JPH11194887A - Data input device and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the operability for drawing while reducing the operation space and installation space. SOLUTION: The device is equipped with a housing 2 which internally has a ball 3 for display cursor moving operation capable of rotating in all directions and also has an opening part 2a for exposing part of the ball 3 to the outside at its axially tip part and an encoder 4 which is arranged in the housing 2 and detects the rotational quantity and rotating direction of the ball 3, and the housing 2 is formed of a pencil-shaped thin cylinder.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data input device suitable for use in an information processing device such as a personal computer and a method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of personal computers, data input devices (pointing devices) such as joysticks, image scanners, and mice have been put to practical use.

[0003] Among them, a mouse has advantages that an input operation is relatively simple and that an input operation can be performed while looking at a display, and is used in various information processing apparatuses.

Conventionally, this type of data input device has a built-in ball for moving a display cursor which can be rotated in all directions, and has an opening at the bottom to expose a part of the ball to the outside. An apparatus including a housing for a data input device and an encoder disposed in the housing and configured to detect the amount and direction of rotation of the ball is employed.

In such a data input device, when a housing is placed on a desk or the like and data is input by rotating a ball in the housing, a display cursor (pointer) on a display moves indirectly. Controlled.

Conventional data input devices also have advantages such as high accuracy and accurate positioning, and therefore, for example, an electromagnetic induction type tablet is also employed.

[0007] This is provided with a board having a large number of detection coils arranged in the X-Y axis direction, and a stylus pen with a built-in excitation coil for indicating coordinates on the board.

Data input by such a tablet involves detecting a pen coordinate by applying a high-frequency current to an exciting coil in a stylus pen to generate an alternating magnetic field, and analyzing a voltage induced in a detection coil of a panel body. It is performed by

[0009]

However, in the former case, since the entire input device is of a so-called palm size (mouse type), a contact surface of the housing with respect to a mounting surface such as a desk at the time of input becomes large. In addition, there is a problem that the amount of movement of the ball increases in accordance with the size of the entire input device, and a large operation space is required.

In this type of data input device,
The fact that the entire input device is palm-sized requires the user to cover the housing with the palm of the hand when performing input operations, which makes the input operation difficult when drawing symbols on the display. However, there is a problem that operability in drawing is reduced.

On the other hand, the latter (tablet) has a problem that the installation space of the entire input device is increased because the size of the board is relatively large.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a data input device and a method thereof capable of reducing an operation space and an installation space and improving operability in drawing. Aim.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a data input device according to a first aspect of the present invention has a built-in ball for moving a display cursor which can be rotated in all directions. A housing for a data input device having an opening at the axial end thereof for exposing the portion to the outside,
An encoder is provided in the housing and detects the amount and direction of rotation of the ball, and the housing is formed by a pencil-shaped thin tube. Thus, data entry is performed by manipulating the housing for the data entry device while holding the pencil.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the data input device of the first aspect, the thin tube is formed of a square thin tube. Therefore, when the housing is mounted on the mounting surface such as a desk, good stability is obtained.

The third aspect of the present invention provides the first or second aspect.
In the data input device described above, a switch for setting and changing the display cursor moving rate is arranged on the housing. Therefore, the setting of the display cursor movement rate (DPI) is changed by the user's operation of the switch at the time of input.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the data input device of the first, second, or third aspect, a data determination switch and a data cancel switch are arranged in the housing in parallel with each other in the axial direction. . Therefore, the operability of the data determining switch and the data canceling switch arranged in the axial direction is improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the data input device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a taper for guiding the ball toward the opening is formed in the housing. Therefore, the positioning of the ball in the housing during the data input operation is performed by the taper.

[0018] The invention according to claim 6 (data input method)
Detects the amount and direction of rotation of the ball by the encoder of the data input device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, selectively converts this detection signal into a signal corresponding to the display cursor movement rate, and converts the data. This is a method of inputting, in which the display cursor movement rate is selected from a plurality of display cursor movement rates set in advance. Therefore, the selection of the display cursor movement rate is performed by selecting a desired display cursor movement rate from the plurality of display cursor movement rates.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B are front views showing the internal structure and appearance of a data input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the data input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram. In FIG. 1, a data input device for a personal computer denoted by reference numeral 1 includes a housing 2, a ball 3, an encoder 4, a switch 5 for changing a cursor movement rate setting, a switch 6 for determining data, and a switch 7 for canceling data. ing.

The housing 2 contains a ball 3 and an encoder 4 and is formed entirely of a square pencil-shaped thin tube. Thereby, when the housing 2 is mounted on the mounting surface such as a desk, good stability can be obtained.

An opening 2a for exposing a part of the ball 3 to the outside is provided at one end in the axial direction of the housing 2 (the lower end in FIG. 1). This allows
When the data input device 1 is held away from a mounting surface such as a desk, a part of the ball 3 is exposed to the outside of the housing 2 through the opening 2a.

A taper 2b for guiding the ball 3 from one end in the axial direction toward the opening 2a is formed in the housing 2. Thus, the positioning of the ball 3 in the housing 2 during the data input operation is performed by the taper 2b.

The ball 3 is a ball for moving a display cursor which can be rotated in all directions, and is stored and held in the housing 2. As a result, data is input to the computer main body (not shown) via the encoder 4.

The external size of the ball 3 is set to about 1/2 of the external size of a conventional ball (not shown). In addition, the weight of the ball 3 is lighter than a conventional ball (not shown) that contacts only by its own weight because the ball contact force with a desk or the like can be adjusted by the pressure of a finger.

The encoder 4 is composed of two encoders each having a ball contact for rotation on two axes orthogonal to each other. The encoder 4 is disposed on the housing 2 and has a frequency divider 9 (both shown in FIG. 2 shown in FIG. 2). Thereby, when the rotation amount and the rotation direction of the ball 3 are detected, the movement pulse a (shown in FIG. 2) is output to the frequency divider 9.

The cursor moving rate setting change switch 5 is
The housing 2 is disposed at the other end in the axial direction (the upper end in FIG. 1), and is connected to the frequency divider 9. As a result, at the time of the input operation, the setting of the movement rate c (shown in FIG. 2) of the display cursor (not shown) on the display (not shown) is changed.

The data determination switch 6 is disposed at one end (the lower end in FIG. 1) of the housing 2 in the axial direction, and is connected to a mouse driver 8 (shown in FIG. 2). As a result, the determined data signal is transmitted to the mouse driver 8.
Is output to

The data canceling switch 7 is located in the vicinity of the data determining switch 6 (on the side opposite to the opening 2a), and is arranged at one end in the axial direction of the housing 2 (the lower end in FIG. 1). ing. As a result, a cancellation data signal is output to the mouse driver 8.

The data canceling switch 7 and the data determining switch 6 are located at positions parallel to each other in the axial direction of the housing 2. Thereby, the data determination switch 6
Thus, the operability of the data cancel switch 7 is improved. That is, even when the switches 6 and 7 are operated by the left or right hand, the data input device 1 can be operated with the same kind of finger (for example, the index finger).

In the data input device configured as described above, the input is performed by operating the housing 2 on a mounting surface such as a desk while holding the pencil. At this time, the ball 3 comes into contact with a desk or the like, and the rotation amount and the rotation direction of the ball 3 are detected by the encoder 4.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the contact surface of the housing 2 with respect to the mounting surface such as a desk at the time of inputting becomes small, and the moving amount of the ball 3 becomes small according to the size of the entire input device.

In this embodiment, since the case 2 is pencil-shaped, the case 2 can be easily held. Therefore, when drawing a pattern on a display (not shown), no skill is required. The input operation can be easily performed.

Next, a data input method according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. First, the ball 3 of the data input device 1 previously mounted on a mounting surface such as a desk is rotated, and the encoder 4 detects the amount and direction of rotation of the ball 3 that changes according to the rotating operation. At this time, a forward / backward / left / right moving pulse (detection signal) a is output from the encoder 4 to the frequency divider 9.

Next, the moving pulse from the encoder 4 is selectively converted by the frequency divider 9 into a signal corresponding to the display cursor moving rate c. At this time, the display cursor movement rate c is selected from a plurality of display cursor movement rates preset by the switch 5.

In this case, when a large display cursor movement rate is selected, a display (not shown) is operated by operating the small data input device 1 such as writing characters on paper.
Data is input by designating a large operation on the screen.

On the other hand, when a small display cursor movement rate is selected, a small operation is designated on a screen of a display (not shown) by operating the large data input device 1 to input data. Thereafter, a signal from the frequency divider 9 is output to the mouse driver 8 as a movement coordinate signal b.

The signals from the data determination switch 6 and the data cancel switch 7 to the mouse driver 8 are directly output. In this manner, data can be input on the screen of the display in the computer.

In the present embodiment, a case has been described in which the thin tube as the housing 2 is formed of a square thin tube. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a circular thin tube may be used. Of course it is good.

In the present embodiment, the encoder has a ball contact for rotation. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an optical encoder may be used.

In this embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a personal computer has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to other information processing apparatuses such as a word processor in the same manner as the embodiment.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, a ball for operating the display cursor which can be rotated in all directions is built in, and an opening for exposing a part of the ball to the outside is formed in the axial direction. A housing for the data input device at the tip, and an encoder disposed in the housing to detect the amount and direction of rotation of the ball are provided, and the housing is formed by a pencil-shaped thin tube, so that input can be performed. It is performed by operating the housing so as to hold the pencil.

Accordingly, the contact surface of the housing with respect to the mounting surface such as a desk at the time of input becomes small, and the movement amount of the ball becomes small according to the size of the entire input device, so that the operation space can be reduced.

Further, since the casing is easy to hold when the casing is of a pencil type, no skill is required when drawing a design on the display, and the input operation can be easily performed. Operability can be improved.

Furthermore, since a tablet is not used, the board required for the conventional data input device (tablet) is not required, and the installation space can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are front views showing the internal structure and appearance of a data input device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a data input device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Data input device 2 Housing 2a Opening 2b Taper 3 Ball 4 Encoder 5 Cursor movement rate setting change switch 6 Data decision switch 7 Data cancel switch 8 Mouse driver 9 Divider

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A housing for a data input device having a built-in ball for moving a display cursor rotatable in all directions and having an opening at an axial end thereof for exposing a part of the ball to the outside. A data input device comprising: a body; and an encoder disposed in the housing and configured to detect a rotation amount and a rotation direction of the ball, wherein the housing is formed of a pencil-shaped thin tube. 2. The data input device according to claim 1, wherein said thin tube is formed of a square thin tube. 3. The data input device according to claim 1, wherein a switch for changing a setting of a display cursor moving rate is arranged on the housing. 4. The data input device according to claim 1, wherein a data determination switch and a data cancel switch are arranged in the housing in parallel with each other in the axial direction. 5. The data input device according to claim 1, wherein a taper for guiding the ball toward an opening is formed in the housing. 6. A rotation amount and a rotation direction of the ball are detected by an encoder of the data input device according to claim 1, and this detection signal is selectively converted into a signal corresponding to a display cursor moving rate. A data input method, wherein the display cursor moving ratio is selected from a plurality of display cursor moving ratios set in advance.