JPH04233621A - Switch processing system for input panel surface - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To switch an input panel surface in a preceding input mode, in the switch processing system of the input panel surface. CONSTITUTION:A buffering processing part 5 is provided at a level-1 interruption processing part 3 to process interruption due to an input from a touch panel input device 14, and a switch processing part 6 is provided at a level-2 interruption processing part 4 having a much lower interruption priority order. Then, in the case of the normal input from the touch panel input device 14, the buffering processing part 5 activated by this input stores an input data in a keyboard buffer 11 and in the case of the switching input of the input panel surface, the switch processing part 6 activated from the level-1 interruption processing part 3 switches the input panel surface.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an input panel surface switching method, and more particularly to an input panel surface switching method for switching the input panel surface in response to a key press (touch) in advance input mode.

[0002] Touch panel input devices, which are a type of keyboard, have become widely used. A touch panel input device has a transparent film-like switch overlaid on the screen of a display device, and allows specified input by touching a finger to a position corresponding to a message displayed on the screen. In a touch panel input device, by switching the screen (input panel surface) on which a message is displayed, the input data will differ even if the same location is touched.

0003

2. Description of the Related Art When a system is executing a certain command according to instructions from a processing program, it is usually not possible to process key input data. Therefore, key input data is ignored. Therefore, data entered using keys from the touch panel input device is similarly ignored. However, this hinders high-speed input such as blind touch by skilled operators.

[0004] Therefore, a advance input mode has been adopted as one of the input modes for handling input data. That is,
Even if a processing program is executing a certain command, if a key input is made, the key input data is buffered, and when the command execution is finished, it is cleared from the buffer and the key input data is processed. This allows key input while commands are being executed.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In a touch panel input device, key input of various types of data is possible by switching the input panel surface. Therefore, even in advance input mode, there may be cases where it is desired to switch the input panel surface midway through the input mode.

However, this switching could not be performed for the following reasons. That is, this switching is performed by control on the system side in response to a press (touch) of a predetermined key that has the function of switching the input panel surface. However,
Conventionally, in the advance input mode, the system did not distinguish between normal key inputs and predetermined key inputs for switching. For this reason, all inputs are buffered together, so even if you press (touch) a certain key in advance input mode, the input panel surface does not change at that point, and the data is flushed from the buffer. It will switch when the

This point will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. Now, with the input panel surface at the left end of the figure being displayed, the operator touches the input keys "A, B, C" in order. At this time, because a certain command is being executed, the system is in advance input mode. Therefore, "A, B, C", which are normal inputs (inputs using the input keys on the input panel), are
Buffered sequentially.

Next, the operator inputs the switching of the input panel surface by pressing down (touching) a predetermined key (kana key). This switching input is input using external keys on the input panel, and is different from normal input. However, the system side does not distinguish between switching inputs and normal inputs, and buffers switching inputs as well. Therefore, at this point, the input panel surface does not switch, as shown in the center of the figure, even though a switching input has been made.

[0009] Next, the operator who is performing the blind touch operation for high-speed input again touches the input keys "A, B, C" in order. However, this is originally a touch input on the input panel surface shown at the right end of the figure, and is a touch input on the input keys "A, I, U" displayed in the positions of the input keys "A, B, C". be. However, since the input panel surface has not been switched, the input will be made on the original input panel surface, and "A, B, C" will be buffered.

[0010] Thereafter, when the execution of the command is completed, the buffered data is purged from the buffer and processed. That is, "ABCABC" is displayed, and the input panel surface is switched to the one at the right end of the figure. As a result, the input intended by the operator differs from the actual input result.

[0011] Conventionally, therefore, inputs that would change the input panel surface were prohibited in the advance input mode. For this reason, the advantages of advance input were not utilized, and high-speed input was hindered.

An object of the present invention is to provide an input panel surface switching processing method that enables high-speed input by switching the input panel surface in advance input mode.

[0013]

[Means for Solving the Problems] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention, and shows a data processing apparatus according to the present invention. This data processing device includes a touch panel input device 14,
It includes a command processing section 2, a keyboard buffer 11, and a buffering processing section 5, and supports advance input mode in the touch panel input device 14. That is, when data is input from the touch panel input device 14 while the command processing unit 2 is executing a command, the buffering processing unit 5 temporarily stores the data in the keyboard buffer 11. After the command execution is completed, this data is flushed from the keyboard buffer 11 and processed.

[0014] The touch panel input device 14 normally has a key 1
5 and an input panel surface switching key 16. The normal keys 15 are for normal input, and are, for example, input keys on the input panel surface. The input panel surface switching key 16 is for switching input, which is an instruction for switching the input panel surface, and is, for example, a predetermined key external to the input panel surface.

The switching processing section 6 switches the input panel surface by switching the message display on the touch panel input device 14.

[0016]

[Operation] The command processing unit 2 is currently executing the command. During this time, data is input from the touch panel input device 14 by pressing (touching) the normal key 15 or the input panel surface switching key 16 in advance input mode.

If this data is a normal input by pressing down (touching) the normal key 15, the buffering processing unit 5 transfers this data to the keyboard buffer 11.
The data is temporarily stored (buffered) in the keyboard buffer 11, and after command execution is completed, it is taken out from the keyboard buffer 11 and predetermined processing is performed. On the other hand, if this data is a switching input by pressing (touching) the input panel surface switching key 16, the switching processing unit 6 does not buffer the data to the keyboard buffer 11 by the buffering processing unit 5. Switch the input panel surface according to the following. Therefore, even in the advance input mode, the input panel surface is switched immediately after the switching input without buffering.

According to the above, when a normal input is performed after a switching input, this normal input becomes an input on a new input panel surface after the switching. In other words, the input results as intended by the operator can be obtained. Therefore, high-speed input is possible.

[0019]

Embodiment The data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 will be further explained. The processing device 1 consists of a CPU (central processing unit) and an MS (main memory), and includes a command processing section 2, a level 1 interrupt processing section 3, a level 2 interrupt processing section 4, . The command processing unit 2 executes various commands. The level 1 interrupt processing unit 3 processes a level 1 interrupt when it occurs. Level 1 interrupts include, for example, key input in advance input mode and buffering to the keyboard buffer 11. Therefore, the buffering processing section 5 is provided in the level 1 interrupt processing section 3. The level 2 interrupt processing unit 4 processes a level 2 interrupt when it occurs, and also switches the input panel surface when activated by the level 1 interrupt processing unit 3. Therefore, the switching processing section 6 is provided in the level 2 interrupt processing section 4. For level 2 interrupts, for example, keyboard buffer 11
There is a purge of data from.

The keyboard control section 10 sends data input from the keyboard device 13 and the touch panel input device 14 to the processing device 1, and also sends data input from the keyboard device 13 and the touch panel input device 1 to the processing device 1, and also controls the keyboard device 13 and the touch panel input device 1 according to instructions from the processing device 1.
Control 4. In particular, in the case of advance input mode in the touch panel input device 14, the keyboard control section 10 stores input data in the keyboard buffer 11 according to processing by the buffering processing section 5 of the processing device 1. The keyboard control section 10 interrupts the processing device 1 and the display control section 9 when there is data input.

The display control section 9 controls the display device 12 according to instructions from the processing device 1, and displays necessary information on the display device 12. The displayed content is, for example, data flushed from the keyboard buffer 11. The keyboard buffer 11 is provided between the keyboard control section 10 and the display control section 9.

The level 1 interrupt processing unit 3 has the highest interrupt priority and processes various level 1 interrupts. The level 1 interrupt processing unit 3 handles level 1 interrupts, e.g.
It is activated by an interrupt notification (notified from the keyboard control unit 10) caused by a key input from the touch panel input device 14. If the input from the touch panel input device 14 is a key input in advance input mode, the level 1 interrupt processing unit 3 determines whether the data input during command execution is a normal input or a switching input. In the case of normal input, buffering is performed by the buffering processing unit 5. In the case of a switching input, the level 2 interrupt processing unit 4 is activated and a predetermined process is requested. For this request, switching data area 7 and request flag 8
is provided.

The level 2 interrupt processing section 4 has an interrupt priority lower by "1" than the level 1 interrupt processing section 3, and processes various level 2 interrupts. The level 2 interrupt processing section 4 switches the input panel surface according to the contents of the switching data area 7 when the request flag 8 is set by the switching processing section 6 thereof. The request flag 8 is for requesting switching of the input panel surface, and is set by the level 1 interrupt processing section 3. The switching data area 7 is an area for storing data in the case of switching input, and is stored by the level 1 interrupt processing unit 3. After this setting and storage, the level 2 interrupt processing unit 4 is activated and control is passed.

FIG. 2 shows a processing flow when there is a key input from the touch panel input device 14. A key-in interrupt caused by a key input is notified from the keyboard control section 10 to the processing device 1, and the level 1 interrupt processing section 3 is activated, and subsequently receives keyboard data (input data) from the keyboard control section 10 in step 1. level 1
The interrupt processing unit 3 checks in step 2 whether or not the mode is the advance input mode, and if the mode is not the advance input mode, the interrupt processing section 3 processes the input data as normal input in step 3.

In the case of advance input mode, in step 4, the level 1 interrupt processing unit 3 checks whether or not the input is a switching input caused by pressing down (touching) the input panel surface switching key 16, and determines whether the switching input is not a switching input (usually input), in step 5, the buffering processing unit 5
The input data is buffered in the keyboard buffer 11 via the keyboard control unit 10.

If it is a switching input, the level 1 interrupt processing unit 3 sets the input data in the switching data area 7 in step 6, and sets the request flag 8 (turns ON) in step 7.

[0027] After step 5 or step 7, level 1
The interrupt processing unit 3 activates the level 2 interrupt processing unit 4 in step 8.

FIG. 3 shows the level 2 interrupt processing flow. When activated, the level 2 interrupt processing unit 4 suppresses level 2 interrupts in step 9, and checks in step 10 whether or not the interrupt from the keyboard control unit 10 is the cause. If the interrupt is not from the keyboard control section 10, the level 2 interrupt processing section 4 does not perform any further interrupt processing, and returns control to the command processing section 2 in step 11. That is, command processing continues.

If the interrupt is from the keyboard control unit 10, the level 2 interrupt processing unit 4 checks in step 12 whether or not the request flag 8 is set, and if it is not set, in step 13, the level 2 interrupt processing unit Process input data. If set, the input screen switching request flag is set to 0FF in step 12-1, and in step 14, the switching processing section 6 refers to the switching data area 7 and switches the input panel surface according to the contents.

FIG. 4 shows the flow of data purging processing. The command processing unit 2 executes the command in step 15, and when this is completed, in step 16,
Check whether there is unprocessed data. If there is unprocessed data, the command processing unit 2 activates the level 2 interrupt processing unit 4 in step 17. Thereafter, command processing continues, for example, in steps 10 and 11 of FIG.

If there is no unprocessed data, the command processing section 2 checks in step 18 whether or not there is any buffered data in the keyboard buffer 11. If there is, in step 19, the command processing section 2 sweeps (takes out) the data from the keyboard buffer 11, sends it to the display control section 9, and ends the command processing. If not, do not perform this step 19,
Terminates command processing.

FIG. 5 shows switching of input panel surfaces according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is compared with FIG. 8, and shows a case where high-speed input is performed in the same order as FIG. 8.

Now, with the input panel surface at the left end in FIG. 5 being displayed, the operator touches the input keys "A, B, C" which are the normal keys 15 in order. At this time, the command processing unit 2 is executing a certain command, and this input is in advance input mode. Therefore, the normal inputs "A, B, C" are sequentially buffered to the keyboard buffer 11 in step 5.

Next, the operator presses down (touches) the input panel surface switching key 16. The switching input resulting from this is not buffered, and the input panel surface is switched in step 14 accordingly. That is, the input panel surface shown in the center of FIG. 5 is displayed. Therefore, the input panel surface is switched before the buffered data is flushed out.

Next, the operator, who is performing an input operation by blind touch for high-speed input, again touches the same part physically as the previous input keys "A, B, C". However, since the input panel surface has already been switched at this point, touch input is performed on the input keys "A, I, U". Therefore, "A, I, U" are sequentially buffered in step 5.

After that, when the execution of the command is completed, the buffered data "A" is transferred in step 19.
, B, C, A, I, U" are swept to the display control section 9, and "A, B, C, A, I, U" is displayed.

In the above description, the case where characters are input from the input panel surface is shown, but the present invention can also be applied to the case where items are input as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. 6 and 7 correspond to FIGS. 5 and 8, respectively, with FIG. 6 showing switching of input panel surfaces according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 showing a case according to the prior art for comparison with FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, "Manufacturer B" is input by touching the input panel surface (left end of the figure) on which the manufacturer's name is displayed as an item (input item). Next, in order to input "product B" of "manufacturer B", the operator presses down (touches) the input panel surface switching key 16. This switches to the input panel screen (center of the figure) where the product name is displayed as an item. Then, touch the item "Product B" and input it. According to this, "Manufacturer B"
and "Product B" are buffered and displayed.

Incidentally, if a similar operation is performed using the conventional technique, the result will be as shown in FIG. That is, for the same reason as explained in FIG. 8, the item "Manufacturer B" is buffered twice and displayed as is.

[0040]

[Effect of the invention] As explained above, according to the present invention,
In the process of switching input panel surfaces, by executing the switching input for switching the input panel surface in advance input mode without buffering, it is possible to switch the input panel surface even in advance input mode. This makes it possible to perform high-speed input that takes full advantage of the advantages of input, and it is also possible to handle high-speed input such as blind touch by skilled operators.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a level 1 interrupt processing flow.

FIG. 3 is a level 2 interrupt processing flow.

FIG. 4 is a data purge processing flow.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of switching input panel surfaces.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of item input.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for comparison with FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating problems in the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Processing equipment 2 Command processing section 3 Level 1 interrupt processing section 4 Level 2 interrupt processing section 5 Buffering processing section 6 Switching processing section 7 Switch data area 8 Request flag 9 Display control section 10 Keyboard control section 11 Keyboard buffer 12 Display device 13 Keyboard device 14 Touch panel input device 15 Normal key 16 Input panel surface switching key

Claims (5)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A touch panel input device (14), a command processing unit (2) that executes commands, and a keyboard buffer (11) that temporarily stores data input from the touch panel input device (14). and a buffering processing section (5) that stores data in the keyboard buffer (11) when data is input from the touch panel input device (14) while the command processing section (2) is executing the command. The data processing device includes a switching processing unit (6) that switches the input panel surface of the touch panel input device (14), and the data input during execution of the command is transferred to the normal key (15) of the touch panel input device (14). ), the buffering processing unit (5) stores this data in the keyboard buffer (11), and the data input during the execution of the command is input to the touch panel input device (14). Input panel surface switching key (16
), the switching processing unit (6
) switches the input panel surface according to this data. 2. The buffering processing section (5) and the switching processing section (6) are each configured as a level 1 interrupt processing section (
3) and a level 2 interrupt processing unit (4), the level 1 interrupt processing unit (3) is activated by an interrupt input from the touch panel input device (14), and the level 2 interrupt processing unit (4) 2. The input panel surface switching processing method according to claim 1, wherein the interrupt priority is lower than that of the level 1 interrupt processing section (3) and is activated by the level 1 interrupt processing section (3). . 3. The level 1 interrupt processing unit (3) comprises:
3. The input panel surface switching processing method according to claim 2, further comprising determining whether data input during execution of the command is the normal input or the switching input. 4. The level 1 interrupt processing unit (3) comprises:
In the case of the switching input, the level 2 interrupt processing unit (4) is activated by setting a request flag (8) requesting switching of the input panel surface, and the activated level 2 interrupt processing unit (4) 4. The input panel surface switching processing method according to claim 3, wherein said switching processing section (6) switches said input panel surface when said request flag (8) is set. 5. The level 1 interrupt processing unit (3) comprises:
In the case of the switching input, the data is stored in the switching data area (7), the level 2 interrupt processing section (4) is activated, and the switching processing section of the activated level 2 interrupt processing section (4) is (6) is the switching data area (7
5. The input panel surface switching processing method according to claim 3, wherein the input panel surface is switched according to the contents of the input panel surface.