JPH09185444A - Input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability by easily inputting desired characters or symbols while watching a screen without directing a face downward for searching keys even without acquainted with blind touch by generating a signal for inputting information corresponding to the position of a manipulator to be moved on a fixed track. SOLUTION: Concerning an input device 1, a ring-shaped rotary plate 3 is supported by a short cylindrical main body 2 so as to be rotated concentrically, and a handle 4 is provided on that rotary plate 3 so as to be rotated together. The upper face of handle 4 is formed to recessed curved surface so as to fit the operating object such as a finger A of operator. This operating object is guided so as to be moved on a circular orbit. Inside the rotary plate 3, a ring-shaped click button 5 is supported by the main body 2 so as to be rotated around the same axis, and inside that click button 5, namely, inside the circular orbit, a track ball 6 is supported by the main body 2 so as to be rotatably displaced. A signal generator is built in the main body 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for inputting information such as characters into a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A typical input device for inputting information to a computer by an operator is a mouse or keyboard.

[0003]

Since the mouse can be displaced by interlocking the pointer appearing on the monitor screen with the displacement caused by the operation of the hand, it is possible to input information to the computer while looking at the front screen. , Desired information such as characters and symbols cannot be input.

The keyboard can input characters, symbols, etc., but if the so-called blind touch is not learned, it is necessary to work while alternately looking at the keys and the screen, which causes a problem of poor operability. . Also, since a standard keyboard has a large number of keys, a large installation space is required if each key is made large enough to be easily pressed with a finger.

An object of the present invention is to provide an input device which can solve the above problems.

[0006]

An input device of the present invention comprises means for guiding an operating body so that the operating body can move on a fixed orbit,
It is characterized in that it is provided with means for generating a signal for inputting information corresponding to the position of the operating body and means for generating a signal for displaying the current position of the operating body with respect to the inputtable information group.

According to the configuration of the present invention, the operating body can be moved on a fixed orbit, an input signal for information corresponding to the position of the operating body can be generated, and the operating body for the inputtable information group can be generated. It is possible to generate a signal for displaying the current position of the. As a result, while watching the current position of the operating tool for the inputtable information displayed on the monitor screen,
The operator can be moved on a fixed trajectory and desired information selected from the information group can be input to the computer.

Also, many keys to be pressed with a finger for inputting information are not required, and even if a display board corresponding to input information is provided, it is sufficient as long as it has a size necessary for displaying, so a large installation space is required. do not need.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the input device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a ring-shaped rotating plate 3 is rotatably supported coaxially by a short cylindrical body 2, and a handle 4 is rotatably carried on the rotating plate 3. Is provided. The upper surface of the handle 4 is formed into a concave curved surface so that an operating body such as an operator's finger A can be fitted thereto. This makes the handle 4
The operating body fitted to the upper surface of the can be guided so as to move on a circular orbit.

A ring-shaped click button 5 is rotatably supported by the main body 2 inside the rotary plate 3 so as to be rotatable about the same axis. 6 is rotatably supported.

A ring-shaped dial 7 is integrated with the main body 2 outside the rotary plate 3. The dial 7
Further, an information group such as characters and symbols that can be input by the input device 1 is written along the circumferential direction, and each set is divided by a dividing line with two pieces of information as one set. A return button 8, a space button 9, a first switching button 10, and a second switching button 11 are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the main body 2 so that they can be operated by an operator's finger holding the main body 2 with the left hand. There is.

As shown in FIG. 3, a signal generator 20 is built in the main body 2. This signal generator 2
0 is a contact opening / closing mechanism 21, a first encoder 22 connected to the contact opening / closing mechanism 21, and a first encoder 2
It has a control system 23 connected to 2, a second encoder 24 connected to the contact opening / closing mechanism 21, a first rotary encoder 25, and a second rotary encoder 26. The control system 23 and the encoders 22, 24, 25,
26 is the interface cable 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Information is sent in the form of serial data to the computer 28 via 7, and a monitor 29 is connected to the computer 28. The types of the computer 28 and the monitor 29 are not particularly limited.

The contact opening / closing mechanism 21 has a plurality of opening / closing contacts (not shown) arranged along the circumferential direction of the rotary plate 3 inside the main body 2, and each contact is defined on the dial 7. The information of each set divided by a line is considered to correspond one-to-one. The plurality of open / close contacts are normally opened, and are selectively closed by rotation of the rotary plate 3 by a brush (not shown) attached to the back surface of the rotary plate 3. That is, a plurality of opening / closing contacts along the circular orbit of the operating body on the handle 4 are arranged so as to be selectively closed according to the position of the operating body. The open / close signals of each open / close contact are the first encoder 22 and the second encoder 24.
And sent to.

The contact opening / closing mechanism 21 includes a contact which is opened / closed by a return button 8 inside the main body 2.
It has a contact opened / closed by the space button 9 and a switching contact switched by the first switching button 10 and the second switching button 11, and an operation signal of each contact is sent to the first encoder 22.

The control system 23 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and the encoders 22 and 2 are controlled by the power supply and the control signal sent from the computer 28.
4, 25, 26 are controlled.

When the computer 28 sends a control signal to the control system 23 to permit data reception,
The first encoder 22 receives the opening / closing signal of the opening / closing contact corresponding to the position of the operating body on the circular orbit and the closing signal of the opening / closing contact corresponding to the operation of the click button 5, the position of the operating body , A signal for inputting one information corresponding to is generated and sent to the computer 28.

One piece of information sent to the computer 28 is the first changeover button 10 and the second changeover button in the set of information on the dial 7 corresponding to one contact point corresponding to the position of the operating body. Information corresponding to the switching state of the switching contact by 11 and 11. That is, the operation signal of one opening / closing contact corresponding to the position of the operating body is made to correspond to two selectively selectable input signals, and the operation of the first switching button 10 and the second switching button 11 causes On the dial 7, it is possible to selectively select the input information from the two pieces of information corresponding to one switching contact.

Further, the first encoder 22 sends a signal for inputting information to the computer 28, and subsequently, when a closing signal for opening / closing contacts corresponding to the operation of the space button 9 is inputted, a kana-kanji conversion instruction signal. Computer 2
Send to 8. When the kana-kanji conversion instruction signal is input, the computer 28 performs a kanji conversion process for the hiragana if the previously input information is hiragana.

When the opening / closing signal of the switching contact corresponding to the position of the operating body on the circular orbit is input, the second encoder 24 generates a signal for displaying the current position of the operating body with respect to the inputtable information group. And sends it to the computer 28. When the display signal is input, the computer 28 monitors the monitor 29.
Processing for displaying the current position of the operating tool with respect to the inputtable information group on the screen.

The first rotary encoder 25 and the second rotary encoder 25
The rotary encoder 26 is connected to the trackball 6, generates an input signal corresponding to the amount of displacement of the trackball 6 on the monitor 29 screen in the X-axis direction and the amount of displacement in the Y-axis direction, and sends it to the computer 28.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an image displayed on the screen of the monitor 29 when the computer 28 has a word processor function. The image shows the current position display area 31 of the operating body for the inputtable information group,
It has an information display area 32 such as characters and symbols and a plurality of function display areas 33.

In the current position display area 31 of the operating body, the computer 28 uses the preinstalled memory-resident driver to input the input device 1 including the dial 7.
And the position of the operating body is displayed in real time on the appearance plan view of the dial 7 based on the display signal from the second encoder 24, for example, in a specific color. Accordingly, it is possible to visually recognize the current position of the operating body with respect to the inputtable information group and the movement of the operating body associated with the movement of the handle 4. In the plan view of the appearance of the dial 7, only the information selected by operating the first switching button 10 and the second switching button 11 is displayed.

In the information display area 32, one piece of information corresponding to the current position of the operating body is displayed by operating the click button 5, and when the displayed information is hiragana, the space button 9 is operated. Is converted to Kanji by. In the illustrated example, the characters “... in VR space” are input. The display position of the information is moved backward by operating the return button 8 and moved forward by operating the space button 9.

Any one of the function display areas 33 is designated by a pointer P which is displaced in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction in accordance with the displacement of the trackball 6, and the click button 5 is operated to display it. The computer 28 can be operated to perform the above functions.

According to the input device 1, while watching the current position of the operating body with respect to the group of inputtable information displayed on the screen of the monitor 29, the operating body is moved on the circular orbit and selected from the information group. The desired information can be input to the computer 28. Also, many keys to be pressed with a finger for inputting information are not required, and the dial 7 corresponding to the input information is sufficient if it has a size necessary for displaying, so that a large installation space is not required and the main body is not required. 2 does not need to be fixed and used because it has a shape that can be easily held in the hand. Further, since the operating body moves on the circular orbit, the space for arranging the opening / closing contacts selectively operated according to the position of the operating body can be made as small as possible, so that a more compact structure can be achieved. Further, a large amount of information can be input in a compact structure by the two selectable input signals corresponding to the operation signal of one switching contact corresponding to the position of the operating body. Furthermore, by disposing the trackball 6 inside the circular orbit, the space inside the circular orbit of the operating body can be effectively used, and the device 1 can be made compact.

FIG. 5 shows an input device 1'of the second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that a ring-shaped transparent electrostatic pad 3'is used in place of the rotating plate 3 and the handle 4, and the upper surface of the electrostatic pad 3'allows a finger to move in a circular path. You will be guided to move. The dial is arranged below the electrostatic pad 3 '. Further, as the opening / closing contact corresponding to the inputtable information in the contact opening / closing mechanism 21, one which is selectively closed by touching the electrostatic pad 3'with a finger instead of the brush is used. The click button 5 is arranged on the side surface of the main body 2. Others are the same as the first embodiment,
The same parts are designated by the same reference numerals.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the type of information to be input and the arrangement on the dial 7 are not particularly limited. Further, the handle 4 and the click button 5 may be linked so that the click button 5 can be operated by pushing down the handle 4. Further, the operating body is not limited to the operator's finger, and may be, for example, a pen-shaped operating body. Further, although the return button 8, the space button 9, the first switching button 10, and the second switching button 11 are arranged for the right-handed operator in the above embodiment, they may be arranged for the left-handed operator. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the trackball 6 is used as the displacement member to generate the input signal of the displacement amount. However, a ball arranged on the lower surface side of the main body 2 is used as the displacement member to allow the input device 1 to function as a mouse. Alternatively, a joystick may be used as the displacement member. Further, the trajectory of the operating body is not limited to the circular trajectory and may be a constant trajectory. Further, the operation signal of one switching contact corresponding to the position of the operating body may be associated with three or more input signals that can be selectively selected.

[0029]

According to the present invention, even if the blind touch is not mastered, desired characters and symbols can be easily input to the computer while looking down the screen without looking down the keys, and the operability is improved. It is possible to provide an excellent and compact input device.

[0030]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the input device of the present invention, an operating body is guided so as to be movable on a circular orbit, and a plurality of opening / closing contacts are selected along the circular orbit depending on the position of the operating body. It is preferable that the input signal is generated in response to the operation signal of the switching contact. By moving the operating body on the circular orbit, the space for arranging the opening / closing contacts selectively operated according to the position of the operating body can be made as small as possible, so that a more compact structure can be achieved.

In this case, it is preferable that a plurality of input signals that can be selected alternatively correspond to the operation signal of one opening / closing contact corresponding to the position of the operating body. This allows a large amount of information to be input with a compact structure.

Further, it is preferable to include a displacement member arranged inside the circular orbit, and means for generating a signal for inputting the displacement amount of the displacement member. Thus, when the pointer appearing on the monitor screen is displaced in association with the displacement of the displacement member, the space inside the circular orbit of the operating body can be effectively used, and the device can be made compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a signal generator in the input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display image on the monitor according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an input device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Rotating plate 4 Handle 20 Signal generator

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A means for guiding an operating body so that the operating body can move on a constant orbit, a means for generating a signal for inputting information corresponding to the position of the operating body, and an operating body for an inputtable information group. An input device comprising means for generating a signal for displaying the current position.