JPH0511923A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely execute inputting with simple operation by arranging fluid between a plane board and a film, removing the fluid by pressing the film, and reading the pressed position from under the plane board. CONSTITUTION:A film 3 composed of freely deformable synthetic resin or rubber, etc., is arranged on a transparent glass board 2, and white liquid 4, for example, is sealed between the glass board 2 and the film 3. The back side of the film 3 is colored in black, for example. Under the glass board 2, a scanner 6 is arranged as a read part. When the desired position of inputting is pressed with a finger in this case, the part pressed by the finger on the film 3 is recessed, and the film at the part pressed by the finger is brought into contact with the glass board 3. Since the liquid 4 is colored in white and the back of the film 3 is colored in black, the part pressed by the finger is turned to black and the untouched part is turned to white when the glass board 2 is observed from the lower side. By scanning such a state with the scanner 6, the pressed point can be easily read.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a computer,
The present invention relates to an input device suitable for use when inputting a predetermined command.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A keyboard, a mouse or the like is known as an input device for making a predetermined input to a computer. The keyboard is suitable for inputting predetermined characters and numbers. On the other hand, a mouse is used to move the cursor to a predetermined position. By rotating the rotating part of the mouse on a desk, the cursor can be moved in a predetermined direction by a predetermined amount corresponding to the relative amount of rotation.

[0003]

However, although the keyboard is suitable for high-speed input of letters and numbers,
It is not suitable for moving the cursor in any direction by any amount.

This point mouse is suitable for moving the cursor in a predetermined direction by a predetermined amount. However, the mouse has a problem that requires some skill to perform its operation. Further, in the case of the contact type, there is a problem that the operation becomes dull due to dirt on the ball, and in the case of the optical type, a dedicated board is required.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and it is possible to surely input an accurate position by a simple operation.

[0006]

The input device of the present invention includes a flat plate made of a material that transmits light, a film that is easily deformed by being touched with a finger, and an opaque fluid disposed between the film and the flat plate. And a reading unit for reading the image of the flat plate.

In the embodiment, the flat plate is constituted by the transparent glass plate 2, the membrane is constituted by the membrane 3 whose back surface is black, the fluid is constituted by the white liquid 4, and the reading portion is constituted by the scanner 6. ing.

[0008]

When the finger is placed on the film 3 and pressed in the direction of the glass plate 2, the liquid 4 moves in that part, and the position pressed by the scanner 6 can be read.

Therefore, the operation is easy and the input to the accurate position becomes possible.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the construction of an embodiment of the input device of the present invention. In this input device 1, the table 5
A transparent glass plate 2 is arranged on the above. A film 3 made of synthetic resin, rubber or the like, which is easily deformable, is arranged on the glass plate 2. The back side of the membrane 3 is colored black, for example. A white liquid 4, for example, is enclosed between the glass plate 2 and the film 3. A scanner 6 as a reading unit is arranged below the glass plate 2.

Next, the method of use will be described. When performing a predetermined input using the input device 1, the input device 1 is placed on, for example, a desk and the hand is placed on the membrane 3 as shown in FIG. Then, for example, at the position where the cursor is desired to be moved, the finger is pressed toward the glass plate 2 (that is, downward). Then, since the film 3 is easily deformed when touched with a finger, the part of the film 3 pressed by the finger is dented, and the liquid 4 in the part of the film 3 pressed by the film 3 is not deformed.
Since it is moved to another position by pressing, the film 3 in the portion pressed by the finger comes into contact with the glass plate 2.

The liquid 4 is white and the back surface of the film 3 is black. Therefore, when the glass plate 2 is viewed from below in FIG. 1, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a portion touched by a finger or a hand is black and a portion not touched is white. Therefore, this state can be read by scanning with the scanner 6. Of course, instead of the scanner 6, a video camera or the like may be used to read the image of the glass plate 2.

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram when a predetermined input is made to a computer by using such an input device. As shown in the figure, the output of the input device 1 is supplied to the image processing circuit 11. The image processing circuit 11 includes the input device 1
The image data supplied from the CPU 1 is processed, converted into coordinate data, and transferred to the CPU 1 via the interface 12 and the bus.
Output to 4. The CPU 14 stores this data in the RAM 16
And a predetermined calculation is performed in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 15, and the display 13 is controlled via the bus and the interface 12 according to the calculation result to cause the display 13 to perform a predetermined display.

[0014]

As described above, according to the input device of the present invention, the fluid is disposed between the flat plate and the membrane, the fluid is removed by pressing the membrane, and the pressing position is applied from below the plane plate. Since it is read, it is possible to perform reliable input with a simple operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of an embodiment of an input device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a method of using the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of reading an image on a glass plate 2 in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a computer when an input is performed using the input device shown in the embodiment of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Input Device 2 Glass Plate 3 Film 4 Liquid 5 Units 6 Scanner 11 Image Processing Circuit 12 Interface 13 Display 14 CPU 15 ROM 16 RAM

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A flat plate made of a translucent material, a film that is easily deformed by touching with a finger, an opaque fluid disposed between the film and the flat plate, and the flat plate. An input device comprising: a reading unit that reads an image of a face plate.