JPS63204297A - Display device - 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 This invention is an improvement of a display device suitable for use in personal computers, word processors, hand belts, DPS (data processing systems), and various other data processing systems. In particular, LCD
(Liquid crystal display) Even on display devices with relatively slow response speeds, such as panels, by clearly displaying the trajectory of the cursor on the display screen, visibility of the indicated position can be improved and movement speed can be increased. The present invention relates to a display device that enables the use of a pointing device with good operability and improves work efficiency including cursor operation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, LCDs, which are flat panels, have been widely used as display devices in personal computers, word processors, and other data processing devices.

The operator operates the keyboard or pointing device, moves the cursor, and moves the cursor while looking at the characters and figures displayed on the screen using such an LCD display device.
doing the necessary work.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the configuration of main parts of a personal computer, which is an example of the configuration of a conventional data processing device. In the drawing, I is the keyboard, 2 is the LCD display unit, and 3 is the floppy disk.
disk, 4 pointing device, 5 printer, 6 microcomputer, 7 ROM, 8 RAM
, 9 is a dictionary memory, 10 is a system bus, 11 is a keyboard controller, 12 is an LCD controller, 13
14 represents a FD (floppy disk) controller, 14 represents a serial interface circuit, and 15 represents a parallel interface circuit.

The functions of each part of the data processing apparatus shown in FIG. 3, that is, the personal computer, are outlined as follows.

The keyboard 1 is an input means for inputting character data, control data, etc. Information entered from keyboard 1 is
It is sent to the computer side via the keyboard controller 11 and system bus 10.

The LCD display unit 2 is a display means that visually displays single character data or image data in a dot pattern on its screen. The LCD controller 2 is connected to the LCD display unit 2, and the VRAM
The text data and image data developed above are controlled to be displayed on the screen.

The floppy disk 3 is an external storage device, and the read information is sent to the computer side via the FD controller 35 and the system bus 10.

The pointing device 4 converts the amount of mechanical displacement into an electrical signal and moves the cursor.

The input from the pointing device 4 is sent to the computer via the serial interface circuit 11 and the system bus 10.

The printer 5 is a dot image printing device such as a laser beam printer, an inkjet printer, or a thermal dot printer, and prints a dot pattern. This printer 5 is supplied with text data and image data created by the computer via a system bus 10 and a parallel interface circuit I5, and creates a hard copy.

The microcomputer 6, ROM7, and RAM8 are
It constitutes the system control section of the personal computer.

That is, the ROM 7 stores programs that control the entire system, character pattern data, etc., and the RAM 8 is a system memory that stores other data. The microcomputer 6 controls the entire system shown in FIG.

Note that the dictionary memory 9 stores dictionary data used in the system, and is read out as necessary.

A data processing device such as a personal computer or a word processor has a configuration as shown in FIG.

As already explained, in the personal computer shown in FIG. 3, a pointing device is used to indicate a desired position on the display screen and perform input and other operations.

Next, cursor control by the pointing device will be explained.

When a pointing device is used to draw a cursor on a display screen, the moving distance of the pointing device is detected, the current cursor is erased, and the cursor is drawn and displayed at a new position.

However, when the pointing device moves at a high speed, no particular problem occurs with a display device with a fast response time, such as a CRT display, but with a display device with a slow response time, such as a CRT display.
When the display device is configured with a CD, the movement speed of the cursor,
The LCD may no longer be able to track, the cursor may become thin, or
In some cases, it may become completely invisible.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the main part configuration of a conventional pointing device/cursor control section. The symbols in the drawings are the same as in Figure 3,
Further, 21 is a pointing device movement amount detection unit;
2 is a movement amount → display dot number conversion unit, 23 is a display control unit, 24 is a pointing device/cursor pattern storage unit, 25 is a pointing device/address control unit, 26 is a pointing device/address register, and 26A is its The current pointing device address register, 26B, indicates the previous pointing device address register.

Figures 5 (1) and (2) are flowcharts showing the flow of cursor processing by a conventional pointing device, with (1) showing the flow at the initial time and (2) showing the flow when the pointing device is interlaced. .

Next, cursor control by the pointing device will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Note that in the following description related to the drawings, the pointing device will be appropriately abbreviated as PD.

At the initial time, the flow shown in FIG. 5(1) starts, and the PD (pointing device) address control section 25 shown in FIG.
A and the previous PD address register 26B are initialized in sequence.

In this case, generally a PD (pointing device) cursor is initialized to be displayed at the center of the screen.

The display control section 23 displays the pattern data in the P-D cursor pattern storage section 24 on the screen of the LCD display unit 2 based on the initialized value of the current P-D address register 26A.

When the PD4 moves, an interwoven occurs, the flow shown in FIG. 5(2) starts, and data is sent from the PD4 to the PD movement amount detection section 21.

This data is given to the movement amount→display dot number conversion unit 22, and the address change on the display screen is calculated based on a predetermined ratio.

Based on this calculated data, the PD address control unit 25 updates the current PD address register 26A.

Next, the display control unit 23 controls the previous P-D address register 2.
Based on the contents of 6B, the display of the previous PD cursor is erased.

After that, the updated value of the current PD address register 26A is loaded into the previous PD address register 26B,
Update the previous PD address.

Further, the display control section 23 controls the P-D cursor pattern storage section 24 based on the value of the current P-D address register 26A.
pattern data is displayed on the screen of the LCD display unit 2.

However, as mentioned above, in the case of LCD, CRT
The response speed is very slow compared to the display.

Therefore, when a cursor is operated using a pointing device, the moving speed of the cursor cannot be followed, and the trajectory of the cursor becomes faint or, in some cases, cannot be seen at all.

FIGS. 6(1) and (2) are diagrams each showing an example of a trajectory of cursor movement by a pointing device, and (1)
) shows the trajectory of the conventional display device, and (2) shows the trajectory of the display device of the present invention. In the drawing, A is the position before movement, B
indicates the position after movement, and p and -p3 indicate the position during movement.

In the case of conventional display devices, when moving the cursor from point A to point B, as shown in Figure 6 (1), if the moving speed is fast, the response of the LCD is slow, so most of the trajectory along the way is displayed. Not done.

Therefore, there is a risk that the operator may lose sight of the pointing device or cursor, reducing operability. In addition,
Regarding the trajectory of the cursor by the display device of this invention,
As will be described in detail later, by using the remaining addresses, you can move the pointing device cursor to each point Pl-P3 on the trajectory from point A to point B, as shown in Figure 6 (2). Displayed sequentially.

The pointing device is capable of high-speed movement in any direction on the display screen and is easy to operate. However, if a display element with a slow response speed, such as an LCD, is used, the trajectory of the cursor becomes thin, or in some cases cannot be seen at all, as shown in FIG. 6(1).

Therefore, it can be moved at high speed in any direction,
There is a problem in that the feature of the pointing device, which is easy to operate, cannot be fully utilized, and the operability deteriorates.

Moreover, the display device of the present invention eliminates such inconveniences that occur when using a pointing device to move a cursor in a display device with a slow response speed such as a conventional LCD.
In other words, because the response speed is slow, the cursor cannot follow the moving speed of the cursor, and the cursor trajectory becomes thin, or in some cases cannot be seen at all, reducing operability.
It is an object of the present invention to solve this inconvenience, to display a cursor no matter how fast a pointing device is moved, and to make its locus sufficiently visible, thereby improving operability.

A specific display example is shown in Figure 6 (2) above, and in response to high-speed movement of the pointing device,
By sampling cursor position information at appropriate time intervals and displaying the pointing device cursor at intermediate positions Pl-P3, the cursor is never lost and operability is improved. The purpose is to

Configuration To this end, the present invention provides a display of a conventional data processing system that includes a pointing device and a display unit and displays a cursor at a designated position on a display screen based on positional information designated by the pointing device. The apparatus further comprises a cursor position information detection means for sampling the position information of the indicated cursor at predetermined time intervals, and a position information storage means for storing the cursor position information detected by the detection means. The cursor is displayed at the predetermined time intervals based on the cursor position information stored in the position information storage means.

Next, embodiments of the display device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of essential parts of an embodiment of the display device of the present invention.

The symbols in the drawings are the same as in FIG. 4, and 26G
is the remaining pointing device address register, 2
7 is the timer part, 28 is the remaining pointing device.
The cursor control section is shown.

The display device of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 basically has the following features:
It is similar to the conventional display device shown in FIG. 4, but differs in that a remaining pointing device/address register 26G, a timer section 27, and a remaining pointing device/cursor control section 28 are added. are doing.

In the following description, the pointing device will be abbreviated as PD as appropriate in the parts related to the drawings.

FIGS. 2(1) to (3) are flowcharts showing the flow of cursor processing by the pointing device in the display device of the present invention, in which (1) is the initial flow and (2) is the pointing device interoperable flow. (3) shows the flow when the timer is interlaced.

First, at the initial time, the flow shown in FIG. 2 (1) starts, similar to the flow shown in FIG. 5 (1) showing the conventional example.

In this case, in the display device of the present invention, the added remaining P-D address register 26C is also initialized by the P-D address control section 25. Other processing is similar to that of the conventional example shown in FIG. 5(1).

Furthermore, when P-D4 moves, an interwoven occurs and the flow shown in FIG. 2 (2) starts.

This point is also similar to FIG. 5(2) of the conventional example, and the current PD address register 26A is updated by the PD address control section 25.

Next, the display control unit 23 compares the contents of the previous PD address register 26B and the contents of the remaining PD address register 26G.

If the two addresses do not match, that is, if the previous P-
If the D address and the remaining P-D address are different,
Based on the contents of the previous P-D address register 26B, the previous P-D
Delete the D cursor display.

On the other hand, when both addresses match, i.e.
If the previous PD address and the remaining PD address are the same, the remaining PD cursor will disappear if the cursor display is erased, so the cursor display is not erased.

The subsequent processing is the same as that shown in FIG. 5 (2) of the conventional example.
-D address is updated and the current PD cursor is displayed on the screen of the LCD display unit 2 based on the value of the 1liP-D address register 26A.

By the way, in the display device of this invention, as shown in FIG. 2 (3), 1. A timer-interrupted routine has been added.

This timer interlaced routine samples the pointing device cursor, and as shown in FIG. 6 (2), the position pl-
Display the cursor on P3.

First, the timer portion 27 added to FIG. 1 generates a timer interlude at every preset time, and the routine shown in FIG. 2 (3) starts.

Then, the contents of the remaining PD address register 26G,
The contents of the current PD address register 26A are compared.

When the two do not match, that is, when the remaining PD address and the current PD address are different, the display control unit 23
is based on the contents of the remaining PD address register 26C,
Delete the display of the remaining PD cursor.

Thereafter, the remaining PD cursor control unit 28 sets the value of the current PD address register 26A to the remaining PD address register 26C.

Further, the display control section 23 controls the P-D cursor pattern storage section 24 based on the value of the current P-D address register 26A.
pattern data is displayed on the screen of the LCD display unit 2.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6(2) above, the P/D cursor is displayed at the point PI.

On the other hand, when both match, that is, the remaining P
If the -D address and the current PD address are the same, this indicates that there is no movement of the pointing device, so the routine shown in FIG. 2 (3) is ended.

In the display example shown in FIG. 6(2), the PD cursor has been moved to the target point B and is stopped at this position.

Note that in the above embodiments, the case where a display device having a slow response speed, such as an LCD, is used has been described. but,
It is clear that the present invention can be implemented in the same manner not only in the case of a display device with a slow response speed, but also in the case of a display device with a fast response speed, such as a CRT. However, the present invention is not limited to display devices having a slow response speed.

As explained in detail above, the present invention includes a pointing device, a display unit,
In a display device of a conventional data processing system that displays a cursor at a specified position on a display screen based on positional information specified by a pointing device,
cursor position information detection means for sampling the indicated cursor position information at predetermined time intervals; and position information storage means for storing the cursor position information detected by the detection means; The cursor is displayed at the predetermined time intervals based on the cursor position information stored in the cursor position information.

According to the display device of the present invention, the cursor can be displayed at appropriate time intervals even when the response speed of the conventional LCD display device is slow and it cannot follow the moving speed of the cursor by the pointing device. The trajectory can be clearly seen.

Therefore, no matter how fast the pointing device cursor moves, the operator will never lose sight of the cursor, and unlike conventional systems, the cursor trajectory will become faint or, in some cases, completely invisible. This inconvenience does not occur at all.

In this way, the pointing device cursor can be clearly displayed even when the response speed is slow, such as an LCD display device. Many excellent effects can be achieved, such as being able to be effectively used in display devices and improving the operability of data processing systems.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the main structure of an embodiment of the display device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (1) to (3)
) are flowcharts showing the flow of cursor processing by the pointing device in the display device of the present invention, in which (1) is the flow at the initial time, (2) is the flow when the pointing device is interlaced, and (3) is the flow when the pointing device is interlaced.
) is a diagram showing the flow when the timer is interlaced, FIG. 3 is a configuration example of a conventional data processing device, and a functional block diagram showing an example of the main part configuration of a personal computer, FIG. 4 is a conventional FIG. 5 (1) and (2) are flowcharts showing the flow of cursor processing by a conventional pointing device. 1) is a diagram showing the initial flow, (2) is a diagram showing the flow when the pointing device is interlaced, and Figures 6 (1) and (2) are diagrams each showing an example of the trajectory of the cursor movement by the pointing device. , (1
) A diagram showing a trajectory of a conventional display device, and (2) a diagram showing a trajectory of a display device of the present invention. In the drawing, 2 is an LCD display unit, 4 is a pointing device, 21 is a pointing device movement amount detection section, 22 is a movement amount → display dot number conversion section, 23 is a display control section, and 24 is a pointing device.
A cursor pattern storage section, 25 a pointing device/address control section, and 26 a pointing device/address control section;
In the address registers, 26A is the current pointing device address register, 26B is the previous pointing device address register, 26C is the remaining pointing device address register, 27 is a part of the timer,
28 is a remaining pointing device/cursor control unit. =20-o 5 Figure (2) lj/■

Claims (1)

[Claims] A display device for a data processing system that includes a pointing device and a display unit and displays a cursor at a designated position on a display screen based on positional information designated by the pointing device. cursor position information detection means for sampling the cursor position information at predetermined time intervals, and position information storage means for storing the cursor position information detected by the detection means, the cursor position information stored in the position information storage means Based on the above predetermined time,
A display device characterized by displaying a cursor.