JPH0561600A - Position input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability of a mouse on a narrow desk and the movability of a point cursor on a screen by detecting a moving amount and a rotating angle while using first and second spherical objects. CONSTITUTION:First and second spherical objects 1 and 2 differ in the diameters and touch rollers 3, 3 and rollers 3', 3' arranged in respectively mutually orthogonal postures. The moving amount due to the first or second spherical object 1 or 2 is detected by the combination of the rollers 3, 3', disk scales 4, 4' and sensors 5, 5', the data are inputted to a signal processing part 6, and the moving amounts in orthogonal biaxial directions are respectively measured. Concerning the detection of the rotating angle, the second spherical object 2 is braked and only the first spherical object 1 is turned to a free state. When the first spherical object 1 is rotated to right and left at 90 deg. with the second spherical object 2 as a center in such a state, the data are detected by the combination of the sensor 5 and the disk scale 4, inputted to the signal processing part 6 and processed into signals showing the rotating angle and the rotating direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a position input device, and more particularly to a position input device such as a mouse and a trackball for detecting a movement amount by rotating a sphere.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional position input device is a lever-like joystick having two degrees of freedom used in a game, a light-receiving light pen whose tip is brought close to the surface, a design drawing, etc. There are tablets, digitizers, mice used for inputting computer graphics and music information, trackballs, etc., each of which has its own characteristics.

In particular, among the above-mentioned devices, a mouse, a trackball, etc., which are position input devices for detecting the amount of movement by utilizing the rotational movement of a sphere, are difficult to input with a keyboard.
For example, it is most suitable for so-called layout work in which a part, range, and size are targeted, and has been widely used for editing work.

The position input device has the following functions. That is, a series of processes of "movement of hand → movement of position input device → movement of sphere → detection of movement distance and direction" are performed by rotation of the sphere inside the position input device. Inside these input devices, there are two rollers for the X-axis and the Y-axis, and a slit disk for rotation is attached to the front of the rollers.

By providing a slit disk between the LED and the photocoupler or phototransistor, the rotation of the slit disk turns into an ON / OFF pulse of light and is converted into an electric signal by the photocoupler or phototransistor. Finally, the rotation of the sphere becomes the information for detecting the movement amount.

From a functional point of view, recently, there are a small size and a light weight, which has a small space due to the front arrangement of silicon balls, and a function which has an automatic resolution adjusting function.

[0007]

In the above-mentioned conventional position input device, the arrow pointed by the point cursor is determined in a fixed direction, for example, pointing up, down, left, right, or diagonally of what is currently pointed. In some cases, the position input device must be moved from its current position.

For this reason, the operability is poor in handling on a narrow desk, and the work efficiency may be lowered. In addition, there is a problem that the point cursor on the screen cannot be finely moved by operating the mouse while moving the entire arm.

An object of the present invention is to provide a position input device that solves the above problems.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a position input device according to the present invention is a position input device which detects a movement amount by rotating a sphere, and detects a movement amount and a rotation angle. A first sphere to perform, a second sphere to perform only the movement amount detection, a braking means to stop the movement of the second sphere, and a second sphere to detect the movement amount by the first sphere. And a switching unit for issuing a command to brake the second sphere when the braking is released and the rotation angle is detected by the first sphere.

[0011]

In the present invention, the first sphere for detecting the movement amount and the rotation angle and the second sphere for detecting the movement amount are provided as the second sphere, and the position data is input by switching between the two spheres. is there.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the position input device according to the present embodiment has a first spherical body 1 for detecting a movement amount and a rotation angle.
And a second sphere 2 that only detects the amount of movement, braking means that stops the movement of the second sphere 2, and when the amount of movement is detected by the first sphere 1, the braking of the second sphere 2 is released. , The switching means 7 for braking the second sphere 2 when the rotation angle is detected by the first sphere 1.

The first sphere 1 and the second sphere 2 are set so that they have different diameters and different movement amounts.

The second sphere 2 is in contact with the rollers 3'and 3'arranged in a posture orthogonal to each other. Also,
The rotation axis of the rollers 3 ', 3'includes a disk scale 4',
4'is attached, scales 4 ', 4'are sensors 5',
5'combined. The output of each sensor 5 ', 5'is input to the signal processing unit 6.

On the other hand, the first spherical body 1 is in contact with the rollers 3 and 3 which are arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other. In addition, disk scales 4 and 4 are attached to the rotary shafts of the rollers 3 and 3,
Scales 4, 4 are associated with the sensors 5, 5 (see FIG. 2). The outputs of the sensors 5 and 5 are input to the signal processing unit 6.

Further, the switching means 7 outputs a signal for controlling the operation of the braking means 8 to the signal processing section 6, and
It has a function of causing the signal processing unit 6 to output information on which of the spheres 1 and 2 having different diameters to measure the movement amount.

Next, the operation of the position input device according to the present invention will be described.

(1) Regarding the detection of the movement amount, in this case, the braking means 8 is released by the output of the signal processing section 6 based on the instruction of the switching means 7, and the second spherical body 2 is brought into a free state.

In this state, the switching means 7 selects which of the first sphere 1 and the second sphere 2 the movement amount is to be measured. Since the diameter of the second spherical body 2 is larger than that of the first spherical body 1, the movement amount measurement by the second spherical body 2 is convenient when the moving range is long.

The amount of movement by the first sphere 1 or the second sphere 2 is detected by the combination of the rollers 3, 3 ', the disk scale 4, 4'sensors 5, 5', and the data is sent to the signal processing unit 6. It is input and the amount of movement in each of the two orthogonal directions is measured.

(2) Regarding the detection of the rotation angle, in this case, a command for braking the second sphere 2 by the switching means 7 is input to the signal processing unit 6.

Then, the braking means 8 operates based on the output of the signal processing unit 6 to apply the braking force to the second spherical body 2, so that only the first spherical body 1 becomes free.

In this state, the first sphere with the second sphere 2 as the center
Of the spherical body 1 of FIG.
When it is rotated by 90 ° at a time, the data is detected by the combination of the sensor 5 and the disk scale 4, and the signal processing unit 6
Is input to and processed into a signal indicating a rotation angle and a rotation direction.

In this case, the CRT screen shown in FIG.
Alternatively, the point cursor 9 is displayed as shown in (b).

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the conventional method of designating by moving the point cursor of the mouse is performed by the movement of the whole human arm. It becomes possible to specify it, alleviating the annoyance of the mouse body code (the longer the moving distance of the mouse, the more hindering the code), the use of the mouse on a narrow desk embedded in everyday documents etc. It becomes possible to improve work efficiency.

Further, since the mouse operation by the movement of the whole arm as before is the operation of the mouse by the movement of only the wrist, fine movement on the screen is also possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a sensor unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a moving direction of a position input device.

4 (a) and (b) are the points on the CRT screen.
It is a movement path figure of a cursor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 2 Movement amount detecting ball 3, 3'Roller 4, 4 'Disc scale 5, 5' Sensor 6 Signal processing unit 7 Switching means 8 Braking means 9 Point cursor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A position input device for detecting a movement amount by rotating a sphere, comprising: a first sphere that detects a movement amount and a rotation angle; a second sphere that only detects a movement amount; Braking means for stopping the movement of the second sphere; braking of the second sphere is released when the movement amount is detected by the first sphere; and second braking is performed when the rotation angle is detected by the first sphere. A position input device comprising a switching means for issuing a command to brake the sphere.