JPH1173271A - Instructing device and processor and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily instruct a processing operation. SOLUTION: The operator of an information processor 31 touches with his finger a plane area overlapped on an area in which a graphic to be processed is displayed in the display area of a display device 33 among the instructed areas of a tablet 40 in a previously decided instructed configuration, moves the finger while the position relation is changed and releases it. A table 40 obtains the coordinate of a point touched with his finger at a down point of time when the finger is brought into contact, and the coordinate of a point touched by this finger at an up point of time just before the finger is released. A central control unit 38 selects a processing operation corresponding to the change of the position relation of the plural designated points from among plural processings executable by an editing device 36 which are stored in a storage device 37, and applies an instruction to execute the processing operation to the editing device 36 for executing the processing operation. Thus, the instructing operation of the operator for instructing the execution of the processing operation can be simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an instruction device for instructing an information processing apparatus and a computer having a planar indication area for a processing operation to be executed, and a processing operation in response to an instruction from the instruction device. A processing unit that performs
In addition, the present invention relates to a storage medium storing a program for realizing an instruction device and a processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an information processing apparatus having a display area capable of displaying a graphic, such as a personal computer and a portable information terminal, a plurality of graphic processing operations are performed on the graphic displayed in the display area. Can be. The graphic processing operation includes a moving process for moving the display position of the graphic in the display area, a scaling process for enlarging and reducing the graphic, and a rotation process for rotating the graphic. Further, in this information processing apparatus, data to be processed and processing operations executable by the information processing apparatus may be previously associated with a graphic, and the graphic may be displayed as a so-called icon in a display area. In this case, when the moving process is performed on the icon corresponding to the data, the data corresponding to the icon may be selected as a processing target. Also,
The processing operation associated with the icon may be executed according to the positional relationship of the icon.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing the electrical structure of the information processing apparatus 1 according to the first prior art. The information processing device includes a display device 3, a screen buffer 4, an input device 5, an editing device 6, and a central control device 7. Input device 5
Includes a keyboard 8 and a mouse 9 that can be operated by an operator, and a coordinate acquisition device 10. The screen buffer 4 includes a cursor pointer 11. Each device 3, 5, 6
The screen buffer 4 is connected to the central controller 7 via the bus line 12 and is controlled by the central controller 7 as a whole.

The display device 3 has the above-described display area and visually displays an image represented by the image signal stored in the screen buffer 4. This image includes the above-described figures and icons. The coordinate acquisition device 10 acquires coordinates designated in the display area of the display device 3 based on the operation of the keyboard 8 and the mouse 9 by the operator, and stores the coordinates in the cursor pointer 12. In the display area, there is provided a cursor which is a figure which moves in the display area in accordance with the operation state of the cursor key in the keyboard 8 or the rotation of the sphere in the mouse 9. Are superimposed on a point represented by the coordinates stored in the cursor pointer 11 in the image displayed in. The editing device 6 selects a process to be executed from a plurality of executable process operations in accordance with the operation state of the keyboard 8 by the operator and the positional relationship between the graphic in the image and the cursor. The processing is performed on the data provided to the information processing device 1.

[0005] As an example of an instruction procedure of a processing operation that can be executed by the information processing apparatus 1, an instruction procedure for instructing deletion processing for deleting stored data using a mouse will be described below. For example, FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating a positional relationship between the display area 14 of the display device 3 and the locus of the cursor 18 before the execution of the deletion processing. The display area 14 at this stage includes an icon 15 that is a graphic corresponding to data stored in the information processing device 1 and an icon 16 that is a graphic corresponding to a deletion process, that is, a so-called recycle bin.

First, the operator rotates the sphere of the mouse 9 to move the cursor 18 to the area 17 including the icon 15. Next, the button of the mouse 9 is pressed while the cursor 18 is included in the area 17, and the sphere is rotated so that the cursor 18 moves toward the icon 16 while keeping the button pressed. As a result, the icon 15 moves, for example, along the locus 19, as shown in FIG.
2, it is displayed over the icon 16. When the buttons are released in a state where the icons 15 and 16 are overlapped, the central control device 7 regards the data deletion process corresponding to the icon 15 as being instructed, and instructs the editing device 6 to execute the processing operation. .

[0007] The information processing device 1 replaces the mouse 9,
A coordinate input device such as a tablet and a touch panel may be used. The tablet includes a pointing area formed of a flat member, and the pointing area is arranged so as to overlap the display area of the display device. In this arrangement state, when an operation of pressing down a point in the designated area with a finger is performed, coordinates of a point in the display area immediately below the point are input from the tablet and stored in the cursor pointer 11.

[0008] As an example of an instruction procedure of a processing operation in the information processing apparatus, an instruction procedure for instructing deletion processing using a tablet will be described below. FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating a positional relationship between the display area 21 of the display device 3 and a point designated by the tablet before execution of the deletion processing. The display area 21 at this stage has a cursor 18 that moves in conjunction with the rotation of the mouse 9 as compared with the display area 14 in FIG.
However, the difference is that the cursor 20 displayed at the point represented by the coordinates input from the tablet is replaced with the other cursor.

[0009] The operator first selects an area 1 in the designated area.
The point in the portion immediately above 7 is pressed down with a finger, and the cursor 20 is moved to the area 17. Next, the finger is moved while pressing down the designated area to the area immediately above the icon 16. As a result, the points depressed by the finger are arranged along the locus 19,
The icon 20 moves along the trajectory 19 and is superimposed on the icon 16 as shown in FIG. When the finger is released from the designated area in this state, the central control device 7 regards the data deletion process corresponding to the icon 15 as being instructed, and instructs the editing device 6 to execute the processing operation.

By such an instruction operation, selection of data to be processed and an instruction to select and execute processing for the data are performed. In such an instruction, the cursors 18 and 20 must be surely overlapped with the area 17, and it is difficult for an operator who is not used to operating the mouse 9 and the coordinate input device to give an instruction. In addition, the operation of moving the icon 15 to the icon 16 also requires continuous depression of the mouse button and depression of the tablet, which makes instruction difficult. Further, these instruction operations are different from operations when throwing garbage into a trash can in daily life, so that they are not familiar.

As second and third prior arts of an information processing apparatus using a mouse and a tablet, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 2-8
0849 and JP-A-6-28095. The information processing apparatus for cooperative work disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 2-80849 is provided with a plurality of pointing devices so that a plurality of persons can specify coordinates on the same screen and execute various information processing operations. The information processing apparatus displays a cursor that can be individually identified and corresponds to each pointing device in the display area, and individually controls the positions and movements of these cursors in response to an instruction input from each pointing device. .

The coordinate input control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-28095 is provided with a digitizer and a plurality of electronic pens in order for a plurality of people to specify coordinates on the same screen and execute various information processing operations. . In the coordinate input control device, a plurality of coordinates are simultaneously specified in order to display a cursor in a display area in accordance with the coordinates specified on the digitizer by each electronic pen, and to clearly display the transfer of the operation right of the cursor. When a single coordinate is designated at the midpoint between the points represented by those coordinates, a different cursor is displayed. The second and third prior arts are devices for a plurality of persons to individually designate coordinates with respect to the same display area. When instructing a processing operation using individual cursors, the first and second prior arts are used. Since it is necessary to give an instruction in the same manner as in the technology, it is difficult to perform an operation for instructing the processing operation.

As a fourth conventional technique using a tablet, there is an information input method and an apparatus thereof disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-325655. In this apparatus, a flat coordinate detection unit and a plurality of coordinate indicators individually attached to five fingers of both hands are used. The operator attaches a plurality of coordinate indicators individually to the five fingers of both hands, and moves the fingers in the same manner as when operating the keyboard toward the coordinate detection unit. The coordinate detection unit determines which key of the keyboard virtually set on the coordinate detection unit has been operated based on the positions of the plurality of coordinate indicators input at the same time, and performs processing according to the key. I do. In this device, the operator moves his / her finger in the same manner as when operating the keyboard, so that it is difficult for an operator who is not used to operating the keyboard to use this device.

Further, as fifth to eighth prior arts of pointing devices using a tablet, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei.
9, JP-A-1-142970 and JP-A-1-142971. In these three document editing apparatuses, a transparent touch panel is placed in advance on a display device that displays document data as an image. In the document editing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-142969, in order to designate a part of the document data as an object of the editing process, the operator touches a part of the touch panel immediately above the part representing the part in the image. Touch roughly several places. The document editing apparatus calculates an area including all of the touch positions, and sets the document data displayed in the area as data to be processed.

In the document editing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-142970, an operator touches a plurality of touch panels directly above a portion to be edited in document data. The document editing device changes the editing process performed on the document data according to whether or not the touched position on the touch panel is directly above the character of the document data. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-142971, an operator touches a touch panel directly above a portion to be edited in document data and moves a finger in the moving direction of the portion while touching the touch panel. The document editing device determines a portion to be edited in the document data according to a first touch position on the touch panel and a moving direction of the touch position. Even with these document editing devices, it is necessary to strictly determine the touch position in accordance with the editing process, so that it is difficult for an operator who is not used to operating the touch panel to operate the touch panel.

Furthermore, in the above-described first to eighth prior art devices, a so-called 3D display in which a three-dimensional image represented by an XYZ three-dimensional coordinate system is converted into a two-dimensional image and displayed in a two-dimensional display area. May be performed. At this time, the first to eighth
In the prior art apparatus, since the display area only has an XY two-dimensional coordinate system for representing points on a two-dimensional plane, it is possible to instruct the amount of movement of the stereoscopic image in the X and Y directions. However, it is difficult to indicate the amount of movement of the stereoscopic image in the Z-axis direction.

[0017]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device and a processing device which are easy to operate and which can easily give a three-dimensional operation instruction, and a pointing device and a processing device. An object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program to be realized by a computer.

[0018]

According to the present invention, there is provided a point designation means having a plane designated area, and designating a plurality of points in the designated area while changing a positional relationship, and a plurality of predetermined processing operations. And a storage means for storing a change in the positional relationship of the plurality of points in association with each other, and a change in the positional relationship between the plurality of points specified by the point specifying means from among the plurality of processing operations stored in the storage means. And a control unit that selects a processing operation associated with the processing operation and instructs execution of the selected processing operation.

According to the present invention, the pointing device allows the operator to instruct the pointing area to change a plurality of points at the same time and with the passage of time.
The control means obtains a change in the positional relationship between these points, selects a processing operation corresponding to the change in the positional relationship from among the processing operations stored in the storage means, and instructs the execution thereof.
Since this processing operation is associated with the change in the positional relationship, the processing operation to be instructed can be changed by changing the change in the positional relationship.

As described above, it is easier to change the change in the positional relationship than to specify a predetermined position in the pointing area as in the prior art, so that the operation of the operator can be made easier. it can. Also, the operation for indicating this point,
By resembling an operation that can be easily associated with the processing operation and an operation when performing the processing operation or an operation similar to the processing operation in daily life, even an operator who is unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus can perform the operation. Operation can be facilitated.

Further, the present invention further includes display means for displaying a predetermined planar image on a planar display area, the display means including a point corresponding to the point in the designated area on a one-to-one basis. An instruction is given to execute the selected processing operation on a plane image displayed in an area including points corresponding to the plurality of points on the display area.

According to the present invention, the pointing device allows the operator to set a plurality of points in the pointing area corresponding to the area where the planar image to be processed in the display area is displayed. Instruct as follows. In response to this operation, the control means determines a processing operation to be executed from a change in the positional relationship between the plurality of points, and further determines a processing operation in the area including the plurality of points among the plurality of planar images included in the display area. Can be selected as the plane image of the object on which the processing operation is to be performed. Therefore, the operator can instruct the processing operation to be executed together with the plane image to be processed by one operation for the instruction. Therefore, the operation of the operator for the instruction can be further facilitated. Also,
Since the position for designating a plurality of points may be any region as long as the region includes a plane image, it is not necessary to strictly determine the position for designating a plurality of points. Therefore, the operation can be further facilitated.

Further, the present invention has a planar pointing area,
A point designating means for designating a plurality of points in the designated area in any one of a plurality of predetermined designation modes while changing a positional relationship, a plurality of predetermined processing operations, and a plurality of points Change of the positional relationship and the designation mode,
A storage unit that stores the information in association with one another, and among the plurality of processing operations stored in the storage unit, a change in the positional relationship between the plurality of points input by the point specification unit and a specification mode when each point is specified. And a control unit for selecting a given processing operation and instructing execution thereof.

According to the present invention, the pointing device instructs the operator to designate a plurality of points in the designated area in a designated manner, and further instructs the points to change their positional relationship. Let it. The control means obtains a change in the positional relationship between these points and a designated mode, selects a processing operation corresponding to the change in the positional relationship and the specified mode from among the processing operations stored in the storage means, and executes the execution. Instruct. Since this processing operation is associated with the change in the positional relationship and the designated mode, the instruction processing operation can be changed by changing at least one of the change in the positional relationship and the specified mode.

As described above, by instructing the processing operation based on the change in the positional relationship, the operation of the operator can be facilitated. Further, when an operation for instructing this point is similar to an operation that can be easily associated with the processing operation and an operation when performing the processing operation or an operation similar to the processing operation in daily life, Operation can be facilitated. At this time, the operation associated with the plurality of processing operations and the similar operation may be equal. In this case, since the change in the positional relationship of the point specified by the operation is equal at this time, it is difficult to determine which of the plurality of processing operations has been specified. .

At this time, if the designation modes of these points are different from each other, when a plurality of points are designated by the above operation, the change in the positional relationship between the plurality of points is equal, but the designation of the plurality of points is performed. Since the designation mode at the time of performing is different, the instruction means can easily recognize which processing operation has been instructed from the designation mode. Therefore, even when an operation associated with a plurality of processing operations and the similar operation are similar, each processing operation can be associated with a change in the positional relationship of a plurality of points that can be designated by the operation, The instruction means can easily recognize which of these processing operations has been instructed. Therefore, the operation can be made easier.

According to the present invention, there is provided a pointing area which is a plane and points in the plane correspond to points in a space represented by three-dimensional coordinates. Point designating means for designating a plurality of points in a plane area including points on the corresponding plane while changing the positional relationship, a plurality of predetermined processing operations including conversion of three-dimensional coordinates, and positions of the plurality of points A storage unit that stores the change in the relation in association with one another, and among a plurality of processing operations stored in the storage unit,
A pointing device, comprising: a control unit that selects a processing operation associated with a change in the positional relationship between a plurality of points specified by the point specifying unit and instructs execution thereof.

According to the present invention, in the pointing device, points in the space are made to correspond to points in the pointing area in a pseudo manner. The operator instructs the plurality of points in the above-described plane area in the designated area to change their positional relationship with time. The control means obtains a change in the positional relationship between these points, selects a processing operation corresponding to the change in the positional relationship from among the processing operations stored in the storage means, and instructs the execution thereof. At this time, since this processing operation includes a conversion process of three-dimensional coordinates, if this process is executed,
The three-dimensional coordinates of the point to be processed are converted.

As described above, in this pointing device, the three-dimensional coordinates of the point to be processed can be changed by changing the positional relationship between the points on the plane. Further, the method of instructing the processing operation can easily instruct an operator unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus for the reason described in claim 1. Therefore, it is possible to very easily execute a three-dimensional coordinate conversion instruction.

According to the present invention, a three-dimensional image which includes points corresponding to points in the designated area in one-to-one correspondence and whose position in space is represented by three-dimensional coordinates is converted into a two-dimensional image. Display means for displaying the selected processing operation in the display area which is a point corresponding to the plurality of points on the display area before the conversion of the plane image displayed in the area including the points corresponding to the plurality of points. Instructing execution on a three-dimensional image.

According to the present invention, in the pointing device, a three-dimensional image is converted into a two-dimensional image and displayed on the display means by so-called 3D display. The operator instructs a plurality of points as described above to an area in the indicating area corresponding to the area in which the converted three-dimensional image of the processing target stereoscopic image is displayed. The control means, in response to this operation, determines a processing operation to be executed from a change in the positional relationship between the plurality of points,
Furthermore, of the plurality of plane images included in the display area, a three-dimensional image before conversion of the plane image in the area including the plurality of points,
The processing operation can be selected as a planar image to be processed.

Therefore, the operator can instruct both the processing operation to be executed and the three-dimensional image to be processed by one operation of the instruction. Therefore, 3
When instructing a processing operation for instructing the conversion of the dimensional coordinates, the operator's operation for the instruction can be further facilitated. In addition, since the position for designating a plurality of points may be any position as long as it is a region including a plane image, it is not necessary to strictly determine the position for designating a plurality of points. Therefore, the operation can be further facilitated.

The present invention also includes a planar pointing area in which points on a plane correspond to points in space represented by three-dimensional coordinates, and the pointing area corresponds to points in space to be moved. Area specifying means for specifying a first plane area including a point in a plane to be moved, and a second plane area including a point in a space to be moved and having a size different from that of the first area; A moving direction and a moving distance of a point in the space to be moved in the space are determined based on a positional deviation from the second planar region and a deviation in size between the first planar region and the second planar region. A processing apparatus comprising: a determination unit; and a conversion unit configured to convert three-dimensional coordinates of a point in a space to be moved into coordinates shifted from the three-dimensional coordinates by a movement distance in a movement direction.

According to the present invention, the processing apparatus first causes the operator to designate the first plane area and the second plane area in the above-mentioned designated area. Next, the determining means determines the moving direction and the moving distance as described above, and the converting means converts the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in the space to be moved. Thus, by pointing two areas in the pointing area which is a two-dimensional plane, it is possible to instruct movement of a point in space.

Further, in the present invention, the area designating means designates a plurality of points in the first and second plane areas, respectively, and the deciding means makes the position shift the first and second plane areas.
It is characterized in that it is obtained from the displacement of the coordinates of each point in the plane area, and the deviation of the size is obtained from the displacement of the interval between a plurality of points for each of the first and second plane areas.

According to the present invention, when designating the first and second plane areas, the operator designates a plurality of points in the plane areas. The determining means obtains the position shift and the size shift from these points. Thus, when the point to be moved and the point to be moved are designated by the coordinate moving device, a plane area can be easily designated by the area designating means. In addition, the instruction of the plurality of points is also used as the instruction of the point for designating the processing operation according to claim 4, so that the instruction of the point for selecting the point movement processing from among the plurality of processing operations is provided. The instruction of the movement target and the point of the movement destination can be performed at the same time. Thus, the instruction to execute the movement processing can be simplified.

According to the present invention, a point in a plane corresponds to a point in a space represented by three-dimensional coordinates, and a coordinate axis in a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system corresponding to two of the coordinate axes in the three-dimensional coordinate system. And a reference area which is a plane having a reference axis corresponding to one of the remaining coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system and intersecting any one of the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system at a predetermined angle. A point designation means for designating two points in the designated area, and an angle between a line segment having both ends of the point designated by the point designation means and one of the coordinate axes is smaller than the predetermined angle. The length of the line segment is calculated as the inner product of the vector parallel to the reference axis and the vector parallel to any one of the coordinate axes, and the magnitudes of both vectors are calculated. Of the three-dimensional coordinates of a point in space When the coordinates on the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to one of the coordinate axes and the reference axis are increased or decreased, and the angle between the line segment and the one of the coordinate axes is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle. Calculating the magnitude of both vectors as the inner product of the length of the line segment and the vector parallel to the reference axis and the vector parallel to any other of the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system,
Conversion means for increasing / decreasing the coordinates on the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to the other one of the three-dimensional coordinates and the reference axis among the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in the space to be moved by the magnitude of each vector And a processing device.

According to the present invention, the coordinate axes of the coordinate system are set in the designated area as described above. As a result, three coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system are set in a pseudo manner in the designated area that is a two-dimensional plane. Such an instruction area corresponds to, for example, a display area of a two-dimensional plane of the display means when performing so-called 3D display. When the operator designates two points in the designated area as described above, the conversion unit converts the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in the space to be processed as described above. Therefore, by using the designated area of the two-dimensional plane, it is possible to easily specify the amount by which the coordinates of the coordinate axes that do not correspond to the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional coordinate system among the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system are increased or decreased.

According to the present invention, a plurality of predetermined processing operations and a change in the positional relationship of a plurality of points designated in a planar designated area are stored in advance in association with each other. And selecting a processing operation associated with the change in the positional relationship of the specified plurality of points from among the plurality of processing operations, and selecting the processing operation of the selected processing operation. A program for causing a computer to execute a process for instructing execution, and stores in advance a plurality of predetermined processing operations in association with a change in a positional relationship between a plurality of points designated in a planar designated area and a designated mode. A process in which a plurality of points are designated in one of a plurality of predetermined designation modes while changing a positional relationship and a plurality of points within the designated area; and A program for causing a computer to execute a process of selecting a processing operation associated with a change in a positional relationship between a plurality of points and a specified mode when each point is specified, and instructing execution of the selected processing operation; A process of storing a plurality of predetermined processing operations including transformation of dimensional coordinates and a change in the positional relationship of a plurality of points designated in a planar designated area in advance and three-dimensionally assigning points in the designated area A process of associating a point in a space represented by coordinates, and designating a plurality of points in a plane region including a point corresponding to a point in a space to be processed in a designated region while changing a positional relationship. Executing, from the plurality of processing operations, a processing operation associated with the change in the positional relationship between the plurality of designated points, and performing a process of instructing the computer to execute the selected processing operation; To make Program, a process of associating a point in a space represented by three-dimensional coordinates with a point in a planar designated area, and a process in which the designated area includes a point on a plane corresponding to a point in the space to be moved A process of designating the one plane region and a second plane region including a point in the space to be moved and having a size different from that of the first region; displacement of the position between the first plane region and the second plane region; A process of determining a moving direction and a moving distance in a space of a point to be moved from a space in a space to be moved from a difference in size between the first plane area and the second plane area, and a point in the space to be moved. For causing a computer to execute a process of converting the three-dimensional coordinates into coordinates that are shifted from the three-dimensional coordinates by the moving distance in the moving direction, and are represented by three-dimensional coordinates at points in a planar designated area. Coordinate axes in the three-dimensional coordinate system by associating points in space Coordinate axes of a two-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to two of
A process of setting a reference axis corresponding to one of the remaining coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system and intersecting with any one of the two-dimensional coordinate systems at a predetermined angle, designating two points in the designated area And the angle between the line segment having the designated point at both ends and one of the coordinate axes is less than the predetermined angle, the length of the line segment and a vector parallel to the reference axis. The magnitude of both vectors is calculated as an inner product of the vector parallel to any one of the coordinate axes, and any one of the three-dimensional coordinates of a point in the space of the movement target is calculated by the magnitude of each vector. Increase or decrease the coordinates on the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to one coordinate axis and the reference axis, and when the angle between the line segment and any one of the coordinate axes is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle, the line segment Based on length It calculates the magnitudes of both vectors as the inner product of the vector parallel to the other of the coordinate axis of the coordinate axes of the parallel vector the two-dimensional coordinate system on line,
The computer performs a process of increasing or decreasing the coordinates on the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to the other one of the three-dimensional coordinates and the reference axis among the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in the space to be moved by the magnitude of each vector. Is a computer-readable storage medium storing at least one program among the programs to be executed by the computer.

According to the present invention, the storage medium stores the above-mentioned program. The program stored in the storage medium is read and installed in a computer having, for example, a plane indication area, and the program is executed by a central processing unit.
The pointing device according to the third and fourth aspects and the processing device according to the sixth and eighth aspects can be realized. Further, the storage medium includes a storage medium,
A program for executing a processing procedure in which the processing procedure of claim 2 is added to the processing procedure of claim 2 and a program for executing a processing procedure in which the processing procedure of claim 5 is added to the processing procedure of claim 4 are stored. You may. Thus, for example, by causing a computer or a conventional information processing apparatus to read and execute the program stored in the storage medium, the program can be easily executed.
And the processing device according to claims 6 and 8 can be realized.

[0041]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an information processing device 31 including a pointing device and a processing device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The information processing device 31 can select and execute a plurality of processing operations. Also, various graphic processing operations can be performed on the graphic displayed in the display area of the display device.

The information processing device 31 includes a display device 33, a screen buffer 34, an input device 35, an editing device 36, a storage device 37, and a central control device 38. Input device 35
Is a keyboard 39 and tablet 40 operable by an operator, a coordinate acquisition device 41, down coordinate buffers 42 to 44, up coordinate buffers 45 to 47, down relative time buffers 48 and 49, and up relative time buffers 50 and 51. , And a timer 52. The screen buffer 34 includes a cursor pointer 53. Each device and the screen buffer are connected to the central controller 38 via a bus line 55, and are controlled by the central controller 38 as a whole. The instruction device 32 of the information processing device 31 includes a central control device 38, a tablet 40, and a storage device 37, and the instruction device 32 alone can instruct a processing operation described later.

The display device 33 has a display area which is a two-dimensional plane capable of displaying a plane image, and visually displays an image represented by the image signal stored in the screen buffer 4. This image includes a plurality of figures to be processed by the figure processing operation. A two-dimensional rectangular coordinate system is set in the display area, and points inside the display area are represented by coordinates in the two-dimensional rectangular coordinate system.

The tablet 40 has a pointing area including a light-transmitting flat plate-shaped member, and the pointing area is arranged so as to overlap the display area of the display device 33.
The operator can view the image displayed in the display area through the instruction area. Further, the operator can designate an arbitrary point in the designated area by performing a predetermined point designation operation on the designated area. This designation operation is determined in relation to the method of the tablet 40.

The point specifying operation is, for example, an operation of bringing a predetermined pointing member into contact with the pointing area and separating the pointing member from the member. This pointing member is, for example, a finger and a rod-shaped member. In the present embodiment, the description will be made on the assumption that the pointing member is a finger. During the point designation operation, the finger may be kept at the position where it was first touched between the time when the finger touches the designated area and the time when the finger is separated from the designated area. You may move while moving. The point where the finger is in contact in the designated area is defined as the designated point.

In the point operation operation, the point in time when the finger contacts the designated area is referred to as a down point, and the point in time immediately before the finger leaves the designated area is referred to as an up point. Tablet 40
The coordinates of the point where the finger touches in the pointing area at the time of the down are detected as down coordinates, and the coordinates of the point where the finger touches in the pointing area at the time of the up are detected as the up coordinates. Therefore, two coordinates are acquired by one point designation operation.
In the tablet 40, a plurality of point designating operations are executed in parallel on the designated area, and points can be individually designated by each point designating operation. Thereby, the tablet 40
In, multiple points can be specified at the same time. The coordinate buffers 42 to 47 individually store the coordinates acquired by the tablet 40. The acquired coordinates may be directly provided to the central control device 38. The down and up coordinate buffers are provided as many as the number of point designation operations that can be performed simultaneously on the designated area. In the present embodiment, the description will be made on the assumption that the number of point designation operations that can be executed simultaneously is two or three.

The tablet 40 can be of various types, including a resistive film type, a capacitance type, an electrostatic induction type, an optical type, and an ultrasonic type, depending on the structure of the pointing area and the method of detecting points. However, any type of tablet may be used as long as a plurality of points can be specified at the same time. The points in the designated area are associated with the points in the display area on a one-to-one basis. When a certain point in the designated area is designated, the input device operates the point in the display area corresponding to the certain point. Is assumed to be specified. A two-dimensional rectangular coordinate system is also set in the designated area, and points in the designated area are represented by the coordinates of the two-dimensional rectangular coordinate system. When the display area and the pointing area are overlapped with each other so that the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional rectangular coordinate system coincide with each other, coordinates representing a point in the pointing area and a point in the display area corresponding to the point are displayed. It is preferable because the coordinates of.

The coordinate acquisition device 41 acquires the coordinates specified in the display area of the display device 3 based on the operation of the keyboard 39 and the tablet 40 by the operator. Store them individually. A cursor is displayed in the display area.
The cursor is a figure that moves in the display area in accordance with the operation state of the cursor key in the keyboard 39 or the movement of a point designated on the tablet 40. The cursor is superimposed on a point represented by the coordinates stored in the cursor pointer 53 in the image displayed in the display area.

The storage device 36 stores various data and programs necessary for the operation of the information processing device 31, and data provided to the information processing device 31 as a processing target. Also, an instruction table described later is stored. The editing device 37 includes coordinate buffers 42 to 47.
And the contents of the relative time buffers 48 to 51,
A processing operation to be executed is selected from a plurality of processing operations stored in the storage device 36, and the processing operation is executed on data provided to the information processing device 31.
The processing for this data may be selected according to the operation state of the keyboard 39 by the operator and the positional relationship between the figure in the image and the cursor.

The information processing device 31 can execute a plurality of processing operations. Execution of these processes is instructed by designating in any of a plurality of designation modes while changing the positional relationship of a plurality of points with respect to the designated area. The combination of the change pattern of the positional relationship between a plurality of points and the designated mode differs for each processing operation. The association between the combination of the change pattern and the designation mode and the processing operation is stored in the storage device 37 as an instruction table described later.

In the present embodiment, when a plurality of points are designated in parallel by the point designation operation, it is assumed that a plurality of fingers, for example, a thumb, an index finger and a middle finger are brought into contact with the tablet 40 in parallel and released. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a plurality of points are designated in the following first and second designation modes. In the first designation mode, a plurality of fingers are simultaneously brought into contact with the tablet 40 and released simultaneously. In the second designation mode,
A plurality of fingers are brought into contact with the tablet 40 one by one with the passage of time, and after all the fingers have been brought into contact, the fingers are separated from the tablet 40 one by one with the passage of time. In the first and second designation modes, while a plurality of fingers are in contact with the tablet in parallel, it is possible to move the position where the fingers make contact.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the information processing operation in the information processing apparatus 31. In a state where the information processing apparatus 31 is activated and various processing operations can be executed, the tablet 40 is maintained in a state where points can be designated. In this state, from step a1 to step a2
Proceed to. In step a2, the central control device 38 determines whether or not a new point designation operation has been started for the designated area of the tablet 40. For example, if the tablet 40 is a resistive film type, it is determined whether or not a finger or an instruction designated area newly contacts the designated area. When started, the process proceeds from step a2 to step a3.

At step a3, the central control unit 38
The point designation operation determined to have been started in step a2 is
It detects the order of the point designation operation that is executed from the first point designation operation that is currently executed in parallel. If it is determined in step a2 that a certain point designating operation has started, if no other point designating operation has been started, the designation operation is the first point designating operation. At this time, the process proceeds from step a3 to step a4.

At step a4, the central control unit 38
The tablet 40 acquires the coordinates of the point touched by the finger at the point in time of the point designation operation determined to have been started in step a2 as the down coordinates, and stores the down coordinates in the down coordinate buffer 42. Then step a
At 5, the timer 52 is initialized, and the relative time detected by the timer 52 is returned to the initial value of 0. Subsequently, at step a6, the central control device 38 starts measuring the relative time by the timer 52, and returns to step a2.

If only one other point designating operation has already been executed at the time point determined to have been started in step a2, the point designating operation determined to be started in step a2 is the second point designating operation. is there. At this time, step a3
From step a7. In step a7, the central controller 38 causes the tablet 40 to acquire the down coordinates of the point specified by the point specifying operation determined to have been started in the latest determination in step a2 by the same processing as the processing in step a4. Then, it is stored in the down coordinate buffer 43. Next, at step a8, the central controller 38
Reads the relative time measured by the timer 52, stores it in the relative time buffer 48, and returns to step a2. This relative time represents the time from the time when the first point designating operation is started to the time when the second point designating operation is started. After the processing of step a8, the timer 52
The measurement of the relative time by is continued.

When two other point designation operations are being executed in parallel at the time point determined to have been started in step a2, the point designation operation determined to be started in step a2 is the third point designation operation. It is. At this time, step a3
From step a9. In step a9, the central controller 38 causes the tablet 40 to acquire the down coordinates of the point specified by the point specifying operation determined to have been started in the latest determination in step a2 by the same processing as the processing in step a7. Then, it is stored in the down coordinate buffer 44. Next, at step a5, the central controller 38
Reads the relative time measured by the timer 52, stores it in the relative time buffer 49, and returns to step a2. This relative time may be a time from the time when the first point designating operation is started to the time when the third point designating operation is started. The time until the start time may be used.

When it is determined in step a2 that a new point designation operation has not been started, the process proceeds from step a2 to step all. At step a11, the central control unit 3
8 determines whether or not there is a completed point designation operation among a plurality of point designation operations performed in parallel on the designated area. For example, if the tablet 40 is a resistive film system, it is determined whether any of the plurality of fingers in contact with the designated area has left the designated area. When all of the plurality of point designating operations are continuously executed, step all
From step a2. For example, while the finger is moved while the finger is in contact with the designated area during the point designation operation, the determinations in steps a2 and a11 are both negative, so the determinations in steps a2 and a11 are repeated. If it is determined in step a11 that any point designation operation has been completed, the process proceeds from step a11 to step a12.

At step a12, the central controller 38
Is the number of the point designation operation determined to be completed in step a11 counted from the first designated operation among the plurality of point designation operations executed in parallel with respect to the designated area. Find out. If it is determined in step a11 that one point designating operation has been completed, and if another point designating operation of the point designating operation has not been completed, step a1
The point designation operation determined to have ended in 1 has ended first. At this time, from step a12 to step a13
Proceed to. In step a13, the central controller 38 causes the tablet 40 to acquire the up coordinates of the point designated by the point designation operation determined to be terminated in step a11, and stores the up coordinates in the up coordinate buffer 45.

Next, at step a14, the timer 52 is initialized and the relative time is returned to zero. Then step a15
Then, the central controller 38 causes the timer 52 to start measuring the relative time. Further, in step a16, it is determined whether or not all the plurality of point designation operations executed in parallel with respect to the designated area have been completed. For example, it is detected whether or not all the fingers have left the pointing area. When the finger in contact with the designated area remains, there is a point designation operation that has not been completed yet, so the process returns from step a16 to step all.

If it is determined in step a11 that there is a point designation operation that has been completed, and if it is determined in step a12 that the point designation operation has been completed second, the process proceeds from step a12 to step a17. In step a17, the central controller 38 causes the tablet 40 to acquire the up coordinates of the point designated by the point designation operation determined to have been completed in the latest determination in step a11 by the same processing as the processing in step a13. It is stored in the up coordinate buffer 46. Next, at step a18, the central controller 38
Reads the relative time measured by the timer 52, stores it in the relative time buffer 50, and proceeds to step a16.
This relative time represents the time from the end time of the first point specification operation to the end time of the second point specification operation. After the processing of step a18, the measurement of the relative time by the timer 52 is continued. In step a16, the above-described determination is performed again. If there is a point designation operation that has not been completed, the process returns from step a16 to step all.

When it is determined in step a11 that there is a point designation operation that has been completed, and in step a12 it is determined that the point designation operation has been completed for the third time, the process proceeds from step a12 to step a19. In step a19, the central control device 38 causes the tablet 40 to acquire the up coordinates of the point designated by the point designation operation determined to be completed in the latest determination in step a11 by the same processing as the processing in step a17. It is stored in the up coordinate buffer 47.

Next, at step a20, the central control unit 3
Step 8 reads the relative time measured by the timer 52, stores the read relative time in the relative time buffer 51, and proceeds to step a16. This relative time may be a time from the end time of the first point designation operation to the end time of the third end point designation operation, or may be the third end from the end time of the second end point designation operation. The time until the end time of the specified point designation operation may be used. In step a16, the above-described determination is performed again. If there is a point designation operation that has not been completed, the process returns from step a16 to step all. For example, when all the fingers have left the designated area, it is determined that all the point designation operations have been completed, and in that case, the process proceeds from step a16 to step a21.

In step a21, the central controller 38
First, based on the contents stored in the coordinate buffers 42 to 47, as described later, a time change of the positional relationship between a plurality of points is checked. The central control unit 38 also determines, for example, the relative time buffers 48, 49;
It is determined whether the relative time stored in 51 is less than a predetermined reference time. This reference time is, for example, less than the time difference when each finger is contacted with an interval in the designated area when a plurality of points are designated in the second designation mode, and the plurality of points are designated in the first designation mode. In this case, the time is set to be equal to or longer than the time difference when the fingers are simultaneously brought into contact with the designated area. When the relative time is less than the reference time, for example, almost 0, the point is the first.
It is determined that it is specified by the specification mode. When the relative time is equal to or longer than the reference time, it is determined that the point is specified by the second specification mode.

Next, the central controller 38 stores the combination of the temporal change of the positional relationship of the plurality of points designated in the designated area and the designated manner of the plurality of points in the designated table stored in the storage device 37. Then, it is determined whether or not it matches any one of the combination of the positional change with time and the designated mode. The details of this determination will be described later. When they match, the process proceeds from step a21 to step a22. Also, when the combination does not match, the steps a21 to a
Proceed to 23.

In step a22, the central control unit 38
Reads the processing operation associated with the combination determined to have matched in step a21 from the storage device 37, and instructs the editing device 37 to instruct the processing operation. In addition, the central controller 38 determines a point designated when each finger first touches the designated area in each point designation operation of the designated operation, that is, a point represented by the coordinates stored in the down coordinate buffers 42 to 44. , The processing target data to be subjected to the processing operation is determined, and the editing device 37 is instructed. For example,
When a plurality of data is given to the information processing device 31 and each data is individually associated with a plurality of figures displayed in the display area, a point corresponding to the point represented by the down coordinate in the display area The data corresponding to the graphic included in the predetermined area including is set as the data to be processed. The editing device 37 performs the processing operation specified by the central control device 38 on the data specified by the central control device 38,
Data representing the processing result is provided to the display device 38. Details of the instruction table will be described later. After the processing, step a
The process proceeds from step 22 to step a23.

At step a23, the display device 33 displays the processing result of step a22 as an image in the display area. When the process of step a22 is not performed, for example, the image displayed in the display area before the start of the information processing operation of this flowchart is displayed as it is. After the display processing ends, the information processing operation ends in step a24. Through this series of processing, a processing operation can be specified according to a change in the positional relationship between a plurality of points and a specification mode.

The plurality of processing operations that can be executed by the information processing device 31 include a plurality of graphic processing operations performed on a graphic displayed in the display area. The graphic processing operation includes planar graphic processing and spatial graphic processing. The plane figure processing includes plane movement processing for moving the display position of the figure in the display area, scaling processing for enlarging and reducing the figure in the display area, and plane rotation processing for rotating the figure in the display area. . In the present embodiment, the information processing device 3
A description will be given of a plurality of processing operations executable in step 1 and operations for instructing the same, taking the above-described graphic processing operation as an example.

Table 1 is an example of the instruction table. X, X
a, Xb, X1, X2 are arbitrary X coordinate values, and Y, Y
a, Yb, Y1, and Y2 are arbitrary Y coordinate values. X1
+ Α, X1 + α1 are X coordinate values larger than X1, and X2-β, X2-β2 are X coordinate values smaller than X2. Y1 + α and Y1 + α1 are X larger than Y1.
Y2-β and Y2-β2 are X-coordinate values smaller than X2. The coordinates on the right side of the arrow represent down coordinates, and the coordinates on the left side of the arrow represent up coordinates.
The temporal change in the positional relationship between points is represented by a change pattern between the down coordinate and the up coordinate. In Table 1, this change pattern is represented by Expressions 1 to 4. A detailed description of the formula will be described later.

[0069]

[Table 1]

With reference to FIGS. 3 to 10, the procedure for instructing each process and the operation of information processing device 31 at that time will be described. 3 to 10 are schematic diagrams illustrating the positional relationship between a point designated in the designated area 61 of the tablet 40 and a graphic to be processed displayed in the display area of the display device 33.
3 to 10 show a state in which the designated area 61 is superimposed on the display area, and it is assumed that the graphic to be processed can be visually observed through the designated area 61. For example, when the pointing area 61 is overlaid on the display area, the points and the areas in the pointing area 61 corresponding to the points and the area in the display area are the points located immediately above the points and the area in the displaying area. Assume that it points to an area. For example, it is assumed that a two-dimensional rectangular coordinate system having the origin at the lower left vertex in FIGS. The X coordinate axis of this coordinate system is parallel to the horizontal side 66 of the pointing area 61 in FIGS. 3 to 10, and the Y coordinate axis is parallel to the vertical side 67 of the pointing area 61 in FIGS. Suppose there is.

First, an instruction operation for instructing plane rotation processing in plane figure processing will be described. The operator, FIG.
As shown by, two points in the plane area including the rectangle 71a which is the graphic to be processed in the designated area 61 are
Press almost simultaneously with two fingers. Points pressed at the time of this down are represented by white circles 72a, 72a. Next, the white circle 72a
While holding down one finger that presses the point represented by, the other finger is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 74 while touching the designated area. Finally, the point pressed by the other finger is the white circle 73b shown in FIG.
At this point, both fingers are released from the pointing area almost simultaneously. The points pressed at the time of this up are indicated by white circles 72b and 73.
Expressed as b. At this time, since one finger is not moved, the coordinates of the white circle 72b are substantially equal to the coordinates of the white circle 72a.

When such an instruction operation is performed, FIG.
In the flowchart of the above, the coordinates of the white circles 72a and 73a are acquired as the down coordinates by the processing of steps a2 to a8. Since the two fingers press the white circles 72a and 73a almost simultaneously, the relative time obtained in step a8 is almost zero. In addition, the coordinates of the white circles 72b and 73b are acquired as the up coordinates by the processing of steps a11 to a18. Since the two fingers are almost simultaneously separated from the white circles 72b and 73b, the relative time obtained in step a18 is almost zero.

Two down coordinates (X, Y) (X1, Y
When comparing 1) with two up coordinates (X, Y) (X2, Y2), one of the two down coordinates and one of the two up coordinates are not moved because one finger is not moved. It is almost equal to either one. The change pattern is represented by Expression 1. From this relative time, the central controller 3
8 determines that a plurality of points have been designated by the first designation mode. At the time of the determination in step a21, the central control device 38 specifies the plane rotation process when a point is specified by the first specification mode and the time change of the positional relationship between the plurality of points is represented by a change pattern represented by Expression 1. It is determined that the process has been performed, and the editing device 36 is instructed to execute the plane rotation process. (X, Y) (X1, Y1) → (X, Y) (X2, Y2) (1)

The editing device 36 includes, for example, white circles 72a,
A graphic displayed in a rectangular area of a predetermined size including a point in the display area corresponding to 73a is selected as a graphic to be processed, and the graphic having a down coordinate equal to one of the up coordinates is selected. Rotate around a point as the center of rotation. At this time, the rotation angle of the figure is, for example, 72
The angle formed between a line segment having both ends a and 73a and a line segment having both ends of white circles 72b and 73b. In the example of FIG. 3, a rectangle 71a is selected as a graphic to be processed, and the rectangle 71a is rotated by about 90 degrees around a white circle 72a to become a rectangle 71b shown in FIG.

The instruction operation of the operator for this plane rotation processing is similar to the operation of grasping an object with two fingers and actually turning the object by a desired angle in daily life. Therefore, this instruction operation is similar to the operation of actually turning an object when the object is replaced with a graphic, and thus it is easy to adjust to an operator who is unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus. Therefore, the processing operation can be easily instructed. Further, the position at which the beginning of the plurality of points is specified, that is, the position indicated by the down coordinate may be within the plane area including the graphic to be processed. Therefore, when the graphic to be processed is a graphic that is so small that it resembles the contact surface between the fingertip and the pointing area, a plurality of points may be specified around the figure, and the point at which the finger touches the pointing area may be specified. Need not be strictly defined. This makes it easy to specify a plurality of points.

Next, of the enlargement processing of the plane figure processing, an instruction operation for instructing only enlargement in the X direction will be described. First, as shown in FIG.
One of two points in the plane area including the rectangle 76a to be processed and on the virtual axis parallel to the X coordinate axis is pressed one by one with two fingers. This point, the white circle 77
a and 78a. At this time, the timing of pressing the point represented by the white circle 77a with one finger and the timing of pressing the point represented by the white circle 78a with the other finger are shifted. Next, one finger is moved while being in contact with the designated area in the direction indicated by the arrow 79,
The other finger is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 80 while making contact with the designated area. The directions indicated by arrows 79 and 80 are both parallel to and contradictory to the X coordinate axis, and the distance between fingers moved in both directions increases. Finally, as shown in FIG. 6, when the point pressed by one finger reaches the white circle 77b and the point pressed by the other finger reaches the white circle 78b, both fingers are shifted in timing and separated from the designated area. .

When such an instruction operation is performed, the coordinates of white circles 77a and 78a are obtained as down coordinates, and the coordinates of white circles 77b and 78b are obtained as up coordinates. Since the timing at which each finger presses the white circles 77a and 78a and the timing at which each finger presses the white circles 77b and 78b are shifted, the relative times obtained in steps a8 and a18 are both equal to or longer than the reference time. From this relative time,
Central controller 38 determines that a plurality of points have been designated by the second designation mode.

Two down coordinates (X1, Ya) (X2,
Yb) and two up coordinates (X1 + α, Ya) (X2
-Β, Yb), both fingers are moved in opposite directions parallel to the X coordinate axis, so that the down coordinate and the up coordinate are divided into two sets with the same Y coordinate.
The X coordinate of the up coordinate of one set is smaller than the X coordinate of the down coordinate, and the X coordinate of the up coordinate of the other set is larger than the X coordinate of the down coordinate. This is represented by Equation 2. The central controller 38 determines that the enlargement process in the X direction is instructed when the point is designated by the second designation mode and the change in the positional relationship of the plurality of points is expressed by Expression 2 at the time of the determination in step a21. The determination is performed, and the editing device 36 is instructed to execute the enlargement process in the X direction. (X1, Ya) (X2, Yb) → (X1 + α, Ya) (X2-β, Yb) ... (2)

The editing device 36 includes, for example, white circles 77a,
A graphic displayed in a rectangular area of a predetermined size including a point in the display area corresponding to 78a is selected as a graphic to be processed, and the graphic is determined from two down coordinates and two up coordinates. Enlarge in the X direction at the enlargement ratio.
At this time, the enlargement ratio of the figure is, for example, white circles 77a and 78.
White circles 77b, 78b with respect to the length of a line segment having both ends a
Is the ratio of the lengths of the line segments having both ends. 5 and 6
In the example, the rectangle 76a is selected as the graphic to be processed,
Only the width in the X direction is enlarged while maintaining the width in the Y direction,
It becomes a rectangle 76b shown in FIG.

Next, of the enlargement processing of the plane figure processing, an instruction operation for instructing only an enlargement in the Y direction will be described. First, as shown in FIG.
One of two points in the plane area including the rectangle 76a which is the graphic to be processed and on an imaginary axis parallel to the Y coordinate axis is pressed one by one with two fingers. This point is represented by the white circle 82
a and 83a. At this time, the timing of pressing the point represented by the white circle 82a with one finger and the timing of pressing the point represented by the white circle 82a with the other finger are shifted. Next, one finger is moved while touching the pointing area in the direction indicated by the arrow 84,
The other finger is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 85 while making contact with the designated area. The directions indicated by arrows 84 and 85 are both parallel to and contradictory to the Y coordinate axis, and when the finger is moved in this direction, the distance between the two fingers increases. Finally, FIG.
As shown by, the point pressed by one finger reaches the white circle 82b,
At the point when the point pressed by the other finger reaches the white circle 83b, both fingers are shifted in timing and separated from the designated area.

When such an instruction operation is performed, the coordinates of the white circles 82a and 83a are acquired as the down coordinates by the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 2, and the white circles 82b and 83b are obtained.
Are obtained as up coordinates. Each finger is a white circle 82
a, 83a, and the timing when each finger is pressed,
Since the timing for releasing 83b is shifted, step a
The relative time obtained at 8, a18 is longer than the reference time. Based on the relative time, the central control circuit 38 determines that a plurality of points have been designated by the second designation mode.

Two down coordinates (Xa, Y1) (Xb,
Y2) and two up coordinates (Xa, Y1 + α) (X
b, Y2-β), both fingers are moved so as to increase the distance between the two fingers in a direction parallel to and opposite to the Y coordinate axis, so that the down coordinate and the up coordinate have the same X coordinate. The Y coordinate of the up coordinate of one set is smaller than the Y coordinate of the down coordinate, and the Y coordinate of the up coordinate of the other set is larger than the Y coordinate of the down coordinate. This is represented by Equation 3. The central controller 38 determines that the enlargement process in the Y direction has been instructed when the point is designated by the second designation mode and the time change of the positional relationship of the plurality of points is a change pattern represented by Expression 3. It instructs the editing device 36 to execute the enlargement process in the Y direction. (Xa, Y1) (Xb, Y2) → (Xa, Y1 + α) (Xb, Y2-β) ... (3)

The enlarging process in the Y direction is different from the enlarging process in the X direction in that the enlarging direction is replaced by the Y direction, and the white circles 77a, 78a, 77b, 78b are replaced by white circles 82a, 83.
a; 82b and 83b are different, and the others are the same. In the examples of FIGS. 7 and 8, the rectangle 76a is selected as a graphic to be processed, and only the width in the Y direction is enlarged while keeping the width in the X direction, resulting in a rectangle 76c shown in FIG.

Next, in the enlargement processing of the plane figure processing, an instruction operation for instructing enlargement in the X and Y directions will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the operator is in the plane area including the rectangle 76 a which is the graphic to be processed in the designated area 61, and is on a virtual axis that is not parallel to any of the X and Y coordinate axes. Press two points one by one with two fingers. This point is represented by white circles 88a and 89a. At this time, the timing of pressing the point represented by the white circle 88a with one finger and the timing of pressing the point represented by the white circle 89a with the other finger are shifted. Then, move one finger in the direction indicated by the arrow 89,
Move while touching the pointing area, and point the other finger at arrow 90
In the direction shown by, it is moved while making contact with the designated area. The directions indicated by arrows 89 and 90 are not parallel to the X and Y coordinate axes, and both directions are opposite. When both fingers are moved in these directions, the distance between the fingers increases. Finally,
As shown in FIG. 10, when the point pressed by one finger reaches the white circle 87b and the point pressed by the other finger reaches the white circle 88b, both fingers are shifted in timing and separated from the designated area.

When the above-described instruction operation is performed, the coordinates of white circles 87a and 88a are obtained as down coordinates and the coordinates of white circles 87b and 88b are obtained as up coordinates in the flowchart of FIG. Each finger is a white circle 87a, 88a
Steps a8 and a18, since the timing of pressing and the timing of each finger releasing white circles 87b and 88b are shifted.
Is greater than or equal to the reference time. From this relative time, the central control circuit 38 determines that a plurality of points have been designated by the second designation mode.

The two down coordinates (X1, Y1) (X2,
Y2) and two up coordinates (X1 + α1, Y1 + α)
2) Comparing (X2-β1, Y2-β2), since both fingers are moved in directions opposite and parallel to the X and Y coordinate axes, respectively, the X and Y coordinates of the two down coordinates and the two The X and Y coordinates of the up coordinate are all different. One up coordinate (X1 + α1, Y1 + α2) is compared with one down coordinate (X1, Y1), and the X coordinate and Y coordinate are compared.
Coordinates are both increasing. The other up coordinate (X2-
β1, Y2-β2) is X
Both the coordinate and the Y coordinate are decreasing. The increment α1, α2 of the X coordinate and the Y coordinate of one of the up coordinates is represented by a white circle 87.
X of the vector headed to arrow 89 with both ends a and 87b
Component and Y component. The other decreases β1 and β2 of the X coordinate and the Y coordinate of the up coordinate are the X component and the Y component of the vector having the white circles 88a and 88b as both ends toward the arrow 90. This is represented by Equation 4. The central controller 38 instructs the enlargement process in the X and Y directions when the point is designated by the second designation mode and the change in the positional relationship of the plurality of points is represented by Expression 4 in the determination in step a21. It is determined that the process has been performed, and the editing device 36 is instructed to execute the enlargement process in the X and Y directions. (X1, Y1) (X2, Y2) → (X1 + α1, Y1 + α2) (X2-β1, Y2-β2)… (4)

The editing device 36 includes, for example, white circles 87a,
A graphic displayed in a rectangular area of a predetermined size including a point in the display area corresponding to 88a is selected as a graphic to be processed, and the graphic is determined from two down coordinates and two up coordinates. The image is enlarged in the X and Y directions at an enlargement ratio. At this time, the enlargement ratio of the figure in the X direction is, for example,
The white circles 82b, 82b,
The ratio of the difference between the X coordinates of 83b. The enlargement ratio of the figure in the Y direction is, for example, the ratio of the difference between the Y coordinates of the white circles 82b and 83b to the difference between the Y coordinates of the white circles 82a and 83a. In the example of FIG. 9 and FIG.
6a is selected, and the rectangle 76 is enlarged in both the X and Y directions to become the graphic 76d shown in FIG.

The instruction operation for instructing these three types of enlargement processing is similar to the operation of extending the length indicated by two fingers, so that the instruction operation can be performed by an operator who is unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus. I'm sorry. Therefore, enlargement processing can be easily instructed. In addition, the pointing area is pressed one by one with two fingers at a time interval, the width of the finger is reduced while the pointing area is pressed, and each finger is released one by one, thereby instructing the graphic reduction processing. Is also good. The direction in which each finger moves in the instruction operation of this reduction processing is indicated by arrows 79, 80; 84, 85; 89, 9
The difference is that the distance between the fingers is reduced in the direction opposite to 0, and the other is the same as the enlargement processing. The change pattern between the down coordinate and the up coordinate obtained when such an instruction operation is performed is different from the change pattern of the enlargement processing in that the relationship between the increase and decrease of the coordinates is reversed. Are almost equal. Therefore, since the operation of instructing the reduction processing is similar to the operation of narrowing the length indicated by two fingers, it is easy to adjust to the operation unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus, and it is possible to easily instruct the reduction processing. it can.

In the above-described plane rotation processing, the rotation angle and the rotation center of the figure are determined from the coordinates acquired during the pointing operation. In the above-described enlargement processing, the enlargement ratio and the enlargement direction of the figure are determined from the coordinates acquired during the instruction operation. Therefore, in the information processing apparatus 31 of the present embodiment, at the same time as an instruction to execute a processing operation, a parameter required for the processing operation can be instructed. This simplifies the operation of the operator as compared with a conventional information processing apparatus that individually issues an instruction for executing a processing operation and an instruction for a parameter.

In the plane rotation process, the figure is rotated around the point pressed by one finger by the angle of the other finger around the finger. In the enlarging process, the figure is enlarged by an amount corresponding to the increased width of the finger. As described above, the rotation angle, the rotation center, and the enlargement ratio are represented by the movement of the operator's finger, and the graphic is rotated and enlarged so as to follow the movement of the operator's finger. Therefore, by visually observing the movement of the finger, the operator can visually grasp the rotation angle, the rotation center, and the processing parameters such as the enlargement ratio. Therefore, in the information processing apparatus 31, it is easier to understand than when the parameter is indicated by a numerical value as in the related art, and the parameter can be easily specified.

Further, the information processing apparatus 31 responds to the processing result of the planar graphic processing using so-called icons,
An executable processing operation may be indicated. As an example of the instruction operation of the processing operation using the icon, the information processing device 3
The operation of instructing the deletion processing for deleting the data given to the data No. 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 11 shows the display device 33 before executing the deletion process.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a graphic to be processed displayed in a display area of FIG. At this time, the display area includes an icon 91 corresponding to the data stored in the information processing device 31 and an icon 92 corresponding to the deletion process.
Is displayed. The icon 92 is a so-called trash can. The instruction of the deletion processing is also used as the instruction of the movement processing of the graphic, and the operator instructs the execution of the deletion processing by instructing to move the icon 91 to a position overlapping the icon 92.

Specifically, the operator first specifies the pointing area 61
Of the two points in the plane area including the icon 91
Press simultaneously with one finger. The point pressed at the time of this down,
These are represented by white circles 93 and 94. Next, one finger is moved in a direction indicated by an arrow 95 while touching the designated area, and the other finger is moved in a direction indicated by an arrow 96 while contacting the designated area. Are simultaneously separated from the designated area. The directions indicated by arrows 79 and 80 are opposite, and the point specified by two fingers approaches. When this instruction operation is performed, the central control device 38 performs the processing operation of the flowchart of FIG. 2 once. The relative time obtained thereby is 0, and the obtained change pattern of the down coordinate and the up coordinate is equal to the change pattern of the reduction processing.

Since the relative time is almost 0, central controller 38 determines that a plurality of points have been designated in the first designation mode. When the coordinates of the plurality of points specified in the first specification mode change in the same change pattern as the reduction processing, the central control device 3
In step 8, it is determined that a process of designating a graphic to be moved in the graphic moving process is instructed, and the editing device 36 is instructed to execute the process. For example, the editing device 36 selects a graphic displayed in a rectangular area of a predetermined size including points in the display area corresponding to the white circles 93 and 94 as a graphic to be moved. The selected figure is displayed, for example, in reverse video.

Next, the operator simultaneously presses two points in the plane area including the icon 92 in the pointing area 61 with two fingers, and pushes each finger in the direction indicated by arrows 97 and 98 in the pointing area. Move while touching. When the finger reaches the point indicated by the white circles 99 and 100, the two fingers are simultaneously released. The arrow 97 is in a direction opposite to the arrow 95, the arrow 98 is in a direction opposite to the arrow 96, and the interval between the two fingers is widened. When this instruction operation is performed, the central control device 38 performs the processing of the flowchart of FIG. 2 again from the beginning. The relative time obtained by this is almost 0, and the acquired change pattern of the down coordinate and the up coordinate is equal to the change pattern of the enlargement processing.

Since the relative time is almost 0, central controller 38 determines that a plurality of points have been designated in the first designation mode. When the coordinates of the plurality of points specified in the first specification mode change in the same change pattern as in the enlarging process at the time of the determination in step a21, the central control device 38 determines the destination of the graphic in the graphic moving process. Is determined to have been instructed, and the editing apparatus is instructed to execute the movement processing. The editing device 36 includes, for example, a rectangular area of a predetermined size including points in the display area corresponding to the white circles 93 and 94,
The figure selected as the movement target is displayed, and the figure matching the position before the movement is deleted. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 12, the icon 91 is displayed so as to overlap the icon 92.

When the icon corresponding to the data is overlaid on the icon corresponding to the processing operation, the central control unit 38 sets the data corresponding to the latter icon as the data to be processed and executes the processing operation corresponding to the former icon. Let it run. For example, in the example of FIG. 12, since another icon 91 is superimposed on the icon 92 corresponding to the deletion process, it is determined that the deletion process of the data associated with the icon 91 has been instructed, and the icon 91 is associated with the icon. It instructs the editing device 36 to delete data and causes the data to be deleted from the storage device 36.

In the figure movement process, an instruction operation for designating a figure to be moved and an instruction operation for designating a destination are individually performed. Therefore, it is not necessary to move the finger from the top of the icon 91 to the top of the icon 92 in FIG. 11 without releasing the finger from the instruction area 61 as in the instruction of the deletion processing in the information processing apparatus 1 using the tablet of the related art. Thus, the instruction operation is easy for an operator unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus 31. An operator's instruction operation for moving a figure is similar to an operation of picking up an object with two fingers and lifting the object at a destination position in daily life. In addition, when viewed as an instruction operation for a deletion process, the operation is similar to the operation of picking up garbage with two fingers, lifting the garbage away from the garbage bin, and throwing away the garbage. Therefore, the instruction operation is easy for an operator who is unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing device 31. Therefore, it is possible to easily instruct the moving process and the deleting process.

When the operation of pinching and releasing an object and the operation of enlarging and reducing the width between two fingers are approximated to a temporal change in the positional relationship of points in the designated area, a plurality of operations are performed. Change patterns of point coordinates are equal. At this time, by associating the processing operation with not only the change pattern but also the specification mode of a plurality of points, in the above case, a plurality of processing operations can be specified with the same change pattern.
Therefore, when an operation associated with a plurality of processing operations and a similar operation are approximated to a temporal change in the positional relationship of the points in the designated area, when the change patterns of the coordinates of the plurality of points are equal, the plurality of By simply changing the specification mode, each processing operation can be specified by an operation associated with the processing operation and a similar operation.

The processing that can be executed by the information processing apparatus 31 includes spatial graphic processing using a so-called 3D display method. The 3D display method is a method of pseudo-displaying a three-dimensional image in a display area that is a two-dimensional plane.
A stereoscopic image represented in the YZ coordinate system in the virtual space is represented by, for example, X
The projection is performed on a virtual plane parallel to the Y plane, a plane image that is a projection image of the three-dimensional image is obtained by, for example, arithmetic processing, and the projection image is displayed in a display area. In this 3D display method, points on the display area are pseudo-correlated with points in the virtual space.

The information processing device 31 represents a three-dimensional image as a set of points in a virtual space defined by, for example, an XYZ coordinate system as data to be processed in the space graphic processing, and outputs three-dimensional image data including the coordinates of each point. Is stored in the storage device 37. In general, the instruction to execute the space graphic processing is issued to a plane area including a point corresponding to a point in the virtual space to be processed in a specified manner in a predetermined manner, similarly to the instruction operation of the plane graphic processing. This is done by designating the points and changing the positional relationship between those points.

When this instruction operation is performed, central controller 38 determines a process based on the designated mode and a change in the positional relationship between the points, and determines a point in the virtual space corresponding to a point in the plane area. The point is determined as a processing target, and the point is subjected to coordinate conversion processing. In this coordinate conversion process, for example, the coordinates of a point in the virtual space are stored in advance in the storage device 37, the coordinates are converted by an arithmetic process, and the converted coordinates are stored in the storage device 37. Will be After coordinate transformation,
The point in the display area corresponding to the point in the virtual space before the conversion is deleted, and the point in the display area corresponding to the point in the virtual space after the change is newly displayed in the display area. As an example of the spatial graphic processing, a spatial rotation processing of rotating a stereoscopic image in a virtual space and a spatial movement processing of moving a position of a stereoscopic image in a virtual space will be described.

First, the instruction operation of the space rotation processing will be described. FIGS. 13 and 14 are schematic diagrams illustrating a positional relationship between a point designated in the designated area 61 of the tablet 60 and a plane image displayed in the display area of the display device 33.

As shown in FIG. 13, the operator first presses two points in the plane area including the plane image 101 which is the projection image of the stereoscopic image to be processed among the members constituting the designated area 61. Push with your fingers individually at different timings. This point is represented by white circles 102a and 103a. Next, one finger is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 104 while being in contact with the member, and the other finger is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 105 while being in contact with the member. The directions indicated by arrows 79 and 80 are
Neither is parallel to the imaginary line segment having the white circles 102a and 103a at both ends, and both directions are opposite. This movement of the finger is an operation of rotating a point pressed by each finger around a point between the white circles 102a and 103a as a center of rotation, and is similar to an operation of turning a top with a finger. Each finger is a white circle 102 shown in FIG.
At time points b and 103b, the operator separates each finger from the member by shifting the release timing.

When this instruction operation is performed, the central controller 38 executes the processing of the flowchart of FIG.
The coordinates of 02a and 103a are acquired as down coordinates, and the coordinates of white circles 102b and 103b are acquired as up coordinates. In addition, since the timing at which each finger presses the member and the timing at which each finger is separated from the member are shifted, the relative time is equal to or longer than the reference time, and the central controller 38 determines that a plurality of points have been designated in the second designation mode. I do. Central control unit 38
When the determination is made in step a21, the change pattern between the down coordinate and the up coordinate is, for example, a white circle 102a, 1
When the point represented by the coordinates rotates around the rotation center with the point between 03a as the rotation center, and when a plurality of points are specified in the second specification mode, it is determined that the spatial rotation processing has been instructed. Then, the editing device 36 is instructed to execute the space rotation process.

The editing device 36, for example,
a, a three-dimensional image having a plane image displayed in a rectangular area of a predetermined size including a point in the display area corresponding to 103a as a projection image is selected as a three-dimensional image to be processed. The three-dimensional coordinates stored as three-dimensional image data and representing each point in the three-dimensional image are converted by arithmetic processing so as to rotate in a rotation center and a rotation direction determined from one down coordinate and two up coordinates, and the conversion is performed. The storage device stores the three-dimensional image data including the three-dimensional coordinates later. further,
With the change of the three-dimensional coordinates of each point, the point on the display area corresponding to the point changes, thereby deforming the projected image of the three-dimensional image. Therefore, the three-dimensional image reconstructed from the coordinate-converted point Is calculated by calculation, and the projected image is displayed in the display area of the display device 33.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a rectangle 101a is selected as a plane image to be processed, and a point in a virtual plane forming a three-dimensional image having the rectangle 101a as a projected image is, for example, the center of the three-dimensional image. The coordinates are individually transformed so as to rotate in the virtual space while maintaining the position. As a result, the portion of the three-dimensional image facing the virtual plane changes, and the positional relationship of the center axis of the three-dimensional image with respect to the virtual plane also changes, so that the shape of the projected image changes. For this purpose, FIG.
As shown in the figure, a rectangle 101b which is a projection image of the three-dimensional image after the spatial rotation processing is a rectangle 10b which is a projection image of the same three-dimensional image.
1a and the shape is different.

Next, the operation of instructing the space movement process will be described. First, the operator individually presses a plurality of points in a plane area including a plane image which is a projection image of a stereoscopic image to be processed among members constituting the designated area 61 with a finger at different timings. Then, while keeping each finger in contact with the member, while changing the positional relationship of the points pressed by each finger according to the movement direction parallel to the Z axis of the stereoscopic image, after moving these fingers on the member, Release the fingers individually at different timings.

When the instruction operation is performed, the central control device 38 performs the processing of the flowchart of FIG. Since the timing at which the finger presses the member and the timing at which each finger separates from the member are shifted, the central control device 38 determines that a plurality of points have been designated in the second designation mode. The central control device 38 determines that the change pattern between the down coordinates and the up coordinates is similar in the positional relationship between the points represented by the down coordinates and the positional relationship between the points represented by the up coordinates, and the interval between the points represented by the down coordinates. And a change pattern in which the intervals between the points represented by the up coordinates are different from each other, and when a plurality of points are designated by the second designation mode, it is determined that the spatial movement processing has been instructed, and the spatial movement is instructed to the editing device 36. Instructs execution of processing.

In the spatial movement processing, the X direction of each point in the virtual space is determined from the direction in which the finger has moved in the designated area and the magnitude relationship between the distance between the points represented by the down coordinates and the distance between the points represented by the up coordinates. , Y and Z coordinate increase / decrease pattern,
The three-dimensional coordinates of each point are changed by arithmetic processing so that the X, Y, and Z coordinates of each point increase or decrease individually in the increase / decrease pattern. Further, if a three-dimensional image is formed by these points, the point on the display area corresponding to each point changes according to the change of the three-dimensional coordinates of each point, so that the projected image of the three-dimensional image on the display area is changed. Moves, and the projected image is enlarged / reduced in accordance with the increase / decrease of the Z coordinate. For this reason, the projection image of the three-dimensional image reconstructed from the points after the coordinate conversion is obtained by calculation, and the projection image is displayed in the display area of the display device 33.

The increase / decrease of the X coordinate in the increase / decrease pattern is determined, for example, by comparing the X coordinate of the down coordinate with the X coordinate of the up coordinate, and when the X coordinate of the up coordinate is larger than the X coordinate of the down coordinate, The X coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate is increased from the original X coordinate, and when the X coordinate of the up coordinate is smaller than the X coordinate of the down coordinate, the X coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate is decreased from the original X coordinate. The increase / decrease of the Y coordinate in the increase / decrease pattern is obtained in the same manner as the X coordinate based on the Y coordinate of the up coordinate and the Y coordinate of the down coordinate. Z in the increase / decrease pattern
The increase or decrease of the coordinates is determined, for example, by comparing the interval between the points represented by the up coordinates and the interval between the points represented by the down coordinates,
When the former interval is greater than or equal to the latter interval, the Z coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate is increased from the original Z coordinate. When the former interval is less than the latter interval, the Z coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate is changed to the original Z coordinate. Decrease than coordinates.

Tables 2 and 3 show that, when two fingers press the plane area, the moving direction of the finger and the X, Y and Z
7 shows a specific example of a correspondence relationship with a coordinate increase / decrease pattern.
In order to represent the increase / decrease pattern, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, in the designated area 61, the middle point of the point represented by each of the acquired down coordinates is set as the origin 121 and passes through the origin and is parallel to the XY coordinate axes of the designated area. A vertical axis 122 and a horizontal axis 123 and an axis 124 that is not parallel to the vertical axis 122 and the horizontal axis 123 but passes through the origin 121 are temporarily set. Vertical axis 122 and horizontal axis 1
23, the designated area is divided into four, and these areas are divided into the first to the first counterclockwise around the origin 121.
This is the fourth quadrant. The axis 124 is the first axis in the example of FIG.
Pass through the quadrant and the third quadrant. The increase / decrease pattern is the origin 121
Is different depending on where in the first to fourth quadrants the vector having the point represented by the up-coordinate as the end point is located. The direction of this vector is equal to the moving direction of the finger. When the number of fingers is two, the above-mentioned correspondence includes a first mode and a second mode, and these modes are switched according to the designation of the operator. Table 2 shows the increase / decrease pattern of the first mode, and Table 3 shows the increase / decrease pattern of the second mode.

[0113]

[Table 2]

[0114]

[Table 3]

In the first mode, when the point represented by the up coordinate is included in the first quadrant 126, two fingers are moved in the direction of the first quadrant.
Increase the X, Y and Z coordinates together. In the increase / decrease pattern when two fingers are moved in the direction of the second quadrant, both the X and Z coordinates decrease and the Y coordinate increases. In the increase / decrease pattern when two fingers are moved in the direction of the third quadrant, the X, Y and Z coordinates are all reduced. In the increase / decrease pattern when two fingers are moved in the direction of the fourth quadrant,
Both the X and Z coordinates increase and the Y coordinate decreases.

In the case of the second mode, in the increase / decrease pattern when two fingers are moved in the direction of the first quadrant, X and Y are used.
The coordinates increase together, and the Z coordinate decreases. In the increase / decrease pattern when two fingers are moved in the direction of the second quadrant, X
The coordinates decrease and the Y and Z coordinates both increase. Third
In the increase / decrease pattern when two fingers are moved in the direction of the quadrant, both the X and Y coordinates decrease and the Z coordinate increases. In the increase / decrease pattern when two fingers are moved in the direction of the fourth quadrant, the X coordinate increases, and both the Y and Z coordinates decrease.

Table 4 shows that, when three fingers press the plane area, the moving direction of the finger, the distance between the fingers, and the X,
7 shows a specific example of a correspondence relationship with an increase / decrease pattern of Y and Z coordinates.

[0118]

[Table 4]

In order to represent the increase / decrease pattern, for example, as shown in FIG. 16, the center of the point represented by each acquired down coordinate is set as the origin 121 in the designated area 61, and the vertical axis shown in FIG. 12, the horizontal axis 123 and the axis 124
Are temporarily set, and the axis 129 is temporarily set. The axis 124 passes through the second quadrant, the origin 121 and the fourth quadrant. The angle between the axis 124 and the vertical axis 122 is equal to the angle between the axis 124 and the vertical axis 122. Each axis 12
2 and 123 and the axes 124 and 128, the designated area is divided into eight.
Are defined as regions A to G from the region on the side of the abscissa 122 in the first quadrant in the counterclockwise direction. Increase / decrease pattern is origin 12
A vector having a start point of 1 and a point represented by the up coordinate as an end point differs depending on where in the areas A to G is included. The direction of this vector is equal to the moving direction of the finger.

When the vector is included in the area A, the origin 1
Three fingers are moved in a direction from 21 to a point in the area A. In the increase / decrease pattern at this time, the X, Y, and Z coordinates all increase. In the increase / decrease pattern when three fingers are moved in the direction from the origin 121 toward a point in the area B, both the X and Y coordinates increase and the Z infarct decreases. In the increase / decrease pattern when three fingers are moved in a direction from the origin 121 toward a point in the area C, the X coordinate decreases, and both the Y and Z coordinates increase. In an increase / decrease pattern when three fingers are moved in a direction from the origin 121 toward a point in the area D, both the X and Z coordinates decrease and the Y coordinate increases.

In the increase / decrease pattern when three fingers are moved in the direction from the origin 121 toward the point in the area E, the X and Y coordinates decrease and the Z coordinate increases. In the increase / decrease pattern when three fingers are moved in the direction from the origin 121 toward the point in the area F, the X, Y and Z coordinates are all reduced. 3 in the direction from the origin 121 to the point in the area G
In the increase / decrease pattern when the finger is moved, both the X and Z coordinates increase and the Y coordinate decreases. Origin 121
In the increase / decrease pattern when three fingers are moved in the direction from to the point in the area G, the X coordinate increases, and Y and Z
Both coordinates decrease.

As described above, the information processing device 31 specifies a plurality of points in the plane area including the plane image on the display area,
By changing the positional relationship between the plurality of points, it is possible to instruct the coordinate conversion processing of the points in the plane area. Further, when the processing target point is a point constituting a three-dimensional image in which a plane image included in the plane area is a projection image, it is possible to instruct spatial graphic processing on the three-dimensional image.
Accordingly, a movement including a position movement and a rotation in the virtual space can be instructed for the stereoscopic image displayed in 3D by using the tablet 40 which instructs coordinates of a point on a two-dimensional plane. Further, the method of instructing the processing operation can easily instruct an operator who is unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus for the reason described in the planar graphic processing. Therefore, the movement of the three-dimensional image in the virtual space can be performed extremely easily.

The points and the three-dimensional images in the virtual space to be processed correspond to the points and the two-dimensional images in the plane area defined from the points designated in the designated area for instructing the processing operation. Thus, a point to be processed and a three-dimensional image can be designated at the same time as the instruction of the processing operation. Therefore, the operation of the operator for the instruction can be further facilitated.

The following describes a moving amount specifying procedure for specifying the moving amount of a point in the virtual space using the tablet 40. For this purpose, an axis 134 that is not parallel to both the X coordinate axis 132 and the Y coordinate axis 133 but passes through the origin 131 is set in the designated area of the tablet 40. This axis corresponds to the Z coordinate axis of the XYZ coordinate system set in the virtual space, and the angle between the axis and the X coordinate axis is defined as a reference angle.

The operator designates a point in the designated area by the above-described point designating operation. For example, one finger is brought into contact with a member constituting the pointing area, the finger is moved while keeping the finger in contact with the member, and then the finger is separated from the member.

In response to this point designation operation, central controller 38 first obtains down coordinates and up coordinates.
Next, an angle between a straight line passing through the point represented by the down coordinate and the point represented by the up coordinate and the X coordinate axis 132 is obtained, and this angle is compared with a reference angle. When the angle is equal to or larger than the reference angle, the central control device 38 determines that the change amounts of the X coordinate and the Z coordinate have been designated among the three-dimensional coordinates representing the points in the virtual space. When the angle is smaller than the reference angle, the central control device 38 determines that the change amounts of the Y coordinate and the Z coordinate have been designated among the three-dimensional coordinates representing the points in the virtual space.

For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the point represented by the down coordinate is point 136, and the point represented by the up coordinate is point 1.
When it is 37, a line segment 1 having both ends at points 136 and 137
An angle between the X-axis 38 and the X coordinate axis 132 is smaller than the reference angle. At this time, the central controller 38 determines that the points 136 and 137
Is the inner product of the X component, which is a vector representing the amount of change in the X coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate, and the Z component, which is the vector representing the amount of change in the Z coordinate of the three-dimensional coordinate. And the movement amount of the point is represented by X and Z
Decomposes into components 139,140. In other words, the X and Z components are calculated back using the dot movement amount as the inner product. Further, using the X and Z components, X and Z of three-dimensional coordinates
Increase or decrease coordinates. For example, if the direction of the X component is oriented in the direction in which the X coordinate increases, a numerical value corresponding to the magnitude of the X component is added to the X coordinate, and the direction of the X component is oriented in the direction in which the X coordinate decreases. For example, a numerical value corresponding to the magnitude of the X component is subtracted from the X coordinate. The increase and decrease of the Z coordinate are performed similarly.

As shown in FIG. 17, the point represented by the down coordinate is point 141, and the point represented by the up coordinate is point 142.
, A line segment 143 having both ends of points 141 and 142
And the X coordinate axis 132 are greater than or equal to the reference angle.
At this time, the central control device 38 determines that the moving amount of the point which is a vector having both ends of the points 141 and 143
Assuming that this corresponds to the inner product of the Y component, which is a vector representing the amount of change in coordinates, and the Z component, the movement amount of the point is decomposed into Y and Z components 144, 145, and the components 144, 145
Find the size of 5. Further, the Y and Z coordinates of the three-dimensional coordinates are increased or decreased using the Y and Z components. The increase or decrease of the Y coordinate is performed, for example, in the same manner as the X coordinate.

In the prior art, as shown in FIG. 18, when the coordinates representing the points 146 and 147 are obtained by the point designation operation, the difference between the X coordinates and the Y coordinate of the points 146 and 147 is determined. Only the X and Y components were specified, but the Z component could not be specified. In the present embodiment, the Z component can be specified simultaneously with the X or Y component by the above-described series of operations. Therefore, by using the designated area of the two-dimensional plane, Z which does not correspond to the X, Y coordinate axes of the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system among the X, Y, and Z coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system is used.
The amount of change in the coordinates of the coordinate axes can be easily specified. Further, by performing the above-described processing using the down coordinates and the up coordinates obtained by the designation operation for instructing the execution of the various space graphic processing described above, for example, the virtual space when performing the space movement processing Can be specified by the same processing as the processing instruction. Thereby, the processing of the spatial graphic processing can be further simplified.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an information processing device 161 including a pointing device and a processing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Information processing device 161
Is different from the information processing device 31 of the first embodiment in that the external storage device 164, the communication device 169, the processing storage device 16
5. The difference is that the medium 163 is included, and the editing device and the input device are replaced by general-purpose editing devices 168 and the input device 167, and the others are the same. The same reference numerals are given to the devices having the same configuration, and the description will be omitted. The devices and the screen buffer are connected via a system bus 55a so that control signals and data can be exchanged with each other.

In the medium 163, in the first embodiment,
The software for performing the information processing operation described in the flowchart of FIG. 2 and the various processing operations described using the schematic diagrams of FIGS. 3 to 18 is stored. Medium 163
Is realized by, for example, a floppy disk and a CD-ROM. This software includes, for example, a task management program and a window management program, and is stored in a format such as a source program, an intermediate code program, or an executable program.

This medium 163 is incorporated in the external storage device 164, and the software stored in the medium is read out.
It is stored in the processing storage device 165. External storage device 16
4 is, for example, a floppy disk reader and C
This is realized by a D-ROM reader. Processing storage device 1
65 is realized by a writable memory such as a random access memory. Also, medium 16
3 causes another information processing apparatus such as a server machine connected to the information processing apparatus 161 via the communication apparatus 169 to read the software stored in the medium 163,
The software may be transmitted from the other information processing device to the information processing device 161 via the communication device 169, and the transmitted software may be stored in the processing storage device 165.

Processing storage device 16 after storing software
5 is an editing device 36 and an input device 35 of the first embodiment.
To serve as For example, the central control device 38 controls the general-purpose editing device 168 as a central processing circuit based on the editing device control program 36a stored in the processing storage device 165, thereby causing the editing device 168 to operate. Are operated in the same manner as the editing device 36 of the first embodiment. Further, for example, the central control device 38 controls the general-purpose input device 167 including the general-purpose keyboard 39a and the tablet 40a based on the input device control program 35a stored in the processing storage device 165, so that the input is performed. The device 167 operates in the same manner as the input device 35 of the first embodiment. For example, tablet 4
A coordinate axis and an axis are set in the designated area of 0, and each point in the designated area is associated with a point in the virtual space during 3D display. This allows the information processing device of the prior art, such as a computer equipped with a tablet, to read the software stored in the medium, and to execute the software in the central processing circuit, whereby the first The same information processing operation as the information processing apparatus of the embodiment can be performed. Therefore, the processing apparatus of the present invention can be easily realized.

The information processing apparatuses according to the first and second embodiments are examples of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, and can be executed in other various forms as long as the main operations are the same. In particular, the detailed operation of each device is not limited to this and may be realized by another operation as long as the general operation is the same.

[0135]

As described above, according to the present invention, the pointing device allows a plurality of points to be designated in the designated area at the same time so that their positional relationship is changed with time. The user is instructed to execute any one of the plurality of processing operations. This makes it easy for an operator who is unfamiliar with the operation of the information processing apparatus to instruct the execution of the processing operation.

Further, according to the present invention, the processing operation instructed to be executed is executed on a plane image in an area including a point designated for instructing the processing operation. Thus, the operation of the operator for the instruction can be further facilitated.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, a plurality of points for instructing a processing operation are specified by a designation mode corresponding to the processing operation. Thereby, even when an operation associated with a plurality of processing operations and similar operations are similar,
The operation for instructing the processing operation can be made easier.

Also, according to the present invention, a plurality of points in the space are pseudo-corresponding to the points in the space, so that a plurality of points can be changed with the passage of time so that the positional relationship is changed with time. Have the operator indicate the point. In response to the change in the positional relationship of the points, an instruction is given to execute the coordinate conversion processing of the points in the space corresponding to the designated area. Therefore, it is possible to very easily instruct the conversion of the three-dimensional coordinates.

Further, according to the present invention, the processing target of the three-dimensional coordinate conversion processing is a three-dimensional image in which a projection image is included in an area in which a plurality of points for designating an operation are specified. This makes it easier for the operator to give instructions.

Further, according to the present invention, first, the operator is caused to designate two plane areas in the designated area. Next, the moving direction and the moving distance of the point in the space are determined from the positional relationship of each plane area, and the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in the space to be moved are converted accordingly. In this way, it is possible to instruct the movement of a point in space using the pointing area that is a two-dimensional plane.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, when designating a plane area for instructing movement in space, the operator designates a plurality of points in the plane area. Thereby, the plane area can be easily specified.

Further, according to the present invention, when a point is designated by an operation of drawing a line with respect to this designated area, the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in space are decomposed into two vectors by using the line segment as an inner product. Find the amount to increase or decrease. Thus, the coordinates of the coordinate axes that do not correspond to the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system among the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system can be easily designated using the designated area of the two-dimensional plane.

Further, according to the present invention, a program for realizing the above-described processing procedure for instructing the processing operation, and a program for realizing the above-described processing procedure for executing the coordinate conversion processing, It is stored in a storage medium. The pointing device according to claim 1, 3 or 4, wherein the program stored in the storage medium is read, for example, by a computer having a planar pointing area, and the central processing circuit executes the program. The processing device according to claims 6 and 8 can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an information processing apparatus 31 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an information processing operation performed by the information processing apparatus 31.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a rectangle 71a displayed in a display area of a display device 33 before an instruction to perform a plane rotation process and a point first designated in an instruction area 61 of a tablet 40;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a rectangle 71b displayed in a display area of the display device 33 after the plane rotation processing and a point specified last in the pointing area 61 of the tablet 40.

FIG. 5 shows a positional relationship between a rectangle 76a displayed in the display area of the display device 33 and a point specified first in the instruction area 61 of the tablet 40 before instructing processing in only the X direction in the enlargement processing. FIG.

FIG. 6 shows the positional relationship between a rectangle 76b displayed in the display area of the display device 33 after the processing of only the X direction in the enlargement processing and the last designated point in the pointing area 61 of the tablet 40. FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a positional relationship between a rectangle 76a displayed in the display area of the display device 33 and a point designated first in the instruction area 61 of the tablet 40 before an instruction for processing in only the Y direction in the enlargement processing. FIG.

FIG. 8 shows the positional relationship between a rectangle 76c displayed in the display area of the display device 33 after the processing of only the Y direction in the enlarging processing and the last point specified in the pointing area 61 of the tablet 40. FIG.

FIG. 9 shows a rectangle 76a displayed on the display area of the display device 33 before instructing processing in the X and Y directions in the enlargement processing.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a point designated first in an instruction area 61 of the tablet 40.

FIG. 10 shows a rectangle 76 displayed in the display area of the display device 33 after the processing in the X and Y directions in the enlargement processing.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a positional relationship between a point d and a point specified last in an instruction area 61 of the tablet 40.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between icons 91 and 92 displayed in a display area of the display device 33 before an instruction of a deletion process and a point specified first in the instruction area 61 of the tablet 40. .

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between icons 91 and 92 displayed in a display area of the display device 33 after a deletion process and a point specified last in an instruction area 61 of the tablet 40.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a plane image 101a displayed in a display area of the display device 33 before an instruction of a spatial rotation process and a point first designated in an instruction area 61 of the tablet 40. .

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between a plane image 101b displayed in a display area of the display device 33 after the spatial rotation processing and a point specified last in the pointing area 61 of the tablet 40.

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between virtual axes 122 to 124 for representing a positional relationship between a point represented by a down coordinate and a point represented by an up coordinate in a spatial movement process using two fingers. is there.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between virtual axes 122 to 124 and 129 for representing a positional relationship between a point represented by a down coordinate and a point represented by an up coordinate in a spatial movement process using three fingers. FIG.

FIG. 17 shows points 136, 137; 141, 142 designated by a point designation operation in the movement amount designation procedure, and XYZ components 139, 14;
It is a schematic diagram showing the relationship with 45.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating points 146 and 147 designated by a point designation operation in a movement amount designation procedure according to the related art.

FIG. 19 is an information processing apparatus 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram showing the electrical structure of 61.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a conventional information processing apparatus 1.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a case where a deletion process is instructed using a mouse.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a positional relationship between icons 16 and 17 displayed in a display area of the display device 3 and a mouse cursor 18 before instructing a deletion process.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a case where deletion processing is instructed using a mouse.
It is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship of the icons 16 and 17 after the instruction of the deletion process.

FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing a positional relationship between the icons 16 and 17 displayed on the display area of the display device 3 and the cursor 20 when a deletion process is instructed using a tablet. .

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating a positional relationship between the icons 16 and 17 after an instruction for a deletion process is issued when an instruction for a deletion process is issued using a tablet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31, 161 Information processing device 32 Instruction device 33 Display device 35 Input device 36,168 Editing device 37 Storage device 38 Central control device 40, 40a Tablet 42-44 Down coordinate buffer 45-47 Up coordinate buffer 48, 49 Relative time for down Buffer 50, 51 Up relative time buffer 52 Timer 163 Medium 164 External storage device 165 Processing storage device

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. Point designating means having a plane designated area, and designating a plurality of points in the designated area while changing a positional relationship, a plurality of predetermined processing operations, and a positional relationship between the plurality of points. Storage means for storing a change in the positional relationship between the plurality of points specified by the point specifying means from among the plurality of processing operations stored in the storage means. And a control unit for selecting and instructing execution of the selected processing operation. 2. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that includes a point corresponding to a point in the designated area in a one-to-one manner, and that displays a predetermined planar image in a planar display area. The pointing device according to claim 1, wherein an instruction is given to execute an operation on a plane image displayed in an area including points corresponding to the plurality of points on a display area. 3. A point designation having a planar designated area, wherein a plurality of points in the designated area are designated in any one of a plurality of predetermined designated modes while changing a positional relationship. Means, a plurality of predetermined processing operations, a storage means for storing a change in the positional relationship of a plurality of points and a designation mode in association with each other, and a point designation from a plurality of processing operations stored in the storage means. Control means for selecting a change in the positional relationship between a plurality of points input by the means and a processing operation associated with a specified mode when each point is specified, and instructing execution thereof. apparatus. 4. A plane corresponding to a point in a space to be processed among the designated areas, wherein the plane includes a designated area corresponding to a point in a space represented by three-dimensional coordinates. A point designating means for designating a plurality of points in a plane area including the above points while changing a positional relationship; a plurality of predetermined processing operations including conversion of three-dimensional coordinates;
A storage unit for storing a change in the positional relationship of a plurality of points in association with each other; and a change in the positional relationship between a plurality of points designated by the point designating unit among a plurality of processing operations stored in the storage unit. Control means for selecting an attached processing operation and instructing the execution thereof. 5. A display in which a three-dimensional image including a point corresponding to a point in the designated area on a one-to-one basis and whose position in space is represented by three-dimensional coordinates is converted into a two-dimensional image, and a two-dimensional display A display unit that displays the selected processing operation in the area, the stereoscopic image before the conversion of the planar image displayed in the area including the points corresponding to the plurality of points on the display area. The instruction device according to claim 4, wherein the instruction is issued to the user. 6. A point on a plane includes a planar pointing area corresponding to a point in space represented by three-dimensional coordinates, and the pointing area includes a point in a plane corresponding to a point in space to be moved. Area designating means for designating a first plane area including a point in the first plane area and a second plane area including a point in a space to be moved and having a size different from the first area; a first plane area and a second plane Determining means for determining a moving direction and a moving distance in the space of a point in the space to be moved from the displacement of the position with respect to the region and the displacement of the size between the first planar region and the second planar region; A conversion device for converting three-dimensional coordinates of a point in a space to be moved into coordinates shifted from the three-dimensional coordinates by a moving distance in a moving direction. 7. The area designating means causes a plurality of points in the first and second plane areas to be designated, respectively, and the deciding means determines the position shift of each point in the first and second plane areas. 7. The processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the magnitude deviation is obtained from a coordinate deviation, and the magnitude deviation is obtained from a deviation of intervals between a plurality of points for each of the first and second plane regions. 8. A point in a plane corresponds to a point in a space represented by three-dimensional coordinates, and two of the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system.
And a reference axis corresponding to one of the remaining coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system and intersecting with any one of the two-dimensional rectangular coordinate systems at a predetermined angle. A point designating means for designating two points in the designated area, and a line segment having both ends of the point designated by the point designating means and one of the coordinate axes. When the angle to be formed is less than the predetermined angle, the length of the line segment is calculated as the inner product of the vector parallel to the reference axis and the vector parallel to any one of the coordinate axes, and the magnitude of both vectors is calculated, By the size of each vector, 3 of points in the space to be moved
Among the dimensional coordinates, the coordinates on the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to the one of the coordinate axes and the reference axis are increased or decreased, and the angle between the line segment and the one of the coordinate axes is equal to or larger than the predetermined angle. , The magnitude of both vectors is calculated as the inner product of the length of the line segment and a vector parallel to the reference axis and a vector parallel to one of the coordinate axes of the two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system. Then, among the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in the space to be moved, the coordinates on the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to the other one of the coordinate axes and the reference axis are increased or decreased by the magnitude of each vector. A processing device comprising: a conversion unit. 9. A process of preliminarily storing a plurality of predetermined processing operations in association with a change in the positional relationship of a plurality of points specified in a planar designated area, and storing a plurality of points in the designated area. And selecting a processing operation associated with the change in the positional relationship between the specified points from among the plurality of processing operations, and instructing execution of the selected processing operation. A program for causing a computer to execute a process to be performed, a process and instructions for pre-storing a plurality of predetermined processing operations in association with a change in the positional relationship of a plurality of points designated in the planar designated area and a designated mode. A process of designating a plurality of points in an area in any of a plurality of predetermined designation modes while changing the positional relationship, and
A process for selecting a change in the positional relationship between a plurality of designated points and a process operation associated with a designated mode at the time of designation of each of the plurality of process operations, and instructing execution of the selected process operation A plurality of predetermined processing operations including conversion of three-dimensional coordinates;
A process of pre-storing a change in the positional relationship between a plurality of points designated in the planar designated area and a process of associating a point in the designated region with a point in space represented by three-dimensional coordinates;
A process of designating a plurality of points in a plane region including a point corresponding to a point in the space to be processed in the designated region while changing the positional relationship, and a process operation of designating a plurality of points. A program for selecting a processing operation associated with the change in the positional relationship between the plurality of points, and causing a computer to execute a process of instructing execution of the selected processing operation. Processing for associating a point in a space represented by three-dimensional coordinates, a first plane area including a point on a plane corresponding to a point in a space to be moved in a designated area, and a space in a space to be moved Processing for specifying a second plane area having a size different from that of the first area including the point of the first plane area, the positional deviation between the first plane area and the second plane area, and the difference between the first plane area and the second plane area. Due to the size deviation, the sky of the point in the space to be moved A process for determining a moving direction and a moving distance within a space, and a process for converting three-dimensional coordinates of a point in a space to be moved into coordinates shifted from the three-dimensional coordinates by the moving distance in the moving direction are performed by a computer. A program to be executed, and a two-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to two of the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system by associating a point in the three-dimensional coordinate with a point in the planar designated area. And setting a reference axis corresponding to one of the remaining coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system and intersecting with any one of the two-dimensional coordinate systems at a predetermined angle. Processing to specify two points, and when an angle between a line segment having both ends of the specified point and one of the coordinate axes is smaller than the predetermined angle, the length of the line segment is set as a reference axis line. With parallel vectors Calculating the magnitude of both vectors as an inner product with a vector parallel to any one of the coordinate axes, and determining any one of the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in the space to be moved by the magnitude of each vector. Increase or decrease the coordinates on the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to one coordinate axis and the reference axis, and when the angle between the line segment and any one of the coordinate axes is equal to or greater than the predetermined angle, the line segment Calculate the magnitude of both vectors as the inner product of the vector parallel to the reference axis and the vector parallel to the other coordinate axis of the two-dimensional coordinate system, and calculate the magnitude of both vectors by the magnitude of each vector. And causing the computer to execute a process of increasing or decreasing the coordinates on the coordinate axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system corresponding to the other one of the three-dimensional coordinates and the reference axis among the three-dimensional coordinates of the point in the space to be moved. Computer-readable storage medium storing at least one program of the program.