JPH0296826A - System for controlling shift of cursor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve operability with a comparatively small space by inputting an output signal generated by means of the operation of an analogue joy stick to a computer through a mouse interface and controlling the cursor on the screen of a display device. CONSTITUTION:The pulse signal of a frequency corresponding to the operation angle of the analogue joy stick is obtained from a variable frequency oscillation circuit 1 by the operation of the analogue joy sticks, and a direction signal showing the operation direction of the analogue joy sticks is obtained from a direction detection circuit 4. Thus, a phase difference signal generation circuit 2 synthesizes a panel signal and the direction signal, and generates a coordinate control signal showing the shift of the cursor and the cursor on the screen of the display device is controlled by inputting the coordinate control signal to the computer through the mouse interface. Thus, precise pointing is attained and operation can be performed by the comparatively small space, whereby operability improves.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application in Industry A] The present invention relates to a cursor movement control method used for manually controlling position data on the screen of a display device, and more specifically to a tilt angle-velocity responsive joystick. This paper relates to a cursor movement control method using a mouse interface.

[Prior Art and Its Issues] A mouse, joystick, or the like is used for manual input of position data in personal computers such as CAD, graphic tools, and computers, and a mouse is generally used as a pointing device. A mouse generally has a ball on the bottom, and when the mouse is moved in any direction on a desk, the rotation of the ball is transmitted to a rotary encoder to generate pulses, which are then analyzed by a computer to determine the cursor coordinates on the screen. It has the advantage of allowing fine coordinate control.

The pulse signal input from the mouse to the computer is the first
As shown in the figure. From the mouse, Zfffi neck coordinate control signals (X, Y)a, (X,
Y, )b is output. The two unique coordinate control signals are:
When the mouse moves in the positive direction, (X, Y) a becomes (X,
It has a leading phase relationship with respect to Y)b, and when moving in the negative direction, (X, Y)b has a leading phase relationship with respect to (X, Y)a.

When the coordinate control signals (X, Y) a, (X, Y) b are manually input to the computer, the computer determines the moving direction of the cursor based on the relative phase of the coordinate control signals, and each time the edge portion of the signal is detected. Update the cursor coordinates (first
Figure (C)).

Note that the cursor movement speed is proportional to the mouse movement speed, that is, the frequency of the coordinate control signal.

This cursor movement operation using a mouse has the following problems.

(a) As described above, since the mouse uses the rotation of the ball that is generated by moving the mouse in any direction on the desk, a relatively large operation space is required to move the mouse on the desk.

(b) For example, when moving the cursor at high speed on a menu screen, etc., it is necessary to move the mouse quickly, and when moving the cursor over a large distance, it is necessary to repeatedly move the mouse from one end of the operation space to the other. There is,
The operation is complicated and the cursor cannot be moved continuously. [Object of the Invention] The present invention aims to generate an output signal similar to that when operating a mouse by operating an analog joystick, and to transmit the output signal to a mouse interface. By controlling the cursor on the screen of a display device by inputting data into a computer via The purpose is to provide.

[Structure of the Invention] The means of the present invention taken to solve the above problems are as follows.

The present invention is a cursor movement control method characterized in that a cursor on a screen of a display device is controlled by outputting an output from an analog joystick in a signal format compatible with a mouse interface. Specifically, by operating the analog joystick, a variable frequency oscillation circuit obtains a pulse signal with a frequency corresponding to the operating angle of the analog joystick, a direction signal indicating the operating direction of the analog joystick is obtained from a direction detection circuit, and a phase difference signal is obtained. A generating circuit synthesizes the cursor number and the direction signal to generate a coordinate control signal indicating the movement of the cursor, and the coordinate control signal is manually input to the combiator via a mouse interface to display the coordinate signal on the screen of the display device. Control the cursor.

Joysticks include digital joysticks and analog joysticks. A digital joystick outputs only the operating direction of the joystick. In addition to the functions of a digital joystick, an analog joystick outputs changes in the tilt angle of the joystick as changes in resistance value, and can adjust the moving speed of the cursor.

Among these, analog joysticks, which can adjust the speed of cursor movement by changing the joystick's inclination angle, are easy to control the cursor position, require a small operation space, and can solve the above-mentioned problems with mice. It is. However, in order to use an analog joystick for pointing, it is necessary to add an arithmetic circuit to the combiator body and use special software that supports analog joysticks, which increases the cost and makes it less popular than before. It is not common because there is no software available for the mouse.

Therefore, the present invention provides an analog joystick that is compatible with a mouse interface by combining the above circuits.

The mouse commonly used for personal computers is
It has a ball at the bottom and has a structure in which the rotation of the ball caused by the rotation of the main body is transmitted to the 2@ rotary switch and a phase difference signal is generated by the root contact. Therefore, most mouse interfaces include an edge detector,
An integrated circuit having a phase detection section and an addition/subtraction circuit section is used.

In the present invention, a phase difference signal suitable for a mouse interface is electronically generated by combining a direction detection circuit and a phase difference signal generation circuit.

Note that it is preferable to set the heart rate of the cursor moving on the screen to be a quadratic function with respect to the inclination angle of the joystick, since this provides the most natural operating feel. Furthermore, in order to prevent unintended cursor movement due to joystick return error and overshoot, it is preferable to prohibit changes in the output signal when the joystick tilt angle is within several degrees.

[Example] The present invention will be described in more detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an analog joystick device for implementing the 8-speed cursor control system according to the present invention. The joystick device is connected to a personal computer and is equipped with an X-coordinate circuit and a Yl signpost circuit, but the X-coordinate circuit and Y-coordinate circuit are the same circuit. Therefore, only the Xlf standard circuit section is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a variable frequency oscillation circuit whose oscillation frequency changes in accordance with the operating amount of the joystick, that is, the tilt angle, and its output CLK is manually input to the phase difference signal generation circuit 2. The variable frequency oscillation circuit 1 is well known to those skilled in the art as a resistance-tuned oscillation circuit, and the oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit, that is, the frequency of the output CLK, is the reciprocal of the resistance value of an externally connected resistor (for example, 11). It is designed to change in proportion to.

Note that the output CLK is used as a clock signal for the D-type flip-flops 20 and 21 shown in FIG. 3, as will be described later, and is therefore hereinafter referred to as a clock CLK. 11 is the joystick volume.

The volume 1 is set so that the resistance value decreases as the joystick operation amount (inclination angle) increases, and therefore, as the joystick operation amount increases, the frequency of the clock CLK increases. The phase difference signal generation circuit 2 steps down the frequency of the clock CLK, which is the manual input, and generates two coordinate control signals Xa and X having mutually different phases.
It is designed to generate and output b. 3 is an inhibition circuit whose inhibition output INH is variable frequency oscillation circuit 1
When the tilt angle of the joystick is within several degrees, the oscillation of the variable frequency oscillation circuit 1 is stopped. Reference numeral 4 designates a direction detection circuit, and the output direction signal N is inputted to the phase difference signal generation circuit 2 to control the relative phase of the coordinate control signals Xa and Xb. Prohibition circuit 3 and direction detection circuit 4 are volume 11
Along with the switch 31 built into the joystick.
The operation amount and direction of the joystick are detected by the operation of the joystick. The switch 31 is located inside the joystick and is linked to the volume 11, and its movable element 310 contacts the stator 311 when the joystick is operated in the positive direction, and contacts the stator 311 when the joystick is operated in the negative direction. 312, and is configured not to contact any stator when the joystick is in the neutral position. On the other hand, stator 31
Since 0 is grounded, the inhibition circuit 3 and direction detection circuit 4 can detect the operation amount and operation direction of the joystick by detecting the ground potential. Note that the direction detection circuit 4 has an R-S flip-flop inside, and the joystick is, for example, positive (
If it returns to the neutral position after being operated in the negative (negative) direction, the direction signal N is kept at the signal level indicating the positive (negative) direction even after returning, and the next time the negative (positive) direction is detected, the direction signal N is returned to the neutral position. (correct) direction.

The operation of this embodiment will be described in more detail below with reference to the time charts of FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 showing a more detailed configuration of the phase difference signal generation circuit 3.

The phase difference signal generating circuit shown in FIG. 3 is configured as a 2-bit reversible counter, and 2G and 2I are D-type flip-flops, and 22 and 23 are exclusive OR gates. When a pulse waveform is input to its clock terminals CKI and CH2, the flip-flop 20.21 outputs Q outputs Q1 and Ql at the timing of the rising edge of the pulse, and outputs the Q outputs Q1 and Ql to the D terminals DI and D2 of the flip-flop at that timing. It is a positive leading edge-triggered flip-flop that changes the logic level to be equal to the logic level input by the user. A clock CLK, which is the output of the variable frequency oscillation circuit 1, is input to clock terminals CKI and IJ2 of the flip-flops 20 and 21. The output of the gate 22 is input to the D terminal D1 of the flip-flop 20, and the Q output Q1 is input to the gate 2.
3 and output as the coordinate control signal Xa. The output of the gate 23 is input to the D terminal of the flip roller 21, its Q output Q2 is output as the coordinate control signal xb, and the φ output 5 is input to the gate 22.

On the other hand, the direction signal N, which is the output of the direction detection circuit 4, is manually input to the remaining input terminals of the gates 22 and 23. Therefore, D of flip-flop 20.21
The logical expression of the signals input to the terminals D1 and D2 is expressed as follows.

D1=N Ql +N Ql D2=N Ql +N In other words, when the direction signal N is at a low level, the state of the D terminal D1 of the flip-flop 20 is the same as that of the flip-flop 21.
According to the state of the Q output Q2 of the flip-flop 21, the D
The state of I child D2 follows the state of Q output 0 of flip-flop 2 (lt7). Furthermore, when the direction signal N is at a high level, the state of the Df4 child D1 of the flip-flop 20 follows the state of the Q output Q2 of the flip-flop 21, and the state of the D terminal D2 of the flip-flop 21 changes. According to the state of output Q1. Therefore, when the direction signal N is at a low level, the Q output Q2 of the flip-flop 21
That is, the state of the coordinate control signal xb is the state of the flip-flop 2.
In other words, when the direction signal N is at a high level, the state of the coordinate control signal Xa is one clock time later than the state of the coordinate control signal Xb. It follows with a delay of just the timing.

To explain further, when the direction signal N is at a low level, the phase relationship between the control signals Xa and Xb is as follows: when the direction signal N is at a low level, the mouse output signal Xa (Fig. i1 (
A)>, xb (Figure 1 (B)) is the same as the phase relationship, and when the direction signal N is at a high level, the phase of the mouse output signals Xa and Xb when the mouse is operated in the negative direction. Same as relationship.

Figure 4 shows the unresolved situation when the joystick is operated in the positive direction from the neutral position, returns to the neutral position, and then returns to the neutral position after being operated in the negative direction (Figure 4 (G)). It is a time chart for explaining the operation of the device of the embodiment.

When the joystick is in the first neutral position, the fourth
It is assumed that all the signals shown in the figure are in a low level state, but as is clear from the above equation, the phase difference signal generation circuit 2
Since the relative phase of the coordinate control signals Xa and Xb, which are the outputs of , does not depend on the state before the clock CLK is input,
There is no problem in making such an assumption. Also,
For ease of explanation, the clock CL is shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the frequency of K (FIG. 4(C)), that is, the operating angle of the joystick, is constant. Note that when the joystick is at the first neutral position, the direction signal N (Fig. 4 (A)) is at a low level, so the direction of joystick operation before the time shown in Fig. 4 is in the positive direction. One thing will be understood.

First, when the joystick is operated in the forward direction, the switch 31 is activated and the prohibition circuit 3 and direction detection circuit 4 detect the operation of the joystick.

Since the operating direction of the joystick in this case is the same as the operating direction before returning to the neutral position, the direction signal N does not change. When the inhibition circuit 3 does not detect joystick operation, it keeps the inhibition output INH at a low level and stops the oscillation of the variable frequency oscillation circuit 1. However, when the joystick operation is detected by actuation of the switch 31, a minute delay time t is generated. After that, the inhibition output INH is changed to high level. The delay time t is provided to prevent the clock CLK from being manually applied to the phase difference signal generation circuit 2 while the state of the direction signal N is changing, thereby causing unintentional cursor movement by the operator. is selected to be sufficiently smaller than the minimum period of the clock CLK.

Immediately when the inhibition output INH becomes a high level, the variable frequency oscillation circuit 1 starts oscillating and outputs a pulse-like clock CLK with a frequency corresponding to the operating angle of the joystick. The clock is connected to the clock terminal C of the flip 20 and 21 included in the phase difference signal generation circuit 2.
HI and CH2 are manually operated. Phase difference signal generation circuit 2
The internal state of changes every time the rising edge of the clock CLK arrives, but since the direction signal N is at a low level, the phase relationship between its outputs Xa and Xb is such that Xa is equal to xb.
It is in a leading phase with respect to. Therefore, the output Xa,
Coordinate control signal X via mouse interface
If a and Xb are input to the computer, the cursor on the display screen will move in the positive direction for each edge of the coordinate control signal, as shown in FIG. 4(F). When the joystick returns to the neutral position, the inhibition circuit 3 detects the return of the joystick by the return of the switch 31 and immediately sets the inhibition output INH to a low level, thereby immediately stopping the oscillation operation of the variable frequency oscillator circuit (■) and starting the clock CLK.
will be at a low level. At this time, the direction signal N remains at a low level indicating the positive direction as described above, and similarly, since the phase difference signal generation circuit 2 also has a flip-flop inside, its internal state and input/output Xa, Xb are clocked. The state at the moment CLK stopped is maintained.

When the joystick is operated again and a tilt angle in the negative direction is applied, the inhibition circuit 3 and the direction detection circuit 4 detect the operation of the joystick, and the direction detection circuit 4 immediately indicates the direction signal n in the negative direction. The inhibition circuit 3 sets the inhibition output INH to a high level after a minute time t has elapsed.

When the inhibit output TNH becomes high level, the clock CLK is input to the phase difference signal generation circuit 2, and the internal flip-flops 20, ? l initiates a state transition, but the direction signal N
is at a high level, so the output xb of the phase difference signal generation circuit 2
is in a leading phase with respect to the output Xa. Therefore, if the outputs Xa and Xb are manually input to the computer as coordinate control signals Xa and Xb, the cursor will move in the negative direction. The behavior of the apparatus of this embodiment and the embodiment when the joystick is returned from the negative direction to the neutral position is similar to the behavior when the joystick is returned from the positive direction to the neutral position.

In this way, the coordinate control signal output from the device of this embodiment has the same form as the coordinate control signal output from the mouse, and the mouse interface is controlled by operating the analog joystick to move the cursor on the screen. It is capable of eight-shift control.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various configurations may be adopted within the scope of the claims.

By operating the ink, it generates a phase difference signal similar to that when operating a mouse, allowing for fine pointing, which is the functional superiority of a mouse, and can be operated in a relatively small space. Therefore, it is possible to provide a cursor control system that has the advantages of a joystick, such as good operability when the cursor moves quickly and over a wide range.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a time chart of a phase difference signal output from a mouse, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a joystick device according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a phase difference signal generation circuit shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a time chart for explaining the operation of one embodiment of the present invention. [Effects of the Invention] The present invention has the above-mentioned configuration, analog joysteer: variable frequency oscillation circuit 11: volume 2: phase difference generation circuit 20.21: flip-flop 22.23: exclusive OR gate 3: prohibition Circuit 31: Switch 4 two-way detection circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cursor movement control method characterized by outputting the output of an analog joystick in a phase difference signal format compatible with a mouse interface to control a cursor on the screen of a display device.