JPH07319620A - Mouse type information input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable smooth information input with similar operability irrelevantly to whether a mouse is operated with the right hand or left hand by switching the functions of the right and left buttons of the mouse. CONSTITUTION:The functions assigned to the left and right buttons 2 and 3 arranged on the top surface of the mouse 1 are mutually switched when a changeover switch 4 is switched. Therefore, when the mouse 1 needs to be operated with the left hand if a cursor position is specified by operating the left button 2 with the index finger of the right hand operating the mouse 1, the specifying function for the cursor position is assigned to the right button 3 by switching the changeover switch 4, and then the right button 3 is operated with the index finger of the right hand, thereby specifying the cursor position similarly to right-hand operation. Consequently, the same operability can be obtained by operating the mouse with the left hand even when the mouse is operated with the right hand to prevent misinput operation, etc., and enable smooth input operation.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mouse type information input device (hereinafter simply referred to as a mouse) used as an information input device in a personal computer, a workstation or the like.
In particular, the present invention relates to function switching of a button type switch provided on a mouse.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a mouse has been used as an information input device for a personal computer, a workstation, or the like. A button type switch (hereinafter simply referred to as a button) is provided on the back (upper surface) of the mouse.
Is provided, and normally 2 as shown in FIGS.
Button type and 3 button type are often used. There are various functions assigned to the buttons of such a mouse. For example, the 2-button type has the following usage. The left button 2 is used to specify the cursor position, select windows, move, resize, etc. The right button 3 is for displaying a menu, selecting and canceling the state selected by the left button. Moreover, the functions assigned to the left and right buttons 2 and 3 are usually fixed for each application, and are not temporarily changed and used.

By the way, the mouse 1 is usually held in the right hand, and in the case of the two-button type, the left button 2 is generally operated by the index finger and the right button 3 is operated by the middle finger. However, in the following cases, it may be convenient to temporarily operate with the left hand. For example, when moving the mouse 1, moving the cursor to a predetermined position on the screen, specifying the position, and then inputting a number from the numeric keypad of the keyboard, move the mouse 1 with the left hand to move the cursor. It is better to operate the left button 2 at a target position to specify the cursor position and to input a numeral from the ten key of the keyboard with the right hand at that position.

However, as described above, it is usually the left button 2 of the mouse 1 that specifies the position of the cursor, and when the mouse 1 is operated with the right hand, the left button 2 is pressed by the index finger. When this is temporarily held in the left hand for operation, as a characteristic of human beings, the function selected by using the index finger of the right hand often makes it desired to use the index finger of the left hand. Therefore, when the mouse 1 is held by the left hand, the left button 2 should be pressed, and the index finger tends to be used, and as a result, the right button 3 of the mouse is pressed, which causes an operation error and causes a desired operation. There was a drawback that you couldn't. Therefore, in order to avoid such an operation error, the button operation may be performed with caution when the mouse 1 is held by the left hand. However, this imposes an extra burden on the user and quick input. There was a drawback that it could not be done.

[0005]

A mouse used as an information input device is usually operated by the right hand, and the button provided on the back of the mouse has a habit of pushing with a specific finger of the right hand. Often Therefore, even if it is convenient to temporarily operate the mouse with the left hand, due to the habit of operating with the right hand, a button that should be pressed is not pressed and another button is pressed, resulting in an operation error. However, there is a drawback that the desired operation cannot be performed.

In view of the above, the present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, and by switching the functions of the left and right buttons, it is possible to operate the buttons with the same finger when operating with the right hand and the left hand. An object of the present invention is to provide a mouse-type information input device that can input information quickly and accurately regardless of which hand is used.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a mouse type information input device having at least two information input buttons is provided with a switching means for switching the functions assigned to the buttons.

[0008]

In the mouse type information input device of the present invention, the switching means interchanges the functions assigned to the respective buttons. As a result, the user switches the function of each button by the switching means so that the user can easily operate the mouse with the right hand, and the function of each button can be switched by the switching device so that the user can easily operate the mouse with the left hand. Since it can be switched by means, excellent operability can be obtained regardless of which hand the mouse is used to operate.

[0009]

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 plan view showing an embodiment of a mouse type information input device of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a mouse for inputting information to a personal computer, a word processor or the like, and a left button 2 and a right button 3 are provided on the upper portion (back portion) of the main body. 4 is a changeover switch (for example, a slide switch) that reverses the functions of the left button 2 and the right button 3, 5
Is a display window for displaying whether the functions of the left button 2 and the right button 3 are the normal mode or the reverse mode, and 6 is a code for connecting the mouse 1 to the main body of a personal computer or the like.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing the electrical wiring relationship of the left button 2, the right button 3 and the changeover switch 4 shown in FIG. The signal line transmitting the ON / OFF signal of the left button 2 is input to the terminal a of the changeover switch 4, and the signal line transmitting the ON / OFF signal of the right button 3 is the terminal b of the changeover switch 4.
Has been entered in. When the changeover switch 4 is switched in the normal state, the terminals a and c are connected and the terminals b and d are connected. In the inversion mode, the terminals a and d are connected and the terminals b and c are connected.
As a result, in the normal mode, the switch state signal of the left button 2 is output from the terminal c of the changeover switch 4 to the output terminal 21, and the switch state signal of the right button 3 is output from the terminal d to the output terminal 22. In the inversion mode, the information output from the terminals c and d is reversed, and the switch state signal of the left button 2 is output from the terminal c and the switch state signal of the left button 2 is output from the terminal d. .

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The changeover switch 4 allows the mouse of this example to select either the normal mode or the reverse mode.
When the user moves the knob of the changeover switch 4 to the left side, the mouse becomes the normal mode, and when it is moved to the right side, the mouse becomes the reverse mode, and the color of the display window 5 is adjusted to the above mode in conjunction with the switching of the switch 4. For example, it changes to white in the normal mode and red in the reverse mode.

When the normal mode is selected, the same operation as a conventional mouse is performed. However, when the reverse mode is selected, the outputs from the left button 2 and the right button 3 are exchanged as shown in FIG. 2, so that the output from the left button 2 in the reverse mode is the same as the output from the right button 3 in the normal mode. Thus, the output from the right button 3 in the reverse mode matches the output from the left button 2 in the normal mode.

Next, an example of operating the mouse will be described below. Here, a case where a document is created by a Japanese word processor to which a mouse is connected will be described as an example. FIG. 3 is an example in which a menu screen is displayed on the screen 9 of the Japanese word processor. The menu is selected by moving the cursor with the mouse 1 and pressing the button of the mouse 1 at the position of the desired item. By the way, this operation is usually performed by operating the mouse 1 with the right hand, and the menu selection is generally performed by the left button 2 of the mouse 1,
In such a case, the mouse 1 is used in the normal mode. In the example of FIG. 3, the mouse 1 is used to move the cursor to the “print” position, which is number 3 from the displayed menus 1 to 9, and then the left button 2 is used for selection.

In addition to the menu selection, for example, in the tabulation work as shown in FIG. 4, the start point and the end point for drawing a ruled line are specified by operating the mouse 1 with the right hand and pressing the left button 2 with the index finger. By doing. When it is desired to cancel the designated point, the right button 3 of the mouse 1 is designated by pushing with the middle finger. In such a case, the mouse 1 is also used in the normal mode.

Now, a description will be given of the operation for inputting numbers in the table as shown in FIG. 5 after the ruled line is drawn by the mouse operation as shown in FIG. When all the characters to be input are numbers, it is common to use the ten keys of the keyboard 7. Normally, the ten-key pad 71 is arranged on the right side of the keyboard 7, and it is more convenient to perform this input operation with the right hand. The mouse 1 is used to specify the position of the numeral to be input.
Therefore, in order to efficiently perform this operation, the mouse 1 is operated with the left hand, the cursor K is moved to a desired position as shown in FIG. 5, and then the left button 2 of the mouse 1 is pressed to specify the position. From here, enter the number at the position by pressing the numeric keypad with the right hand. The same operation is repeated thereafter. When the mouse 1 is operated with the left hand to perform such work, it is better to provide the right button 3 of the mouse, which can be pressed with the index finger of the left hand, with a function for designating the cursor position. Therefore, in such a case, the changeover switch 4 is switched to the reverse mode and used. At this time, in order to clearly show the user that the mouse is not in the normal state, a red mark is displayed in the display window 5 above the slide switch 4, and the user is currently in the reversing mode of the mouse 1. Is specified to prevent input errors due to erroneous operation.

According to this embodiment, since the functions of the right button 3 and the left button 2 can be switched by the changeover switch 4, when the user holds the mouse 1 with the left hand and operates it, the user holds it with the right hand and operates it. The functions of the right button 3 and the left button 2 at the time of doing can be exchanged. Therefore, even when the mouse 1 is operated with the left hand, even if the right button 3 and the left button 2 are pressed with the same fingering as when the right hand is used, the same information as when holding and operating with the right hand can be input to the word processor. it can. Therefore, even when the mouse 1 is operated with the left hand, the mouse 1 can be operated as quickly and accurately as with the right hand, and the usability of the mouse 1 can be significantly improved. In the example shown in FIG. 1, mouse 1
Although the example in which the switch 4 for switching the functions of the right button 3 and the left button 2 is provided in the above, the position of the changeover switch 4 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. May be. Further, the mark indicating the inversion mode is not limited to the display window shown in FIG. 1 and the like, but the same effect can be obtained by turning on a red LED or the like.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. This example is a diagram showing the wiring relationship between each button and the changeover switch when the above invention is applied to a three-button type mouse. The signal line for transmitting the on / off state of the left button 2 is connected to the terminal a of the changeover switch 4, the signal line for transmitting the on / off state of the right button 3 is connected to the terminal b of the changeover switch 4, and the on / off state of the center button 8 is connected. The signal line for transmitting the
It is connected to the. As a result, in the normal mode, the terminal a of the changeover switch 4 is connected to the terminal c, and the terminal b is connected to the terminal d. Therefore, the status signal of the left button 2 is output from the terminal c to the output terminal 61, and the terminal d is connected to the right button. The status signal of No. 3 is output to the output terminal 63. In the reverse mode, the terminal a of the changeover switch 4 is connected to the terminal d, and the terminal b is connected to the terminal c. Therefore, the status signal of the right button 3 is output from the terminal c and the status signal of the left button 2 is output from the terminal d. It As a result, the central button 8 does not change the assigned function regardless of the normal mode / reverse mode, and the same function is always assigned. However, the left button 2 and the right button 3 are shown in FIG.
Similar to the example shown in FIG. 3, the functions are switched in the normal mode and the inversion mode, and the same effect as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. The appearance and configuration of the mouse of this example is exactly the same as the conventional one. The mouse 1 is used by being connected to a control device 10 such as a personal computer or a workstation. The control device 10 of this example includes an interface 11 for connecting a signal line from the mouse 1 and a processing unit 12 for processing a signal input from the mouse 1.
2 has an interpretation changing unit 121 for changing the interpretation of signals input from the left button 2 and the right button 3 of the mouse 1. The interpretation changing unit 121 is a software switch, and includes an interpretation changing control unit 122 for operating the software switch. Also, 123 is mouse 1.
It is a display control unit for displaying the mode of FIG.

Next, the operation and the operation when the mouse 1 of this embodiment is used by being connected to a Japanese word processor will be described. FIG. 8 is an example of a menu screen displayed on the screen 9 of the Japanese word processor. In this menu screen, there is a 9th item "mouse", and when this is selected by the mouse 1 which is in the normal mode at the initial stage, a submenu screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed.
Here, it is possible to specify whether to use the mouse in the normal mode or the reverse mode, and the normal mode is usually the default state. Therefore, when the mouse 1 is operated with the right hand, the user may create the document as it is without performing such an operation for switching the mode of the mouse 1.

In the normal mode, the processing section 1 shown in FIG.
The second interpretation change control unit 122 sets the interpretation change unit 121 to the normal interpretation mode, inputs the left button signal to the processing unit 12 as the left button signal, and inputs the right button signal to the processing unit 12 as the right button signal. To do. As a result, the functions of the left button 2 and the right button 3 provided on the mouse 1 are assigned to the initially set functions, and the user operates them in the same manner as when handling the normal mouse 1 to operate the Japanese word processor. Etc. can perform various operations.

When the user wants to operate the mouse 1 by holding it with his / her left hand, the user displays the menu screen as shown in FIG. 8 to select the mouse 1 and thereby the submenu screen as shown in FIG. To select the inversion mode of 2. As a result, the interpretation change control unit 122 in FIG. 7 switches the mode of the interpretation change unit 121 to the inversion mode.
As a result, the interpretation changing unit 121 inputs the signal of the left button into the processing unit 12 as the signal of the right button, and inputs the signal of the right button into the processing unit 12 as the signal of the left button. As a result, the functions assigned to the left button 2 and the right button 3 of the mouse 1 are switched. As a result, even when the mouse 1 is operated with the left hand, the finger operation for operating the buttons may be the same as that with the right hand, and the same effect as the embodiment of FIG. 1 can be obtained. In addition, when it is desired to operate the mouse 1 with the right hand again, the same operation as described above is performed again to bring up the sub-menu screen shown in FIG. 9 and set the mouse 1 to the normal mode.
The functions of the left button 2 and the right button 3 of the mouse 1 can be exchanged again to make it easier to operate with the right hand.

In FIG. 10, the mouse 91 is displayed at the upper right of the screen 9 in order to clearly show to the user that the mouse shown in FIG. 7 is in the normal mode. Further, in order to clearly indicate to the user that the mouse 1 is in the reverse mode, the mouse 92 is displayed at the upper left of the screen 9. By viewing these displays, the user can immediately know what the current mode of the mouse 1 is, and when the display 91 is on the right side of the screen, operate the mouse 1 with the right hand. When the display 92 is displayed on the left side of the screen, it can be intuitively known that it is in a state suitable for operating the mouse 1 with the left hand. it can. In order to display the display 91 or 92 on the screen 9 in association with the mode of the mouse 1, the interpretation change control unit 122 of the processing unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 notifies the display control unit 123 of the current mode of the mouse 1. As a result, the display control unit 123 displays the above-described display on the screen 9.

As the above-mentioned display, as shown in FIG. 12, the mark 101 designed to operate the mouse with the right hand in the normal mode, and the mouse with the left hand in the inverted mode as shown in FIG. 13 are displayed. The same effect can be obtained by using the mark 102 designed to be operated. Also, in this example, in the case of the 3-button type mouse, the function of the center button is not switched regardless of the normal mode or the reverse mode, and the function assignment is performed only for the left button and the right button. If replaced by the changing unit 121, the same effect as the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is obtained.

Further, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 7, 4
In the case of a mouse with more buttons, for example, if the number of buttons is even, the functions of the left and right buttons may be reversed (symmetrical) so that the functions of each button may be switched. The same effect can be obtained by changing the function of each button without changing the function of the positioned button and by changing the functions of the other buttons so that the left and right relationships are opposite (symmetrical).

[0025]

As described above, according to the mouse type information input device of the present invention, since the functions of the left and right buttons of the mouse can be switched, the mouse normally used with the right hand is temporarily moved to the left hand. Can be used with the same fingers as when operating with the right hand,
You can input information quickly and accurately with either left or right hand operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a mouse type information input device of the present invention.

2 is a circuit diagram showing a signal path of the mouse shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of operating the mouse shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating another method of operating the mouse shown in FIG.

5A and 5B are views for explaining still another operation method of the mouse shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method of operating the mouse shown in FIG.

9 is a diagram illustrating another method of operating the mouse shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example showing that the mouse shown in FIG. 7 is in a normal mode.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example showing that the mouse shown in FIG. 7 is in a reverse mode.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another display example showing that the mouse shown in FIG. 7 is in the normal mode.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another display example showing that the mouse shown in FIG. 7 is in a reverse mode.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional 2-button type mouse.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional 3-button type mouse.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Mouse body 2 ... Left button 3 ... Right button 4 ... Changeover switch 5 ... Display window 6 ... Code 7 ... Keyboard 8 ... Central button 10 ... Control device 11 ... Interface 12 ... Processing unit 121 ... Interpretation change unit 122 ... Interpretation change Control unit 123 ... Display control unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A mouse type information input device having at least two or more information input buttons, comprising a switching means for switching the functions assigned to the respective buttons to each other. 2. The switching means, when the information input buttons are arranged in a substantially linear shape and has an even number, the function assigned to the left half button and the function assigned to the right half button from the center are left and right. The mouse type information input device according to claim 1, wherein the mouse type information input device is replaced so as to be symmetrical. 3. The switching means, when the information input buttons are arranged in a substantially straight line and has an odd number, the function of the central button is fixed, and the function of the central button is assigned to the left half button. 2. The mouse type information input device according to claim 1, wherein the function and the function assigned to the right half button are interchanged so as to be bilaterally symmetrical. 4. The mouse type information input device according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying a switched state of the switching means. 5. The hardware switch according to claim 1, wherein the switching means is a hardware switch that electrically switches connection between a signal line for introducing a status signal of each of the information input buttons and a signal line on an output side. 4. The mouse type information input device described in 4. 6. The switching means, when interpreting which button is a generation destination of a signal indicating the state of each button,
5. The mouse-type information input device according to claim 1, wherein the mouse-type information input device is a software switch that replaces and interprets the button of the generation destination.