JPH04148412A - Electronic input device having touch panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the occurrence of erroneous control owing to erroneous contact at the time of input by invalidating input from a part of keys in a keyboard at the time of an input mode to a touch panel. CONSTITUTION:The touch panel part 10 constituted by overlapping a two dimensional position sensor consisting of a pair of transparent electrodes on the surface of a display panel is provided. The keyboard part 11 is arranged just under the touch panel part 10. At the time of the input mode to the touch panel 10, input from a part of the keys in the keyboard 11 is invalidated. When a plotting key 11a is depressed, a system enters a plotting mode and handwriting input from the touch panel part 10 can be received. In the plotting mode, all key inputs are invalidated except for a case when a brake key 11c and a shift key 11d are simultaneously depressed. Thus, control is prevented from being influenced even if the keyboard is erroneously touched during handwriting input.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electronic input device having a touch panel and a keyboard.

[Prior Art] Some input devices for portable electronic devices, such as calculators, electronic memos, electronic dictionaries, and electronic notebooks, are equipped with a touch panel for handwritten input in addition to a keyboard. As is well known, a touch panel is constructed by superimposing a two-dimensional position sensor using a pair of transparent electrodes on the display panel surface, and detects the position by inputting with a special pen or finger, such as pressing input. This involves inputting handwritten information.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In this type of electronic input device, a keyboard is often provided near the touch panel, and the hand that is inputting data on the touch panel may accidentally touch a key on the keyboard. be. In this case, there is a risk that control will be transferred to processing related to the key that was touched by mistake even though drawing using the touch panel is continuing. Therefore, when performing handwriting input to the touch panel, the operator must operate carefully to avoid accidentally touching the keys on the keyboard.

The present invention is intended to eliminate such inconveniences, and its purpose is to provide an electronic input device that can prevent erroneous control from occurring due to erroneous contact during input using a touch panel.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The gist of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is to provide a control means for disabling input from some keys of the keyboard during the touch panel input mode.

[Operation] In the mode of handwriting input to the touch panel, the control means invalidates input signals from most keys on the keyboard. Therefore, even if you accidentally touch the keyboard during handwriting input, the control will not be affected.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 schematically shows the configuration of an input device of a portable electronic device such as a calculator, electronic memo, electronic dictionary, electronic notebook, etc. as an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a touch panel section formed by superimposing a two-dimensional position sensor using a pair of transparent electrodes on the surface of the display panel, and a keyboard section +1 is arranged immediately below this touch panel section 10.

FIG. 3 shows some keys of the kill board section 11.

In the figure, 11 is a drawing key for instructing the drawing mode, +To is a calculation key for instructing the calculation mode,
llc is a break key, 11d is a shift key, lle is a registration key for registering drawing data, and 111 is a new input key.

When the drawing key 11a is pressed, the drawing mode is entered and it becomes possible to receive and receive handwritten input from the touch panel section 10.

In this drawing mode, all keys are disabled except when the break key 11C and shift key 11d are pressed at the same time. Break key 11c and shift key 11d
When pressed at the same time, the manual key lock is released and input from all keys becomes valid. In this state, for example, the calculation key IT.

When the key 11e is pressed, the mode shifts to calculation mode, and when the registration key 11e is pressed, the mode shifts to the mode for registering drawing data. After registering the drawing data, if the new input key 111 is pressed, the mode shifts to a new drawing mode, and all keys except the simultaneous depression of the break key 11C and shift key 11d are locked. Further, when the break key 11c and the shift key 11d are simultaneously pressed in the state where the keys are manually unlocked, the mode shifts to the drawing mode and the keys enter the above-mentioned manually locked state.

FIG. 1 shows a part of the control program for the microphone 0 computer of the portable electronic device in this embodiment. A microcomputer that executes this control program corresponds to the control means of the present invention. In the drawing mode, the microcomputer repeatedly executes this control program.

First, in step S1, it is determined whether there is drawing data input by handwriting from the touch panel unit 10.

If there is drawing data, the process advances to step S2 to process this drawing data, and when the process is completed, the process returns to step S1.

If there is no drawing data, the process advances to step S3, and it is determined whether there is any input from the keys on the keyboard section 11. If there is no key human power, the process advances to step S8 to execute the next necessary process, for example, display process, and then returns to step S8.
Return to 1.

If there is manual key power, the process advances to step S4, and it is determined whether the keys are manually locked by the drawing mode.

If the key is not locked, the process advances to step S5, and the control shifts to a mode in which processing related to the pressed key is executed. That is, in this case, the drawing mode ends.

If the key is currently locked, proceed to step S6;
It is determined whether the break key 11c and shift key 11d are pressed at the same time. If there are no simultaneous presses, the process proceeds to step S8, and if there are simultaneous presses, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, the key manual lock according to the drawing mode is released, and then the program proceeds to step S8.
Proceed to.

In this way, in the drawing mode, when there is drawing data, any key input is put on standby until the drawing data runs out. When drawing data runs out, the keys are normally locked in drawing mode. Therefore, even if you accidentally press a key while drawing, it will not affect the control (
do not have.

To manually release the key lock, use the break key 11c and shift key! Since it is configured to be executed only when the two keys 1d are pressed at the same time, there is no risk of accidentally unlocking the lock while drawing. Moreover, the break key
As is clear from FIG. 3, e and shift key lid are provided at positions apart from each other, which further reduces the possibility that the lock will be unlocked inadvertently.

As described above, according to this embodiment, even if the keyboard unit 11 is touched, the handwritten drawing is not affected, so that the operator can concentrate on drawing with peace of mind.

In the above-described embodiment, the manual key lock is released by pressing the break key 11c and the shift key lad simultaneously, but it is clear that other keys may be used for this purpose. For example, the manual key lock may be released by pressing a function key and another key at the same time. In this case, it is desirable to place the function keys in a position where the user cannot touch them while drawing by hand.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in an electronic device in which a keyboard section 22 is provided on the right side of the touch panel section 20 in addition to a keyboard section 21 disposed immediately below the touch panel section 20, this right keyboard section A function key 22a is arranged at 22. This eliminates the risk of your hand touching it while drawing by hand.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, since the present invention includes a control means for disabling input from some keys on the keyboard during input mode to the touch panel, It is possible to prevent erroneous control from occurring due to erroneous contact. Therefore, even if a hand touches the keyboard, it does not affect the handwritten drawing, so the operator can concentrate on drawing with peace of mind.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing part of a control program of a microcomputer of a portable electronic device in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 schematically shows the configuration of an input device of the portable electronic device in this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a part of the keys of the keyboard section, and FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an input device of another portable electronic device. 10. 20...Touch panel section, II. 21. 22... Kibodo club.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An electronic input device equipped with a touch panel and a keyboard, characterized in that the electronic input device includes a control means for disabling input from some keys of the keyboard when in an input mode to the touch panel. input device.