JPH06149462A - Information processor and input controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a click input function equivalent to the button click of a mouse or the click input of a pen with a switch by providing a click input judging means for judging the click input when the input of a coordinate equivalent to another point is stopped. CONSTITUTION:An input controller 24 for controlling a keyboard and an input panel is provided with a click input judging part 11 for judging whether or not the input operation of an user is an operation equivalent to the click input. At the click input judging part 11, in a state where the coordinate equivalent to a point instructed from an outside is inputted by the input panel, the coordinate equivalent to the other point instructed from the outside separately from the point is inputted and when the input of the coordinate equivalent to the other point is stopped, the click input is judged. Then, judging conditions are that, for instance, for first, second and third coordinates successively inputted by the input panel, the difference between a first coordinate position and a third coordinate position does not exceed a predetermined value, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention, even when operating an input panel with a finger or a pen having no physical switch, has a click input equivalent to a mouse button click or a switch pen input. The present invention relates to an information processing device and an input control device capable of realizing a function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an input panel adopts a capacitance method or a resistance film method to enable coordinate input using a finger or a pointing device such as a pen.

However, when operating the input panel with a finger, there is a problem that a click input corresponding to a button click of a mouse or a pen with a switch cannot be performed.

Further, when operating the input panel using a pen that does not have a physical switch, such a pen does not have a function of generating a click signal indicating that the switch has been pressed. There is a problem that click input equivalent to clicking the button or clicking the pen with a switch cannot be performed.

Even when the input panel is operated using a finger or a pen having no physical switch, it is possible to realize a click input function equivalent to clicking a button of a mouse or a pen with a switch. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish between the position instruction (coordinate input operation) and the selection instruction (click input operation).

As a simple method of distinguishing, the click input operation is an operation of pointing a certain one point, then once releasing a finger or a pen from the input panel, and again pointing the same point as the one point. You can do this. However, in this operation, since the finger or pen once leaves the input panel,
There is a deviation between the point pointed at the second time and the point pointed at the second time, and it is difficult to issue the selection instruction with good operability.

Therefore, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-150422, there is a system in which a region for instructing a position and a region for instructing a selection are provided as different regions.

[0008]

In the above-mentioned prior art, since the position instruction and the selection instruction are performed in different areas, it is necessary to move the finger or the pen between the position instruction operation and the selection instruction operation. However, there is a problem that the operability is not good.

An object of the present invention is to use a finger or a pen without a physical switch to operate an input panel without moving the finger or the pen and clicking a button of a mouse or a pen with a switch. An object is to provide an information processing device and an input control device that can realize a click input function equivalent to a click input.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus equipped with an input panel having coordinate input means for inputting coordinates corresponding to a point designated from the outside. When the coordinates corresponding to one point specified from the outside are input by the panel,
Click input determining means for determining that the input is a click input when coordinates corresponding to another point designated from the outside are input separately from the point and input of coordinates corresponding to the other point is stopped To prepare for.

In the present invention, as the user's click input operation, specifically, as shown in FIG.
While continuing to point to point b on the input panel with finger A
Then, the operation is such that one point a different from the point b is designated and the designation of the point a is stopped.

When this operation is performed, the input panel actually inputs three coordinates in succession. That is, the coordinates corresponding to the point b are input as the first coordinates, the coordinates corresponding to the point a are input as the second coordinates,
As the third coordinate, the coordinate corresponding to the point b is input.

The coordinate input means of the input panel is externally
When two or more points are instructed at the same time, it is general to input a composite coordinate such as the center of gravity of the two or more points, but the invention is not limited to this. It suffices that the coordinates (which may be one or two) corresponding to the two points can be input.

As is clear from the user's click input operation, it is presumed that the first coordinate position and the third coordinate position are substantially the same point. Further, the time from the designation of the first coordinate to the designation of the second coordinate, and the time from the designation of the second coordinate to the designation of the third coordinate are considerably short. It is supposed that

Therefore, the click input determination means may determine whether or not it is a click input for these first, second and third coordinates by using the above-mentioned matters as the determination conditions. it can.

That is, as the first determination condition, the difference between the first coordinate position and the third coordinate position for the three first, second and third coordinates continuously input by the input panel is determined. It does not exceed a predetermined value.

As the second determination condition, the first coordinate is input and then the third coordinate is input with respect to the three first, second, and third coordinates that are continuously input by the input panel. It can be mentioned that the time interval before the execution does not exceed a predetermined value.

As a third judgment condition, the speed at which the first, second and third coordinates continuously input by the input panel change from the first coordinate position to the second coordinate position. , And the speed at which the second coordinate position changes to the third coordinate position exceeds a predetermined value.

As a fourth determination condition, when the first, second, and third coordinates continuously input by the input panel are changed from the first coordinate position to the second coordinate position. Acceleration from the second coordinate position to the third
It can be mentioned that the acceleration when changing to the coordinate position exceeds the predetermined value.

In addition to inputting coordinates corresponding to a point designated from the outside, pressure information at the time of coordinate designation, height information from the input panel surface, tilt information with respect to the input panel surface at the coordinate designation, etc. In the case of an input panel that can acquire other information, all or part of this information may be used as the determination material.

[0021]

The click input determination means determines the difference between the first coordinate position and the third coordinate position in advance for the three coordinates of the first, second and third coordinates which are continuously input by the input panel. If the value does not exceed the determined value, it can be considered that the first coordinate position and the third coordinate position are substantially the same point, and thus it can be determined that the click input has been performed.

Further, the click input determination means is the first, second and third inputs which are continuously input by the input panel.
If the time interval from the input of the first coordinate to the input of the third coordinate does not exceed the predetermined value, the three coordinates of Since it can be considered that the time until the second coordinate is designated and the time from the second coordinate being designated to the third coordinate are considerably short, it is determined to be a click input. be able to.

Further, the click input determining means is the first, second and third consecutive input by the input panel.
For the three coordinates of, the speed at which the first coordinate position changes to the second coordinate position and the second coordinate position to the third coordinate position.
When the speed at which the coordinate position changes to a coordinate position exceeds a predetermined value, the time from the designation of the first coordinate to the designation of the second coordinate and the designation of the second coordinate are performed. Since it can be considered that the time from the start of the operation until the third coordinate is designated is considerably short, it can be determined that the input is a click input.

Further, the click input determining means is the first, second and third input devices which are continuously input by the input panel.
For the three coordinates of, the acceleration when changing from the first coordinate position to the second coordinate position and the acceleration when changing from the second coordinate position to the third coordinate position are predetermined values. If it exceeds, the time from the designation of the first coordinate to the designation of the second coordinate and the time from the designation of the second coordinate to the designation of the third coordinate. Since it can be considered to be considerably short, it can be determined that it is a click input.

[0025]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

In FIG. 2, 21 is a CPU for controlling the entire information processing apparatus, 22 is a memory for storing programs and data, 23 is a keyboard, and 24 is a keyboard 23.
And an input control device for controlling the input panel 29a, 2
Reference numeral 5 is a display control device for controlling the display information and outputting it to the display panel 29b. Reference numeral 26 is a VRAM for storing the display information.
Is a file control device for controlling the file device 28,
Is a file device such as a floppy disk or a memory card, 29a is an input panel for inputting the coordinates of a point designated by the user with a finger, and 29b is a display panel such as a liquid crystal display device.

The input panel 29a employs a capacitance method, a resistance film method, or the like, as in the conventional case.

In this embodiment, the input control device 24 is realized by hardware, but a part or all of the input control device 24 may be realized by software executed by the CPU 21, a dedicated microcomputer, or the like.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment.

In FIG. 3, 31 is an information processing device, and 29 is
Is an input / display panel in which the input panel 29a and the display panel 29b are integrated, and 23 is a keyboard.

In the information processing apparatus 31 of this embodiment,
A pointing operation environment is provided in which the user can directly instruct the information displayed on the display panel 29b with the finger 33.

The point designated by the finger 33 is displayed as a cursor, and the input panel 29a is adapted to input the point designated by the cursor. You may move.

In this embodiment, the input panel 29a and the display panel 29b are integrated with each other, but the input panel 29a and the display panel 29b may be separated from each other. In this case, it is necessary to display a cursor on the display panel 29b so that the user can understand the correspondence between the coordinates of the input panel 29a and the coordinates of the display panel 29b.

The applicable information processing apparatus is not limited to the clamshell type apparatus shown in FIG.
It also includes a pad type device having no input device, a desktop type device having an input panel 29a, and a smaller device focusing on portability.

Further, in this embodiment, the keyboard 23 is provided in addition to the input panel 29a, so that the input control device 24 can operate not only the input panel 29a but also the keyboard 2.
3 is also controlled, but the control of the keyboard 23 is the same as in the prior art, so the input panel 2
Only the control of 9a will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the input control device 24.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 is a click input determination section for determining whether or not the user's input operation is the same as the click input operation, and 12 is the position correction of the coordinates input by the input panel 29a or the display panel. A position correction / conversion unit that performs coordinate conversion to convert into a coordinate system conforming to 29b, and 13 is a speed detection that detects the amount of change (speed) of the coordinate position per unit time based on the output result of the position correction / conversion unit 12. A coordinate position comparison unit for detecting a difference in coordinate position based on the output result of the position correction / conversion unit 12 and the detection result of the speed detection unit 13, and 15 is an output result of the position correction / conversion unit 12 and a speed. Based on the detection result of the detection unit 13 and the comparison result of the coordinate position comparison unit 14, it is determined whether or not the user's input operation is the same operation as the click input, and it is determined that the operation is the same as the click input. When a judgment unit for generating a click signal.

The user's input operation will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4A shows the coordinates designated by the user to the input panel 29a, and FIG. 4B shows the input panel 29.
“A” indicates input coordinates to be actually input.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the input panel 29a inputs a point L1 when the user designates a point Pa on the input panel 29a and inputs a point L3 when the user designates a point Pb. Enter. When the points Pa and Pb are designated at the same time, the point L2 corresponding to the coordinates between the two points is indicated.
To enter.

In this embodiment, while the user continues to instruct a certain point, the user points to another point different from the one point and cancels (releases) the instruction to the other point. ) Is equivalent to click input. That is, the user can perform a click input by operating to point and release the point Pb with the middle finger like a mouse clicking operation while continuing to point the point Pa with the index finger. I am trying. At this time, the input panel 29a has the points L1, L2, and L1.
These three coordinates will be input continuously.

FIG. 5 (a) is a diagram showing input coordinates detected by the input control device 24 when a click input operation is performed, and FIG. 5 (b) is a case where a normal point coordinate instruction (3 points) is given. It is a figure which shows the input coordinate which the input control apparatus 24 detects.

In the following description of the operation, only the X coordinate will be described, but in reality, the same processing is performed for the Y coordinate. In the present embodiment, since the process regarding the Y coordinate can be easily analogized from the process regarding the X coordinate, only the X coordinate will be described.

When it is sufficiently possible to determine whether or not the click input operation is performed only by the processing regarding the X coordinate, only the processing regarding the X coordinate (or the same as above) is taken into consideration in consideration of the processing speed, the scale of the apparatus, and the like. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which only the processing relating to the Y coordinate is used for the determination.

In FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b), the horizontal axis represents the time for each sampling time unit T,
The vertical axis represents the X coordinate. Normally, the horizontal axis and the vertical axis are discrete values, and the graph is not continuous, but it is expressed continuously here.

In FIG. 5A, the change from the point A1 to the point A2 and the change from the point A2 to the point A3 are sharp.
In addition, when the click input operation is performed, that is, when the second point is instructed and released while the first point is continuously instructed, the coordinates of the point A1 and the coordinates of the point A3 are It will be almost the same. Explaining using the example of FIG. 4, the point Pa
In a state corresponding to the case where the point Pb is instructed and released in the state of continuously instructing, point A1 = point L1, point A2 = point L2, point A3 = point L1.

In FIG. 5B, compared with FIG.
Change from point B1 to point B2 and point B2 to point B3
Is gentle. When a normal point coordinate is instructed, that is, the first point is instructed and the second point is instructed after opening.
Since it is a case where it is released and then the third point is instructed, it is unlikely that the coordinates of the point B1 coincide with the coordinates of the point B3.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, information such as whether or not the change in coordinates is sharp, and whether or not the coordinates of the first point and the coordinates of the third point have changed. It can be seen that it is possible to determine whether or not the user's input action is a click input action based on the information.

Further, FIG. 5C is a diagram showing a coordinate change speed detected by the input control device 24 when an operation equivalent to a click input is performed, and FIG. 5D is a normal point coordinate instruction (3
It is a figure which shows the coordinate change speed which the input control apparatus 24 detects, when the point) is performed.

In FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D, the horizontal axis represents the time for each sampling time unit T,
The vertical axis represents the speed at which the X coordinate changes.

In FIG. 5C, when the click input operation is performed, that is, in the state where the first point is continuously instructed,
Since it is the case where the second point is indicated / opened, as shown in FIG.
In (a), the change in speed from the detection of the point A1 to the detection of the point A3 becomes a graph in which the coordinate change amount per unit time exceeds the specified value vmax and the specified value vmin, respectively.

In FIG. 5 (d), when a normal point coordinate instruction is given, that is, after instructing and releasing the first point, instructing and releasing the second point and then instructing the third point. 5B, the speed change from the point B1 to the point B3 is detected so that the coordinate change amount per unit time does not exceed the specified value vmax and the specified value vmin. It becomes a graph.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5C, it is determined whether or not the coordinate change is steep based on information such as whether or not the coordinate change speed exceeds the specified value vmax and the specified value vmin. It turns out that it is possible to do.

The processing of the click input judging section 11 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

First, the processing of the speed detector 13 will be described.

FIG. 6 is a processing flowchart of the speed detector 13.

In the speed detecting section 13, the processing shown in FIG.
It is repeatedly performed according to the periodic or aperiodic coordinate position detection of the position correction / conversion unit 12. When the process shown in FIG. 6 is started for the first time, such as when the power is turned on, in the initial process, step = 1, d = 10, x = xprev
Is set to = 0.

That is, the speed detecting unit 13 first stores the newly detected coordinate value X and the immediately preceding coordinate value xprev in step 601. Then, step 602.
Then, the coordinate change amount (coordinate change speed) v per unit time is calculated. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, X = point A2, xpre
Since v = point A1, v = (X-xprev) / (t
2-t1) is calculated.

The processing of the speed detector 13 is performed in steps 1 to s.
It is classified into step3.

In step 1, the coordinate change speed is the specified value v
An input operation that is equal to or more than max (below vmin) is detected. If step1 is satisfied, go to step2,
In step 2, a predetermined time (5 in this embodiment)
An input operation in which the coordinate change speed v becomes equal to or less than a specified value vmin (above vmax) within a unit time) is detected. step
When 2 is satisfied, the process proceeds to step 3, and at step 3, it is detected that the coordinate change speed v becomes almost 0 within a predetermined time (5 unit time in this embodiment). When step3 is satisfied, that is, step1
When all of ~ step3 are satisfied, it is determined to be a click input operation.

As a concrete process, step 603,
At steps 608 and 620, the st currently being executed
ep is determined. When executing step 1, step 6
The determination of 03 is yes, vmax (vmin) is detected, the coordinates of the point A1 in FIG.
Move to. Also, when executing step 2, step 6
The determination of 08 is yes, vmin (vmax) is detected, the coordinates of the point A2 in FIG. 5A are confirmed, and step3
Move to. When executing step 3, step 6
The determination of 20 is yes, and the coordinate change speed v is almost 0.
If the coordinate is within ± 10 unit coordinates in this embodiment, the coordinate of the point A3 in FIG. 5A is determined, and the speed condition match notification is output to the coordinate position comparison unit 15 and the determination unit 15.

By the processing of the speed detection unit 13 described above, the coordinate change, which is a characteristic input pattern during the click input operation, is sharp (that is, the coordinate change speed v is equal to the specified value vmax and the specified value vmin. It is possible to detect (exceeding).

Incidentally, step 613, step 618,
The allowable range of N in step 626 = 5 and the initial setting value of d in step 621 = 10 are not limited to this value.

Next, the processing of the coordinate position comparing section 14 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a processing flowchart of the coordinate position comparing section 14.

The processing of the coordinate position comparing section 14 is started by the processing of step 623 of FIG. 6 of the speed detecting section 13.

That is, the coordinate position comparison unit 14 first
When a speed condition match notification is output from the speed detection unit 13 in step 701, in step 702, the coordinate difference between the start point A1 of the steep rise of the coordinate change amount and the end point A3 of the steep fall of the coordinate change amount. Calculate R. Then, step 7
In 03, it is determined whether or not the absolute value of the coordinate difference R is within the specified allowable range, and the characteristic input of holding the input coordinate of the first point during the click input operation until the second point is input / opened. Check the pattern occurrence. Next, in step 704, 2
It is confirmed that the input coordinates input by the input panel 29a when the coordinates of the dot are specified are within a specific specified range.
If these conditions are satisfied, it is determined to be a click input operation, and in step 705, a position condition match notification is output to the determination unit 15.

By the processing of the coordinate position comparison unit 14 described above, the characteristic of the input pattern during the click input operation is that the coordinates of the point A1 and the coordinates of the point A3 are almost the same, and It is possible to detect that the coordinates and the coordinates of the point A2 are not too far apart.

The fact that the coordinates of the point A1 and the coordinates of the point A2 are not too far apart from each other is detected in the click input operation in this embodiment by the user.
This is because it takes into consideration that the instructions of (1) are given with two fingers of one hand. If it is allowed to perform the operation with one finger of each of the two hands, the determination in step 704 is unnecessary and only the determination in step 703 is required.

Next, the processing of the judging section 15 will be described.

FIG. 8 is a processing flowchart of the judging section 15.

The processing of the judging section 15 is the processing of step 623 in FIG. 6 of the speed detecting section 13 and the coordinate position comparing section 1
4 is started by the processing of step 705 in FIG.

That is, first, in step 801, when the speed detecting unit 13 outputs the speed condition match notification and the coordinate position comparing unit 14 outputs the position condition match notification, the determining unit 15 proceeds to step 802. Then, in step 802, a click signal is generated and output to the CPU 21.

By the processing of the determining unit 15 described above, it becomes possible to generate a click signal when a characteristic input pattern during a click input operation is detected.

In the present embodiment, the determination unit 15 uses both the speed condition match notification output by the speed detection unit 13 and the position condition match notification output by the coordinate position comparison unit 14 for the click input operation. However, it is also possible to use one of the speed condition match notification and the position condition match notification to determine whether or not the click input operation.

Further, in the present embodiment, the coordinate position comparison unit 14 makes the judgment based on the judgment of the speed detection unit 13, but the speed detection unit 13 makes the judgment based on the judgment of the coordinate position comparison unit 14. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the speed detection unit 13 and the coordinate position comparison unit 14 independently perform the determination processing simultaneously.

Further, a configuration is possible in which a determination processing unit other than the speed detection unit 13 and the coordinate position comparison unit 14 is added.

For example, based on the rate (acceleration) of the change amount (velocity) of the coordinate position per unit time, the acceleration when changing from the point A1 to the point A2 and the change from the point A2 to the point A3. A configuration in which an acceleration detection unit 16 that determines a click input operation is added when the acceleration when changing exceeds a prescribed value is conceivable. The configuration of the input control device 24 at this time is as shown in FIG.

Further, for example, when the acceleration detecting section 16 is provided, the speed detecting section 13 may be omitted. The configuration of the input control device 24 at this time is as shown in FIG.

Further, in addition to the above-mentioned determination condition, other determination conditions may be considered together.

For example, the height information of the finger 33 from the input panel 29a, the tilt information, the pressure information at the time of coordinate designation, X,
In the case of an information processing apparatus that uses the input panel 29a that can acquire information other than the Y coordinate, it is possible to use all or part of that information for determination.

On the contrary, as the simplest structure,
A configuration is also possible in which the click input determination unit 11 includes only the coordinate position comparison unit 14 and the determination unit 15. In this case, the process of the coordinate position comparison unit 14 is different from the process described above, and therefore an example of such a configuration will be described below.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the input control device 24 of this embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the input coordinates detected by the input control device 24 when a click input operation is performed.

In the following description of the operation, only the X coordinate will be described, but in reality, the same processing is performed for the Y coordinate. In the present embodiment, since the process regarding the Y coordinate can be easily analogized from the process regarding the X coordinate, only the X coordinate will be described.

When it is sufficiently possible to determine whether or not the click input operation is performed only by the process regarding the X coordinate, only the process regarding the X coordinate (or the same as above) is taken into consideration in consideration of the processing speed and the scale of the device. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which only the processing relating to the Y coordinate is used for the determination.

In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis shows the time for each sampling time unit T, and the vertical axis shows the X coordinate. Normally, the horizontal axis and the vertical axis are discrete values, and the graph is not continuous, but it is expressed continuously here.

In FIG. 9, the change from the point A1 to the point A2 and the change from the point A2 to the point A3 are steep. That is, the time width range from the point A1 to the point A2 and then to the point A3 becomes smaller. In addition, when the click input operation is performed, that is, when the second point is instructed and released while the first point is continuously instructed,
The coordinates of the point A1 and the coordinates of the point A3 are almost the same.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, information as to whether or not the change in coordinates is steep, the coordinates of the first point and 3
It can be seen that it is possible to determine whether or not the user's input action is a click input action based on information such as whether or not the coordinates of the dot have changed.

The processing of the click input determination section 11 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

First, the processing of the coordinate position comparing section 14 will be described.

FIG. 10 is a processing flowchart of the coordinate position comparison unit 14.

In the coordinate position comparing section 14, the processing shown in FIG. 10 is repeatedly performed according to the periodic or aperiodic coordinate position detection of the position correcting / converting section 12. When the process shown in FIG. 10 is started for the first time, such as when the power is turned on,
In the initial processing, step = 1, d = 10, d2 = 1
0, x = 0, N = 0, transferMAX = 100, x
It is set to mem = -1.

The process of the coordinate position comparison unit 14 is step 1
~ Step 4 is classified.

In step 1, it is detected that the coordinate position hardly fluctuates a predetermined number of times (20 times in this embodiment) (the fluctuation is less than ± 10 unit coordinates in this embodiment). When step1 is satisfied, s
Proceeding to step 2, in step 2, the coordinate fluctuation start point A1 in FIG. 9 is specified. And in step 3,
Within a predetermined time (100 unit hours in this embodiment)
Then, it is detected that the coordinate position returns to the vicinity of the coordinate fluctuation start point A1 (in this embodiment, the fluctuation is less than ± 10 unit coordinates). When step 3 is satisfied, the process proceeds to step 4, and at step 4, the coordinate position hardly changes continuously for a predetermined number of times (20 times in this embodiment) (in this embodiment, the change is less than ± 10 unit coordinates). To be detected). And if step4 is satisfied,
That is, when all of step 1 to step 4 are satisfied, it is determined that the operation is a click input operation.

As a specific process, step 100
2, step 1012, step 1016, step 1
At step 022, the currently executing step is determined. ste
When p1 is executed, the determination in step 1002 becomes yes, and in step 1003, it is determined whether or not there are already input coordinates within the specified coordinate position range twice or more. If there is an input coordinate, step 1007 is executed, and if the condition is satisfied the specified number of times or more, the process proceeds to step 2. If there is no input coordinate and the difference between the previous coordinate position and the current coordinate position is within the specified value in step 1004, the current coordinate position is set as a new reference position (xmem).

When executing step 2, step 1012 is executed.
Is YES, the reference position (xmem) is compared with the current coordinate position in step 1013, and if there is a difference of a specified value or more, it is determined to be the change start point of the input coordinate, and in step 1014, the last time Coordinate position (xprov) of
The coordinate variation start point A1 in FIG. 9 is set.

When executing step 3, step 1016
Is YES, and it is determined in step 1017 whether or not the current coordinate position is near the point A1. If it is near the point A1, in step 1018, the process proceeds to step 4. If it is not near the point A1, step 10
If it is within the predetermined time (100 unit time in this embodiment) in step 20, step 3 is continued, and if it exceeds the predetermined time, it is determined that it is not a click input operation, and step 1 is set. Return.

When executing step 4, step 1022
If the determination is YES, and the condition is satisfied a predetermined number of times or more in step 1027, it is determined to be a click input operation, and a position condition match notification is output to the determination unit 15 in step 1030. Also, step 102
If the difference between the reference position (xmem) and the current coordinate position in 7 exceeds the specified value, it is determined that the click input operation is not performed, and the process returns to step 1.

By the processing of the coordinate position comparing unit 14 described above, the characteristic input pattern at the time of the click input operation is that the coordinate change is steep, the coordinates of the point A1 and the point A3.
It is possible to detect that the coordinates are substantially the same and that the coordinates of the points A1 and A2 are not too far apart.

Incidentally, d, d2, tran in FIG.
The value of geMAX or the like is not limited to this value.

Next, the processing of the decision section 15 will be described.

FIG. 11 is a processing flowchart of the judging section 15.

The processing of the judging section 15 is performed by the coordinate position comparing section 14
10 is started by the processing of step 1030 in FIG.

That is, first, when the position condition match notification is output from the coordinate position comparing unit 14 in step 1101, the determining unit 15 proceeds to step 1102, generates a click signal in step 1102, and causes the CPU 21 to generate the click signal. Output.

By the processing of the determination unit 15 described above, it becomes possible to generate a click signal when a characteristic input pattern during a click input operation is detected.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the click input determination section 11 can determine the click input operation of the user and generate the click signal.
When the CPU 21 inputs a click signal from the click input determination unit 11 in an operation system, an application system, or the like, the CPU 21 can treat it as a mouse click. In this case, when the click input operation is performed twice consecutively, the CPU 21 treats it as the same as the double click.

For example, in an application system such as a word processor or draw paint, for a display element such as a character, a figure or an illustration where the cursor is positioned,
It is possible to instruct a specific function such as deletion or attribute change. Further, as shown in FIG. 16A, a menu capable of selecting and instructing a plurality of functions is displayed, and one or more functions among the plurality of functions are displayed for a display element such as a character, a figure, or an illustration where the cursor is positioned. It is also possible to selectively execute the function.

Also, for example, when the click input determination unit 11 determines that the input is a click input, the display element such as a character, a figure, or an illustration where the cursor is positioned can be determined as an instruction target. Further, as shown in FIG. 16B, a display area such as a character area, a graphic area, or an illustration area, which is composed of one or more display elements such as characters, figures, or illustrations, can be determined as an instruction target. Becomes This is because the coordinates of the end point can be estimated from the input coordinates input by the input panel 29a even if the end point is specified while the start point of the display area is being continuously specified.

Further, for example, a display element such as a character, a figure, or an illustration confirmed as an instruction target, or a display area such as a character area, a figure area, or an illustration area confirmed as an instruction object may be deleted or its attribute may be changed. It becomes possible to instruct a specific function of. Further, it is possible to display a menu in which a plurality of functions can be selected and instructed, and to select and execute one or more functions from the plurality of functions with respect to the display element or the display area decided as the instruction target.

On the other hand, the input panel 29a generally has an operation mode in which, as shown in FIG. 16 (c), when the user moves his / her finger while keeping his / her finger, continuous coordinates are input. ing. This operation mode is for enabling handwriting input.

In such an operation mode, the operation of releasing the finger is often the same as the click input operation. Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, in the above operation mode, when the CPU 21 inputs the click signal from the click input determination unit 11, the CPU 21 can treat it as a double click of the mouse.

In the above-described embodiment, when one point (first point) on the input panel 29a is continuously instructed, another one point (second point) other than the one point is displayed. The instruction / release operation is a click input operation, but it is also possible to switch the function to be activated even with the same click input operation depending on the relative position of the coordinates of the second point with respect to the coordinates of the first point. is there. For example, if the coordinate of the second point is on the right side of the coordinate of the first point, the copy function can be activated, and if it is on the left side, the paste function can be activated.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the input panel 29a is operated by using the finger 33 has been described, but a configuration capable of inputting with a pointing device such as a pen having no physical switch is also included. in this case,
In order for the user to perform the same operation as click input,
First, while pointing one point with the pointing device, an operation of pointing another point with a finger is performed.

[0115]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even when operating the input panel using a finger or a pen that does not have a physical switch, it is possible to realize click input equivalent to clicking a mouse button or a pen with a switch, improving operability. There is an effect of doing.

Furthermore, in an operating system, window system, or application system that is premised on a pointing device capable of clicking buttons such as a mouse, the same operating environment can be realized even when operating the input panel with a finger. There is an effect that usability is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an input control device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an external view of the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing input coordinates input by an input panel and input coordinates detected by an input control device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing input coordinates and coordinate change rates detected by the input control device.

FIG. 6 is a processing flowchart of a speed detection unit.

FIG. 7 is a processing flowchart of a coordinate position comparison unit.

FIG. 8 is a processing flowchart of a determination unit.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing input coordinates detected by the input control device.

FIG. 10 is a processing flowchart of a coordinate position comparison unit.

FIG. 11 is a processing flowchart of a determination unit.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the input control device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the input control device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the input control device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the movement of the user's finger during a click input operation.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific example of a user's click input operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Click input determination unit, 12 ... Position correction / conversion unit,
13 ... Velocity detection part, 14 ... Coordinate position comparison part, 15 ... Judgment part, 16 ... Acceleration detection part, 21 ... CPU, 22 ... Memory, 23 ... Keyboard, 24 ... Input control device, 25 ... Display control device, 26 ... VRAM, 27 ... File control device, 28 ... File device, 29 ... Input / display panel, 2
9a ... Input panel, 29b ... Display panel, 31 ... Information processing device, 33 ... Finger.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Michihiro Mese 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Inside the Hitachi, Ltd. microelectronics equipment development laboratory (72) Inventor Kazuhide Nishiyama Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka Ward Hitachi, Ltd. Microelectronics Equipment Development Laboratory

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus comprising an input panel having coordinate input means for inputting coordinates corresponding to a point designated from the outside, wherein a coordinate corresponding to one point designated from the outside is displayed by the input panel. Clicking when the coordinates corresponding to another one point externally specified are input in addition to the one point and the input of the coordinates corresponding to the other one point is stopped in the input state. An information processing apparatus comprising a click input determination means for determining that 2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, as the determination condition by the click input determination means, the three coordinates of the first, second, and third that are continuously input by the input panel are used. An information processing apparatus, wherein a first determination condition is that a difference between a first coordinate position and the third coordinate position does not exceed a predetermined value. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, as the judgment condition by the click input judgment means, in addition to the first judgment condition, first and second consecutively inputted by the input panel. For the third and third coordinates, the second determination condition is that the time interval from the input of the first coordinate to the input of the third coordinate does not exceed a predetermined value. An information processing device characterized by the above. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, as the determination condition by the click input determination means, in addition to the first determination condition, first and second consecutively input by the input panel. The speed of changing from the first coordinate position to the second coordinate position and the speed of changing from the second coordinate position to the third coordinate position are predetermined for the third and third coordinates. The information processing apparatus, wherein the third determination condition is that the value exceeds the above value. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, as the judgment condition by the click input judgment means, in addition to the first judgment condition, first and second consecutively inputted by the input panel. And acceleration of changing the first coordinate position from the second coordinate position to the second coordinate position and acceleration of changing the second coordinate position to the third coordinate position with respect to the third three coordinates. An information processing apparatus, wherein the fourth determination condition is that the value exceeds a predetermined value. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein, when the click input determination unit determines that the input is a click input, a plurality of functions prepared in advance are provided. An information processing apparatus comprising: a function executing means for executing a function according to a relative position of the second coordinate position with respect to the first coordinate position. 7. An information processing apparatus comprising an input panel having coordinate input means for inputting coordinates corresponding to a point designated from the outside, wherein a coordinate corresponding to one point designated from the outside is displayed by the input panel. Clicking when the coordinates corresponding to another one point externally specified are input in addition to the one point and the input of the coordinates corresponding to the other one point is stopped in the input state. When the input of the coordinate corresponding to the one point is stopped in the state where the coordinate corresponding to the one point externally instructed is input by the first operation mode determined to be An information processing apparatus, further comprising: the click input determination means having a second operation mode for determining that the input is a click input. 8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the click input determination means determines that the click input is a double click input when the click input is repeated twice in the first operation mode. In the second mode, in the state where the coordinates corresponding to one point designated from the outside are input by the input panel, it corresponds to another one point designated from the outside in addition to the one point. An information processing apparatus, wherein when a coordinate to be input is input and input of a coordinate corresponding to the other one point is stopped, it is determined that the input is a double-click input. 9. An input control device for controlling an input panel having coordinate input means for inputting coordinates corresponding to a point designated from the outside, wherein a coordinate corresponding to one point designated from the outside is provided by the input panel. Clicking when the coordinates corresponding to another one point externally specified are input in addition to the one point and the input of the coordinates corresponding to the other one point is stopped in the input state. The input control device is characterized by comprising a click input determination means for determining that the click signal is generated. 10. The input control device according to claim 9, wherein as the determination condition by the click input determination means, the three coordinates of the first, second and third coordinates which are continuously input by the input panel are set. The first control condition is that the first determination condition is that the difference between the first coordinate position and the third coordinate position does not exceed a predetermined value. 11. The input control device according to claim 9, wherein, as the determination condition by the click input determination means, in addition to the first determination condition, first and second consecutively input by the input panel. For the third and third coordinates, the second determination condition is that the time interval from the input of the first coordinate to the input of the third coordinate does not exceed a predetermined value. An input control device characterized by the above. 12. The input control device according to claim 9, wherein, in addition to the first determination condition, the first and second consecutively input by the input panel are used as the determination condition by the click input determination means. The speed of changing from the first coordinate position to the second coordinate position and the speed of changing from the second coordinate position to the third coordinate position are predetermined for the three third coordinates. The input control device is characterized in that the third judgment condition is that the value exceeds the above value. 13. The input control device according to claim 9, wherein, in addition to the first determination condition, the first and second consecutively input by the input panel are used as the determination condition by the click input determination means. And acceleration of changing the first coordinate position from the second coordinate position to the second coordinate position and acceleration of changing the second coordinate position to the third coordinate position with respect to the third three coordinates. The input control device is characterized in that the fourth determination condition is that the value exceeds a predetermined value.