JPH10124251A - Coordinate input information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To move the coordinate range of an absolute coordinate detection means by a relative coordinate detection means by dealing with the coordinate of the relative coordinate detection means as a relative position coordinate and dealing with the coordinate of the absolute coordinate detection means, represented by a tablet, as the relative position coordinate from a present position. SOLUTION: The absolute coordinate detection means 3 having a tablet part inputting data by a private pen, and the relative coordinate detection means having a mouse part are incorporated in the operation tool main body of a pointing device 1. On a computer 7-side, the absolute coordinate inputted by the absolute coordinate detection means 3 is dealt with as a coordinate change on the relative coordinate inputted by the relative coordinate detection means 2 based on coordinate data which are transmitted from the pointing device 1 while previously discriminating that from which device the data are transmitted. Thus, data are largely moved by the mouse part and at the tablet part pointing is executed by operating the pen at the relative position from there.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a relative coordinate detecting means represented by a mouse as a pointing device,
A coordinate input information processing apparatus which enables input from two coordinate detecting means, such as a tablet and an absolute coordinate detecting means, and particularly, coordinates in which the space of the absolute coordinate detecting means is reduced and the operability of a pointing device is improved. The present invention relates to an input information processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a mouse, a tablet, a glide point, or a trackball is known as a pointing device connected to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer. Of these, mice and tablets are widely used at present because of their excellent operability and certainty. Hereinafter, a mouse will be described as the relative coordinate detecting means, and a tablet will be described as the absolute coordinate detecting means.

FIG. 19 shows an outline of a mouse. As shown in this figure, the mouse 30 has a ball 32 attached to a lower part of an operating tool body 31 also serving as a casing, and holds the operating tool body 31 by hand and moves it two-dimensionally on a board surface or the like. Then, the ball 32 rolled into contact with the board surface rotates. The change in the coordinates in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction caused by the rotation of the ball 32 outputs a relative position change from the current position.

[0004] As described above, the mouse 30 has an advantage that it does not require a relatively large space to move and operate itself. It is also possible to change the coordinate position change amount with respect to the moving distance of the operation tool main body 31. However, there is a disadvantage that the accuracy of the coordinate input is not very high because the position change is mechanically detected.

FIG. 20 shows an overview of a tablet.
As shown in this figure, the tablet 40 is formed in a panel shape, and a dedicated pen 41 is usually used as an indicator for indicating coordinates on the tablet 40. Since the tablet 40 is used for inputting with the pen 41, the input operation of coordinates is relatively easy, and the complicated input operation such as the input of handwritten characters is also easier to perform than the mouse. Further, since the tablet 40 has an advantage that the coordinate change can be promptly detected, it is possible to perform highly accurate coordinate input.

However, since the tablet 40 performs absolute coordinate designation in a one-to-one correspondence with the coordinate system displayed on the display of the information processing apparatus, the tablet 40 obtains necessary operability. For this purpose, a corresponding area is required. For this reason, there is a drawback that it is hard to use unless an installation place is secured.

As described above, the tablet 40 must be prepared in order to perform high-precision coordinate input such as handwritten character input using the pen 41. However, in performing pointing, high-precision coordinate input operation is always required. It is not always necessary, but rather, the mouse 30 may be able to perform sufficient coordinate input.

[0008] From such a viewpoint, an information processing apparatus provided with both a tablet and a mouse coordinate input device has been disclosed in, for example, JP-A-63-113721 (first prior art example) or JP-A-6-208435. No. (second prior art example).

The mouse / tablet common control device disclosed in the first prior art example handles both mouse and tablet inputs in a common processing unit provided in the information processing device, and mouse coordinate data is converted from the current position to the current position. The tablet coordinate data is passed to the application as coordinate data of an absolute coordinate system corresponding to the coordinate system of the information processing apparatus on a one-to-one basis.

A coordinate input device switching device disclosed in a second prior art example automatically switches input data from a plurality of coordinate input devices and outputs coordinate data to an information processing device. .

However, in each of the above prior art examples, the mouse and the tablet use well-known conventional products individually connected to the information processing apparatus. Therefore, since the coordinate system of the tablet in these prior art examples does not differ in that it is used in a one-to-one correspondence with the coordinate system of the information processing apparatus as described above, a considerably large space occupied by the tablet when used is used. However, there is a problem that installation cannot be performed unless the space has a sufficient space.

As a third prior art example for solving such a problem, there is a coordinate input device disclosed in, for example, JP-A-6-28102. In this prior art example, the area of the touch panel used as a tablet is reduced to reduce the occupied space, and the coordinate change rate is changed depending on the movement speed when operating the tablet.

However, in the case of the third prior art example, when an operation such as handwriting input is performed using a pen, the amount of movement of the cursor on the display of the information processing apparatus changes depending on the moving speed of the pen. It is difficult to perform smooth handwriting input.

As a device that can drastically solve the problems of the first to third prior art examples, a coordinate input device in which both tablet and mouse coordinate input devices are combined is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-70641 (fourth prior art example) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 3-14120 (fifth prior art example) have been proposed. (Sixth prior art example).

[0015]

The pointing device disclosed in the fourth prior art example uses a tablet as an absolute coordinate detector and a mouse as a relative coordinate detector. In this case, the coordinates from the tablet and the coordinates from the mouse are simply switched, and the information processing apparatus handles them as absolute coordinates and relative coordinates, respectively.

However, since the space occupied by the coordinate input device becomes considerably large, the problem that the device cannot be installed without a corresponding space has not been solved. Further, if the tablet area is reduced to solve this problem, in the case of this prior art example, the entire absolute coordinate range of the information processing apparatus must be handled with a small tablet area, and operability is reduced. Gets worse.

Further, the keyboard / mouse integrated input device disclosed in the fifth prior art example cannot perform operations such as handwriting with a pen because the touch panel is treated as a keyboard. Furthermore, the contact-type mouse disclosed in the sixth prior art example has a tablet-like component called a screen configured as a pointing device. Since the operation surface area is small, it is possible to quickly move the pointing coordinates. Impossible.

[0018]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A coordinate input device according to the present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and includes a relative coordinate detecting means for relatively detecting coordinates and an absolute coordinate detecting means. And absolute coordinate detecting means for detecting the relative coordinate detecting means and the absolute coordinate detecting means, wherein the coordinate data sending means outputs the input coordinate data from one of the detecting means. A pointing device in which the means are integrated into a single operating tool body, and the absolute coordinates input by the absolute coordinate detecting means based on the coordinate data sent from the coordinate data sending means of the pointing device, Input coordinate data processing means for treating as a coordinate change on the relative coordinates input by the relative coordinate detection means.

With the above arrangement, the coordinates of the relative coordinate detecting means represented by a mouse are treated as relative position coordinates.
The coordinates of the absolute coordinate detecting means represented by the tablet can be handled as relative position coordinates from the current position, and the coordinate range of the absolute coordinate detecting means can be moved by the relative coordinate detecting means. Moreover, the operability of the absolute coordinate detecting means is not impaired by integrating the relative coordinate detecting means and the absolute coordinate detecting means.

In the above arrangement, the absolute coordinate detecting means is provided with a pen for input operation. And an absolute coordinate movement amount changing means for changing the coordinate change amount in the absolute coordinate detection means and the corresponding coordinate change amount on the display screen, or the coordinate change amount in the absolute coordinate detection means. And the absolute coordinate moving amount ratio changing means capable of variably changing the ratio of the coordinate change amount on the display screen corresponding thereto, so that the absolute coordinate detecting means having a limited area can be provided. Operability of the input operation using the pen can be improved.

Further, when performing an input operation using the pen for input operation provided in the absolute coordinate detecting means, the relative coordinate detecting means is moved to weight the pen input so that the three-dimensional input is performed. By providing the tablet coordinate information adding means that enables the three-dimensional information to be input, three-dimensional information can be input even to the absolute coordinate detecting means that cannot sense the pen pressure when performing an input operation using a pen.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a coordinate input information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a pointing device for inputting both a tablet and a mouse.
Has a relative coordinate detecting means 2, an absolute coordinate detecting means 3, a coordinate data transmitting means 4, a mouse coordinate processing section 5, and a tablet coordinate processing section 6. Reference numeral 7 denotes a computer as an information processing device. The computer 7 includes an absolute coordinate data priority unit 8 and an input coordinate data processing unit 9.

The relative coordinate detecting means 2 is a part having a function corresponding to a mouse, and transfers a relative coordinate change amount from the current position in the X direction and the Y direction to the coordinate data transmitting means 4 according to the amount of mouse movement. . The absolute coordinate detecting means 3
It is a portion having a function corresponding to a tablet, and passes absolute position coordinates on the tablet to the coordinate data sending means 4.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the pointing device 1. The pointing device 1 has a single operation tool main body 10 in which a relative coordinate detecting means 2 and an absolute coordinate detecting means 3 are integrally incorporated, and holds a mouse 2a as an operating section of the relative coordinate detecting means 2. The unit also serves as an outer shell of the operation tool main body 10, and the operation surface of the tablet unit 3 a of the absolute coordinate detecting means 3 is arranged on the upper surface of the operation tool main body 10. The mouse unit 2a can carry out coordinate input by performing an operation of holding the mouse unit and moving it two-dimensionally. The tablet unit 3a has a coordinate input function of inputting with the dedicated pen 11, and is configured by a tablet of a pressure-sensitive resistive type, an electromagnetic induction type, or the like.

By the way, the dedicated pen 1 is attached to the tablet 3a.
In order to be able to input handwritten characters with the device 1, it is preferable to use the electromagnetic induction type tablet capable of detecting the approach of the dedicated pen 11 to the tablet unit 3a. By operating the tablet unit 3a with the dedicated pen 11, coordinates can be input. 12 is a pointing device 1 and a computer 7
Is a cable that connects

FIGS. 3 and 4 show another embodiment of the dedicated pen 11. FIG. The pen shown in FIG.
However, the point different from the above-described dedicated pen 11 is that an information input button 11a is additionally provided, and when the tablet unit 3a is operated with the pen 11A, the coordinate data includes the button information. . The pen shown in FIG. 4 is a pen 11B that can be input in the reverse direction, and is different from the above-described dedicated pen 11 in that the tablet unit 3a can be operated in both the forward direction and the reverse direction. Yes, when the tablet unit 3a is operated with the pen 11,
The coordinate data includes information indicating the direction of the pen 11B.

The coordinate data sending means 4 adds information so that the coordinate data from the two coordinate detecting means 2 and 3 which are the respective coordinate detecting means can be distinguished from each other, and gives the absolute coordinate data priority means in the computer 7. Hand over to 8.

When the coordinate data from the absolute coordinate detecting means 3 is sent, the absolute coordinate data priority means 8 discards the mouse coordinate data and passes only the tablet coordinate data to the input coordinate data processing means 9. The input coordinate data processing means 9 determines whether the received coordinate data is relative position coordinate data by the relative coordinate detection means 2 or absolute position coordinate data by the absolute coordinate detection means 3. Is processed as a relative position change, and in the case of tablet coordinate data, the current position is used as a reference and processed as an absolute position change therefrom, and the coordinate data is output.

FIG. 5 shows a state at the time of inputting coordinates by operating the mouse unit of the pointing device 1. The coordinates can be input by moving the mouse unit 2a two-dimensionally by hand. FIG. 6 shows a state at the time of inputting coordinates by pen operation. When inputting coordinates using the special pen 11,
The mouse pen 2a is moved two-dimensionally on the tablet 3a by the dedicated pen 11 without moving the mouse 2a.

However, the coordinate data obtained from the operation of the mouse unit 2a is a mouse coordinate data that is a relative position change, and the coordinate data obtained from the operation of the tablet unit 3a is absolute data from the tablet coordinate origin a shown in FIG. It is coordinate data. If the tablet coordinates correspond one-to-one to the coordinate system of the computer 7, the area is limited,
Pointing is hard. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the tablet coordinates do not correspond to the coordinate system of the computer 7 on a one-to-one basis, but correspond to a part thereof.

FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the coordinates of the tablet 3a and the coordinates of the computer 7. In this figure,
A is a computer coordinate system, and B is a tablet coordinate system. The tablet coordinate system B indicates a coordinate range when operated by the tablet unit 3a, and has a one-to-one correspondence with the tablet coordinates.
Corresponding to

The tablet coordinate origin a in FIG.
Corresponds to the tablet coordinate origin b in FIG. The current coordinates c shown in FIG. 7 indicate the current center coordinates of the tablet coordinate system B in the computer coordinate system A relatively moved by the mouse unit 2a. Therefore,
The tablet coordinate system B is moved on the computer coordinate system A by the mouse unit 2a. By handling the tablet coordinate system B with the relative position from the current coordinate c, the operability of the tablet unit 3a having a small area can be improved. d is a coordinate origin on the computer 7 side.

However, when inputting a tablet with the dedicated pen 11, the tablet 3a is integrated with the mouse 2a, so that the mouse 2a may be moved and erroneous coordinate input may be performed. is there. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the pen 11 is operated, the approach of the dedicated pen 11 is detected by the absolute coordinate detection unit 3 by the electromagnetic induction type tablet unit 3a, and information indicating the start of invalid processing of the coordinate data of the relative coordinate detection unit 2 is displayed. Is added to the coordinate data and output to the computer 7 through the coordinate data transmitting means 4.
Upon receiving this additional information, the input coordinate data processing means 9 invalidates the coordinate data output from the relative coordinate detection means 2.

When the dedicated pen 11 is separated from the tablet 3a, the absolute coordinate detecting means 3 detects it, and information indicating the end of the invalidation processing of the coordinate data of the relative coordinate detecting means 2 is added to the coordinate data. In addition, the data is output to the computer 7 through the coordinate data transmitting means 4.
Upon receiving this information, the input coordinate data processing means 9 validates the coordinate data output from the relative coordinate detection means 2. Through these processes, the operability at the time of inputting with the pen is improved.

According to this, even if the dedicated pen 11, which is the position detection medium, is not in contact with the tablet 3a,
The coordinate position can be detected by detecting the approach. Further, when the approach of the dedicated pen 11 is detected by the absolute coordinate data priority means 8, the coordinate data from the relative coordinate detection means 2 is discarded and only the coordinate data of the absolute coordinate detection means 3 is handled. An erroneous input from the mouse unit 2a during operation can be prevented.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of the computer 7. In the figure, 13 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), 14 is a main storage unit,
Reference numeral 15 denotes a display such as a CRT or liquid crystal, and reference numeral 16 denotes a display controller. Reference numeral 17 denotes a disk serving as an external storage device, and reference numeral 18 denotes a data bus connecting the computer 7, the disk 17, and the pointing device 1. The pointing device 1 includes the coordinate data transmitting unit 4, the mouse coordinate processing unit 5, and the tablet coordinate processing unit 6 shown in FIG. 1. Here, the pointing device 1 generally includes a relative coordinate detecting unit 2. Mouse coordinate detector 2
A, a configuration including the absolute coordinate detecting means 3 is referred to as an electromagnetic induction type tablet coordinate detecting device 3A.

The CPU 13 is a control device which forms the center of the system. The main storage unit 14 includes a RAM and a ROM for temporarily storing programs and data, and the input coordinate data processing unit 9 and the absolute coordinate data priority unit 8 are stored in the main storage unit 14. The display 15 is for displaying, and the display controller 16 controls the display 15. The disk 17 stores programs and data.

Next, main processing in this embodiment will be described. In FIG. 8, when mouse coordinates are input, the CPU 13 receives pointing information from the mouse unit 2a as input, and processes the coordinate data as a relative position change.

When an input is made with the pen 11, the CPU 13 first detects the approach of the pen 11 from the tablet unit 3a. The CPU 13 invalidates any mouse input at that time and handles only tablet coordinates. The tablet coordinates are processed as a coordinate system from the current coordinates, and are processed as coordinate data of the coordinate system of the computer 7 in consideration of the current range of the tablet coordinate system B.

Next, the operation of the computer 7 for performing pen and mouse input information processing according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 shows the flow of coordinate input processing by mouse operation, and FIG. 10 shows the configuration of coordinate data from the mouse unit 2a.
First, the processing of the relative coordinate detecting means 2 at the time of the coordinate input operation by moving the mouse shown in FIG. 9 will be described.
When relative coordinate data is generated by moving the mouse in step # 101, information representing data from the mouse is added to the coordinate data in step # 102.

In the button information M2, x-coordinate change amount M3, and y-coordinate change amount M4 shown in FIG. 10, the area indicating the data type and the data type MT are set to "0" when the input is from the mouse unit 2a. Set as mouse coordinate data M1. Then, in step # 103, the coordinate data transmitting means 4
The mouse coordinate data M1 created in step # 102
Is passed as pointing data.

FIG. 11 shows the flow of coordinate input processing by pen operation, and FIG. 12 shows the configuration of coordinate data from the tablet unit 3a. Based on these figures, absolute coordinates at the time of operation with the dedicated pen 11 are shown. The processing of the detecting means 3 will be described. When absolute coordinate data is generated by the approach of the pen 11 in step # 201 of FIG.
In step # 202, information indicating that the data is from the tablet unit 3a is added to the pointing data.
Button information T2, x coordinate T5, y coordinate T in FIG.
6 is set to "1" when the input is from the tablet unit 3a in the area indicating the type of data and the data type MT is input from the tablet unit 3a.

In step # 203, if the coordinate data generation is due to the pen 11 approaching the detectable range of the tablet unit 3a, the process proceeds to step # 204, otherwise to step # 205. Step # 204
Then, information indicating that the pen 11 has approached the tablet unit 3a is added to the pointing data. "1" is set when approaching the mouse coordinate invalidity processing availability T4 in FIG. In step # 205, if the coordinate data generation is based on the pen 11 being separated from the detectable range of the tablet unit 3a, the process proceeds to step # 206.
Otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 207.

In step # 206, information indicating that the pen 11 has left the tablet unit 3a is added to the pointing data. When the pen 11 is separated from the tablet unit 3a, "2" is set to the mouse coordinate invalidation processing availability T4 in FIG. In step # 207, the pen 11A with a button shown in FIG. 3 is used for pointing, and the button 11a is pressed or the pen 11B shown in FIG. 4 is used. If the pen 11B has been operated in the reverse direction, the process proceeds to step # 208; otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 209. In addition, “0” indicating that the dedicated pen 11 is present in the detection range is set in the mouse coordinate invalidation processing availability T4 in FIG.

In step # 208, information indicating a change in the tablet coordinate range is added to the pointing data. In FIG. 12, the button 11 of the pen 11A with a button
When "a" is pressed, "1" indicating that the button 11a is pressed is set to the button information T2. When the reverse input enabled pen 11B is operated in the reverse direction, “1” representing the reverse direction is displayed with respect to the pen direction T3.
Is set. In step # 209, the pointing data is passed to the coordinate data transmitting means 4. Data composed of the tablet coordinate data T1 is referred to as pointing data.

FIG. 13 shows the configuration of a coordinate input information processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, portions having the same configuration and operation as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the absolute coordinate data priority means 8 of the computer 7
Between the input coordinate data processing means 9 and the absolute coordinate movement amount changing means 19.

After receiving the coordinate data of the mouse unit 2a or the tablet unit 3a transmitted via the absolute coordinate data priority unit 8, the absolute coordinate movement amount changing unit 19 refers to the additional information included only in the tablet coordinate data. Then, a command for increasing or decreasing the change amount is issued to the input coordinate data processing means 9 and the coordinate data is passed to the input coordinate data processing means 9. It functions to change the corresponding coordinate change amount on the display screen.

That is, when inputting with a pen, the pointing device 1 in this embodiment has an area limited to about the upper surface of the mouse because the tablet 3a is integrated with the mouse 2a. Therefore, since the area is limited, the easiness of the input may be impaired. In the present embodiment, in order to facilitate pen input, the corresponding coordinate movement amount on the computer 7 is changed by the absolute coordinate movement amount changing means 19 so that the coordinate movement amount is suitable for the pen input state. I did it. In this embodiment, the configuration of the computer 7 is the same as that shown in FIG.
9 is stored in the main storage unit 14.

If the pen 11A with a button or the pen 11B capable of inputting in the reverse direction so that the user can point on the opposite side of the pen, the button 11a can be pressed,
When the pointing is performed on the opposite side of the pen 11B capable of inputting in the reverse direction, the absolute coordinate detecting means 3 adds the information and outputs the coordinate data through the coordinate data transmitting means 4.

Then, the absolute coordinate movement amount changing means 19
By interpreting the information, the tablet coordinate system B shown in FIG.
, The tablet coordinate system maximum value Xm and the tablet coordinate system maximum value Ym are changed by the input coordinate data processing means 9. By these processes, for example, when operating with the pen 11A with a button, when the button 11a is pressed, the coordinate range is changed according to the type of pointing by performing a process such as enlarging the tablet coordinate system by two times. To improve the operability of pen input.

FIG. 14 shows the flow of the coordinate input processing in this embodiment. Based on FIG. 14, FIG. 10 and FIG. 12, processing when coordinate data is received from coordinate data sending means 4 on the computer 7 side where the rate of change of the tablet coordinate system is fixed (absolute coordinate data priority means 8, absolute coordinates The flow of the movement amount changing means 19 and the input coordinate data processing means 9) will be described.

First, input of coordinate data is performed in step # 30.
1 and the mouse coordinate data M1 shown in FIG.
The tablet coordinate data T1 shown in FIG. If the coordinate data is from the pen 11, go to step # 303; otherwise, go to step # 312.
Transfer processing. That is, in step # 302, when the data type MT of the input data is “1”, the data is from the tablet unit 3a.
When the value is "0", the data is from the mouse unit 2a.
The process moves to step # 312.

In step # 303, if the coordinate data is generated due to the pen 11 approaching the tablet unit 3a, the process proceeds to step # 304. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 305. That is, in the tablet coordinate data T1 which is the input data, it is determined whether the mouse coordinate invalidation process is possible or not T4.
If "0", the process proceeds to step # 305. In step # 304, a mouse coordinate input rejection state is set in which the mouse coordinates are invalidated.

In step # 305, if the coordinate data is generated due to the pen 11 being separated from the tablet unit 3a, the process proceeds to step # 306; otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 307. That is, the mouse coordinate invalidation process T4 of the tablet coordinate data T1 in FIG.
If "2", the process proceeds to step # 306, and if "0", the process proceeds to step # 307. Step # 306
In this case, the mouse coordinates input state, which is the state where the mouse coordinates are valid, is set.

In step # 307, it is determined whether the pen is the pen with button 11A and the button 11a is pressed or not.
Alternatively, if the pen is the reverse-input-capable pen 11B and the pen is operated on the opposite side of the pen 11B, the process proceeds to step # 308. Otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 309. That is, if the button information T2 is "1", the process proceeds to step # 308; otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 309.
Move the process to

In step # 308, n is substituted for the enlargement factor Z to change the range of the tablet coordinate system B.
Here, n is a specific value, for example, “2”.
When n = 2, that is, when the tablet coordinate system B is enlarged, the height and width are each doubled. In step # 309, "1" is substituted for the enlargement factor Z in order to change the range of the tablet coordinate system B. That is, the enlargement factor Z is returned to 1.

In step # 310, the coordinate positions X1 and Y1 from the tablet coordinate origin a are obtained, and the coordinate system magnification Z
Is raised to each of them to obtain X2 and Y2. Step # 3
In X11, Xd and Y are obtained by subtracting the intermediate values Xm / 2 and Ym / 2 from X2 and Y2, respectively, for the tablet coordinate system maximum value Xm and tablet coordinate system maximum value Ym.
d. In step # 312, when the mouse coordinate input for validating the mouse coordinate is enabled, step # 3
If not, the process moves to step # 313. In step # 313, the coordinate data is invalidated because the mouse coordinate input is invalidated. Step #
At 314, the amount of mouse movement is substituted into Xd and Yd.
In step # 315, new coordinates are set to X + Xd, for the coordinate values X and Y in the current coordinate system of the computer 7.
Let it be Y + Yd.

FIG. 15 shows the configuration of a coordinate input information processing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, portions having the same configuration and operation as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the absolute coordinate data priority means 8 of the computer 7
Between the input coordinate data processing means 9 and the absolute coordinate movement amount ratio changing means 20.

The absolute coordinate moving amount ratio changing means 20 is a mouse unit 2a sent via the absolute coordinate data priority means 8.
Or, after receiving the coordinate data of the tablet unit 3a,
It is determined whether or not the current mouse coordinates are invalidated. If invalid, the ratio of the change amount is increased / decreased from the coordinate data of the mouse unit 2a to the input coordinate data processing means 9 and the coordinates are determined. The data is passed to the input coordinate data processing means 9 and serves to variably change the coordinate change amount in the absolute coordinate detection means 3 and the corresponding coordinate change amount on the display screen.

That is, when inputting with the pen as described above, the pointing device 1 in this embodiment is used.
Since the area of the tablet unit 3a is limited to the upper surface of the mouse, there is a possibility that the ease of inputting may be impaired.
In the second embodiment, in order to facilitate pen input, the absolute coordinate movement amount changing means 19 causes the corresponding movement on the computer 7 to be a coordinate movement amount suitable for the pen input state. Although the amount is changed, in this case, since the moving amount can be changed only in a certain step, the operability of the tablet may be hindered.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, by providing the absolute coordinate moving amount ratio changing means 20 which makes the changing ratio of the moving amount variable, the coordinate moving amount when the tablet is used is reduced from a certain minimum amount to the coordinate system of the computer 7. It can be changed until it corresponds to one-to-one. In this embodiment, the configuration of the computer 7 is the same as that shown in FIG. 8, but the absolute coordinate movement amount ratio changing means 20 is stored in the main storage unit 14.

The case where the range of the tablet coordinate system B is continuously variable so that the ratio can be changed from a certain minimum range to the range of the computer coordinate system A can be realized as follows. That is, the tablet unit 3a can detect the approach of the pen 11 of the electromagnetic induction type or the like. As an operation, the mouse unit 2a is moved while the dedicated pen 11 is approaching the tablet unit 3a, and the ratio is adjusted according to the amount of movement. For example, the adjustment is made such that the ratio is increased when moved to the right, and decreased when moved to the left.

As a method, when the dedicated pen 11 approaches the tablet 3a, the absolute coordinate detecting means 3 detects the approach, and the coordinate data of the relative coordinate detecting means 2 includes information indicating the start of invalid processing in the coordinate data. It is added to the coordinate data and output to the computer 7 through the coordinate data sending means 4. The absolute coordinate movement amount ratio changing means 20 determines this mouse coordinate invalid state, and when invalid, the mouse unit 2a
Are not treated as changes in the computer coordinate system A, but as information for changing the size of the tablet coordinate system B, that is, the tablet coordinate system maximum value Xm and the tablet coordinate system maximum value Ym. Thus, the ratio of the tablet coordinate system B can be changed by the mouse unit 2a.

FIG. 16 shows the flow of the coordinate input processing in this embodiment. Processing when the computer 7 receives the coordinate data from the coordinate data transmitting means 4 when the change rate of the tablet coordinate system can be changed based on FIGS. 16, 10 and 12 (absolute coordinate data priority). Means 8, absolute coordinate moving amount ratio changing means 20,
The flow of the input coordinate data processing means 9) will be described.

First, input of coordinate data is performed in step # 40.
1 and the mouse coordinate data M1 shown in FIG.
The tablet coordinate data T1 shown in FIG. If the coordinate data is from the pen 11, go to step # 403; otherwise, go to step # 409.
Transfer processing. That is, in step # 402, when the data type MT of the input data is "1", the data is from the tablet unit 3a, so that the process proceeds to step # 403.
If the value is "0", the data is from the mouse unit 2a, and the process proceeds to step # 409.

In step # 403, if the coordinate data is generated because the pen 11 has approached the tablet unit 3a, the process proceeds to step # 404; otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 405. That is, in the tablet coordinate data T1 which is the input data, whether or not the mouse coordinate invalidation processing T4 is possible is determined.
If it is "0", the process moves to step # 405. In step # 404, a mouse coordinate input rejection state is set in which the mouse coordinates are invalidated.

In step # 405, if the coordinate data is generated because the pen 11 has left the tablet unit 3a, the process proceeds to step # 406; otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 407. That is, the mouse coordinate invalidation process T4 of the tablet coordinate data T1 in FIG.
If "2", the process proceeds to step # 406, and if "0", the process proceeds to step # 407. In step # 406, a state is entered in which mouse coordinates can be input, which is a state in which mouse coordinates are valid.

In step # 407, the coordinate positions X1 and Y1 from the tablet coordinate origin a are acquired, and the coordinate system enlargement ratio Z is raised to each of them to obtain X2 and Y2. Step #
At 408, Xd and Y are obtained by subtracting the intermediate values Xm / 2 and Ym / 2 from X2 and Y2 with respect to the tablet coordinate system maximum value Xm and the tablet coordinate system maximum value Ym, respectively.
d. In step # 409, the moving amount of the mouse is set to X
Substitute d and Yd. That is, the x coordinate change amount M3 and the y coordinate change amount M4 in FIG. 10 are set to Xd and Yd.

In step # 410, if the mouse coordinates inputting state for validating the mouse coordinates is possible, step # 4
If not, the process proceeds to step # 411. In step # 411, assuming that the maximum values of the absolute coordinates that can be physically output by the tablet unit 3a are X0 and Y0, and that the enlargement factor for changing the range of the tablet coordinate system B is Z, it is (X0 + Xd) / X0. . Step # 41
In step 2, new coordinates are set to X + Xd and Y + Yd with respect to the current coordinate values X and Y in the coordinate system of the computer 7.

FIG. 17 shows the configuration of a coordinate input information processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, portions having the same configuration and operation as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the absolute coordinate data priority means 8 of the computer 7
Between the input coordinate data processing means 9 and the tablet coordinate information adding means 21.

The tablet coordinate information adding means 21 is provided with a mouse unit 2a sent via the absolute coordinate data priority means 8.
Or, after receiving the coordinate data of the tablet unit 3a,
It is determined whether or not the mouse coordinates are currently invalidated. If invalid, the coordinate data of the mouse unit 2a is input to the input coordinate data processing means 9 by adding three-dimensional information to the pen input data. It is passed to the coordinate data processing means 9 and serves to enable three-dimensional input by weighting the pen input by moving the relative coordinate detection means 2 when performing an input operation with the pen. .

That is, when an input such as drawing is made with the pen 11, the effect of the drawing surface may be controlled by the strength of the pen input or the like. In such a case, the tablet often senses the pen pressure to generate such information.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the pointing device 1 is configured integrally with the mouse unit 2a and is the tablet unit 3a that cannot sense the pen pressure, the mouse operation is performed by the tablet coordinate information adding unit 21 at the time of pen input. By doing so, three-dimensional information is added to the tablet coordinate data. In this embodiment, the configuration of the computer 7 is the same as that shown in FIG. 8, but the tablet coordinate information adding means 21 is stored in the main storage unit 14.

When it is desired to add three-dimensional information such as pen pressure to pen input, the following can be realized. That is, the tablet unit 3a can detect the approach of the pen 11 of the electromagnetic induction type or the like. As an operation, the mouse unit 2a is moved while the dedicated pen 11 is approaching the tablet unit 3a, and the weight is adjusted according to the amount of movement. For example, adjustment is made such that the weight is increased when the image is moved to the right, and decreased when the image is moved to the left.

As the method, when the dedicated pen 11 approaches the tablet 3a, the absolute coordinate detecting means 3 detects the approach, and the coordinate data of the relative coordinate detecting means 2 includes information indicating the start of invalid processing in the coordinate data. It is added to the coordinate data and output to the computer 7 through the coordinate data sending means 4. The tablet coordinate information adding means 21 determines this mouse coordinate invalid state, and when invalid, does not treat the coordinate data of the mouse unit 2a as a change in the computer coordinate system A but as information for changing the weight of the coordinate data. .

FIG. 18 shows the flow of the coordinate input processing in this embodiment. The processing when the computer 7 receives the coordinate data from the coordinate data transmitting means 4 in the case where weighting is performed on the coordinate data based on FIG. 18, FIG. 10 and FIG. The flow of the information adding means 21 and the input coordinate data processing means 9) will be described.

First, input of coordinate data is performed in step # 50.
In step 1, the mouse coordinate data M1 shown in FIG. 10 and the tablet coordinate data T1 shown in FIG. 12 are received as inputs. If the coordinate data is from the pen 11, go to step # 503; otherwise, go to step # 508.
Move the process to That is, in step # 502, when the data type MT of the input data is "1", the process is to step # 503 because the data is from the tablet, and when "0", the process is to step # 508 because the data is from the mouse. Transfer.

In step # 503, if the coordinate data is generated by the pen 11 approaching the tablet unit 3a, the process proceeds to step # 504, otherwise to step # 505. That is, in the tablet coordinate data T1 which is input data, whether or not the mouse coordinate invalidation processing T4 is possible is determined.
If "0", the process proceeds to step # 505.
In step # 504, a mouse coordinate input rejection state is set in which the mouse coordinates are invalidated.

In step # 505, if the coordinate data is generated because the pen 11 has left the tablet unit 3a, the process proceeds to step # 506, otherwise, the process proceeds to step # 507. That is, the mouse coordinate invalidation process T4 of the tablet coordinate data T1 in FIG.
Is "2", the process proceeds to a step # 506, and if "0", the process proceeds to a step # 507. In step # 506, a state is entered in which mouse coordinates can be input, which is a state in which mouse coordinates are valid.

In step # 507, coordinate positions X1 and Y1 from the tablet coordinate origin a are obtained, and the maximum value Xm of the tablet coordinate system and the maximum value Ym of the tablet coordinate system are obtained.
Xd and Yd are obtained by subtracting the intermediate values Xm / 2 and Ym / 2 from X1 and Y1, respectively. Step # 50
In step 8, the amount of mouse movement is substituted for Xd and Yd. That is, the x coordinate change amount M3 and the y coordinate change amount M4 in FIG. 10 are set to Xd and Yd. In step # 509, the process proceeds to step # 511 when the mouse coordinates are valid for validating the mouse coordinates, and otherwise proceeds to step # 510.

In step # 510, if the weight of the coordinates is W, it is set to W + Xd. In step # 511, for the coordinate values X and Y in the current coordinate system of the computer 7,
The new coordinates are set to X + Xd, Y + Yd, the weight of the coordinates is set to W, and information is added and output.

[0081]

As is clear from the above description, the present invention has the following effects. That is, according to claim 1,
Relative coordinate detecting means for detecting relative coordinates represented by a mouse, absolute coordinate detecting means for absolutely detecting coordinates represented by a tablet, and input coordinate data can be obtained from any of the respective detecting means. A pointing device having coordinate data sending means for distinguishing and outputting the data, and incorporating the relative coordinate detecting means and the absolute coordinate detecting means integrally into a single operating tool body; and Input coordinate data processing means for treating the absolute coordinates input by the absolute coordinate detection means as coordinate changes on the relative coordinates input by the relative coordinate detection means, based on the coordinate data transmitted from the coordinate data transmission means; and Therefore, the coordinates of the relative coordinate detecting means are treated as relative position coordinates, and are represented by a tablet. Can handle the coordinates of the absolute coordinate detection means as the relative position coordinates of the current position, it is possible to move the coordinate range of the absolute coordinate detection means by the relative coordinate detecting means. Moreover, the operability of the absolute coordinate detecting means is not impaired by integrating the relative coordinate detecting means and the absolute coordinate detecting means.

According to the second aspect, the absolute coordinate detecting means is provided with a pen for input operation, and changes the coordinate change amount in the absolute coordinate detecting means and the corresponding coordinate change amount on the display screen. Since the absolute coordinate movement amount changing means is provided, the operability of the absolute coordinate detecting means when performing an input operation with a pen can be improved.

According to the third aspect, the absolute coordinate detecting means is provided with an input operation pen, and the coordinate change amount in the absolute coordinate detecting means and the corresponding coordinate change amount on the display screen are represented by a ratio. Is provided with means for changing the absolute coordinate movement amount ratio variably, so that the operability of an input operation with a pen on the absolute coordinate detecting means having a limited area can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect, when performing an input operation with the input operation pen provided in the absolute coordinate detecting means,
By moving the relative coordinate detecting means, the pen input is weighted to provide tablet coordinate information adding means for enabling three-dimensional input. It is possible to input three-dimensional information even in the absolute coordinate detecting means which cannot sense the pressure.

In short, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform an operation including a handwriting input with a pen.
Also, since the coordinates from the absolute coordinate detecting means are treated like relative coordinates by combining the coordinates from the absolute coordinate detecting means and the relative coordinate detecting means, the relative coordinate detecting means is used when moving the coordinates largely. An operation requiring accuracy can be performed by the absolute coordinate detecting means. further,
Even if the area of the absolute coordinate detecting means is reduced, the operability is not impaired by combining the movement by the relative coordinate detecting means, so that the occupied area for the operation can be reduced. A coordinate input information processing device can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a pointing device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a pen with a button.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a pen capable of reverse input;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state at the time of inputting coordinates by operating a mouse unit of the pointing device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state at the time of inputting coordinates by a pen operation of the pointing device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a relationship between tablet coordinates and computer coordinates.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a computer.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of coordinate input processing by mouse operation.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of coordinate data from a mouse.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of coordinate input processing by pen operation.

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of coordinate data from a tablet.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the flow of data processing on the computer side when operating a pen and mouse having a tablet coordinate system with a fixed enlargement ratio;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the flow of data processing on the computer side when operating a pen and a mouse having a tablet coordinate system with a variable magnification.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of data processing on the computer when a pen and a mouse that can add weight to coordinate data are operated.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view for explaining a conventional mouse device.

FIG. 20 is an external perspective view for explaining a conventional tablet device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pointing device 2 Relative coordinate detecting means 2a Mouse part 3 Absolute coordinate detecting means 3a Tablet part 4 Coordinate data sending means 5 Mouse coordinate processing part 6 Tablet coordinate processing part 7 Computer (information processing device) 8 Absolute coordinate data priority means 9 Input coordinates Data processing means 10 Operating tool main body 11 Dedicated pen 11A Pen with button 11a Button 11B Pen capable of reverse input 12 Cable 13 CPU 14 Main storage unit 15 Display 16 Display controller 17 Disk 18 Data bus 19 Absolute coordinate movement amount changing means 20 Absolute coordinate Moving amount ratio changing means 21 Tablet coordinate information adding means A Computer coordinate system a Tablet coordinate origin B Tablet coordinate system b Tablet coordinate system origin c Current coordinate d Computer coordinate origin M1 Mouse coordinate data MT data type M2 button information M3 x-coordinate change amount M4 y-coordinate change amount T1 tablet coordinate data T2 button information T3 pen orientation T4 availability of mouse coordinate invalidation process T5 x-coordinate T6 y-coordinate

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A relative coordinate detecting means for relatively detecting coordinates, an absolute coordinate detecting means for absolutely detecting coordinates, and distinction between input coordinate data from each of the detecting means. Output means for sending coordinate data,
A pointing device in which the relative coordinate detecting means and the absolute coordinate detecting means are integrated into a single operating tool main body; and the absolute coordinates based on the coordinate data transmitted from the coordinate data transmitting means of the pointing device. An input coordinate data processing device, comprising: input coordinate data processing means for treating the absolute coordinates input by the detection means as a coordinate change on the relative coordinates input by the relative coordinate detection means. 2. An absolute coordinate detecting means includes an input operation pen, and an absolute coordinate moving amount changing means for changing a coordinate change amount in the absolute coordinate detecting means and a corresponding coordinate change amount on a display screen. Claim 1 comprising:
The coordinate input information processing device according to the description. 3. The absolute coordinate detecting means includes a pen for input operation, and the ratio of the coordinate change amount in the absolute coordinate detecting means and the corresponding coordinate change amount on the display screen is variably changed. 2. The coordinate input information processing device according to claim 1, further comprising an absolute coordinate movement amount ratio changing means that can perform the operation. 4. An absolute coordinate detecting means is provided with a pen for input operation, and when performing an input operation with the pen, the relative coordinate detecting means is moved to weight the pen input. 2. The coordinate input information processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a tablet coordinate information adding unit that enables three-dimensional input.