JPH03224028A - Pointing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To omit the mechanical contacts and to prevent the occurrence of the mechanical deterioration and the noises by detecting the movements of the operator's fingers via the photodetectors and outputting the changes of light intensity which are detected by the photodetectors as the changes of distances. CONSTITUTION:A pair of photodetectors 1 and 2 are arranged contiguously to each other on an axis X of a photodetecting unit 4 out of two pairs of photodetectors 1 - 3 which detect the changes of light intensity. At the same time, the other par of photodetectors 1 and 3 are arranged contiguously to each other on an axis Y of the unit 4 respectively. Then the photodetectors 1 - 3 detect the number of operator's fingers moving on the plane coordinates of the unit 4. The number of these fingers are counted as the changes of the light intensity and then outputted in the form of the changes of distances. Thus the command input can be optically read.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a pointing device, and particularly to a pointing device used as an accessory to a portable device such as a word processor, a pager, or the like.

[Prior Art] This type of pointing device is used to input commands such as display switching in plane coordinates on a display screen of a word processor, pager, etc., for example.

By the way, a conventional pointing device is equipped with a cursor key on a part of the keyboard, and a command is input as the number of times the button is pressed or the time the button is pressed continuously as a change in distance in plane coordinates. It had a structure.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, since the conventional cursor key system uses mechanical electrical contacts that convert key movements into electrical signals, there is a problem that the contact parts wear out and deteriorate mechanically. Moreover, since it is a contact type, noise is generated when the contacts strike each other each time a key is pressed, resulting in a lack of quietness.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device that solves the above problems.

[Differences between the invention and the prior art] While the conventional pointing device described above is a contact type, the present invention is different in that it is a contactless type that optically reads command input.

"Means for Solving the Problems" In order to achieve the above object, the pointing device according to the present invention is a pointing device that inputs commands such as display switching in planar coordinates of a display screen, and includes a light intensity signal. It has at least one pair of light receiving elements for detecting, and the pair of light receiving elements are disposed adjacent to each other in the front and back on at least one of the two orthogonal axes directions on the plane coordinate.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, the present invention counts the number of fingers of the operator crossing the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element as a change in the intensity of light, and outputs it as a change in distance.Next, a specific example of the present invention will be explained. do. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a pointing device that inputs commands for vertical and horizontal movement directions and distances in plane coordinates of a display screen. That is, this embodiment includes two pairs of light receiving elements 1 and 2.3 that detect changes in the intensity of light.
Of the pair of light receiving elements 1, 2.3, one pair of light receiving elements 1, 2.3 are arranged adjacent to each other in front and back on the X axis among the two orthogonal axes directions on the plane coordinates of the light receiving unit 4, and the remaining pair of light receiving elements 1, 2. The light receiving elements 1, 3 are arranged adjacent to each other in the front and back on the Y axis perpendicular to the X axis, and the number of fingers of the operator moving on the plane coordinates of the light receiving unit 4 is detected by the light receiving elements 1.2.3. This is what I did.

Further, a waveform shaping unit 5, a phase detection unit 6, a counter unit 7, and an interface unit 8
, an information processing unit 10 , and a display unit 9 .

The signals output from the light receiving elements 1, 2.3 of the light receiving unit 4 are waveform-shaped by the waveform shaping unit 5 into signals from which noise and chattering have been removed.

The counter unit 7 counts the signals output from the scooping and shaping units 1 to 5. The phase detection unit 6 is the first of the plurality of light-receiving elements 1, 2.3 to detect a change in the intensity of light and is turned on, thereby detecting the signal from the light-receiving element and the O of the light-receiving element.
The direction of movement of the finger is determined by detecting the signal from the light receiving element that is turned ON with a time delay with respect to the N state. The interface unit 8 outputs the count value of the counter unit 7 and the determination of the moving direction (up, down, left, right) of the phase detection unit 6 to the information processing unit 10. The information processing unit 10 changes the display in plane coordinates of the display screen on the display unit 9 based on the count value from the counter unit 7 and the determination result of the moving direction of the phase detection unit 6.

FIGS. 2(a), (b), and (C) are diagrams showing the operation state in which the operator moves his finger from the top of the figure to the bottom on the plane coordinates of the light receiving unit 4, and FIG. 3 shows the operation FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a model of a signal in a state. Note that the finger positions are indicated by diagonal lines.

In FIG. 2(a), the finger is clinging to the light receiving elements 1, 2.3, and the signals 1a, 2a, 3a from each light receiving element are not output. Next, when the finger moves on the plane coordinates of the light receiving unit 4 as shown in FIG. The signals Ia and 2a to be detected are output, and when the finger is further moved, the finger leaves the light receiving elements 1 and 2 and rests on the light receiving element 3, as shown in FIG. 2(c).

Output signals la, 2a, from each light receiving element 1, 2.3,
3a is shown in FIG. Paying attention to the phases of the signals 1a, 2a, and 3a from each light receiving element 1, 2.3, the signals Ia,
2a are almost in phase, and signal 3a is delayed.

On the other hand, when the operator's finger moves from the bottom to the top, the signal 3a advances and the other signals 1a and 2a lag.

4(a), (b), and (c) are plane coordinates of the light receiving unit 4. Second, the operator moves his finger from the right side of the figure to the left side. is indicated by diagonal lines. When the finger is moved from the right to the left as shown in the figure, the signal 2a advances as shown in FIG.
, 3a outputs with a delay. Also, if you move your finger from left to right, signals la and 3a advance, and signal 2a
outputs with a delay.

Here, the operator spreads his four fingers and presses the light receiving unit 4.
When moving from top to bottom on the plane coordinates of , the signals shown in FIG. 3 are output every time each phase passes over the light receiving elements 1, 2.3.

The counter unit 7 counts the number of times the light receiving elements 1, 2.3 detect a change in the intensity of light as 114". On the other hand, the phase detection unit 6 outputs the signals 1a and 2a in advance and the signal 3a with a delay. The information processing unit IO receives signals from the counter unit 7 and the phase detection unit 6 and determines, for example, the display position of the cursor on the plane coordinates of the display screen in the display unit 9. Move downward 114 n.

Furthermore, when the operator's finger is moved from the bottom to the top, it is detected using the same method, and the display position of the cursor moves upward.

Next, when the operator spreads his four fingers and moves the plane coordinates of the light receiving unit 4 from right to left, each phase passes over the light receiving elements 1, 2.3. The signal shown in Figure 5 is output. The counter unit 7 includes the light receiving element 1,
2.3 counts the number of times the light intensity change is detected as ``4''.Meanwhile, the phase detection unit 6 detects the signal 2a.
advances, and the signals Ia and 3a are output with a delay, so it is determined that the direction of movement is to the right. Therefore, the information processing unit 10 moves, for example, the display position of the cursor to the right in the plane coordinates of the display screen in the display unit 9 by 04
``Move.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a word processor. Here, the display unit 9 is constituted by a large dot matrix LCD panel, and the alphabet letters "A" are displayed on the display screen of the display unit 9.
, ``B'', ``C#, It p 11 and function keys 11 are displayed, and the cursor 12 is pointing to the character ``C''. In this embodiment, a mounting hole is provided in a part of the reflection plate of a large LCD panel constituting the display unit 9, and the light receiving elements 1, 2.3 are mounted in the mounting hole. When the operator moves his finger in the vertical and horizontal directions relative to the light receiving elements 1, 2.3 on the planar coordinates of the large panel LCD to cause changes in the intensity of light, the cursor 12 moves in the vertical and horizontal directions.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a pager. The pager switches pages and displays the display contents 13 on the display screen of the display unit (dot matrix CD panel) 9.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a pair of light-receiving elements 1.3 are arranged adjacent to each other in the front and back on one of the two orthogonal axes directions on the plane coordinate. In this embodiment, when the operator moves his finger from top to bottom on the plane coordinates including the light receiving elements 1 and 3,
Based on that signal, the page changes to display different content 13
will be displayed on the display screen.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention uses a light-receiving element to detect the movement of the operator's finger and outputs changes in the intensity of light detected by the light-receiving element as changes in distance. Since there are no contacts, mechanical deterioration can be prevented, and since detection is performed optically using a non-contact method, generation of mechanical noise can be prevented. In addition, the amount of movement is determined by the number of fingers of the operator passing through the light-receiving surface of the light-receiving element, so if the amount of movement is known in advance, you can count the number of fingers as they pass, without looking at the display. However, the amount of movement can be determined. Therefore, even if an LCD panel with slow response is used for display, the sense of discomfort can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the movement of the finger is similar to the action of turning a page or moving a ruler on a drawing, there is little discomfort when operating the pointing device according to the present invention. Furthermore, since it can be incorporated on the display panel, it saves space compared to conventional cursor keys.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention;
Figures (a), (b), (c), Figure 4 (a), (b)
, (C) are diagrams showing operating states, FIGS. 3 and 5 are diagrams showing signal models in operating states, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a word processor, and FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a pager. , 2, 3... Light receiving element 4... Light receiving unit 5... Waveform shaping unit 6... Phase detection unit 7... Counter unit 8... Interface unit 9... Display unit 10... information processing unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A pointing device for inputting commands such as display switching in planar coordinates of a display screen, which has at least a pair of light receiving elements that detect intensity signals of light, and which points the pair of light receiving elements in planar coordinates. A pointing device characterized in that the pointing device is arranged adjacently in the front and back on at least one of two orthogonal axes.