JPH0391821A - Coordinate display device for touch screen - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the reliability and the operability by detecting the coordinates of a touched point on a display and displaying a cross-cursor at a position on a screen corresponding to the touched point. CONSTITUTION:A cursor control subsystem 29 is added to a conventional device. A touch screen 28 detects the touch given to a specific menu on a screen and transmits the coordinate data equivalent to the touched position to a serial input/output interface 24 in a graphics controller 22 via a transmission bus 2c. The interface 24 calls a touch screen process task with an interruption and transfers the coordinate data to this task. Then the coordinate data is reported to a central arithmetic unit 21 via a high speed communication bus 2a as long as the coordinate data is kept ON. Furthermore the reported coordinate data X and Y are set to a cursor control subsystem 29 and synthesized with a display screen. Then a cross-cursor is displayed on the coordinates X and Y.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a touch screen coordinate display device that directly displays a touch position on a touch screen device using a cursor on the screen. be.

(Prior Art) In general, a graphics control device is a control device that uses a display (for example, a CRT) as a medium, which plays a central role in man-machine communication between humans and mechanical systems. Coloration is progressing.

In this case, in order to uniformly handle images containing a mixture of figures, tables, characters, etc. that visually display information, a method is used in which character fonts are developed into bitmap information and displayed. The amount of data processed for

For this reason, the database has a hierarchical structure so that the necessary information can be selected while looking at the display, and the information can be instantly retrieved in the form of figures and tables, making it easy and quick to display, search, and aggregate. It is hoped that

Against this background, when selecting required information using a menu selection method, for example, touch screen devices are often used from the viewpoint of emphasizing operability.

Touch screens are convenient because they allow input directly on the display screen, and can be operated without taking your eyes off the screen, making it possible to achieve efficient dialog processing.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, such a graphics system includes a graphics control unit W22 that develops information such as figures, tables, and characters into bitmaps, and a disk that serves as a medium for displaying the information developed into bitmaps. It consists of a play device 27, a touch screen device 28 for selecting a menu displayed on the display, and a central processing unit 2l, and the display surface has a data display area 34 and a selection menu group 35, as shown in FIG. Constructed,
By selecting each menu 36, detailed information related to the selected menu is displayed in the data display area 34.

Menu selections are detected by a touch screen 31 built around the screen, and the processing is performed by application software resident in the central processing unit [21].

For example, when menu A is selected, that is, when a finger touches menu A on the screen, the touch screen 28 detects this touch and corresponds to the position of the finger on the serial input/output interface 24 in the graphics control device 22. The coordinate data is transmitted via the transmission bus 2C.

Coordinate data consists of status and coordinates, and the status includes the state in which the finger is touching the screen (the inside of the touch screen is obstructed) and the state in which the finger is removed from the screen (nothing obstructing the inside of the touch screen). There are two states: on-state change data at the moment the finger touches the screen, on-touch state data when the finger continues to touch the screen,
It is possible to distinguish between three types of coordinate data: and off-state change data at the moment when the finger is removed from the screen. The coordinate values in the X and Y directions are expressed in binary. While the finger continues to touch the screen, coordinate data is sent from the touch screen device at regular intervals, and the serial input/output interface 24 that receives the coordinate data starts touch screen processing by interrupt as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Call the task and pass coordinate data.

Next, it is determined whether or not this data is on-state change data, and if it is on-state change data, the coordinate data is reported to the central processing unit 21 via the high-speed serial communication 2a. What ultimately analyzes the coordinate data is application software resident on the central processing unit, and this application software is used to determine that menu A has been selected by the operator.

Next, the application side changes the display color of menu A displayed on the screen, blinks it, or adds a message to notify the operator that menu A has been selected. At the same time, information data to be displayed is sent to the graphics control device 22 via the high-speed serial communication 2a, and detailed information related to menu A is sent to the data display area 3.
Send for display on 4.

The menu displayed on the display can be selected by the above operation, and information related to the menu item can be displayed on the same display.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the above conventional menu selection method using a touch screen device has the following problems. In other words, if only the touch screen device malfunctions for some reason, even if the operator selects a menu, the menu will not actually be selected.Therefore, the operator may wonder whether the inability to select is due to a malfunction in the graphics control device 22. It is not possible to determine whether the problem is due to a malfunction in the application software resident in the central processing unit 21 or a malfunction in the transmission system connecting each device, and this becomes a factor that reduces the reliability of the entire system.

In addition, if the selection menu screen on the display screen is small, or if the displayable area on the screen and the sensor part of the touch screen are physically misaligned, the operator may not be able to accurately point out the menu to select. , Therefore, there is no menu for the operator to instruct at the coordinate position detected by the touch screen.
Without being able to grasp the cause of the slow response, the operator is forced to repeatedly perform selection operations until the menu is selected.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to directly display the position touched by the operator on the screen using a cross cursor, thereby making it possible to monitor the operating status of the touch screen device in real time. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable coordinate display device for a touch screen.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a graphics control device that develops graphic, table, and character information into a bitmap, a display device that displays the information developed into a bitmap, and a display device that displays the information developed into a bitmap. In a graphics display device equipped with a touch screen device for selecting a displayed menu, when an operator touches the screen to select a menu, the coordinate position detected by the touch screen device is displayed on the screen via the graphics control device. A cross cursor is used to directly display the detection position on the touch screen device to notify the operator of the detection position of the touch screen device, thereby ensuring that the operator can perform operations such as menu selection.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the display state of the cross cursor. When the finger 41 touches the menu 43, the cross cursor 42 is displayed centered on the touched point.

Furthermore, even if the cross cursor is displayed on top of other figures, tables, or characters drawn on the screen, the line is 1 pixel wide, so the figure or character will not be hidden by the cursor and become invisible. Another advantage is that the crossed portions can visually capture the coordinate points indicated by the fingers.

(Example) An example of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart of touch screen processing.

1 has a cursor control subsystem 29 added compared to the conventional case of FIG. 4, and the rest is the same as the conventional FIG. 4.

That is, FIG. 1 shows a graphics control device 22 that develops graphic, table, and character information into bitmaps, a display device 27 that displays the information developed into bitmaps,
It is composed of a touch screen device 28 for selecting a menu displayed on a display screen, and a central processing unit 21.

Further, the display screen is composed of a data display area 34 and a selection menu group 35 as in the conventional case, and by selecting each menu, detailed information related to the selected menu is displayed in the data display area 34. Selections are made using the touch screen 3 built into the periphery of the screen.
1 and processed by application software residing on the central processing unit.

For example, when menu A is selected, that is, when a finger touches menu A on the screen, the touch screen 28 detects this touch and sends a message to the serial input/output interface 24 in the graphics controller 22 corresponding to the position of the finger. coordinate data is transmitted via the transmission bus 2c. The serial input/output interface 24 that receives the coordinate data calls the touch screen processing task by an interrupt as shown in FIG. 2 and passes the coordinate data.

Next, it is determined whether or not this data is on-state change data, and if it is on-state change data, the coordinate data is reported to the central processing unit 21 via the high-speed serial communication 2a. Further, the X and Y values of the reported coordinate data are set in the cursor control subsystem 29, and combined with the display screen, a cross cursor is displayed on the X and Y coordinates.

The central processing unit ultimately analyzes the coordinate data! This is application software that resides on the 21, and checks whether a menu has been selected by comparing the coordinates of menu A on the screen with the coordinate data received via high-speed serial communication, and if a selection has been made, menu A is displayed. Information data for changing the display color of menu A is transmitted to the graphics control device 22 via the high-speed serial communication 2a, and detailed information related to menu A is transmitted for display in the data display area 34.

At this time, if the application software does not change the display color of menu A, that is, if no selection is made, the operator can select the cause from among the following.

(1) The cross cursor is displayed, but the operator's finger did not touch the menu accurately, resulting in a selection error. A physical misalignment between the display area and the sensor part of the touch screen that can be detected due to misalignment, ■ If the cross cursor is not displayed even if your finger touches the screen, there is an abnormality in the touch screen itself, including the sensor part, (4 ) The cross cursor indicates the menu, but there is no response. This may be due to a problem with the application software resident on the central processing unit, including transmission.

Furthermore, if the operator moves his finger while touching the screen after the cross cursor is displayed, the touch screen processing task determines that the data is neither on-state change data nor off-state change data, and the received coordinate data is After displaying the cross cursor at the coordinate position, the cross cursor displayed at the previous coordinate position disappears, indicating that the cross cursor has moved.

Through this operation, the cross cursor moves to follow the operator's finger, allowing the operator to monitor the quality of the touch screen device in real time, and making it possible to select menu items with visual feedback, improving operability. improves.

When the operator finishes selecting the menu, the operator removes his finger from the screen, but the touch screen processing task detects off-state data and sets the cursor control subsystem 2a to interrupt the composition of the display screen and cross cursor. to clear the cross cursor and complete the menu selection operation.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the position touched by the operator on the screen is directly displayed on the screen by the cross cursor, so visual feedback is provided while performing intuitive operations, and this makes it clear. In addition, accurate operation becomes possible, and the quality of touch screens, which tend to be one-sided, can be monitored in real time, making it possible to significantly improve the reliability, operability, and usability of touch screen devices.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of coordinate display processing in the present invention, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross cursor display method in the present invention, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional touch screen graphic display system, and FIG. The figure shows the general structure of a touch screen display.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of conventional touch screen processing. 21...Central processing unit 22...Graphics control device 23...Control unit 24...Serial input/output interface 25...Memory subsystem 26...Graphics subsystem 27...Display device [28...Touch screen device 29...Cursor control subsystem 3l...Touch screen 32...Sensor unit 33...Display screen 34...Data display area 35...Selection menu group 36.・・・
Each menu 41...Finger 42...Cross cursor 4
3...Menu

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a touch screen display system that uses a touch screen to display information corresponding to a touch point on the screen of a display device, the coordinates of the touched point are detected and a cross is placed at the position on the screen that corresponds to these coordinates. A coordinate display device for a touch screen, comprising a cursor control subsystem for displaying a cursor.