JPS63148323A - Information input device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To input a key menu with a transmissive touch panel arranged on a plane display unit by displaying the menu key on this unit in accordance with the picture display program registered in a memory card. CONSTITUTION:When a memory unit is inserted to a memory card drive unit 9, the key menu stored in the card is displayed on a plane display unit 10. A transmissive touch panel 11 is arranged on the plane display unit 10, and the position of the displayed key menu is depressed with the touch panel to input information.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an information input device for inputting information to a host computer as part of a computer system, and particularly relates to an information input device for inputting information to a host computer as part of a computer system, and particularly to an information input device for inputting information to a host computer as part of a computer system. Regarding the equipment that can perform this.

(Prior Art) A keyboard is generally used as an information input device for input operations by an operator. However, depending on the purpose of use of the computer, the keyboard needs to be adapted to that purpose, and the names and configurations of the key switches that are the operation input section vary widely, so host computers used for multiple purposes are You will need as many keyboards as you need for that purpose, and you will also need space to install them. Furthermore, if the purpose of use of the host computer is increased, a keyboard suitable for that purpose will be created. Therefore, commonalities between each keyboard are found and a general-purpose keyboard is constructed, but this complicates the operation because there are many unnecessary operation input sections for one worker, and if the worker makes an incorrect operation. If this happens, the host computer will need to perform processing to remove information that is inappropriate for its intended use.

Furthermore, if one worker A performs the same operation input as another worker B, one worker A can learn information about worker B, and the confidentiality of information between each worker is lost. Become.

There are other information input devices that allow direct input of command information displayed on the screen of a CRT or equivalent display device using a light pen, mouse, tablet, or transparent touch panel. However, in order to use these, in addition to a screen display program that shows command information, it is necessary to prepare a control program each time according to the purpose for which the device is used. In particular, Liteben may not be installed because it requires changes to the computer's hardware and software. Furthermore, when the information input device is connected to a host computer,
Encoding the input information when inputting operations from the operator,
The host computer performs a simple process of displaying the command items as screen information on the display device.

In addition, when a host computer is used by multiple workers for completely separate purposes, the input device and the CRT or
Since a plurality of equivalent display devices are installed, simple processing of displaying screen information and encoding input information must be performed frequently. Moreover, the host computer manages a program for displaying command items as screen information for each worker, and information confidentiality between workers is lost in the same way as with the keyboard. In addition, if the host computer uses an auxiliary storage device and the corresponding storage medium to register each individual's identification code,
By managing this information, the host computer can maintain the confidentiality of personal information. However, the floppy disks, magnetic cards, etc. that are commonly used to perform these functions require dedicated control devices for each, resulting in an increase in the size of the computer system.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, when conventional information input devices are tried to be immediately compatible with various applications, they suffer from the various problems mentioned above, making it difficult to use them for a variety of purposes, and reducing the efficiency of host computer usage. However, the number of terminal devices connected to the host computer increased, making it difficult to downsize them.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information input device that solves the above-mentioned problems.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) An information input device according to the present invention has a flat display unit for displaying information on a screen, and a see-through display unit that outputs a position signal corresponding to a pressed point on the flat display unit. It is equipped with a touch panel. Further, a memory card is provided in which a screen display program for displaying the key menu on the flat display unit is registered. The display position of this key menu is set in correspondence with the pressed point on the touch panel. The device further includes a control section that reads out the contents of the memory card and displays it on the flat display unit.

(Function) By displaying a key menu on a flat display unit using a screen display program registered in a memory card, the present invention configures a keyboard according to the above key menu together with a transparent touch panel disposed on the flat display unit. It is something to do.

(Example) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration when one of the devices of the present invention is used. In FIG. 2, 1 is an information input device according to the present invention, 2 is a host computer that performs information processing and command information processing, and 3 is a CRT or equivalent display device that displays information processing results. A keyboard 4 is used to input information to the host computer 2 in the memory card editing process of the information input device 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of the information input device 1 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. In Figure 1, 5 is a connector that satisfies the mechanical specifications of R8-232-C, and 6 is a connector that satisfies the mechanical specifications of R8-232-C.
This is a communication section that satisfies the electrical specifications of Reference numeral 7 denotes a control unit consisting of a microcomputer, and 8 a memory card for registering a screen display program, which is composed of a magnetic card, an IC card, etc., and its contents are communicated to the control unit 7 by a memory card drive unit 9. .

10 is a flat display unit (hereinafter referred to as an EL display unit), which displays the screen display program in the memory card and information sent from the host computer 2. Reference numeral 11 denotes a transparent touch panel that can be seen through, for example, for inputting operations by an operator.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a memory card status display unit using an LED, which displays the insertion status of the memory card 8 and the access status from the control unit 7. FIG. 3 is a schematic external view showing an example of a specific device configuration that performs the functions shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 3, a transparent plate 13 is provided on the top surface of the EL display unit 10 to protect it.
A key switch using the transparent touch panel 11 described above is installed on the upper surface of the display panel 3. FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a combined structure of the EL display unit 10, the transparent plate 13, and the transparent touch panel 11.

As will be described later, a screen display program for the EL display unit 10 is stored in the formatted memory card 8, and by the control unit 7 executing this screen control program, the EL display unit 10 displays key menus and commands corresponding to the switch positions of the transparent touch panel 11 arranged at the top. That is, when the EL display unit 10 performs the above-mentioned display, this is projected on the transparent touch panel 11, so the operator can operate the transparent touch panel 11 according to these key menus and commands.
If you press , it will be sent to host computer 2.

Information corresponding to these key menus and commands can be given. If you register different content on the memory card 8 as the above screen display program, different key menus and commands will be displayed depending on the screen display program of the memory card 8 used.
A plurality of keyboards can be configured by one transparent touch switch 11. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, a sheet key switch 14 is newly added to the one shown in FIG. 3, and the name and structure of the operation input section are fixed in advance. As shown in the figure, this sheet key switch 14 is provided alongside the transparent touch panel 11, and is frequently used (
A general-purpose number (such as a number from 0 to 9) is set.

Next, specific information processing steps and their operations in the present invention will be explained based on the flowchart in FIG.

When the control unit 7 detects that the memory card 8 is inserted into the memory card drive unit 9, the control unit 7 starts a memory card insertion processing step (STI). In this processing step, it is detected and determined whether the inserted memory card 8 is formatted for the information input device ll, and the resultant information is transferred from the control unit 7 to the communication unit 6 and the R8-2.
32-C connector 5 to the host computer 2 (from now on, when communicating with the host computer 2, this operation is assumed). As the result information, in the case of a formatted memory card 8, , the owner's name registered therein, or an identification code corresponding thereto, and, in the case of an unformatted memory card 8, an unprocessed identification code, respectively, to the host computer 2.

This is an information input device! 1 ends the memory card insertion processing step (STI). Next, the operation selection processing step (
S T 2), and the control unit 7 decodes the selection command information from the host computer 2 for the result information, and as a result, the memory card editing process (S T 3
) or keyboard processing (Sr1). That is, by inputting unformatted information, the host computer 2 gives a command to edit the memory card, and by inputting formatted information, it gives a command to perform keyboard processing on the memory card. give.

Here, a case will be described in which the command information of the host computer 2 selects the memory card editing process (Sr3). This memory card editing process is to create a memory card 8 for use in the information input device 1, and thereby the owner name of the memory card 8 or an equivalent identification code, the screen display program, and the name of the program. 9. Record name (hereinafter)

(abbreviated as file name).

That is, the owner name of the memory card 8 or an identification code corresponding thereto, and the file name can be entered into the host computer 2 using the keyboard 4 and transferred individually to the information input device 1 to be input to the control unit. 7 temporarily stores the information.

Further, a screen display program to be stored in the memory card 8 is created by the host computer 2, display device 3, and keyboard 4. And use this created screen display program as an information input bag! ! 1, the control unit 7 executes this screen display program and displays its contents on the EL display 10. If there is no abnormality in the screen display program at this point, the operator inputs memory card registration command information from the keyboard 4 and gives the command to the information input device 1 via the host computer 2.

Based on this command information, the control unit 7 transfers the temporarily stored owner name of the memory card 8 or its corresponding identification code and file name to the host computer 2 for confirmation. After the operator confirms the information on the display device 3, the operator inputs memory card registration permission command information using the keyboard 4, and gives the command to the information input device gf1 via the host computer 2. Based on this command information, the control unit 7 converts the screen display program into a grammar for the information input device 1 and performs a registration process on the memory card 8. During this process, if a lack of registration area or duplication of file names occurs and registration cannot be performed normally, the control unit 7 sends the result information to the host computer 2.

The registration information of the memory card 8 and its registration status can be grasped by the host computer 2 and displayed on the display device 3. That is, by inputting command information from the keyboard 4 and providing it to the information input device 1 via the host computer 2, the control unit 7 calculates the unregistered space (remaining amount) of the memory card 8 and calculates the usage amount of each file. calculation processing, displaying a list of file names, and sending the results of each of these processings to the host computer 2 as result information.

In addition, for screen display programs that are no longer needed, input the deletion command information and the corresponding file name from the keyboard 4, and input the deletion command information and the corresponding file name to the information input device l via the host computer 2.
By giving a command to l, the control unit 7 deletes the specified file from the memory card 8.

In order to end this memory card editing process (S
r1) is finished, and the process moves on to operation end processing (Sr1).

Next, a case will be described in which command information from the host computer 2 instructs keyboard processing (Sr1) in the operation selection process (Sr1).

This keyboard processing (Sr1) is performed using the information registered inside the memory card 8 in the memory card editing processing (Sr1).

First, screen information to be displayed on the EL display unit 10 is generated by the control unit 7 by providing screen display command information from the host computer 2 and file name designation information corresponding to the memory card 8 to the information input device 1. Perform decoding. Execution in this case refers to the following process. The control unit 7 searches for a file name registered in the memory card 8 based on the file name designation information. As a result, if the file name designation information exists, the control unit 7 calls the screen display program corresponding to the file name from the memory card 8, performs screen display processing, and displays the result on the EL display unit 10. is given as display information.

Next, in order for the control unit 7 to start the operation input detection process for the transparent touch panel 11, the host computer 2 provides detection command information to the information input device 1.

With this operation, the control unit 7 starts the operation input detection process of the transparent touch panel 11. Further, in this operation input detection process, the operation starts and stops depending on the detection command information.

When the operation input detection process for the transparent touch panel 11 is started, the operator can input an operation based on the screen displayed by the EL display unit 10.

In this state, the screen displayed on the EL display unit 10 is a key menu and commands for the host computer 2 as described above, so the operator can touch the transparent touch panel 10 by directly pressing the displayed item with his or her finger. This means that you pressed a certain part of the button. With this operation, the control section 7.

The operation input position on the transparent touch panel 11 corresponding to the pressed part is sent to the host computer 2 as position information. The host computer 2 executes scheduled processing based on the input position information.

In order to terminate this keyboard processing (Sr1), the host computer 2 instructs the information input device 1 to terminate the keyboard processing (Sr1).
1) is ended as needed, and the process moves to the 5th operation end process (Sr1).

Suppose that operation termination processing (Sr3) is performed in either keyboard processing (Sr1) or memory card editing processing (Sr3).
When the process moves to step r1), the control unit 7
It is detected that the memory card 8 inserted into the drive unit 9 is removed, and the drive unit 9 enters a standby state until the next memory card 8 is inserted.

Finally, the seat key switch 14 shown in the embodiment of FIG.
The detection of the sheet key switch 14 starts and stops depending on the detection command information of the keyboard processing (Sr1). The control section 7 that has started detecting the sheet key switch 14 sends operation input information from the operator to the host computer 2 using an operation input section identification code corresponding to the name of the operation input section.

Here, in the present invention, since the memory card 8 and the memory card drive unit 9 are used as the auxiliary storage device, the entire device can be made compact. Further, the host computer 2 is only provided with the owner name of the memory card 8 or an identification code equivalent thereto, a file name, and operation input position information, and only a program for determining these information is provided. All you need to do is hold, i.e.
The host computer 2 does not require the presence of a screen display program, and can use multiple information input devices at the same time by determining the owner's name or an identification code equivalent to it. information may be confidential. By using a transparent touch panel and EL display unit, the operator can directly select the necessary input items, reducing erroneous operations.Since the EL display unit itself emits light, it can provide sufficient illumination even in dark rooms. It can be used even in places where there is no Since the contents of the memory card can be edited by the host computer, a keyboard suitable for each worker can be freely created.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to downsize a terminal device connected to a host computer.

Moreover, since it takes on some of the processing on the host computer,
The usage efficiency of the host computer can be improved, and information confidentiality can be maintained between each worker.

Furthermore, depending on the contents of the memory card, various applications can be immediately supported.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the information input device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the use of the present invention device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a schematic rear perspective view of what is shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the relationship between the flat display unit, transparent plate, and transparent touch panel in FIG. 3. , FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart explaining the present invention in detail. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Information input device, 2... Host computer, 3... Display device, 4... Keyboard, 7... Control unit, 8... Memory card. 9...Memory card drive unit, lO...
Planar display unit, 11... Transparent touch panel, Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 5, Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] A flat display unit for displaying screen information, a transparent touch panel provided on the flat display unit and outputting position signals corresponding to the pressed points, and a display corresponding to the pressed points of the touch panel. An information input device comprising: a memory card in which a screen display program for displaying a key menu whose position is set on a flat display unit is registered; and a control unit that reads out the contents of the memory card and displays it on the flat display unit. .