JPH0350287B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a coordinate input device for inputting position coordinates on a display screen of a display device provided in a computer device or the like.

[Background of the invention]

Computer devices and the like are equipped with display devices for inputting and outputting data. A cursor or a display symbol called an icon (hereinafter collectively referred to as a cursor) is used as a mark indicating which position on the display screen of this display device is a processing target position. Various coordinate input devices are used to move this cursor to any coordinate position on the display screen. Among these, what is generally called a mouse, joystick, track ball, etc. allows you to move the cursor on the display screen by operating the operation unit without being aware of the X-axis coordinates and Y-axis coordinates on the display screen independently. Since it can be moved in any direction, it is easy to operate in practice and has great effects.

A mouse is generally a device with three bearings on the bottom, and is operated by rolling it on a desk to obtain coordinate values from the rotation angle of the bearings. A joy stick is generally a device with an operating rod that is gripped and tilted to any desired position, such as front, rear, left, or right, to obtain coordinate values. Furthermore, what is a track ball?
It is equipped with a ball that can be rotated in any direction, and by rotating this ball with the palm or fingertips, coordinate values are obtained from the rotation angle of this ball. When these devices are operated, they simultaneously output an X-axis movement amount signal and a Y-axis movement amount signal that determine the direction and amount of movement of the cursor. The computer main body inputs the movement amount signals of these respective axes and controls the movement of the cursor on the display screen by an amount commensurate with the movement amount signals.

Coordinate input operating devices such as a mouse, joystick, and track ball are extremely useful because they do not require separate input of the X and Y axes when moving the cursor on the display screen, as described above. . As a reference for these,
There are Utility Model Application No. 59-23828 and Utility Model Application No. 58-90433.
However, this may cause inconvenience. For example, in the X-axis direction of the display screen, or in the Y-axis direction.
This is the case when you want to move the cursor along the axial direction. This is the case, for example, when a request is made to input the starting point and ending point in order to draw a straight line parallel to the X-axis or Y-axis. That is, in such a case, it is quite difficult to operate the coordinate input operating device as described above so as not to generate a signal in an axial direction different from the intended axis.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a coordinate input device that is equipped with a coordinate input operation means that can input coordinates of a plurality of axes at the same time, and can arbitrarily select an input axis.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by
It has an X-axis position storage unit that stores the axial position and a Y-axis position storage unit that stores the Y-axis position of the cursor, and the cursor is moved based on the position information stored in both storage units. a display control means for displaying at a predetermined position on the display screen; and an operation section for arbitrarily instructing the direction and amount of movement of the cursor on the display screen; the cursor can be moved by operating the operation section; A coordinate input operation means that outputs an X-axis movement amount signal and a Y-axis movement amount signal that determine the direction and amount of movement; and a coordinate input operation means that inputs the X-axis movement amount signal from the coordinate input operation means, X-axis position updating means for updating the storage contents of the X-axis direction position storage section based on the signal; and inputting the Y-axis movement amount signal from the coordinate input operation means, and based on the Y-axis movement amount signal. Y-axis position updating means for updating the storage contents of the Y-axis position storage section, and invalidation selection for selectively disabling the updating operation of either the X-axis position updating means or the Y-axis position updating means. The key is to have the means.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will be described below. In this embodiment, a case is shown in which the above-mentioned mouse is used as the coordinate input operation device.

FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are diagrams for explaining the outline of the mouse. In this figure, M is a mouse,
2 is a mat, 3 is a processing device such as a personal computer, and 4 is a display device. By moving the entire operation part of the mouse M on the mouse 2,
Cursor CS displayed on screen SC of display device 4
Determine the coordinate position on the screen SC. now,
In FIG. 9, it is assumed that the cursor CS is pointing to a point A' on the screen SC of the display device 4, and the mouse is correspondingly positioned at the point A on the mat. Here, when the mouse M is moved to point B on the mat 2, the mouse M detects the amount of movement Δx in the X-axis direction and the amount Δy of movement in the Y-axis direction, and sends these information to the processing device 3. The processing device 3 calculates the coordinate values of the cursor CS based on the information, and stores the results in the X-axis coordinate storage section XV and the Y-axis coordinate storage section YV of the display device 4. The display device 4 stores these storage units XV and YV.
Based on the contents of , the cursor CS is changed to the screen SC as a result
Move and display to point B′ above.

Below, FIG. 1 will be explained. M is a mouse, and as shown in FIG. 10, it has a case 15 and a ball 5 rotatably held in the case 15. Inside the case 15 are an X-axis direction detection roller 6 that contacts the ball 5 and is rotated by the rotation of the ball 5, and a Y-axis direction detection roller 7 of the same configuration provided at a right angle thereto. and is provided. A pulse generator 8 is connected to the roller 6, and generates a positive direction pulse 8P and a negative direction pulse 8N in accordance with the rotation direction of the roller 6. A pulse generator 9 is connected to the roller 7, and generates a positive direction pulse 9P and a negative direction pulse 9N in accordance with the rotation direction of the roller 7. 10
is an up/down counter for measuring the amount of movement in the X-axis direction, and a pulse 8P is input to its count-up signal input terminal U, and a pulse 8N is input to its count-down signal input terminal D. . Similarly, 11 is an up/down counter for measuring the amount of movement in the Y-axis direction,
The count up signal input terminal U has a pulse of 9.
P is input, and pulse 9N is input to the countdown signal input terminal D. Although not shown, these up/down counters 10 and 11
is equipped with a count/hold terminal, and the counting operation is stopped by applying a signal to this terminal.

With this configuration, when the mouse M is moved, the ball 5 rotates in accordance with the movement, and the rollers 6 and 7 that are in contact with each other in the X-axis and Y-axis directions rotate. This rotation is transmitted to the pulse generators 8 and 9, and the pulse generators 8 and 9 generate pulses 8P, 8N, 9P, and 9N according to the amount and direction of rotation. These pulses 8P, 8N, 9P, 9N
are respectively input to the corresponding pulse counters 10 and 11 and counted. Therefore, by referring to the count values of counters 10 and 11, the mouse M
The amount of movement can be detected.

The counters 10, 11 are arranged so that the count values of the counters 10, 11 can be referenced by the processing device 3 composed of a microcomputer or the like, and so that the count values can be controlled by the processing device 3.
is connected to the processing device 3. The mouse M usually has multiple key switches SW1 and SW2 in order to give various commands to the position where the current cursor CS is located.
It is equipped with In the example, this is shown for two. These switches SW1,
SW2 is also input to the processing device 3 so that it can confirm whether it is ON or OFF. The processing device 3 has an internal read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as
It is called ROM. ) 3a and a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) 3b. Predetermined programs, data, etc. are stored in these memories 3a and 3b, and the processing device 3 realizes predetermined processing by executing these programs. The display device 4 has a display screen as described above.
SC, an X-axis coordinate storage section XV, and a Y-axis coordinate storage section YV.

2, 3, 4, and 5 are flowcharts showing various processing means, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the main routine, and FIGS.
5 are flowcharts showing subroutines referred to in this main routine. In this way, what is shown in the flowchart is stored in the ROM 3a in the processing device 3 in the form of a program, or
Store in RAM3b. Then, when the processing device 3 executes this program, predetermined functional means are achieved.

FIG. 6 shows the temporary storage unit etc. necessary for executing each of these processes, and these are set at predetermined locations in the RAM 2 at the initial point of the program for executing each process. In this diagram,
XVLU is a storage unit that stores the amount of movement of the X-axis counter 10, YVLU is a storage unit that stores the amount of movement of the Y-axis counter 11, and SW1C is a storage unit that stores the amount of movement of the Y-axis counter 11.
A memory unit that stores ON and OFF states; SW2C is a storage unit that stores ON and OFF states of switch SW2;
MFLG is a mode flag storage unit.

Hereinafter, FIGS. 2 to 5 will be explained with reference to FIG. 6. In the example shown in these figures, in the initial state such as when the power of the processing device 3 is turned on, movement amount signals can be input simultaneously in both the X-axis and Y-axis directions as before, and the switch
If you press SW1 and SW2 at the same time, the input mode will change at that point, and the input mode will change to only the X-axis direction or Y
A case is shown in which the input mode is only in the axial direction.

The routine shown in FIG. 2 is generally activated at a cycle of about 20 milliseconds, for example, by a periodic timer interrupt. Then, it performs a series of processes and returns to the process before the interrupt. When this routine is started, first in step 2a, the X-axis and Y-axis counters 10 and 11 are controlled to a hold state, and their counting operations are stopped. Continuing steps
In step 2b, the states of the switches SW1 and SW2 are read, and depending on whether they are ON or OFF, these states are stored in the storage units SW1C and SW2C, respectively.
Next, in step 2c, the count value of the X-axis counter 10 is read, and this value is stored in the storage section XVLU,
In step 2d, the count value of the Y-axis counter 11 is read and this value is stored in the storage unit YVLU.
After that, in step 2e, the X-axis and Y-axis counters 10,
In step 2f, the hold on counters 10 and 11 executed in step 2a is released.

In other words, from step 2a to step 2f,
A process is being performed to read information from the mouse M.
Steps 20b to 2d actually read information, and after reading, counters 10 and 11 are reset in step 2e for the next reading. In reality, it takes a short amount of time to perform these processes, so the values read in step 2c and step 2d are not the same.
Therefore, in this embodiment, processing operations are performed such that the count values of the counters 10 and 11 do not change during reading as in steps 2a and 2f. If this is done, the counters 10 and 11 will not be updated while the read process is being performed, but since this is instantaneous, there is no practical problem. Next, in step 2g, memory section SW1 checks whether switches SW1 and SW2 are both pressed, that is, ON.
It is determined based on the contents of C and SW2C, and if so, the current input mode is reversed in step 2h. There are two input modes: a normal mode in which the X-axis and Y-axis are input simultaneously as in the past, and an invalid selection mode in which only the X-axis or only the Y-axis can be input. This input mode is stored in the flag storage unit MFLG. Switch SW1, SW
If two buttons 2 are not pressed at the same time, the counting process of step 2i, which will be described later, is executed. step
When either 2h or 2i is executed, the series of processing ends and the process returns to the one before the interrupt.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing details of the counting process in step 2i in FIG. below,
This figure will be explained. As is clear from step 2g in Figure 2, this process
1. Executed because SW2 is not turned on at the same time. First, in step 3a,
Determine input mode. This is determined based on the storage contents of the mode flag storage unit MFLG. As a result, in normal input mode, step 3b,
Run 3c. Step 3b is an X-axis position updating means XACT, which will be described later, and step 3c is a Y-axis position updating means YACT, which will be described later. Each of these means XACT,
In short, YACT is an update of the storage contents of the X-axis direction position storage section XV and the Y-axis direction position storage section YV referred to by the display device 4, and the details will be described later. If it is determined in step 3a that the mode is the invalid selection mode, it is determined in steps 3d and 3f whether or not the switch SW1 or SW2 is pressed. These two steps constitute the invalidity determination means, and any switch
Depending on whether SW1 or SW2 is pressed, X-axis position update means XACT and Y-axis position update means YACT
invalidate any of the following. In this embodiment, the X-axis position updating means XACT is disabled by pressing the switch SW1, and the Y-axis position updating means YACT is disabled by pressing the switch SW2. Therefore, if the switch SW1 is ON based on the determination of the storage contents of the storage section SW1C in step 3d, only the Y-axis position updating means YACT is executed in step 3e, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 2. If switch SW1 is OFF, similarly determine the ON or OFF state of switch SW2 in step 3f,
As a result, if the switch SW2 is ON, only the X-axis position updating means XACT is executed in step 3g, and the process returns to the main routine shown in FIG. If neither switch SW1 or SW2 is pressed, the X-axis position updating means XACT and Y-axis position updating means YACT are executed in steps 3h and 3i.
The process returns to the main routine shown in FIG.

Figure 4 shows the means for updating the X-axis position in Figure 3.
This is a flowchart showing details of XACT. By activating this means
Movement amount in the X-axis direction stored in the storage unit XVLU △x
are added and the result is stored in the X-axis direction position storage section XV. Here, since the movement amount Δx is not necessarily positive, the cursor CS can move in both positive and negative directions. In addition, the display screen of the display device 4
The SC has a limited size, and the cursor CS cannot be moved infinitely on the screen SC. Therefore, it is determined in steps 4b and 4c whether the value stored in the X-axis direction position storage section XV is within the upper and lower limit ranges regulated in advance by the screen SC. step
As a result of judgment by 4b, the X-axis direction position storage section XV
If the value of exceeds the upper limit Xmax, step 4d
to forcefully set the value of the X-axis position memory section XV to the upper limit value.
Set Xmax and return to the process shown in FIG. Also, as a result of the determination in step 4c, the X-axis direction storage section
If the value of XV exceeds the lower limit value Xmini, the value in the X-axis position storage section XV is forcibly set to the lower limit value Xmini in step 4e, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG. If the value is between the upper limit value Xmax and the lower limit value Xmini, the process returns to the process of FIG. 3 without executing either steps 4d or 4e.

Figure 5 shows the Y-axis position update means in Figure 3.
This is a flowchart showing details of YACT. By activating this means YACT, in step 5a, the position is read in the Y-axis direction position storage section YV referred to by the display device 4 in step 2d of FIG.
Amount of movement in the Y-axis direction stored in the storage unit YVLU △y
are added and the result is stored in the Y-axis direction position storage section YV. Here, since the movement amount Δy is not necessarily positive, the cursor CS can move in both positive and negative directions. Note that the display screen of the display device 4
The SC has a limited size, and the cursor CS cannot be moved infinitely on the screen SC. Therefore, it is determined in steps 5b and 5c whether the value stored in the Y-axis direction position storage section YV is within the upper and lower limit ranges regulated in advance by the screen SC. step
As a result of judgment by 5b, the Y-axis direction position storage unit YV
If the value of exceeds the upper limit Ymax, step 5d
to forcefully set the value of Y-axis position memory section YV to the upper limit value.
Set Ymax and return to the process shown in FIG. Also, as a result of the determination in step 5c, the Y-axis direction memory section
If the value of YV exceeds the lower limit value Ymini, the value in the Y-axis position storage unit YV is forcibly set to the lower limit value Ymini in step 5e, and the process returns to the process shown in FIG. If the value is between the upper limit value Ymax and the lower limit value Ymini, the process returns to the process of FIG. 3 without executing either steps 5d or 5e.

By doing the above, first, as is clear from Fig. 2, the switches SW1 and SW provided on the mouse M
By pressing 2 at the same time, the mode can be switched from the normal input mode to the invalid selection mode, and from the invalid selection mode to the normal selection mode. When this is set to the normal mode, it is the same as before, but when this is set to the invalid selection mode, by selecting either switch SW1 or SW2, the X of the cursor CS on the display screen SC is Movement in either the axis or the Y axis can be disabled. Therefore, for example,
Let us now consider the movement of the cursor CS on the display screen SC as shown in FIG. The movement of the cursor CS from point A to point B can be carried out in the conventional manner. To move from point A to point C, first
Press both SW1 and SW2 at the same time, then move the mouse M to the right while only pressing SW2. Then, even if the mouse M moves in the vertical direction, the cursor CS on the display screen SC moves straight toward point C. Also,
To move from point A to point D, move mouse M upward while holding down only switch SW1. Then, even if the mouse M moves in the left-right direction, the cursor CS on the display screen SC will move directly toward the point D.

As described above, according to the embodiment, it is possible to obtain a coordinate input device that is equipped with a coordinate input operation means that can input the coordinates of a plurality of axes at the same time, and can arbitrarily select an input axis. In addition, in the examples,
Since the mouse M detects the amount of movement △x in the X-axis direction and the amount △y of movement in the Y-axis direction, and sends this information to the processing device 3, the mouse M is a common one that is commercially available. It is usable and does not require any modification. In addition, in the example, the switch
Although we have explained the case where SW1 disables the input in the X-axis direction and switch SW2 disables the input in the Y-axis direction, this relationship may be reversed, and in this case, the third In the figure, step 3d and step 3f may be interchanged. In addition, in the embodiment, two switches provided on the mouse M are used to switch from the normal mode to the invalid selection mode and from the invalid selection mode to the normal mode.
This is done by pressing SW1 and SW2 at the same time, but this can be done, for example, by moving the cursor CS to a specific predetermined position on the display screen SC, and inputting when a specific switch is pressed in this state. The mode may also be switched.

Furthermore, in the above embodiments, a case has been described in which a mouse M is used as a coordinate input operation means, but various devices having equivalent functions can be used, such as the above-mentioned joy stick and track ball. . Furthermore, in the embodiment, an X-axis position storage section XV and a Y-axis position storage section
Although YV has been described as being provided in the display device 4, it may be set at a predetermined address in the RAM 2, and there are no restrictions on these locations.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a coordinate input device in which an input axis can be arbitrarily selected in an apparatus equipped with an operation means capable of simultaneously inputting coordinates of a plurality of axes. , according to the present invention, the coordinate input operation means is
Since the X-axis movement amount signal and the Y-axis movement amount signal are input to the axis position updating means and Y-axis position updating means, it is possible to use commercially available general ones.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the main routine of processing operations, Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of Fig. 2, Figs. 4 and 5 are flowcharts showing the subroutine of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the subroutine of Fig. 3. FIG. 7 is a front view showing an example of a display screen; FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a coordinate input device using a coordinate input operation means; FIG. 9 is an example of a display screen. FIG. 10 is an external view showing an example of the coordinate input operation means. XV: X-axis position storage unit, YV: Y-axis position storage unit, 4: Display means, SC: Display screen, CS:
Cursor, M: Coordinate input operation means, XACT: X
Axis position update means, YACT: Y-axis position update means,
3d, 3f, SW3, SW4: Invalid selection means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An X-axis position storage unit that stores the X-axis position of a cursor displayed on a display screen, and a Y-axis position storage unit that stores the Y-axis position of the cursor, Display control means for displaying the cursor at a predetermined position on the display screen based on the position information stored in both storage units; and an operation for arbitrarily instructing the direction and amount of movement of the cursor on the display screen. a coordinate input operation means for outputting an X-axis movement amount signal and a Y-axis movement amount signal for determining the movement direction and movement amount of the cursor by operating the operation portion; and from the coordinate input operation means. an X-axis position update means for inputting the X-axis movement amount signal and updating the storage contents of the X-axis direction position storage unit based on the X-axis movement amount signal; and Y-axis position updating means for inputting a movement amount signal and updating the storage contents of the Y-axis direction position storage unit based on the Y-axis movement amount signal; the X-axis position updating means and the Y-axis position updating means; a coordinate input device comprising invalidation selection means for selectively invalidating one of the update operations.