unit 1214 transmits the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 to the PC 16 (step S118). On the other hand, when receiving the command specified by the specifying unit 1213 from the connection device 12, the PC 16 executes the received command. Thereafter, the process of step S101 is executed again.

  In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the operation units 11A and 11B are mounted on the left hand LH and the right hand RH of the user has been described. However, the mounting positions are not necessarily limited to the left hand LH and the right hand RH. For example, at least one of the operation units 11A and 11B may be attached to the user's toes.

  In the above-described second embodiment, the example in which the PC 16 is a desktop personal computer and is wirelessly connected to the keyboard 2011 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the PC 16 and the keyboard 2011 are connected by wire. There may be. Or you may be comprised from the notebook-type personal computer provided with the function of PC16 and the function of the keyboard 2011.

  In the above-described second embodiment, an example in which the operation units 2011A and 2011B are provided on the keyboard 2011 and the keyboard 2011 is wirelessly connected to the PC 16 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, the operation units 2011A and 2011B are for television. It may be provided in the remote controller. In this case, for example, the user can perform a cursor movement operation or a scroll operation by operating the operation units 2011A and 2011B of the remote controller in a state where an Internet browser screen is displayed on a television.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 24, it may be comprised from the operation board 2511 in which keys other than operation part 2011A, 2011B are not provided. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 25, it may be configured by operation boards 20111 and 2011B, and an operation board 2611 provided with only a push switch 2661 corresponding to the Ctrl key and a push switch 2662 corresponding to the Alt key. Good. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 26, the keyboard 2711 may include a push switch 2761 corresponding to the Ctrl key and a push switch 2762 corresponding to the Alt key. Note that the functional configurations of the operation boards 2511 and 2611 and the keyboard 2711 are substantially the same as the configuration of the keyboard 2011 of the second embodiment.

  In the above-described fourth embodiment, the example of the tablet PC 4012 in which the operation units 4011A and 4011B are set on the touch panel has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, a smartphone in which the operation units 4011A and 4011B are set on the touch panel. May be.

  In the first embodiment, two cursors CSL1 and CSL2 corresponding to the left operation unit 11A and the right operation unit 11B may be displayed on the screen 15a of the display device 15. In this case, the cursor CSL1 is mainly used to designate a position in the left half area of the screen 15a, and the cursor CSL2 is mainly used to designate a position in the right half area of the screen 15a. Can be. Thereby, the movement range of each of the two cursors can be reduced.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 27, a keyboard image KE1 may be displayed on the screen 15a of the display device 15, and an input operation may be performed with two cursors CSL1 and CSL2. In this case, since the user can perform an input operation while simultaneously specifying two locations on the keyboard image with two cursors, the efficiency of the input operation is improved.

  In the first embodiment described above, the example in which the operation information is temporarily stored in the RAMs 115A and 115B of the operation units 11A and 11B has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and immediately after the operation units 11A and 11B acquire the operation information. The configuration may be such that the information is transmitted to the connection device 12 and the RAM 122a of the connection device 12 temporarily stores the operation information of the operation units 11A and 11B.

  In the first embodiment described above, the connection device 12 may be configured to shift to a sleep mode that operates with low power consumption when it does not receive operation information from the operation units 11A and 11B for a preset time. . In this case, the connection device 12 may shift from the sleep mode to the normal mode when the operation information is received from the operation units 11A and 11B.

  In the second embodiment described above, an example in which the transmission / reception device 2013 is connected to the PC 16 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a reception device having only a reception function may be connected instead of the transmission / reception device 2013. Good. In the second embodiment described above, an example in which the keyboard 2011 and the PC 16 are wirelessly connected has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a wired connection may be used.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the case where there are two operation units has been described. However, the number of operation units is not limited to two, and may be three or more. In this case, the specifying unit specifies a command to be executed by the PC 16 or the PC 4012 based on a combination of operation information acquired from all three or more operation units or a combination of history of operation information. The command table is a table in which a command is associated with each combination of pressing flags or transition information of three or more operation units.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which there are two types of values that the push flag can take has been described, but the values that the push flag can take are not limited to two types. For example, the push flag may take three or more values. For example, when the user does not press the push switches 113A and 113B, the pressing flag is set to “F0”, and when the user presses the push switches 113A and 113B lightly, the pressing flag is set to “F1”. When the push switches 113A and 113B are pressed deeply, the push flag may be set to “F2”.

  In the first embodiment described above, the example in which the tracking sensors 112A and 112B and the push switches 113A and 113B are separate has been described. For example, the operation units 11A and 11B each have a touch surface, and a tracking unit that tracks a user's finger or the like that touches the touch surface, and a pressure when the touch surface is pressed by the user. A pressure-sensitive tracking sensor having a pressure-sensitive part to be detected may be included. In this case, the tracking unit detects the moving speed and moving direction of at least a part of the user's body, and the pressure sensing unit presses the touch surface from the magnitude of the pressure when the touch surface is pressed. Detect that.

  In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the operation units 11A and 11B include only one push switch 113A and 113B has been described. However, the number of push switches provided in the operation unit is not limited to one. For example, as shown in FIGS. 28A and 28B, the operation units 1011A and 1011B include push switches 1113A and 1113B that function as Ctrl keys in addition to the push switches 113A and 113B arranged on the back side of the tracking sensors 112A and 112B. It may be a thing. In FIG. 28A and FIG. 28B, the same configurations as those in Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1B. The push switches 1113A and 1113B are arranged on the side opposite to the tracking sensors 112A and 112B and the push switches 113A and 113B in the direction orthogonal to the center axis of the ring-shaped main body portions 111A and 111B. The user can press the push switches 1113A and 1113B by pressing the operation units 1011A and 1011B against the middle finger while the operation units 1011A and 1011B are attached to the index finger. The push switches 1113A and 1113B are not limited to those that function as Ctrl keys, and may function as other types of keys such as Alt keys, for example.

  Further, various functions of the user interface device according to the present invention can be realized by using a normal computer system without depending on a dedicated system. For example, to a computer connected to a network, a program for executing the above operation is stored in a non-transitory recording medium (CD-ROM or the like) that can be read by a computer system, and the program is distributed to the computer. You may comprise the user interface apparatus which performs the above-mentioned process by installing in a system.

  Further, the method for providing the program to the computer is arbitrary. For example, the program may be uploaded to a bulletin board (BBS) on a communication line and distributed to a computer via the communication line. Then, the computer activates this program and executes it like other applications under the control of the OS. Thus, the computer functions as a user interface device that executes the above-described processing.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention and the modification (Including what was written in the description, the following is the same) were demonstrated, this invention is not limited to these. The present invention includes a combination of the embodiments and modifications as appropriate, and a modification appropriately added thereto.

  This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-020971 filed on Feb. 5, 2016. The specification, claims, and entire drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-020971 are incorporated herein by reference.

11A, 11B, 1011A, 1011B, 2011A, 2011B, 3011A, 3011B, 4011A, 4011B, 5011A, 5011B, 9011: operation unit, 12: connection device, 16, 4012, 9012: PC, 15: display device, 15a: screen 17, 2011, 3010, 2711: keyboard, 110A, 110B, 2110: microcomputer, 111A, 111B, 5111A, 5111B: main body, 112A, 112B, 2112A, 2112B, 3112A, 3112B, 4112A, 4112B, 5112A, 5112B, 7112A, 7112B, 9112: Tracking sensor, 113A, 113B, 1113A, 1113B, 2113A, 2113B, 3113A, 3113B, 2661, 2661, 2761, 2 62: Push switch, 114A, 114B, 121, 2114, 3211, 4121: Control unit, 115A, 115B, 122a, 2115a, 4122a: RAM, 116A, 116B, 124, 2116, 3215, 9124: Wireless communication unit, 119A, 119B, 122b, 2115b, 4122b: ROM, 161: processing unit, 162: storage unit, 163: display interface, 164, 165, 123, 3214: USB interface, 1129A, 1129B: touch surface, 1141A, 1141B, 2141, 8141 , 9216: Operation reading unit, 1142A, 1142B, 2142, 8142A: Communication control unit, 1210, 2210, 4210, 9210: Input interface, 1211, 8211, 9211: Acquisition unit, 1212 4212: Flag management unit, 1213: Identification unit, 1214: Command transmission unit, 1215: Timekeeping unit, 1221: Flag storage unit, 1222: Transition history storage unit, 1223: Movement information storage unit, 1224: Command storage unit, 1225: Table storage unit, 2013, 8013: transmission / reception device, 2124: transmission / reception interface, 2511, 2161: operation board, 3117A, 3117B, 3217A, 3217B: power connector, 3118A, 3118B: power supply circuit, 3119A, 3119B: power storage unit, 3218A, 3218B: Mounting unit, 3219: Release button, 4113A, 4113B, 9113: Virtual button, 4123: Display unit, 4124: Touch panel, 4213A: Left operation reading unit, 4213B: Right operation reading unit, 4214: Command execution unit, 4223 : Position information movement information storage unit, 5113A, 5113B: Knock button, 7113A, 7113B: Push button, CA: Cable, CSL1, CSL2: Cursor, KE: Keyboard image, LH: Left hand, RH: Right hand, TA1: Command table

Claims (12)

A plurality of operation units that send operation information indicating operation contents when operated by a user;
Based on a combination of operation information acquired from all of the plurality of operation units or a combination of history of the operation information, a specifying unit that specifies a command to be executed by the information processing device;
And the command table, the Bei example,
By operating the plurality of operation units, a command different from the command specified when one of the plurality of operation units is operated by a user is specified,
The specifying unit is configured to execute a command different from a command corresponding only to the operation information history of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units. Identify,
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A movement detecting unit for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of at least a part of the user's body;
A pressing unit pressed by the user,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating the transition of the pressed information,
The command table includes a transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information. Associating multiple commands
User interface device. A flag storage unit that stores a click flag that is updated to one of a first value, a second value, a third value, and a fourth value according to a duration of a state in which the pressing unit is pressed;
When the pressing part is pressed, the click flag is changed from the first value to the second value, and when the duration of the state where the pressing part is pressed is equal to or greater than a first duration threshold, the click flag Is changed from the second value to the third value, and the duration of the state in which the pressing unit is pressed becomes equal to or longer than a second duration threshold that is longer than the first duration threshold, the click flag is changed to A flag management unit for changing from three values to the fourth value;
The user interface device according to claim 1 . The flag management unit further sets the click flag from the fourth value to the first when the duration of the state in which the pressing unit is pressed is equal to or longer than a third duration threshold that is longer than the second duration threshold. Change to value,
The user interface device according to claim 2 . The movement detection unit includes a tracking sensor having a touch surface,
The pressing portion has a push switch,
The operation unit is
A main body having a cylindrical outer shape;
The movement detection unit is disposed such that the touch surface is exposed on a peripheral surface of the main body unit,
The pressing unit is disposed opposite to the side opposite to the touch surface side in the movement detection unit,
The user interface device according to claim 1 . The push switch has a pressure sensitive element,
The user interface device according to claim 4 . The operation unit includes a touch surface, a tracking unit that tracks a part of a user's body that contacts the touch surface, and a pressure-sensitive unit that detects pressure when the user presses the touch surface. Having a pressure-sensitive tracking sensor,
The movement detection unit includes the tracking unit,
The pressing part has the pressure-sensitive part.
The user interface device according to claim 1 . An input device further comprising: a plurality of mounting portions to which the plurality of operating portions are detachably mounted; and a plurality of first power connectors for supplying power to the plurality of operating portions;
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A power storage unit;
A second power connector connected to the first power connector in a state of being mounted on the mounting portion;
A power circuit that charges the power storage unit with power supplied to the second power connector,
The input device is:
In a state where the operation unit is mounted on the mounting unit, the power circuit is charged with the power storage unit by supplying power to the power circuit via the first power connector and the second power connector.
The user interface device according to claim 1. A touch panel,
The plurality of operation units are configured from a plurality of areas set on the touch panel.
The user interface device according to claim 1. When operated by a user, the operation unit is one of a plurality of operation units that send out operation information indicating operation contents,
Based on a combination of a combination or a history of the operation information of all the operating information of the plurality of operation portions, possess a specifying unit configured to specify a command to be executed by the information processing apparatus, a command table, and
By operating the plurality of operation units, a command different from the command specified when one of the plurality of operation units is operated by a user is specified,
The specifying unit is configured to execute a command different from a command corresponding only to the operation information history of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units. Identify,
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A movement detecting unit for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of at least a part of the user's body;
A pressing unit pressed by the user,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating the transition of the pressed information,
The command table includes a transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information. Associating multiple commands
Operation part. A command to be executed by the information processing device is specified based on a combination of operation information acquired from all of a plurality of operation units that transmit operation information indicating operation contents when operated by a user or a combination of the history of the operation information a specifying unit that, the command table, was perforated,
By operating the plurality of operation units, a command different from the command specified when one of the plurality of operation units is operated by a user is specified,
The specifying unit is configured to execute a command different from a command corresponding only to the operation information history of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units. Identify,
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A movement detecting unit for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of at least a part of the user's body;
A pressing unit pressed by the user,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating the transition of the pressed information,
The command table includes a transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information. Associating multiple commands
Connected device. Operation information indicating the operation content by the user acquired from all of a plurality of operation units having a movement detection unit that detects a movement speed and a movement direction of at least a part of the user's body and a pressing unit pressed by the user. Or a command specifying method for specifying a command to be executed by the information processing device based on a combination of the history of operation information ,
Use of transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, moving speed information indicating the moving speed, and moving direction information indicating the moving direction An operation of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of history of all operation information of the plurality of operation units with reference to a command table that associates a plurality of commands including the command to be performed A command different from the command corresponding only to the history of information is identified,
The operation information is
The travel speed information;
The movement direction information;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating transition of the pressed information,
Command identification method. Computer
Information processing apparatus based on a combination of operation information indicating operation contents acquired from all of a plurality of operation units which send operation information indicating operation contents to the information processing apparatus when operated by a user or a combination of history of the operation information A specific part that identifies the command to be executed in
Command table,
A program that functions as
By operating the plurality of operation units, a command different from the command specified when one of the plurality of operation units is operated by a user is specified,
The specifying unit is configured to execute a command different from a command corresponding only to the operation information history of one operation unit of the plurality of operation units based on a combination of all operation information histories of the plurality of operation units. Identify,
The plurality of operation units are respectively
A movement detecting unit for detecting a moving speed and a moving direction of at least a part of the user's body;
A pressing unit pressed by the user,
The operation information is
Travel speed information indicating the travel speed;
Moving direction information indicating the moving direction;
Pressing information indicating that the pressing unit is pressed;
Transition information indicating the transition of the pressed information,
The command table includes a transition history of pressing information of each of the plurality of operation units, presence / absence of the user's action determined based on the moving speed, and a command using the moving speed information and the moving direction information. Associating multiple commands
program.

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