JP2002328772A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: To improve the operability of a jog dial. A rotary member 51 of a jog roller 30 has a surface parallel to a surface provided with a palm rest 25 of a jog cover 29, and a side surface portion thereof. An opening is provided so as to be exposed to the two surfaces, and the arrow is the direction of rotation of the rotating member 51.
Set a wider rotatable range in the F direction. Further, by providing the left and right click buttons 27 and 28 and the operation position apart by the user's hand, the left and right click buttons 2
The click operation of 7, 28, the rotation operation of the jog roller 30, and the pressing operation interfere with each other, thereby preventing mutual erroneous operations from occurring.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and more particularly, to an information processing apparatus in which a rotary pressing operation element can be easily operated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Information processing apparatuses, such as personal computers, are provided with a rotary pressing operation element (for example, a jog dial or a jog roller (both are trademarks)), and a technique for assisting an input operation is becoming popular. is there.

FIG. 1 shows a conventional jog roller 1. The keyboard 4 is provided with a pointing device 6 for operating a pointer displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the information processing apparatus. Further, a space key 4a is provided at a lower position of the pointing device 6 in the figure (a position operated by the user). The space key 4a is located substantially at the center of the keyboard 4. Further, at a lower position of the keyboard 4 in the figure, an armrest 5 is provided, which is a surface to which a user can attach (place) a hand when operating the keyboard 4.

A left click button 2, a jog roller 1, and a right click button 3 are arranged from left to right on the armrest 5 and directly below the space key 4a in the drawing. The jog roller 1 has a cylindrical shape that can rotate in the vertical direction in the figure, and moves a pointer or various cursors in accordance with the rotation, selects various processes, and further presses the jog roller 1 to perform a predetermined operation. The processing is executed. The left-click button 2 and the right-click button 3 are buttons that are appropriately clicked by the user when executing the processing of the operation selected by the jog roller 1 or the like.

By using the jog roller 1, for example, when selecting a plurality of application software displayed on a display unit (not shown), the rotation of the jog roller 1 on the screen on which the name of the application software is displayed is synchronized with the rotation. Is moved to the position of the desired application software and the jog roller is pressed or the left click button 2 or the right click button 3 is pressed, so that the desired cursor is pressed. The application software is executed.

That is, the jog roller 1 can select and execute various kinds of processing by an operation consisting of a three-dimensional direction, that is, a vertical operation associated with rotation and a pushing (pressing) direction. Also, jog roller 1
Can be executed based on the amount of rotation in the vertical direction and the rotation speed in each rotation direction obtained from a change in rotation over time. As described above, the jog roller 1 is capable of selecting and executing various processes by a combination of three-dimensional input operations that are simpler than keyboard and mouse operations.

[0007]

However, according to the configuration shown in FIG. 1, for example, when the user alternately operates the left click button 2 and the right click button 3 with the thumb, the center position is set. The existing jog roller 1
The jog roller 1 in an unexpected state
However, there is a risk that the jog roller 1 may be rotated and the selected position may be shifted, or the jog roller 1 may be pressed in an unexpected state.

Further, with the configuration shown in FIG. 1, for example, in the case of a notebook personal computer,
When closing the lid that can be opened and closed, a depression or the like must be provided at a position corresponding to the portion protruding from the armrest 5 so that the jog roller 1 does not come into contact with the display unit provided inside the lid. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the size or thickness of the device.

Further, since the portion of the cylindrical surface of the jog roller 1 exposed from the armrest 5 is small, for example, the rotation amount of the jog roller 1 cannot be increased, and a small rotation operation must be repeated. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and aims to make the operation of the jog roller 1 easy and reliable.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided an information processing apparatus comprising: a rotary pressing operation element comprising an operation element having a substantially cylindrical surface which is rotatable about an axis and which can be pressed;
A first surface forming the housing, and a second surface portion connected to an end of the first surface forming the housing, the rotation pressing operation element, the substantially cylindrical surface of the operation element, At a portion where both surfaces of the first surface and the second surface are connected, the first surface and the second surface are provided so as to be exposed to both of the first surface and the second surface.

[0012] A keyboard for inputting characters on the first surface and a mounting surface for placing a palm when a user inputs characters on the keyboard may be further provided near an end of the first surface. In the rotary pressing operation element, the substantially cylindrical surface of the operation element is a portion where both surfaces of the mounting surface and the second surface are connected to each other. It can be provided so as to be exposed to the outside.

In the information processing apparatus according to the present invention, the rotary pressing operation element has a substantially cylindrical surface of the operation element on a first surface forming the housing and an end of the first surface forming the housing. A portion where both surfaces of the second surface portion to be connected are connected, and are provided so as to be exposed from both the first surface and the second surface.

[0014]

FIG. 2 to FIG. 7 are views showing the configuration of an embodiment of a notebook personal computer 11 to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the notebook personal computer 11, and FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which a lid 22 is opened with respect to a main body 21 composed of a housing. FIG. 4 is a front view when the jog roller 30 to be described later is in front with the lid 22 closed with respect to the main body 21, and FIG. 5 is a state where the lid 22 is closed with respect to the main body 21. 3 is a right side view of the main body 21 in FIG. FIG.
FIG. 4 is a right side sectional view of the vicinity of a jog roller 30 of a main body 21. FIG. 7 is a rear sectional view of the vicinity of the jog roller 30 of the main body 21.

This notebook personal computer 11
Has a main body 21 and a lid 22 attached to the main body 21 so as to be openable and closable. That is, a hinge portion that is swingable about an axis set in the left-right direction (arrow B direction (left) and arrow C direction (right)) with respect to the rear end of the main body 21 (arrow D direction). The lid 22 is connected to the main body 21 via the cover 42 (FIG. 5) by swinging the lid 22 with respect to the main body 21 as shown by an arrow A in FIG.
Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, a closed state in which the main body 21 is superimposed and an open state in which the lid 22 is raised as shown in FIG.

A flat LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) 23 such as a liquid crystal type is provided on the inner surface of the lid 22. On the LCD 23, a graphical user interface, which is an input device and is used to explain the operation of the jog roller 30 to be described later to the user through an image, is displayed.

A keyboard 24 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 21. The keyboard 24 includes a large number of keys such as alphabet keys, 10 keys, and various function keys. The keyboard 24 is elongated in the left-right direction as a whole, and is set to be located at the rear of the upper surface of the main body 21. A portion of the upper surface of the main body 21 closer to the front than the keyboard 24 is a palm rest 25 having a large area.

As shown in FIG. 3, a touch pad 26 and a left click button 27 and a right click button 28 are provided below the touch pad 26 on the upper surface of the main body 21, more specifically, on the palm rest 25 on the near side of the keyboard 24. It is arranged. The touch pad 26 has a substantially square shape, and is disposed at a substantially middle portion in the left-right direction of the main body 21 and at a position close to the keyboard 24. More specifically, the rear part of the touch pad 26 extending along the front part of the keyboard 24 is set so as to be located near the very frequently used space key of the keyboard 24. The left and right click buttons 27 and 28 are arranged near the touchpad 26 (lower side in the figure) and near the touchpad 26 so as to be located substantially in the middle of the main body 21 in the left and right direction. The left and right click buttons 27 and 28 are arranged in the left and right direction of the main body 21. The touch pad 26 is, as is known, a kind of so-called pointing device.

A bottom housing 41 is provided on the bottom surface of the main body 21. On the right side surface, a heat radiating window 43 for radiating heat generated by the operation of the CPU 151 (FIG. 20) is disposed on the inner side of the main body 21 (in the direction of arrow D). A battery replacement cover 44 is provided on the right side of the main body 21 on the front side.
It is opened and closed when replacing (FIG. 20).

The left click button 27 and the right click button 28 are arranged side by side in the left and right direction. A jog cover 29 is provided in front of the left and right click buttons 27 and 28, A rotary push-type jog roller 30 is provided in the section. A back button 31 is provided on the right side of the jog roller 30, and is pressed when the operation by the jog roller 30 is returned to the original state.

Basically, the operation method of the jog roller 30,
The operation purpose is the same as that of the conventional one, but the disposition position of the jog roller 30 is the end portion on the front side of the touch pad 26 on the main body 21, and the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the cylindrical surface of the jog cover 29 is exposed from both surfaces at an opening provided at a portion where the surface parallel to the palm rest 25 and the side surface forming the end of the palm rest 25 are connected. It is arranged to be. As shown in FIG. 6, when the jog roller 30 is operated by the user's hand 61 (for example, with the thumb).
Can rotate in the direction of arrow F and form an angle of approximately 45 ° with respect to the surface of the palm rest 25 in the figure.
In the range from the position near the arrow E direction to the arrow E 'direction (approximately 90 ° in the figure with respect to the plane of the palm rest 25),
It is formed so that it can be pressed. on the other hand,
The direction in which the jog roller 30 is pressed changes from the direction indicated by the arrow E to the direction indicated by the arrow E ″. The pressing direction of the jog roller 30 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 7, the jog roller 30
The rotating member 51 is rotatably formed by fixing a shaft portion to the base 52. Further, the base 52
The screws 72-1 and 72-
2 is fixed to a relay board 53 provided on a bracket 54 fixed by 2. The bracket 54 forms an angle of approximately 45 ° with respect to the surface of the palm rest 25, and the screws 72-1 and 72-
2 screwed. For this reason, the jog roller 30
Is a direction perpendicular to the relay board 53, that is, the direction of the arrow E that forms an angle of about 45 ° with the surface of the palm rest 25. The screws 72-1 and 72-2
When it is not necessary to distinguish the
No. 2. The same applies to other configurations.

The jog roller 30 basically has a three-dimensional operation direction such as a forward rotation, a reverse rotation, and a pressing direction of the rotating member 51. In addition to this, the jog roller 30 has a rotation direction in each rotation direction. And the rotation speed can be obtained by calculating the rotation amount. That is, many types of differences in the operation state of the rotating member 51 are obtained, and various functions are assigned according to the difference in the operation state, so that the usability of the notebook personal computer 11 is greatly improved.

When performing various inputs using the keyboard 24 while the left and right wrists are supported on the palm rest 25, the touch pad 26 and the left and right click buttons 27 and 28 are operated with fingertips. become. The rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 has left and right click buttons 27,
28, it is possible to perform a rotating operation and a pushing operation of the rotating member 51 with, for example, the tip of the index finger or the thumb without greatly moving the hand during the input operation using the keyboard 24. Operability with respect to the member 51 is improved. In addition, since the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 is located at a substantially middle portion in the left-right direction of the main body 21, even if the dominant hand of the user is the right hand or the left hand, the user always rotates with the dominant hand. The member 51 can be operated, which is more preferable in terms of operability with respect to the rotating member 51.

As described above, the jog cover 29 is disposed such that its cylindrical surface is exposed from both surfaces where the surface parallel to the palm rest 25 and the side surface forming the end of the palm rest 25 are connected. As a result, the exposed area of the cylindrical surface of the jog roller 30 becomes 180 ° around the rotation axis.
It becomes large to the vicinity, and the user
Since the range in which can be rotated is widened, the rotation angle in one rotation operation can be increased. Further, since the jog roller 30 is provided at a position independent of the left and right click buttons 27 and 28, the left and right click buttons 2
Even when the pressing operation of the buttons 7 and 28 is repeated, it is possible to prevent an erroneous operation such as touching the jog roller 30 by mistake and rotating it in an unintended state or pressing it in an unintended state. In any case, as a result, the operability of the jog roller 30 can be improved.

FIG. 8 shows the basic structure of the jog roller 30. As shown in FIG.
Is connected to the relay board 53 so as to be swingable about the fulcrum 82.
Mounted on The rotating member 51 is held by the holding bracket 81 such that the rotating member 51 can be rotated forward and backward in the direction of arrow F about the rotation center 51a. The rotating member 51 constitutes a rotary encoder. When the rotating member 51 is rotated in the direction of arrow F, the direction of rotation and the amount of rotation can be detected.

On the relay board 53, when pressed, O
A contact 83 serving as N is attached. The holding bracket 81 is formed with a pressing portion 81 a immediately above the contact point 83. A movable contact terminal 83a serving as an upper contact terminal of the contact 83 is formed by a leaf spring or the like, and is set so that the contact 83 is normally turned off. The rotating member 51 is driven by an arrow E against the spring force of the movable contact terminal 83a.
The movable contact terminal 83a is pushed (pressed) from a direction indicated by a range indicated by an arrow E 'from the direction.
Is displaced downward by the pressing portion 81a, and the contact 8
3 is turned ON. On the other hand, the rotation center 51a and the fulcrum 82
The center position is deviated, and the pressing of the rotating member 51 from a direction substantially parallel to a straight line connecting the centers of the two members directly applies the pressing force to the fulcrum 82, making the pressing operation itself difficult. It becomes something.

In order to prevent the rotating member 51 from being pressed from the direction of the arrow E ″,
More preferably, as shown in FIG. 9, when the fulcrum 82 and the rotation center 51 a are configured to have a positional relationship substantially parallel to the direction of the arrow E ″, further pressing in the direction of the arrow E ″ is performed. The structure is difficult, for example, as shown in FIG.
When the jog roller 30 in the exposed state is erroneously pressed in the direction of the arrow E ″ when the main body 21 is closed, the movable contact terminal 83a is pressed by the pressing. It is a difficult operation for the contact point 83 to be turned ON by being pressed and displaced downward by the portion 81a, and as a result, erroneous operation is prevented.

Next, the detailed configuration of the jog roller 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 19. The same components as those described with reference to FIG. The description is omitted. First, the relay board 53 is provided with a pair of left and right mounting holes 111-1, 111-2.
(FIG. 11), and screws 72-are attached to the mounting bosses 101-1 and 101-2 formed in the main body 21.
1 and 72-2 (FIG. 10).

The holding bracket 81 includes the holding bracket 8.
One of the green portions on one side is provided with a plurality of holding claws 121-1, 121-2, 121-3 provided in series with each other on the relay board 53.
And an axis β connecting the plurality of holding claws 121 constitutes a swing fulcrum 82 in FIG. However, the holding bracket 81 is slightly
In this case, the stroke can be displaced almost straight in the vertical direction. The holding claw 121 is attached to the holding bracket 81.
On the side edge opposite to the side where is located, there are a pair of left and right projecting shaft portions 81c-1 and 81c-2, and this shaft portion 81c is formed on a pair of left and right formed on the relay board 53. It is fitted into the holding hole 131 so as to be slightly displaceable in the vertical direction (FIGS. 13 and 14). Thus, the holding bracket 81 is held by the relay board 53 so as to be swingable about the axis α (corresponding to the position of the rotation center 51a in FIG. 8) and to be slightly displaceable upward and downward. Have been.

A contact 83 is formed on the relay board 53 (FIGS. 11 and 12), and the lower surface of the holding bracket 81 is located just above the movable contact terminal 83a having the spring property as described above. Is formed with a pressing portion 81a (FIG. 12). By pushing the rotating member 51, the contact 83 is turned on. Since the contact point 83 and the pressing portion 81a are arranged so as to be present at a substantially intermediate portion in the axial direction of the rotating member 51, the contact point 83 and the pressing portion 81a are not originally shown in FIG. In order to clearly show the relationship, the positions of the contact point 83 and the pressing portion 81a are shifted in the axial direction of the rotating member 51 from the original positions in FIG.

The rotating member 51 has a shaft member 112 and a skin member 113 fitted and integrated with the outer periphery of the shaft member 112 (FIGS. 11 and 12). The shaft member 112 forms a rotation axis α, and left and right ends thereof are held by a holding bracket 81 so as to be capable of normal and reverse rotation. In addition, the outer cover member 113 is hardly slipped by a soft synthetic tree or the like so as to be directly touched by a user, and the outer periphery thereof is provided with irregularities at equal circumferential intervals to prevent slipping. Note that a part of the outer cover member 113 is slightly projected above the holding bracket 81 through the opening 81b of the holding bracket 81. Also, the holding bracket 8
Although not shown in detail, 1 has a left and right divided configuration for facilitating assembly of the rotating member 51 and the like.

Each end of the shaft member 112 is exposed without being covered by the outer cover member 113 (FIG. 1).
1). The shaft member 112 itself is formed of a synthetic resin or the like so as to have an insulating property, and the outer peripheral surface thereof has a conductive coating 141 as shown in FIGS.
Is given. 16 and 17, the conductive coating 14
1 is drawn thicker than it actually is in order to clarify its existence.

The conductive film 141 is set at one end of the shaft member 112 so as to extend over the entire length of the shaft member 112 in the circumferential direction. This is indicated by reference numeral 141a. In addition, the conductive film 141 is present at the other end of the shaft member 112 in the circumferential direction of the shaft member 112 at regular intervals, and the second part divided at the regular interval is denoted by reference numeral 141b. It is.

The relay substrate 53 is provided with an elongated output terminal 142 made of a conductive spring material.
2 is constantly in contact with the first portion 141a (FIG. 16). The relay substrate 53 is provided with elongated output terminals 143 and 144 made of a conductive spring material. Each of the output terminals 143 and 144 is urged toward the second portion 141b of the conductive member 141. (FIG. 17). 2
The two output terminals 143 and 144 are mutually connected to the shaft member 112.
Are axially spaced apart from each other, and are slightly shifted in the circumferential direction of the shaft member 112.

With a predetermined voltage applied from the output terminal 142, the output terminals 143,
From 144, a pulse-like voltage signal as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 is detected. The detected voltage from the output terminal 40 is shown as a signal A (FIGS. 18A and 19A), and the detected voltage from the output terminal 41 is a signal B (FIGS. 18B and 19B). As shown. The signal A and the signal B have a time difference at a detection time point, ie, a rising time point or a falling time point of the pulse. The rotation direction of the rotating member 51 is identified by comparing the detection time of the signal A and the detection time of the symbol B to see which is detected earlier.
Further, by counting the number of detected pulses, the rotation amount of the rotating member 51 can be detected. By calculating the amount of rotation per unit time, the rotation speed of the rotating member 51 can be detected.

Next, an electrical configuration of the notebook personal computer 11 for displaying a graphical user interface on the LCD 23 will be described with reference to FIG. 20. In the following description, the jog roller 30 is also referred to as a jog dial 30.

Central processing unit (CPU: Central Processi)
The ng Unit) 151 is composed of, for example, a Pentium (registered trademark) processor manufactured by intel, or the like.
Has been recruited. A north bridge 153 is further connected to the host bus 152, and the north bridge 153 is also connected to a PCI bus 156. The north bridge 153 is composed of, for example, 440BX made by intel, and controls the CPU 151 and the main memory 154. The north bridge 153 and a south bridge 158 described later constitute a so-called chipset.

The north bridge 153 is further connected to a main memory 154 and a cache memory 155. The cache memory 155 caches data used by the CPU 151. Although not shown, the CPU 151 also includes a primary cache memory.

The main memory 154 is, for example, a DRAM
(Dynamic Read Only Memory).
1 and data necessary for the operation of the CPU 151. Specifically, the main memory 154 stores, at the time when the activation is completed,
For example, the e-mail program 154A, the autopilot program 154B, the jog dial state monitoring program 154C, the jog dial driver 154D, the operating program (OS) 154E, and the other application programs 154F1 to 154Fn are H.
The data is transferred from the DD 70 and stored.

The e-mail program 154A is a program for exchanging messages via a network from a communication line such as a telephone line 176 via a modem 175, which will be described later. The e-mail program 154A has an incoming mail acquisition function as a specific function. This incoming mail acquisition function checks whether a mail addressed to the user (user) has arrived in the mailbox 179 with respect to the mail server 178 of the provider 177, and if there is a mail addressed to the user, Execute the acquisition process.

The auto pilot program 154B is
This is a program for sequentially starting and processing a plurality of preset processes (or programs) in a preset order.

An OS (Operating System: basic program software) 154E is, for example, so-called Windows (registered trademark) 95 or Windows (registered trademark) 98 of Microsoft Corporation or so-called Mac O of Apple Computer Corporation.
It controls the basic operation of a computer typified by S (trademark).

Jog dial status monitoring program 154
C receives a notification as to whether or not it is compatible with the jog dial from each of the application programs described above, and operates, for example, to display what can be performed by operating the jog dial, that is, the jog roller 30, if the application program is compatible. Normally, the jog dial state monitoring program 154C is waiting for an event of the jog roller 30, and also has a list for receiving a notification from the application.
The jog dial driver 154D is connected to the jog roller 30.
Executes various functions in response to the operation of.

When the jog dial state monitoring program 154C is executed by the CPU 151, it operates as a jog dial server 203 described later. That is, when an application that does not support jog dialing is started, the CPU 151 executes the jog dial status monitoring program 154C and operates as the jog dial server 203. For example, the script file 201 is loaded from a predetermined storage location via the Internet, An operation corresponding to the operation of the jog dial is executed based on the state transition described in 201 (as the jog script engine 202). still,
Details of the script file 201, the jog script engine 202, and the jog dial server 203 will be described later.

The video controller 157 is connected to the PCI bus 156, and controls display on the LCD 23 based on data supplied via the PCI bus 156.

A sound controller 164 is connected to the PCI bus 156 to receive an input from the microphone 166 or supply an audio signal to the speaker 165. A modem 175 is connected to the PCI bus 156.
Is also connected. The modem 175 is connected to the public telephone line 17.
6. It can be connected to a communication network 180 such as the Internet, a mail server 178, or the like via an Internet service provider 177.

The south bridge 158 is also connected to the PCI bus 156. South Bridge 158
For example, it is configured by PIIX4E manufactured by intel, etc., and controls various I / Os (Input / Output). That is, the south bridge 158 is an IDE (Integr
ated Drive Electronics) A device configured with a controller / configuration register 159, a timer circuit 160, an IDE interface 161 and the like, connected to the IDE bus 162, an ISA / EIO (Indu
stry Standard Architecture / Extended Input Output)
Control of devices connected via the bus 163 and the embedded controller 168 is performed.

The IDE controller / configuration register 159 has two I / Os, a so-called primary IDE controller and a secondary IDE controller.
It comprises a DE controller, a configuration register and the like (both not shown).

The primary IDE controller has an IDE
A connector (not shown) is connected via a bus 162, and the connector includes an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) 16
7 is connected. The secondary IDE controller is connected to another IDE bus or the like via a C (not shown).
D-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) drive, second HDD, FDD (Flexible Disc Drive)
For example, when a bay device, which is an IDE device, is mounted, the connector of the mounted bay device is electrically connected.

The HDD 167 has an e-mail program 167A and an auto-pilot program 167.
B, a jog dial state monitoring program 167C, a jog dial driver 167D, an OS (basic program software) 167E, and a plurality of application programs 167F1 to 167Fn are stored.
Each of the above e-mail programs 167 in the HDD 167
A, the autopilot program 167B, the jog dial state monitoring program 167C, the jog dial driver 167D, the OS 167E, the application programs 167F1 to 167Fn, and the like are sequentially transferred and stored in the RAM 154 during the startup (boot-up) process.

The ISA / EID bus 163 further includes:
The embedded controller 168 is connected. The embedded controller 168 includes a microcontroller and is used as an I / O controller. That is, the embedded controller 168 is configured by interconnecting the I / O interface 169, the ROM 170, the RAM 171 and the CPU 172.

In the ROM 170, an LED control program 170A, a touch pad input monitoring program 170
B, a key input monitoring program 170C, a wake-up program 170D, and a jog dial status monitoring program 170E are stored in advance.

The LED control program 170A is a program for controlling lighting of a power lamp PL, a battery lamp BL, a message lamp ML as required, and other lamps including LEDs. The touchpad input monitoring program 170B is a program that monitors a user input from the touchpad 26. The key input monitoring program 170C is a program for monitoring inputs from the keyboard 24 and other key switches. The wake-up program 170D checks whether or not a preset time has been reached based on the current time data supplied from the timer circuit 160 in the south bridge 158. When the preset time comes, a predetermined process ( Or a program) for managing each chip power supply in order to activate the program.

Jog dial status monitoring program 170
E is a jog dial, that is, a program for constantly monitoring whether the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 has been rotated or pressed. The details of the jog dial state monitoring program 170E will be described later.

The ROM 170 further includes a BIOS 70F
Is written. BIOS (Basic Input / Output S
ystem) means the basic input / output system, OS
And application software (application programs) and peripheral devices (display, keyboard, H
DD) is a software program that controls the transfer (input / output) of data between the two.

The RAM 171 has, as registers 171A to 171F, registers for LED control, touch pad input status, key input status, and set time, and I / O registers for monitoring the jog dial state. For example, the LED control register 171A controls the lighting of a message lamp ML that displays an instantaneous start-up state of an e-mail described later when the jog roller 30 is pressed. The key input status register 171C stores an operation key flag when the jog roller 30 is pressed for a one-touch operation described later. The set time register 171D can arbitrarily set a certain time.

The embedded controller 16
8, a jog roller 30, a touch pad 26, a left and right click button 27,
28 and a keyboard 24 are connected to each other, and signals corresponding to the operations of the jog roller 30, the touch pad 26, the left and right click buttons 27 and 28, and the keyboard 24 are output to the ISA / EID bus 163. Has been made. The embedded controller 168 includes a power lamp PL and a battery lamp B.
L, a message lamp ML, and other lamps including LEDs are connected.

The embedded controller 168 is further connected to a power supply control circuit 173. The power supply control circuit 173 has a built-in battery 174 or AC (Active C
The power supply is connected to a power supply and supplies necessary power to each block, and controls charging of the built-in battery 174 and a second battery of a peripheral device. The embedded controller 16
8 monitors a power switch 188 operated when the power is turned on or off.

Even when the power is off, the embedded controller 168 always supplies the programs 170A, 170B, 170C, 170D, and
170E can be executed, and is always activated even if no window is opened on the LCD 23. That is, the embedded controller 168 always executes the jog dial state monitoring program 170E even when the power switch 188 is off and the OS 154E is not activated by the CPU 151. Even if no key is provided, a programmable power key (PPK) function is provided so that, for example, in a power saving state or when the power is turned off, the user can press the jog roller 30 to activate desired software or a script file.

Although not shown, the embedded controller 168 has a USB (Universal Serial Bus).
s) Port and Institute of Electrical and Elect (IEEE)
ronics Engineers) 1394 port is connected.
A USB cable is connected to the USB port. IEEE
A digital video camera, for example, is connected to the 1394 port via an IEEE 1394 cable, and is used to capture a video signal from the digital video camera into the notebook personal computer 11.

Next, the operation of the embedded controller 168 when the jog dial state monitoring program 170E is executed will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 19, 21, and 22. FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a heart configuration in which the embedded controller 168 monitors the rotation state of the rotating member 51 in the jog roller 30 via the rotation detection unit 85. FIG. 22 is a flowchart when the embedded controller 168 executes the jog dial state monitoring program 170E.

First, when the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 is rotated forward or backward, the rotation detecting section 85
8, signal A shown in FIG. 19 (FIG. 18 (A), FIG.
(A)) and the timing of the signal B (FIGS. 18 (B) and 19 (B)) to detect whether the rotation is forward rotation or backward rotation. When the pre-rotation is detected, the pre-rotation pulse is sent to the counter (1) 186 of the embedded controller 168.
To supply. If the post-rotation is detected, a post-rotation pulse is supplied to the counter (2) 187 of the embedded controller 168. Embedded controller 1
68 executes the jog dial state monitoring program 170E, and performs counter (1) 18 by polling for 5 ms.
6, the amount of change of the counter (2) 187, the difference between them, and whether the jog roller 30 is pressed is monitored.

First, in step S1 of FIG. 22, the count value Counter at the current time T of the previous rotation pulse is counted.
Count value Counter from 1 (T) to time T-1
1 (T-1) is subtracted, and the change amount Counter1 of the count value of the counter 178 is obtained. Next, in step S2, the count value Counter1 (T-1) at time T-1 is subtracted from the count value Counter1 (T) at the current time T of the post-rotation pulse, and the counter value change amount Counter2 of the counter 187. Is required. In step S3, the difference in the amount of change in the count value is determined. That is, the difference between the change amount Counter1 and the change amount Counter2 is obtained. When the difference between the change amounts is a negative value, the rotation is post-rotation.

In step S4, the pressed state of the jog roller 30 is obtained. In step S5, the amount of change obtained in the processing in step S3 is determined,
Further, in step S6, it is determined whether the pressing state of the jog roller 30 has changed. If the amount of change is detected in step S5, or if the pressed state is detected in step S6, the process proceeds to step S7, and is performed via the host bus 152.
Jog dial driver 15 started by CPU 151
4D shows the current pressing state of the jog roller 30 and the change amount thereof.
Notify via I / O register 171F by interrupt,
The process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the polling is completed, it is detected whether 5 ms has elapsed, and this process is repeated until 5 ms has elapsed. After the elapse, the process returns to step S1 and the subsequent processes are repeated.

If there is no change in the pressed state of the jog roller 30 in step S6, the process proceeds to step S8.

Next, the state transition of the jog roller 30 will be described with reference to a functional block diagram of a program for controlling the operation of the notebook personal computer 11 in FIG. When performing a process based on an input operation by a user using a jog dial 204 (same as the jog roller 30 in FIG. 2) as an input device for performing a rotation (or rotation) and a pressing operation, the notebook personal computer 11
Executes a jog dial-incompatible application program (hereinafter, also simply referred to as an application), a script file 201 describing the state transition of the jog dial 204 is loaded from a predetermined storage location via the Internet or the like, and the script file is loaded. (Information of) state transition described in 201
Are read out, and the operation related to the jog dial 204 is performed according to the information of the state transition.

In addition to the jog dial 204, an operation notification from the jog dial 204 is monitored, an operation based on the operation notification is determined, and a jog dial server 203 for executing the determined operation as a jog script engine 202 is provided. Loads the script file 201 in which information on the state transition of the jog dial 204 is described in a script language at the time of startup, reads the information on the state transition, and responds to the read information on the state transition by using the jog script engine 2.
02 operates.

The display corresponding to the operation state of the jog dial 204 is displayed on the display screen 205 as a graphical user interface.

As described above, the jog dial non-compliant application 206 can also perform the jog dial operation exhibiting the superiority of the jog dial 204.

Here, the jog dial server 203
The script file 201 is loaded, and the operation and display are determined according to the information on the state transition. Information on state transition due to differences in hardware can be supported only by changing the jog script file 201. Furthermore, since it can be set for each type of non-compliant application, various supports are possible.

The script file 201 is a file in which the state transition of the jog dial is described in a script language, and is loaded by the jog dial server 203. This script file 201 contains
State transition, display contents of each state, and information on the operation of each state can be described.

Here, the state transition information indicates how and when each state transitions. It is also possible to associate the state transition by the user's selection with the state where the menu is activated or the focus is moved.

The display contents of each state include whether the state is a guide state or a list view state, what kind of item strings are in the list view state, what character strings are to be displayed in the guide state, and the like. It is specified.

The operation in each state can describe the following items when the jog dial 204 is operated in each state. The first is a keyboard input, the second is a mouse input, and the third is an external module call. By emulating the first keyboard input and the second mouse input and assigning them to the up and down keys, it is possible to support the execution of menu selection. Further, by reading the third external module, a more complicated operation is enabled.

FIGS. 24 and 25 show specific examples of the state transition by the jog script from the two points of state transition and application-specific support.

First, FIG. 24 shows an example in which a weight is placed in cooperation with the touch pad 26 by the jog roller, and the start state is set as a guide state for scrolling.

By providing the jog dial 204 below the left click button 27 and the right click button 28,
It is preferable that the first display of the graphical user interface after the power switch is turned on is in the guide state rather than in the list view state. This is because the user wants to focus on cooperation with the touchpad and set a scroll guide state.

For this reason, the following contents are described in the script file 201. [scroll]
A state transition as shown in FIG. 24, which transitions between the guide state, the list view state, and the [menu selection] guide state, is described. The state transition is such that the state transits to the mutual guide state centering on the list view state, that is, via the list view state.

In the guide state, [Scroll],
Up [Scroll Up], Down [Scroll Down], P
Specifies the display of ush [return to state]. In other guide states, [menu selection], Up [menu item upper], Down [menu item lower], Push [selection /
Specify the display of [Back]. In the list view state, display of [Maximize], [Minimize], [End], [Scroll], [Launcher], and [Menu] is specified.

As for the operation in each state, for example, what kind of operation “scroll” in the guide state or where to return “state” is described. In list view state, [Maximize], [Minimize], [Exit], [Scroll], [Launcher], [Menu]
Describes the behavior of

The script file 201 in which the state transition, the display contents of each state, and the operation of each state are described,
When the notebook personal computer 11 is started, it is loaded by the jog dial server 203. And
The jog dial server 203 reads the state transition and the like, and executes an operation corresponding to the read state transition and the like according to the operation state of the jog dial 204.

Then, the notebook personal computer 11 operates as in the state transition shown in FIG. That is, after the power switch is turned on, a graphical user interface of the guide state G is displayed as the first state S on the LCD 23, and the LCD 23 is set to the guide state in which scrolling is performed. When the jog dial is pressed so as to select “return to state”, the display shifts to list view state L. If "scroll" is selected in the list view state L, the display returns to the guide state G in the scroll state again. Also,
If “menu” is selected in the list view state L, the state transits to the menu selection guide state G. In the menu selection guide state G, vertical menu items can be selected in accordance with the rotation operation of the jog roller 30. When "select / return" is pressed by the jog roller 30, the selected menu is executed by the information processing apparatus. When "select / return" is pressed long by the jog roller 30, the screen returns to the list view state L.

FIG. 25 shows an Internet WWW (World Wi-Fi) that is an application that does not support jog dialing.
de Web) shows a state transition of the jog dial when the notebook personal computer 11 shown in FIG. 2 executes a browser. In this example, the starting condition is
It is in a guide state for scrolling.

The script file 201 describes a state transition as shown in FIG. 25, which transitions between a guide state of [scroll], a list view state, and a guide state of [menu selection]. The state transition is such that the state transits to the mutual guide state centering on the list view state, that is, via the list view state.

In the guide state, [Scroll],
Up [Up arrow key], Down [Down arrow key], Pus
h Specifies the display of [Return to state]. In other guide states, [menu selection], Up [menu item upper], Down [menu item lower], Push [selection /
Specify the display of [Back]. In the list view state, in addition to [Maximize], [Minimize], [End], [Scroll], [Launcher], [Menu], [Forward] and [Next] are displayed. specify. In addition, the display of [Save] or [Select All] may be specified.

As for the operation in each state, for example, what kind of operation is “scrolling” in the guide state or where to return to “return state” is described. If in list view state, what are the actions of [Maximize], [Minimize], [Exit], [Scroll], [Launcher], [Menu], [Forward], [Next], etc. Describe.

The script file 201 in which the state transition, the display contents of each state, and the operation of each state are described is loaded by the jog dial server 203 when the notebook personal computer 11 is started. Then, the jog dial server 203 reads the state transition and the like, and executes an operation corresponding to the read state transition and the like according to the operation state of the jog dial 204.

Then, when the notebook personal computer 11 executes the Internet WWW browser, it operates as in the state transition shown in FIG. That is, after the power switch is turned on, a graphical user interface of a guide state G is displayed as an initial state S on the display screen, and a guide state of scrolling is set.
When the jog dial is pressed so as to select “return to state”, the display shifts to list view state L. If "scroll" is selected in the list view state L,
The state returns to the guide state G in the scroll state again. If "menu" is selected in the list view state L, the state transits to the menu selection guide state G. In the menu selection guide state G, vertical menu items can be selected in accordance with the rotation operation of the jog roller 30. When “select / return” is pressed by the jog roller 30, the selected menu is executed. When “select / return” is pressed for a long time by the jog roller 30,
The state returns to the list view state L. In particular, in the list view state, the user can easily return to the previous screen or move to the next screen by using the jog dial to select [Forward] or [Forward]. Can be operated.

Next, referring to FIG.
1 shows one graphical user interface. The guide state 211 is a display state in which what kind of processing the notebook personal computer 11 in FIG. 2 can perform at present is displayed, and the user selects the processing. In addition to the guide state 211, the graphical user interface is also in a list view state. The list view state is a display state in which items that can be executed in the notebook personal computer 11 are displayed in a list and the user can select the items.

In the present invention, when the jog dial-incompatible application is executed on the notebook personal computer 11, the state transition between the guide state and the list view state, the display contents of each state, and the The script file 201 describing the operation is loaded by the jog dial server 203. Then, the jog dial server 203 executes the script file 20
The state transition and the like are read from 1 and the operation corresponding to the read state transition and the like is executed according to the operation state of the jog dial 204.

When the application is a jog dial compatible application, the application side is a jog dial compatible to the jog dial server 203 and declares how to make a state transition, how to display and how to operate, etc. The notebook personal computer 11 does not execute any information processing method as a program.

Next, the notebook personal computer 1
The first graphical interface will be described. In the notebook personal computer 11, a graphical user interface is displayed according to the operation of the jog roller 30. Also, a process or an item list is selected on the graphical user interface.

The guide state and the list view state of the graphical user interface are determined by setting the jog dial compatible application to the notebook personal computer 1.
When the application 1 executes, as well as when the application that does not support the jog dial is executed, the application is displayed according to the contents described in the script file 201.

For example, when the rotating member 51 is operated to the rear side, the graphical user interface (the guide state display state 211 in FIG. 24) is changed from the scroll-shaped object 211c as shown in FIG. The band-shaped display area 211d wound around the object is extended upward as if it were visually the same direction as the rotating direction of the rotating member 51 (FIG. 26B). At this time, the left and right ends 211a and 211b of the scroll-shaped object 211c move as if they are rotating, and when the band-shaped display area 211d is fully extended upward, the rotation is stopped.

The guide state 211 shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B indicates what processing the notebook personal computer 11 can currently perform based on the operation state of the jog roller 30. And let the user make a selection.

In other words, the guide state 211 indicates how the notebook personal computer 11 operates when the jog roller 30 is operated at present. This is effective when moving and displaying items that designate functional operations of the operating system, such as scrolling and menu item selection.

FIG. 26B shows that the rotation direction of the rotation member 51 of the jog roller 30 is visually related to the rotation operation direction.
Graphical user interface with strip-shaped display area 2
11d shows a state in which a character "scroll down" and a downward triangle are displayed as a set. This can explain to the user that when the rotating member 51 is rotated forward, the graphical user interface can scroll the display in the activated window downward.

The graphical user interface displays a set of characters “scrolling upward” and an upward triangle in the strip-shaped display area 211d, so that the rotating member 51 is positioned in the direction of the arrow indicating the rear side shown in FIG. Can be explained to the user that the display in the activated window can be scrolled downward and upward when the rotation operation is performed.

[0100] Further, since the characters "maximize window" are displayed in a rectangular frame, when the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 is pushed in, the active window is maximized. Can be explained to the user.

Further, when the user selects one of the above-mentioned operations using the jog roller 30 via the above-described guide state 211, the graphical user interface displays the notebook personal computer 1
1 control unit performs the above operation.

In addition to the guide state 211, the graphical user interface has a list view state 221 shown in FIG. In the list view state 221, a list of items that can be executed on the notebook personal computer 11 is displayed based on the operation state of the jog roller 30, and the user is allowed to select the list. That is,
The list view state 221 displays an item list of an application program included in the notebook personal computer 11.

Then, this list view state 221 is also
As shown in FIG. 27 (A), from the scroll-shaped object 221c,
A strip-shaped display area 221 wound around the scroll-shaped object
d is extended upward as if it were visually the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotating member 51 (FIG. 27B). At this time,
The left and right ends 221a and 221b of the scroll-shaped object 221c move as if they are rotating, and stop rotating when the strip-shaped display area 221d extends upward.

FIG. 27B shows a band-like display area 221.
FIG. 4D shows a state in which items “volume setting”, “brightness adjustment”, and “application selection” are displayed in a list so as to be visually related to the rotation operation direction of the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30. By rotating the rotating member 51 in the forward or rearward arrow direction, "volume setting", "brightness adjustment", "application selection" or other items are displayed, and items that can be executed by the notebook personal computer 11 are displayed. Explain to the user. Furthermore, the user can select a desired item by placing a desired item in the square frame at the center. At this time, only the items within the square frame at the center are displayed with appropriate brightness,
The other items may be displayed at a lower brightness than the appropriate brightness, or may be displayed so as to be clearly distinguished from the items in the rectangular frame.

In the graphical user interface, the belt-shaped display areas 211d and 221d in the guide state 211 and the list view state 221 are respectively moved from the scroll-shaped objects 211c and 221c visually in the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotating member 51. After extending all the way up,
If the jog roller 30 is not operated by the user for a certain period of time, the band-shaped display areas 211d and 221d are contracted and erased as if they were wound around the scroll-shaped objects 211c and 221c. At this time, the left and right ends 211a and 211b of the scroll-shaped object 211c move as if they are rotating, and then stop rotating.

Next, a display example of a graphical user interface according to a user's input operation using the jog roller 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 to 32. Here, a case in which an application corresponding to the jog dial is executed will be described. First, when the CPU 151 executes the jog dial state monitoring program 154C after the power switch 188 is turned on in the electric circuit diagram shown in FIG. 20, if there is no active application, the user pushes the jog roller 30 if there is no active application. As a result, the LCD 23 has
A scroll-shaped object 221c in the list view state 221 as shown in FIG.

Next, when the user operates the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 in the rearward arrow direction, the list view state 221 is changed from the scroll-shaped object 221c to the scroll-shaped object 221c as shown in FIG. The belt-shaped display area 221d wound around the object is extended upward as if it were visually the same direction as the rotation direction of the rotating member 51 (FIG. 27).
(B)). At this time, the left and right ends 2 of the scroll-shaped object 221c
21a and 221b move as if they are rotating, and when the band-shaped display area 221d is completely extended upward, the rotation is stopped.

The band-shaped display area 22 shown in FIG.
1d, items such as "volume setting", "brightness adjustment", and "selection of application" are displayed in a list so as to be visually related to the rotating operation direction of the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30. Actually, other items such as "contrast" and "font" are also displayed in a list, or the other item list is scrolled in the display area 221d by rotating the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 back and forth. Is displayed. Thus, the list view state 221 can explain to the user items that can be executed by the notebook personal computer 11.

For example, if the user rotates the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 in the direction of the rear arrow from the state shown in FIG. The “volume setting” disappears from the band-shaped display area 221d, the “brightness adjustment” moves to the top, the “application selection” enters the central rectangular frame, and the bottom has no display, for example, "Contrast" appears.

When the user rotates the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 in the direction of the forward arrow from the state shown in FIG. 27B, the “application selection” disappears from the band-shaped display area 221d and the “brightness adjustment” Moves to the bottom,
“Volume setting” is entered in the square frame at the center, and “Font” which has not been displayed so far appears at the top.

Here, the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30
The faster the rotation speed of the item, the faster the speed of item selection.
That is, the rotation speed of the rotation member 51 of the jog roller 30 corresponds to the scroll speed.

Next, the user operates the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 to put, for example, “application selection” as a desired item in the center square, and
When the user presses 1, as shown in FIG. 28A, an application such as “word processor”, “mail”, “accessory”, “spreadsheet”, or “internet” becomes a submenu of “application selection”. Is displayed.

The applications such as “word processor”, “mail”, “accessory”, “spreadsheet”, and “internet” are registered as launcher-compatible applications in advance.

Now, in the state shown in FIG. 28A, the user rotates the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30, and
By further pushing in, the "accessories"
When the item is selected, items such as "paint", "calculator", "map display", and "game", which are submenus of "accessories", are further displayed in a child hierarchy as shown in FIG. 28B. When an application called "map display" is selected and executed from this child hierarchy display by rotating and pushing the jog roller 30, the guide state 211 such as zooming in, zooming out, and fitting is changed as shown in FIG. Is displayed.

That is, an application called “map display” corresponding to the jog dial is executed, and this “map display” is activated. The operation that can be performed by the notebook personal computer 11 at this time is shown in FIG. The guide state 211 is displayed as shown.

The operation up to this point is summarized as follows. When the power switch 188 is turned on, a predetermined OS1
It is assumed that there is no activated application and the user presses the jog roller 30 only once while the CPU 54E is running on the CPU 151. Then
The jog driver 154D receives the pressed state of the jog roller 30 by sending a flag state via an I / O register by an interrupt. Thus, the jog dial driver 154D sends an operation notification to the jog dial monitoring program 154C also executed by the CPU 151.

Then, first, the scroll-shaped object 22 in the list view state 221 of the graphical user interface is set.
1c is displayed on the LCD 23. Then, when the user rotates the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 in the direction of the rear arrow, the band-shaped display area 221d wound on the scroll-shaped object 221c is visually aligned in the same direction as the rotating direction of the rotating member 51. Extending upwards.

In this band-shaped display area 221d, FIG.
As shown in (B), the rotating member 5 of the jog roller 30
Items such as “volume setting”, “brightness adjustment”, and “application selection” are displayed in a list so as to be visually related to the first rotation operation direction. When "select application" is selected by operating the jog roller 30, the list of application software corresponding to the jog dial registered in advance in the list is displayed in FIG.
8 (A) is displayed.

Then, when the application program “map display” is activated by the user using the jog roller 30, the map of Japan shown in FIG. 29 is displayed on the LCD 23. At this time, the guide state 211 is displayed on the LCD 23 as shown in FIG. When the user rotates the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 in the direction of the rear arrow while viewing the guide state 211, the image is enlarged around the point indicated by the pointer as shown in FIG. When the rotating member 51 is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation when the image is enlarged, that is, in the direction of the front arrow, the image is reduced (returns to the original position).
As described above, in a predetermined application program having an image display function compatible with the jog dial, L
The image displayed on the CD 23 can be reduced or enlarged according to the rotation operation of the jog roller 30.

Next, the hierarchical movement operation and display in the list view state 221 will be described with reference to FIGS. 31 and 32. Here, an example will be described in which the hierarchy is moved from the list view state in which the applications corresponding to the jog dial shown in FIG. 28A are displayed in a list to the list view state shown in FIG. For convenience of explanation, FIG.
Is the parent hierarchy, and FIG. 28B is the child hierarchy.

First, it is assumed that the item “accessories” is selected by operating the jog roller 30 in the list view state of the parent hierarchy shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 31 (B) and FIG. 31 (C), the square frame at the center is gradually enlarged, and eventually, FIG. 31 (D), FIG.
(E), a new frame expands within the expanding frame as shown in FIG. 31 (F). Then, as shown in FIG. 31 (G), “map display”, which is one of the child layers of “accessories”, is displayed in the frame, and other “calculator”, “paint”, “game”, etc. Are displayed in FIG. 31 (H) and FIG.
(I), the image is displayed so as to gradually spread as shown in FIG. Finally, the child hierarchy is displayed in a well-balanced manner as shown in FIG.

By providing marks for distinguishing the current layers, as shown near both ends in the square frame at the center in FIG. 28, the user can be aware of the layer moving operation.

When the above-mentioned jog roller 30 is provided below the left click button 27 and the right click button 28 and near the touch pad 26, the first graphical user interface display after the power switch is turned on is displayed. The guide state 211 is more preferable than the list view state 221. Touchpad 26
This is because the user wants to focus on the cooperation with the scroll guide state.

That is, after the power switch is turned on, the LCD 2
As a start, a graphical user interface in a guide state as shown in FIG. Here, when the rotating member 51 of the jog roller 30 is pressed in the direction of the arrow E so as to click “return to the state” in the square frame at the center, the state moves to the list view state shown in FIG. I do. If "scroll" is selected in the list view state, the display returns to the guide state of FIG.
If the “menu” is selected in the list view state shown in FIG. 32B, the state transits to the guide state shown in FIG. 32C. In the guide state shown in FIG. 32C, menu items in a vertical direction can be selected in accordance with the rotation operation of the jog roller 30. When "select / return" in the above-mentioned frame is pressed by the jog roller 30, the selected menu is executed by the notebook personal computer 11. When “select / return” is pressed long by the jog roller 30, the screen returns to the list view state shown in FIG.

By the way, none of the applications executed by the notebook personal computer 11 are compatible with the jog dial. That is, the HDD 16
The applications stored in the RAM 154 after the startup process of the OS 154E is completed are not all types compatible with the jog dial. For example, some applications are not compatible with the application 154F3. C for compliant and non-compliant applications
The processing for the jog dial assigned by the PU is different. For this reason, the jog dial compatible application performs a notification process to the jog dial status monitoring program 154C executed by the CPU 151.

First, the jog dial monitoring program 15
4C declares that it (application) supports jog dialing. Then, the jog dial monitoring program 154C adds the application software to the list of jog dial compatible software.

Thereafter, the user may be notified in the form of a jog dial guide by displaying the jog dial menu in a display unique to the application.

That is, the application corresponding to the jog dial is the jog dial state monitoring program 154C.
Of the jog dial operation in the current state is notified by a character string. This will bring up a graphical user interface, for example, a jog dial guide, zoom,
Displays strings such as in, fit, and out.

The jog dial compatible application rewrites the list of the jog dial monitoring program 154C by changing the character string according to the state of the activated window.

For this reason, when the jog dial-compatible application is active, the display of the graphical user interface shows, by a character string, an explanation of what operation the application performs by operating the jog dial like a guide state.

On the other hand, when the jog dial incompatible application is executed on the notebook personal computer 11, the jog dial status monitoring program 154 is executed.
C is executed by the CPU 151 and operates as the jog dial server 203. Then, the jog dial state monitoring program 154C loads the script file 201 from a predetermined storage location via the Internet, for example, and executes an operation corresponding to the operation of the jog dial based on the state transition described in the script file 201 (Jog script engine). 202).

As a result, the guide state for performing the display described in the script file 201 and the list view state are displayed on the LCD 23.

As described above, the notebook personal computer 11 displays the guide state 211 on the LCD 23 as a graphical user interface, thereby responding to the input operation by the user using the jog roller 30, and It is possible to explain to the user whether such processing can be performed. List view state 2 as a graphical user interface
By displaying 21, items that can be executed in response to the user's input operation using the jog roller 30 can be explained to the user.

Therefore, it is possible to improve the usability of the user without having the user repeat complicated operations until the notebook personal computer 11 executes the processing desired by the user.

Further, even when a non-jog dial compatible application is executed, the jog dial server 203 is executed.
The jog dial state monitoring program 154C operating on the CPU 151 loads the script file 201 and determines the operation based on the state transition based on the script file 201.
(Jog dial) operation can be performed.

The present invention is not limited to the notebook personal computer 11, but can be applied to a portable information terminal device or a portable telephone device.

The portable information terminal device 230 shown in FIG.
A display screen 232 made of an LCD is provided on the upper side of the main body 231. Further, on the lower side of the main body 231, for example, a schedule button 233, an address book button 234, a To Do button 236, and a memo pad button 237 are provided. Also, body 2
31, a jog roller 235 provided with a rotating member similar to the jog roller 30 is provided, and can be rotated in the direction of arrow G. (Approximately 45 ° direction).

The portable information terminal device 230 includes a CPU to which an attached memory is connected via a bus, a display unit, a character recognition unit, and a speech recognition unit each connected via a bus.
It has a communication unit and the like.

Further, this portable information terminal device 230
A speaker and an imaging unit are provided, and a microphone is also provided. Further, a headphone terminal, line input and output terminals are provided. Therefore, output and input of sound, capture of an image by imaging, and the like can also be executed. Furthermore, I
It has an IEEE 1394 terminal and a USB terminal. Of course, it has a modem and can be connected to the Internet.

On the display screen 232, for example, a list view state 238 is displayed as a graphical user interface used to explain the operation of the jog roller 235 to the user through an image. of course,
The guide screen is also displayed on the display screen 232 as a graphical user interface.

Here, each of the buttons, the display on the display screen corresponding thereto, and the operation of the graphical user interface will be described. The schedule button 233 is a button used to display a display on the display screen 232 in which a schedule can be input and confirmed in units of, for example, 5 minutes. The schedule input here is performed using a pen (not shown). At this time, the time can be moved back and forth by an input operation through the graphical user interface by the operation unit 235. The date may be changed.

The address book button 234 is a button used to display personal data such as a telephone number and an address on the display screen 232. At this time, the operation unit 23
5, each data can be scrolled by the input operation through the graphical user interface.

[0143] The To Do button 236 is used for work or business.
Display screen 23 to list items to be worked on from now on
2 is a button used to display on top. At this time, each message can be scrolled by an input operation via the graphical user interface by the operation unit 235.

The memo pad button 237 is a button used to display a memo pad on the display screen 232 when the user wants to make a memo about a message or the like that he or she came up with. At this time, the operation unit 2
The user can scroll through each message by input operation via the graphical user interface by the user.

Further, in this portable information terminal device 230,
Also when executing a non-jog dial application, the jog dial server 203 loads the script file 201 and executes an operation corresponding to the operation of the jog dial based on the state transition described in the script file 201.

Next, referring to FIG.
50 will be described. The mobile phone device 250 is divided into a display portion 252 and a main body 253 with a central hinge portion 251 as a boundary, and is formed to be foldable via the hinge portion 251.

[0147] A transmission / reception antenna 254 is attached to the display unit 252 at the upper left portion so as to be able to be pulled out and housed, and transmits / receives radio waves to / from the base station via the antenna 254. ing.

The display unit 252 is provided with a camera unit 255 rotatable in an angle range of approximately 180 degrees at the center of the upper end. The CCD (Charged Coupled Unit) of the camera unit 255 is provided.
d Device) A desired imaging target can be imaged by the camera 256.

Here, when the camera section 255 is rotated by approximately 180 degrees and positioned by the user, the display section 252 is provided with a speaker (not shown) provided at the center of the rear side of the camera section 255 on the front side. Position, thereby switching to a normal voice call state.

Further, the display unit 252 is provided with a liquid crystal display 258 in front of the display unit 252 to receive radio wave reception status, remaining battery level, destination name and telephone number registered as a telephone directory, transmission history, and the like. , The contents of the e-mail, the simple homepage, and the image captured by the CCD camera 256 of the camera unit 255 can be displayed.

On the other hand, the main body 253 has “0” on its surface.
There are provided operation keys 219 such as a number key, a call key, a redial key, a call end and power key, a clear key, an e-mail key, etc. be able to.

The main body 253 is provided with a memo button 260 and a microphone 261 below the operation keys 259. The memo button 260 can record the voice of the other party during a call, and the microphone 261 can be used to record the user's voice during the call. Sound can be collected.

The display 252 further includes a jog roller 3
A jog dial 262 having the same rotating member as that of the liquid crystal display 258 is provided on the left side of the liquid crystal display 258 in FIG. The jog dial 262 moves the liquid crystal display 25
Various operations such as a scrolling operation of a telephone directory list or an e-mail displayed on the screen 8, a page turning operation of a simple homepage, and an image sending operation can be executed.

For example, the main body 253 selects a desired telephone number from a plurality of telephone numbers in the telephone directory list displayed on the liquid crystal display 258 in response to a rotation operation of the jog dial 262 by the user, and
When 62 is pressed in a direction forming 45 ° with respect to the surface of the liquid crystal display 258 of the display unit 252, the selected telephone number is determined and the call processing is automatically performed on the telephone number. It has been done.

The main body 253 has a battery pack (not shown) inserted on the back side, and when the call is ended and the power key is turned on, power is supplied from the battery pack to each circuit portion, and the main body 253 can operate. Start up in a proper state.

The main body 253 is provided with a memory stick slot 254 for inserting a detachable memory stick (trademark of Sony Corporation) 253 at the upper left side of the main body 253, and a memo button 260 is provided. When depressed, the voice of the other party during the call can be recorded on the memory stick 263, and an e-mail, a simple homepage, and an image captured by the CCD camera 256 can be recorded according to the operation of the user.

Here, the memory stick 263 is a type of flash memory card developed by Sony Corporation, the present applicant. This memory stick 2
Reference numeral 63 denotes an electrically erasable and erasable non-volatile memory in an EEPROM (Electrically Err) in a small and thin plastic case measuring 21.5 mm in length, 50 mm in width and 2.8 mm in thickness.
A flash memory element, which is a kind of asable and programmable read only memory, is stored.
Various data such as images, sounds, and music can be written and read via the 0-pin terminal.

The memory stick 263 can be used in response to a change in the specification of the built-in flash memory due to a large capacity or the like.
Adopts a unique serial protocol that can ensure compatibility with the device used, achieving high speed performance of maximum writing speed 1.5 MB / S, maximum reading speed 2.45 MB / S,
An erasure prevention switch is provided to ensure high reliability.

Therefore, since the portable telephone device 250 is configured so that such a memory stick 263 can be inserted, data can be shared with other electronic devices via the memory stick 263. Has been made possible.

Then, on the liquid crystal display 258,
For example, a list view state is displayed as a graphical user interface used to explain the operation of the jog dial 262 to the user through an image. Of course, the guide state is also displayed on the display screen as a graphical user interface.

For example, when performing a process of calling a registered telephone number on a display screen in response to a user's input operation using the jog dial 262, the jog dial 26 is displayed from the list view state of the graphical user interface.
It is also possible to select a registered telephone number calling item by rotating operation and pressing operation of 2, and then perform upward and downward scrolling through the guide state, and dial the selected telephone number by pressing.

Also, when a non-jog dial application is executed in the portable telephone device 250, the jog dial server 203 loads the script file 201 and executes the jog dial 262 based on the state transition described in the script file 201. Perform the operation corresponding to the operation.

The notebook personal computer 1
1 can cause a jog dial compatible application or a non-compliant application to perform a new operation. FIG. 35 shows a notebook personal computer in which a link of a WWW browser can be moved up and down by a tab key, an image surrounding the link can be prepared, and an anchor can be moved by rotating a jog roller (jog dial) 30. 11 shows a display example 310 of FIG. As the jog dial is turned, the anchor 311 to be operated moves to a movable location (for example, underlined). Selection operation is performed by push. Such a new operation can be prepared variously depending on the type of application.

In the above example, the jog roller (jog dial) 30 is connected to the armrest 2 of the jog cover 29.
In a case where both surfaces of the surface parallel to the armrest 25 and the surface parallel to the side of the armrest 25 are connected to each other, both surfaces of the surface parallel to the armrest 25 and the surface parallel to the side of the armrest 25 are exposed. 36, for example, as shown in FIG. 36, in addition to the surface parallel to the armrest 25 of the jog cover 29 and the surface parallel to the side surface of the armrest 25, the jog cover 29 is also exposed to a surface parallel to the bottom housing 41. With this configuration, the exposed portion of the rotating member 51 can be further enlarged, the exposed portion of the jog roller 30 is further enlarged, and the rotation range is increased to 180 ° or more as shown by an arrow F ′. You may make it wide.

As described above, the jog roller (jog dial) 30 is configured to be exposed to both the surface of the jog cover 29 parallel to the armrest 25 and the surface parallel to the side surface of the armrest 25. 3
Since the exposed area of the rotating member 51 can be increased, the operability can be improved. Further, the left and right click buttons 27 and 28 can be installed at independent positions so that the left and right click buttons 27 and 28 can be installed. It is possible to prevent an erroneous operation that is likely to occur when performing a reciprocating pressing operation of 28.

[0166]

According to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, the rotation / pressing operation element is formed by combining the first surface of the housing with the substantially cylindrical surface of the operation element and the first surface of the housing. The rotary pressing operation element is provided so as to be exposed to both the first surface and the second surface at a portion where both surfaces of the second surface portion connected to the end portion are connected. Can be easily rotated, and erroneous operation due to operation of peripheral operation buttons can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional jog dial.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a notebook personal computer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the notebook personal computer of FIG. 1;

4 is a front view of the notebook personal computer of FIG. 1 in a state in which a lid and a main body are closed.

5 is a right side view of the notebook personal computer of FIG. 1 in a state in which a lid and a main body are closed.

6 is a right side sectional view of the notebook personal computer of FIG. 5 in a state where a lid and a main body are closed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the inside of the palm rest of the notebook personal computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the operation principle of the jog dial of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the operation principle of the jog dial of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the jog dial of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of the jog dial of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a rotary shaft of the jog dial of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a top view of the jog dial of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a right side view of the jog dial of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a side sectional view of a shaft member constituting the rotating member of FIG. 14;

16 is an axial sectional view of the rotating member of FIG.

17 is an axial sectional view of the rotating member of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a time chart showing a signal state detected at each output terminal when the jog roller is rotated backward.

FIG. 19 is a time chart showing signal states detected at respective output terminals when the jog roller is rotated in the forward direction.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electrical configuration of a notebook personal computer.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating an example for detecting a rotation direction and a rotation amount of an operation unit.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart for detecting an operation state of the operation unit.

FIG. 23 is a functional block diagram for controlling the jog dial by the notebook personal computer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of state transition by a jog script.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of state transition by a jog script.

FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating an example of a guide state of a graphical user interface.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of a list view state of the graphical user interface.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a graphical user interface.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a display example by an application program for displaying a map.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a display example by an application program that displays a map.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing the progress of the hierarchical movement of the graphical user interface.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a graphical user interface.

FIG. 33 is a plan view of the portable information terminal device.

FIG. 34 is a plan view of the portable information telephone device.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a notebook personal computer.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing another example of the jog roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

25 palm rest, 29 jog cover, 30 jog roller, 31 back button, 41 bottom housing, 51 rotating member, 53 relay base, 54 bracket

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus comprising a housing, a rotation / press operation element comprising an operation element having a substantially cylindrical surface and being rotatable about an axis and capable of being pressed; 1 surface, and a second surface connected to an end of the first surface constituting the housing, wherein the rotation pressing operation element has a substantially cylindrical surface of the operation element, An information processing apparatus provided at a portion where both surfaces of the first surface and the second surface are connected so as to be exposed to both of the first surface and the second surface. . 2. A keyboard for inputting characters on the first surface, and a mounting surface for placing a palm when a user inputs characters on the keyboard near an end of the first surface. The rotation pressing operation element includes a substantially cylindrical surface of the operation element, a portion where both surfaces of the mounting surface and the second surface are connected, and any one of the mounting surface and the second surface. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is provided so as to be exposed to a surface.