JPH09265353A - Pointer control method using pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the time to reach a desired object by calculating the displacement of a pointing means and the positional relation between a pointer and the object to set the pointer speed and to move the pointer. SOLUTION: An image display device 1 shows an object 3 such as an icon, etc., serving as an operating object on the screen of a computer having a pointer control function 2. A user operates a pointing means 4 to move a pointer 5 to the object 3 on the screen. Then the user actuates the switch of the means 4 to perform the selecting/moving operations, etc., through the click actions, etc. In such cases, the function 2 monitors the positions of the pointer 5 and the object 3 on the device 1. Then the function 2 adds the negative acceleration to the pointer 5 to decelerate it when the pointer 5 gets close to the object 3 and then adds the positive acceleration to the pointer 5 to accelerate it if the object 3 does not exists near the pointer 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for designating an object with a pointer in a computer system using a pointing device such as a mouse.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1A, in a computer system using a pointing device, a pointer displayed on a monitor screen is basically the amount of movement of the pointing device. Was used in a state that is proportional to or a function of the moving speed of the pointing device.

Recently, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-216584, a so-called inertial movement of a pointer, in which the pointer is moved as it is until the next instruction is given, even after the user's pointing device moving operation is completed. There is also a method of performing the operation (see FIG. 1 (b)).

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-259193, when the pointer is inside a specific object (icon) on the image display device, it is more than that when it is on the ground screen. There is also a method of reducing the moving speed (see FIG. 1 (c)).

[0005]

The basic pointer control technique of the conventional example has the following two problems.

First, when the target object is far from the pointer, the user needs to move the pointing device largely, and it takes time to reach the object.

Second, when the target object occupies a small area on the screen, the user must position the pointer accurately on the object to give an instruction unless the pointing device is moved precisely. Can not. In particular, in recent years, due to the increased resolution of the monitor screen and the increased amount of movement during pointer operations and the relative miniaturization of the object area with respect to the screen, a large amount of movement and fine pointing accuracy are required, and the pointing device The problem of reduced operability is widely recognized.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 5-216584 solves the above-mentioned drawbacks to some extent by using inertial movement. However, in the case of inertial movement, the object is moved inside or outside the object even if the object is continuously moved in that direction. To move at the same speed even if there is no
I can't say for sure that it will help reduce the time to reach the object.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-259193 solves the above-mentioned drawback to some extent by slowing the moving speed of the inside of an object. However, regardless of the size of the object, the moving speed inside the object is The problem remains that the smaller the object, the more difficult it is to specify it accurately because it is constant. In addition, since there is no difference in the moving speed on the object depending on the importance of the object, the pointer may move unnecessarily slowly on the object that is less likely to be pointed.

That is, the first problem to be solved by the present invention is to shorten the arrival time to the target object. A second problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method in which an object that is likely to be instructed by a user is always easily and accurately instructed.

[0011]

In order to solve the first problem, the present invention first adds an acceleration / deceleration control means to the pointer movement control means. There are two possible ways to realize this, depending on whether the entity that controls the speed is the user or the system.

One is a method in which the system judges whether or not there is an object ahead of the moving direction of the pointer on the image display device, and the object is moved fast when the distance to the object is long, and slowly moved as the object approaches. Is. In this case, the user is not involved in moving speed control.

The other is a method of controlling the speed by adding an acceleration / deceleration control button to a normal mouse. Acceleration / deceleration control is entirely at the discretion of the user. The user derives an appropriate speed from the distance between the object on the image display device and the pointer, and controls the speed of the pointer according to, for example, the strength of pressing the button and the pressing time (see FIG. 2B). Both of these two methods
Whether to use inertial transfer depends on the implementation method.

Further, in order to solve the second problem, attribute information used to determine the acceleration for increasing / decreasing the speed at which the pointer passes over each object existing on the screen display device. Is added (Fig. 3
(C)). Up to this point, it has been stated that the acceleration / deceleration control button and the pointer control function determine the acceleration of the pointer in the sense of changing the speed of the pointer.
There are various possible implementations of the evaluation function that uses the factor that determines the speed of the pointer.

For example, the simplest and most effective pointer accelerating means is to realize acceleration / deceleration by manipulating the ratio of the speed at which the user actually moves the pointing device to the speed on the display device. After the movement of the pointing device determines the displacement of the pointer on the display device by the movement of the pointing device, the time interval for determining the mouse position, the current position, and the velocity vector determined from the movement destination are used to correct it. The acceleration vector determined by the factor may be applied.

According to the present invention, even when the pointer is moving a lot on the screen, when the pointer comes over a small object which requires a fine operation, the moving speed of the pointer is automatically slowed down to operate the object. Can be facilitated. In addition, when the pointer moves on a large object that does not need to be operated, it is possible to increase the moving speed to quickly reach a target position.

Further, the moving speed of the pointer is dynamically controlled by the user's control using the acceleration / deceleration control button provided on the pointing device or the moving speed control using the distance between the pointer and the object on the system side. You can

As described above, it is possible to improve the overall operability of the pointing device by satisfying both a large movement amount and a fine pointing accuracy as required.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a pointer moving system of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 shows a basic configuration diagram of the present invention. In the figure, an image display device 1 is a screen of a computer including a pointer control function 2, and an object 3 such as an icon or a window, that is, an operation target is displayed.

In order to use a computer device having this kind of interface, the user operates the pointing means (generally a mouse) 4 to move a pointer (generally a mouse cursor) 5 on the screen to the above object, where By operating a switch provided in the pointing means, an operation such as clicking or dragging is performed, and as a result, selection / movement of the object is performed.

At this time, in the present invention, the pointer control function dynamically changes the speed of the pointer by controlling the speed of the pointer so that the object can be easily moved and the operation can be surely performed on the object.

The pointer control function monitors the positions of the pointer and the object on the screen display device and changes the velocity vector of the pointer as necessary.

Alternatively, each object is provided with an attribute serving as an index for determining the acceleration when the pointer passes over it through some function, and the pointer control function refers to the attribute and the pointer control function refers to the pointer. Determine the speed or acceleration of. Further, if necessary, the pointing device is provided with a switch (hereinafter, acceleration / deceleration control button 7) for instructing acceleration / deceleration of the pointer, which is different from the above switches.

These three pointing control methods can be combined as needed. That is, the actual movement speed of the pointer on the image display device is the speed designated by the user with the pointing means, the distance between the pointer and the object on the screen, and the instruction by the pointing means if the pointing means has an acceleration / deceleration control button, Furthermore, if the pointer is over the object, it is determined by the attributes of that object.

First Embodiment: The pointer control function monitors the vicinity of the pointer and, when approaching an object, applies a negative acceleration to the pointer to reduce the speed in order to facilitate the operation. Alternatively, if the object does not exist near the pointer, the pointer is given a positive acceleration to increase the speed.

Second Embodiment: The pointer control function monitors the vicinity of the pointer and, if an object exists, gives an acceleration in that direction. Intuitively, this can be thought of as the object having a sort of gravity with respect to the cursor. As a result, if the pointer is moving toward the object, it will be accelerated, and if it is too far, it will be decelerated and returned. Also, when trying to pass near the object, the traveling direction is bent toward the object by the acceleration vector, and the pointer is guided.

Third Embodiment: An attribute having a value proportional to the area occupied on the display device is set in the object, and the pointer control function monitors the current position of the pointer and, if it is on the object, that attribute. By giving the pointer a negative acceleration that is inversely proportional to the value, the time taken for the pointer to pass through the object can be made substantially constant regardless of the size of the object, which can help to accurately point the target object.

This is an embodiment that functions as a kind of coefficient of friction and is adapted to the visual intuition, and if the speed of the pointer is sufficiently small, it can be automatically stopped on the object. Fourth Embodiment: By setting an attribute of importance to an object and increasing negative acceleration as the importance increases, that is, moving speed decreases, while passing over an important object slowly. Since it immediately passes over an unimportant object, it can help to point the object of interest accurately without being bothered by unnecessary objects.

Fifth Embodiment: The pointer is provided with an acceleration / deceleration control switch, and the mouse is accelerated while the switch is pressed. The acceleration / deceleration control switch is used as a switch for coarse movement.

Sixth Embodiment: The pointer is provided with an acceleration / deceleration control switch, and the mouse is decelerated while the switch is pressed. The acceleration / deceleration control switch functions as a fine adjustment switch for the pointer position.

Next, FIG. 4 will be described. This figure shows an example of a flow chart for realizing the present invention. The current coordinate (x, y) of the pointer in this processing system
And holds the past coordinates (x ₀ , y ₀ ). After initializing these, first the pointer movement vector (dx, dy) is calculated by dx = x−x ₀ dy = y−y ₀ , and the corrected one is finally
Added to (x, y). After updating the coordinates of the pointer, actually move the pointer, assign the moved coordinates (x, y) to the past coordinates (x ₀ , y ₀ ), and then move the pointer coordinates moved by the user to (x , y) and return to the calculation of (dx, dy).

There are the following three factors for correcting (dx, dy).

1. Acceleration / deceleration button processing 2. 2. Processing when the pointer is on the object Processing when there is an object near the pointer These examples are shown in another flowchart.

It is determined whether or not the acceleration / deceleration control button is pressed, and the acceleration vector corresponding to each is added to the pointer movement vector.

Next, the processing when the pointer is on the object will be described. Go down the list of objects in order from the one displayed at the top, and if the current pointer coordinate is above that object, set the corresponding correction value according to the preset attribute of the object, This is also determined by a preset evaluation function and added to the pointer movement vector. This process only targets one object directly under the pointer.

Further, the processing when there is an object near the pointer will be described. Go down the list of objects, starting with the one at the top, and seeing if the current pointer coordinates are near that object, depending on the distance between the object and the pointer, calculated by a preset method. If it is determined to be in the vicinity, depending on the distance,
A correction value for the pointer movement vector is also determined based on a preset evaluation function and added to the pointer movement vector.

By the way, the determination as to whether or not the pointer is in the vicinity of the object is made based on the distance on the display device, but the distance does not necessarily have to be calculated exactly. An example thereof is shown in FIG.

In the flowchart, the above-mentioned three processes are configured separately so that the processes corresponding to the respective functions are specified and one of them can be omitted. It is also possible to combine these processes as necessary, such as for simplification and speedup.

[0039]

According to the present invention, the pointer can be moved to the object by a simple operation of the pointing means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional pointer moving means and an improved example thereof by a conventional technique.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an improved example of pointer moving means according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a basic configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of pointer movement according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of pointer movement according to the present invention.
(Processing of acceleration / deceleration button).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of pointer movement according to the present invention.
(Processing when the pointer is on the object).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of pointer movement according to the present invention.
(Processing when an object is near the pointer).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of pointer movement according to the present invention.
(Determining if there is an object near the pointer).

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 image display device 2 pointer control function 3 object 4 pointing means 5 pointer 6 switch on pointer 7 acceleration / deceleration control button

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image display device for displaying a pointer and an object to be operated by the pointer, a pointing device having a function of moving the pointer to an arbitrary position on the image display device, a displacement of the pointing device and a pointer. A pointer control method using a pointing device having a pointer control function of calculating a positional relationship between objects and setting and moving a pointer speed. 2. An image display device for displaying a pointer and an object to be operated by the pointer, a pointing means for moving the pointer to an arbitrary position on the image display device, a displacement of the pointing means and a pointer. A pointer control function for calculating the positional relationship of objects and setting and moving the speed of the pointer is provided, and the pointer control function is provided to each object in advance for the image display device, the pointer, and the pointing means. A pointer control method using a pointing device, characterized in that the moving speed of the pointer moving over the object is changed by using the attribute. 3. A pointer control method using a pointing device, wherein the control method according to claim 1 and the control method according to claim 2 are used in combination. 4. The pointing device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, further comprising an acceleration / deceleration control button on the pointer, which allows a user to control the movement of the pointer. Pointer control method.