JPH10187342A - Information inputting device for right and left-handed person and information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information inputting device having conventional operability and interchangeability for a right-handed person which can be easily operated even by a left-handed person. SOLUTION: An information inputting device 101 for both right and left- handed persons is provided with plural input buttons 3, 5, and 7 which generate signals to be inputted to an information processor main body and/or a multidirection selection switch 1, and first and second connectors 31 and 33 for connecting this device with the information processor main body. When this device is connected through the first connector 31 with the information processor main body, an input mode for a right-handed person is obtained, and when this device is connected through the second connector 33 with the information processor main body, an input mode for a left-handed person is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information input device suitable for an information processing device such as a personal computer and a game machine such as a video game, and more particularly, to a device for maintaining compatibility with a conventional right-handed operator. The present invention relates to a left-right information input device and an information processing device that can be operated comfortably by a left-handed operator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Information input devices such as a mouse and a game controller are mainly designed for right-handed persons, and thus are not always easy to operate for left-handed persons. For example, in the case of a two-button mouse, the left button is usually used as a main button for indicating a cursor position and operating an operation button on a display screen, and the right button is assigned a convenient function for each screen. Used as a secondary button.

Therefore, in a normal operation, the number of operations of the left button as the main button is overwhelmingly large, and the number of operations of the right button as the sub button is small. In such a two-button mouse, when a right-handed person operates with the right hand, the left button is operated with the index finger and the right button is operated with the middle finger. Such a button arrangement is due to ergonomic considerations that the index finger is easier to move than the middle finger.

However, when a left-handed person operates this mouse with his left hand, the left button, which is frequently operated, is operated with the middle finger, and the right button, which is operated less frequently, is operated with the index finger. The finger to be turned is opposite, and operation becomes difficult.

[0005] In the case of a game controller, an input device connected to the game controller main body is provided with a direction key, which is a four-way switch for controlling front, rear, left and right directions, and a plurality of operation buttons. The direction keys are operated by the left hand, and the plurality of operation buttons are operated by the right hand.

In many cases, the user operates the direction keys with the left hand to indicate the moving direction of the character, and presses the operation button with the right hand to indicate the action of the character.

An OS adopting a graphical user interface (hereinafter abbreviated as GUI) that can perform main operations only with a mouse, that is, a Microsoft Windows 95 OS or an Apple Mac OS
(Macintosh OS) and application software corresponding to them, the operation buttons on the screen are often arranged on the right side as shown in FIG. 7 in consideration of the operability of the right-handed operator.

[0008]

As described above, the conventional 2
When a left-handed person operates the button mouse with his left hand,
The left button, which is the main button with a large number of operations, is operated with the middle finger, and the right button, the sub-button with a small number of operations, is operated with the index finger, making operation difficult.

[0009] In the case of a game controller, the operation buttons provided on the right side of the controller and operated by the right hand instruct a game character to perform an action. However, there is a problem that a left-handed person cannot operate with his or her left hand.

Also, an OS employing a GUI, ie,
In an information processing apparatus that executes Microsoft's Windows 95 OS, Apple's Mac OS (Macintosh OS), and application software corresponding thereto, the operation buttons on the screen are often arranged on the right side of the information processing apparatus. However, there was a problem that it was uncomfortable and difficult to operate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an information input device which is easy to operate even for a left-handed person while maintaining compatibility with a conventional right-handed person. It is another object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus having a GUI that can be easily operated by a left-handed person.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following arrangement. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in an information input device including a plurality of input buttons for generating signals to be input to the information processing device main body and / or a multi-directional selection switch, the information input device is connected to the main body And a right-hand input mode when connected to the information processing apparatus main body via the first connector, and the information processing apparatus is connected to the information processing apparatus via the second connector. This is a left / right information input device whose main purpose is to be in a left hand input mode when connected to the device body.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the state of specific signal pins of the first and second connectors is set to the first state in the first connector, and to the second state in the second connector. By doing so, it may be determined which of the first and second connectors the information processing apparatus main body is connected to.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a wiring suitable for a right-hand input is performed from the plurality of input buttons and / or the multi-directional selection switch to the first connector, so that a right-hand input mode is established. A wiring suitable for a left-hand input from the button and / or the multi-directional selection switch to the second connector can be set to a left-hand input mode.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information input device comprising a plurality of input buttons for generating a signal to be input to the information processing device main body, wherein the left and right electrical connection of the plurality of input buttons is arranged. The left / right input device further includes a changeover switch, and switches between the right-hand input mode and the left-hand input mode by the changeover switch.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus in which an input operation is performed by designating an operation button on a display screen with a coordinate input device, in which one of a right-handed input mode and a left-handed input mode is input. Input mode storage means for storing whether the mode is the mode, and display screen forming means for forming a display screen in which the positions of the operation buttons are optimized in accordance with the input mode stored in the input mode storage means. An information processing apparatus having a gist.

[0017]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a bidirectional information input device and an information processing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining the appearance and use of a game controller as a first embodiment of a left-right information input device according to the present invention. FIG. 1A shows a right-handed connection state, FIG. 1B shows a left-handed connection state.

1 (a) and 1 (b), a game controller 101 has a multi-directional selection switch (hereinafter referred to as a switch) for generating a signal to be input to a video game machine main body as an information processing apparatus main body (not shown). Abbreviated as SW)
And a plurality of input buttons 3, 5, and 7.

The game controller 101 is the same as that shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), a right-handed connector 31 as a first connector to which a cable-side connector 35 connected to a video game machine body is connected, and a left-handed connector 33 as a second connector. Is provided on the near side.

When the cable-side connector 35 is connected to the right-handed connector 31, the game controller enters the right-hand input mode. When the left-handed connector 33 is connected to the cable-side connector 35, the game controller enters the left-handed input mode. Input mode.

FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram showing the internal connection of the game controller 101. The four-direction SW1 urges the common contact plate 11 grounded, the respective contacts 17, 19, 15, 13 arranged in four directions of up, down, left and right, and the common contact plate 11 between the contacts. It consists of four coil springs.

The input buttons 3, 5, and 7 each have a unipolar S
W is displayed on the exterior of the game controller to distinguish between A, B, and C, for example. The display of A, B, and C is, as shown in FIG.
The game controller is displayed in an inverted manner above and below the exterior of the game controller with respect to 5 and 7.

The contacts 17, 19, 15, 13 arranged in the four directions of up, down, left and right of the four directions SW1 of the game controller 101 are connected to the respective terminals P2, P3, P4 of the right-handed connector 31 respectively. Connected to P1, the common contact plate 11 is connected to P5.

The contacts 17, 19, 15, 13,
Are the respective terminals P of the left-handed connector 33.
3, P2, P1, P5, the common contact plate 11
It is connected to P5 which is a ground terminal.

The make contacts 21, 23, 25 of the input buttons 3, 5, 7 are connected to the respective terminals P6, P7, P8 of the right-handed connector 31 and the respective terminals of the left-handed connector 33. P8, P7, P6
It is connected to the.

The terminal indicating the ground potential is common to the right-handed connector 31 and the left-handed connector 33.
P5.

Thus, the four-way S which is a multi-directional switch
By exchanging the connection of the set of upper and lower contacts of W1 and the connection of the set of left and right contacts with the right-handed connector 31 and the left-handed connector 33, the game controller is replaced with the one shown in FIG.
Regardless of whether the operation is performed in either the state shown in FIG. 1A or the state shown in FIG.
2, P3, and P4 output right, up, down, and left direction indication signals, respectively.

FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram for explaining the circuit connection of the game controller 201 which is a modification of FIG.
In FIG. 2, the right-handed connector 31 and the left-handed connector 3
3 and the terminal connection was exchanged to use both left and right.
Then, the additional terminal P9 for connector identification is provided in the right-handed connector 31 and the left-handed connector 33. For example, P9 is opened in the right-handed connector 31, and grounded (connected to P5) in the left-handed connector 33. Thus, it is determined which of the right-handed connector 31 and the left-handed connector 33 is connected to the video game machine main body. The connections of the other terminals P1 to P8 are not changed by the right-handed connector 31 and the left-handed connector 33.

FIG. 4 is a top view (a) and a bottom view (b) of a two-button mouse which is a second embodiment of the bidirectional information input device according to the present invention. In these figures,
A left button 303 and a right button 305 are provided on the top surface of the mouse 301, and a changeover switch 307 is provided on the bottom surface of the mouse 301.

The changeover switch 307 is a switch for switching between left-handed use and right-handed use.
And the connection of the right button 305 are switched with each other to switch between left-handed use and right-handed use.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment in which the information processing apparatus according to the present invention realizes a left-right input by software.

In FIG. 3, when an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer employing a GUI opens a dialog box for receiving an operation instruction from a user, this program or subroutine is called to determine an operation mode (step S11). ). If the operation mode is the right-handed mode, a screen in which operation buttons are arranged on the right side is configured (step S13). If the operation mode is the left-handed mode, a screen in which operation buttons are arranged on the left side is configured (step S15).

FIG. 6 shows an example of a left-handed dialog screen constituted by this program. FIG. 6 is an example of a screen configured when the left-handed mode is set in the “open file” operation when the present invention is applied to Microsoft Windows 95. As shown in the figure, a help button “?”, A screen close button “×”, a pull-down menu open button “▽”,
Since the button "Open (O)" for opening the designated file and the cancel button "Cancel" are arranged on the left side, it is easy for a left-handed operator to operate.

It should be noted that the right-handed dialog screen is the same as the conventional screen shown in FIG.

[0036]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in an information input device having a plurality of input buttons and / or a multi-directional selection switch for generating a signal to be input to an information processing device main body, By providing a right-handed connector and a left-handed connector for connection to the processing device main body, when connected to the information processing device main body via the right-handed connector, the input device enters a right-hand input mode, and is connected via the left-handed connector. When connected to the information processing device main body, since the input mode is a left-handed input mode, it is possible to provide a left-handed and right-handed information input device that is easy to use for a left-handed person while maintaining operability and compatibility of a conventional right-handed person. It has the effect of being able to.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information input device including a plurality of input buttons for generating a signal to be input to the information processing apparatus main body. Since the switch for changing the arrangement is provided, the input mode for the right hand and the input mode for the left hand can be switched by the switch.
It is possible to provide a left-handed and right-handed information input device that is easy to use for left-handed persons while maintaining the operability and compatibility of conventional right-handed persons.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in an information processing apparatus in which an input operation is performed by designating an operation button on a display screen with a coordinate input device, a right-handed input mode and a left-handed input mode can be used. Input mode storage means for storing which input mode is used, and display screen forming means for forming a display screen in which the positions of the operation buttons are optimized according to the input mode stored in the input mode storage means. With this configuration, the operation buttons can be arranged on the right side of the screen in the right-handed input mode, and the operation buttons can be arranged on the left side of the screen in the left-handed input mode. It is possible to provide an information processing device that is easy to use for left-handed people while maintaining compatibility and compatibility.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the appearance and usage of a game controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram illustrating circuit connection of the game controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram illustrating a circuit connection of a modified example of the game controller according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top view (a) and a bottom view (b) of a two-button mouse according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an information processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;
6 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method of configuring a UI screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a left-handed GUI screen configured by an information processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional GUI screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... 4 direction SW, 3 ... A-SW, 5 ... B-SW, 7 ... C
SW, 31: right-handed connector, 33: left-handed connector, 35: cable connector, 101: game controller.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An information input device comprising a plurality of input buttons and / or a multi-directional selection switch for generating a signal to be input to an information processing device main body, wherein the first and the second terminals are connected to the information processing device main body. And a right-hand input mode when connected to the information processing apparatus main body via the first connector, and connected to the information processing apparatus main body via the second connector. A left-hand input mode when the input device is in a left-hand input mode. 2. An information input device comprising a plurality of input buttons for generating a signal to be input to an information processing device main body, further comprising: a changeover switch for switching the left and right electrical connection of the plurality of input buttons. A right-hand input mode and a left-hand input mode. 3. An information processing device in which an input operation is performed by designating an operation button on a display screen with a coordinate input device, the information processing device stores which input mode is a right-handed input mode or a left-handed input mode. An information processing apparatus comprising: an input mode storage unit; and a display screen forming unit that forms a display screen in which the positions of the operation buttons are optimized according to the input mode stored in the input mode storage unit. .