JPS61145590A - Cursor position indication system for information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] 14 min.
The present invention relates to a cursor position indicating method suitable for use when it is necessary to indicate the same point on the screen many times in a bitmap display device such as a T-display.

More specifically, even in the case of high-resolution bitmap display devices, it is possible to precisely point to the same address in bitmap memory by simply repeating a switch, without having to move the two-dimensional pointing device. The present invention relates to a cursor position instruction method which improves the accuracy of the indicated position and improves the operability of an information processing device by allowing the instruction to be made an arbitrary number of times and reducing the burden on the operator during drawing operations. .

For office computers and other information processing equipment, CR
T and other display devices are connected, and the operator performs data input/output operations by interacting with the display screen.

As such an information processing apparatus, one is known that is equipped with a bitmap memory for storing data on a pixel basis and is connected to a bitmap display apparatus capable of performing precise drawing processing.

In this case, recent information processing devices apply mechanical displacement to indicate the position on the screen of the bitmap display device, convert the amount of displacement into an electrical signal, and move the display position of the cursor. So-called two-dimensional position pointing devices are relatively widely used.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of essential parts of an information processing device to which a conventional bitmap display device is connected. In the drawing, ■ is the keyboard, 2 is the CPU, 3 is the system memory, 4 is the latch circuit, and 5 is the X
A pulse counter, 6 is an X pulse counter, and 7 is a two-dimensional position pointing device.

7A is the signal converter, SWl is the operation switch, 8
9 is a display control circuit, 9 is a bit map CRT, IO is a system bus, and IOA is its data bus.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the operating switch SWI of the two-dimensional position pointing device 7 is activated and a cursor pointing operation is performed, a system control signal is generated, and the mechanical The displacement is converted into electrical signals of an X component and a y component, that is, an X pulse and an X pulse signal, by a signal converting section 7A provided therein.

The thus converted X pulses and X pulses are input to the X pulse counter 5 and the X pulse counter 6, respectively, and counted.

This count output is input to the latch circuit 4. The latch circuit 4 is supplied with a system high-speed clock, and the latch circuit 4 always reads its input data using this clock.

The output of the latch circuit 4 is connected to the data bus 10A of the system, and by the I10 read command of the CPU 2,
The information is sent to the system bus IO.

Having obtained the information from the latch circuit 4, the CPU 2 calculates a new address, writes a cursor image in the display control circuit 8, and outputs it to the bitmap CRT 9.

Figures 4 (1) and (2) are display examples of bitmap screens for explaining drawing operations using the conventional cursor position instruction method. Figure (1) is a CRT display screen, and Figure (2) is Figure (1).
) is an enlarged view of the part surrounded by the dotted line.

In the drawing, a is the position of a point indicated by the cursor,
b-f indicate icons.

For example, suppose that a drawing operation is performed as shown within the dotted line in FIG. 4(1).

In the conventional cursor position indication method using a two-dimensional position indication device, when several lines gather and terminate at one point, such as point a, each time one line is drawn, the terminal point a is It is necessary to instruct.

However, there is no guarantee that the end point designated in this case will always be at exactly the same location as the previously designated point a, that is, the same address on the bitmap memory.

To put it bluntly, in today's world where CRT displays and other devices are becoming increasingly high-resolution, it would be more accurate to say that each time a terminal point is specified, a different address is specified than the last time. .

Therefore, as shown in the enlarged view in Figure 4 (2), there is an extremely high possibility that many whisker-like unnecessary lines will occur near point a.To prevent such unnecessary lines from occurring,
This significantly increases the burden on the operator.6 Therefore, with the conventional cursor positioning method using a two-dimensional positioning device, it is extremely difficult to obtain beautiful drawings even if a high-resolution and expensive bitmap display device is used. This has the disadvantage that the operator's processing efficiency also decreases.

Purpose Therefore, the cursor position indication method of the present invention solves the inconvenience of the conventional position indication method in the operation of pointing the same point many times, which often occurs during drawing, and makes it possible to simply repeat the switch operation. The purpose of the present invention is to improve the operability of an information processing device by making it possible to accurately specify the same point with just a single user, thereby enabling work to be performed with high accuracy and efficiency.

1-11 To this end, in the cursor position instruction method of the information processing device of the present invention, a reference point address storage area is provided in the system memory to register the reference point address in the memory of the bitmap display device, and a two-dimensional position The indicating device is provided with a switch means for instructing return to the reference point, and a control signal from the switch means for instructing return to the reference point.

The reference point address registered in the reference point address storage area is output.

Next, an embodiment of the cursor position instruction method of the information processing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to one drawing.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of essential parts of an information processing device used when implementing the cursor position indication method of the present invention. Reference numbers in the 6 drawings are the same as in FIG. 3. , and 3A is system memory 3
A reference point address storage area provided therein, SW2 indicates a switch for instructing return to the reference point.

First method for implementing the cursor position indication method of the present invention
As is clear from a comparison between the information processing device shown in the figure and FIG. 3 showing the conventional example, in FIG. A storage area 3A is provided, and the two-dimensional position indicating device 7 is further provided with a switch SW2 for instructing return to the reference point.

Figures 2 (1) and (2) are examples of screen displays using the cursor position indication method of the present invention; Figure (1) is the display screen of a CRT display, and Figure (2) is the area surrounded by the dotted line in Figure (1). FIG. Reference numerals in the drawings are the same as in FIG. 4.

In the cursor position instruction method of this invention, the operator:
The reference point address storage area 3A in the system memory 3 is stored in advance.
to any address in the bitmap memory, e.g.
The address of point a in Figure (1) is stored.

As a method for storing the reference point address in the system memory 3, any known method used in ordinary information processing devices can be applied.

For example, if the icon f in FIG. 2 (1) is used for registering a reference point address, after selecting the icon f with the first switch SWI, move the cursor to point a, and then select the first point address again. By pressing the switch SWI, the address of point a can be stored.

The icons b to f indicate the first task to be performed, for example, icon b is copy, icon C is window display, icon d is file, icon e is black and white reverse display, icon f is disk, etc. It is displayed with a mark that is easy for the operator to identify, and is selected by a cursor instruction by operating the two-dimensional position pointing device 7.

Alternatively, the two-dimensional position pointing device 7 may be provided with a switch exclusively for instructing storage of the reference point address. Furthermore, it goes without saying that any other known method can be used.

After completing one drawing operation, for example, after drawing one line, the operator presses the switch SW for instructing return to the reference point.
2, the CPU 2 reads out the data from the reference point address storage area 3A in the system memory 3, and writes a cursor image at the address indicated by this data. , no matter how many line ends are concentrated at a certain point a, Fig. 2 (
As shown in 2), since the cursor can always be returned to the same address, unnecessary and difficult-to-see whiskers can occur, as shown in Figure 4 (2), which shows the case of the conventional cursor position indication method. There isn't.

As described above in detail, the cursor position instruction method of the present invention includes at least an input device.

In an information processing device that includes a system memory, a bitmap display device, a two-dimensional position pointing device that indicates an arbitrary position on the screen of the display device, and a central control means such as a CPU that controls these, A reference point address storage area for registering a reference point address in the memory of the bitmap display device is provided, and a switch means for instructing return to the reference point is provided in the two-dimensional position pointing device,
The control signal from the switch means for instructing return to the reference point causes the reference point address registered in the reference point address storage area to be output.

Effects Therefore, according to the cursor position instruction method of the information processing device of the present invention, during a drawing operation in which it is necessary to specify the same point many times, by simply repeating the switch operation for instructing return to the reference point, The same point can be pointed out over and over again without any errors.

As a result, the burden on the operator is reduced, making it possible to work more efficiently and producing beautiful drawings, thereby significantly improving the operability of the information processing apparatus.

In addition, the means added to the information processing device to implement the cursor position indicating method of the present invention can be as simple as providing a switch for instructing the two-dimensional position indicating device to return to the reference point.
Since it is extremely simple, excellent effects such as being advantageous in terms of cost can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of an information processing device used when implementing the cursor position instruction method of the present invention, and l-lΣζm- is a screen according to the cursor position instruction method of the present invention. Figure 1 (1) as a display example
Figure 1 (2) shows the display screen of a CRT display. Figure (1)
tW is a functional block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of an information processing device to which a conventional bitmap display device is connected. Figure 1 (1) is a display example of a bitmap screen to explain the drawing operation using the instruction method.
The RT display screen, Figure (2), is an enlarged view of the portion surrounded by the dotted line in Figure (1). In the drawing, 1 is a keyboard, 2 is a CPU, 3 is a system memory, 3A is its reference point address storage area, 4
is a latch circuit, 5 is an X pulse counter, 6 is an X pulse counter, 7 is a two-dimensional position pointing device, 7A is its signal converter, SWI is a switch for generating the system control signal, and SW2 is for instructing return to the reference point. 8 is a display control circuit, 9 is a bit map CRT, IO is a system bus, and IOA is its data bus. ri 2 elocution 4 hardness

Claims (1)

[Claims] At least an input device, a system memory, a bitmap display device, a two-dimensional position pointing device that points to an arbitrary position on the screen of the display device, and a CPU that controls these.
In the information processing apparatus, a reference point address storage area is provided in the system memory to register a reference point address in the memory of the bitmap display device, and the two-dimensional position pointing device A cursor position indicating method, characterized in that a switch means for instructing return to a reference point is provided in the cursor, and a control signal from the switch means outputs a reference point address registered in the reference point address storage area.