JPH02190029A - Data input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the use of convenience without using many keys by providing a rotating direction signal and a rotating quantity signal while operating an operating knob to an input candidate data such as a character or the like stored in a storage section as a matrix, and selecting the data corresponding to the row and the column. CONSTITUTION:When a knob 4 to enter a data is turned, a detection means 5 gives a signal corresponding to the direction of rotation and the quantity of rotation of the knob 4 to a selection means 12. The selection means 12 corresponds a forward rotation signal of the knob 4 to the row of input candidate data stored in a matrix and decide the quantity of rotation signal to how many orders of the row signal corresponds, and corresponds similarly a reverse rotation signal and the quantity of rotation signal to the column and the order number of the column of the input candidate data. Then the selection means 12 selects one of the input candidate data of the storage section 11 corresponding to the row and the column and displays the selected data on a display section 3 Thus, the input candidate data is selected with a simple operation and simple constitution without provision of lots of keys.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides data for selecting and confirming input data from among input candidate data such as characters, symbols, and pictures in a storage unit and displaying the data. Regarding input devices.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, in data input devices such as word processors and electronic notebooks, a keyboard is provided with a large number of keys corresponding to input candidate data such as characters, symbols, and pictures, and data input is performed using a keyboard. At this time, input candidate data is selected by selecting and operating a key corresponding to a character, symbol, or picture of the input data from among a large number of keys on the keyboard.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional configuration as described above, the following problems occurred due to the large number of keys. That is, for those who are not accustomed to operating a keyboard, it takes time to find the desired key until the key arrangement is memorized, making it inconvenient to use. Furthermore, especially in miniaturized devices such as electronic notebooks, the keys on the keyboard are also small, so there is a risk that when operating a desired key, the user may accidentally operate an adjacent key. In order to make the entire device thinner, the keys are made of a membrane or the like without a stroke, which results in a poor operating feel for the user. Furthermore, since a large number of keys are used as mechanical components, the device becomes expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to have a simple configuration without providing a large number of keys, and to input candidate data such as months, target characters, symbols, and pictures with simple operations. To provide a data input device for selection i'7.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The data man/power device of the present invention includes an operator that can be rotated in both forward and reverse directions, and that corresponds to the direction and amount of rotation of this operator, respectively. A detection means for outputting a rotation direction signal and a rotation amount signal is provided, and the detection means outputs a rotation direction signal and a rotation amount signal. selection means for selecting input candidate data in association with rows and columns based on the combination of the rotation direction signal and rotation amount signal, and confirmation for determining the input candidate data selected by the selection means with the input data (17); A feature H is that the present invention is configured by providing a display section for displaying input candidate data and input data selected by the selection means.

Also, whiten the confirmation part and timer function (IX1 configuration and 1
-5. Input candidate data may be determined as input data when the operator is not operated within a predetermined time.

(Function) According to the data input device according to claim 1, when the operator is rotated to input data, the detection means generates a rotation direction signal and a rotation amount corresponding to the rotation direction and rotation port of the operator. The signal can be used as a selection means. The selection means associates, for example, rows of the input candidate data stored in a matrix arrangement according to a rotation direction signal for the forward rotation of the operation element,
At this time, the rotation m signal corresponds to the number l in that row, and in the same way, the rotation direction signal and rotation m signal for the reverse rotation of the operator correspond to the column number of the input candidate data. or corresponding. Thereby, the selection means selects one of the input candidate data in the storage section associated with the row and column and displays it on the display section. Thereafter, the selected input candidate data becomes input data when confirmed by the confirmation section, and is displayed as input data on the display section.

According to the data input device according to the second aspect, when a predetermined timer period elapses after the input candidate data is selected by the selection means by operating the operator, the determining unit automatically determines the input candidate data as input data. I come to do it.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to an electronic/electronic notebook will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, in Fig. 2 showing the overall appearance, reference numeral 1 denotes a notebook-sized main body case with a rectangular shape, and this "-" side part has six keys 2a to 2f that can be pressed downward. A key operation section 2 is provided, and a display section 3 such as a liquid crystal display element is provided on the upper side. Reference numeral 4 denotes a cylindrical operator pivotally supported so as to protrude from the side surface of the main body case 1, which can be rotated in forward and reverse directions, that is, in the direction of arrow A and the direction of counter-arrow A, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
are connected. In this detection mechanism 5, 6 is a gear fitted to the drive shaft 4a of the operator 4, and 7 is a leaf spring having a convex portion 7a in the center. It is supported by the lower support portion 1a, and is arranged so that the convex portion 7a is in pressure contact with the teeth of the gear 6. In this case, the gear 6 rotates against the biasing force of the leaf spring 7, but the biasing force is weakened at the position where the protrusion 7a engages with the valley between the teeth of the gear 6. It has a stable structure.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an actuator supported by the support portion 1b at the upper part of the main body case 1 so as to be able to reciprocate in the left-right direction. As the gear 6 rotates, its rotational force is transmitted through the operating protrusion 8a and moves, and when the gear 6 moves to a position where the engagement between the operating protrusion 8a and the gear 6 is disengaged, the actuator 8a is biased. It is designed to be returned to the central neutral position by a spring. Reference numeral 9 denotes a first contact portion, and as the actuator 8 moves to the right, a movable contact 9a is pressed and comes into contact with a fixed contact 9b.

Reference numeral 10 designates a second contact portion, and as the actuator 8 moves to the left, the movable contact 10a is pressed and comes into contact with the fixed contact 10b. Therefore, when the gear 6 rotates clockwise (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3) due to the rotation operation of the operator 4, the first contact portion 9 is turned on by the operator 8, and the first contact portion 9 is turned on by the operator 8. A rotation direction signal is obtained, and the number of pulses due to repeated ON operations of the movable contact 9a according to the rotation amount of the gear 6 is obtained as a rotation amount signal. When the gear 6 is rotated counterclockwise (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3), the second contact portion 10
operates in the same manner as the first contact portion 9 described above, and a second rotation direction signal and a rotation amount signal corresponding to the rotation amount thereof are obtained.

Now, the outline of the electrical configuration will be described according to FIG. Reference numeral 11 denotes a storage unit, which stores input candidate data such as characters, symbols, and pictures arranged in a matrix in association with rows and columns; for example, as shown in FIG. Each Hiragana character is arranged in 5 rows and 10 columns.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a selection section which is a selection means, to which the first and second rotation direction signals and rotation amount signals are given from the detection mechanism, and the selection section 12 selects a row or a column corresponding to the rotation direction signal from the storage section 11. By specifying a pointer, the specified row or column pointer is added and moved according to the number of pulses of the rotation amount signal, and the input candidate data in the storage unit 11 selected by each pointer is read out. It is designed to be output as follows. Reference numeral 13 denotes a confirmation section, which is configured to receive input candidate data from the selection section 12, and when the confirmation key 2f of the key operation section 2 is pressed, the input candidate data given thereto is input. It is determined and output as data. Further, this confirmation unit 13 has a timer function, and when a predetermined timer period has elapsed, the selected input candidate data is confirmed as input data even if there is no suppression operation of the confirmation key 2f. There is. Further, the input candidate data from the selection section 12 and the input data from the confirmation section 13 are displayed on the input candidate data display section 3a and the input data display section 3b (see FIG. 2) of the display section 3, respectively. There is. Note that the storage section 111 selection section 12 and determination section 13 described above are actually constituted by a microcomputer.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.

Now, a case will be described in which, for example, hiragana "r" is input as input data. First, after depressing the Japanese key 2cle of the key operation section 2, the candidate key 2e is depressed, and the input program starts according to the flowchart of FIG. First, the selection unit 12 selects “
In processing step S1 of "Row pointer clear" and processing step S2 of "Column pointer clear", the row and column pointers are cleared and the position where the 0th row and Oth column of the storage unit 12, that is, the input candidate data "A" is selected. Set to . Next, in step S3 of determining whether the operator has been operated, the selection unit 12 determines whether or not the operator 4 has been rotated, that is, whether a signal has been given from the detection mechanism 5. do. At this time, if the operator 4 is rotated in the direction of arrow A (clockwise), the detection mechanism 5 will give the selection unit 12 the first rotation direction signal indicating the clockwise direction, as described above. Therefore, rYEsJ is determined in this step S3, and rYEsJ is also determined in the subsequent determination step S4 of "clockwise direction?", resulting in the processing step SS of "row pointer addition". In this step SS, the selection unit 12
moves the row pointer corresponding to the first rotation direction signal to 1
is added and set in the first row, Oth column of the storage unit 11, that is, the position where input candidate data "i" is selected. The next "overflow?" judgment step SlI determines whether the value of the line pointer has overflowed (whether it has exceeded the fourth line)
If rYEsJ is determined here, the line pointer is cleared in the subsequent "line pointer clear" processing step S1, and then the process proceeds to "input candidate data display" processing step S8, and as in this case, If the fourth line is not exceeded, it is judged as rNOJ and the process goes to step S.
8 Hejiyanbu. In this step SS, the selection unit 12 reads the input candidate data from the storage unit 11 where the row and column pointers are located, that is, reads and displays the input candidate data “i” in the 1st row and 0th column. The input candidate data is displayed on the input candidate data display section 3a of the section 3. At this time, this input candidate data "i" is also given to the determining unit 1-3, and at the same time, the determining unit 13 starts a timer. Next judgment step S of “Is there a confirmation key operation part?” In l, it is determined whether or not the confirmation key 2f has been suppressed. In this case, since the input candidate data "tsu" has not yet been selected as input data, the confirmation key 2f is not operated. Therefore, the determination is "NO" and the next determination step SIO is "Has the timer time elapsed?". In the determination unit 13, since the predetermined timer time has not yet elapsed since the above-mentioned input candidate data "I" was given, it is determined that rNOJ is given in step S1, and thereafter step S1 is determined to be rNOJ.
Return to 3. Hereinafter, the detector also repeats steps S3 to S10 as many times as the number of pulses of the rotation amount signal from ζ5. In this case, a total of two pulses of the rotation amount signal are given, and therefore the memory The input candidate data "u" in the second row and mO column of No. 11 is selected. After this, control 4
When is rotated in the counter-arrow A direction (counterclockwise direction), the second rotation direction signal indicating the counterclockwise direction is output at this time, so after passing through step S3, rNOJ and After the determination, the next processing step 811 of "column pointer addition" is reached. This step Sl! Then, the selection unit 12 adds 1 to the column pointer corresponding to the second rotational direction signal and sets it to the position where the second row and first column of the storage unit 11, that is, the input candidate data “<” is selected. do. The subsequent "Is it an overflow?" processing step S12 is to judge whether the value of the 11th column pointer has overflowed (whether it has exceeded the 9th column), and here rYEsJ
When it is determined that the column pointer is cleared in the subsequent "column pointer clear" processing step S13, the process proceeds to step S8. If the 9th column has not been exceeded as in this case, rNOJ is determined and step S8 Hejiambu. Hereinafter, as described above, in step S8, the selection unit 1
2 is the input candidate data “<
" is read out and displayed on the input candidate data display section 3a,
Step S3. The process returns to step S3 via SIO. Then, steps S3 and S4 are performed as many times as the number of pulses of the rotation amount signal. S11A51215131 S8/S5 and S
IO is performed repeatedly, and in this case, a total of three pulses of the rotation amount signal are given, and therefore, the memory unit 11
The input candidate data "tsu" in the second row and third column is selected. In this way, when the desired input candidate data "tsu" is selected and displayed on the input candidate data display section 3a, when the confirmation 4゛-2f is suppressed to confirm it,
Step S! 1, it is determined as "YESJ," and the processing step Sl& is "confirmed as input data." The confirmation unit 13 confirms this input candidate data "tsu" as input data, and displays the input data display section 3b of the display section 3. Display is performed and data input is completed. Also, at this time, even if the confirmation key 2f is not pressed,
If steps S9, s, Or s3, and S8 are left in this state until the timer time of the determining unit 13 elapses, steps S9, s, Or s3, and S8 are repeated, then rYESJ is determined at step S1, and the next step is SIA, where input is made in the same manner as described above. It becomes confirmed as data.

In addition, when adding a voiced mark or a voiced mark to the input candidate data, it is done by suppressing the reverse voiced mark key 2a or the voiced mark key 2b of the key operation section 2. In addition, when inputting "A" as input data, if the operator 4 is not rotated in step 3 in the initial state, "NO" is determined here, and in the next step S6, The selection unit 12 selects the input candidate data “A” in the 0th row and 0th column of the storage unit 11 where the row 1 column pointer is located.
, so all you have to do is confirm this.

Furthermore, when inputting an alphabetic character, if the alphabetic character key 2d of the key operation unit 2 is pressed, the selection unit 12 causes the pointer in the row 1 column to correspond to the input candidate data of the alphabetic character (not shown) in the storage unit 11. It looks like this.

According to this embodiment, when the operator 4 is simply rotated twice in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions, the selection unit 12 associates the rows and columns in the storage unit 11 with each other. Now you can select the desired input candidate data from the input candidate data arranged in a matrix, so unlike before, you can search for the desired key from among the many keys associated with each input candidate data. There is no need to perform any operations, and therefore even a user who is not accustomed to the key arrangement can easily and quickly select input candidate data. Since input candidate data can be selected simply by providing keys 2a to 2f, there is no need to provide a large number of small keys or keys without strokes in such a small device, unlike in the past. The problem of accidentally pressing an adjacent key at the same time is minimized, the operating feel is good, and since the number of keys is small, it can be manufactured at a low cost.

Further, the determining unit 13 is provided with a timer function, and the determining unit 13 is provided with a timer function.
Since input candidate data is confirmed as input data after a predetermined timer period has elapsed since the input candidate data is given to input data, it is possible to confirm the input data without pressing the confirm key 2f each time, which improves usability. It's good.

In the above embodiment, the detection mechanism 5 is used as the detection means, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which electrical detection is performed, such as detecting by changing the resistance value in response to rotational operation of the operator 4, is also possible. It's good as well.

Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes the case where the present invention is applied to an electronic notebook, the present invention is not limited to this, but can be applied to general data input devices for inputting characters, symbols, pictures, etc., such as word processors and computers. be.

"Effects of the Invention" According to the data input device according to claim 1, input candidate data such as characters, symbols, and pictures stored in the storage section in a matrix manner corresponding to rows and columns can be By rotating the operator by the necessary amount of rotation in the forward and reverse directions, a rotation direction signal and a rotation amount signal are given to the selection means, and based on the combination, the selection means is made to correspond to the row and column. , unlike in the past, there is no need to search for a LI-like key among a large number of keys corresponding to input candidate data before operating it, thus reducing the time it takes for inexperienced users to memorize and search for key layouts. You can type quickly without having to run. In addition, since many keys are not used, even if the device is made smaller and thinner, there will be problems such as having to operate adjacent keys at the same time as in configurations with many small keys, and keys with no stroke. This eliminates the need to use it, provides a good operating feel for the user, and has the excellent effect of reducing the number of parts and making it possible to manufacture at a low cost.

According to the data input device according to the second aspect, the determining section is provided with a timer function, and the input candidate data is determined as input data after a predetermined timer period has elapsed since the input candidate data is given from the selection means. The user can confirm the input candidate data as input data without performing a confirmation operation on the input candidate data each time, and this has an excellent effect of improving usability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the electrical configuration, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the detection mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining control details. flowchart,
FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually showing an example of arrangement of input candidate data. In the drawing, 2 is a key operation section, 2f is a confirmation key, 3 is a display section, 4 is an operator, 5 is a detection mechanism (detection means), 11 is a storage section, 12 is a selection section (selection means), and 13 is a confirmation section. be.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An operator that can be rotated in both forward and reverse directions, a detection means that outputs a rotation direction signal and a rotation amount signal corresponding to the rotation direction and amount of rotation of the operator, respectively, and a character , a storage section that stores input candidate data such as symbols and pictures arranged in a matrix in correspondence with rows and columns, and input candidate data in this storage section that is combined with the rotation direction signal and rotation amount signal. a selection means for selecting in association with a base row and column; a determination unit for determining input candidate data selected by the selection means as input data; and a determination unit for determining input candidate data and input data selected by the selection means. A data input device comprising a display section for displaying information. 2. The data input device according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit has a timer function and determines the input candidate data as input data when the operator is not operated within a predetermined timer time. .