JPH04127315A - Personal computer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a personal computer with good handleability by constituting the computer so that at the time of inputting data and a command to the personal computer, they can be instructed with a pen and a finger even in a system whose screen is large. CONSTITUTION:When a touch panel 2 is depressed with a digitizer input pen 4, a depressing signal is outputted from a digitizer controller 7, and also, a depressing signal is outputted from a touch panel controller 6, as well. When the depressing signal is outputted, an effective input discriminating means 10 starts its operation, an effective coordinate value is selected from in a coordinate value outputted from the touch panel controller 6 and a coordinate value outputted from the digitizer controller 7, and the selected coordinate value is delivered to a processing means 11. In such a manner, data and a command can be inputted easily irrespective of an input device (pen, etc.).

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] The purpose of this invention is to provide a personal computer with a flat display and a display attached to the bottom of the display, with the aim of making it easy to input data and commands regardless of the input device. A digitizer, an input pen for the digitizer, a transparent touch panel attached to the top of the display, and a touch panel
the controller, the digitizer controller, a valid input identifying means for identifying valid coordinate values, and a processing means for performing processing using the coordinate values determined to be valid by the valid input identifying means; The means operates when a press signal is output from the touch panel controller or when a press signal is output from the digitizer controller, and the means operates to generate coordinate values output from the touch panel controller and coordinate values output from the digitizer controller. The system is configured to identify valid coordinate values from among the valid coordinate values and to pass the valid coordinate values to the processing means.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to personal computers for inputting, processing, and displaying information.

In recent years, the use of OA has progressed and computers have become commonplace in workplaces and homes, and there is a demand for ease of use.

In particular, in portable personal computers that can be used anytime and anywhere, ease of use tends to be sacrificed due to various restrictions for miniaturization, and it is necessary to develop a system that is both compact and easy to use. It is.

[Conventional technology]

Traditionally, especially in portable personal computers, keyboards have been abolished in order to achieve miniaturization, and as an alternative input method, pressure-sensitive touch panels (hereinafter simply referred to as touch panels) have been used to input data using an appropriate pen or finger. or with a special pen using an electromagnetic induction or capacitive tablet (hereinafter simply referred to as a digitizer).
A method of inputting data and commands is adopted.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Devices that use digitizers can only be operated with a special pen, and pressure cannot be input using a finger or the like, making them difficult to use.

Touch panels allow input with any object (finger or pen), but on the other hand, as the display becomes larger and the area of the touch panel increases accordingly, when you try to use the pen, the touch panel becomes larger due to the area of your palm. There is a problem that when pressed, pen input and palm input are input at the same time, causing malfunctions.

In addition, devices using any of these devices cannot perform operations equivalent to simultaneous keystrokes on a keyboard, and when selecting commands, etc., it is necessary to specify hierarchical menus in order, or select desired commands from among many menus. There are problems such as having to find something to do.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to enable data and commands to be input easily, regardless of the input device (such as a pen), in a personal computer that performs input using a pen or hand. In addition, by simultaneous operation of pen and finger,
The purpose is to make it easy to select menus such as commands.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The first part is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention. The invention of claim (1) comprises: a flat display 1; an electromagnetic induction type or capacitive coupling type digitizer 3 attached to the bottom surface of the display 1; a digitizer input pen 4; and a digitizer attached to the top surface of the display 1. a touch panel controller 6 that outputs a press signal when the touch panel 2 is pressed and also outputs coordinate values representing the pressed position; and a digitizer input ben 4 that outputs a press signal when the touch panel is pressed. and a digitizer controller 7 that outputs coordinate values representing the pressed position, a valid input identifying means 10 that identifies valid coordinate values, and processing using the coordinate values validated by the valid input identifying means 10. It is equipped with a processing means 11.

In the invention of claim (2), the valid input identifying means 10 is configured to detect the input signal that is output from the touch panel controller 6 when the touch panel controller 6 outputs a press signal and the digitizer controller 7 does not output a press signal. The coordinate values are made valid, and when push signals are output from both the touch panel controller 6 and the digitizer controller 7, the coordinate values output from the digitizer controller 7 are made valid.

In the invention of claim (3), when the touch panel controller 6 outputs a press signal, the valid input identifying means 10 detects the touch panel controller 6.
It is configured to check whether or not the coordinate values output from the controller 6 exist in a valid area, and if so, make the coordinate values valid, and if they do not exist, make the coordinate values invalid. .

In the invention of claim (4), the valid input identifying means 10 detects the touch panel controller 6 when the push signal is output from both the touch panel controller 6 and the digitizer controller 7.
The coordinate value output from the touch panel controller 6 is valid on the condition that the coordinate value output from the touch panel controller 6 exists in a valid area, and the coordinate value output from the digitizer controller 7 is also valid. has been done.

[Operation] The operation of the invention of claim (1) will be explained. When the touch panel 2 is pressed with the digitizer input ben 4, a press signal is output from the digitizer controller 7, and a press signal is also output from the touch panel controller 6. The valid input identifying means 10 starts operating when the press signal is output, and selects valid coordinate values from among the coordinate values output from the touch panel controller 6 and the coordinate values output from the digitizer controller 7. is selected, and the selected coordinate values are passed to the processing means 1. When the touch panel controller 6 outputs a press signal and the digitizer controller 7 does not output a press signal, the coordinate values output from the touch panel controller 6 are passed to the processing means 11.

The invention of claim (2) will be explained. In the invention of claim (2), the valid input identifying means 1o is configured to identify the digitizer controller 6 and the digitizer controller 6 when the push signal is output from both the touch panel controller 6 and the digitizer controller 6.
The coordinate values output from the controller 7 are passed to the processing means 11.

When holding the digitizer input pen 4 in a hand and pressing down on the surface of the touch panel 2 with the digitizer input pen 4, the touch panel 2 may be pressed down with the palm of the hand. Claim (2)
In the invention, when a press signal is output from both the touch panel controller 6 and the digitizer controller 7, the coordinate values from the digitizer controller 7 are passed to the processing means 11, so that the palm and the touch panel 2 are
The coordinate values of the contact position will not be input to the processing means 11 in the case where the contact is made by mistake.

The invention of claim (3) will be explained. In the invention of claim (3), when the touch panel controller 6 outputs the press signal, the valid input identifying means 10 determines whether or not the coordinate value output from the touch panel controller 6 is within the valid area. If it exists, the coordinate value is passed to the processing means 11.

For example, when holding the digitizer input pen 4 in the right hand and pressing down on the surface of the touch panel 2 with the digitizer input pen 4, the touch panel 2 may be pressed down with the palm of the right hand.

The position at which the touch panel is pressed by the palm of the right hand is generally the right or lower part of the touch panel 2. In such a case, the left or upper part of the touch panel 2 is set as the effective area. By setting the effective area in this way, even if the right palm accidentally contacts the touch panel, the coordinate values of the contact position will not be passed to the processing means 11.

The invention of claim (4) will be explained. In the invention of claim (4), the valid input identifying means 10 determines that the coordinate values output from the touch panel controller 6 are valid areas when the push signals are output from both the touch panel controller 6 and the digitizer controller 7. The coordinate values output from the digitizer/controller 7 are also passed to the processing means 1 on the condition that they are within the same range.

According to the invention of claim (4), the processing means 1 processes both the coordinate values from the touch panel side and the coordinate values from the digitizer side.
1, allowing two-handed input.

[Example] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a display input section in the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a display, 2 is a touch panel, 3 is a digitizer, and 4 is a digitizer input pen.

The display 1 is, for example, a flat liquid crystal display. The touch panel 2 is of a transparent type and is fixed to the top surface of the display 1.

The digitizer 3 is of an electromagnetic induction type or a capacitive coupling type, and is fixed to the bottom surface of the digitizer 1. The display 1 is connected to a display controller, the touch panel 2 is connected to the touch panel controller, and the digitizer 3 and digitizer input pen 4 are connected to the digitizer controller.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the computer. In the figure, 5 is a processing device, 6 is a touch panel controller, 7 is a digitizer controller, 8 is a display controller, and 9 is a memory.

Processing device 5. Touch panel controller 6゜Digitizer controller 7, Display controller 8
．． Memory 9 is connected to the bus. Touch panel/
The controller 6 has a function of calculating coordinate values representing a touch position based on a signal output from the touch panel 2;
It has a function of outputting an interrupt signal (push signal) when the touch panel 2 is pressed. The touch panel controller 6 sequentially outputs the coordinate values of a plurality of points near the pressed button. The digitizer controller 7 has a function of calculating coordinate values representing the position of the digitizer input pen based on the signal from the digitizer 2;
It has a function of outputting an interrupt signal (push signal) when the digitizer input pen 4 presses the touch panel 2.

When a predetermined signal is input to the interrupt terminal, the processing device 5 checks the cause of the interrupt, and if the cause of the interrupt is due to an interrupt signal from the touch panel controller 6, reads the coordinate value output by the touch panel controller 6. ,
If the interrupt factor is due to an interrupt signal from the digitizer controller 7, the coordinate values output from the digitizer controller 7 are read. The read coordinate values are written into the memory 9.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the processing of a valid input identifying section that gives priority to digitizer input. The valid input identifying section is realized by the valid input identifying program in the memory 9 and the processing bag W5. The part that performs the series of processes shown in FIG. 4(b) is a valid input identification section.

When the user selects one command from multiple commands displayed on the display screen (in the illustrated example, commands such as copy, erase, open, and end are displayed), the user must use a special pen or finger, etc. You can select a command with any of the following.

For example, when you try to select "End" in the menu and press down on the touch panel 2 with the digitizer input pen 4, the digitizer controller 7 detects the press and sends an interrupt to the processing device 5. When the 0 interrupt is raised, a valid input is input. The identification unit is activated.

At the same time, the touch panel controller 6 detects that the touch panel 2 has been pressed, issues an interrupt to the processing device 5, and similarly attempts to activate the valid input identification section. In the illustrated example, the valid input identification unit is activated using the interrupt that occurs first as a trigger, but similar processing may be performed in separate routines.

In the illustrated example, when the processing device 5 is notified of any interrupt, it first determines the cause of the interrupt. In the case of an interrupt caused by pressing the touch panel 2, it is determined whether there is an interrupt from the digitizer side at the same time, and if there is an interrupt from the digitizer side, the coordinate values obtained from the digitizer side are used as valid coordinate values. By reading the coordinate values from the digitizer controller 7 and notifying the application program, the application program can analyze the coordinate values and recognize that the command "End" has been selected.

Therefore, even if the user's palm accidentally touches the touch panel 2 when selecting a menu using the digitizer input pen 4 and a press is detected, an interrupt from the digitizer side will also be raised at the same time. Coordinate values are never passed to the application program.

Furthermore, when a menu is selected with a finger or the like, an interrupt from the digitizer side does not occur, so correct coordinates can be detected by reading the coordinate values from the touch panel side. Although the valid input identification section is implemented by software here, it may also be implemented by hardware.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the processing of the valid input identification unit that recognizes the valid area. The valid input identifying section is realized by a valid input identifying program in the memory 9 and the processing device 5. The part that performs the series of processes shown in FIG. 5(b) is a valid input identification part.

When using a large touch panel and trying to give instructions with something like a regular pen, the touch panel is pressed down with the palm of the hand, and the coordinate values of the contact position between the palm and the touch panel are incorrectly input into the app cage program. Sometimes. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 avoids the above-mentioned erroneous input by setting a valid area on the touch panel where pressing is valid.

When a right-handed person holds a pen, the palm of the right hand touches the touch panel relatively to the right and bottom portions of the touch panel. Therefore, if the pressed position of the touch panel is on the right or bottom part of the touch panel, there may be unintended coordinate values representing the pressed position. Furthermore, if the pressed position of the touch panel is on the top or left side of the touch panel, the coordinate values representing the pressed position are valid.

Therefore, if you display the menu etc. on the left and upper parts and limit the effective input of the touch panel to only the left and upper parts,
Menus can be detected with either a digitizer input pen or a finger, and if the right and lower parts are detected with a digitizer input pen and the input from the touch panel is ignored, there will be no misrecognition. For left-handed people,
On the contrary, the effective area can be set to the right or top.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), when the menu is placed at the left end and the user touches the menu with a pen or digitizer input pen, an interrupt is sent from the touch panel to the processing device 5, and the valid input identification section is activated. Ru. The valid input identification unit determines whether the coordinate value from the touch panel side is within the valid area (left end), as shown in FIG. 5(b),
If it is within the valid area, the coordinate values are notified to the application program, and the application program thereby knows that the command has been specified.

Additionally, if the coordinate values from the touch panel side do not exist within the valid area, the coordinate values from the touch panel side are ignored and only the coordinate values from the digitizer side are passed to the application program, causing erroneous recognition. It can be controlled without any trouble. Although the valid input identifying unit for determining the valid area is implemented by software here, it may also be implemented by hardware.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating two-handed input. A left-hand menu is displayed at the left end, and when a portion of this menu is pressed with the left hand, the coordinate values are notified to the application program.

The application program determines which part of the menu this coordinate value corresponds to, and when it receives an input notification from the digitizer, it selects a menu (command) using a combination of input from the touch panel and input from the digitizer. You can choose.

In the illustrated example, a user's request is selected as a left-hand menu, and details of the menu are selected using a right-hand digitizer input pen. For example, the left-hand menu allows the user to select a pencil and eraser, and the right-hand menu allows the user to select the thickness of the pencil and the size of the eraser.

In particular, in this example, the left-hand menu is selected first, and the menu selected with the right-hand digitizer pen is changed depending on the selected menu.

In the conventional method, it was necessary to display all the menus or to select the menus one by one with a pen or finger, but in the example shown in Figure 6, you can use your left and right hands at the same time, so you can easily select the displayed menus. It's easy to do and easy to choose.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, when inputting data and commands to a personal computer, even in a large-screen system, it is possible to input instructions using a pen or a finger, thereby making it easy to use for personal computers.・
It becomes possible to realize a computer. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, both hands can be used for menu selection, etc., and the amount of menus to be displayed can be reduced, making it easier to see and making selections easier.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the display input section, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the computer, and Fig. 4 is the processing of the valid input identification section that prioritizes digitizer input. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the process of the valid input identification unit that recognizes the valid area, and FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining input using both hands. 1...Display, 2...Touch panel, 3...
・Digitizer, 4...Digitizer input pen, 5
. . . processing device, 6 . . . touch panel controller, 7 . . . digitizer controller, 8 . . . display controller, 9 . . . memory. Patent Applicant Fujitsu Co., Ltd. Patent Attorney Patent Attorney Kyotani 4th Department 1 doctor in Agriculture and Fisheries Input Department The area and the power of the widow who takes the turtle color are input to the rebel man 11 seasons and illusions Figure 5

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) A flat display (1), an electromagnetic induction or capacitive coupling type digitizer (3) attached to the bottom surface of the display (1), an input pen for the digitizer (4), and a display (1) A transparent touch panel (2) attached to the top surface of the touch panel (2), a touch panel controller (6) that outputs a press signal when the touch panel (2) is pressed and outputs coordinate values representing the pressed position, and a digitizer input pen ( 4) a digitizer controller (7) that outputs a press signal when the touch panel is pressed and coordinate values representing the pressed position; and a valid input identification means (10) that identifies valid coordinate values.
A personal computer comprising processing means (11) for performing processing using the coordinate values validated by the valid input identifying means (10), the personal computer comprising:
10) operates when a press signal is output from the touch panel controller (6) or when a press signal is output from the digitizer controller (7), and the coordinate value is output from the touch panel controller (6). and is configured to identify valid coordinate values from among the coordinate values output from the digitizer controller (7) and pass the valid coordinate values to the processing means (11). personal computer. (2) The valid input identification means (10) determines whether a push signal is output from the touch panel controller (6) when a push signal is output from the touch panel controller (6) and no push signal is output from the digitizer controller (7). If a push signal is output from both the touch panel controller (6) and digitizer controller (7), the coordinate value output from the digitizer controller (7) is valid. 2. A personal computer according to claim 1, wherein the personal computer is configured as follows. (3) The valid input identification means (10) determines whether or not the coordinate values output from the touch panel controller (6) exist in the valid area when a press signal is output from the touch panel controller (6). 2. The personal computer according to claim 1, wherein the personal computer is configured to check the coordinate values, and to validate the coordinate values if they exist, and to invalidate the coordinate values if they do not exist. (4) The valid input identification means (10) includes a touch panel controller (6) and a digitizer controller (7).
If a push signal is output from both, the coordinate values output from the touch panel controller (6) are considered valid on the condition that the coordinate values output from the touch panel controller (6) exist in the valid area. 2. The personal computer according to claim 1, wherein the personal computer is configured so that the coordinate values output from the digitizer controller (7) are also valid.