JPH08255044A - Information processor capable of keyboard input and pen input - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an information processor which makes possible the pen input when a pen is extracted from a pen storage part and the keyboard input when the pen is inserted into the pen storage part. CONSTITUTION: The pen is stored in the pen storage part. A processing selecting means actuates a pen input processing means matching the pen input when the pen is extracted from the pen storage part and actuates a keyboard input processing means when the pen is inserted into the pen storage part. The pen input processing means is, for example, a program called as a 'windows-for-pen (R)' (The trademark of Microsoft) and the keyboard input processing means is, for example, a program called as 'MS-DOS (R)' (The trademark of Microsoft).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a keyboard input in which a pen can be input when the pen is removed from the pen storage portion and a keyboard can be input when the pen is inserted in the pen storage portion. And an information processing device capable of pen input.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a pen input personal computer. In the figure, 1 is a transparent protective panel, 2 is a liquid crystal panel, 3 is a backlight panel, 4 is a digitizer tablet, 5 is a basic board, and P is a pen.

A transparent protective panel 1 is arranged at the top, a liquid crystal panel 2 is arranged below it, a backlight panel 3 is arranged below it, and a digitizer tablet 4 is arranged below it. A basic board is placed in. The tablet 4 is of an electromagnetic induction type, for example. When the transparent protective panel 1 is touched with the pen P, the coordinates of the point are captured by the processor. On the basic board 5, a processor, system control IC, tablet control I
C etc. are arranged.

[0004]

At present, many pen input personal computers allow input by a pen and keyboard. However, if the user wants to switch the input method, the user needs to be able to handle the next input method in advance. For example, MS-
When a user using DOS carries a pen input personal computer next time and uses it with a pen, conventionally, it is necessary to put it in a state in which a pen input such as Windows for Pen can be made with a keyboard before carrying it. If this is forgotten, the user cannot use the pen input personal computer until the keyboard is attached.

In addition, in order for the pen input personal computer to have a function to enter the Resume state (start-up state) by recognizing that the pen has touched the tablet under the Suspend state, the tablet or tablet control is performed. It was necessary to turn on the power of the IC. However, when the pen is stored, there is no possibility that the above function will cause the Resume state, so it is desirable to turn off the power supply of the tablet or the like to save power.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and enables a pen input when the pen is removed and a keyboard input when the pen is stored. It is an object of the present invention to provide an information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input. Also,
The present invention, when the pen is inserted into the pen storage unit, the power for pen input such as a tablet is turned off,
An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus capable of keyboard input and pen input in which the power of a tablet or the like is turned on when the pen is pulled out from the pen storage unit.

[0007]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the invention of claim 1. An information processing apparatus capable of keyboard input and pen input according to the invention of claim 1 includes: a pen housing section; a pen input processing means for processing input by a pen; and a keyboard input processing means capable of processing at least input from a keyboard; An information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input, comprising: selecting means, wherein the processing selecting means activates the pen input processing means when the pen is pulled out from the pen storing section, and the pen is inserted into the pen storing section. When it is included, the keyboard input processing means is activated.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the principle of the invention of claim 2. An information processing apparatus capable of keyboard input and pen input according to the invention of claim 2 supplies power to a pen storage unit, a tablet for detecting coordinate values of a touched point, and a portion related to input of a pen such as a tablet. An information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input, comprising: a tablet power supply for controlling the tablet power supply; and a tablet power supply control means for controlling the tablet power supply, wherein the tablet power supply control means turns on the tablet power supply when the pen is pulled out from the pen storage section. Turn on,
The feature is that the tablet power is turned off when the pen is inserted into the pen storage part.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the invention of claim 3. An information processing apparatus capable of keyboard input and pen input according to the invention of claim 3 is a pen storage unit, a pen input processing unit capable of processing at least a pen input, a keyboard input processing unit processing an input from a keyboard, and a power supply. An information processing apparatus capable of keyboard input and pen input, comprising a process at power-on reset time selection means, wherein the process at power-on reset time selection means has a pen in a pen storage portion at power-on or reset. Whether or not it is present, the pen input processing means is activated, and if it is present, the keyboard input processing means is activated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the invention of claim 4. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus capable of keyboard input and pen input, which supplies electric power to a pen storage unit, a tablet that detects coordinate values of a touched point, and a portion related to input of a pen such as a tablet. An information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input, comprising: a tablet power supply for power supply and a tablet power supply control means at power-on reset, wherein the tablet power control means at power-on reset is It is characterized in that whether or not the pen is present in the pen storage section is checked, and if not, the tablet power is turned on, and if it is present, the tablet power is turned off.

[0011]

The operation of the invention of claim 1 will be described. The pen input processing means is, for example, Windows for Pen (trademark of Microsoft Corporation), and the keyboard input processing means is, for example, MS-DOS (trademark of Microsoft Corporation). In addition, Windows for Pen can process pen input as well as keyboard input. When the pen is removed from the pen storage unit, the process selection unit activates the pen input processing unit, and when the pen is inserted into the pen storage unit, the process input unit activates the keyboard input processing unit.

The operation of the invention of claim 2 will be described.
When the pen is inserted into the pen storage unit, power is automatically turned off for parts such as a tablet that are not needed except when inputting with the pen, thereby saving power. When the pen is removed from the pen storage unit, the power of the tablet or the like is turned on to enable the pen input.

The operation of the invention of claim 3 will be described.
When the power is turned on or reset, the pen input processing means is activated if the pen is not stored in the pen storage portion, and the keyboard input processing means is activated if the pen is stored in the pen storage portion.

The operation of the invention of claim 4 will be described.
When the power is turned on or reset, check whether the pen is stored in the pen storage part.If the pen is not stored, turn on the power of the tablet etc.If the pen is stored, turn on the tablet etc. Turn off the power.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware switch of a pen storage unit. In the figure, P is a pen, 6 is a pen housing case having a cylindrical pen housing hole therein, and 7 is a micro switch. The pen storage case 6 is provided, for example, at the upper edge of the housing of the pen input personal computer. When the pen P is inserted into the pen storage case 6, the micro switch 7 is closed, and when the pen P is removed from the pen storage case 6, the micro switch 7 is opened.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the electric circuit of the present invention. In the figure, 8 is a pen insertion / removal recognition circuit, and 9 is C.
PU, 10 is a system control IC, 11 is a memory, 12
Is a power supply MPU, 13 is a tablet control IC, 14 is a power supply, and 15 is an interrupt controller.

The pen insertion / removal recognition circuit 8 has a resistor and a microswitch 7. The lower end of the micro switch 7 is grounded, the upper end of the micro switch 7 is connected to the lower end of the resistor, and the upper end of the resistor is connected to the power supply VCC. The voltage at the junction between the resistor and the microswitch becomes low level when the microswitch 7 is on, and becomes high level when the microswitch 7 is off. The voltage at this junction is input to the interrupt controller 15.

The system control IC 10 is an IC that controls memory and performs power management and connects the CPU and various buses. The CPU 9 and the system control IC 10 are connected by a bus, the memory 11 and the system control IC are also connected by a bus, the tablet control IC 13 and the system control IC 10 are also connected by a bus, and the power supply MPU 12 and the system are connected. The control ICs 10 are also connected by a bus. The power supply MPU 12 controls the tablet control IC 13 and the power supply 14 of the tablet 4. The tablet control IC 13 controls the tablet 4. Interrupt controller 1
Reference numeral 5 raises an interrupt to the CPU 9 when the state of the microswitch 7 is switched.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a software configuration example of the present invention. When the pen is stored, the interrupt controller causes the CPU to interrupt the pen storage. When the CPU receives this interrupt, it goes to access a specific address and executes the program written therein.
By executing this program, a program suitable for keyboard input is started, and a tablet power-off interrupt is issued to the power MPU. The power supply MPU is
When this interrupt is received, the tablet control IC and the tablet are turned off.

When the pen is removed, the interrupt controller sends a pen removal interrupt to the CPU. CPU is
It accesses the other specified address and executes the program written there. By executing this program, a program suitable for pen input is started and
The power-on MPU is interrupted by turning on the tablet power. Upon receiving this interrupt, the power supply MPU turns on the tablet control IC and the tablet.

When the power is turned on (POWER-ON), it is automatically reset and the environment setting file (CONFIG.SYS, AUTO
The program written in EXEC.BAT) is executed. By executing this program, it is checked whether or not there is a pen in the pen storage unit. If it exists, the same processing as when the pen is stored is performed, a program suitable for keyboard input is started, and the tablet control I
C and tablet are powered off. If the pen is not present, the same processing as when the pen is removed is performed, a program suitable for pen input is activated, and the tablet control IC and the tablet are powered on. CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT are files for automatic execution that are read at reset. In addition, a personal computer is generally reset automatically when the power is turned on. This is called "power-on reset."

An example of a program that is activated when the pen is stored is MS-DOS (trademark of Microsoft Corporation). Examples of programs that are started when the pen is pulled out are: Windows for Pen (a trademark of Microsoft Corporation), PenDOS (a trademark of CIC Corporation in the United States), PenPoint (a trademark of Go Corporation), and an application dedicated to pen input. is there.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when the user switches between the keyboard input and the pen input, the state suitable for the input method is automatically entered by inserting and removing the pen. It is possible to reduce the burden on the user. Further, according to the present invention, since the power source of the tablet or the like is automatically turned on / off by inserting / removing the pen, power saving can be achieved.

Some tablets have a resistance film type.
In this type of tablet, when the upper surface of the tablet is pressed, the two resistive films come into contact with each other, and the coordinate value of the pressed point is detected. Note that this type of tablet exists on the liquid crystal panel. In this type of tablet, a malfunction may occur when something other than a pen dedicated to the device (for example, a hand) touches the tablet. According to the present invention, since the power of the tablet is off when the pen is inserted, it is possible to prevent the above-mentioned malfunction that occurs when the tablet of the resistive film type is used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the invention of claim 1;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the invention of claim 2;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the invention of claim 3;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the invention of claim 4;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware switch of a pen storage unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an electric circuit of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of software of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a pen input personal computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Transparent protection panel 2 Liquid crystal panel 3 Backlight panel 4 Digitizer tablet 5 Basic board P Pen 6 Pen storage case 7 Micro switch 8 Pen insertion / removal recognition circuit 9 CPU 10 System control IC 11 Memory 12 Power supply MPU 13 Tablet control IC 14 power supply 15 interrupt controller

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A keyboard input and a pen input which are provided with: a pen storage unit; a pen input processing unit capable of processing an input by a pen; a keyboard input processing unit processing an input from a keyboard; and a processing selection unit. In the information processing apparatus, the processing selection means activates the pen input processing means when the pen is removed from the pen storage portion, and activates the keyboard input processing means when the pen is inserted into the pen storage portion. An information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input. 2. A pen storage unit, a tablet for detecting coordinate values of a touched point, a tablet power supply for supplying power to a portion related to pen input such as a tablet, and a tablet power control for controlling the tablet power supply. An information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input, comprising: means, wherein the tablet power control means turns on the tablet power when the pen is removed from the pen storage portion, and the pen is inserted into the pen storage portion. An information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input, which is characterized by turning off the power of the tablet at times. 3. A keyboard input having a pen storage unit, at least a pen input processing unit capable of processing input by a pen, a keyboard input processing unit processing an input from a keyboard, and a power-on reset-time process selection unit. Also, in the information processing apparatus capable of pen input, the power-on reset processing selection means checks whether or not the pen is present in the pen storage portion at power-on or reset, and if not, the pen input processing. An information processing apparatus capable of keyboard input and pen input, characterized in that it activates means and, if present, keyboard input processing means. 4. A pen storage unit, a tablet for detecting coordinate values of a touched point, a tablet power supply for supplying power to a portion related to pen input, such as a tablet, and a tablet power control at power-on reset. An information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input, comprising: means for resetting the power supply at the time of resetting, and the tablet power supply control means checks whether or not the pen is present in the pen storage portion at the time of powering on or resetting. An information processing device capable of keyboard input and pen input, characterized in that the tablet power is turned on when it is not present and the tablet power is turned off when it is present.